March 8th

Inside Out: Obama’s commitment to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jonathan Rosen - (Opinion) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am US President Barack Obama took the opportunity of his speech at the AIPAC policy conference on Sunday to reiterate his administration’s unequivocal commitment to Israel’s security and right to self-defense. He said, “My administration’s commitment to Israel’s security has been unprecedented. Our military and intelligence cooperation has never been closer. Our joint exercises and training have never been more robust... Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.” » Read more

If Obama wins in November, is Netanyahu in trouble? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am There is something in the air. Something new. Something as recent as this week's AIPAC conference. And for Benjamin Netanyahu, it's not something to be desired. American conservatives have begun to think out loud that Barack Obama will win in November. Citing the GOP's disastrous showing in the 1964 presidential election, influential Washington Post columnist George Will suggested this week in a tone of some resignation ("the Presidency is not everything") that conservatives might better use their energies by concentrating instead on Congressional and Senate races. » Read more

Netanyahu, our savior the fearmonger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 8, 2012 - 1:00am If it looks like a duck (frightened), walks like a duck (spreading anxiety), quacks like a duck (disseminating dread), then it must be a duck (a frightened fearmonger). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who quacked his fearmongering speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee convention on Tuesday, proved yet again that Israel has never had a statesman quite like him - a statesman who has built his career on being an alarmist, and who boasts an impressive record of incessant, decades-long fearmongering. » Read more

Despite hardships, Palestinians train for Olympics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Darting down the bumpy streets of Gaza wearing a cheap pair of running shoes, Palestinian athlete Bahaa al-Farra dodges potholes and traffic as he trains to compete against the world's best athletes at the London Olympics. Although an Olympic medal is highly unlikely, the 400-meter runner takes to the city streets for about three hours a day, speeding down crowded avenues in the morning before hitting the gym in the afternoon. "It's not easy to be an athlete in Gaza," al-Farra said. » Read more

In Israeli military, a growing orthodoxy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - March 7, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Roni Daniel saw the writing on the wall in a toilet. A former infantry commander who fought in three Middle East wars and now the dean of Israeli defence correspondents, Daniel recently visited military headquarters in Tel Aviv. There, a urinal that uses a motion detector to clean itself was signposted: “Forbidden on the Sabbath.” Troops, he realized, were being ordered to defer to Orthodox Jewish curbs on the use of electricity between Friday night and Saturday night. » Read more

Banned From TV, Palestinian Satirists Turn to Stage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Mohammed Najib - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am The Riyadh Hotel for Current and Future Exiled Arab Leaders in Saudi Arabia gets a phone call. Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is on the line asking if they have any positions for accountants. “No,” the nervous receptionist answers. “We live comfortably in Saudi Arabia. Don’t come and impose taxes on us.” The satirical attack on the Palestinian leader, who has tried, unsuccessfully so far, to impose income tax on his people, was part of a new assault by a popular but harassed trio of Palestinian actors at a theatre in Ramallah on Wednesday night. » Read more

PLO calls on election commission to prepare for elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 8, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Wednesday called on the Central Elections Commission (CEC) to start preparing for holding the general elections in the Palestinian territories. The CEC should begin the process of registration of voters in Gaza and the West Bank, the PLO executive committee said in a statement issued after a meeting held in Ramallah and chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

'No unity talks until Fatah can operate in Gaza' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am Talks over the formation of a Palestinian unity government will remain suspended until Hamas allows the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to operate in the Gaza Strip, a Fatah leader in the West Bank said Wednesday. Fatah and Hamas agreed two weeks ago to delay the talks over the formation of a unity government that would be headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as envisaged by the Qatari-brokered reconciliation agreement between the organizations. Since then, the two sides have traded allegations over who was responsible for the delay. » Read more

Jordan FM hears Palestinian 'no' to renewed talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 7, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian leaders have told Jordan's visiting foreign minister they will not resume Mideast peace talks without an Israeli settlement freeze. Jordan's Nasser Judeh explored the possibility of resuming talks in a meeting Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In January, Jordan hosted low-level Israeli-Palestinian talks that broke down in acrimony. Staunchly pro-Washington, Jordan has considerable sway as one of the Palestinians' most important allies. » Read more

Israelis criticize PM's Iran-Holocaust parallels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - March 7, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli prime minister's linking of Iran to Nazi Germany evoked ringing applause this week at a gathering of a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington. Back home, though, it drew some heavy criticism. The Nazi Holocaust of World War II is a delicate and charged topic in Israel, and many felt Benjamin Netanyahu's repeated equating of the Nazis with the possible modern-day threat of a nuclear-armed Iran went too far. » Read more