Israel Media Fear Canceled Gas Deal Harbinger of Things to Come ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Egypt Independent by Jordan Gerstler-Holton - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am Following reports that the Egyptian company responsible for exporting natural gas to Israel decided to cut off shipments, both Israeli and Egyptian officials have rushed to downplay the crisis, saying the move resulted from commercial considerations, not political ones. But despite these efforts, Israeli media fear the unilateral move represents a step toward Egypt deciding to shelve the two nations’ bilateral peace accord in place since 1979. » Read more

Was Egypt’s Decision to Shut Down Gas Pipe to Israel Politics or Business? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Bradley Hope, Hugh Naylor - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am CAIRO / JERUSALEM // The Egyptian government's abrupt announcement on Sunday that it was ending its natural gas supply to Israel has left many analysts and businessmen wondering whether the decision was politics or business. Government officials on both sides tried to play down the decision yesterday, pointing to violations of contracts on either side of East Mediterranean Gas Company, the intermediary that manages the Egypt-Israel pipeline. » Read more

What Israeli hasbara won't hide ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Doron Rosenblum - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am When the Israeli universe was still young and full of hope, the cartoonist Dosh drew the iconic figure that reflected the collective self-perception: Srulik, a naive boy in a kova tembel (that sort of blue or khaki sailor cap with the brim turned down, sometimes still sighted on kibbutzim and in kindergartens ) whose intentions are pure and whose hands are clean. Were we called upon to update that icon today, possibly a great many Israelis would still cling to the self-image of an innocent child in a hostile world. » Read more

Gas Deal Dispute Reflects Change in Israel-Egypt Relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am CAIRO — The decorum of diplomacy has devolved into embarrassing headlines and testy one-liners in the increasingly strained relations between Egypt and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Egypt's Sinai peninsula had become a "kind of Wild West" overrun by militants, terrorists and arms smugglers. Over the weekend, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had suggested massing more Israeli troops along the border with Egypt. » Read more

Is it late to save East Jerusalem? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am In the frustrating pursuit of Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement based on the concept of a two-state solution, one particular issue emerges as the most cumbersome and, in the view of most Israelis, non negotiable. It is the fate of Arab East Jerusalem, occupied along with the rest of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. » Read more

The second Israeli democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avraham Burg - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am If I were prime minister I would feel very uneasy these days. Something is wrong, I would tell myself on Independence Day, the day of national spiritual stocktaking. Having no other choice, I would close myself off from the world and think. I would conclude that the first State of Israel was fading on my watch. » Read more

Israeli Opposition Chief Fears Binational State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Dan Perry - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel's new parliamentary opposition leader said Tuesday that the Jewish state faces the danger of being replaced by a binational Jewish-Arab entity if it fails to separate itself from the Palestinians. Former military chief Shaul Mofaz won leadership of the centrist Kadima Party last month. "The threat of us losing the Jewish majority and Israel becoming a binational state is the biggest threat to Israel, and time is working against us," he told Israel Radio. "The threat of a binational state that we are bequeathing to our children really keeps me awake at night." » Read more

A Second Response to Benny Morris ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) April 24, 2012 - 12:00am There is a certain redundancy to arguing with Benny Morris. The case he makes is easily debunked but the position he represents on rejectionism needs to be taken seriously, given the role that this narrative plays in perpetuating the conflict and the human misery for Palestinians, and not infrequently for Israelis. This piece will focus on that deeper narrative. But first, a little pushback, as Morris can’t be given a free pass on his deceptions. » Read more

The Crisis of Zionism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Paul Krugman - (Blog) April 24, 2012 - 12:00am Something I’ve been meaning to do — and still don’t have the time to do properly — is say something about Peter Beinart’s brave book The Crisis of Zionism. » Read more

IDF Chief to Haaretz: I do not believe Iran will decide to develop nuclear weapons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - April 25, 2012 - 12:00am "If Iran goes nuclear it will have negative dimensions for the world, for the region, for the freedom of action Iran will permit itself," Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told Haaretz in an Independence Day interview. » Read more