Is U.S. going above and beyond for Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Walter Pincus - (Opinion) May 16, 2012 - 12:00am Should the United States put solving Israel’s budget problems ahead of its own? When it comes to defense spending, it appears that the United States already is. » Read more

Little change for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am The formation of a new Israeli government coalition that includes the Kadima party was a dramatic development in Israeli politics and took many politicians and observers by surprise. It was not, however, very exciting for Palestinians. Despite their increasingly difficult conditions, and despite their interest in any change that might revive the comatose peace process with Israel, Palestinians could not find any reason to feel hope after this shift. » Read more

Leave the page blank? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am My initial inclination in composing this article about the new, expanded governing coalition in Israel and the peace process was to leave the page blank. It is painfully obvious that there will be no serious peace process between this government and the Palestine Liberation Organization. » Read more

Meet The Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Emily L. Hauser - (Opinion) May 18, 2012 - 12:00am Many Israeli and American Jews hold strong opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We study it, attend conferences, and are often told to expect only violence from the Palestinian side—yet there’s one thing many of us have never done: Met a Palestinian. » Read more

Israel's turn against the Assad regime ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 18, 2012 - 12:00am It is not natural for the Israeli political and military establishment just to watch the events and violence taking place along its borders. During the past one year, the Israeli government did not spell out any stand on the Syrian revolution, although it was one of the dangerous incidents facing Israel since 1973 War. » Read more

Peacemaking without mediators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Nicola Nasser - (Opinion) May 19, 2012 - 12:00am A Surplus of mediators have been around all the time, including the heavy weight Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia, as well as heaps of terms of reference of UNSC resolutions, bilateral signed accords and “road maps,” in addition to marathon bilateral talks that have left no stone unearthed, international as well as regional conferences were never on demand to facilitate the “peace process,” which has been lavishly financed to keep moving. » Read more

My Word: Hunger-striking prisoners’ dilemma ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Liat Collins - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am The movie Midnight Express has a lot to answer for. The title became a synonym for hellhole jails with sadistic guards, brutal cellmates and mental torture. It’s probably still the image that springs to mind when talking about prisons anywhere in the Middle East. Israeli penitentiaries are certainly no picnic, but neither are they a Midnight Express-like nightmare. » Read more

Jerusalem as the eternal capital ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilan Bloch - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am As we mark the 45th anniversary of the Israeli conquest of east Jerusalem on the third day of the Six Day War, it is timely that we explore the concept of Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. » Read more

Ex-PM: Give up on trying to unify Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged Israeli leaders Sunday to relinquish the idea of a unified Jerusalem if they truly want peace, contending in interviews that years of government neglect have kept the Jewish and Arab sectors irreparably divided. » Read more

Lieberman is 'unbearable', says Austrian minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 21, 2012 - 12:00am VIENNA // Austria's defence minister has called Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, "unbearable" because of his insistence on hawkish policies regarding the Middle East peace process and Iran. Sunday newspaper Die Presse quoted Norbert Darabos as saying that Israel's government is using "external enemies" to divert attention from domestic social problems. The centre-left politician is also quoted as saying that Mr Lieberman "is unbearable as a member of the Israeli government." » Read more