The Rise of Settler Terrorism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs by Daniel Byman, Natan Sachs - (Opinion) August 14, 2012 - 12:00am Late this past June, a group of Israeli settlers in the West Bank defaced and burned a mosque in the small West Bank village of Jabaa. Graffiti sprayed by the vandals warned of a "war" over the planned evacuation, ordered by the Israeli Supreme Court, of a handful of houses illegally built on private Palestinian land near the Israeli settlement of Beit El. » Read more

How the Arab Spring might help Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am A few months ago, as I was speaking to a non-profit group about how developments in the Arab world would affect Israel, I noticed the faces in the crowd looking back at me with deep skepticism. I understood the reason. I was arguing that there is a possibility — not a certainty — that Israel will eventually emerge safer than before as a result of the Arab revolutions, also known as the Arab Spring. I have not changed my mind. » Read more

On Laws and Walls ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Emily L. Hauser - (Opinion) August 14, 2012 - 12:00am This past week, Israel’s Justice Ministry issued new regulations that, if implemented, will make it impossible for many Palestinians and all undocumented immigrants to file suit in Israeli courts. » Read more

Contesting history: A tale of two Tekoas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Brandon Davis - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Gush Herodion Development Corporation has big plans for Tekoa. Already boasting a pizza parlor, a swimming pool and a horse ranch, this idyllic "Jewish village" of approximately 1,600 will soon add six new buildings with eight "spacious" apartments each, designed by the architect Jacques Gabay. » Read more

The Israeli film that refuses to portray IDF soldiers as monsters or heroes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Film Review) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am David Grossman, in the introduction to his collection of non-fiction essays Death as a Way of Life, writes that beyond the sound, the fury and the grand political rhetoric, there is a silent place buried inside the soul of every Israeli and every Palestinian, where each one knows that this terrible conflict, in the end, is futile. Politicians are required to give the impression that they know where they are taking the country. Political commentators are supposed to make sense of events, and potentially suggest ways of action. » Read more

What's the point of Israel's psychological warfare against Iran? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Full disclosure: Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, hasn’t spoken to me recently. Actually, he has never spoken to me at all. Nor has Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, or any other defense establishment officials in Tehran. » Read more

What Edward Really Said ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Few contemporary thinkers have been more revered and reviled than the late Palestinian-American professor Edward Said. But even his most ardent critics can hardly deny that Said was one of the most significant public intellectuals of our time. And while he is probably best remembered for his political activism, it was as a major literary theorist that he produced his most important work.  » Read more

PA grants 4.7 million NIS to West Bank universities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance on Wednesday transferred financial aid to seven universities, the PA education minister said. Ali al-Jarbawi said that Al-Najah University, Bethlehem University, Al-Istiqlal Academy, Bir Zeit, Hebron, the Open University and Palestinian polytechnic will all receive the funding, designed to alleviate the financial crisis affecting universities. The total amount of funding to be divided between the seven universities is 4.7 million shekels ($1.1 million). » Read more

Lebanese Army relocating in Nahr al-Bared ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star August 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Lebanese Army is relocating in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp to give residents space, and the government has reiterated its commitment to releasing detainees from recent clashes and removing the camps’ restrictive permit system. The head of the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee Khaldoun al-Sharif announced the state-backed steps Monday night at a committee iftar held in the camp, according to a statement from the organization. » Read more

Israel blasts EU listing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Israel criticized a European Union listing that stated an Israeli city was a settlement and said its products will not be allowed duty-free entrance into Europe. "For anyone who deals in reality, there is not the slightest doubt that the Modi'in, Maccabim and Re'ut localities are an integral part of Israel, and their future is not in question," a Foreign Ministry statement published by The Jerusalem Post said. "The EU ignores reality when it extends the domain of conflict to places and issues that do not belong there. " » Read more