Iconic Palestinian Industrialist, Munib Al-Masri, Speaks About Peace, Statehood and Cooperation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Munib Al-Masri is an iconic presence in the Palestinian world. After reportedly twice turning down overtures by Yassir Arafat to succeed him as president of the Palestinian Authority, Al-Masri focused his efforts on creating the institutions that would form the infrastructure necessary to support statehood, including the stock exchange, telecommunications company and largest holding company. » Read more

The demolition of homes in the Palestinian village of Sussiya ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Michael Cohen - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Since 1996 the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has brought some 700 Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international undergraduate and graduate students together on its Kibbutz Ketura campus, where they have been provided with the tools needed to learn how to live and to work with each other. We expect our graduates to take the message of environmental cooperation beyond the academic framework into the field and put what we teach into action. » Read more

Oslo deal was good for the Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Dov Weissglas - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am In the first clause of Basic Law: The President of the State, it is written that "a president shall stand at the head of the State." The head of state not only has the right to express his opinion on such an existential issue as the timing of a strike in Iran – he has an obligation to do so. » Read more

How and Why the "Nuclear Umbrella" Argument Falls Apart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am The most subtle argument defending an Israeli aerial attack on Natanz and other Iranian nuclear installations is that an Iranian bomb would create an “umbrella” under which client regimes and terrorist organizations (Syria, or what will emerge after Assad, Hezbollah in south Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza) will grow in strength and consolidate Iran’s hegemony in the region. A nuclear bomb is a thousand times more powerful than any conventional weapon, right? » Read more

Obama, don't let us do it! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am An amazing line-up of military experts, retired generals, heads of the Mossad and the General Security Service, former heads of the National Security Council, former defense ministers and prime ministers have all called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to attack Iran without the full support and engagement of the United States. » Read more

Netanyahu on the balcony of war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am In the summer of 1995, the heads of the security establishment once again warned then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu against involvement in the campaign of incitement against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, under the slogan "With blood and fire, we'll expel Rabin." Netanyahu was warned that he was playing with fire. That it would end in catastrophe. But he covered his ears. » Read more

How Iran strengthened Israeli democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak deserve a medal for their contribution to strengthening Israeli democracy. For the first time a broad and noisy public debate is taking place over whether to go to war, with the encouragement and participation of the prime minister and the defense minister. When Israel does attack Iran it will not be a war of deception: The pros and cons have been discussed ad nauseam in the public arena. One can argue about the wisdom of Barak and Netanyahu's policy, but they did not act covertly. » Read more

Fear is not a deterrent, Bibi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Reuven Pedatzur - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am It is possible to argue about the estimates of the results and implications of a decision to attack Iran. However, it is clear that the prime minister, by his remarks on the Iranian issue, is severely undermining one of the basic tenets of the state's future strategy. » Read more

KABOOM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Worried about a war with Iran, regional instability, more terrorism, rising oil prices or plunging markets? Don't be -- at least not yet. Think 2013. If Israel can't get assurances that the U.S. is prepared to use force, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will act later this year or early next. But for now, there will be no war and certainly no deal over the nuclear issue. And the reason for that is pretty compelling: the mullahs, the Israelis, and the Americans all don't want one right now -- and here's why. » Read more

The Israeli debate on attacking Iran is over ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Shai Feldman - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am For all practical purposes this weekend ended the Israeli debate on attacking Iran. What tipped the scales were two developments. The first was the decision of the country's president, Shimon Peres, to make his opposition to a military strike public. The second was an interview given by a former key defense advisor of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, questioning for the first time publically whether his former superior and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are fit to lead Israel in time of war. » Read more