August 27th

Loose-Cannon or Bad Cop Lieberman? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) August 26, 2012 - 12:00am Give Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a choice, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said this weekend. Either he must abandon his campaign for unilateral United Nations recognition and return to the negotiating table with no preconditions, or Israel will no longer see him as a legitimate partner and will launch a campaign to delegitimize him. » Read more

Sinai: Shift in Egypt’s strategic doctrine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Mohammad Fadhel - (Opinion) August 26, 2012 - 12:00am As the army continues its campaign against terrorists in the Sinai peninsula, there are growing calls in Egypt for comprehensive development projects in Sinai. Opposition figures, politicians and former officials are seeing this goal as a strategic effort to enhance the country’s national security. It seems that this topic will become one of the priorities for President Mohammad Mursi and the entire Egyptian leadership. » Read more

Egypt and the treaty ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Liron A. Libman - (Opinion) August 26, 2012 - 12:00am Since the beginning of the regional turmoil and the regime change in Egypt, there were Egyptian voices speaking of cancelling or reviewing the peace treaty with Israel. Lately, after the terrorist attack in Sinai that killed 16 Egyptian border guards, Mr. Mohamed Gadallah, legal adviser to the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsy, was quoted saying that the president is studying whether to amend the Camp David accords to ensure Egypt’s “full sovereignty” over Sinai. » Read more

There is no consensus regarding the Oslo Accords ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Susan Hattis Rolef - (Opinion) August 26, 2012 - 12:00am Since President Shimon Peres went public regarding his opinion that Israel should not attack Iran without fully coordinated with the US, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and others have started attacking the president for overstepping his legitimate role, and have reverted to attacking Peres for what they regard as his mistaken judgments over the years on major political issues. One of these “mistaken judgments” is the 1993 Oslo Accords. » Read more

An Israeli attack on Iran would help, not harm, Obama’s reelection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) August 26, 2012 - 12:00am In many of the conspiracy theories that have been presented in recent weeks in the Israeli press concerning the possibility of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, one theme has been constant: it would put President Barack Obama in a bind and possibly hurt his chances in the November elections as well. » Read more

Market stalls turn into prime real estate in fight between Jews, Palestinians over Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh, Nasser Shiyoukhi - August 26, 2012 - 12:00am Four stalls in a trash-filled, abandoned outdoor market have turned into hotly contested real estate in the center of biblical Hebron where several hundred ultranationalist Jewish settlers are wrestling with Palestinian residents for control, house by house and storefront by storefront. The stalls’ Palestinian tenants want Israel’s Supreme Court to evict settlers who seized the properties a decade ago, but some in Israel’s pro-settler government believe the small shops should remain in Jewish hands. » Read more

Former Israeli soldiers disclose routine mistreatment of Palestinian children ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - August 26, 2012 - 12:00am More than 30 former Israeli soldiers have disclosed their experiences of the treatment of Palestinian children during military operations and arrests, pointing to a pattern of abuse. A booklet of testimonies, published by Breaking the Silence, an organisation of former Israeli soldiers dedicated to publicising the day-to-day actions of the army in the occupied territories, contains descriptions of beatings, intimidation, humiliation, verbal abuse, night-time arrests and injury. Most of the children had been suspected of stone-throwing. » Read more

C'tee okays PM portfolio changes amid war rumors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post August 27, 2012 - 12:00am A special committee has given its initial approval for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to make changes to his foreign and domestic investment portfolio, amid increased speculation in recent weeks that Israel is considering a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, a move that would certainly send shockwaves throughout the global economy. » Read more

Israel, U.S. divided over latest IAEA report on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 26, 2012 - 12:00am Israel and the United States are split over the significance of a new International Atomic Energy Agency report expected to accuse Iran of installing hundreds of new centrifuges at its underground enrichment facility near Qom. Israel believes that the IAEA report, due to be published this week, backs up claims that Tehran has accelerated its nuclear project. The White House, however, insists that the findings do nothing to alter the working assumption that there is still time to resolve the crisis diplomatically. » Read more

Sources: PA Attorney General resigns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Attorney-General Ahmad al-Mughni resigned his position on Saturday morning, informed sources told Ma'an. The sources said al-Mughni handed in his notice after meeting with a former US State Attorney in Ramallah, without elaborating on the content of the meeting. Al-Mughni could not be reached for confirmation. Earlier this year, Ma'an revealed the attorney-general was forcing private Internet companies to block access to websites loyal to ousted Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan. » Read more