IMF: Palestinian economy 'facing serious risks' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 20, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian economy is facing serious risks, with a slowdown in growth and rise in unemployment in both Gaza and the West Bank, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.  » Read more

Fatah leader: Abbas won't quit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 20, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Mahmoud Abbas has no intention to resign and will remain president until the next elections, senior Fatah official Jamal Muhassen said Thursday. » Read more

Peaceniks in Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Maen Areikat - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am The leaked statements by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney once again betray the dangerous relationship between U.S. domestic politics and U.S. national strategic interests. To be clear, this is not the first time U.S. presidential candidates and party institutions made statements contradicting long-standing U.S. policy to improve their electoral chances. The examples are too many to mention and they all end up back-pedaling once they assume office. » Read more

Hamas angered as Palestinian rival arrests supporters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - September 19, 2012 - 12:00am   GAZA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Hamas sharply criticised the arrest of dozens of its members by Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank on Wednesday, underscoring dire relations between the Islamist group and its Fatah-dominated rival after a failed bid for reconciliation. » Read more

Even Real Lobbies Fail Sometimes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am Why does writing about the Israel lobby make people stupid? By people, I mean both anti-Semites obsessed with Jewish control of the government and smart foreign policy commentators like David Rothkopf, who believes that because pro-Israel Jews don't control the United States government, the Israel lobby is a myth. » Read more

Worries over violence against churches in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Josef Federman - September 20, 2012 - 12:00am   JERUSALEM — After a series of attacks by vandals on Christian holy sites in Israel, normally tight-lipped Roman Catholic officials are beginning to speak out, publicly appealing to authorities to take a stronger stand against the violence. » Read more

Egypt: New Intelligence Chief Helped to Broker Israeli’s Release ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press September 20, 2012 - 12:00am President Mohamed Morsi appointed as the country’s new intelligence chief on Wednesday a veteran official who was involved in the brokering of last year’s release of an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants, an official news agency said. » Read more

Very Little Room for Diplomacy in ‘Fortress Israel’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Barbara Slavin - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am Reading Patrick Tyler’s provocative new book, Fortress Israel, it is hard to have confidence that Israel’s leaders will allow much more time for efforts at a diplomatic resolution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. » Read more

Gaza: Hamas Says Israel Killed Officials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters September 20, 2012 - 12:00am Israel killed two Palestinians in the Hamas-led Gaza Strip on Wednesday, accusing both of involvement in attacks on Israel and weapons smuggling from Egypt. Officials with the Islamist group accused Israel of using an airstrike on a vehicle after dark in the town of Rafah on Gaza’s border with Egypt to assassinate two officials in control of tunnels leading into Egyptian territory. » Read more

Did Bibi just throw Romney under the bus? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am It’s been no secret that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would prefer Mitt Romney as president of America. He’s had a very tense relationship with Barack Obama, who came to office intent on restarting a peace process the Israeli prime minister would prefer to see shelved. There has been an ongoing flow of anti-Obama leaks coming out of “sources” in Jerusalem often identified in the Israeli media as “close to the prime minister’s office.” » Read more