September 19th

Binyamin Netanyahu's Iran strategy erases the Palestinian problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) September 18, 2012 - 12:00am Binyamin Netanyahu's appearance on Meet the Press this weekend was telling. Interviewer David Gregory called him the "leader of the Jewish people". That's certainly how the Israeli prime minister would like to see himself, and he wouldn't be the first. » Read more

Blue and white elephant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Eytan Gilboa - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am Ahead of the November presidential elections, it appears that the Democrats and Republicans are in a competition to show which party supports Israel more. The Republicans are attacking the Democrats over Obama's attitude toward Israel, while the Democrats are trying to return fire. On the surface this seems harmless, but actually it is a very negative and worrying development. » Read more

Giving Israel a new look at Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - (Book Review) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am “Hamas offers two alternatives: 1. A separate track, dealing only with the release of Gilad Shalit in return for 1,000 Palestinian political prisoners. 2. A release of prisoners will take place in the broader context of a strategic approach ‏(as follows‏), and the number of prisoners released will not be in the hundreds.” » Read more

Learning about the Holocaust - in Arabic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am "Please excuse my broken Arabic," our guide, Yehuda Yarin, tells the mixed group of Palestinians and Israelis who have come to Yad Vashem to learn more about the Holocaust. It's a three-day joint excursion - a Tiyul-Rihla, the words for "trip" in Hebrew and Arabic - to Acre, Haifa and Jerusalem. » Read more

Not just Romney: Many in Middle East are losing faith in a two-state solution, too ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Christian Science Monitor by Christa Case Bryant - September 18, 2012 - 12:00am Jerusalem A newly leaked video shows presidential hopeful Mitt Romney questioning the longstanding US road map for peace in the Middle East – and, in fact, if the Palestinians want peace at all. » Read more

Middle East Comments Could Vex a Romney Administration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David E. Sanger - (Opinion) September 18, 2012 - 12:00am BOSTON — No one has ever had any illusions about where Mitt Romney stands on the two hottest disputes in the Middle East: the argument over the creation of a Palestinian state, and the debate over what can be done to assure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. » Read more

Amending treaty with Israel 'a matter of time,' says presidential adviser ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Egypt Independent by Ashgan Harb - September 19, 2012 - 12:00am An adviser to President Mohamed Morsy has said that amending the 1979 peace treaty signed with Israel is "a matter of time," adding that such a move is necessary to restore full Egyptian control over Sinai. » Read more

Settlements Keep Growing Despite Migron Setback ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - September 16, 2012 - 12:00am Jerusalem — Three years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he had “no intention of building new settlements,” contractors paid by Israel’s government have constructed a brand-new, exclusively Jewish neighborhood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. » Read more

Detained Palestinian theatre director resumes hunger strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - September 18, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian militant turned theatre director Zakaria Zubeidi has resumed a total hunger strike in protest at his continued detention without charge by Palestinian security forces, and his supporters say he could die within days. » Read more

Abbas says he will go ahead with UN bid speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 19, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Abbas reiterated on Wednesday that he will deliver a speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations to ask for recognition of Palestine as a non-member state. The comments, which were posted on the president's Facebook page, added that the speech would most likely take place on September 27. » Read more