August 16th

US punched Bibi, Barak in the face ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Once every few years Israel needs a slap in the face to remember where it stands in the world. On Tuesday it was US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey who assumed the role of the responsible adult and slapped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the duo orchestrating the national hysteria surrounding the possibility of an attack in Iran. » Read more

Gentlemen, America is telling you 'no' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Eitan Haber - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am Many years ago, the US ambassador to Israel requested an urgent meeting with the defense minister. The ambassador (I'm fairly certain it was Thomas Pickering) sat opposite Yitzhak Rabin, took out a piece of paper from his pocket and read from it. » Read more

The price of settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am On Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a request by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to hold a cabinet meeting on the political stalemate with the Palestinians, to discuss ways of advancing peace negotiations for a final agreement. On Monday Haaretz reported Barak as saying in private talks that a thaw in relations is in Israel's strategic interest and that the country is "living on borrowed time." On Tuesday the European Union demonstrated the price of neglecting this political channel, combined with the race to expand settlements. » Read more

Chance of success slim for Palestinians' 2nd UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas is considering launching a second attempt at upgrading the status of the Palestinians in the United Nations from an observer entity to a non-member observer. With an upgraded status, the Palestinians would be able to vote in the UN General Assembly and seek full membership in UN organizations and at the International Criminal Court. The upgrade would also likely to help define the borders of a Palestinian state as containing the entire West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. » Read more

Stopping Extremist Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Daniel Byman, Natan Sachs - (Opinion) August 16, 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 settlement of Beit El. » Read more

August 15th

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