March 7th

Chief Palestinian negotiator says Mideast does not need more wars ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am REPORTING FROM RAMALLAH, WEST BANK –- The Middle East needs "winds of peace" instead of "drums of war," the chief Palestinian negotiator said Tuesday. Saeb Erekat was commenting on the meeting a day earlier between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and their speeches before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Erekat did not seem worried that the Palestinian issue was overshadowed in the meeting by the conflict over Iran's nuclear program. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains the most destabilizing factor in the Middle East, he said. » Read more

Pro-Israel Delegates Have Washington’s Ear on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee was surrounded by a gaggle of constituents on Tuesday like a quarterback in a huddle, finishing a discourse on his commitment to stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, center, met on Tuesday with Senators Harry Reid, left, and Mitch McConnell. Iran's nuclear program continues to dominate discussions. » Read more

Israel stacks the legal deck ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by George Bisharat - (Opinion) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian baker and activist Khader Adnan captured headlines recently for a 66-day hunger strike that led him to the brink of death. His ordeal began in the dead of night on Dec. 17, 2011, when Israeli soldiers broke down the door of his West Bank home. Adnan was arrested before his terrified wife and daughters, and was reportedly abused verbally and physically upon detention and later in interrogation. » Read more

Netanyahu returns empty-handed from Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am The Israeli and U.S. governments agree that Iran's striving for nuclear weapons is dangerous for Israel, the region and the world. Everyone understands what a nuclear bomb might do in the hands of an extremist Muslim regime aspiring to regional hegemony. » Read more

The One-State Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Shmuel Rosner - (Blog) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — “Israel/Palestine and the One-State Solution,” a student-run conference held at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government last weekend, achieved its goal before it even began. By bringing undeserved attention to an impractical idea, it drew enough wrath to raise its own profile. The one-state solution is an angering concept, and the gathering was an angering event. » Read more

The Israeli Blackmailing of the Iranian Nuclear Program ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am Israel succeeded in turning the Iranian nuclear program into a top priority for the American presidential candidates. The annual conference of the largest Jewish forum in America, the AIPAC committee, turned into a competition platform for who will shed the highest amount of tears over the future of the Hebrew state in case Iran succeeded in producing its so-called nuclear weapons. » Read more

Growing signs of frustration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am In recent weeks and months, we have confronted a growing number of worrisome possible precursors of a new intifada or some similar round of violence on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. While the previous two intifadas were seemingly triggered by unintended actions or events (a traffic accident in 1987, a Temple Mount visit in 2000), in retrospect it is clear that they erupted due to the accumulation of frustrations on the Palestinian side, at least some of which could have been prevented by Israel. » Read more

Israel’s Best Friend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am The only question I have when it comes to President Obama and Israel is whether he is the most pro-Israel president in history or just one of the most. Why? Because the question of whether Israel has the need and the right to pre-emptively attack Iran as it develops a nuclear potential is one of the most hotly contested issues on the world stage today. It is also an issue fraught with danger for Israel and American Jews, neither of whom want to be accused of dragging America into a war, especially one that could weaken an already frail world economy. » Read more

Volatile, but unpredictable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am The combination of a complete absence of political prospects for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and ending the Israeli occupation, as well as the growing daily difficulties experienced by Palestinians in the occupied territories, has been encouraging many analysts and politicians to warn of a possible resumption of violence or another intifada of some kind. This reflects a consensus view that the current situation is not sustainable. » Read more

On Iran, patience and power ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Editorial) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am It's not clear that Israel is convinced, but President Obama deserves credit for his forceful argument that the Jewish state shouldn't precipitously attack Iran's nuclear program. He has also effectively rebuked American politicians, including his Republican rivals, for "beating the drums of war." At the same time, Obama has committed the United States to a "military effort" to block a nuclear weapon — a newly muscular formulation of his long-standing commitment to take no option off the table. » Read more