March 5th

Palestinians to give Israelis deadline on talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - March 3, 2012 - 1:00am JERICHO, West Bank — Palestinian officials said Saturday they plan to give a deadline to Israel to accept ground rules for negotiations, and suggested that a 'no' will allow them to shelve Mideast talks until it does. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to spell out the requirements in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. He said he did not know by when Netanyahu would have to respond. » Read more

Israel's calculus on Iran: Shaped by leaders' youth in daring commando unit? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are two rivals turned partners who face a grave decision on whether or not to attack Iran against the counsel of Israel’s key ally, the United States. » Read more

U.S. Backers of Israel Pressure Obama Over Policy on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 3, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country’s most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama into hardening American policy toward Iran over its nuclear program. » Read more

Israel Guards Against Increased Terror Peril From a Laxly Patrolled Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David Kirkpatrick - March 2, 2012 - 1:00am NEGEV DESERT, Israel — For decades, the striking ridges and shady passes of the western Negev Desert along Israel’s border with Egypt were an alluring gateway to the pristine beaches of the Sinai Peninsula. Today, though, from the Israeli side at least, the jagged landscape of red-brown mountains seems to cast longer shadows and has grown more menacing. » Read more

Anger and Compassion for Arab Justice Who Stays Silent During Zionist Hymn ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — It was supposed to be a passing of the torch, yet another solemn state ceremony at the president’s residence in Jerusalem. But the retirement last week of Israel’s chief justice and the swearing in of her successor turned into a kind of Rorschach inkblot test about the nature of Israeli democracy. » Read more

March 2nd

Netanyahu and Obama play high-stakes poker over Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington will be the most important one in his long career as ambassador, politician and national leader. On Monday, Netanyahu will meet President Barack Obama in the White House for a game of diplomatic poker, where the greatest gamble of all will be right on the table: an attack on Iran's nuclear installations. Each of the two players will try to push the other to act. Netanyahu would prefer to see the American superpower, with its vast range of military capabilities, pulverize Iran's nuclear project. » Read more

Shalabi 'patient, steadfast' until demands met ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 2, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian hunger striker Hana Shalabi said Thursday from Hasharon prison that she is continuing her open hunger strike and remains patient and steadfast until her demands are met. A Palestinian prisoner society lawyer, Fawaz Shalludy who visited Shalabi, said the prisoner had suffered as the Israeli prison administration put her in an open area in the cold in Ofer detention center. Shalludy pointed out that the prisoner’s spirits are high although there are signs of fatigue and weakness on her because of the strike. She thanked everyone who is supporting her, he said. » Read more

JNF should plant trees, not uproot families ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Jill Jacobs - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am As a child, I proudly brought my spare change to Hebrew school to drop in the little blue boxes. With this money, my teachers told me, the Jewish National Fund would plant trees in Israel. I never imagined that these nickels and dimes would also help to evict Palestinians from their homes. Last week, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America called on the Jewish National Fund and its partner organizations to issue a public statement that they will no longer evict Palestinians from their homes in eastern Jerusalem. » Read more

Calm Israel, Contain Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Barbara Slavin - (Analysis) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am Foreign policy experts and politicians will be scrutinizing US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week for signs of disagreement as they sequentially address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington. Will Obama sound sufficiently hawkish to placate the audience at the annual conclave of the Israel lobby, or will he leave a gap that will frustrate some Israeli supporters and be exploited by US Republican presidential candidates? » Read more

Tough Sell For U.N. Palestinian Agency ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - March 2, 2012 - 1:00am Washington — Twice a year Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, comes to Washington to make the case for continuing funding for his organization, and the job only gets tougher. The U.N. agency, which is the primary provider of education, healthcare and housing for Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East, was never an easy sell on Capitol Hill and UNRWA has been working hard to convince lawmakers and administration officials that the cause is worthy. » Read more