February 8th

Obama Complicates Netanyahu’s Coalition Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am For all the speculation over what President Obama plans to say to Prime Minister Netanyahu when the two meet in Jerusalem in March or April, the important message has already been delivered. By making Israel his first overseas destination, the president has made it the top item on his second-term foreign-policy agenda. And with all due respect to the prime minister’s domestic political constraints, that means the president intends to create some movement toward Israeli-Palestinian peace. » Read more

Obama’s Israel trip is not about Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Josh Rogin - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Israel next month for the first time in his presidency, but few are expecting him to make a substantive push for real progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Netanyahu aides deny he is considering settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 8, 2013 - 1:00am   Sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau denied Thursday that he is considering another freeze on settlement construction in an effort to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

Boosting ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am On several occasions during his first term – particularly at times when it seemed that relations between Jerusalem and Washington were strained – The Jerusalem Post called on US President Barack Obama to visit Israel. Now the visit is apparently about to happen and we welcome the US president with open arms. » Read more

Obama's visit to Israel is better late than never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am The timing of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel is no accident. The visit presumably attests to the new order of priorities of Obama's second term, the great importance he attaches to immediate movement in negotiations with the Palestinians, and the close relationship he sees between the peace process and stability in a Middle East undergoing convulsions. » Read more

Chill Out, John Kerry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Here we go again.  A recently minted American secretary of state eager to burnish his foreign policy credentials barely a day after his confirmation has already called both the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian president to discuss the importance of trying to resume the peace process and to express America’s commitment to Arab-Israeli peace.  » Read more

The Role of Psychological Resistance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Alon Ben-Meir - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Brief Synopsis: The most puzzling aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that after 65 years of mutual violence, enmity and suffering, it remains unresolved even when coexistence is inevitable and a two-state solution remains the only viable option. Although there are many contentious issues that must be specifically addressed, it is the psychological dimension of the conflict which directly impacts every conflicting issue and makes it increasingly intractable. » Read more

Welcome, Secretary Kerry! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Uri Savir - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Congratulations to John Kerry on his taking office as secretary of state of the United States. President Barack Obama could not have made a better choice than a man who was himself close to being in the Oval Office, a liberal democrat from Massachusetts with bipartisan support, a champion of human rights and democracy who understands all too well the might of the United States as leader of the free world, a true American and a cosmopolitan man who fathoms the changing world. » Read more

February 7th

Hezbollah’s Bulgaria Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Joyce Karam - February 6, 2013 - 1:00am The Bulgarian probe linking Hezbollah to the attack on the Israeli tourist bus in the city of Burgas last July, spells trouble in more than one way for the Lebanese group. The charges could spur the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and thus complicate its funding and diplomatic operations, as well as add pressure on the group within Lebanon. » Read more

Kerry Must Hurry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Yossi Beilin - February 6, 2013 - 1:00am Aaron David Miller is one of the most important American figures in the Middle East peace camp. Having served in the State Department for many years, he—like many of us, has oscillated between short phases of hope and long periods of frustration. However, unlike many of his colleagues, he has never sunk into pessimism but rather solely maintains a healthy dose of cynicism and much caution when advising new Secretary of State John Kerry. » Read more