December 5th

'Peace treaty with Israel won't be revoked' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - (Opinion) December 4, 2011 - 1:00am "Israel has no cause for concern – the peace treaty won't be revoked," Egyptian academic and journalist Mounir Mahmoud told Ynet over the phone on Sunday. "The country is going through its hardest period since the revolution – and I won't be exaggerating if I say – perhaps the hardest period it has known to date," Mahmoud noted. "We all hoped for a natural and smooth birth toward a true democracy in Egypt, but we were forced to undergo a cesarean section," he said, drawing a comparison between the birth of a newborn and the situation in post-Mubarak Egypt. » Read more

Danger, in the absence of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) December 4, 2011 - 1:00am His Majesty King Abdullah has raised Jordan’s diplomatic profile as a key country seeking a realistic solution to the Palestinian-Israeli problem based on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in United Nations resolutions and international law. » Read more

Full transcript of interview with Palestinian professor Rashid Khalidi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Interview) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am THE PALESTINIANS: “We already have a one-state solution” Q. Let’s talk about the Palestinians. Why has the Arab Spring passed them by? And do you think the two-state solution is still possible? Your detractors say that you would not be unhappy about such a development » Read more

U.S. Jews, use your influence to stop Israeli incitement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am An uproar in the "holy city" of New York. An Israeli Absorption Ministry campaign - using the slogan "Before Hanukkah turns into Christmas, it's time to return to Israel" - has convulsed the offices of Jewish professionals in the city. How dare those Israeli beggars patronize us? Who has ever heard of such chutzpah: delegitimizing Jews in America? » Read more

Panetta is right to criticise Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am It is rare for a US Secretary of Defence to rebuke Israel in any way at all, and even rarer to do so publicly. So it was very welcome to hear Leon Panetta criticise Benjamin Netanyahu's government for its increasing isolation in the Arab world, and its failure to do more to restart peace talks. We have to hope that this new tone from the Defence Department is also reflected in the thinking of the State Department, but that remains unlikely, since the White House rarely succeeds in getting these two behemoths to coordinate their ideas. » Read more

Panetta: Israel should ‘just get to the damn table’ with Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Obama administration officials often seem to be walking on eggshells when they talk about issues involving Israel. So it was interesting Friday night to hear Defense Secretary Leon Panetta forcefully caution a U.S.-Israeli audience about the dangers of bombing Iran and tell Israel to “just get to the damn table” in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

Panetta: Israel should ‘just get to the damn table’ with Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Obama administration officials often seem to be walking on eggshells when they talk about issues involving Israel. So it was interesting Friday night to hear Defense Secretary Leon Panetta forcefully caution a U.S.-Israeli audience about the dangers of bombing Iran and tell Israel to “just get to the damn table” in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

December 2nd

Too much to lose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am During my visit to Jordan this week, I spoke to several people who said King Abdullah's comments about Syrian President Bashar Assad - "If I were in his shoes, I would step down" - were a reflection of the Jordanian ruler's style of governing. King Abdullah, according to the Jordanians with whom I conversed, does not belong to the culture of former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Assad: He would never order his soldiers to open fire on his people. If the disquiet in his kingdom turned into violent rioting, he would simply get up and leave. » Read more

Israel Faces $250 Million Slash in Aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Washington — The failure of the supercommittee appointed by Congress to reach a deficit-reduction deal on the federal budget could cost Israel a cool $250 million a year. For the first time in decades, Israel could be facing a reduction in United States aid, due to automatic across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to take effect in January 2013 as a result of the supercommittee’s failure. » Read more

Israel faces legal challenge over block on Palestinians exiting Gaza to sue state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am An Israeli human rights organisation has launched a legal challenge to the state's policy of denying Palestinians permission to leave Gaza to pursue claims for damages resulting from military action, which has led to dozens of cases being dismissed by the Israeli courts. The petition follows a supreme court ruling in 2006 that Palestinians were entitled to sue the state of Israel for compensation for damages caused to civilians by the military outside of "acts of war". Lawsuits were filed for death, injury, house demolitions, torture and cruel or inhumane treatment. » Read more