October 21st, 2011

Is an Israeli life really more important than a Palestinian's? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Deborah Orr - (Opinion) October 19, 2011 - 12:00am It's quite something, the prisoner swap between Hamas and the Israeli government that returns Gilad Shalit to his family, and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to theirs. The deal is widely viewed as a victory for Hamas, the radical Islamist group that gained power in Gaza after years of frustration at the intractability of the "peace process". Conversely, it is being seen by some as a sign of weakness in Israel's rightwing prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Yalla Peace: Getting mad at the wrong people ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ray Hanania - (Opinion) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am PLO representative Maen Areikat reportedly announced last week that he was “distancing” the PLO office from the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) because the latter group does not support the Palestinian push for statehood at the United Nations.That’s the buzz in the Palestinian world this week. Palestinians rarely make news, but when they do, it is usually about some internal squabble that most of the people who can influence the future of Palestine disregard. It’s typical of the problems Palestinians face and raises questions about issues that often are not openly discussed. » Read more

Shalit deal throws Hamas a lifeline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 19, 2011 - 12:00am Tuesday showed that after nearly four years, Hamas has reared its head in the West Bank. It's doing so with Israel's help: The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal has in many ways thrown Hamas a life preserver. The organization, whose civilian and military infrastructure has almost completely disappeared from the West Bank in recent years - and support for it has tumbled - has been clever enough to register its first significant achievement since the Hamas government in Gaza was established in January 2006. » Read more

October 18th

Israel needs a shock: Positive or negative ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) October 16, 2011 - 12:00am On Yom Kippur eve last week, when real Jews were praying for their lives, I sat on the seashore of Tel Aviv, thinking about the State of Israel. Will it endure? Will it be here in another 100 years? Or is it a passing episode, a historic fluke? » Read more

Shalit deal win-win situation for all ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian fighters on the Israeli side of Israel's border with Gaza over five years ago, is scheduled to be released today as part of a prisoner-swap deal between Hamas and the Israeli government brokered by Egypt. His parents Noam and Aviva, who have been camping out in occupied Jerusalem for a year have left their protest tent to spruce up their home in the tiny northern Israeli village of Mitzpe Hila for their son's homecoming. » Read more

Gilad Shalit exchange: Egypt emerges again as lynchpin in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ian Black - (Analysis) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has completed the first stage on his journey home to Mizpe Hila, northern Israel, beginning a prisoner swap deal in which hundreds of Palestinian inmates are to be freed in return for the armoured sergeant who was captured in 2006. According to an Israeli military spokesman, Shalit is undergoing assessment at Kerem Shalom, close to the Egyptian-Israeli border, before making his way to the Tel Nof airbase in central Israel, where he will be reunited with his parents and meet the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Gilad Schalit and the peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Newman - (Opinion) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am In an era when there is little real optimism about the possibility of meaningful conflict resolution between Israel and the Palestinians, the negotiations between Israel and Hamas that led to the Gilad Schalit deal can be instructive for the future of the peace process. » Read more

Gaza awaits the ships’ whistle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Bassam Nasser - (Opinion) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am With the new deal between Israel and Hamas to release captive soldier Gilad Schalit in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners – the majority of whom are serving multiple life sentences for their participation in acts described as terrorist attacks against Israeli targets – there is a need for greater Israeli understanding of what these prisoners mean to Palestinian society. » Read more

With Shalit deal, Hamas schooled Fatah on what makes Israel tick ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - October 17, 2011 - 12:00am It is easy to guess what will go through the minds of the members of the family of a Fatah prisoner when they watch Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (and Sara? ) having the honor of the first embrace with Gilad Shalit (why not the parents? ), and hear the cries of joy of the neighbors whose son, a Hamas prisoner, has returned home: "Why, instead of traveling the world and spending time in hotels, don't the nerds from the Muqata [the Palestinian Authority headquarters] kidnap an Israeli soldier and exchange him for our son? » Read more

A boon to Hamas, at Fatah's expense ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am At a time when the Shalit deal is raising the stock of Hamas in the eyes of Palestinians in the territories, the Netanyahu government is making an effort to depict Fatah, committed to reaching a negotiated agreement with Israel, as devoid of purpose. Not a week goes by without news of a new building project in the territories or in East Jerusalem. » Read more