October 14th, 2011

Will Israel bomb Iran without notifying the US? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am In recent weeks, intense discussions have taken place in Israeli military and intelligence circles about whether or not to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Apparently, the key question in the debate was how to ensure that the United States took part in the attack or, at the very least, intervened on Israel’s side if the initial strike triggered a wider war. » Read more

Non-violence is the Palestinians' strongest force ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, which should see the release of 1,027 Palestinians in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, has been hailed as a victory for both sides. It should not, however, be confused with a major political breakthrough. » Read more

The reasons for Hamas’s ‘flexibility’ on Schalit swap ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The framework deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit that the cabinet approved on Tuesday evening – 1,000 for one – is pretty much the same one the German mediator put on the table two years ago. What changed are some of the key names on the list, and where the Palestinian prisoners will go after their release. Until a couple of months ago, Hamas – according to Israeli officials – was insisting that all the names it put forward be freed. » Read more

Israeli society is standing by as settlers take the reigns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Like every year during the days around Yom Kippur, the big question arises once again: How is it possible that we didn't notice the signs of the approaching war? But not only wars have early-warning signs - destructive social and political events do not come like a bolt from the blue either. » Read more

In Shalit deal, Israel crossed its own red lines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The unofficial list of names of prisoners to be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, which was posted Thursday on Hamas websites, reveals that Israel indeed crossed red lines in negotiating with Hamas. These are not just prisoners with "blood on their hands." Rather, the list includes some of the founders of the Hamas military wing, such as Zaher Jabarin and Yihya Sanawar, and prisoners involved in some of the most ignoble terror attacks in Israel, including the 1989 attack on bus 405 and the 1994 abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldier Nachshon Wachsman. » Read more

The myth of Hamas' victory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am In the spring of 1996, on the eve of the face-off between Shimon Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership, the head of Military Intelligence said the Iranians wanted Netanyahu to win. The MI chief sought to convey that amid the wave of Hamas suicide bombings and Peres' peace talks with the Syrians, Bibi was good for the peace objectors. » Read more

Israel does not stand alone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The claim of Israel’s isolation, echoed by Democratic and Republican leaders alike, is gaining status as fact. “Israel finds itself increasingly isolated, beleaguered, and besieged,” John Heilemann wrote recently in New York magazine. The Economist reported that “Israel’s isolation has .?.?. been underlined by the deterioration of its relations with Turkey and Egypt.” New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “isolating his country,” while Thomas Friedman described Israel as “adrift at sea alone.” » Read more

Israel planning thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am For the first time since Har Homa was established, during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first term, in the late 1990s, a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem is slated for building. On Tuesday a reparcelization plan was published for Givat Hamatos, in south Jerusalem. The plan calls for building 2,610 residential units, one third of them as part of an expansion of the Palestinian village of Beit Safafa, on the southern border of the capital. » Read more

Abbas in France to shore up support for Palestinian statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet his French counterpart Friday to discuss the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations. France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. His arrival in France comes at the conclusion of a three-country Latin American tour intended to shore up support for the bid. Abbas made the bid for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state last month, a move Israel says is premature without direct talks that address its longstanding security concerns. » Read more

IDF commander opposes cutting PA funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brigadier-General Nitzan Alon, cautioned it would be a mistake to cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority over its push for statehood, in an interview to the New York Times on Wednesday. Alon believes the United States Congress' decision to halt all funding to the PA due to their bid for recognition at the United Nations will lead to regional instability. » Read more