Israel's take on Arab Spring may undo peace with Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am

Who's the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? What is the exact name of the head of Tunisia's Al-Nahda party? And who heads the Islamic Movement in Morocco? One could expect these names to be common knowledge in a country anxious about the "Islamist take-over" of the Middle East and concerned that the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt will collapse.

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Fatah, Hamas to release political prisoners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

Fatah and Hamas are in talks to release political prisoners in a bid to end all outstanding disagreements, an official said Monday. "(President Mahmoud) Abbas gave instructions to the director of the Palestinian Authority’s general intelligence service, Majid Faraj, to release Hamas-affiliated detainees stated in a list received from Hamas," Fatah affiliated lawmaker Faysal Abu Shahla told Ma'an. There are no political detainees in Ramallah, only suspects held on security-related charges, Abu Shahla added.

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Iceland becomes first Western European country to recognize Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

Iceland's parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of recognizing the Palestinian Territories as an independent state, the first Western European country to do so according Iceland's foreign minister. The measure passed symbolically on the United Nation's annual day of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The vote paves the way for formal recognition by the small north Atlantic island, which led the way in recognizing the independence of the three Baltic states after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.

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Netanyahu won, Israel lost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am

PARIS - Had Benjamin Netanyahu served in the French army 200 years ago, he would have had a splendid career. Napoleon, who preferred lucky generals to smart, good and loyal officers, would have easily recognized that Bibi had fortune on his side.

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Israeli Leader Visits Jordan to Discuss Palestinian Issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am

King Abdullah II of Jordan played host on Monday to Shimon Peres, the president of Israel, in an effort to make progress on the stubborn Palestinian question at a time of regional diplomatic uncertainty and fragmentation. Last week, the king made his first visit in a decade to the West Bank to see Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, and is to travel next week to Washington. As postrevolutionary Egypt pulls back from its longstanding role as the bridge between Israel and the Arab world, Jordan sees an opportunity and is using these public visits to make that clear.

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Palestinian PM: Israeli sanctions starting to bite
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - (Analysis) November 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli economic sanctions against the Palestinians, in retaliation for their bid to win world recognition of a state of Palestine, have started to bite: officials said Sunday that they won't be able to pay the next round of public sector salaries that support nearly one-third of Palestinians, and that the damage to a fragile economy is devastating.

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Binyamin Netanyahu attacks Arab spring uprisings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - November 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Binyamin Netanyahu has launched a scathing attack on the uprisings in the Middle East, saying that Arab countries are "moving not forward, but backward" and support from the US and European countries was naive. The Israeli prime minister said the Arab spring was becoming an "Islamic, anti-western, anti-liberal, anti-Israeli, undemocratic wave". Speaking to the Israeli parliament amid renewed protests and violence in Egypt, Netanyahu said concessions to the Palestinians were unwise in a period of instability and uncertainty in the region.

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Jordan’s King Abdullah II pays rare visit to West Bank, in nod to Palestinian president
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
November 21, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Jordan’s King Abdullah II paid a rare visit to the West Bank on Monday to show support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as the two moderate leaders try to engage with previously shunned Islamists now on the rise in the region.

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Report: US envoy to meet Abbas over unity govt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 21, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- A top US diplomat is to hold emergency talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders over the next two days regarding plans for a Palestinian unity government, the Israeli newspaper Maariv said Sunday. A spokesman for the US consulate in Jerusalem confirmed that Deputy Secretary of State William Burns would meet President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. He was unable to provide any other details about the agenda for the talks.

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Israel envoy in Egypt for first time since embassy storming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 20, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Israel's ambassador to Cairo has travelled to Egypt for the first time since he and his staff were evacuated from the country in September after protesters stormed the Israeli embassy, a Foreign Ministry official said on Sunday. Playing down the significance of Yitzhak Levanon's trip, the official, who asked not to be identified, said the ambassador went to Egypt on Saturday for farewell meetings with foreign and Egyptian diplomats before his retirement.

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