Netanyahu condemns settler violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Jewish settlers who assault Palestinians or Israeli security personnel in the occupied West Bank, calling them a "marginal minority". Alluding to violent protests and attacks perpetrated since the attempted removal of an unauthorised settlement last week, Netanyahu told a parliamentary panel: "Israel shall not tolerate or accept any attacks on Arab residents as a means of protest against the government." Netanyahu said he was referring to "a small and marginal minority, a small extremist group of among our brothers, the settlers.

»

Netanyahu picks hawkish new security adviser
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's prime minister has appointed a new security adviser — an ex-general known for his hawkish views. A statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office Wednesday said Yaakov Amidror will become Israel's new National Security Council chief, replacing Uzi Arad, a longtime Netanyahu confidant who resigned. Amidror is known as a hard-liner who opposed Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. He has since called to reoccupy the crowded area to stop frequent rocket attacks on southern Israel by Palestinian militants. That view is shared by a relatively small number of Israeli hawks.

»

Leftists: Amidror a fascist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - March 9, 2011 - 1:00am

The appointment of Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror as Israel's next national security advisor is a dangerous move, given his "fascistic" views, leading leftist figures argue in a letter issued Wednesday. The letter compares Amidror to Rabbi Dov Lior, who endorsed the killing of non-Jews in a book he wrote. "Amidror's declaration that in a normal army, a soldier who's scared to charge forward should be shot in the head is blatantly illegal," the letter reads. "This statement disqualifies him for any public post, and certainly a sensitive security-political position."

»

Rabbi Wolpo: Fire rubber bullets back at soldiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Kobi Nahshoni - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

SOS Israel Chairman Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo called on West Bank settlers living in outposts and their supporters to use violence against soldiers and officers who use crowd dispersal means during evacuations. In a radio interview Saturday night, Rabbi Wolpo estimated that Israel was heading toward a civil war. "The army decided to fight against settlers and against the people and State of Israel.

»

Might Obama gamble on a new Netanyahu peace plan?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Blog) March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

You needn't be an optometrist to see that Israel has a vision problem. We have become a nation whose only vision is peripheral.

»

Palestinian with Jewish wife and IDF veteran son denied permanent visa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yanir Yagna - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian man who is married to a Jewish woman and whose son served in the Israel Defense Forces was recently informed that he is ineligible for a permanent visa to live in Israel. "I can't buy a home here like a human being, I can't open a business for fear that they'll soon kick me out," said Adel Hussein, who has lived most of his life in the West Bank city of Tul Karm, but now wants to live near his son in Israel. "There is no explanation as to why they're not letting me be a permanent citizen. My son served in a combat unit - is that not total loyalty to the state?"

»

AN ISRAELI VIEW: Weak leaders responding poorly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Editorial) March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The revolutionary events sweeping the region, Egypt especially, have thus far produced a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the PLO and Palestinian Authority leadership that seemingly reflects a shallow decision-making process in Ramallah. The same, undoubtedly, can be said for the Netanyahu government in Jerusalem.

»

Netanyahu: Binational state would be disastrous for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 4, 2011 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected in the coming weeks to put forward a peace initiative in a bid to break through the deadlock in the peace process and extricate Israel from international isolation. Netanyahu has warned in recent days during closed meetings that “a binational state would be disastrous for Israel,” and therefore it is necessary to undertake a political move that will remove this threat.

»

Netanyahu may be breaking away from the far-right to the center
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - March 4, 2011 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached the point where he needs to make a decision, something he has avoided doing for two years: choosing between the ideology he was raised on and which is part of his internal belief system, and the duties of the leader of a small country entirely dependent on international support. Like all of his predecessors, Netanyahu too has surrendered to external pressure and embarked on a political initiative that will break through the stifling isolation in which Israel finds itself.

»

A peek into settlers' war room
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

In a small apartment on the second floor of a building in Hebron's Jewish quarter, 12 right-wing activists gathered to create plans on how best to disrupt life in Israel, or what they call their "day of rage". The protests against police violence during the razing of illegal structures in Havat Gilad Monday, for which settlers vowed payback, began at 7 am Thursday, with activists blocking major junctions near Jerusalem. But the worst was yet to come. In their war room, organizers mapped out areas in which protesters would clash with security forces.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017