Israel's top soldier faces 'land grab' investigation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Aron Heller - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Government watchdog investigation into an alleged land grab by Israel's incoming military chief could threaten the appointment of the decorated general, a justice official said. After winning an internal battle to become Israel's top soldier, Maj Gen Yoav Galant must answer the state comptroller's inquiry into how he expanded his large property in northern Israel. A hearing is scheduled for next week.

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Israel establishes homeland security ministry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that the newly-formed Knesset Independence faction member Matan Vilna'i will head a newly- established homeland security ministry. Vilna'i will also continue in his current role as deputy defense minister. "No one is more fit than Vilna'i for this post because he has so much experience dealing with this subject," Netanyahu told the assembled ministers and reporters. "The idea is to upgrade protection of the Home Front" in case of attack, Prime Minister Office Spokesman Mark Regev told Xinhua of the step.

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Israel needs a coherent opposition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Naomi Shepherd - (Opinion) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

This week Ehud Barak, defence minister of the most rightwing government in Israel's history, abandoned the Labour party to form a new centrist faction, which remains in the coalition with four ministerial portfolios. In the immediate future, this could strengthen Binyamin Netanyahu's government. But with Labour out of the government, there is now a clear alignment of left and centre parties: a much-needed opposition. The coalition may look more uniform without Labour, but it barely holds together:

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Does Arab Money Fund Left-wing Israeli NGOs?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

In the context of Israeli politics, it is the most incendiary charge made thus far against human rights groups and other left-wing nongovernmental organizations: that some of the money that funds their work comes from Arabs — or even from terrorists. As the Knesset steams ahead with plans to probe the country’s human rights groups, critics of the NGOs are now seeking to advance this charge with a study that purports to supply supporting data.

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Ehud Barak quits Israel's Labour to form new party
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says he is resigning as head of the Labour party to form his own faction. Mr Barak is heading a breakaway group - Independence - which includes four other Labour MPs, reports say. Correspondents say the move strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as it allows Mr Barak's party to remain in government. Labour is due to vote on whether to quit the coalition over Mr Netanyahu's handling of the Mid-East peace process.

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Peace process under threat as Barak goes to war with his party
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, abruptly quit as leader of the Labour Party yesterday, plunging the party into disarray and casting a shadow over prospects for peace. The announcement prompted the resignation of three Labour ministers from the government, robbing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish coalition of its more moderate voices. Mr Netanyahu is left with a slender majority to govern, but he is now potentially more vulnerable to pressure from the far-right members of his coalition.

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Barak’s Break With Party Shakes Up Israeli Politics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, broke away Monday from the left-leaning Labor Party he had led and formed a smaller centrist faction that will stay in the governing coalition under a new name. The surprise move shook up Israeli politics but was expected to have little impact on its policies.

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Israel's Barak breaks from Labor Party, fortifying bond with Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Facing growing calls from within his party to withdraw from Israel's government over the peace process deadlock, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak instead bolted from the Labor Party to form a breakaway parliamentary faction that would preserve his alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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A requiem for Israel’s Labor Party
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

The parliamentary faction representing the party that founded and built the state of Israel and that dominated its governments for decades was today reduced to mere single digits -- Israel's Labor Party now has eight members in the Knesset. This latest dilution resulted from a move that took everyone by surprise, enacted by its now-erstwhile leader, still the country's defense minister, Ehud Barak.

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Netanyahu forbids demolition of illegal West Bank homes of slain IDF soldiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - January 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he would not allow the illegally built homes of two Israeli soldiers killed in action to be demolished. Both houses were built on illegal outposts in the West Bank, one on private Palestinian land. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that unless a legal solution is found, the state will have to tear down the houses of the two soldiers, Eliraz Peretz and Roi Klein.

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