Surprise coalition in Israel raises hopes for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) May 10, 2012 - 12:00am

The surprise agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz, leader of the Kadima party, offers some glimmer of hope for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, because a government that includes Mofaz’s centrist party is more likely to seek a peace deal than a government involving only the Israeli right. But the greater consequence may unfold over time, as Netanyahu and Mofaz begin to address a little-discussed problem — the unstable nature of Israeli politics.

»

Real Winner in Israel Deal? Not Bibi.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) May 10, 2012 - 12:00am

There are two ways to read the grand coalition deal that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cooked up with Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz on May 8. One is that the wily Netanyahu has once again outwitted his rivals, bought another year as grandmaster of Israeli politics, neutralized the plodding Mofaz and gained almost wall-to-wall backing if he attacks Iran. Mofaz, in this reading, appended his 28-member Knesset caucus to the ruling Likud’s 27 in order to save his neck from a September 4 snap election, which would have cut Kadima’s strength by nearly two-thirds.

»

Changes in Israeli Policy after the Netanyahu-Mofaz Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
by David Makovsky - (Analysis) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

In a stunning political shift, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz, the newly elected head of the leading opposition party Kadima, forged a national unity government in Israel late Monday night. The move adds 28 Kadima parliamentarians to the ruling coalition, increasing the current government's tally to 94 of the Knesset's 120 seats, the most ever. Mofaz will become vice prime minister, a member of the inner security cabinet, and a minister-without-portfolio. Various portfolios will be given to other Kadima members.

»

First rifts emerge in new Israeli coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The first rifts in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expanded coalition emerged just a day after the Israeli leader brought the main opposition party into his government, with religious and secular parties exchanging threats Wednesday over draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

»

Israel in Peril
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books
by David Shulman - (Book Review) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

On April 15 of this year I was returning to Israel on an Alitalia flight from Rome. About forty minutes before landing in Tel Aviv, the captain informed us that Israel had announced extraordinary security measures, constricting its air space in response to an unusual threat, and that from that moment on—we were still high above the Mediterranean—until we would be allowed to leave the terminal, all photography was strictly forbidden; beyond that, we were to follow the instructions of Israeli security personnel on the ground.

»

Coalition of the Willing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Monday morning I was on the phone with Doron Avital, a smart if quirky Knesset back-bencher from the Kadima Party. The announcement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party was forming a grand coalition with Kadima was still a day away.

»

Netanyahu-Mofaz unity deal provides a great opportunity for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Kadima's entry into the government puts Benjamin Netanyahu at the head of a broad coalition of 94 Knesset members. That gives him almost complete freedom of action over the remaining year and a half of the 18th Knesset's term. The parliamentary opposition has been dwarfed and neutralized, while coalition factions will have trouble threatening to topple the prime minister from power.

»

1967 All Over Again?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Tablet Magazine
by Benny Morris - (Opinion) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

One thing’s certain: Tuesday’s sudden and dramatic expansion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government—he now has the support of 94 Knesset members in the 120-seat house—considerably strengthens Netanyahu’s mandate to take what commentators insist on calling “historic steps.” But it is unclear whether the cooption of Shaul Mofaz and his Kadima faction makes an Israeli preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities more likely or more remote.

»

Under Netanyahu, Israel is stronger than ever
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Fareed Zakaria - (Opinion) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am

While incumbents around the world are struggling to hold on, one is thriving. By bringing the rival Kadima party into his ruling coalition, Benjamin Netanyahu has become “king of Israel,” in Aaron David Miller’s phrase.

»

Leader of Israel Centrist Party Kadima Agrees to Join Netanyahu’s Coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - May 8, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the chairman of the opposition Kadima Party struck a deal early Tuesday morning to form a unity government, a surprise move that staves off early elections and creates a new coalition with a huge legislative majority.

»


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