Israel's leaders incite the public against peace activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am

From time to time the news media or human rights groups film an Israeli in uniform using excessive force against human rights or peace activists protesting the wrongs of the occupation.

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Interview: Abbas says Israel aims to keep status quo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Interview) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

ON BOARD PRESIDENTIAL JET (Ma'an) -- Israel seeks to maintain the status quo by talking about peace without making any efforts to achieve it, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday. Abbas, on a regional tour in Asia, told Ma'an that the Israeli government's stated support of a two-state solution was a "slogan for public opinion." "Israel talks about the two-state solution without taking a single step towards that solution ... (they are) comfortable with the status quo and don't seek to reach a solution," he said.

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Gantz: Israel can handle all enemies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoav Zitun - April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

"The Shoah was the darkest period in the history of mankind and Judaism," IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Monday, "But we mustn't forget that even before (the Holocaust) and after it there were those who sought to erase Jacob's descendents from the face of the planet." Speaking at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Gantz stressed that "today the situation is completely different. We are facing these threats with an army that can handle everything."

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Netanyahu fears victory over Iran's nuclear program
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

A recent skit on the sketch comedy "Eretz Nehederet" featured a "debate" about the Iranian nuclear program between U.S. and Israeli leaders. After some discussion, U.S. President Barack Obama accedes to the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and he urges them to attack Iran. Netanyahu and Barak exchange frightened glances and plead with Obama to stop them.

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Israel should never forget its Mideast atrocities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

The person who symbolized "the other Germany" more than anyone in West Germany, the person who was Germany's conscience throughout his literary career, has made the Israeli establishment and its clones crazy. These people have responded pettily and violently. Gunter Grass' service in the Wafen SS when he was 17 has nothing to do with his positions. You need lots of chutzpah and maybe even ignorance to think the Germans don't know how many despicable Nazis Israel catered to, as long as they supported its policies.

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How we got to here
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Ten years ago, Israel reoccupied the Palestinian Authority areas that had been designated in peace agreements as "Area A", i.e., areas under the civilian and security authority of the Palestinian Authority. That Israeli aggression, dubbed Operation Defensive Shield, dramatically changed the status quo that was created by the Oslo agreements, which was intended to be a transition to a permanent solution agreed on through final status negotiations.

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Israel Moves to Block Activists From Entering
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 15, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Hundreds of police officers fanned out at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday as Israel moved to block scores of pro-Palestinian campaigners from entering the country.

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Much ado about flytilla
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) April 15, 2012 - 12:00am

Making predictions in a newspaper column is a risky business, but anyway, here goes. At the time of writing over the weekend, Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are putting together the final pieces of their plan to block the planned “fly-in” of leftwing activists to Ben-Gurion Airport, from where the activists intend to travel to the West Bank to demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinians.

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The three myths that distort every discussion of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Barry Rubin - (Opinion) April 15, 2012 - 12:00am

Whatever side you are, or aren’t, on, and whether you never think about these issues or are an impassioned activist, there are three fundamental issues about Israel, its enemies, and the Middle East that tie the narrative into knots. Each of these ideas, of course, has a strong basis in fact. Yet no matter how counter-intuitive you find the following points questioning the conventional wisdom, they are nonetheless accurate. You can’t understand events without grasping them. 1. Israel’s existence is jeopardized.

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Palestinian Authority affirms its commitment to 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Nabeel Shaath - (Analysis) April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

For a few years, international leaders have voiced concerns about the stalemate in the Middle East peace process. After 20 years of negotiations, we still hear calls to go back to the table for negotiations. At the same time, Israeli bulldozers continue to change Palestine's landscape.

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