Palestinian leadership expects Egyptian efforts to resolve hunger strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian leadership expects that the Egyptian efforts will soon succeed in reaching a settlement between Israel and hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian official said Thursday. "We have positive signs that the results of these efforts will be seen by Saturday," said Ziad Abu Ein of the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Ministry. He refused to elaborate.

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Hamas says it's holding talks with 5 EU countries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

BEIRUT — Hamas has been holding secret political talks with five European Union member states in recent months, a senior official in the Islamic militant group told The Associated Press on Wednesday. If confirmed, such talks would be a sign that the isolation of the Gaza-based Palestinian movement is easing in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings that have brought Islamists to power in parts of the Middle East. The EU and the U.S consider Hamas a terror group and refuse to deal with it unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.

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US House Panel adds $68om. For Iron Dome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - April 27, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON – A US House subcommittee voted Thursday to dedicate an additional $680 million in funding for Israel’s short-range missile defense system. The move by a House Armed Services subcommittee adds the funding for the Iron Dome program on top of nearly $100m. in US assistance for medium- and long-range missile defense and $3.1 billion in other military assistance that comes from the State Department budget.

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Defense Minister Adds to Israel’s Recent Mix of Messages on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — One day after Israeli newspapers reported that the nation’s top general had said economic and diplomatic pressures against Iran were beginning to succeed, his superior, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said Thursday that the chances “appear low” that the Iranian government would bow to international pressure and halt its nuclear program.

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The European Union and the peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Who would have believed only 65 years ago that the main international support in last week’s French presidential election President Nicolas Sarkozy – Charles de Gaulle’s successor – would be the chancellor of Germany? For centuries war and antagonism characterized Franco-German relationships, coming to a climax with the Nazi occupation of Paris. And yet there is probably not a single Frenchman or German who believes that war between these former foes is realistic in the foreseeable or distant future.

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What’s the Israel-Azerbaijan connection?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Sheera Frenkel - April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The burgeoning relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least of all because Azerbaijan is Iran’s neighbor to the north and shares close cultural and demographic ties with Iran.

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Jordan's prime minister resigns: senior official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

AMMAN — Jordan's Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh submitted his resignation on Thursday to King Abdullah II, barely six months after forming a government to bring in much-needed reforms, a senior official said. "His Majesty, the king, accepted Khasawneh's resignation Thursday morning," he told AFP without elaborating. It was unclear why Khasawneh quit, but news reports quoted sources as saying that he was unhappy after the king extended parliament's ordinary session until June 25.

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Dear Mr. Netanyahu: Will Israel attack Iran?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oudeh Basharat - (Opinion) April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

On my list of things to leave out - after the prime minister's "leaving-out interview" on the country's economy ("if we leave out the Arabs and the ultra-Orthodox, our situation is excellent" ) - are the threats against Iran this past winter. At least so I can sleep better.

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Abbas renews calls on Arabs, Muslims to visit Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday renewed his calls on Arabs and Muslims all over the world to visit Jerusalem. Abbas' earlier call to visit the city was opposed by the some Islamic Palestinian groups which considered the visits of Arabs and Muslims as a sign of normalization with Israel. State-run Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as saying that "we called and we are still calling our Arab, Muslim and Christian brothers to visit Palestine and Jerusalem."

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Muslim, Zionist and proud
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Kasim Hafeez - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

I am a Zionist, a proud Muslim Zionist, and I love Israel, but this was not always the case. In fact, for many years I was quite the extreme opposite. I experienced the high levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity taking place on British university campuses, because I was the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel activist.

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