Iran, Hezbollah Seek to Attack More Israeli Targets Abroad, Official Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am

Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are still seeking to attack Israeli targets in several countries, Israel's Counterterrorism Bureau indicated on Friday, warning Israeli citizens to adhere to the directives of local security forces. The remarks, given during a press briefing, came after earlier Friday Thai security forces have upped alertness levels in the country's international airports and rail system over what local police is saying is an Israeli warning against new terror attacks.

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Muslim Brotherhood Threatens to Review Treaty With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Kirkpatrick - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am

CAIRO — The Islamist party that leads the new Egyptian Parliament is threatening to review the 1979 peace treaty with Israel if the United States cuts off aid to the country over a crackdown on American-backed nonprofit groups here. The pact is considered a linchpin of regional stability, and the statements, from at least two senior leaders of the party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, represent the first time that Egyptians have explicitly raised it during an escalating standoff over the crackdown.

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How history lessons could deter Iranian aggression
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Fareed Zakaria - (Opinion) February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

We are hearing a new concept these days in discussions about Iran — the zone of immunity. The idea, often explained by Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, is that soon Iran will have enough nuclear capability that Israel would not be able to inflict a crippling blow to its program.

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The U.S.-Israeli Trust Gap on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

TWO MONTHS ago we questioned a decision by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to spell out publicly his objections to an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear program — a speech that must have cheered the commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Now Mr. Panetta has indirectly caused a similar stir: After a conversation with Mr. Panetta this month, The Post’s David Ignatius reported that the Pentagon chief “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June.”

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Israeli leader pays historic visit to Cyprus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Menelaos Hadjicostis - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a historic visit to Cyprus on Thursday, declaring the two countries' warming ties a "natural relationship" in a reflection of the rapidly shifting alliances in this turbulent part of the world. The visit — the first ever by an Israeli leader to the nearby island nation — was also a testimony to warming ties that have emerged from political and economic turmoil, as well as new economic prospects. It followed a succession of reciprocal visits by senior officials from both countries and several low-level agreements.

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Obama administration to seek waiver on UNESCO funding ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration formally announced its intention to ask Congress to waive a ban on funding UNESCO over its recognition of Palestinian statehood. "The Department of State intends to work with Congress to seek legislation that would provide authority to waive restrictions on paying the U.S. assessed contributions to UNESCO," says a footnote in the budget that the White House submitted to Congress this month.

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Hezbollah chief's reply to Haaretz
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

Is it possible that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reads Haaretz? Not the Hebrew edition, of course. But does he read the English edition online, or is the print edition smuggled to him in Beirut by one of his agents in Israel? Or is it translated to him by one of his aides?

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Egyptians renegotiate - with the US, Israel and themselves
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Faisal Al Yafai - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

How much can a country change in a single year? On the anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's fall from power, Egypt is still convulsed daily by protests. Sit-ins in Tahrir Square continue. Relations between "the Square", which is shorthand for the Egyptian public that supports the protests, and the generals of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) are tense and characterised by mutual mistrust. The stability and calm sought by the outside world is a work in progress.

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Panetta: Israel Has Not Decided to Attack Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told a Senate committee that he does not believe Israel has decided definitely to attack Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Panetta also told the Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the United States and Israel have "common cause" on Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from producing a nuclear weapon, and that the Obama administration does not think Israel has made a decision to strike at Iran's nuclear installations in order to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

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Israel OKs Tourist Center in Tense Arab Area
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has given a hardline Jewish group permission to build a new archaeological center in a tense Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, officials said Tuesday. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said Tuesday that a Jerusalem planning committee approved the project this week. The public has 60 days to appeal. Any Israeli-backed project in east Jerusalem runs the risk of sparking protests that can escalate into violence, as conflicting claims to the area are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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