On Iran Strike, U.S. Should Not Be 'Complicit': General
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
August 31, 2012 - 12:00am

General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of U.S. armed forces, does not wish to be “complicit” in a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran. The Guardian reported that Dempsey said in London that such an attack would “clearly delay but probably not destroy Iran’s nuclear program.” He added, “I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it.”

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Religious Israeli government party wary of war with Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Dan Williams - August 30, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Aug 30 (Reuters) - An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party in Israel's coalition government is wary of plans for possible military strikes on Iran, political sources said on Thursday. Reservations by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the top spiritual authority for the Shas party, could be an obstacle to any attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get security cabinet approval for hitting Iran's nuclear sites.

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Abbas not to hold bilateral talks with Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 30, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not hold bilateral talks with Iran during his stay in Tehran, a Palestinian official said Thursday. Abbas arrived in Iran Wednesday for the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM) summit, said Majdi al-Khalidi, his diplomatic adviser.

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Iran, Israel and the birth of new alliances
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Mahdi Abdul Hadi - (Opinion) August 30, 2012 - 12:00am

The Non-Aligned Movement of 120 nations are at a crossroads in their 16th Summit in Tehran this week where the longer term impacts of the Second Arab Awakening (the Arab Spring) are likely to reveal themselves. The NAM was established in Ban Dong in 1955 by Nasser (Egypt), Nihro (India), and Sukarno (Indonesia), and joined later by Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia in 1961 to create an alternative political narrative to those offered by Western capitalist nations and Soviet-style socialism during the Cold War.

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Former Israeli commandos dominate politics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to fill a sensitive Cabinet post recently, he turned to an old army buddy from his days in an elite commando unit. His choice for minister of civil defense, Avi Dichter, replaced another graduate of the legendary Sayeret Matkal unit. Netanyahu's defense minister and vice premier, as well as Israel's opposition leader, also served there.

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War talks fails to dampen spirits in Tel Aviv
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Hugh Sykes - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am

The beaches in this coastal city are heaving with holidaymakers. Restaurants, clubs and bars are packed with happy diners, drinkers and dancers. In one cafe, couples were tapping their feet to Leonard Cohen's Dance Me to the End of Love. They were not wearing flak jackets. Or carrying gas masks. But some are taking precautions. Israelis fearful that an attack on Iran might bring revenge rockets from Hezbollah have collected gas masks from distribution centres.

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Bibi's own "tree limb"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past few years it was frequently alleged, not least by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Palestinian leadership had climbed out onto various political “tree limbs.” The implication was that on issues such as the settlement freeze, Palestinian leaders adopted rhetorical positions that were not in keeping with their real strategic options and hadn't allowed themselves sufficient room to climb down. As a consequence, it was suggested, they were stuck with unworkable policies. 

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The most fateful decision of all
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel
by David Horovitz - (Analysis) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Hear that frantic whispering noise beneath the hum of the air-conditioners in this sweltering Israeli summer? That’s the sound of many Israeli insiders repeating over and over and over: Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

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C'tee okays PM portfolio changes amid war rumors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
August 27, 2012 - 12:00am

A special committee has given its initial approval for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to make changes to his foreign and domestic investment portfolio, amid increased speculation in recent weeks that Israel is considering a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, a move that would certainly send shockwaves throughout the global economy.

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Palestinian man repeatedly tasered by Israeli police in front of his children
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yaniv Kubovich, Oz Rosenberg - August 24, 2012 - 12:00am

A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem complained to the Justice Ministry department that investigates police misconduct on Thursday after a police officer shocked him five times with an electric stun gun in front of his five children on Tuesday. The Palestinian, 42-year-old Talal Siad of the A-Tur neighborhood, was shot while out with his family at a Tel Aviv water park celebrating the Id al-Fitr holiday. Siad checked himself into the hospital suffering from burns and nausea.

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