Hamas Unclear about Role in Israel-Iran Fighting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - March 7, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza's ruling Hamas on Wednesday sent conflicting signals on whether it would stay on the sidelines if war breaks out between Israel and Iran. A Hamas spokesman said the group didn't have enough firepower the enter a regional war, while a senior official later reportedly threatened "retaliation with utmost power."

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Official: Palestinian issue ignored in US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian peace negotiator says the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is too big to ignore, even though it was sidelined in a meeting between Israel's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama. Saeb Erekat told reporters Tuesday that in the Middle East, "No issue is above the Palestinian issue." He spoke after Israeli and American leaders met to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

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Iran, Israel and the United States
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel share responsibility for the strains in their relationship. But there should be no doubt about Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security. When he warns that an Israeli attack on Iran could backfire, and that “there is still a window” for diplomacy, he is speaking for American and Israeli interests.

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Obama assures Netanyahu on efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joby Warrick, Scott Wilson - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama sought to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but their meeting concluded with U.S. officials unsure whether the president had succeeded in persuading the Israelis to hold off on unilateral military action.

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Israel would be wise to listen to Obama's advice on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama didn't wait for his private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to clarify his position on Iran's nuclear program. Speaking at the annual conference of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the U.S. leader urged everyone to set the war drums aside.

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The Emergency Committee for Israel Cries Wolf
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Yorker
by Connie Bruck - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

In the last few days, just before the highly-charged meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, and, also, the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting, where both Netanyahu and Obama were to address about fourteen thousand Israel supporters, the Emergency Committee for Israel moved into high gear.

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Israel's calculus on Iran: Shaped by leaders' youth in daring commando unit?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are two rivals turned partners who face a grave decision on whether or not to attack Iran against the counsel of Israel’s key ally, the United States.

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War talk on Iran forces the issue: Is Israel a formal US ally?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

According to polls, Americans remain wary of supporting the idea of either Israel or the United States – or both together – attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Perhaps one reason for this hesitancy is the fact that Israel, in a historic choice to rely on itself for defense, has never become an official US ally. America has no treaty obligation to come to Israel’s defense as it does with many countries in Europe and Asia. This little-known fact may loom large in a meeting Monday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Israel to Soon Test Next-Generation Missile Defense System
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is ready to conduct the first test of the Arrow 3 missile defense system, the state-owned defense contractor announced in a statement released Thursday evening. "The initial trial of the advanced Arrow 3 will be performed in the near future to confirm the interceptor's effectiveness," Itzhak Kaya, head of the Arrow Missile Program at IAI, said in a military and aviation exhibition earlier Thursday near Tel Aviv, according to the statement.

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Before attacking Iran, Israel should learn from its 1981 strike on Iraq
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Colin H. Kahl - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

On June 7, 1981, eight Israeli F-16 fighter jets, protected by six F-15 escorts, dropped 16 2,000-pound bombs on the nearly completed Osirak nuclear reactor at the Tuwaitha complex in Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon saw the reactor as central to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s quest to build nuclear weapons, and they believed that it posed an existential threat to Israel.

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