No Israeli Decision on Iran Attack, Obama Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Scott Shane - February 5, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama said Sunday that he did not believe Israel had made a decision on whether to attack Iran to disrupt its nuclear program and that diplomacy remained the “preferred solution” to resolving the standoff over what Western leaders believe is Tehran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

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Shin Bet Chief: Iran Trying to Hit Israeli Targets in Response to Attacks on Nuclear Scientists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Iran is trying to strike Israeli targets around the world in a bid to stop the assassinations of its nuclear scientists, the head of the Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, said Thursday.

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IDF: Soldier Left in PA Village Refused Locals’ Assistance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoav Zitun - February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

The IDF force that left one of its soldiers in the Palestinian village of Budrus near Ramallah Wednesday night belongs to the 188th Armored Brigade, where former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit served, Ynet has learned. The soldier who lost contact with his fellow soldiers during activity in the village serves as the battalion commander's signal operator and is considered his right-hand man during operational activity.

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Israel's military leaders warn against Iran attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre, Kim Sengupta - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

Almost the entire senior hierarchy of Israel's military and security establishment is worried about a premature attack on Iran and apprehensive about the possible repercussions, a former chief of the country's defence forces told The Independent yesterday. Lt-Gen Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who is close to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, said there had been little analysis of what happens the "day after" when the Tehran regime and its paramilitary allies retaliate. He warned that an assault may lead to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad benefiting from popular anger against foreign aggression.

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Israel's profound choice on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Chuck Freilich - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

In the end it will come down to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His senior officials will make their cases, but he alone will have to make one of the most critical decisions inIsrael's history: whether to attackIran's nuclear program. I do not envy him.

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MI chief: Iran can produce 4 bombs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Neri Brenner - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

"Iran has enough nuclear material for four bombs," Director of Military Intelligence Major General Aviv Kochavi warned Thursday. Kochavi made a rare appearance at the 2012 Herzliya Conference, where he reviewed regional changes, the effects of the Arab Spring and the Iranian threat. "Iran is vigorously pursing military nuclear capabilities and today the intelligence community agrees with Israel on that. Iran has over four tons of enriched materials and nearly 100kg of 20% enriched uranium – that's enough for four bombs," he said.

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Viral photo of Abusive Israeli Soldier Called a Fake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- A controversial photograph that has been circulating on the Web in recent weeks is challenging such pre-Internet truisms as "seeing is believing" or "sharing is everything." About six months ago, @madlamin tweeted a picture with a message in French encouraging users to spread it around the world in 48 hours. The photograph of a soldier pointing a rifle at a little girl on the ground with his boot on her was marked with a #Syria hashtag, suggesting to users it was related to the bloody riots that have been occurring in that country in recent months.

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Israel does not mistreat detained Palestinian children
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Amir Ofek - (Opinion) February 1, 2012 - 1:00am

Your special report looks at allegations that Israel's military justice system mistreats Palestinian children who have been arrested for throwing stones. "Many are exhausted from sleep deprivation. Day after day they are fettered to the chair, then returned to solitary confinement. In the end, many sign confessions that they later say were coerced," you state. But you omit the horrific nature of the atrocities that minors, some as young as 12, can be arrested for.

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Will Israel Attack Iran?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ronen Bergman - (Opinion) January 26, 2012 - 1:00am

As the Sabbath evening approached on Jan. 13, Ehud Barak paced the wide living-room floor of his home high above a street in north Tel Aviv, its walls lined with thousands of books on subjects ranging from philosophy and poetry to military strategy. Barak, the Israeli defense minister, is the most decorated soldier in the country’s history and one of its most experienced and controversial politicians. He has served as chief of the general staff for the Israel Defense Forces, interior minister, foreign minister and prime minister.

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Barghouti: Conflict Ends After Israeli Withdrawal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 25, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will come to an end only when the occupation comes to an end and Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said Wednesday. Barghouti, former secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank, on Wednesday testified in court in Jerusalem in a case filed by Israeli Kleinman family against the Palestinian Authority. Asked by reporters whether he intends to run for a parliamentary seat in the upcoming elections, Barghouti said: "The PA has yet to set a date ... Once they do, we'll see what happens."

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