Israel won’t commit to clearing Iran op with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
(Analysis) November 6, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reportedly failed in his bid to have Israel clear any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities with the United States. Panetta in a visit to Israel last month tried to get a commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak that Israel would clear any operation on Iranian nuclear facilities, Haaretz reported Sunday.

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Israel successfully tests advanced missile said capable of reaching Iran with nuclear warhead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
November 2, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday successfully test-fired a missile said capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran, fanning the public debate over reports the country’s top leaders are agitating for a military attack on Tehran’s atomic facilities. While Israeli leaders have long warned that a military strike was an option, an intense round of public discourse on the subject erupted over the weekend by a report in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak favor an attack.

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Iran strike? Just say no
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Friedmann - (Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

As expected, the terror regime in Gaza continues to constitute an open, bleeding wound for Israel. Yet according to media reports, Defense Minister Barak, who failed in handling the Hamas rule in Gaza, seeks to engage in bigger issues. The Gaza Strip is a minor issue for him. He has his sights set on Iran and the nuclear bomb threat, and Prime Minister Netanyahu is there with him. The situation reached the point where former Mossad Director Meir Dagan felt the need to openly warn against this dangerous move.

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Israeli Brass Astir Amid Pressure for Iran Strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Blog) October 28, 2011 - 12:00am

“Have the prime minister and defense minister sealed a deal between them, one on one, to attack the nuclear reactors in Iran?” So asks Nahum Barnea, commonly described as Israel’s senior and most respected political journalist, in an article leading the top of the front page of today’s Yediot Ahronot. He writes that growing rumors to that effect have created a quiet but urgent buzz within Israel’s political and military elites.

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Israeli war planes raid Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 27, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli war planes launched four airstrikes in central and southern Gaza early Thursday morning, witnesses and the army said. No injuries were reported. Locals told Ma'an that Israeli fighter jets shelled three open areas and a site used by Hamas' armed wing the al-Qassam Brigades in Khan Younis in the south and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Israeli army said its forces targeted "three terror activity sites" in central Gaza and a weapons storage facility in the southern Gaza Strip. "Direct hits were confirmed," the military said in a statement.

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The IDF must not be turned into the army of the Lord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) October 25, 2011 - 12:00am

The most disappointing response to the fact that 100 female soldiers were instructed to sit in a separate section during the traditional celebrations at the end of the Simhat Torah holiday last week at an Israel Defense Forces base came perhaps from a secular officer. "What's the problem? They set up a separate place for them to dance," he said. Even worse was the off-the-cuff remark of another officer, also secular, who said: "That's customary; it's what they did last year, too."

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Israeli officer loses command, a month after death of protester
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The commander of an Israeli army unit whose soldiers shot dead a Palestinian protester just hours before president Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations to recognise a Palestinian state has been relieved of his post.

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IDF warns soldiers of kidnappings ahead of Gilad Shalit's release
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - (Analysis) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israel Defense Forces is telling its combat units that soldiers should make sure not to become "another Gilad Shalit" and be abducted. "I deliver this message in any discussion in which the topic of Gilad Shalit or other POWs comes up," an infantry battalion commander said. "Under no circumstances should a soldier be taken hostage. Our soldiers do their utmost to prevent this from happening - they [are ordered] to fire at a group of abductors even if that means their IDF comrade would be killed. And the soldiers understand this fully: They cannot become another Gilad Shalit."

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Will Israel bomb Iran without notifying the US?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

In recent weeks, intense discussions have taken place in Israeli military and intelligence circles about whether or not to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Apparently, the key question in the debate was how to ensure that the United States took part in the attack or, at the very least, intervened on Israel’s side if the initial strike triggered a wider war.

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Barak apologizes for deaths of Egyptian officers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoav Zitun - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

On the backdrop of reports on a possible breakthrough in a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday issued an apology to Cairo for the deaths of Egyptian border guard patrol officers from IDF fire during the terror attack in southern Israel in August.

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