PA official: IDF protects settlers who attack Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The IDF dismissed accusations by the Palestinian Authority that it was protecting settlers who attack Palestinians and/or their property in the West Bank as ridiculous on Thursday. “It is both baseless and ridiculous to say the IDF is supporting such activity,” an army source said. “The IDF together with other law enforcement bodies constantly work to prevent and investigate unlawful activities in the West Bank, whether they are perpetuated by Palestinians or Israelis,” the sources said.

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B'Tselem: Israeli govt responsible for Qusra attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli authorities are failing to stop settler attacks on Nablus village Qusra, which has faced a repeated campaign of harassment from Israeli settlers, an Israeli rights group said on Thursday. Israeli settlers uprooted 200 olive trees in the south of the village overnight Wednesday. Israeli organization B'Tselem said due to a new Israeli army post overlooking the valley, "the attack occurred in an open area with excellent visibility."

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Israeli reservists called up for surprise pre-Yom Kippur drill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli military called up reservists for a surprise drill on the 38th anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War. Two reserve divisions in central and northern Israel were mobilized Wednesday evening and participated in the exercise until Thursday afternoon, according to reports. The exercise was held due to events in the region, Ynet reported. The divisions were declared to be ready by military officials. Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, the Israeli military's chief of staff, observed the exercise.


Mosque torching in Israel: Could it spark Arab Spring-style protests?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am

A mosque was torched in northern Israel early Monday, prompting a clash between police who fired tear gas canisters and hundreds of Arab citizens of Israel who threw stones and briefly closed down a highway. The incident, seen as part of an ongoing campaign of Jewish vigilantism, underscores fears by Israeli officials that such attacks could spark Arab Spring-style protests among Palestinians.

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‘Price Tag’ Vandals Mark Up Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The escalation in “price tag” attacks on Arab targets and even on the property of the Israeli establishment is a sign of a sense of growing alienation among the Jewish extremist fringe, analysts say. The latest attack suspected of being carried out by Jewish extremist was the torching Monday of a mosque in a Bedouin village in northern Israel. It was the first time vigilantes are believed to have struck inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders rather than in the West Bank.

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Obama Sold Israel Bunker-Buster Bombs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Eli Lake - September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

While publicly pressuring Israel to make deeper concessions to the Palestinians, President Obama has secretly authorized significant new aid to the Israeli military that includes the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs known as bunker busters, Newsweek has learned.

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Clinton: Israeli settlement move counter-productive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
September 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's decision to build 1,100 settlement homes on West Bank land is counter-productive to reviving peace talks with the Palestinians, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday. The decision appears to make it even less likely that the two sides will answer a call on Friday by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, collectively known as the Quartet, to resume peace talks within a month.

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Military whistleblower tells of 'indiscriminate' Israeli attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli troops fired tear gas indiscriminately and sometimes dangerously to enforce a daytime curfew inside a West Bank village to stop Palestinians holding a peaceful demonstration on their own land, a military whistleblower has told The Independent. The soldier's insight into the methods of troops comes as the Israeli military prepares for demonstrations predicted when the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submits an application for the recognition of statehood to the UN next week.

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Israeli-Arab militant cell held
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

A statement from internal security service Shin Bet said the Israeli-Arabs wanted to attack a police post, as well as a soldier and a policeman. It alleged that the attacks were planned in their village of Daburiyya, just east of Nazareth, in Galilee. A lawyer for the men was quoted as dismissing the allegations. Shin Bet said the men were part of "the Salafist jihadist stream", and had been looking at materials on how to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

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Netanyahu, living by the sword does not cut it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nehemia Shtrasler - (Opinion) September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

This year, as always, the big battle is between the treasury and the Defense Ministry. In a normal year, the battle is over the size of the addition to the budget of the Israel Defense Forces. This year, as a result of the social protest movement, the arm wrestling contest is over the size of the reduction.

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