Hezbollah Denies Attacks Against Israeli Targets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 17, 2012 - 1:00am

BEIRUT, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The head of Shiite armed group Hezbollah denied Thursday his party's involvement in recent security incidents in India, Georgia and Thailand against Israeli diplomats. "We, in Hezbollah, played no part in these incidents," Hasan Nasrallah said during a televised speech during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah's slain commanders. Israel has accused Iran and its ally Hezbollah of standing behind unsuccessful plots targeting Israeli officials in various countries this week. Iran has also dismissed the claims.

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Iran, Hezbollah Seek to Attack More Israeli Targets Abroad, Official Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am

Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are still seeking to attack Israeli targets in several countries, Israel's Counterterrorism Bureau indicated on Friday, warning Israeli citizens to adhere to the directives of local security forces. The remarks, given during a press briefing, came after earlier Friday Thai security forces have upped alertness levels in the country's international airports and rail system over what local police is saying is an Israeli warning against new terror attacks.

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Insight: In Israel, an Illegal Outpost Faces its Reckoning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Crispian Balmer, Maayan Lubell - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am

MIGRON, West Bank (Reuters) - The Jewish settlement of Migron perches high on a blustery hill in the occupied West Bank. Its inhabitants pay taxes, are hooked up to the electricity grid and get round-the-clock protection from Israeli soldiers. Over the past decade the government has spent at least 4 million shekels ($1.1 million) on establishing and maintaining the cluster of squat, prefab bungalows, even building a neat tarmac road up the steep incline to the treeless ridge.

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Israeli Envoy Links Bangkok Bombs to Attacks in India and Georgia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas Fuller - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

BANGKOK — Thai authorities said on Wednesday that the group of Iranians detained after an explosion tore the roof off their rented house was on a mission here targeting Israeli diplomats. Thai police released images of three men who were suspected to have been involved in bomb explosions in Bangkok. “This much I can tell you — the target of the operation was specifically the Israeli diplomatic staff,” Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong, Thailand’s chief of police, said in a television interview.

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The U.S.-Israeli Trust Gap on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

TWO MONTHS ago we questioned a decision by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to spell out publicly his objections to an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear program — a speech that must have cheered the commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Now Mr. Panetta has indirectly caused a similar stir: After a conversation with Mr. Panetta this month, The Post’s David Ignatius reported that the Pentagon chief “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June.”

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As the Illegal Outpost of Migron Goes, So Goes All of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Lara Friedman - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

The fate of Migron, an illegal outpost in the heart of the West Bank, is about to be decided. The implications of this decision are about far more than the future of a handful of settlers in a single outpost. This decision will be a litmus test of Israeli rule of law and, ultimately, of Israel's capacity to make peace with the Palestinians. How can one outpost be so important?

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Ahmadinejad’s Iran is the New Best Friend of Israeli Settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

The red-bordered headline on Israel's weekend newsstands was as jarring for its calm, consumer-guide choice of wording as for the subject matter, which was, in essence, a countdown to Armageddon. WHERE IT'S BEST TO LIVE IN A TIME OF EMERGENCY, read the Yedioth Ahronoth banner. Lest the meaning be lost, the full-out article – framed by stories hinting at IDF preparations for a possible attack on Iran - ranked a long list of Israeli cities, towns, and Arab villages for their survivability and "preparedness for wartime."

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Yalla Peace: Hope for Peace at a Roadblock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ray Hanania - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

It’s almost become normal for Palestinians and Israelis who support peace to find themselves at the same old roadblock, going nowhere fast. The only things moving are the extremists who continue to pave the way to the mutual destruction of both sides. Israeli and Palestinian leaders refuse to take the steps necessary to make peace.

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The Slow Turn Toward Palestinian Non-Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

Sami Awad is wrapping up a day of training with Palestinian women leaders in Bethlehem, another step in the effort not only to empower women, but to extend the concept and practice of non-violent popular resistance. “At the theoretical level,” Awad says. “I would say that the idea of non-violence is becoming more accepted. The criticism we had is going down.”

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Bangkok blasts prompt new accusations against Iran a day after Israelis targeted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel renewed its accusations against Iran on Tuesday after a man identified as an Iranian national was involved in a string of explosions in Bangkok. The blasts came a day after bombers targeted Israeli diplomats in two incidents in India and Georgia, stoking concerns in Israel about a possible wave of attacks on its representatives abroad. The violence comes amid rising tension between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program and threats by Iran to avenge the deaths of several of its nuclear scientists in attacks that it has blamed on Israel.

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