Israeli PM: Military must remain in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Daniel Estrin - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's prime minister declared Tuesday that his country must retain a strategic section of the West Bank under any future peace deal — a position unlikely to win Palestinians over to his reported plan to offer them a temporary state. In a rare visit to the occupied territory, Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that Israel's security depends on maintaining a military presence in the Jordan Valley — a strip of West Bank land along the border with Jordan. Without troops there, Israel fears militants could smuggle weapons into the West Bank.

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As Gas Supplies Are Cut, Israel Sees First Worrying Sign of New Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Rosenberg - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

A month after militants attacked a Sinai pipeline, supply has yet to resume Israel’s energy industry looks like it’s on its way to becoming the country’s first casualty of the emerging new Middle East, where governments are responding to public pressure for an end to secret deals and taking a harder line on the Jewish state.

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Palestinian boy claims police beat him
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Omri Efraim - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

An 11-year old boy arrested in east Jerusalem for throwing stones claims officers beat him while his hands were tied. Hospital tests confirm the boy sustained injuries to the eye, head, and stomach. M. was arrested on Monday in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. It was his fifth run-in with the law, and his two brothers were also arrested. The three were interrogated in the presence of their father, an imam and one of the leading figures in Silwan residents' protest against Israeli forces.

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Rattling the Cage: Tips for information warriors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

As you well know, Israel has never been in such peril as it is today. Anti-Semitism has risen to historic levels. Israel’s enemies are arming themselves with weapons that endanger not only its existence, but its very existence. And now, added to these grave existential threats comes the upheaval we’ve seen spreading throughout the Middle East. In these days of uncertainty, a volunteer army of steady, sure, confident voices in Israel’s defense is more critical than ever. Here is a set of talking points for you to use when fighting the information war for Israel’s survival.

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World must act on settler violence: Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday urged the international community to take action to halt Jewish settler violence towards Palestinians. Following a series of attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank, the Ramallah-based leadership issued a statement demanding the international community "intervene with Israel over the violent and provocative actions by settlers, which the Israeli authorities refuse to control."

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Israel shuts down Jerusalem event
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli police and intelligence agents forcibly shut down two events in East Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, citing "security reasons" for the clampdown. Armed police and border guards prevented guests from entering a conference on "Defending Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem" at the Capitol Hotel on Salah Addin Street in Jerusalem, organizers said. Police handed organizers a warrant signed by minister of internal security Yitzhaq Ahronovitch addressed to the hotel administration. The warrant warned that the meeting was banned for "security reasons."

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News Analysis: Israel worried with New Arab system
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Khaled Khalefe - March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli leadership is watching the latest developments in the Arab world with great concern and anxiety, and it's not clear whether the emerging Arab regimes and a new Arab world will enhance the Israeli security or not, according to analysts. Israeli officials are worried about the loss of those leaders who created the environment for the historic reconciliation with the Israeli state, such as former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said analysts.

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Settlers attack West Bank villages following outpost demolitions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli settlers damaged houses and cars in a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Tuesday, police and witnesses said, in an apparent show of anger over the Israeli demolition of homes in an unauthorized settler outpost. Police say settlers are suspected of smashing windows of seven Palestinian cars and throwing a fire bomb at a Palestinian house.

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With Egypt in turmoil, Israel rethinks readiness for multi-front war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - February 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Although it’s still far from clear how the uprising in Egypt is going to play out, the volatility there is already raising questions in Israel about the Jewish state’s readiness for a war on several fronts. The optimistic view in Israel is that a wave of democracy will sweep the Middle East from Cairo to Tehran, making war in any form less likely. The pessimists -- there are many here -- see an ascendant Islamic radicalism taking hold in Egypt and elsewhere, thus compounding the military threats facing Israel.

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Israel: Four Foreign Missions Closed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - February 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel temporarily closed four of its diplomatic missions abroad in recent days because of suspicions that they were under threat of attack, an Israeli official said on Tuesday. He refused to specify their locations, for security reasons, but he said that two had partially reopened. The precautions were taken after “unusual occurrences were identified recently around a few missions abroad,” the Israeli government said in a statement.

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