The 9/11 Anniversary: An Opportunity to Reconsider Mistaken Policies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

As we reach the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 events, pressures increase on US President Barack Obama to take the necessary steps to combat what he calls “violent extremism” – a term that replaces the expression “war on terror” adopted by his predecessor George W. Bush, who had made the Iraq war his first step to taking revenge for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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Q+A--Is al Qaeda opening a Gaza front?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - August 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Explosions at two sensitive sites in the Gaza Strip [ID:nLU529969] have prompted speculation on Sunday that they were the work of al Qaeda-aligned radicals opposed to the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas. Here are comments on key questions about the incidents: WHO WAS BEHIND THE BOMBINGS? No credible claim of responsibility has been made.

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Did Egypt's Campaign against Hezbollah Fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The question that presents itself is the following: Is there an Egyptian campaign against Hezbollah, or is it merely a claim by Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah? A verbal campaign has started since last summer to criticize Egypt on the pretext that it is participating with Israel in putting the Hamas Government and the people of Gaza under siege. The Egyptians at the time refrained from commenting, and restricted themselves to playing the role of the mediator who wanted to close the Palestinian rift, until the war broke out, and the issue escalated.

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5 Israelis indicted for planning terror attacks, kidnapping
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ahiya Raved - April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

The Haifa District Prosecutor's Office on Thursday charged five youths with planning a series of terror attack and soldier abductions. The five, residents of the northern villages of Mrar and Barta'a, were indicted on multiple counts of aiding and abetting the enemy, contacting a foreign agent and weapon charges. Identified as Suhaiv Khalil Kabha (20), Kutaibeh Dura Kabha (19), Muhammad Shawqi Kabha (19) and Ahmed Hassin Kabha (21) – all from Barta'a, and Abdullah Yunis Karube (20) of Mrar, they have entered a plea of not guilty.

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Israeli Arabs arrested for plotting attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (AP) - Police say they have arrested seven Arab Israelis who plotted bomb attacks and kidnappings of Jews in retaliation for Israel's recent military offensive in Gaza. Police superintendent Avid Agarissi told Israel Radio the suspects were charged with contacting "terror groups in Gaza" to train to kidnap civilians and build explosive devices. He said they wanted to carry out attacks to avenge Palestinians killed in Gaza earlier this year. Police said the men were arrested earlier this month but details were only released Thursday for security reasons.

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Hezbollah cell worries Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Jumana Al Tamimi - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Egypt's arrest of purported Hezbollah operatives marks a dangerous escalation of tension between Iran and the Arab world, analysts say. Egypt's public prosecutor is investigating 49 people it claims planned to carry out "hostile operations" on orders from Hezbollah, the militant Islamist group in Southern Lebanon that bested Israel in a monthlong war in the summer of 2006. The case against the purported Hezbollah cell in Egypt "sums up all the region's issues together," Egyptian analyst Nabeel Sharaf al-Deen told The Washington Times.

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Israeli Military Says Actions in Gaza War Did Not Violate International Law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli military on Wednesday presented the conclusions of several internal investigations into its conduct during the war in Gaza and stated that it had operated in accordance with international law, countering widespread international criticism over its actions and continuing accusations of possible war crimes.

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US envoy meets Israeli officials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The US special envoy to the Middle East is meeting senior Israeli officials in an attempt to kickstart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. George Mitchell met Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, on Thursday and will meet Benyamin Netanyahu, the country's prime minister, later in the day. Mitchell is also expected to discuss progress on peace negotiations with Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition Kadima party. Shortly after arriving in the country on Wednesday evening, Mitchell met Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister. Commitment urged

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Egypt terror cell planned to strike in Tel Aviv
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Members of the Hizbullah cell uncovered in Egypt planned to carry out terror attacks inside Israel, Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum reported on Thursday. According to the report, two of the cell's members are Fatah operatives, who confessed to having planned to enter Israel and carry out massive suicide attacks, "maybe even in Tel Aviv". Sources close to the investigation told the newspaper that two Fatah members, Muhammad Ramadan Barakeh and Nidal Fathi Hassan were arrested under suspicion of ties with the Hizbullah cell.

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Egypt’s Escalating War on Hezbollah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Analysis) April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

After months of relative passivity, Egypt effectively declared war in mid-April on Iranian-backed terrorist groups operating in its backyard, executing an unprecedented wave of arrests of alleged terrorists, smugglers and arms-makers linked to Hezbollah and Hamas.

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