November 9th

Israel’s Netanyahu: hero at home, pariah abroad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya November 9, 2011 - 1:00am Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu may be feted at home for his role in freeing captive soldier Gilad Shalit, but abroad, world leaders are barely managing to hide their disdain for the media-savvy prime minister. Just how much Netanyahu is failing to win the respect of his global peers emerged on Tuesday after a French website published remarks by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who described him as a “liar” during a private conversation with US President Barack Obama at the G20 summit in Cannes last week. » Read more

How to Save Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) November 9, 2011 - 1:00am I write from an Israel with a divided soul. It is not only defined by its contradictions; it is at risk of being torn apart by them. It is a country with uncertain borders and a government that ignores its own laws. Its democratic ideals, much as they have helped shape its history, or on the verge of being remembered among the false political promises of 20th-century ideologies. » Read more

Reporters confirm Sarkozy's 'Bibi slip' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roy Simyoni - November 8, 2011 - 1:00am Loose Lips? The double-presidential faux pas, which saw French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama accidently tell the world what they really think of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, caused a media frenzy on Tuesday, with many media outlets worldwide dubbing it "the juiciest thing since WikiLeaks." French website "Arret sur Images" reported Monday that due to a technical glitch, the two presidents' microphones remained on after a G20 press conference held on Thursday. » Read more

Quartet to meet Israelis, Palestinians on Nov 14-U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet November 8, 2011 - 1:00am WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Envoys of the "Quartet" of Middle East peace mediators will meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Nov. 14 in Jerusalem, their latest effort to jump-start the stalled peace process, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. "We expect these will again be Quartet envoy meetings with the parties separately," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing, saying the meetings would seek to encourage both sides to offer concrete proposals on land and security concerns. » Read more

Israel and Iran's "Nuclear Program": Serving Each Other ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Walid Choucair - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am There is nothing new in hearing talk that Iran is trying to develop its military nuclear program, and there is nothing new in the talk about western countries' attempt to stiffen up sanctions on Iran because of this presumed program. The same goes for the talk that Israel is threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. » Read more

Palestinians: Not enough UN support for state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - November 8, 2011 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian foreign minister admits for the first time there is not enough support in the U.N. Security Council for recognition of a Palestinian state, This comes as the Security Council receives a report saying there's no consensus among the 15 members. Nine votes would be needed for approval, and any of the five permanent members could cast a veto. The U.S. and Israel insist that a Palestinian state must result from negotiations. » Read more

Report: No consensus on Palestine bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 9, 2011 - 1:00am UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- A draft report by a key UN Security Council committee, obtained on Tuesday, declared that members could not reach consensus on whether Palestine should be accepted as a UN member state. "The committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council," said the draft report of the council's committee on admitting new member states. It was circulated to all 15 Security Council members on Tuesday. » Read more

Mordechai Vanunu deserves freedom from Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Duncan Campbell - (Opinion) November 9, 2011 - 1:00am Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli whistleblower who served 18 years in prison for revealing details of Israel's nuclear weapons programme, should find out whether or not he has been – as he hopes – stripped of his citizenship. As part of his bid to be allowed to leave Israel, he has applied to have his citizenship revoked as should, by law, happen to anyone convicted of treason, as he has been. He would then seek to be allowed finally to leave the country. » Read more

Threats escalate against Israeli anti-settlement activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times November 9, 2011 - 1:00am REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- Peace Now, a group known for its vocal stand against Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, says a senior member of its team has received a death threat. It was the latest in a string of incidents blamed on Jewish extremists protesting the dismantling of illegal settlements in the West Bank. The targets of these so-called price-tag operations -- which typically involve vandalism in response to government actions against the settlements -- have been individuals, groups, mosques, cemeteries and recently even Israeli army facilities. » Read more

Minister: 'Price tag' gangs a cancerous tumor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - November 9, 2011 - 1:00am Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar made harsh statements against violence targeting soldiers, Palestinians and leftist activists in what is referred to as the "price tag" phenomenon. Speaking at a youth rally marking 16 years since the murder of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Sa'ar said: "The 'price tag' gangs which scheme against innocents, damage property, hurt IDF soldiers and members of the security forces, burn mosque and generally terrorize (the public) are a dangerous and cancerous tumor which must be removed." » Read more