NEWS: PM Netanyahu is seen as moving quickly to try to repair relations with Pres. Obama, and Palestinians appear lukewarm to his victory. Israeli forces and militants in Gaza exchange fire. Israel says it is ready to resume negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions.Israel and Russia continue intensive consultations. PLO officials insist their renewed UN bid is an effort to save the two-state solution. Hamas says Pres. Abbas is not welcome in Gaza. Quartet envoy Blair says Obama's reelection opens the door for a new push on Middle East peace. Amnesty International declares Palestinian nonviolent protester Bassem Tamimi, now held in Israeli jail, to be a “prisoner of conscience.” Three shells fired from Syria land near an Israeli settlement in the occupied Golan Heights. DM Barak demands the US and Israel work together to thwart a renewed Palestinian UN bid. COMMENTARY: David Ignatius says Israeli-Palestinian peace should be a major priority for a 2nd Obama term. Yossi Sarid apologizes to Obama for Netanyahu's behavior and urges him to resume peace efforts urgently. Ha'aretz says Obama must now face two crucial problems: Iran and Israeli-Palestinian peace. Gideon Levy says Israel desperately needs Obama to save it from its own occupation. Sima Kadmon says Israel will pay a price for Netanyahu's hostility towards Obama. Kamel Abu Jaber wonders whether or not it is wise to raise the issue of a renewed Jordanian role in the West Bank. Michael Jansen says the Palestinians are always the forgotten people, this time in Syria. Yossi Melman says Netanyahu's goal in 2010 was to provoke, not attack, Iran. Hani al-Masri doubts that PM Fayyad intends to resign. Bernard Avishai says Obama should appoint Bill Clinton his new Middle East envoy. Aaron David Miller says Middle East policy can make or break Obama's legacy.

How the Middle East Could Make Or Break Obama's Legacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) November 7, 2012 - 1:00am

Congratulations, Barack Obama. You now join a small club of 16 two-term presidents. (Of those, only 13 actually served out their second four-year term -- William McKinley, Abraham Lincoln and Richard Nixon weren't so lucky.) An eight-year run does count for something. There are no great one-termers. All consequential presidents require a bond with the public that the validation of a second term provides. Consider it a necessary but not sufficient condition for presidential greatness.

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Appoint Bill Clinton Peace Envoy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) November 7, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama's next move in the Middle East is so obvious I almost hesitate to suggest it: before the Israeli election season completely unfolds, ask, cajole, or beg Bill Clinton to take on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

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Is the Palestinian Prime Minister Serious About Resigning?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from As-Safir
by Hani al-Masri - (Opinion) November 6, 2012 - 1:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad threatened to resign and demanded the formation of a factional government — in which top-tier leaders would participate — to confront the repercussions of the upcoming period, especially if Palestine were granted observer-state status [by the United Nations] and the Palestinians refused to be influenced by American and Israeli threats. What are the factors behind this threat to resign?

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Netanyahu Sought to Provoke, Not Attack, Iran in 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Yossi Melman - (Opinion) November 7, 2012 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV — Sometime in 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with their top five cabinet ministers for a routine yet secret meeting to discuss pressing security and foreign-policy issues. The group, which has no legal status and does not have the authority to make decisions,? is known as the "Secret Seven,” inspired by the “Secret Seven" series of adventure novels for children by the British author Enid Blyton.

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‘The forgotten people’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 7, 2012 - 1:00am

Two years ago, Palestine was the international community’s primary regional focus. At the end of May, the Israeli navy intercepted and boarded a flotilla of ships and yachts sailing to break the blockade of Gaza and Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists, having boarded a Turkish ferry.

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Sovereignty over occupied territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Kamel S. Abu Jaber - (Opinion) November 7, 2012 - 1:00am

A voice is being heard loud in the wilderness of Arab politics. It carries with it the weight of experience and a deep knowledge of Arab politics. It is the voice of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, joined, lately, by that of Farouk Qaddoumi of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

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Netanyahu gambled, we'll pay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sima Kadmon - (Opinion) November 8, 2012 - 1:00am

Netanyahu had a rough morning on Wednesday. Diplomatic manners cannot conceal the disappointment of someone who just got Obama in the White House for another four years, Naftali Bennett as head of the Jewish Home party and a frustrated Sara in the Prime Minister's Residence.

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Obama the Second
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) November 8, 2012 - 1:00am

They could turn out to be the winning duo, the ones who bring about an agreement with the Palestinians: a furious U.S. President Barack Obama opposite a gambling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who lost the gamble). If a second-term Obama obeys his heart and logic, his moral code and values, and American and world interests, then we can expect an old-new president in the White House. A president who will translate his anger against Netanyahu into pressure on Israel to finally end the occupation.

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Obama's test
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) November 8, 2012 - 1:00am

America's ceremonial political rituals played themselves out on Wednesday in all their glory before the entire world. There was the respectable appearance by the loser, who could barely conceal his disappointment but still praised the victor to the point where you wondered if perhaps he voted for him and not for himself; and the passionate address of the winner, who made similar gracious gestures to the loser and challenged the entire nation to unite and overcome together the many obstacles that lie in its path.

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