NEWS: Pres. Peres criticizes speculation in Israel about a unilateral attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. A former senior Israeli official says government leaders told him they could be dissuaded from any such attack. DM Barak says only the Israeli government will decide on whether or not to attack Iran, but the debate in Israel continues to rage. Six Palestinians are wounded by a firebomb attack in a suspected Israeli settler “price tag” terrorist action. Palestinian gays look for a safe space for social activism for their cause. Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons are pressing for prisoner of war status. The Israeli Foreign Ministry is continuing to press the issue of Jewish refugees and immigrants to Israel from Arab states to offset the Palestinian refugee issue. Hamas and Egypt are reportedly broadening their security coordination regarding extremists In Sinai. Peace Now complains about an Israeli military commander's assertion that Israel has sovereignty in occupied Hebron. The American peacekeeping force in Sinai is being threatened by growing levels of extremist violence. Asharq Al-Awsat cites unnamed sources as saying no Palestinians were involved in the attack on Egyptian forces in Sinai. COMMENTARY: Roger Cohen says Israel should resist the temptation to attack Iran. L. Michael Hager says the world cannot tolerate a preemptive Israeli attack against Iran. Yoel Marcus says Israel is damaging itself with its psychological warfare against Iran. Nir Hasson says he interviewed people who saw Jewish Israeli youths attempting to lynch Palestinians. Dennis Ross thinks Israel's threats against Iran are mainly intended to spur greater international determination on confronting Iran's nuclear program. Benny Morris thinks Israel is really preparing to attack Iran. Jonathan Ben-Artzi describes what it's like to be a Jewish Israeli pacifist. Colin Kahl says Pres. Obama has been a great friend to Israel. The Economist says Gaza may be ready for a major building boom.

No Palestinians involved in Sinai attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that security agencies operating in the Gaza Strip are currently in the process of providing their Egyptian counterparts with information highlighting their past experiences in confronting Salafist jihadist groups. This is in order to help Cairo confront the militant groups operating on the Sinai Peninsula following the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers close to the Rafah Border Crossing.

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Sinai Chaos Threatens Peacekeeping Mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Recent unrest and violence in Sinai are leaving more than 1,500 troops from the United States and other countries exposed as they seek to maintain a peacekeeping mission there that many experts now criticize as anachronistic. The troops’ presence in Sinai, mandated by the 1979 Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt, has served as a guarantor of that treaty. But current developments are transforming the peninsula, long seen as a vast desert buffer that reinforced the treaty, into a regional flashpoint putting the fragile peace between the two nations at risk.

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A building boom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Opinion) August 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Five years after Israel and Egypt closed their gates, the Palestinian strip of land they encircle is rising from the ashes of war and siege. “We’re building cities,” says a delighted UN engineer, putting the finishing touches to “Saudi City”, a public housing estate replete with garages, tiled bathrooms and dishwashers that cost its Saudi sponsors $120m. Built on land where Israel first settled Jews after its 1967 conquest and then removed them in 2005, it is set to open its doors to 11,000 residents in the next few months.

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Peace Now complains over commander’s Hebron comments
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Peace Now on Thursday complained to the Defense Ministry about public comments an IDF commander made in support of Israeli sovereignty over the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. It also took issue with the IDF’s decision to hold a ceremony Wednesday at the Cave of the Patriarchs for the incoming commander of the IDF Judea Brigade, Avi Balut, and the outgoing commander, Shai Hazut. It noted that in the past the ceremony had been held in the nearby brigade base.

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Obama Has Been Great for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Colin H. Kahl - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

A recent Mitt Romney campaign commercial takes U.S. President Barack Obama to task for not visiting Israel during the first three-and-a-half years of his presidency. The television ad, complete with footage of the former Massachusetts governor thoughtfully contemplating the Western Wall in Jerusalem, declares that Romney "will be a different kind of president -- a strong leader who stands by our allies." A similar spot by the Emergency Committee for Israel, an advocacy group that backs Romney, charges that Obama has "traveled all over the Middle East.

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Hamas helps Egypt in hunt for Sinai terrorists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Hamas announced Thursday that it was doing its utmost to help the Egyptian authorities capture the terrorists who killed 16 Egyptian border guards in Sinai on August 5. The announcement came as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip reported that Hamas security forces have rounded up a number of suspects belonging to extremist Islamic groups in the context of efforts to solve the case. The statement also came amid reports that Hamas and the Egyptians have formed a joint security committee to investigate the terrorist attack.

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'Israel making threats over compensation for Jews'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

The Arab media was up in arms this week over a plan spearheaded by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon to hold a summit on the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries at the UN in September.

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My Story As a Pacifist in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Jonathan Ben-Artzi - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Exactly ten years ago I was imprisoned for my refusal to enlist in the Israeli military. This marked the end of a three-year losing legal battle in Israeli court to have conscientious objection recognized as an option for military service.  It was the beginning of an ongoing struggle to save my country from its inevitable demise. Like a drug-addict, Israel needs an intervention.  It is addicted to the military; blind support does it no good.

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Minister: Prisoners launch initiative for PoW status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian detainees in Israel are launching an initiative to press for prisoner of war status, the Palestinian Authority prisoners minister said Thursday. Palestinians in Israel's Eshel jail have developed a national legal and political program to push their cause internationally, Issa Qaraqe said in a statement. The initiative aims to secure treatment in line with the Geneva Conventions, rather than Israel's military orders which govern Palestinians under occupation, the minister added.

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