October 12th, 2011

Israel and Hamas are both winners and losers in Shalit swap deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am

This Sunday will mark 25 years since Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad was taken captive, never to return. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's effort to conclude a deal for the return of Gilad Shalit, was meant to ensure that the kidnapped soldier would not share Arad's fate. Barring any last-minute hitches, it seems Shalit will be home in a few days, after more than five years in captivity.

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Hamas steals Abbas thunder with prisoner deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - (Analysis) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas has jumped back into the Middle East spotlight with a prisoner swap deal with Israel that will score points over President Mahmoud Abbas and steal some of the thunder he generated by pushing for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. But the deal hailed by the Islamist group which governs Gaza as a national victory was dimmed by Israel's refusal to free some prominent prisoners from rival factions, chief among them Marwan Barghouti -- a leading figure in Abbas' Fatah movement.

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Details emerge of prisoner swap
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Ori Lewis - October 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Prospects of a long-elusive deal with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners began to take off in July, Israel's negotiator said on Tuesday. David Meidan, who did the talking for Israel, said Israeli intelligence identified three months ago that the Islamist movement which rules the Gaza Strip and holds Shalit had become more pragmatic and was ready to do a deal with Egypt as mediator.

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Israel and Hamas Agree to Swap Prisoners for Soldier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel and Hamas announced an agreement on Tuesday to exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for five years, a deal brokered by Egypt that seemed likely to shake up Middle East politics at a time when the region is immersed in turmoil. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told his nation in a live address on television that the soldier, Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who was captured in June 2006 at the age of 19, could be home “within days,” ending what has been widely seen in Israel as a national trauma.

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October 11th

A new Palestinian Intifada?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Wendy Pearlman - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas captured the world's attention with his controversial bid for U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood. As the world awaits the outcome of that diplomatic contest, one of the key wild cards is the potential for mass nonviolent protest in the Palestinian territories. Some fear the failure of the bid will spark massive unrest and even the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Others hope that Palestinians will rally en masse behind Abu Mazen's strategy, using non-violent protest on the ground to supplement official Palestinian pressure on Israel at the United Nations.

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Israel and those ‘real democratic rights’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Lawrence Davidson - (Opinion) October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

In his speech to US Congress on May 24, 2011 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that “Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights.” This is, of course, a variation on the oft-cited claim that Israel is “the only democracy in the Middle East.” Leaving aside places like Lebanon and now potentially Tunisia and Egypt, one can ask just how “real” are these democratic rights Netanyahu claims for Israel's Arabs? Here is some recent evidence that speaks to this question.

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News: Pres. Abbas continues his tour of Latin America. A Palestinian official claims 9 countries are committed to vote in the Security Council for Palestinian UN membership. Occupation forces kill a Palestinian man near the Gaza border. PM Fayyad urges support for a Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike. PM Netanyahu says he's ready for new talks, and so does Abbas. Hamas says foreigners must now apply for visas to visit Gaza. The UN says Palestinians must be protected from settler attacks. The Israeli government is planning to recognize “unauthorized outpost” settlements built on private Palestinian land. DM Barak says violent settlers are “almost like terrorists.” Commentary: David Rosen and Edward Rettig say Israel faces a turning point with the latest mosque burning. David Newman agrees Israel must stamp out Jewish extremism. Gershon Baskin says he believes in peace, and this doesn't make him a “self-hating Jew.” David Miliband says that Gaza represents the total failure of politics. Jay Michaelson says there's nothing wrong with Jewish Americans taking sides in Israeli politics. Lawrence Davidson looks of the limitations on democracy for Israel's Palestinian citizens. Daniel Bethlehem says peace will require negotiations and dialogue. Wendy Pearlman says a new intifada is not imminent. Tony Karon says cutting aid to the PA might hurt Israel and the US more than the Palestinians. The JC interviews Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni. Ray Suarez says there are no simple solutions to Jerusalem.

What's Wrong With American Jews Taking Partisan Sides in Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Jay Michaelson - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

That there has been a realignment of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel is by now apparent and heavily commented on. In some quarters, this has been seen as an earth-shattering, Judaism-betraying paroxysm of collective self-hatred. Yet in fact it is entirely logical.

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No simple solutions for Jerusalem, PBS correspondent Ray Suarez tells Philadelphia forum
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Episcopal News Service
by Mary Frances Schjonberg - (Opinion) October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Just inside the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is the Stone of Anointing on which tradition says Jesus was prepared for burial. Watching pilgrims from all over the world fall to their knees to kiss the stone "makes you reconsider what it all means to them to you, to the people who live there, to the people who live far away," according to Public Broadcasting Service Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez.

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"End the blame game"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Chronicle
by Martin Bright - (Interview) October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Opposition leader Tzipi Livni was shocked that the anti-Israel campaigners on campus in Britain had intensified their campaign to lobby for a "one-state solution" to the conflict. Speaking to the JC during her brief visit to the UK last week she said: "What surprised me was not that there are those who are delegitimising Israel. It's not that people are pushing Israel to make decisions on annexation as they call it. It surprised me that they are calling for one state, a bi-national state. This is a change."

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