Britain says 'compelling' evidence Israel linked to Dubai assassination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Carol Huang - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Tuesday that there are "compelling reasons to believe that Israel was responsible" for the forging of British passports used in the Dubai assassination of a Hamas official. Miliband's comments, together with his promised expulsion of a diplomat from Israel's London Embassy, offer the first apparent confirmation of Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan’s claim that Israel was involved in the Jan. 19 attack. » Read more

Peace talks could be delayed for a year, warns Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Rupert Cornwell - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am An unyielding Benjamin Netanyahu held a 90-minute meeting with Barack Obama at the White House last night as the US intensified pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to rein in settlements in disputed East Jerusalem. But, in talks earlier in the day with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, Mr Netanyahu warned that peace negotiations could be delayed another year unless the Palestinians dropped their "illogical and unreasonable" demand for a full settlement freeze, according to his spokesman. » Read more

Netanyahu takes Israel's case to Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday amid new signs that the two remain deeply divided over continued Israeli construction in disputed East Jerusalem. In their first face-to-face meeting after months of tension, Obama was expected to press Netanyahu for action to ensure that Israeli housing plans do not endanger peace talks. » Read more

Historic change or just empty rhetoric? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am The important relationship between the United States and Israel is evolving in unpredictable ways. Their recent tensions are important for what they reveal about a more sophisticated and integrated American view of its Middle East policies, one which balances a firm commitment to Israel’s security against the problems Washington suffers from its excessive pro-Israel tilt and the continued Zionist colonialism in occupied Arab lands. » Read more

Dispute with Israel underscores limits of U.S. power, a shifting alliance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - (Analysis) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am The two-week-old dispute between Israel and the United States over housing construction in East Jerusalem has exposed the limits of American power to pressure Israeli leaders to make decisions they consider politically untenable. But the blowup also shows that the relationship between the two allies is changing, in ways that are unsettling for Israel's supporters. » Read more

Israeli Army World's Most Moral? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am Many Israelis like to believe, and the cliché is repeated regularly in Israel, that their army is the "most moral army in the world." However, following the Gaza war which left 1,400 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, some Israelis have begun to question this. Furthermore, the fatal shooting of four Palestinian teenagers in the course of 24 hours over the weekend, in highly questionable circumstances, has forced the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to investigate the incident amidst contradictory statements issued by the soldiers involved. » Read more

Netanyahu spends unheralded time at White House ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am Amid high tensions in U.S.-Israeli relations, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Obama for a total of two hours in two meetings at the White House Tuesday night under a virtual news blackout. No reporters or photographers were invited to record the scene or even a handshake between the two leaders, who met one day after Netanyahu, in a speech to a pro-Israel group, rejected the administration's plea that he halt construction in a disputed area of Jerusalem claimed by Palestinians as their capital. » Read more

Against ‘Pro-Israel’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Wright - (Blog) March 23, 2010 - 12:00am Are you anti-Israel? If you fear that, deep down, you might be, I have important news. The recent tension between Israel and the United States led various commentators to identify hallmarks of anti-Israelism, and these may be of diagnostic value. As you’ll see, my own view is that they aren’t of much value, but I’ll leave it for you to judge. » Read more

Israel Absorbs Twin Rebukes From Top Allies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - March 22, 2010 - 12:00am Israel found itself at odds with its two most stalwart allies on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu culminated a tense visit to Washington with a face-to-face session with President Obama that apparently failed to resolve the impasse between the two over a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on his way into the White House on Tuesday. His tense visit to Washington lacked the usual trappings of a visit by the head of a government. Multimedia » Read more