February 28th

Two Books Offer Dueling Peace Roadmaps as Obama Prepares for Trip to Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) February 27, 2013 - 1:00am As President Obama prepares for his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank, he can choose from two books, both just out, to read on the plane ride over. Each is produced by veteran presidential advisors on the Middle East. But each offers a starkly different perspective. » Read more

Breakthrough in talks to build new Israeli government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 28, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli news outlets reported on Thursday that a breakthrough has been made in talks to build a new government, following the January 22 election results. The reports cited senior members of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party who expressed certainty that a coalition agreement would be reached next week with two parties, Yesh Atid and Habayit Hayeudi, the second and fourth largest parties, respectively. » Read more

Op-Ed: Don’t censor BDS, expose it for what it is ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Andy Bachman - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am During the Vietnam War protests at the University of Wisconsin, students were said to have gathered on the front lawn of noted historian George Mosse, imploring him to stop supporting the university’s policy of allowing the ROTC on campus. To some students, this alignment with the machinery of war was a “fascist policy,” and they charged their teacher with the same label. “A fascist,” he was said to have mused. “Which kind?” » Read more

Fair-weather friend: Israel's selfish attitude toward Diaspora Jewry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Cohen - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am Israel pretends to represent the Jewish people. Its leaders wave the Jewish banner at every opportunity. But the sad truth is that Israel has never been truly worried about the situation of the world's Jews, about their well-being and their rights. World Jewry interests Israel only to the extent that it serves this country and its interests. Israel sees the Jewish people as a pool of resources for its use: financial and political support and human resources, in the form of immigrants. » Read more

Economy minister welcomes EU settlements report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 28, 2013 - 1:00am The PA economy minister on Thursday welcomed an EU report calling for economic sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The leaked non-binding document by European Union consul generals in East Jerusalem and the West Bank said the 27-nation bloc should be diligent in ensuring settlements are excluded from trade benefits enjoyed by Israel. » Read more

Israel's dwindling chance to oppose an unjust one-state future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sara Hirschhorn - (Opinion) February 27, 2013 - 1:00am “The two-state solution is dead! Long live the two-state solution!” has resonated as the battle-call of the decade, a nostalgic swan song of the halcyon days of hope of the Oslo era. But the past week or so has seen a hushed gathering of liberal intellectuals around the deathbed of the Israeli-Palestine dilemma and a two-state solution. » Read more

Hamas to address Arafat foundation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 28, 2013 - 1:00am Hamas is attending the board meeting of the Yasser Arafat Foundation for the first time at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Thursday. Hamas deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouq will address the foundation's board of trustees for its sixth meeting, attended by league secretary-general Nabil al-Arabi, the head of the foundation Nasser al-Qidra told Ma'an. Abu Marzouq will brief the foundation about reconciliation, al-Qidra said. » Read more

Netanyahu urges "military sanctions" threat against Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters February 28, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the international community on Wednesday to threaten Iran with "military sanctions", saying economic measures are failing to curb Tehran's nuclear drive. "I believe it is incumbent upon the international community to intensify the sanctions and clarify that if Iran continues its programme, there will be military sanctions," Netanyahu said. He did not, in a statement released by the prime minister's office, specify what military measures he envisages. » Read more

Will Bibi and Obama make history? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Eitan Haber - February 28, 2013 - 1:00am   During his next term as prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu will have to do what he avoided doing in his previous terms: Draw boundaries and begin establishing two states for two peoples. This painful process, certainly from Netanyahu's perspective, will commence soon. » Read more

Abbas: E1 building is 'red line' for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - February 27, 2013 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his opposition on Wednesday to Israel’s plan to build in the area known as E1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim. Abbas said that the Palestinians considered the plan a “red line” that should not be crossed. Abbas’s remarks came during a meeting he held in his office in Ramallah with Nigel Kim Darroch, the National Security Adviser for the British government. » Read more