February 1st

Senior IDF officer tells West Bank commanders to show restraint in dealing with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - (Analysis) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am   The head of the Israel Defense Force's Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, has instructed commanders of units stationed in the West Bank to act with restraint and moderation when dealing with the civilian population. » Read more

Hope for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is not the preserve of thoughtless optimists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Matt Hill - (Opinion) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am Surprising as it may sound, William Hague is turning out to be the most vocally pro-Palestinian British foreign secretary of recent times. » Read more

Consolidating Israeli centre or its criminality? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am All that can be said with certainty now about the Israeli election results is that the deck of political cards in parliament has been dramatically reshuffled: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with Avigdor Lieberman won 31 seats (much fewer than expected, and down from the 41 seats it held before) and remains the single biggest group, the extreme right Bayit Yehudi party of Naftali Bennett took 11 seats, and Yair Lapid’s new Yesh Atid party made » Read more

Official: Abbas to convene PLO reform summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- An independent politician said Thursday that President Abbas will convene a summit of the PLO reform committee next Friday in Cairo. The leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad will participate in the summit along with other parties, Yasser al-Wadiyeh, head of a coalition of independents, he said. The committee to restructure the PLO was formed in the wake of a May 2011 reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas that was never implemented. » Read more

Will Hamas Make Bid For PLO Leadership? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Geoffrey Aronson - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am Khaled Meshaal has come a long way from the days when he would sit on a lonely hilltop next to his village of Silwad doing his grammer school homework. There is no solitude on that summit today. The Israeli settlement of Amona is a jumble of prefabricated dwellings surrounding a modern children's playground with a million-dollar view east to Jordan. Silwad sits in the shadow of the small settlement. » Read more

Israeli Textbooks Under Scrutiny ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli public diplomacy is about to lose one of its trump cards — the argument that "Palestinian" textbooks are fraught with incitement and delegitimize the other side. This card is always played after the "there-is-no-Palestinian-partner" joker. A new US-government-funded study undermines this argument, to great uproar in Israel. » Read more

PA studying plans to join international agencies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 31, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority foreign minister said Thursday that the government was studying the steps toward joining more international organizations and agreements.  Riyad al-Malki said officials were hopeful to initiate applications "as soon as possible" now that Palestine is recognized as a state and can theoretically join dozens of UN and international agencies.  » Read more

Palestinian ghettos ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am After Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was dealt a political lynching in this month’s national election that overthrew many of his supporters, he is walking on a tightrope in search of new partners. But some of his likely new colleagues, who have just surfaced, some gloriously, do not seem very keen on sticking their necks out for the mercurial Israeli prime minister whose days in the premiership are believed to be numbered. » Read more

Israel busts Hamas cell in West Bank plotting abduction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Analysis) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

The Israel We Do Not Know ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Amal Al-Hazzami - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am Being something of an exception in the Middle East, the Israeli elections are often great fun and full of surprises. This time we saw the emergence of politician Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party that has won the admiration even of its political rivals after gaining 19 seats in the Israeli Knesset. » Read more