The Region: Obama: Bad president, good for Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Barry Rubin - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am I have just returned from briefing a high-ranking official of country X on the Middle East. We kept coming back to a vital theme: the incredibly shrinking power of the United States. Try to explain American behavior to neutral, open-minded third parties for whom US policy activities have become just plain bizarre! I have just published an article about how terrorists, including the murderers of four American officials in Benghazi, are literally laughing at the United States and its inability (or unwillingness) to do anything effective to defend its interests. » Read more

Senate bill would exempt Israel from visa waiver requirements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am  The Senate version of a bill that would enhance the U.S.-Israel relationship exempts Israel from some requirements in order to allow it to join a visa waiver program.   The bill, introduced in time for last week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference, mandates the inclusion of Israel in a program that allows citizens of designated countries to enter the United States without a prearranged visa. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian peace - the hidden agenda item ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill by Alan Elsner - (Opinion) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am This week, some 13,000 pro-Israel advocates in town to attend the annual AIPAC policy conference fanned out across Capitol Hill to lobby their congressional representatives to tighten sanctions against Iran and designate Israel as a “major strategic partner” of the United States. Curiously missing from the list was any mention of Israeli-Palestinian peace, which is a vital interest for the United States, but more importantly the single most important guarantor of Israel’s future as a democratic Jewish state. » Read more

IFJ Slams Hamas Travel Ban on Safety Trainer in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 8, 2013 - 1:00am in a strongly worded letter, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) accused the Hamas administration in Gaza of sabotaging the Federations safety training for Palestinian women journalists. The letter to Prime Minister Ismael Haneya followed the decision of Hamas to ban the IFJ safety trainer in Gaza, Sami Abu Salem, from travelling to Cairo to deliver a training marking the International Day of Women. » Read more

What It Will Take To Break The Stalemate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Omar Baddar - (Opinion) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am After two decades of a U.S.-led “peace process,” we are no closer to achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement today than we were in the early 1990s. Indeed, we’re probably much farther away now, as Israel took advantage of the so-called “peace process” to drastically expand its colonization of the occupied Palestinian territories (in direct violation of the spirit of Oslo), growing the settler population to more than 600,000 and making a viable two-state solution almost implausible. » Read more

Progress or explosion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Emanuel Rosen - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am The International Monetary Fund published a report last week in praise of the Steinitz-Fayyad agreement, which, according to the IMF's experts, is the most efficient way to reinforce the economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, for the benefit of both sides. » Read more

PA approves plan to register UNESCO sites ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 6, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority cabinet on Tuesday decided to form a committee to prepare applications to register sites on UNESCO's world heritage list. Omar Awadallah, the head of UN file in the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the committee's mission was to prepare heritage sites for the list to protect them from harm. Each ministry has been asked to cooperate with the UNESCO committee, and will prepare the files. » Read more

Egypt arrests Israeli citizen in Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 11, 2013 - 12:00am The Egyptian authorities on Sunday arrested an Israeli citizen due to sneaking into South Sinai governorate, local security sources told Xinhua. "The Israeli man, identified as Gabriel Abu Shlomo, 29, did not have any identification papers or a passport," the security sources said. According to the sources, Abu Shlomo traveled from Israel's Eilat to the Egyptian city of Taba and crossed the boarder on Saturday evening. » Read more

An Ode to Joy: President Obama has no peace plan! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am The news that President Obama has no intention of presenting a new peace plan on his upcoming visit to Israel was greeted by a collective sigh of relief that was so pronounced that it sounded like a giant roar of approval. Hallelujah, Israel is saved. Just in time for Passover, as usual. » Read more

Israeli ultra-Orthodox party's ministers boycott final cabinet meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 10, 2013 - 1:00am The outgoing Israeli government held its final cabinet meeting on Sunday without the presence of four Haredi lawmakers. The four, members of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, did not show up at the meeting apparently in protest of their being excluded from incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming coalition. Netanyahu is about to reach a deadline of forming a new government following the results of the Jan. 22 elections. » Read more