October 17th, 2011

Hamas and Israel realize cooperation is mutually beneficial ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The deal between Hamas and Israel for the release of 1,027 Palestinian detainees and one captured Israeli soldier is the most dramatic but not the only sign of cooperation between the two enemies. Hamas has virtually halted rocket fire at Israel from the Gaza Strip and Israel is spending millions of dollars to expand a commercial crossing into the territory while it loosens its blockade of the coastal enclave and its 1.5 million residents. » Read more

The link between Shalit's release and Iran's bomb ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - October 17, 2011 - 12:00am For a determined leadership, a deal to free a kidnapped Israeli is like a candy bar waiting on the shelf. In contrast to peace and most other issues, the timing of such a deal depends entirely on Israel's leadership, and public enthusiasm is guaranteed. One word - yes - and the deal is done. It's no accident that the deal for the return of abducted businessman Elhanan Tennenbaum was orchestrated to take place on the day David Appel was indicted for bribery - a development that was supposed to have been followed by charges against then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. » Read more

Barghouti: Hamas did not consult its own prisoner leaders about Shalit deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury - (Analysis) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am Marwan Barghouti, the head of Fatah's Tanzim armed wing, said Monday that he was not presented with the details of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap, nor was the general secretary of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Saadat. Barghouti added in a statement to the press that even Hamas prisoner leaders were not consulted, and heard about the deal in the media. » Read more

Hamas official: Qatar, Turkey to host prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 17, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouq said on Monday that three countries are willing to host Palestinian detainees set to be released under a recent exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Marzouq, deputy head of the Hamas politburo, told the London based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that Qatar and Turkey had agreed to host exiled prisoners. Al-Hayat mentioned that Syria could also be among the countries willing to receive released detainees. Turkish media said Friday that Turkey would accept all those exiled abroad. » Read more

Future will reveal true price of Shalit swap deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 17, 2011 - 12:00am In the debate on the prisoner exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, many Israelis identify with the suffering of the Shalit family and feel a duty to return a captive soldier, while others feel anger over the release of murderers who slaughtered hundreds of Israelis. Symbolism has also received a lot of attention, but the issue that has been shoved aside in the debate - and it will surely be raised in Monday's petitions to the High Court of Justice - is the risk posed by the prisoners being set free. » Read more

Poll: Israelis overwhelmingly support lopsided prisoner exchange for captured soldier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Associated Press - (Analysis) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am Israelis overwhelmingly support a lopsided prisoner swap in which 1,027 Palestinian prisoners will be released for a single captured soldier, a poll showed Monday, one day before the exchange between Israel and Hamas was slated to take place. The poll showed that 79 percent of Israelis support the deal under which the soldier, tank crewman Sgt. Gilad Schalit, will be released by the Hamas militants who have held him in Gaza for more than five years. Only 14 percent said they opposed the deal. » Read more

Israel Releases Names of 477 Prisoners to Be Freed in Trade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Stephen Farrell - (Analysis) October 16, 2011 - 12:00am Israel on Sunday released the names of the first 477 Palestinian prisoners that it will exchange for a soldier held by the militant faction Hamas, and the list revealed why the country has found the trade so wrenching: a majority of the inmates were convicted of manslaughter, attempted murder or intentionally causing death. » Read more

October 14th

Egypt and Israel: Within the Realm of Possibilities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Alon Ben-Meir, Amr Yossef - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Over the past few weeks, Egypt and Israel have reached the lowest point in their relations in thirty years of peace. The attack in Eilat and Israel's killing of eight Egyptian policemen on the Sinai border led to a diplomatic blame game that was only exacerbated by the Egyptian mob attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in early September. Top diplomats managed to prevent a disaster at the embassy, but the Israeli and Egyptian concerns over the episodes remains high. » Read more

Sometimes a Deal Is Just a Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The five-year saga that will likely lead to the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit -- in one of those bizarrely asymmetrical prisoner exchanges that make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so tragic and intriguing -- has all the hallmarks of a John le Carré thriller. » Read more

Indefensible arguments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is busy preparing for a legal battle with the Palestinians over their application for full membership as a sovereign state in the UN. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed his ministry to draw up plans to defeat the Palestinian bid on a legal basis. The Israeli legal grounds against the Palestinians, however, are flawed and cannot withstand a fair legal scrutiny. » Read more