Israel’s Academy for Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

When the violent conflict in the territories was at its height a decade or so ago, then IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Israel's goal was to sear the Palestinians' consciousness with the understanding that violence doesn't pay. Today, the government in which Ya'alon now serves as a minister doesn't miss an opportunity to sear the consciousness of Palestinians and Israelis alike with the idea that a diplomatic agreement on a two-state solution is no longer on the table.

»

Israeli Envoy Links Bangkok Bombs to Attacks in India and Georgia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas Fuller - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

BANGKOK — Thai authorities said on Wednesday that the group of Iranians detained after an explosion tore the roof off their rented house was on a mission here targeting Israeli diplomats. Thai police released images of three men who were suspected to have been involved in bomb explosions in Bangkok. “This much I can tell you — the target of the operation was specifically the Israeli diplomatic staff,” Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong, Thailand’s chief of police, said in a television interview.

»

Israel’s Justice Minister Advises Rightists on How to Seek Pardons for Jewish Terrorists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tomer Zarchin - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman told right-wing activists how best to formulate pardon requests on behalf of convicted Jewish terrorists, thus advising them on requests he might later have to approve. By law, each pardon request submitted to the president must be accompanied by a recommendation from the justice minister on whether to accept it. Moreover, if the president does accept it, the justice minister must countersign the pardon to make it valid.

»

Israel and Iran's 'secret war' may be a secret no more
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV // Attacks against Israelis in Georgia and India on Monday and three explosions in Thailand yesterday suspected to have been carried out by Iranians have spurred worries that a covert war of assassinations between Israel and Iran could escalate out of control. Israel was on high alert yesterday for possible attacks both at home and at its embassies and offices abroad, a day after the country's prime minister pledged to "act methodically" against what he termed "international terrorism that originates in Iran".

»

Funding issues for West Bank sites anger Mks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

Funding issues for West Bank Jewish heritage sites angered parliamentarians on the Right and the Left on Tuesday morning. Right-wing parliamentarians were upset by the absence of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem on the list of National Heritage sites slated to be approved for renovation funding at a ministerial committee meeting on Tuesday.

»

Bangkok blasts prompt new accusations against Iran a day after Israelis targeted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel renewed its accusations against Iran on Tuesday after a man identified as an Iranian national was involved in a string of explosions in Bangkok. The blasts came a day after bombers targeted Israeli diplomats in two incidents in India and Georgia, stoking concerns in Israel about a possible wave of attacks on its representatives abroad. The violence comes amid rising tension between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program and threats by Iran to avenge the deaths of several of its nuclear scientists in attacks that it has blamed on Israel.

»

Israel's New Left Goes Online
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Sarah Wildman - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am

In mid-December a young Palestinian named Mustafa Tamimi was struck in the face with a tear-gas canister fired from an Israeli armored vehicle. It happened during one of the Friday protests, a weekly event in West Bank villages like Nabi Saleh, where Tamimi lived; he later died from his wounds. In the ensuing battle over culpability—so much of which took place, like everything else these days, on Twitter—a number of English-language bloggers challenged Israeli military spokespeople about the event, again and again, and kept the story of Tamimi’s death in the news.

»

Israel's new peace camp is playing into Hamas' hands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 13, 2012 - 1:00am

There was a time - before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad starred here in the role of Hitler - when the "elites" were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's number one enemy.

»

Israel rejects Palestinian hunger striker's appeal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — An Israeli military court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Palestinian man on hunger strike for 58 days to have his jail term reduced, officials said. Lawyer Mahmoud Hassan said a military court judge refused the appeal and that his client, Khader Adnan, will be detained until May 8. A military spokeswoman confirmed the ruling and said Adnan will be expected to carry out the full four-month sentence. The spokeswoman spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

»

Israel’s Shin Bet needs to start watching over itself too
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) February 10, 2012 - 1:00am

We never really knew whether there was such a person as George; we also had doubts about the existence of the Loch Ness monster. At the end of last week we discovered that he lives among us and grants interviews. That's his first name and that's his rank - he's always called "George" and he's always "captain." But that's also a surname, and the family is us. The story investigative journalist Ronen Bergman told me is terrifying, not to say shocking. George opens the door of the interrogation room, sheds light on the darkness at noon and lets us take a quick look inside.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017