Israel's Netanyahu goes on the defensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to deflect rising criticism at home over stalled peace talks Monday by telling Israeli lawmakers that it was the US, not Israel, that rejected a settlement freeze extension this past fall. "There was an American decision not to follow the track,'' said a government official who confirmed the remarks but was not authorized to speak for attribution. "The reporting out there that Israel rejected the American package is simply erroneous.''

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Israel's Labor: We'll quit if no progress to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

A top leader of Israel's Labor Party threatened Monday to pull out of the government if there is no progress in peace talks, reflecting growing impatience with the stalemate in negotiations with the Palestinians. An exit by Labor, a moderate party sitting uncomfortably alongside hawks in the ruling coalition, could undermine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary majority and force an election. That would sideline Mideast peace efforts for months. The pullout threat came from Labor Party stalwart Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.

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The Lieberman Question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) December 29, 2010 - 1:00am

What are Diaspora Jews to make of Avigdor Lieberman? In his latest outburst before 170 of Israel’s senior diplomats, the pugnacious, rebellious foreign minister called the Palestinian Authority illegitimate, the Turkish prime minister a liar, and ridiculed the central policy of his own government.

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Israel's Lieberman tweaks Turkey. Is he flanking Netanyahu?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 27, 2010 - 1:00am

A recent attempt to mend Israel-Turkey ties appears to be on the rocks, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman lobbying against apologizing to Ankara for the killing of nine Turkish citizens on the Gaza aid flotilla when they challenged Israel's naval blockade of the territory in May.

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Upsurge in racism as protesters take to the streets against Arabs, migrant workers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - December 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Just weeks after several dozen state-employed rabbis ignited a major controversy by issuing a letter calling on Israeli Jews not to rent or sell their homes to non-Jews, and one day after an anti-Arab demonstration in Bat Yam, Tuesday saw two more incidents in the rising tide of hatred and racism that appears to be sweeping the country.

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Pro-settlement Likud members begin floating idea of West Bank pullout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

With Middle East peace talks at an impasse, two senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party are shopping around a new idea: In the absence of peace, Israel should pull large numbers of settlers out of the West Bank while leaving its soldiers in place. They believe the arrangement could relieve international pressure on Israel over settlements and give the Palestinians wider autonomy in an area they hope to make their future state, while leaving Israel in control of security matters until a peace agreement is reached.

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Avigdor Lieberman's home is a virtual fortres
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - (Opinion) December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Of Israel's roughly 120 West Bank settlements, why, one might ask, would Avigdor Lieberman choose to live in Nokdim? The isolated community, about a 20-minute drive from Jerusalem, lacks a single shop or restaurant to entertain Israel's foreign minister and his wife, Ella. State-provided armoured vehicles and bodyguards must shuttle Israel's top diplomat through a labyrinth of Palestinian villages and checkpoints for his 20-minute commute into Israel proper.

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Jerusalem Marathon runs into politics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

When Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat invited people to participate in the Jerusalem Marathon, he called it a "challenging sporting event." Still 100 days away, the city's first full marathon is already giving the mayor -- a five-time marathoner himself -- a run for his money. After someone pointed out to three city council members that the course ran through parts of East Jerusalem, they sent a letter of protest to Adidas, one of the international event's main sponsors.

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Peres: Time running out on peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ahiya Raved - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

The European Union expressed its faith in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on Monday, but President Shimon Peres believes there is not much time left. "We are starting the countdown for peace, and time is running out," he said Tuesday at a Galilee convention in the northern city of Beit Shean. "There are serious processes of de-legitimizing Israel, radical Islamization in the region and Iran arming itself. We must come to our senses now. There is not much time left for discussions," the president warned.

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Arab family's home win blow to Israeli 'Jews only' policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

The pretty two-storey home with a red-tiled roof built by Adel and Iman Kaadan looks no different from the rows of other houses in Katzir, a small hilltop community in northern Israel close to the West Bank. But, unlike the other residents of Katzir, the Kaadans moved into their dream home this month only after a 12-year battle through the Israeli courts. The small victory for the Kaadans, who belong to Israel's Palestinian Arab minority, dealt a big blow to a state policy that for decades has reserved most of the country's land for Jews.

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