The myth of an Israeli-Palestinian demographic disaster
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oded Carmeli - (Opinion) December 13, 2012 - 1:00am

Since the 19th century, and more intensively since the 1960s, demographers like Paul Ehrlich, who was interviewed in this magazine last week, have been telling us that the world is a ticking bomb because of the population explosion. When we think about the “population explosion” we conjure up street crossings in New York or, alternatively, refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. But the truth is that the world is quite empty of people.

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Israeli Minister Vents Anger at Europe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 12, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel’s blunt-talking foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, gave vent on Wednesday to the government’s anger over recent diplomatic gains by the Palestinians paired with international rebukes for Israel, comparing Israel’s situation to that of Czechoslovakia in 1938 before the Nazi invasion.

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Washington Watch: Evading peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) December 12, 2012 - 1:00am

It was an “Aha! moment” for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. When Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal told half a million followers in Gaza on Sunday that “Palestine is ours from the river to the sea” and “Israel has no right in Jerusalem,” and when Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas failed to denounce the speech, which one of his aides called “very positive,” Netanyahu declared: “I told you so.”

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The Arab Peace Initiative under review
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Jerome M. Segal - (Opinion) December 12, 2012 - 1:00am

The Arab League Ministerial Council that convened in Doha Sunday to review the Arab Peace Initiative and reevaluate the peace process concluded without any decisive action. Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani maintained that the initiative would "not be on offer for ever." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas objected saying, "It is not permissible to talk about sidelining the Arab Peace Initiative.

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PLO calls on EU to 'reconsider' relations with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 11, 2012 - 1:00am

The Palestine Liberation Organization called on the European Union on Tuesday to "reconsider" it's political and trade relations with Israel over what it called "provocations." The EU said on Monday that it was “deeply dismayed by and strongly opposes Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem, and in particular plans to develop the E1 area,” and said all of its agreements with Israel only applied to the pre-1967 lines.

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The UN's best decision in 65 years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Reuven Pedatzur - (Opinion) December 11, 2012 - 1:00am

Had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu treated the UN General Assembly resolution rationally and coolly instead of waging a fruitless battle against it, he would have rushed to adopt it. After all, it was the organization's most positive resolution in 65 years.

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Palestinians to consider ICC if Israel pursues settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Foreign Press
December 11, 2012 - 1:00am

ANKARA/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that Palestine could pursue Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it pushes ahead with plans to build thousands of new settler housing units in East Jerusalem.

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Israel must not dismiss outrage over settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by James Carroll - (Opinion) December 10, 2012 - 1:00am

AFTER A STORM of criticism hit Israel for the plan it announced to expand settlements in the occupied territories, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back. “Israel will continue to stand for its essential interests,” he declared, “even in the face of international pressure, and there will be no change in the decision it has taken.”

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Israel's Netanyahu: World has double standards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM —Israel's prime minister on Monday accused the international community of "deafening silence" in response to recent vows by the head of the Hamas militant group to fight on until the Jewish state is destroyed, and appeared unmoved by the gathering storm of global condemnation of his government's plans to continue settling the West Bank.

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Netanyahu wards off criticism: Israeli settlement plans won't prevent Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by DPA - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday dismissed international criticism of Israel's recently announced plans to build in an area near Jerusalem, saying it's "simply not true" that the settlements are an obstacle to Palestinian statehood. "I don't understand how this will prevent territorially the establishment of a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said, referring to Israeli construction in the area east of Jerusalem and west of Ma'aleh Adumim - the so-called E-1 area.

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