Israeli Military Action | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel’s Silent March to War With Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) February 7, 2012 - 12:00am

The atmosphere in Israel is pretty surreal these days. The whole world seems to be asking whether we’re going to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities this year — the whole world except this Israeli part of it.

Is Israel preparing to attack Iran?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) February 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a lot on his mind these days, from cutting the defense budget to managing the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But his biggest worry is the growing possibility that Israel will attack Iran militarily over the next few months.

Israel can clear Mideast of nukes, it just won't
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinians are being regularly and illegally barred from reaching Dead Sea beaches in the occupied West Bank, according to a Supreme Court petition filed by Israel's leading civil rights organisation. The Association of Civil Rights (Acri) in Israel is challenging what it says is the frequently imposed ban by the military on Palestinians seeking to swim or relax at beaches in the northern Dead Sea. The salt-saturated sea is the only open water accessible to Palestinians from the otherwise landlocked West Bank.

When Talk of War Transcends Idle Chatter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - February 5, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israelis like to say that when it comes to military and security operations, those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know. But the intense and increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities is challenging that piece of conventional wisdom. The standard view has been that successful attacks rely on secrecy and surprise, so the more talk there is about an operation, the less likely it will occur.

No Israeli Decision on Iran Attack, Obama Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Scott Shane - February 5, 2012 - 12:00am

President Obama said Sunday that he did not believe Israel had made a decision on whether to attack Iran to disrupt its nuclear program and that diplomacy remained the “preferred solution” to resolving the standoff over what Western leaders believe is Tehran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Shin Bet Chief: Iran Trying to Hit Israeli Targets in Response to Attacks on Nuclear Scientists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Iran is trying to strike Israeli targets around the world in a bid to stop the assassinations of its nuclear scientists, the head of the Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, said Thursday.

IDF: Soldier Left in PA Village Refused Locals’ Assistance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoav Zitun - February 3, 2012 - 12:00am

The IDF force that left one of its soldiers in the Palestinian village of Budrus near Ramallah Wednesday night belongs to the 188th Armored Brigade, where former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit served, Ynet has learned. The soldier who lost contact with his fellow soldiers during activity in the village serves as the battalion commander's signal operator and is considered his right-hand man during operational activity.

Israel's military leaders warn against Iran attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre, Kim Sengupta - February 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Almost the entire senior hierarchy of Israel's military and security establishment is worried about a premature attack on Iran and apprehensive about the possible repercussions, a former chief of the country's defence forces told The Independent yesterday. Lt-Gen Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who is close to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, said there had been little analysis of what happens the "day after" when the Tehran regime and its paramilitary allies retaliate. He warned that an assault may lead to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad benefiting from popular anger against foreign aggression.

Israel's profound choice on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Chuck Freilich - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 12:00am

In the end it will come down to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His senior officials will make their cases, but he alone will have to make one of the most critical decisions inIsrael's history: whether to attackIran's nuclear program. I do not envy him.

MI chief: Iran can produce 4 bombs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Neri Brenner - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 12:00am

"Iran has enough nuclear material for four bombs," Director of Military Intelligence Major General Aviv Kochavi warned Thursday. Kochavi made a rare appearance at the 2012 Herzliya Conference, where he reviewed regional changes, the effects of the Arab Spring and the Iranian threat. "Iran is vigorously pursing military nuclear capabilities and today the intelligence community agrees with Israel on that. Iran has over four tons of enriched materials and nearly 100kg of 20% enriched uranium – that's enough for four bombs," he said.