Zahhar: Gaza more secure than West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Interview) September 15, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Seven years after Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip, several things have changed both at the political and the economic level, Hamas official Mahmoud Zahhar said Friday. Speaking to Ma’an, Zahhar asserted that “Gaza is free of occupation, and contiguity with the outside world is easier as visitors from all over the world visited the coastal enclave.”

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Study: Violence Begets Violence Among Palestinian, Israeli Youth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Mairav Zonszein - (Analysis) September 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Early on the morning of Aug. 17, a Palestinian youth was beaten unconscious by a mob of Israeli teenagers in West Jerusalem’s Zion Square. The assailants were teenagers, some as young as 13, and many more youths allegedly stood around and watched. One perpetrator told the press that as far as he is concerned, the victim should die because “he is an Arab." 

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Israel reserves right to decide on military strike on Iran: DM
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that although the Iranian nuclear threat is within Washington's main concerns, Israel and the United States are not on the same page regarding the time for a military strike, according to local media. "The Iranian challenge is a mutual one, however, Israel and the United States' clocks are ticking at different times," Barak said at a toast for the Jewish New Year.

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Israeli PM breaks up Iran meeting, citing leaks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel's prime minister has angrily cut short a key gathering of top security officials, accusing an unnamed participant of leaking details of the sensitive meeting to the media. Netanyahu says the leak occurred after a daylong meeting of his Security Cabinet on Tuesday. The forum was briefed by top security officials about various regional threats.

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Security chief slain in restive Palestinian city
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Samoudeh - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Gunmen killed a colonel in the Palestinian security forces early on Wednesday when they raked his car with gunfire in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, local officials said. Hisham al-Rukh was attacked while driving home in the Jenin refugee camp, which has been the focal point of a broad sweep by security forces since May following an upsurge of violence led by criminal gangs and corrupt security officers.

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Why Shimon Peres Still Matters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shai Feldman - (Opinion) September 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Some three weeks ago, on the occasion of his 89th birthday, Israeli President Shimon Peres gave loud and clear public expression to his opposition to a possible Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear installations. This followed two years during which Peres is said to have counseled Israel’s leaders in closed quarters against the ramifications of such an attack. Giving a number of separate interviews on Aug. 16, Peres did not oppose such a strike under all circumstances. Rather, he warned against an attack that would not receive a green light from Washington. 

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To Calm Israel, U.S. Offers Ways to Restrain Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt - September 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel openly debating whether to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, the Obama administration is moving ahead with a range of steps short of war that it hopes will forestall an Israeli attack, while forcing the Iranians to take more seriously negotiations that are all but stalemated.

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Israeli defense minister says Egypt bent on controlling Sinai
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 31, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday complimented Egypt's new leadership for working to restore law and order in the Sinai Peninsula, saying that Israel should grant the Egyptian military time necessary to root out militant groups operating in the area. "Egypt is certainly trying to gain control (in Sinai), and we must respect and allow them this experience," Barak told Army Radio.

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Israeli cop kills Palestinian over attempted carjack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 30, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli policeman shot dead a Palestinian on Thursday during an alleged carjack attempt in northern Tel Aviv. Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed the details of the event to Xinhua Thursday. "A police who passed by a crime scene saw two individuals trying to break into a vehicle," he said. "A chase followed, in which the suspect was shot and died. Israeli Internal Affairs has commenced an investigation".

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Bibi's own "tree limb"
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past few years it was frequently alleged, not least by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Palestinian leadership had climbed out onto various political “tree limbs.” The implication was that on issues such as the settlement freeze, Palestinian leaders adopted rhetorical positions that were not in keeping with their real strategic options and hadn't allowed themselves sufficient room to climb down. As a consequence, it was suggested, they were stuck with unworkable policies. 

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