NEWS:
Israel's anxieties about Egypt are apparently growing. Israel protests new South African regulations requiring Israeli goods from the occupied territories to be clearly labeled. The PA thanks South Africa and urges the entire world to boycott Israeli settlement goods. Deputy FM Ayalon says South Africa is still an apartheid state. Hamas calls on Egypt to treat Gaza residents as it treats Israeli tourists in the Sinai Peninsula. Senior UN officials reiterate that the two-state solution is the “most realistic option” for Israel and the Palestinians. The PA says settler violence is undermining the peace process. The Israeli government says efforts to integrate the children of African migrants are harming Israeli students. Residents of one “unauthorized” settlement outpost criticize residents of another for agreeing with the Israeli government to relocate. DM Barak says FM Lieberman's recent comments calling for the ouster of Pres. Abbas harmed Israel's interests. The EU and the UN call on Israel to cease a particularly destabilizing settlement project, Har Homa. Experts call on the US government to formally designate Jewish Israeli extremists as “terrorists.”
COMMENTARY:
Bradley Burston says Israel is threatened by Islamophobia, not Islam. Ha'aretz says Lieberman is a political ticking bomb, but the Jerusalem Post says he has a point. The Daily Star blasts Lieberman's remarks, and condemns the Israeli government in general. Jonathan Schanzer says Hamas has the same problems with corruption the PA does. Elliott Abrams thinks Congress should authorize the use of force against Iran. George Hishmeh bemoans "the American silence on Israel.”
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