March 9, 2011

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Pres. Abbas hints at resignation. PM Fayyad affirms that there can be no Palestinian state or peace with Israel retaining the Jordan Valley, but PM Netanyahu insists it must. Hamas says Gazans will turn the Knesset into Tahrir Square. Palestinian women still face marginalization. Analysts look at whether Israel's pledge to dismantle unauthorized outposts could revamp peace talks. A radio station promotes Palestinian women's rights. Niva Lanir says the world is looking at Israel the way it looked at South Africa. Israel's military predicts it could not contain a West Bank uprising. Palestinian citizens of Israel say they are being pushed into a corner. Settlers say they will resume work on unauthorized structures. Amr Mousa says that if he is President of Egypt, he will maintain the treaty with Israel. The UK is upgrading the status of the PLO mission but says it's still not ready to recognize a Palestinian state. Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu should commit Israel to peace, and Leonard Fein says Pres. Obama should tell them that too. Hamas is criticized for a media crackdown. The Palestinian national soccer team will play its first home match.

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Abbas hints at resignation

President Mahmoud Abbas hinted Tuesday that he would resign if an independent Palestinian state was not established by September.

Abbas' remarks came at a joint press conference with British Foreign Minister William Hague in London.

Responding to reporters' questions about his resignation, Abbas said all options were being considered.

Fayyad: No solution, no state without Jordan Valley

"There is no independent Palestinian state without the Jordan Valley," re-appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday, after comments by his Israeli counterpart that the area would remain under occupation in any peace deal.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had toured the Jordan Valley, telling reporters that "the IDF [Israeli army] must remain deployed on the border as part of any agreement. This is Israel's security border."

Hamas: Gazans will turn Knesset into Tahrir Square

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar told an audience in Sudan on Monday that the people of Gaza would triumph over the Israeli occupation and "raise the banner of Islam" over Jerusalem.

Speaking at the eighth conference of the Iran-funded International Institute for Jerusalem, Zahhar said his party would "not quit until the banner of one God is raised over the occupied Islamic lands and injustice is lifted," a Hamas-linked website said.

Netanyahu: Israel must hold Jordan River line

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday the upheaval in the Arab world underscored the need to keep Israeli forces along the Jordan River, the likely eastern border of a future Palestinian state.

"Our security border is here, on the Jordan (River)," Netanyahu, reaffirming a longstanding policy, told reporters during a visit to the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

PCBS: Palestinian women still 'marginal' in PA

Palestinian women are increasingly involved in political life, but their presentation as decision makers in the Palestinian Authority is still marginal, a study found.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics conducted the study to mark International Women's Day.

The positions of president of the Stock Exchange Authority and governor for Ramallah and Al-Bireh are both held by women. The president of PCBS, Ola Awad, was the first female to head a non-ministerial governmental institution.

News Analysis: Will Israel's pledge to remove some settlements activate peace talks?

The Israeli government on Monday announced that it will remove all Israeli settlements on the West Bank built on private Palestinian land.

Despite the government's promises, local analysts doubt its feasibility without an outside push to resume direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Moreover, the political stability within Israel could be affected as some coalition partners are considered pro-settlement.

DOMESTIC DOUBTS

Specialized radio station promotes rights of Palestinian women

On March 8 the International Women's day, Women FM, a new radio station based in Ramallah in the West Bank, is broadcasting special programs on Palestinian women's situation to celebrate the day.

Women FM, which had its first broadcast last July and broadcasts programs on Palestinian women's position and the difficulties they are facing in the society, is the first Arab language radio station in the Middle East of its kind to defend women's rights.

World looks at Israel as it looked at Apartheid-era South Africa

Whether or not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses "a supertanker against the bureaucracy," as he calls it, to alleviate the housing shortage, a no-fly zone for supertankers already exists. It exists whether his idea crashes in the Knesset debates on housing reforms, or flies high above the railway line that's supposed to be extended to Irbid in Jordan - in the East, where there are no procedures or bureaucracy.

IDF is preparing for mass civil uprising in West Bank

The Central Command and the Judea and Samaria Division of the Israel Defense Forces have been closely monitoring the recent events in Arab states and updating their operational plans for dealing with a potential popular, nonviolent uprising.

Nearly a year ago the Judea and Samaria Division drew up a comprehensive program to combat large demonstrations in the West Bank, which is currently being adjusted in light of the popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

Zoabi versus bulldozers: Arabs being pushed into corner

Hundreds of Arab and Jewish women protested Tuesday evening in Lod to mark International Women's Day and took advantage of the event to attack the police and local authorities for demolishing houses in the Arab sector. The demonstration was held under the banner "Strong women against the bulldozers", and received support from Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi (Balad).

Settlers resume construction in Havat Gilad

A week after the razing of illegal structures which prompted a series of protests and "price tag" activities, demolished structures in Havat Gilad have been rebuilt. In addition, four new structures are being set up. Meanwhile, the government has pledged to demolish the buildings by the end of the year.

"Our Zionist response to the destruction of the country is to build immediately, not just the razed structures but several other ones," Itay Zar, Havat Gilad founder said.

Moussa says he would maintain Egypt's peace with Israel

Outgoing Arab League chief and Egyptian presidential hopeful Amr Moussa on Tuesday suggested that he would maintain the peace treaty with Israel if he were to win in elections later this year, The Associated Press reported.

"We as Egyptians have a responsibility to lay the foundations for peace...We cannot rebuild Egypt ... while adopting an adventurous foreign policy," he said, adding "we would be kidding ourselves" if Egyptians didn't recognize Israel as a state.

Moussa added, however, that he would reconsider the terms of a deal by which Egypt supplies Israel with natural gas.

UK to upgrade Palestinian diplomatic status

Britain will upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation to London to the level of a mission in line with a number of other EU countries, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday.

"Given the extent of our aid to the Palestinian Authority and our work with them, we will join many other countries in upgrading the status of the Palestinian delegation to London to the level of a mission," he told parliament.

The decision puts Britain in line with fellow European Union members France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

Gould says UK won't yet recognize Palestinian state

British Ambassador Matthew Gould on Tuesday night attempted to dispel fears that the UK is moving towards recognizing Palestine as a free and independent state.

Gould was speaking at a meeting of Europeans for Israel that was conducted in the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem. He is the first ever British Ambassador to visit the Jewish Agency, he said.
During the Mandate period the Jewish Agency was the strategic core of Jewish resistance against the British.

Hamas Draws Fire from NGO, Journalists for Media Crackdown

Even as the Palestinian Authority launched a campaign to have Hamas removed from international lists of terror organizations, journalists and a human rights group are accusing the Islamic movement of harassing journalists and restricting books and newspapers in the Gaza Strip.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based non-governmental organization, on Monday urged Hamas to immediately lift any book ban and also to stop barring newspapers that support Fatah, a rival movement which leads the Palestinian Authority (PA), from being distributed in the Gaza Strip.

Football finally comes home for Palestinian national team

Mokhtar Tlili, the Tunisian coach of the Palestinian national football team, gave his players a pep talk yesterday as they prepared for the first official match played on their home turf. "Be courageous out there," he said. "Don't be afraid."

The Palestinian team will face Thailand today as part of the Asian group in a qualifying match for the London Olympics in 2012. Thailand won 1-0 at their first meeting last month.

What Obama Should Say to Israelis

There’s a growing clamor for President Obama to visit Israel (and, presumably, once in Jerusalem, Ramallah as well). But there’s a bit of a problem in imagining such a visit: What would the president say?

He would likely deliver a very elegant speech; that’s one of his great skills. But beyond reassuring the Israelis of America’s “unshakable” commitment to Israel’s security and chastising them for their inflexibility on settlements, what is there for him to say? Pretty words, even moving words, no doubt. But useful words, words as a prelude to… to what?

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