February 7, 2012

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Both the Palestinian public and political leaders are deeply divided about the national reconciliation agreement, as is the Arab media. Hamas and Fatah are continuing their negotiations in Cairo. Salam Fayyad and Ismail Haneya both welcome the agreement. The EU lays out terms for continued aid to a new Palestinian government. Residents of Kafr Aqab in occupied East Jerusalem are cut off from most public services by Israel's separation barrier. A Jerusalem monastery is vandalized with hateful slogans by Jewish extremists, an attack condemned by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the PA Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, and the Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land,. Israel says it is concerned that Hezbollah might get arms from Syria. PM Netanyahu orders his cabinet to cease “chitchat” about Iran. Palestinian MK Tibi's right to speak in the Knesset is again restricted. COMMENTARY: Ethan Bronner says the agreement between Hamas and Fatah carries risks for both Abbas and Netanyahu. Joe Klein says if it leads to the replacement of PM Fayyad, the agreement will be a disaster for the Palestinians. Khaled Abu Toameh doubts that the agreement will work. Robert Danin says implementing the agreement will be very difficult. The National says Palestinian unity is the only way forward. Magid Shihade says the agreement will have real consequences for all parties. Ha'aretz interviews Mohammed Bakri about his 2003 film “Jenin, Jenin.” Sefi Rachlevsky says the Israeli government isn't doing enough to protect its citizens. Moshe Arens says democracies around the world are warming to Israel. Larry Derfner says Israel is on the road to war with Iran.

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Doha agreement divides political opinion

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Doha agreement signed on Monday by President Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal has been welcomed and criticized in equal measure by politicians and analysts.

Hamas official Ismail al-Ashqar told Ma'an that the agreement "contradicted basic Palestinian law and overstepped the Palestinian Legislative Council."

He urged President Abbas to take serious steps to implement the Cairo agreement as a whole, rather than being selective about which articles to implement.

Middle East press uncertain on Palestinian unity deal

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will head the cabinet of politically independent technocrats while it organises elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Hamas has governed since 2007.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Mr Abbas would be abandoning the way of peace if he implemented the deal with Hamas. Israel considers Hamas to be a terrorist group.

Pro-Fatah newspaper Al-Quds

Officials to meet in Cairo to announce government

CAIRO (Ma’an) -- A delegation of Hamas officials have arrived in Cairo as President Abbas and PLO members are expected to arrive within the next few days to announce the structure of a transitional government.

Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal signed an agreement in Doha on Monday which stipulated that Abbas will head an interim government.

The accord also included agreements on releasing political prisoners, reforming the Palestinian National Council and activating the PLO for the next elections, Palestine TV said.

Haneya, Fayyad welcome Meshaal-Abbas Doha agreement

GAZA/RAMALLAH, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The premiers of the two Palestinian governments, Salam Fayyad in the West Bank and Ismail Haneya in Gaza, on Monday welcomed an agreement reached between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Qatar on forming a unified transitional government.

Fayyad, a veteran economist and prime minister of the caretaker Palestinian government in the West Bank, said in a press statement emailed to reporters that he welcomes the signed Doha agreement, and expressed hope that "the deal will be implemented soon."

EU vows aid to “non-violent” Palestinian gov’t

BRUSSELS — The European Union will provide financial aid to a new Palestinian government as long as it is peaceful and accepts Israel's right to exist, an EU spokesman said Monday after a deal between rival factions Fateh and Hamas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will head an interim consensus government under a deal signed with the Islamist movement Hamas in Doha aimed at reconciling the feuding sides.

Neighborhood pays price of being on wrong side of Israel’s wall

Reporting from Jerusalem—
With a fire extinguisher in his hand and a cellphone pressed to his ear, principal Sameeh abu Rameelh battled an electrical fire in his Jerusalem high school's computer lab while pleading with the fire department to come to his aid.

But when the emergency dispatcher heard that the school was in Kafr Aqab, separated from the rest of Jerusalem by a 36-foot-high concrete wall, he told Abu Rameelh that firetrucks wouldn't cross Israel's separation barrier without army protection.

“Death to Christians” sprayed on Jerusalem monastery

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- A Jerusalem monastery, built on the spot where tradition holds the tree from which Jesus's cross was made, was defaced with graffiti bearing the hallmarks of Jewish extremists, police said on Tuesday.

"Death to Christians" was daubed in Hebrew on the outer walls of the Monastery of the Cross, an 11th-century fortress-like holy site situated in a valley overlooked by Israel's parliament.

Official Statement from CRIHL in response to the acts of desecration of the Greek Orthodox Monastery

JERUSALEM--The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land condemns the acts of desecration and graffiti of the Greek Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem last night. The Council calls upon people from all faiths – Christians, Jews and Muslims – to respect all Holy Places and sites for all three religions, and strongly discourages extremists’ behaviour that exploits or involves religious holy places in a political/territorial dispute.

In the name of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, The Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs at the PA and The Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land,

Israel fears Hezbollah could get arms from Syria

JERUSALEM — Israeli defense officials say they are increasingly concerned that Lebanese militants could get their hands on weapons from violence-wracked Syria.

The officials say their main worry is that with the chaos in Syria mounting, Hezbollah guerrillas could acquire Syrian military S-125 anti-aircraft missiles, which could hinder operations by the Israeli air force.

The officials say they are also worried Hezbollah may acquire Syrian chemical weapons and an array of Syrian missiles able to strike deep into Israel.

Netanyahu to Cabinet: Stop “chitchat” about Iran

JERUSALEM — An Israeli official says the country's prime minister has told his Cabinet to quit the "chitchat" about Iran.

Israeli political and military leaders have been increasingly candid recently on the subject of Israeli action against the Iranian nuclear program.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has concluded that an Israeli attack on Iran is likely in the coming months.

Israel considers Iran to be its most dangerous enemy and has vowed to prevent it from going nuclear.

MK Tibi disciplined yet again

The Knesset's Ethics Committee has on Tuesday banned MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) from delivering one-minute speeches in the Knesset plenum for a period of one month.

The decision came after MK Tibi delivered a speech three weeks ago during which he verbally confronted MK Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas) who was heading the Knesset discussion.

Tibi had already been suspended from the plenum and from participating in committee meetings for a period of one week last month over a limerick he read out during a plenum sitting called "Anasstasia's plumbing was damaged."

Unity Deal Brings Risks for Abbas and Israel

JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority embraced reconciliation with the Islamist movement Hamas on Monday, agreeing to head a unity government to prepare for elections in the West Bank and Gaza.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, left, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar’s Emir, and Khaled Meshal, the leader of the Islamic Hamas movement, in Doha on Monday.

Palestinian Détente Disaster

I’ve been traveling to the Middle East as a journalist for the past 30 years. During that time, Israel has grown into an ethnically diverse, economically successful country with a strong (internal) tradition of democracy, free speech and the rule of law–a tradition not always extended toward its Palestinian neighbors, especially when Likud governments are in power.

Analysis: Will Qatar succeed where others failed?

First there was the Saudi-sponsored Mecca Agreement between Fatah and Hamas in February 2007. That agreement collapsed four months later when Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

Then came the Sanaa Agreement in March 2008 in Yemen. That agreement lasted only a few hours before it was pronounced dead by the two parties.

The Yemeni agreement was followed by two similar reconciliation pacts that were reached under the auspices of the Egyptians. Needless to say, the Egyptian-brokered accords remained ink on paper.

The Doha Palestinian unity agreement: Now the hard part

Monday's Fatah-Hamas unity agreement announced in Doha marks the latest in a series of unimplemented accords between the two Palestinian adversaries. The two sides announced - again - their intention to unify their efforts and form an independent caretaker government to shepherd the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza to new elections.

A step towards Palestinian unity is only way ahead

After years of animosity, armed hostilities and, lately, an uneasy truce, the bitter rift between Fatah and Hamas has - on the surface at least - begun to heal. The rival parties yesterday signed an accord to form a Palestinian unity government.

The agreement, negotiated by Qatar, confirms the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas as the head of an interim government, with plans to set a date for unified general elections in the West Bank and Gaza. It would be the first such vote since Hamas won elections in 2006.

Hamas-Fatah deal is realpolitik with real consequences

The agreement signed in Doha on Monday stipulates that President Mahmoud Abbas will lead an interim government, as well as keep his duties as head of the Palestinian Authority, in preparation for elections for the legislative council and for the presidency.

Sponsored by Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, the agreement was produced in large part because of regional and global developments. But it is better understood in terms of how these outside forces have affected internal changes in Palestinian politics.

Haunted by “Jenin, Jenin”

Israeli actor Mohammed Bakri, whose film "Jenin, Jenin" caused a furor about a decade ago, performed at Tel Aviv's Tzavta Theater this week in "The House of Bernarda Alba." The right-wing Im Tirtzu movement demonstrated against the show, and Culture Minister Limor Livnat criticized Tzavta's "judgment" in allowing Bakri to take the stage.

It's been a long time since you've been onstage. You haven't been on an Israeli stage since 2003. Did you miss it?

Yes.

How was it to return to an Israeli audience?

Why Israel is faced with 200,000 rockets

There are currently 200,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel, according to Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. Thousands carrying heavy explosive warheads, and some chemical and biological ones, are aimed at Tel Aviv. And they are in the possession of people who are not exactly Israel's friends. In fact, most are religious extremists bordering on messianic.

So why aren't these missiles falling on our heads?

World democracies are warming up to Israel

No Israeli could have failed to notice the radical change in weather over the past two months. Forecasters predicted another dry winter, and fortunately they turned out to be wrong. And while Israel is still suffering from a water shortage, for the moment the situation is not as dire as we had thought.

Israel’s Silent March to War With Iran

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.

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