February 10, 2012

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Palestinian officials say they will consult the Arab League on the future of talks with Israel. Fatah and the PLO support Pres. Abbas' deal with Hamas. PA security forces arrest 56 people in Israeli-controlled areas of occupied Hebron. Many Palestinian towns in “Area C” have no electricity. Extremist settlers raid a Palestinian village near Nablus. Hamas' ties with Iran are continuing to fray. Suspended PA Economy Minister Abu Libdeh and one of his aides face corruption charges. A Likud-sponsored bill in the Knesset would provide 35% tax breaks for funding "Zionist settlement," although it does not specify where. DM Barak approves more new settlement homes, which activists say amounts to a new settlement. American musician Cat Power cancels an appearance in Israel, citing Israel's policies. Anonymous hackers threaten cyber attacks against Israeli websites. COMMENTARY: The Washington Post says unless Hamas changes its policies, Palestinian national unity will do more harm than good. Yossi Sarid says Shin Bet is looking for extremists on West Bank hilltops but can find them in the Likud Central Committee. Yoel Marcus says the Herzliya Conference turned into a forum for empty “babbling” about Iran. Guy Bechor says the Arab uprisings mean the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer central to Middle Eastern realities. Ziad al-Drees says the Russian and Chinese vetoes on Syria, along with continued US vetoes on Israel, show that the veto system at the UNSC is dysfunctional. George Hishmeh says money from large donors like corporations or individuals such as Sheldon Adelson show that cash still drives American elections. The Arab News welcomes the Palestinian agreement, but says moving forward will not be easy. Zvi Bar'el says the Palestinian agreement should prompt the Quartet to adopt policies designed to push Hamas towards accepting a two-state solution. Yusef Harb says Palestinian political factions must catch up with the movement of the public. Alon Ben-Meir says psychology is key to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Fatah Official: Palestine Seeks Arab Support for Halt to Israel Talks

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul said Friday that Palestinian leaders will seek Arab support for their decision not to return to direct negotiations with Israel, after exploratory talks ended last month without agreement.

PLO officials are set to brief the Arab League follow-up committee on Sunday, after Palestinian and Israeli envoys met for a series of talks in Jordan before an international Quartet deadline of Jan. 26 to submit proposals on borders and security issues.

Abbas’ Deal with Hamas Gets Support from Fatah, PLO

RAMALLAH, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday got support from his Fatah party and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the agreement he had reached with rival Hamas movement.

The Central Committee of Fatah and the PLO's Executive Committee met in the West Bank city of Ramallah and welcomed the deal, which was struck in Qatar Sunday.

According to the agreement, Abbas will form an interim government to prepare for elections in the Palestinian territories, including in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

PA Security Detains 56 in Israeli-held Hebron Zone

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Palestinian security forces detained 56 Palestinians sheltering in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron early Friday, after coordination with Israeli authorities.

The dawn raid was the second Palestinian incursion into Hebron's H2 area in recent weeks, under full Israeli control since a 1997 deal split the city.

A Palestinian security official told Ma'an the sweep of arrests was permitted by Israeli authorities after pressure from Europe and the US.

Unequal Neighbors: Off the Grid in Area C

MASAFER YATTA (Ma'an) -- Pylons tower over South Hebron Hills village Um al-Kher, hoisting electricity cables that bisect the agricultural community.

But like hundreds of their Palestinian neighbors, this tiny hamlet has no access to the power grid.

The cables running above the heads of the 150 Um al-Kher residents supply a chicken farm set up a decade ago by the adjacent Karmel settlement, wedging the village on both sides.

"They give electricity to the chickens but not to us," says Aziz Muhammad Hadhalin, 26, an engineer and community activist.

Settlers ‘Raid Nablus Village’

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Settlers raided a Nablus-district village overnight Thursday, sparking clashes with residents, a PA official said.

Dozens of Israelis from Yitzhar settlement threw stones at a number of homes in Burin, Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an. No injuries have been reported.

They smashed car windows on the main road from the Jewish-only settlement, he added.

Youth from Burin gathered at the home of Ayman Sufan after it came under attack, and clashed with the group of settlers, Daghlas said.

Hamas Drifting Away From Longtime Patron Iran

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas appears to be drifting away from its longtime patron Iran — part of a shift that began with last year's Arab Spring and accelerated over Tehran's backing of the pariah regime in Syria.

The movement's top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, wants Hamas to be part of the broader Islamist political rise triggered by the popular uprisings sweeping across the Arab world. For this, Hamas needs new friends like the wealthy Gulf states that are at odds with Iran.

Palestinian Minister Faces Trial on Corruption Charges

RAMALLAH, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian minister was referred to court for trial on Thursday after an inquiry proved that he was involved in corruption, the Anti-Corruption Commission said.

Minister of Economy Hassan Abu Libdeh and one of his aides were accused of corruption and mismanagement, a statement said.

The commission said in its statement that it informed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the findings.

In November, Abu Libdeh suspended his job as minister so as to be free to "defend" himself during the inquiry.

Israel to Mull Tax Exemptions on Donations ‘Zionist Settlement’

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation will discuss on Sunday a bill recognizing donations to "Zionist settlement" for tax purposes. The bill would confer a tax exemption of up to thirty-five percent on such donations.

The bill did not specify whether "Zionist settlement" referred to settlement in the West Bank or anywhere in Israel, although in practice it most likely means giving assistance to organizations that promote settlement beyond the Green Line.

Barak Approves New Settler Homes in Gevoat

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday authorized construction of homes and educational facilities in a small, isolated area of Gush Etzion known as Gevaot.

This marks the first time that permanent housing has been authorized in Gevaot, which is made up of caravan homes.

Hagit Ofran of Peace Now charged that the approvals were tantamount to the creation of a new settlement – an allegation the Defense Ministry rejected.

Officially, on the map, Gevaot is located within the Alon Shvut settlement.

Rock Musician Cat Power Cancels Israel Show, Citing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

JERUSALEM — American musician Cat Power has canceled her show in Israel, joining a list of artists shunning the country over its conflict with the Palestinians.

Charlyn Marie Marshall, better known by her stage name Cat Power, was to perform in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

But she tweeted on Friday that due to “much confusion” she felt she could not play for her Israeli fans and that she felt “sick in her spirit.”

She had faced calls to boycott the Jewish state.

‘Anonymous’ Hacker Group Threatens ‘Reign of Terror’ Against Israel

The hacker group “Anonymous” released a video Friday threatening to begin a ‘reign of terror’ against Israel, in the latest round of cyber warfare between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli hackers.

The video, which was posted on YouTube in the early hours of the morning, blamed Israel for committing 'crimes against humanity,' and criticizing it for its treatment of Palestinians.
Anonymous hackers

Hamas and Fatah: A Mideast muddle

THE ON-AGAIN, off-again “unity” agreement between rival Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah seems to be on again. Or at least it was on Monday, when Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a new accord with Hamas chief Khaled Meshal after a meeting in Doha, Qatar. The pact calls for Mr. Abbas to serve as prime minister of a coalition government, which would serve only long enough to hold elections for a new Palestinian leadership. That’s if it gets off the ground: On Wednesday, Hamas’s Gaza-based leadership issued a statement objecting to the deal.

Israel’s Shin Bet needs to start watching over itself too

We never really knew whether there was such a person as George; we also had doubts about the existence of the Loch Ness monster. At the end of last week we discovered that he lives among us and grants interviews. That's his first name and that's his rank - he's always called "George" and he's always "captain." But that's also a surname, and the family is us.

The story investigative journalist Ronen Bergman told me is terrifying, not to say shocking. George opens the door of the interrogation room, sheds light on the darkness at noon and lets us take a quick look inside.

Israel let Iran have it, but it’s the Israelis running scared

We won't deny there is a sense of disquiet, not to say fear, among the public about Iran becoming a nuclear power and what our response might be. In a world that invests so much in the manufacture of advanced weaponry, the use of nuclear weapons is off limits. The two bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led the Great Powers to the conclusion that further slaughter on this scale could not be permitted. With other kinds of slaughter, it's not so terrible.

Palestinians? Who cares!

For some 100 years, the following was considered an undisputed fact: The Arab-Israeli conflict is the “father of all Mideastern conflicts.” Should it be “resolved,” the world thought, we shall see cosmic tranquility descending upon the entire region. Mounds of “research” were written about this conflict, inflating to the point of becoming a bubble threatening to explode.

Veto vs. Veto

The U.S. Secretary of State called the Russian-Chinese double veto against the draft resolution condemning the Syrian regime ‘Shameful’. In truth, this American description is inaccurate, because what is shameful instead is not the Russian or Chinese veto. It is the concept of the veto itself!

If we consider the issue through this wider perspective, we will find that the comment made by the U.S. ambassador to the UN is atrocious, when she spoke with the tone of a tame wolf as she expressed her disgust with the Sino-Russian veto, and said, “The United States is disgusted

It’s all about the money

Political money and foreign interference have cast a pall of gloom on the US primaries this year, overshadowing the Republican party’s divisive efforts to elect a presidential nominee who would try and deny President Barack Obama a second term in the November election.

Palestinian unity accord

The new deal signed in Qatar on Tuesday follows on from last May’s agreement in Cairo, where both sides seemed on the brink of coming together. That process foundered because Hamas rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ choice of Salam Fayyad as prime minister in the new coalition administration. Fayyad, who has very effectively restructured the security forces on the West Bank, has now been dropped from the ticket.

The real domino effect

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has been full of surprises in the last couple of months. First came his announcement that the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations should be given a chance. Then came the reconciliation agreement between Fateh and Hamas, which was followed by Meshaal's confirmation that he would not run for another term as director of Hamas' political bureau. And last but not least, he and his family left Syria and now he is looking for a new shelter for Hamas' headquarters.

We must catch up

bitterlemons: How do you think the "Arab spring" is affecting the average Palestinian?

Harb: The Arab spring has its causes and is a natural response to the political and social regimes that have been in power in the Arab states for the last 50 years. Palestinian society, however, has a clear distinction from the regimes in the Arab world. It is led by a new, modern regime, one created in 1994 through the Oslo agreement and one that protects the capabilities of the Palestinian people.

The Psychological Dimension of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

On the surface, the lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems illogical and unsettling.

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