March 7, 2012

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Pro-Israel activists are having a significant impact on the Washington conversation regarding Iran. PLO officials say the Middle East does not need more wars. The UN says exports from Gaza are still greatly inhibited. A top US military officer says the stalemate in Middle East peace talks endangers American interests. Israeli NGOs demand a probe into alleged abuse of a Palestinian woman by Israeli internal security. Palestinian citizens of Israel say the state is investing in their sector, but not enough. Senior Israeli rabbis warn against provocative actions by Jewish extremists at Jerusalem holy sites. Asharq Al-Awsat profiles Palestinian diplomat Nasser al-Kidwa, who will serve as deputy as to Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria. Palestinian unity talks remain deadlocked. Palestinian officials say they're going to give Israel a deadline for resuming negotiations. COMMENTARY Aaron David Miller looks at the roles of Israel and Iran in the US election-year politics. David Sanger looks at divisions between the US and Israel regarding Iran. The LA Times says Pres. Obama has made a convincing case on continued diplomacy with Iran. Thomas Friedman says Obama may be the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House. Shmuel Rosner says a one-state arrangement would be a recipe for bloodshed. George Bisharat says Israeli courts don't provide justice for Palestinians. Ha'aretz says PM Netanyahu returned from Washington empty-handed. Elias Harfoush says Israel has ensured that the Iran issue is a major one in the US presidential campaign. Yossi Alpher sees worrying precursors of a possible third intifada, and Ghassan Khatib says the situation is volatile and unpredictable. Saleh Abdel Jawad says no one can know if another intifada is developing, but the issue raises important questions

---

---

[5]

---

Pro-Israel Delegates Have Washington’s Ear on Iran

WASHINGTON — Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee was surrounded by a gaggle of constituents on Tuesday like a quarterback in a huddle, finishing a discourse on his commitment to stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, center, met on Tuesday with Senators Harry Reid, left, and Mitch McConnell. Iran's nuclear program continues to dominate discussions.

Chief Palestinian negotiator says Mideast does not need more wars

REPORTING FROM RAMALLAH, WEST BANK –- The Middle East needs "winds of peace" instead of "drums of war," the chief Palestinian negotiator said Tuesday.

Saeb Erekat was commenting on the meeting a day earlier between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and their speeches before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Erekat did not seem worried that the Palestinian issue was overshadowed in the meeting by the conflict over Iran's nuclear program. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains the most destabilizing factor in the Middle East, he said.

UN: Gaza exports long way off despite trial

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The U.N.'s World Food Program is exporting 140 tons of date bars to the West Bank from Gaza this week, hoping this first shipment in nearly five years will help revive a vital trade route, an official said Tuesday.

An Israeli official said a resumption of regular exports from Gaza to the West Bank is unlikely, citing security concerns and a desire not to reward Gaza's Hamas rulers.

Top U.S. army official: Mideast peace stalemate endangers American interests in region

During an annual briefing Tuesday in the U.S. Congress, Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, head of the Central Command, issued a warning about a continued impasse in the Israel-Palestine conflict. He said that the political awakening in the Arab world has caused regimes in the region to be more attentive than ever to the emotions of their populations. The current stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians, he declared, cannot continue; what is needed is the renewal of an Israeli-Arab drive for peace based on a two-state solution.

NGO asks Israel's AG to probe alleged Shin Bet abuse of Palestinian women

The Public Committee Against Torture In Israel submitted affidavits by Palestinian women to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Monday describing their treatment during interrogation by the Shin Bet security service.

The watchdog group asked Weinstein to direct interrogators to maintain the women's dignity during questioning.
Nine individual complaints were sent to the division of the Justice Ministry that investigates the police, and eight complaints were filed with the Military Advocate General.

Israel investing more, but not enough, in Arab sector

JERUSALEM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli-Arab lobbying group led a Knesset parliament discussion this week on the socioeconomic status of the country's million and a half Arab residents, who make up more than 20 percent of the population.

The Haifa-based Mossawa advocacy group presented it's comprehensive findings at a ministerial-level conference organized by lawmaker Talab al-Sana of the United Arab List-Ta'al, who sits on the Knesset Finance Committee.

Rabbis warn Jews against going to Temple Mount

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, along with several other senior rabbis, issued a public statement on Tuesday warning the public that visiting the Temple Mount is forbidden by Jewish law.

According to the statement, the warning is being issued at this time because of increased organized attempts to go up to the holy site.

The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site, but Jewish law requires those going up to certain sections of the mount to be ritually pure – a status only obtainable through a ceremony that cannot be performed today.

Profile: Nasser al-Kidwa

London, Asharq Al-Awsat – Nasser al-Kidwa has been appointed as deputy to Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria. For the first time since being entrusted with the post last month, Annan will visit Damascus on 10 March in an effort to promote a political solution to the Syrian crisis, with al-Kidwa expected to accompany him.

Can rival Palestinian factions reach unity deal?

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The recent visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington primarily focused on Iran's nuclear program -- a long way from previous meetings that had, more often than not, focused on Israeli-Palestinian relations. There is little talk about a peace process these days.

Palestinians to give Israelis deadline on talks

JERICHO, West Bank — Palestinian officials said Saturday they plan to give a deadline to Israel to accept ground rules for negotiations, and suggested that a 'no' will allow them to shelve Mideast talks until it does.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to spell out the requirements in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. He said he did not know by when Netanyahu would have to respond.

Iran and U.S. Election-Year Politics

Myths and facts conflate all too easily in our opinion-driven politics. One of the most dangerous these days is that President Obama’s Iran policy has been taken hostage by election year pandering to Israel and the pro-Israel community in America.

It’s a pernicious trope that runs counter to reality. If anything, election year uncertainties will work far more to make Obama a cautious warrior when it comes to green lighting an Israeli attack against Iran or launching one of his own.

On Iran, Questions of Detection and Response Divide U.S. and Israel

WASHINGTON — When President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met in the White House on Monday, the main subject was how to calibrate the resumption of negotiations with Iran while continuing to accelerate sanctions and sabotage against its nuclear program. But they remained divided on two central questions: If Iran decided to race for a nuclear weapon, would the West detect that in time to stop it? And even if it were detected, would an airstrike be the best option?

On Iran, patience and power

It's not clear that Israel is convinced, but President Obama deserves credit for his forceful argument that the Jewish state shouldn't precipitously attack Iran's nuclear program. He has also effectively rebuked American politicians, including his Republican rivals, for "beating the drums of war." At the same time, Obama has committed the United States to a "military effort" to block a nuclear weapon — a newly muscular formulation of his long-standing commitment to take no option off the table.

Israel’s Best Friend

The only question I have when it comes to President Obama and Israel is whether he is the most pro-Israel president in history or just one of the most.

Why? Because the question of whether Israel has the need and the right to pre-emptively attack Iran as it develops a nuclear potential is one of the most hotly contested issues on the world stage today. It is also an issue fraught with danger for Israel and American Jews, neither of whom want to be accused of dragging America into a war, especially one that could weaken an already frail world economy.

The One-State Problem

JERUSALEM — “Israel/Palestine and the One-State Solution,” a student-run conference held at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government last weekend, achieved its goal before it even began. By bringing undeserved attention to an impractical idea, it drew enough wrath to raise its own profile.

The one-state solution is an angering concept, and the gathering was an angering event.

Israel stacks the legal deck

Palestinian baker and activist Khader Adnan captured headlines recently for a 66-day hunger strike that led him to the brink of death. His ordeal began in the dead of night on Dec. 17, 2011, when Israeli soldiers broke down the door of his West Bank home. Adnan was arrested before his terrified wife and daughters, and was reportedly abused verbally and physically upon detention and later in interrogation.

Netanyahu returns empty-handed from Washington

The Israeli and U.S. governments agree that Iran's striving for nuclear weapons is dangerous for Israel, the region and the world. Everyone understands what a nuclear bomb might do in the hands of an extremist Muslim regime aspiring to regional hegemony.

The Israeli Blackmailing of the Iranian Nuclear Program

Israel succeeded in turning the Iranian nuclear program into a top priority for the American presidential candidates. The annual conference of the largest Jewish forum in America, the AIPAC committee, turned into a competition platform for who will shed the highest amount of tears over the future of the Hebrew state in case Iran succeeded in producing its so-called nuclear weapons.

Growing signs of frustration

In recent weeks and months, we have confronted a growing number of worrisome possible precursors of a new intifada or some similar round of violence on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. While the previous two intifadas were seemingly triggered by unintended actions or events (a traffic accident in 1987, a Temple Mount visit in 2000), in retrospect it is clear that they erupted due to the accumulation of frustrations on the Palestinian side, at least some of which could have been prevented by Israel.

Volatile, but unpredictable

The combination of a complete absence of political prospects for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and ending the Israeli occupation, as well as the growing daily difficulties experienced by Palestinians in the occupied territories, has been encouraging many analysts and politicians to warn of a possible resumption of violence or another intifada of some kind. This reflects a consensus view that the current situation is not sustainable.

Time for uprising number three?

The question of whether we are on the verge of another uprising is a difficult one that nobody can really answer--not political analysts, not Israel's security services nor the decision makers of the Palestinian factions Fateh and Hamas that appear to have the button at their fingertips. The query raises more questions than answers, in fact.

---

---