April 4, 2012

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: PM Netanyahu says he really does want a two-state solution because he does not want the emergence of a binational state. Israeli forces are reportedly evicting settlers from a house they seized in occupied Hebron. Hamas is conducting leadership elections. The International Criminal Court rejects a Palestinian request to investigate Israel's actions in Gaza. Two men are shot dead in Gaza. Palestinians say they will be delivering an important letter to Netanyahu next week, but Netanyahu is reportedly preparing one of his own. Human Rights Watch says the PA has arrested a fourth person for negative comments on Facebook, and rights groups say such actions are undermining free speech. Sec.Clinton says a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran is not in anyone's interest. Netanyahu is moving to recognize three more “unauthorized” settlements. A new deal provides more Israeli fuel to Gaza. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are reportedly due to meet in Jordan today. Social issues and the economy ensure a resurgence of support for Pres. Obama among Jewish Americans. COMMENTARY: Tom Friedman says Palestinian nonviolent protests are a good idea but need to be accompanied with a reasonable peace proposal. John Bolton says Israel is not a threat to the US, but Iran is. Zvi Bar'el says Netanyahu is acting like an Iranian “supreme leader.” Ronen Shoval says any Israeli compromise on Jerusalem would mean the end of Zionism. Nathan Jeffay looks at efforts to make Israel's national anthem inclusive of its Arab citizens. Rami Khouri says the US approach to Iran and Israel is undermining its international credibility. Daniel Levy looks at pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel boycott efforts.

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Netanyahu Wants Deal to Prevent ‘Binational State’

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister said Tuesday that he still hopes to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, because the alternative would be absorbing them into Israel and destroying the Jewish character of the state.

"I want to solve the conflict with the Palestinians because I don't want a binational state," Netanyahu told a rare news conference. "For as long as it depends on me, we will ensure the Jewish and democratic character of Israel."

Israeli Forces Evict Jewish Settlers From West Bank Building

HEBRON, West Bank — Israeli security forces swiftly evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from an illegally occupied building in this volatile West Bank city on Wednesday, ending a weeklong standoff that had threatened to spill over into broader violence.

The raid caught the settlers off guard. Only a day earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had moved to block the eviction order. Settler supporters in Netanyahu’s hard-line government condemned the surprise raid, a key political ally threatened to quit the coalition and settler leaders vowed retaliation.

Hamas to Elect New Leadership for the Militant Palestinian Group This Month

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An official from the militant Hamas group that rules Gaza says the Islamic Palestinian movement will start choosing its secretive, decision-making council and its administrative leadership this week.

The official said on Wednesday that the process should be completed by the end of the month.

All Hamas members can vote for the Shura Council, which in turn elects the administrative leadership, known as the politburo. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.

ICC Rebuffs Palestinians’ Gaza War Crimes Case Against Israel

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- The International Criminal Court on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian request to investigate war crimes allegations arising from Israel’s 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip three years ago, saying it had no jurisdiction because a Palestinian state has not been recognized by the U.N. General Assembly.

But ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appeared to leave the door open for future claims if Palestinians succeed in upgrading their status at the U.N. from "observer" to "non-member state."

Medics: Body Found East of Gaza City

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Medical authorities on Wednesday discovered the body of a man who appeared to have been shot dead late Tuesday east of Gaza City.

Gaza medical official Adham Abu Salmiya said the body of Hisham Misbah Saad, 17, was discovered near the eastern cemetery. Medics coordinated with the Red Crescent to remove his body from an area hard for Palestinians to reach.

Abu Salmiya said he was transferred to Kamal Odwan hospital in northern Gaza.

Palestinian Delegation to Deliver Letter to Netanyahu

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A delegation of Palestinian officials will deliver a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas to Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu next week, a presidential adviser said.

Nimr Hammad said PA Prime Minster Salam Fayyad, PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo and negotiator Saeb Erekat will head the delegation, Hammad told the official Voice of Palestine radio.

In the letter, Abbas will outline the PLO's position on the peace process and remind the Israeli government of previous accords and international agreements, Hammad said.

‘Battle of Letters’ Shaping up Between PM, Abbas

With Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expected to deliver a sharply-worded letter to Israel in the coming days, blaming it for the impasse in the diplomatic process, Jerusalem is preparing a letter of its own to present to the PA, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Though the final draft of the letter has not yet been completed, it is expected to contain the following points:

• Israel is prepared for peace talks with the Palestinians where all the core issues will be on the agenda.

• Israel places no preconditions whatsoever on entering the talks.

HRW: PA Detains Another Man Over Facebook Post

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority police on Monday detained Jamal Hlaihel over a Facebook post deemed critical of the government, Human Rights Watch reported Tuesday.

Hlaihel is the fourth Palestinian to be arrested recently for criticizing the Ramallah-based government.

Two journalists and a university lecturer were also detained for newspaper articles and Facebook posts that the authorities said were slanderous. The academic remains behind bars.

Arrests of Palestinian Government Critics Raise Alarms

RAMALLAH // The Palestinian Authority is endangering free speech with the latest arrest and detention of government critics and reporters, say Palestinian journalists and human-rights workers.

Two Palestinians have been arrested and two others detained in a little more than a week for either publishing articles critical of the West Bank government or posting unfavourable remarks on Facebook about its leader, the Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Clinton: Unilateral Israeli Strike on Iran is in no one’s interest

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told ABC news on Tuesday that a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran is "not in anyone's interest."

"The U.S. has "worked very hard with Israel on all levels from the military, intelligence, strategic, and diplomatic level to make sure we were sharing information," she said. "It's our very strong belief, as President Obama conveyed to the Israelis, that it is not in anyone’s interest for them to take unilateral action."

PM: Legalize Status of 3 Settlements

Amid the uproar surrounding an evacuation order of Jewish settlers from the disputed Machpelah house in Hebron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to prevent the razing of the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El and legalize three other settlements, Ynet reported Wednesday.

Fuel arrives in Gaza to ease power crisis

Fuel has started arriving in the Gaza Strip as a result of a deal between the territory's Hamas-led government and the rival Palestinian Authority.

Raid Futuh, co-ordinator of the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, said tankers of Israeli diesel had begun arriving on Wednesday.

He said 430,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's sole power plant were expected.

Gaza has been affected by severe power cuts for months, and the plant closed 10 days ago because of a lack of fuel.

Palestinian, Israeli negotiators expected to meet in Amman today

AMMAN — Palestinian and Israeli top negotiators are expected to meet “most likely in Amman”, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

Speaking from Ramallah, the official, who asked to remain unnamed, stopped short from confirming reports that exploratory talks Jordan hosted this year between the two sides would resume, but said there is a plan that Palestinian top negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Molcho would meet today, either in Cairo or Amman, “but most likely in Amman”.

Social Issues Drive Jews Back to Obama

Washington — With the battle over the Jewish vote in full swing, a new poll suggests that Democrats have little reason for concern: Jews are firmly in President Obama’s corner.

And the reason, the poll suggests, has nothing to do with Obama’s views on Israel or Iran. It is all about the economy and social justice.

The survey showed that 62% of Jewish voters plan to support Obama in the 2012 election, compared to 30% who say they will vote for one of the four Republican candidates.

A Middle East Twofer

There is so much going on in the Middle East today, it’s impossible to capture it all with one opinion. So here are two for the price of one.

Israel is not the threat, Mr. Obama. Iran is

The Obama administration appears to be conducting an organized campaign of public pressure to stop Israel from attacking Iran’s well-developed nuclear-weapons program. So intense is this effort, and so determined is President Obama to succeed, that administration officials are now leaking highly sensitive information about Israel’s intentions and capabilities into the news media.

Just like Iran, Israel has a supreme leader: Netanyahu

The horizon has a familiar optical quality. The closer you think you're getting, the more it recedes. To avoid disappointments, the best thing is to stay where you are so that the horizon always seems at arm's length, or at least not further away.

For decades now, the term "political horizon" has been an inseparable part of the Palestinian dictionary. Without a political horizon, they will start an intifada, without a political and economic horizon, they will remain our enemies.

Giving up Jerusalem would mean end of Zionism

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert said a few days ago: "It breaks my heart to initiate relinquishing sovereignty over the Temple Mount but there is no other choice." However, conceding the Temple Mount means opting for a one-way road that leads straight to the annihilation of Zionism. And the heart that will be broken will not be that of Olmert but rather that of the Jewish people. There is only one meaning to giving up the Temple Mount: the end of the State of Israel.

Israelis Divided Over Changing Anthem

TEL AVIV — When an Arab Supreme Court justice stood silent instead of singing the national anthem at a public ceremony in late February, it sparked a furor on Israel’s nationalist right. Some lawmakers said that the judge, Salim Joubran, should be dismissed, and Yisrael Beiteinu’s David Rotem went so far as to claim that he “spat in the face of the State of Israel.”

The infernal U.S.-Iran-Israel triangle

Why does most of the world continue to lose respect for the United States and its conduct of foreign policy? Two developments in the past week shed some light on this, and – not surprisingly – they both relate to Washington’s relations with Iran and Israel, an arena in which American rationality, fairness, consistency and integrity go out the window, and hysteria takes over the controls.

Crisis in Zion Square: Can Peter Beinart Shake Up American Zionism?

Israel, settlements, and boycotts, have been attracting something of a wave of attention recently. A small co-op in Brooklyn's Park Slope has voted against implementing a ban on stocking any Israeli products. The ban would have had miniscule economic significance, but it hit the national mainstream press nonetheless. Meanwhile, Peter Beinart called for a boycott on any good produced in Israeli settlements, to be matched by re-investing in "Israel proper." His column stirred up an even more intense debate, some of it quite vitriolic.

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