November 20, 2012

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Six more Palestinians are killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, bringing the Palestinian death toll to at least 131. Sec. Clinton is visiting the Middle East to try to help defuse tensions. The Gaza crisis is increasingly seen as strengthening Hamas at the expense of the PA. Egypt is trying to balance mediating between the two sides and blaming Israel. Palestinians bury three generations of the Dalu family killed in an Israeli bombing attack. Egypt says it believes the conflict may end on Thursday. Israel has been planning its current offensive for many years. Militants in Gaza kill six alleged collaborators with Israel. Israeli forces in Hebron kill a 22-year-old Palestinian protester. An Arab League delegation arrives in Gaza. PM Netanyahu says he prefers "a diplomatic solution" to the conflict.Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel are deeply divided on the current conflict. Israeli strategic thinkers admit they have no solution to long-term security concerns about Gaza. Amira Hass profiles some of the Gaza residents killed in Israeli attacks. Israel's Knesset speaker says the conflict might delay upcoming elections. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish explains how an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire would benefit almost all parties, except the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, which he says looks "lost." Jonathan Spyer says Hamas has overplayed its hand. The New York Times says all parties share blame, but Hamas is primarily responsible. Roger Cohen says, like it or not, Israel and the US must deal with Hamas. Richard Cohen says Hamas is putting everyone in Gaza at risk. Eugene Robinson says a Israeli-Palestinian peace process might be difficult, but any alternative is much worse. Ari Shavit says Israel has already achieved most of its goals and should secure them with a cease-fire. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish says Israelis and Palestinians have to talk to each other to achieve peace. Harry Enten looks at American polling on the conflict. The Jerusalem Post says toppling Hamas rule in Gaza isn't, and shouldn't, be a goal. The National says Israel's policies boil down to endless wars. The Daily Star says Palestinians can't achieve anything without national unity. Shlomi Eldar says the conflict and the assassination of its military commander may radicalize Hamas. Steven Cook says the conflict shows Palestine remains the Middle East's central problem. Aaron David Miller says Hamas will probably be the political beneficiary no matter what happens on the ground. Hanin Ghaddar asks how Arab "leftists" can possibly support a reactionary religious right-wing movement like Hamas.

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Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 2 children, 12 others

Media Outlet: 

Ma'an News Agency

Article Type: 

Analysis

Date: 

November 20, 2012

Source Link(s): 

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=540162 [6]

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon killed two children, and at least twelve others, bringing the day's death toll to 21.

Article Author(s): 

Peter Baker

Article Author(s): 

Eytan Gilboa

Article Author(s): 

Rick Gladstone

Article Author(s): 

Isabel Kershner

Media Outlet: 

The New York Times

Article Type: 

Analysis

Date: 

November 20, 2012

Source Link(s): 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html?_r=... [7]

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Tuesday to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close.

Gaza Crisis Poses Threat to Faction Favored by U.S.

Article Author(s): 

Ethan Bronner

Media Outlet: 

The New York Times

Article Type: 

Analysis

Date: 

November 20, 2012

Source Link(s): 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/world/middleeast/hamas-strengthens-as-palestin... [8]

In the daily demonstrations here of solidarity with Gaza, a mix of sympathy and anguish, there is something else: growing identification with the Islamist fighters ofHamas and derision for the 

Article Author(s): 

David Kirkpatrick

While holding itself out as an honest broker for truce talks between Israel [10] and Hamas over the 

GAZA CITY — Sweat streamed through the beards of three men clutching the body of 7-year-old Jamal Dalu as they raced through the streets toward his final resting place here amid bursts from assault rifles fired into the air and shouts of “God is great.” They occasionally bent to kiss the boy’s bare, bloodied head or shrouded feet. But they had to jog to stay ahead of the body of his father on a grand wooden pallet, and thousands who thronged on all sides.

Egypt: Israel's Gaza offensive to end Tuesday

Egypt's president predicted Tuesday that Israel's nearly weeklong offensive in the Gaza Strip would end within hours, and Israel's prime minister said his country would be a "willing partner" to a cease-fire with Hamas aimed at ending relentless Israeli airstrikes and Palestinian rocket attacks.

Israeli offensive in Gaza was years in the making

With little notice, Israel has launched a blistering air offensive against the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas militant group. Here's a look at why the violence erupted, the goals of the warring sides and how it may end:

Gunmen kill six alleged collaborators in Gaza

 Palestinian gunmen shot dead six alleged collaborators in the Gaza Strip who "were caught red-handed", according to a security source quoted by the Hamas Aqsa radio on Tuesday.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian in Hebron clashes

A 22-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, the second Palestinian casualty of West Bank protests in support of Gaza.

A delegation of regional foreign ministers arrived in the Gaza Strip for a solidarity visit Tuesday, as Israeli aerial offensive enters its seventh day.

Nabil Al-Arabi, chief of the Arab League (AL), headed the delegation, which comprised 13 Arab foreign ministers and their Turkish counterpart.

Israel prefers diplomacy solution: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said he preferred a diplomacy solution to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza Strip.

Israel's Arab, Jewish population divided on military operation in Gaza

As rocket barrages continue to hit Israel and Gaza and the "Operation Pillar of Defense," launched by Israel against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, enters its sixth day, Israeli and Arab residents in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have different take on Israel's offensive in the coastal enclave.

Israelis ponder alternatives to 'mowing the lawn' in Gaza

Not too many Israelis seem able or willing to articulate a long-term solution for Gaza [20]

Farmers on their way to sell vegetables in the marketplace, vendors of purified drinking water and people who just happened to live too close to the targets of Israeli air strikes were among the 34 Palestinians estimated to have been killed in Israel Defense Forces attacks in the past two days alone.

Rivlin: Pillar of Defense likely to delay election

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin suggested that the upcoming election may be postponed in light of the Gaza conflict.

Talk Like An Egyptian

As the conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza drags on, there are growing signs both sides need to look for a face-saving way out. The best solution for almost all concerned would probably be a cease-fire brokered by, or credited to, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, which could secure many of the most important aims of the main parties. Both Israel and Hamas have their reasons for wanting to extricate themselves sooner rather than later from the current conflagration.

Lost in Ramallah

Who can fail to weep for the long-suffering people of Gaza, who again find themselves under Israeli attack? Over 100 have already been killed, at least half civilians and many children. Spare a thought, too, for Israelis with legitimate concerns they might be among the extremely unfortunate few to be struck by an unguided rocket from Gaza not intercepted by "Iron Dome."

Strategic Overreach

JERUSALEM — The current conflict between Hamas and Israel is the result of the Palestinian Islamist movement overplaying its hand in an attempt to rewrite the rules of engagement between itself and Israel.

Hamas's miscalculation of the balance of forces between itself and Israel has now brought the Israel Defense Forces to the brink of a renewed ground operation in the Gaza Strip. If this is to be avoided, much depends on Western pressure on Hamas's allies, above all Egypt, so that they in turn may press the movement to accept a renewed ceasefire.

Hamas’s Illegitimacy

The death of more than 100 Palestinians and the wounding of hundreds of others in the six-day-old Gaza war were not enough for the top leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal. Speaking in Cairo on Monday, he taunted Israel to begin a ground invasion, saying “if you wanted to launch it, you would have done it.” He ignored the fact that an invasion would kill many more Palestinians and further devastate the Gaza Strip, which, in August, before the current fighting, the United Nations predicted would be unlivable by 2020.

Gaza Without End

HOW does it end in Gaza?

This has been the issue with all the self-defeating Israeli military offensives of the past 16 years — Operation Grapes of Wrath in Lebanon, Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and now Operation Pillar of Defense, all of them, not coincidentally, initiated on the eve of national elections in Israel.

Gilad Sharon, the son of Ariel Sharon who orchestrated Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, has an idea for an ending. He expressed it this way in The Jerusalem Post:

The callousness of Hamas

Of all the points of disagreement between Israel and Hamas, maybe the most profound is this one: Israel cares more about sparing innocent lives — including those of Palestinians — than does Hamas. Not only have Hamas and other militant groups this year sent more than 700 rockets crashing haphazardly into southern Israel, but also Hamas instigated yet another war where the chief loser will certainly be its own people. If hell has a beach, it’s located in Gaza.

End the war while you're ahead

The first day of Operation Pillar of Defense was quite successful. The Hamas military chief was assassinated and Hamas' long-range rocket capability was impaired, sending the radical Palestinian group into shock. The second day went pretty well too: Iron Dome proved its worth, Israeli civilians proved their steadfastness and Israel showed that it still enjoys a fair amount of international legitimacy and domestic cohesion.

Before the next baby dies

TORONTO – People have been asking me in the past few days if the current situation has opened the wound in my heart. The truth is that this wound has never been closed, so there is nothing to open.

Hamas rule

It is tempting to call for the toppling of Hamas’s rule in Gaza. In the long run, the only way to stop the barrage of rocket and mortar fire directed at Israeli civilians may indeed be to remove Hamas from power altogether.

As was the case in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, any sort of cease-fire – even one that comes after a critical blow to Hamas’s infrastructure – will be temporary.

Israel's strategy in Gaza leads to endless conflict

'Cutting the grass" is the euphemism some Israeli strategists have used to describe the policy that has been conducted in Gaza. The idea behind it is that Israel - unable on the one hand to make peace with its neighbours, and unable, on the other, to completely dominate or deter them by force - must resort to regular military incursions and strikes to degrade their military capability.

All for one cause

Bitter infighting has always been the Achilles heel of the Palestinian struggle, and Arab regimes have long propped up these power struggles, supporting one faction over another when they felt it was to their benefit. The aims of these governments have been pursued with no recourse to what might be best for the Palestinians they purport to help.

The examples of these divisions and their outside influence abound. Take, for example, fighting in Palestinian camps in Syria, which has essentially come down to a split between those who support the Syrian regime and those who do not.

Hamas' Leadership Crisis May Spell Radicalization

Two days before the killing of Ahmed Jabari, I talked on the phone with [Deputy Foreign Minister for Hamas in Gaza] Dr. Ghazi Hamad, who had served at the time as a go-between in the Gilad Shalit swap deal and worked closely with Jabari during the secret negotiations with Israel. I asked him one simple question: “Don’t you see where it is all heading, that Israel is on the way to Operation Cast Lead number two?”

Still Think Middle East Peace Doesn't Matter?

Everyone knew it was coming. Once the giddy days of the Arab uprising had passed, it was the subject of discussion at almost every roundtable, panel discussion, and bull session among Middle East analysts: What about Gaza?

How Hamas Won the War

Cruel Middle East ironies abound. And here's a doozy for you.

Why is it that Hamas -- purveyor of terror, launcher of Iranian-supplied rockets, and source of "death to the Jews" tropes -- is getting more attention, traction, legitimacy and support than the "good" Palestinian, the reasonable and grandfatherly Mahmoud Abbas, who has foresworn violence in favor of negotiations? Since the crisis began, President Obama seems to have talked to every other Middle Eastern leader except Abbas.

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