April 3, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

An editorial in the New York Times discusses US engagement in the Middle East (1). In Time Magazine, Andrew Lee Butters blogs about slow progress for Palestinians in Lebanon (3). YNetnews reports on a recent meeting between the President of Egypt, the King of Jordan and the President of the Palestinian National Authority in which they discussed the peace process (7). In Haaretz, Israel Harel presents a criticism of Ehud Barak (8). Also in Haaretz, Shmuel Rosner examines a statement by Rabbi Yoffie concerning ‘allying with Christian Zionists’ (9).

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Israel Slow To Admit Gaza Patients, U.n. Says

A new report by the World Health Organization says that 32 Palestinians from Gaza have died in recent months largely because of Israeli restrictions that delayed their access to urgent medical treatment in Israel.

Palestinian Pm Threatens Striking Civil Servants With Pay Cuts

Taking on the Palestinian civil servants' union, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned Thursday that he will dock the pay of striking union members.

The union has held repeated warning strikes in recent months, calling for wage increases.

Fayyad said that every strike day would be deducted from the employees' salaries.

According to Fayyad, Palestinian Authority civil servants have received a 27 percent salary increases over the past three years, and the Palestinian Authority cannot afford to pay them more.

Israeli Rights Group Questions Military's West Bank Arrests

The killing of four armed Palestinian fugitives in a hail of Israeli gunfire is raising new questions about the military's practices during arrest operations in the West Bank.

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem is calling for a criminal inquiry into the shooting, citing witness accounts claiming the men were summarily executed. B'Tselem says that would violate a ruling by Israel's supreme court that troops must try to take wanted men alive.

Enlightenment Through The Enemy's Eyes

As the barrage of rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip began to rain down on the Israeli border town of Sderot the warning sirens were already wailing, sending thousands of Israelis scurrying for their lives in the city's ubiquitous underground bomb shelters.

A few kilometers north at the Barzilai medical center in the town of Ashkelon, staff were on high alert as they scrambled to evacuate patients to safety. One of the Grad rockets fired from Gaza landed a mere 50 meters from the hospital entrance.

Mubarak, Abdullah, Abbas Discuss Peace Process

 

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held a meeting on Wednesday in Cairo, in which Jordan's King Abdullah II, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took part. The three discussed a number of issues, including the progress of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the outcomes of the recent Arab summit, which was concluded in Damascus on Sunday. 

Labor, Lost

Labor is disappointed with Ehud Barak. He is a master wheeler-dealer, Amir Peretz claims. He is disconnected, laments Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. He has learned nothing, he hasn't changed, yells Yoram Marciano. His main goal, Peretz charges, is to become prime minister. His main flaw, everyone agrees, is that he has no agenda.

'allying With Christian Zionists Is Bad For Israel'

"No, we cannot." We cannot cooperate with the Christian Zionists, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, told the annual conference of the movement's rabbis Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to copies of the speech distributed ahead of time to the press.

Arab Home Razed In Jerusalem

An Israeli wrecking crew knocked down Shadi Hamdan's home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem in just a couple of hours, reducing the upholsterer's savings to a pile of gray rubble.

The demolition of the home, which Israel claims was illegally built, vividly illustrate the toughest issue facing negotiators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks: conflicting claims over Jerusalem.

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