July 14, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Coverage of Democratic Presidential nominee Barak Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel and the West Bank (1, 3). Fateh and Hamas officials express views on forming a Palestinian unity government (7, 10). Prime Minister Olmert continues diplomatic efforts (5, 6), while the corruption investigation is now involving his family members (8). More coverage of the prisoner swap negotiations (4, 11). Omar Karmi in the National reports on Middle East tensions in cyberspace (9), while Mohammad Omer reports on daily life in Gaza (2).

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Obama Says He Used ‘poor Phrasing’ On Jerusalem

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday he used "poor phrasing" in a speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

"You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given," he said in an interview aired on Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria - GPS."

Palestinian Official: Swap Will Include 160 Fatah Bodies (roundup)

Beirut - The head of the Palestinian Fatah movement in southern Lebanon said Sunday that the expected swap between Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla movement and Israel will include the bodies of Palestinian guerrillas who fell in Lebanon or carried out attacks inside Israeli territories during the 1970s.

'Among the bodies that Lebanon will retrieve from Israel as part of the expected swap, there will be 160 bodies of Fatah members, including the body of Dalal al Moghrabi,' Sultan abu al Anian said in the Palestinian camp of Rashidiyeh, east of Tyre.

Israeli Prime Minister Arrives For Paris Summit

PARIS - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrived in the French capital Sunday where he is to attend a Mediterranean Union summit and hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

 Abbas was expected to call on Olmert to speed up the peace process when they meet at the summit.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will host the meeting between the two leaders. It will be followed by a joint statement to the press.

Olmert Says Palestinian Peace Deal Closer Than Ever

PARIS (Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians have never been so close to a peace deal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Olmert, talking up peace prospects as he clings to office in the face of new corruption allegations, told reporters problems still had to be overcome between the two sides and that it was time to make tough decisions.

Hamas Says "no Offers" On Palestinian National Reconciliation

Palestinian Hamas movement denied on Monday receiving any offers concerning national Palestinian reconciliation.
Hamas denied local news on an agreement among Palestinian factions on forming a technocrat government and allowing Arab forces to enter to supervise the reconstruction of the security bodies in Palestine.

Focus On Israeli Premier Olmert\'s Family In Corruption Case

JERUSALEM - Investigators in the corruption case against Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert\'s have turned their attention to his family amid allegations that they might have taken private trips abroad paid for with public funds, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

Israeli police were considering summoning his four adult children and his wife Alisa over the allegations that Olmert financed their trips by receiving duplicate travel expenses from different public bodies.

Palestinian Conflict Hits Cyberspace

RAMALLAH // What do the world’s most popular board game and most popular online social networking site have in common? Both have run into trouble over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Facebook, the ubiquitous networking site that has both users and employers scrambling to learn as much as possible about people’s personal lives, recently angered Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank when they found that Facebook located their settlements in “Palestine”.

Fayad Urges Hamas To Form Unity Government

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad on Saturday called for the establishment of a unity government with Hamas, saying it was time to reunite the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Referring to the recent IDF crackdown on Hamas-affiliated institutions in the West Bank, Fayad said: "The response to the Israeli measures should be the immediate reunification of the two parts of the homeland [West Bank and Gaza Strip]. We must end the division and restore unity immediately."

Fayad's remarks were published in the London-based Al-Hayat daily.

Report: Israel Reneging On Shalit Agreements

Hamas' delegation to Cairo is under the impression that Israel has reneged on all of the understandings reached over the past few months regarding a prisoner exchange deal that will include the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, according to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

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