July 30, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

A Palestinian boy is shot and killed by Israeli soldiers today during a protest near the separation barrier in the West Bank (1) (8). An article and video in The Guardian reveal abuses of Palestinians by settlers and the IDF (2), while AFP reports that Israeli soldiers are seldom punished for such attacks (3). Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announces that he will step down when his Kadima party picks a successor (10).

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Palestinians Capture Violence Of Israeli Occupation On Video

An Israeli child from a far-right settler group in the West Bank city of Hebron hurls a stone up the stairs of a Palestinian family close to their settlement and shouts: "I will exterminate you." Another spits towards the same family.

Another settler woman pushes her face up to a window and snarls: "Whore!"

Soldiers Seldom Punished For Attacks On Palestinians: Report

Only six percent of probes into offences allegedly committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank yield indictments, an Israeli rights group said on Wednesday.

The report came as the armed forces vowed to investigate the death of a 12-year-old boy Palestinian allegedly shot by Israeli troops during a protest on Tuesday against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank.

Livni Wants To Be Pm 'to Restore Public Confidence': Interview

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed publicly for the first time on Tuesday she wanted to become prime minister, saying the public needed leaders who respect the law.

"I want to be prime minister ... in order to carry out changes and corrections because (the public) no longer has confidence in politicians and this confidence should be restored," Livni told Channel 10 private television.

"The public wants to know that their leaders give priority to the interests of the country and respect the law," she added.

Not Just Another Interfaith Parley

Last week, an amazingly colorful array of Arab princes and Muslim clerics came together with representatives of the world's major faiths in the Spanish Royal El Prado Palace in Madrid. While the Western media generally failed to appreciate the magnitude of the event, the Arab media understood how important it really was.

Blast At Hamas Gaza Training Camp

At least four people have been injured in an explosion at a Hamas training camp in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials and witnesses.

The blast near the town of Khan Yunis late on Tuesday reportedly destroyed the base and it was still on fire about one hour later.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but the Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the incident.

Where's Our Jerusalem?

The image of municipal workers, backed by armed Border Police, demolishing a practically new residential dwelling in east Jerusalem makes for bad publicity. It also exposes an underlying incoherence in Israel's approach to the capital's Arab neighborhoods.

How Can A Boy Threaten Soldiers?

A general strike has been called at the Palestinian village of Naalin Wednesday to protest the killing of 11-year-old boy Ahmed Mussa. IDF troops blocked the main entrance to the village, while businesses in Naalin closed their doors ahead of the funeral, scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, weeping local residents gathered around the Mussa home and slammed the IDF and Israel's security forces.

Naalin Photographer's Father Kept In Custody

The father of the girl who filmed an IDF soldier firing a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian in Naalin will remain in custody until legal proceedings again him are completed, judges decided Tuesday. 

Jamal Amira's detention was extended by the Military Court at the Ofer Prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Olmert: I'll Quit As Pm When Kadima Picks New Leader

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he has decided not to contend in the Kadima primary election and would resign as soon as the new party leader was chosen, due to the criminal investigations that have embroiled him in recent months.

"I have decided I won't run in the Kadima movement primaries, nor do I intend to intervene in the elections," Olmert said in an official statement to the public from his official residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.

U.s. Says Settlements Are 'problem' As Israel-pa Talks Shift To Washington

The United States called Israeli settlement building "a problem" on Tuesday as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began fresh talks in her uphill push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal this year.

The State Department voiced displeasure at Israel's latest plans to build new settlements after Rice met Barak for wide-ranging discussions that also covered Iran and its suspected pursuit of nuclear arms.

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