August 7, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

An IDF commander and sergeant are being brought to trial over the recent shooting of a Palestinian detainee (2). British diplomats traveling by car through the West Bank town of Hebron are attacked by a group of settlers (3). Two articles discuss the network of underground smuggling tunnels that are supplying the blockaded Gaza strip (4) (5). In a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledges the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners (7).

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Israel Troops Face Shooting Trial

An Israeli commander and sergeant face trial for "unworthy conduct" over the shooting of a bound Palestinian prisoner, Israeli officials say.

Col Omri Borberg was filmed holding the prisoner as a soldier under his command fired a rubber bullet at his feet.

Israel's military advocate general says the incident in the West Bank in July represents a "severe moral failure".

Israeli human rights group B'Tselem had said the military would be shamed if it failed to punish anyone.

British Diplomats Attacked By Hebron Settler

A car full of senior British diplomats was attacked today by a Jewish settler in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron.

The diplomats were visiting from London and Brussels to assess the situation in the ancient city, where around 700 Jewish settlers live under massive Israeli army and police protection amid some 180,000 Palestinians.

The city has been a major friction point, with Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups accusing the hardline religious settlers of attacking the Palestinian population with impunity.

Tunnels To Egypt Keep Hamas In Business

One year after assuming total power over the Gaza Strip, Hamas is stronger then ever. Its weapons caches are overflowing and its control over daily life is secure. The Islamists can go about their business largely thanks to the supplies that get in via the tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt.

Egypt Cracks Down On Fuel Smugglers To Gaza

 

A senior Egyptian security official says police have discovered 20 underground tunnels and seized thousands of gallons of fuel being smuggled under the Egypt-Gaza border.

He says four smugglers were arrested early Thursday after a heavy exchange of gunfire with Egyptian forces. Three of the suspects and one policeman were injured.

The official says the suspects were laying an 800-meter underground pipeline to ship fuel illegally into Gaza. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

The Mideast Mirage

It all depends on whether one is an optimist or a pessimist to argue whether there will be, as promised, an "outline" for a fair conclusion to the slow-moving peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis before President George W. Bush leaves his office at the White House in six month's time.

For a start, the belated talks have been plagued by the presence at the helm of three weak leaders in Palestine, Israel and the United States, all approaching their last days in office.

Israel To Release 150 Palestinian Prisoners

GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM: Israel’s premier pledged to free more than 150 Palestinian prisoners in a meeting yesterday with President Mahmoud Abbas, as a way of energizing their sluggish peace talks.

The release could also boost the prestige of the embattled Palestinian leader, whose Fatah movement is engaged in a tense power struggle with the Hamas.

Occupation Has Only Corrupted Israel's Democracy

Police investigations, commissions of inquiry examining the errors committed during the Lebanon war of 2006, repugnance at former President Moshe Katsav's alleged sex crimes, and now Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement that, with charges of corruption swirling about him, he will resign in September. All of this suggests profound wounds in Israel's moral tissue.

Gunmen Burn Down Gaza Beachfront Resort

Gaza - Unknown militants stormed a Gaza Strip beach resort early Wednesday and burned it down, after handcuffing three security guards, witnesses and security sources said.

The militants left the Ebad al-Rahman resort after confiscating three computers, the sources added.

The resort, which opened this summer, is located in the north-west of the salient, not far from the main headquarter of Hamas' internal security force.

Israel To Boycott Al-jazeera Again

The Government Press Office in Jerusalem will not provide services to the al-Jazeera television network in the wake of a festive show organized in honor of terrorist Samir Kuntar upon his return to Lebanon.

Kuntar was imprisoned in an Israeli jail for murdering three members of the Haran family and policeman Eliyahu Shahar. The show celebrating the convicted murderer's release  A included special guests and a band. According to the GPO announcement, the office manager of al-Jazeera  in Beirut,called Kuntar a hero.  

Barak Orders Demolition Of Jerusalem Yeshiva Terrorist's Home

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday instructed the security establishment to take initial steps leading to the demolition of the home of the Palestinian terrorist who gunned down eight yeshiva students in Jerusalem in March.

The house is situated in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.

Alaa Abu Dhaim, the gunman, killed seven teenage boys and one 26-year-old, as well as wounding nine others, when he burst into the Mercaz Harav seminary in Jerusalem's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood and opened fire in the library.

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