May 1, 2009

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

The United Nations issues a report calling on Israel to end the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem (1). In the Washington Times Arnaud de Borchgrave discusses President Obama’s commitment to peace based on two states (2). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman says the President will soon name a prime minister to form a new government (3). Tariq Alhomayed considers attitudes in the Muslim Brotherhood towards Shiites and Iran (4). Speculation continues about the upcoming meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (7) (11). In Al Hayat, Raghida Dergham interviews U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation, Susan Rice (10). The Palestinian Authority establishes a special unit to combat lawlessness in and around the West Bank town of Nablus (12).

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U.N. Seeks End to Razing of Homes in East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — The United Nations is calling on Israel to freeze all pending demolition orders against Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem in a new report that reflects growing international concern over developments in the contested city. The report also urges Israel to provide solutions to the housing crisis there.

Acid foreign policy test

The struggle in Afghanistan and Pakistan ("AfPak") is President Obama's most urgent foreign policy and national security priority.

Taliban insurgents, with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s slung over their shoulders walk the streets of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, unchallenged by police or army. The pro al Qaeda Taliban insurgency in Pakistan proper spread to within 60 miles of Islamabad, the capital of one of the world's eight nuclear powers. Pakistani helicopter gunships are now in action against homegrown guerrillas.

Abbas to name new Palestinian govt leader soon

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will soon name a prime minister to form a new government to replace the outgoing cabinet of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, his spokesman said Thursday.

"President Abbas intends to form soon a broad government," Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement.

He denied media reports that Abbas had decided to ask Fayyad, who stepped down on March 7, to form a government that would exclude any member of the Islamist Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip. "It is not true," he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Shia

Controversy within the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] is never-ending; as one storm dies down, another begins. The most recent of these odd disputes between leading figures of the Egyptian Brotherhood movement, internally and externally, politically or financially, is related to the [MB] position towards the Shia.

Is this the Palestinians' Last Chance?

Will the Palestinians seize the slim chance of statehood offered by President Barack Obama's pledge to work for a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Or will they throw it away because of unresolved inter-Palestinian conflicts?
These unspoken questions lay behind the talks which Fatah and Hamas held in Cairo this week, in a last ditch attempt at reconciliation. Three earlier rounds of talks under Egyptian sponsorship ended in failure. This week's negotiations fared little better, so wide is the chasm between these rival Palestinian factions.

Hezbollah is Paving the Way for a New War

What awaits Lebanon and the Lebanese if the opposition wins the coming parliamentary elections? The answer came in the form of a "notification" distributed by the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc to participants in this week's national dialogue session. In it, the party warns of all-out military maneuvers that Israel will carry out at the end of next month, or a week before the elections, with the participation of all of its agencies, institutions and weapons.

Netanyahu may accept ‘some form’ of Arab plan

RANMALLAH: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to tell US President Barack Obama that Israel will accept “some form” of the Arab Peace Initiative, the daily Jerusalem Post reported yesterday.

The Post quoted sources close to the policy review being undertaken by the new Israeli government, Israel will compromise on the Palestinian issue to obtain more direct and aggressive US assistance on the Iranian front.

King Abdullah’s Cri de Coeur

Of all the countries involved in varying degrees in the Middle East conflict Jordan has always been one of the most moderate voices calling for peace. And of all the Middle East’s leaders, Jordan’s King Abdullah, much like his father King Hussein before him, has always offered a clear, crisp, intelligent analysis of the situation. It must be said that Jordan benefits from one of the better intelligence services in the Arab world.

Is peace a means or an end for Obama?

On Tuesday, Barack Obama celebrated his 100-day mark as the president of the US. Analysts from around the world have since tried to reflect on whether he has done enough to tackle the enormous challenges facing America and the world. For Middle Easterners, progress towards achieving just and comprehensive peace is the yardstick to measure Obama's success.

Interview of U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice

DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Let me start Ambassador, this May 11 meeting organized by the Russians on the Middle East at the Ministerial level here at the Security Council. Will you be representing the United States or will it be Secretary Clinton?

AMBASSADOR RICE: Washington has not made a formal determination as to who will represent us, but either way we will be represented at the Ministerial level.

DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Meaning, because you are a cabinet member, obviously?

AMBASSADOR RICE: Yes

Netanyahu aides fear 'surprise' demands from Obama

Benjamin Netanyahu's aides fear that U.S. President Barack Obama will "surprise" the prime minister with unanticipated ideas and demands at the leaders' upcoming meeting in Washington on May 18.

A political source in Jerusalem said that Netanyahu's associates have been recently discussing a scenario in which Obama makes unequivocal demands on issues like West Bank settlement construction, illegal outposts and negotiations with the Palestinians.

New PA unit fights anarchy in Nablus

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has recently established a special unit to spearhead its battle against lawlessness in the West Bank city of Nablus and nearby villages, Ynet has learned.

Following Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, the PA began implementing wide-scale reforms, under US supervision, in its security services. As part of the reorganization, security personnel underwent training abroad to deal with the disorder throughout the PA, with a special emphasis being placed on increased cooperation between the various units.

Confidence building and human trust

The Obama administration is vigorously advocating the revival of confidence-building measures to invigorate diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in a comprehensive regional context. To date, the focus has been entirely on the formal level. The most obvious, the most elementary and the most sorely needed step is ignored: nurturing human contacts between Israelis and Palestinians.

IDF attacks Gaza tunnels following Qassam hit

Israel Air Force aircraft on Friday bombed two smuggling tunnels along Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, in response to a Qassam fired by militants from coastal territory the previous day, and which hit the western Negev.

The rocket, which struck an open field, was the first to hit the Negev after a period of relative calm.

No injuries or damages were reported in the strike.

There was also no word of casualties from the IAF response, which targeted tunnels on the Philadelphi Route.

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