October 9, 2009

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Israelis and Palestinians brace for a tense Friday with increased Israeli restrictions on Palestinian entry to Jerusalem, including Arab citizens of Israel, and calls for a Palestinian "day of rage." US and PA officials urge calm. Ha'aretz outlines the escalation of tensions in Jerusalem, and reports that the US is "furious" about Israeli incitement against Pres. Obama. Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman dismisses any prospects for peace in the near term. A Palestinian unity deal may be signed in late October. The Jerusalem Post analyzes Prime Minister Fayyad's state-building plan. Hussein Ibish argues that calls for a third intifada, the dissolving of the PA, the resignation of Abbas or the removal of Fayyad are irrational and irresponsible.

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Jerusalem's grand mufti: Israel wrong to block Al-Aqsa Mosque

As grand mufti of Jerusalem and orator of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Mohammed Ahmad Hussein has the power to sway millions of Muslims.

But in his three years since being appointed mufti – a title that dates to the British Mandate and bestows guardianship over the Islamic holy places here – Sheikh Hussein has been relatively reserved. He chooses his words carefully, stays above the political fray, and, despite his ability to issue fatwas, has not made any Islamic rulings that have engendered controversy.

Along Gaza, a Quiet (but Still Tense) Life

At the last stop of the artists’ tour through this hazardous semi-desert, Yaron Bob fashions roses out of pieces of Qassam rockets fired out of Gaza at residents in the area. Mr. Bob repeatedly heats a metal band sawed from a rocket until it glows orange and pounds it with a hammer, working it into a slim stem and petals.

He chose to make roses, he said, because he was “looking for a new symbol of peace, and an answer to death.”

Obama envoy in uphill struggle for Mideast peace

President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy finds himself increasingly hamstrung, with Israel's foreign minister on Thursday all but ruling out a peace deal for years to come and the Palestinian leader weakened by his decision not to push for a Gaza war crimes tribunal against Israel.

Jordan's King Abdullah II added a gloomy warning that prospects for peace are "sliding into darkness."

Obama envoy George Mitchell, visiting Israeli and Palestinian leaders for the second time in three weeks, is trying relentlessly to bring the sides together for talks, but the obstacles he faces are daunting.

Quantcast Abbas' steps toward peace talks are echoing loudly

Hounded by his moderate supporters and militant rivals alike, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is facing a leadership crisis that will make it harder for the Obama administration to draw him into peace talks with Israel.

For months, Abbas enjoyed broad Palestinian support for his refusal to meet with the Israelis unless they stopped expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Then he made two concessions that ignited fury at home and across the Arab world:

UN envoy visits Al-Aqsa compound, urges calm

The UN's special Mideast coordinator, Robert Serry, went to the Al-Aqsa compound on Thursday as a guest of the Waqf, in a visit facilitated by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, his office said.

"[UN] Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has been very concerned at the recent clashes in Jerusalem, and I have been in contact with all sides in an effort to defuse tensions," he said in a statement that followed his visit.

Fatah official: Unity deal to be signed 25 October

The head of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, Palestinian Legislative Council member Azzam Al-Ahmad, said on Thursday he expected his party would finally sign a unity agreement with Hamas on 25 October in Cairo.

"Egypt informed President [Mahmoud] Abbas that he would invite each Palestinian faction to Cairo on 24 October," he said, adding, "The agreement will be signed on 25 October."

'U.S. furious over Israeli incitement against Obama'

The U.S. administration is furious over Israeli incitement against President Barack Obama, Democratic congressmen close to Obama told an Israeli source who returned from a visit to Washington this week.

The congressmen even hinted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been personally involved.

ANALYSIS / Third intifada unlikely, despite Jerusalem tensions

Nine years and 10 days after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada, tensions gripping the Temple Mount could once again lead to the eruption of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis.

Yet a third intifada would seem inconceivable now, for several reasons - West Bank Palestinians are tired, their economy has been improving, and the Palestinian Authority itself has no stomach for a worsening situation.

Barak to Mitchell: Time to move peace process forward

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday told the visiting U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, that the time had come to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"The time has come to move forward to start the process and pass all of the obstacles, because this will help everyone," Barak said at the start of the meeting, according to a statement he released. "No obstacle is impassable."

Lose-lose situation

Two weeks of continuous incitement by the Islamic Movement's northern branch, members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian clerics has generated a particularly volatile mixture. The escalation in Jerusalem surrounding the Temple Mount and its Al-Aqsa Mosque has led the world's most important Sunni cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to declare today "Al-Aqsa Day." In addition, there are no diplomatic negotiations under way with Israel.

Palestinian FM urges UN to ease Jerusalem tension

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki called on UN chief Ban Ki-moon Thursday to intervene to prevent further escalation in Jerusalem.

He said he asked for Ban's "immediate intervention to prevent Israel from escalating the situation in Jerusalem."

Also Thursday, the High Court of Justice rejected a petition filed by the Temple Mount Human Rights group, headed by Yehuda Glick, who demanded that Jews receive access to the holy site on Friday and Saturday.

IThe judge said police were responsible for making the decision and that the court could not become involved.

Arab from the North? You can't enter Jerusalem

The heavy security around Jerusalem in the wake of the recent Arab riots appeared to get a little bit out of hand on Thursday when Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel, Walid al-Omari, and two of his crew members were initially denied entrance to Jerusalem, because "Arabs from the North aren't allowed into the capital."

The implications of Fayad's two-year path to Palestinian statehood

In August, Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayad announced a unilateral plan to establish a de facto Palestinian state in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem following a two-year state-building process. Fayad's plan is the first serious Palestinian outline of a state-building effort since the PLO was founded in 1964 and replaces the traditional PLO position of armed struggle to "liberate Palestine."

Fears of third intifada as tension grows in Israel

After two weeks of mounting tension and sporadic clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters, a showdown is expected when Friday prayers are called at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's old city.

Thousands of Israeli soldiers and policemen are being deployed around the site after the Palestinian Authority called a one-day general strike and a leading Islamic cleric in Egypt urged the Arab world to rise up in "a day of anger".

Jerusalem set for al-Aqsa protest

Thousands of Israeli police have been deployed in Jerusalem as Palestinian groups call for protests over tensions at the al-Aqsa mosque.

The Islamist group Hamas called for a "day of rage", local media said, while its rival Fatah urged peaceful protests over access to the key holy site.

Sporadic clashes in recent weeks are apparently due to Palestinian fears of extremist Jews gaining entry.

The tensions come as US envoy George Mitchell visits the region for talks.

Peace an illusion, says Israel FM

Israel's foreign minister has said there is no chance of an early solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and told people to "learn to live with it."

Avigdor Lieberman does not lead Israeli peace negotiations, but his statement casts a pall over latest US diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations.

Envoy George Mitchell is in the region, spearheading Obama administration efforts to relaunch negotiations.

Talks are stalled over the issue of Jewish settlements on occupied land.

Goldstone fall-out plagues Abbas

Palestinians sometimes joke about the fact that, when written in Arabic, "Palestinian National Authority" looks the same as "Palestinian National Salad".

And to many here, the PA's handling of Richard Goldstone's UN report on the conflict in Gaza has been mixed up and limp.

What began as the publication of a damning report on Israel's military conduct - although it also condemned Hamas - has turned into an embarrassing debacle for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and Fatah leader.

What is at stake in Palestine: a third intifada and the parade of horribles

As the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially East Jerusalem, is balanced on a knife edge and could erupt at any moment into a new explosion of violence or even a third intifada, it is crucial to review what is at stake for all parties should such a catastrophic turn of events occur. Far too many actors and commentators are casually viewing the present extremely dangerous situation, and even welcoming the prospect of a third intifada or the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, or are calling for less dramatic but also extraordinarily dangerous scenarios.

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