Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Israel’s coalition government begins to take shape, though Netanyahu is still working to attract the support of the moderate parties (1) (6). Egyptian brokered negotiations regarding the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit reach a standstill (2) (9). The American citizen injured last week in a demonstration against the West Bank separation barrier remains in critical condition (3). Uzi Arad, widely expected to serve as national security advisor for the new Israeli government, is barred from the United States on grounds that he is an intelligence risk (4) (13). An obscure Palestinian militant group claims responsibility for the shooting of two Israeli police officers in the West Bank earlier this week (5).

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Israeli coalition government takes shape ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Boudreaux - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Reporting from Jerusalem -- Avigdor Lieberman, whose ultranationalist rhetoric has raised alarm among Arabs and international concern, took a major step Monday toward becoming foreign minister in Israel's next government. His appointment, part of a pact between his right-wing party and that of Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, is not final. The deal leaves an opening for the current foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, to stay in that post if her centrist Kadima party agrees to join the coalition. But that possibility appeared remote. » Read more

Negotiations to Free Israeli Soldier Reach Standstill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Negotiations to free an Israeli soldier captured near the Gaza Strip nearly three years ago deadlocked in Cairo overnight, and the Israeli cabinet was scheduled to meet today to pass the issue off to the new government of incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has been negotiating through an Egyptian intermediary with the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, to exchange Gilad Shalit for hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails. But Israel's negotiators returned home Tuesday without a deal. » Read more

Injured American Is 'Semi-Conscious' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am An American injured last week during a demonstration near the West Bank village of Naalin remains in critical condition, still heavily sedated but breathing on his own, a hospital official said Monday. Tristan Anderson, 37, was struck in the head Friday by a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier during a Friday afternoon protest over the construction of an Israeli security barrier. "A full investigation will ensue," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. » Read more

Israel's national security aide barred from U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Uzi Arad, who is expected to serve as national security adviser in the next Israeli government, has been barred from entering the United States for nearly two years on the grounds that he is an intelligence risk. Mr. Arad, a former member and director of intelligence for the Mossad, Israel's spy service, is mentioned in the indictment of Lawrence Franklin, a former Pentagon analyst who pleaded guilty in 2005 to providing classified information about Iran in a conversation with two employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). » Read more

Murky Palestinian group says it's behind shooting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ian Deitch - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am An obscure Palestinian militant group is claiming responsibility for a West Bank attack that killed two Israeli police officers this week. But Israeli and Palestinian security officials are casting doubt on the claim. Sunday's shooting was the first fatal attack in the West Bank in nearly a year. The Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh says it was behind the shooting. The group is named after an assassinated Hezbollah mastermind. It also has claimed responsibility for previous assaults, including a shooting at a Jewish seminary that killed eight students last year. » Read more

Israel: Netanyahu still hopes to attract moderates ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matti Friedman - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu still hopes to persuade moderates to join his government as the deadline for forming a new coalition approaches, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Netanyahu prefers a broad coalition alongside moderate partners to his other option, a narrow and unstable coalition of hard-line parties that could find it difficult to govern and draw the displeasure of the international community by rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. » Read more

Where is the Palestinian Dialogue Headed? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) March 15, 2009 - 12:00am Save for an unexpected surprise, the Palestinian dialogue in Cairo, under Egyptian sponsorship, is still marking its time. Such a dialogue would not have been possible had it not been for a series of Arab pressures on its parties, as well as for the Hamas movement's need to maintain bridges of communication with Egypt, especially after the broad and decisive international and Arab support of Egypt's efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue, both in terms of politics and of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Freeman and the Defamation of the Zionist Lobby ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Former diplomat Charles Freeman was not shy with regards to openly pointing the finger at the Zionist lobby for being behind the organized smear Campaign against him in order to prevent his appointment as Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council. Now the sniping has continued between the former ambassador and the pro-Israeli groups in newspapers, on websites, and on news channels. » Read more

On Shalit deal, Hamas-Israel gaps are greater than common ground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Ofer Dekel and Yuval Diskin brought back a mixed message from Cairo Monday night: Progress had been made on the names of prisoners to be released in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit (in other words, Israel is prepared to free more prisoners than before), but significant disagreement remains over what to do with the released prisoners. The gaps are greater than the common ground. » Read more

Police believe West Bank killings were terror-driven ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am The search for the killers of two police officers on the Jordan Valley's Route 90 Sunday night is continuing, but it has mostly focused on intelligence gathering. Security forces are convinced that the incident was a terrorist attack, but there is still no clear view as to which group the culprit, or culprits, belonged to. Monday, Israel Defense Forces sources rejected claims of responsibility by a group called Imad Mughniyeh Battalions, named after the assassinated Hezbollah terrorist mastermind. » Read more

The writing on the wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am We came to annihilate you; Death to the Arabs; Kahane was right; No tolerance, we came to liquidate. This is a selection of graffiti Israeli soldiers left on the walls of Palestinians' homes in Gaza, which they turned into bivouacs and firing positions during Operation Cast Lead. Here and there, a soldier scribbled a line of mock poetry or biblical quote in the same sentiment. There were also curses on the Prophet Mohammed and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with shift schedules and favorite soccer teams. » Read more

Abbas: Hamas-Fatah talks doomed to fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am The Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks between the rival Palestinian factions appear to be on the brink of collapse, Palestinian sources told Ynet on Tuesday. According to the sources, Fatah and Hamas remain in disagreement over the establishment of a unity government, elections, and the make up of the security forces and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). In light of the disputes, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has estimated that the negotiations, being held in Cairo, will fail. » Read more

Obama Rebuffs Israeli Hawk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Robert Dreyfuss - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am There are very worrying signs about Israel and Iran, amid new threats from Israeli officials that they won't long tolerate Iran's nuclear program before they strike militarily. But, at the same time, there are reports that President Obama's national security team isn't buying the Israeli line that time is running out. For instance, a top Israeli military official, in Washington, was not exactly given the red carpet treatment by Obama's top officials -- yet even so, he met Jim Jones, Obama's national security adviser, Hillary Clinton, and Dennis Ross. » Read more

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