Middle East News: World Press Roundup

DM Barak shakes up Israeli politics by leaving the Labor Party but stays in the government, and visit soldiers in Nablus. Upheavals in Tunisia spur Palestinian officials to issue reassurances about the Palestinian economy. Russia confirms its commitment to an independent Palestinian state. Israeli authorities approve 122 new settler housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians are expected to submit a Security Council resolution condemning settlements this week. A Hamas operative dies in a tunnel collapse. Uriel Reichman says if Israel does not come up with a peace strategy of it own, the US or UN will act alone. Carlo Strenger says the Israeli right has caused the country’s international isolation. PM Netanyahu says he is determined to go forward with peace talks. Israeli women are harassed by the Israeli authorities for consistent outreach to the Palestinians. John Ging leaves his position as head of UNRWA. Tony Karon says Russian immigrants have pushed Israeli politics to the aggressive nationalist right.

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Barak’s Break With Party Shakes Up Israeli Politics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, broke away Monday from the left-leaning Labor Party he had led and formed a smaller centrist faction that will stay in the governing coalition under a new name. The surprise move shook up Israeli politics but was expected to have little impact on its policies. » Read more

WEST BANK: Political upheaval in Tunisia spurs Palestinian leaders to issue reassurances on own economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - January 16, 2011 - 1:00am The factors that led to the popular upheaval in Tunisia set off alarm bells throughout the Arab world, and the Palestinian Authority was no different. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spent more than two hours on Sunday talking to 40 Palestinian journalists at his Ramallah office about the economic situation and living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israel's Barak breaks from Labor Party, fortifying bond with Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am Facing growing calls from within his party to withdraw from Israel's government over the peace process deadlock, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak instead bolted from the Labor Party to form a breakaway parliamentary faction that would preserve his alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Russia affirms recognition of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday reaffirmed Moscow's commitment to an independent Palestinian state. "We have supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital since the last century, and we still support it," Medvedev said, during his first official visit to Palestine. The late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat first issued a declaration of independence at a meeting in Algiers in November 1988, with the former Soviet Union quick to express support for it. » Read more

Israel approves more East Jerusalem settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 18, 2011 - 1:00am The city council on Monday approved the building of another 122 Israeli settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, a councilor said, a move likely to bring fresh censure from the international community. Elisha Peleg, head of the conservative Likud group on the city council, told AFP its planning and construction committee had given the green light for construction of 90 housing units in Talpiot East and another 32 in Pisgat Zeev. » Read more

Palestinians to turn to Security Council this week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Karin Laub - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinians expect to submit their request for a U.N. Security Council condemnation of Israeli settlements this week and will not be deterred by a U.S. appeal to abandon the idea, senior officials said Monday. In recent weeks, the Palestinians have prepared a draft that would have the Security Council declare settlements illegal and demand a halt of their construction. During this time, Palestinian diplomats have tried to win support for the proposed resolution. » Read more

Hamas militant dies in tunnel collapse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 18, 2011 - 1:00am A Palestinian militant from Islamic Hamas movement was killed Tuesday when a tunnel under Gaza's southern border with Egypt collapsed. Hamas said that the 23-year-old member was inside the smuggling tunnel, but refused to give details what kind of work he was doing. The tunnels are often used to bring in materials that Israel prevents from entering Gaza through commercial crossings, including construction materials and fuel. Before Israel eased its Gaza blockade in June 2010, the tunnels had been the key lifeline of the 1.5 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave. » Read more

Egyptian website removes gunman shooting news ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Egypt's Ahramonline website removed a news item about a gunman's shooting from its website half an hour after it was published. A security source told Xinhua the shooting might not have happened. The website said in its deleted news that a masked gunman opened fire at a police station in Giza's Haram district on Tuesday, and killed a policeman.

Israel concerned Russia will recognize Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli officials fear that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will announce on Tuesday during a visit to Jericho that Russia recognizes a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. Medvedev is to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The Russian president's planned visit to Israel was canceled due to the Foreign Ministry strike. » Read more

Before the UN makes a decision for us ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Uriel Reichman - (Opinion) January 18, 2011 - 1:00am On November 29, 2011 the UN General Assembly decided by a large majority to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. This scenario, despite American efforts (as of now) to prevent it, is becoming increasingly real. It is even possible that the vote at the UN will take place earlier, and it is not impossible that it will include elements that are problematic for Israel, such as the return of refugees and decisions regarding Jerusalem and the timetable for implementation. » Read more

Israel’s right have eyes but do not see, have ears but do not hear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) January 10, 2011 - 1:00am Future historians will debate how Israel’s leadership could have been so blind. They will wonder how it was possible that Israel - for 43 years - didn’t realize what David Ben-Gurion saw a few weeks after the Six-Day War: that the occupation of the West Bank was a catastrophe for Israel. » Read more

Barak escapes political drama in Nablus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hanan Greenberg - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak chose to escape Monday's political drama by visiting the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday morning. "We have embarked on a new road, but Nablus is not the place to discuss these things. I came here to pat the soldiers on the shoulder and shake hands with the commanders," Barak said when asked about his decision to split from the Labor Party and establish a new faction. » Read more

PM determined to advance peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to speed up the dialogue with the United States in a bid to renew the regional peace process, state officials said Monday night. According to one of the sources, "(Defense Minister Ehud) Barak's departure (from the Labor Party) will make it possible to clarify to the Palestinians that the chance for moving up the elections is far smaller than it was before." » Read more

Ehud Barak quits Israel's Labour to form new party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says he is resigning as head of the Labour party to form his own faction. Mr Barak is heading a breakaway group - Independence - which includes four other Labour MPs, reports say. Correspondents say the move strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as it allows Mr Barak's party to remain in government. Labour is due to vote on whether to quit the coalition over Mr Netanyahu's handling of the Mid-East peace process. » Read more

Encountering Peace: To be suspect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) January 17, 2011 - 1:00am From the age of 14 until making aliya at 22 I was an activist and leader in the Zionist youth movement Young Judaea. Aliya, as we were taught and as we imparted to many others who we inspired to follow in our footsteps, was not simply a change of address. “Moving up” to Israel had to involve a qualitative change of life based on the most important of values – tikkun olam, repairing the world, or more specifically, making our world a better place. These are the most fundamental principles on which I have become the person that I am today. » Read more

Peace process under threat as Barak goes to war with his party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, abruptly quit as leader of the Labour Party yesterday, plunging the party into disarray and casting a shadow over prospects for peace. The announcement prompted the resignation of three Labour ministers from the government, robbing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish coalition of its more moderate voices. Mr Netanyahu is left with a slender majority to govern, but he is now potentially more vulnerable to pressure from the far-right members of his coalition. » Read more

Russia reaffirms recognition of Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News January 18, 2011 - 1:00am The Russian president, on a rare visit to the West Bank, has reaffirmed Moscow's recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Dmitry Medvedev said Russia had recognised the state in 1988 and his country's position remained unchanged. The Russian premier's visit seeks to revive a collapsed peace process. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking the country's support for a tougher stance towards Jewish settlements at the UN Security Council. » Read more

Israel's 'disobedient women' questioned over illegal trips for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am In a small village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, I joined a remarkable group of women and children for lunch last weekend, a noisy and cheerful crowd enjoying plates of chicken, fish, rice and salad. All of them were breaking the law. The party consisted of around 20 mostly middle-aged Israeli women, slightly fewer and younger Palestinian women and a handful of the latter's children. » Read more

UN director in Gaza quits for new post ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am John Ging, the high-profile director of the UN relief agency in Gaza, is to quit his current post to take up a senior UN job in New York. Ging, 45, who has worked in Gaza since 2006, has been an enthusiastic and effective advocate for the rights of the Gazan population and a vocal critic of Israeli government policy. He has been the target of assassination attempts and death threats in Gaza, and Islamist opponents have attacked projects he has promoted. » Read more

Israel finds no rebuttal to Russian immigrant rhetoric ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Tony Karon - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am Snap quiz: Which was the first country to recognise Israel at the United Nations? No, not the United States, nor any other western country. It was, in fact, the Soviet Union. » Read more

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