Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: DM Barak says that Israel never promised the United States not to attack Iran even while negotiations are being conducted. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel are going on hunger strike. The PA criticizes Pres. Ahmadinejad's visit to the island of Abu Musa, which is disputed territory between the UAE and Iran. Hamas is keeping the results of its politburo reshuffle secret. Palestinians mark “Prisoners Day.” Israel's cabinet is preparing to vote on recognizing three “unauthorized” settlement outposts. Precedent suggests the Israeli soldier who struck a Danish activist in the face with his rifle is unlikely to face any serious consequences. Israel is establishing a special unit to enforce the demolition of Bedouin homes. Bereaved Palestinian physician Izzeldin Abuelaish is pursuing a new life in Toronto working for peace. Occupation forces shoot and injure a farmer in southern Gaza. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel's leaders incite public hatred against peace activists. Moshe Arens says Palestinians are not welcome in Jordan. Herb Keinon says Palestinian talk of the letter to Netanyahu is theatrics, not diplomacy. Faysal Hijazeen and Ibrahim Shomali said Palestinian Christians desperately need an end to Israel's occupation. Amos Gilboa says Israeli leftists are trafficking in illusions about peace. Habib Fayad says, in spite of their bitter divorce, Hamas will eventually return to Syria. Daniel Levy says Benny Morris is completely wrong to blame "Palestinian rejectionism" for the lack of peace. Yossi Alpher says Israel's “antiterrorism” military actions in the occupied territories haven't brought it any closer to peace. Ghassan Khatib says most Palestinians believe Israel is content with the status quo and is working to maintain it, without being held to account by the international community. Mohammed Najib says Israel's "Operation Defensive Shield" offensive in the West Bank 10 years ago continues to define the basic realities of life under occupation for Palestinians and remains a source of mistrust between the parties.

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Barak says Israel never ruled out attacking Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Aron Heller - April 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday his country has never promised the United States it would hold off from attacking Iran while nuclear talks were taking place. The comments, in which Barak said that a diplomatic push to reach a compromise with Iran was a waste of "precious time," further exposed a rift between Israel and the U.S. over how to deal with the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program. » Read more

Hundreds of Palestinians declare hunger strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Dalia Nammari - April 16, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel launched a hunger strike on Tuesday, officials said, protesting their conditions and demanding an end to open-ended detentions without trial as the Palestinians marked their annual day of solidarity with the inmates. Some 3,500 prisoners refused meals on "Prisoners' Day," and 1,200 of them said they would continue with an open-ended hunger strike, according to Israeli prison service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman. » Read more

Senior PA official: Iran is provoking region ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 16, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority on Monday accused Iran of provoking regional strife by violating the sovereignty of the UAE. Tayyeb Abdul Rahim condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Abu Musa, one of three Gulf islands claimed by both the UAE and Iran. The PA rejects Iranian threats to the Gulf states "as we reject the Israeli occupation and resist it," the secretary-general said in a statement. » Read more

New Hamas politburo 'remains confidential' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 16, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The results of Hamas' internal leadership re-shuffle are still confidential, party officials said Monday. Hamas officials, speaking to Ma'an on condition of anonymity, denied that there had been any clashes over the process which took place in Gaza recently. The Shura Council, a 55-member advisory body, nominates candidates to form the politburo, and those selected must accept their positions or provide acceptable reasons to refuse. Political analyst Mustafa al-Sawwaf told Ma'an current politburo chief Khalid Mashaal was likely to retain his post. » Read more

Palestinians mark prisoners day in Gaza, West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 17, 2012 - 12:00am JENIN (Ma'an) -- Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank marked Palestinian Prisoners Day on Tuesday with ceremonies symbolizing long-hoped-for freedom from Israeli jails. In Arraba village, south of Jenin, officials gathered to mark the day ahead of the expected release of local Khader Adnan, whose 66-day hunger strike ended with a deal to free him from administrative detention. » Read more

Netanyahu: Cabinet to vote on plan to legalize three West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - April 17, 2012 - 12:00am Following the recommendations of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of Likud ministers on Tuesday that he will ask the cabinet to approve the status of the Bruchin, Sansana and Rachalim, respectively. » Read more

IDF officer who hit Danish protester unlikely to be dismissed, precedents indicate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gili Cohen - April 17, 2012 - 12:00am Will Lt. Col. Shaul Eisner, who was filmed over the weekend hitting a Danish protester with his rifle butt in the Jordan Valley, be dismissed from the army for his behavior? Probably not, at least based on how past incidents of soldier violence have been handled. Very few of the investigations into alleged acts of gratuitous violence by Israel Defense Forces soldiers against Palestinians or protesters in the West Bank have resulted in criminal prosecution or discharge from the army, even when the incidents were filmed and generated a public outcry. » Read more

Israel Police establishes unit to enforce demolition of Bedouin homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yanir Yagna - April 17, 2012 - 12:00am Israel Police is establishing a new unit to enforce demolition and evacuation orders served to scattered Bedouin villages in southern Israel, in order to deal with “trespassing into state lands.” The unit, which will be made up of 200 police officers, will be established in cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office to enforce Israeli land laws in the Negev. » Read more

'Gaza Doctor' Builds New Life in Toronto ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - April 17, 2012 - 12:00am Toronto — The photo leaning on Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish’s office window almost blocks the view of the Toronto skyline. It shows his three daughters, Mayar, Aya and Bessan Abuelaish, sitting on the beach in Gaza, writing their names in the sand. Closer to his desk, pinned to the wall, is the recent fourth-grade math test of Abuelaish’s youngest son, Abdullah, taken at his school in Toronto. The grade: A+. » Read more

Israeli soldiers 'shoot, injure farmer' in southern Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 17, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian farmer on Tuesday in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Forces opened fire from an army watchtower toward fields in Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis, hitting Hasan Shenyo in the leg as he worked on his land, witnesses told Ma'an. Shenyo was taken to the European Hospital in Khan Younis with moderate injuries. An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces identified "a number of suspects approaching the fence" between southern Gaza and Israel. » Read more

Israel's leaders incite the public against peace activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am From time to time the news media or human rights groups film an Israeli in uniform using excessive force against human rights or peace activists protesting the wrongs of the occupation. » Read more

Palestinians are not wanted in Jordan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am Jordan refuses to let in the more than 1,000 Palestinians stranded along the Syria-Jordan border, even though it has allowed 100,000 Syrian refugees to enter. There are at present an estimated 500,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, and clearly the last thing the rulers of Jordan want is for them to come streaming into Jordan. » Read more

Analysis: Diplomatic theater, not diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu meets Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday for the first time ever, diplomatic theater – rather than true diplomacy – will be on display. True diplomacy would be if PA President Mahmoud Abbas would meet Netanyahu himself and give him a letter stating the Palestinian negotiating positions. » Read more

The plight of Palestinian Christians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Faysal Huazeen, Ibrahim Shomali - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am Based on our years as parish priests in Palestine, we were appalled by the false allegations regarding Palestinian Christians made in recent weeks by Israeli spokespeople, such as Ambassador Michael Oren. We were perplexed not because of their position, which has been part of the official Israeli narrative for many years, but by how openly they have distorted facts and misconstrued the plight of Palestinian Christians pursuing justice and peace. » Read more

Israeli Leftists Peddle Illusions In the Guise of Foreign Policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Amos Gilboa - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Recently, I have been seeing terrible visions in the morning before I open my eyes. Everything around me is destroyed, the wreckage reaches above my head. I crawl outside, hoping to be saved, but I see before me an abyss filled with corpses. This is it, all those intellectuals in the media were correct—those who decided long ago that our democracy is in shambles and has come to an end due to the iniquities of the state. That our society has descended to the lower limits of hell and has dissolved, due to the sins and transgressions of the state. » Read more

Hamas and Syria’s Bitter Divorce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from As-Safir by Habib Fayad - (Analysis) March 23, 2012 - 12:00am The identity of the Hamas resistance movement cannot be limited to its relationship with the Syrian regime. Likewise, Damascus’ rejectionist strategy, which supports the Palestinian cause, cannot be reduced to its support for Hamas. Any rift between the two sides would undoubtedly affect the entire axis of resistance (Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran). However, a rift would not prevent Hamas from being the head of the Palestinian resistance, nor would it prevent the regime from being the hub of the axis. » Read more

Of Herrings and Elephants: Benny Morris and "Palestinian Rejectionism" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Daniel Levy - (Blog) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am In his recent column for Open Zion, Benny Morris predicts that nothing will come of next week’s planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian who goes by the same title, Salam Fayyad. It is a safe prediction and one with which I fully agree. Morris however, uses his column to suggest that it is a prediction that can hold for any negotiation with any Palestinian, at any time, due to what he describes as a “deep, basic Palestinian rejectionism.” At the same time, settlements are belittled (they can be “finessed” according to Morris). » Read more

Lessons we must not ignore ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am There are important lessons to be learned from Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces' aggressive push deep into the West Bank beginning in late March 2002. Both Israelis and Palestinians ignore these lessons at their peril. » Read more

How we got to here ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am Ten years ago, Israel reoccupied the Palestinian Authority areas that had been designated in peace agreements as "Area A", i.e., areas under the civilian and security authority of the Palestinian Authority. That Israeli aggression, dubbed Operation Defensive Shield, dramatically changed the status quo that was created by the Oslo agreements, which was intended to be a transition to a permanent solution agreed on through final status negotiations. » Read more

A sea-change in trust ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Mohammed Najib - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am Ten years after Operation Defensive Shield, the wide Israeli operation in the West Bank, a new reality has been created on the ground, whose impact deeply affects West Bank residents. » Read more

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