Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Palestinians say Interpol is refusing to cooperate in the investigation into a former aide to the late Pres. Arafat who is suspected of massive corruption. In a move likely to make municipal elections come sooner rather than later, Pres. Abbas issues a decree amending the election law. Leaders of Fatah and Hamas will reportedly meet in Cairo next week. Palestinians increasingly view settlements as an impossible impediment to the creation of an independent state. Israeli NGOs accuse Israeli police of severely abusing Palestinian prisoners. Northern Cyprus warns Israel against violations of its airspace. Israel says the international Olympic Committee's rejection of a request for a moment's silence for athletes killed in 1972 is “unacceptable.” An Israeli hospital bans people from speaking in Arabic. Plans are being made for the first joint industrial park on the Israeli-Jordanian border. Following the deal between Israel and prisoners resulting from a collective hunger strike, Palestinians are being increasingly drawn to nonviolent tactics. COMMENTARY: The CSM interviews Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer fighting settlement expansion. David Landau says the pro-Israel right wing wants to maintain the status quo, including the occupation. Jay Bushinski says it's “unthinkable” that some Jewish Israelis and state-funded institutions commemorated Nakba Day. The Media Line interviews Israeli photojournalist David Rubinger. Aaron David Miller says the peace process may seem dead, but it will come back to life eventually. Shmuel Rosner says the new Israeli coalition government probably won't pursue more constructive policies towards the Palestinians. Noam Sheizaf says ordinary Israelis feel no pressure to end the status quo and the occupation, but Ron Pundak says boycotts and threats to cut off contact will backfire on Palestinians and their allies. Ahmed Majdoubeh says neither Israelis nor Palestinians really have an independent state. Hussein Ibish says “creative alternatives” to negotiations and a two-state solution are invariably implausible and usually barely conceal maximalist ambitions.

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Interpol 'refuses to help' in Arafat adviser case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 18, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Interpol is refusing to cooperate with Palestinian prosecutors to summon a former presidential economic adviser to the West Bank to answer corruption charges, the attorney-general said Friday. Ahmad al-Mughni told Ma'an that Muhammad Rashid, who served former President Yasser Arafat, has failed to respond to repeated summons. » Read more

Abbas amends election law by decree ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 18, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday issued an executive order amending the 2005 election law as a precursor to holding a municipal vote sooner than scheduled, an official said. The minister of local governance, Khaled Qawasmi, told Voice of Palestine radio that the decree would help the new government take a decision to hold elections "as soon as possible." He added that the law would allow holding an election in more than one stage in case more than a day was needed. » Read more

Abu Marzouq: Hamas and Fatah to meet in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 18, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The leaderships of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Cairo next week to revive their stalled reconciliation agreement, the deputy head of Hamas' politburo said Friday. Moussa Abu Marzouq told the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat that the meeting would focus on the long-awaited unity government which the parties had pledged to form to prepare for elections. » Read more

Palestinians see settlements thwarting state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Samia Nakhoul - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 18 (Reuters) - Surrounded by aides, including one whose only task seems to be light his cigarettes, Mahmoud Abbas sits in a vast presidential office and speaks of his ambition to create a Palestinian state. But outside his sprawling compound on the hills of the West Bank town of Ramallah reality on the ground is different - his dream is being built over by ever-expanding Jewish settlements. » Read more

Israeli NGO: Police beat handcuffed detainees in Palestinian solidarity protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am The Justice Ministry has received complaints of severe police violence against demonstrators, including the use of Taser electroshock weapons, beating and kicking bound detainees, racist verbal abuse and sexual harassment of female detainees. The complaints were filed to the ministry's department for investigation of police officers by the Adalah advocacy group two weeks ago, after a demonstration in support of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners outside the prison clinic in Ramle. » Read more

N. Cyprus warns Israel against airspace violations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 18, 2012 - 12:00am Northern Cyprus on Thursday warned Israel against violating its airspace, Anatolia news agency reported, just one day after Israel was accused of violating northern Cypriot airspace. According to the report, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu phoned Israel's ambassador to Cyprus over this issue, warning him against repeated offenses. » Read more

Israel wants Olympic silence for Munich ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am Israel urged the international community yesterday to overturn the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) “unacceptable” rejection of its request for a minute’s silence during London 2012 in memory of the 11 athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich games. » Read more

Israeli Hospital Bans Speaking of Arabic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 17, 2012 - 12:00am Arab teachers and students working in Kfar Sava’s Meir Medical Center have been forbidden to speak to each other in Arabic, which is an official language in Israel. Haaretz learned that three Arab families whose children were hospitalized in the center filed a complaint with the hospital management. » Read more

Israeli-Jordanian Industrial Park To Be Built Spanning Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Michal Toussia-Cohen - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am The Ministry of Regional Cooperation is set to submit for government approval a plan for the first joint Israel-Jordan industrial park to be built near Kibbutz Tirat Zvi in northern Israel and the Sheikh Hussein border crossing. The park is expected to be completed in 2015 with the help of an almost $50 million investment. » Read more

After Palestinian Prison Deal, A Push For Nonviolence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am This week, Palestinian prisoners ended a mass hunger strike aimed at improving their conditions in Israeli prisons after reaching a deal with Israeli authorities. The success of the collective action in wresting concessions from Israel has some Palestinians calling for a greater emphasis on nonviolence in their opposition to Israeli policies. » Read more

Michael Sfard, the Israeli lawyer battling illegal settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - (Interview) May 18, 2012 - 12:00am Young lawyer Michael Sfard has achieved something that the White House and left-leaning Israeli political leaders could not. His legal work on behalf of Palestinian clients is compelling Israel in at least two instances to roll back back Jewish settlements. » Read more

Israel's right-wing wants to maintain the occupation status-quo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by David Landau - (Opinion) May 17, 2012 - 12:00am A civilized, serious debate about Israel held on New York's Upper West Side this week understandably aroused correspondent Chemi Shalev's wistful jealousy. » Read more

A slanted view of Middle East history ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jay Bushinsky - (Opinion) May 18, 2012 - 12:00am It was inconceivable that Tel Aviv University, part of whose budget is covered by the State of Israel, would permit the observance of “Nakba Day” – “The Day of the Catastrophe” – on campus. It was unbelievable that Arab students who are Israeli citizens would be joined by Jewish students to commemorate the suffering endured by Palestine’s Arabs due to Israel’s emergence as an independent Jewish state 64 years ago. » Read more

Jerusalem Day Interview With Photojournalist David Rubinger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) May 16, 2012 - 12:00am Photojournalist David Rubinger has been described as “the common thread” – the link between events collectively comprising the history of the modern state of Israel. Long before Rubinger shot the iconic classic of three soldiers, faces apparently awash in awesome amazement as they gazed upon the just-liberated Western Wall during the 1967 war, the Vienna-native-turned-Jerusalemite was the proverbial “fly on the wall” in meetings between Israel’s founding fathers and the world leaders who came to visit. » Read more

Israel-Palestine Peace Process Will Return From the Dead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 16, 2012 - 12:00am A wise Israeli once observed that in Israeli politics, you could be just dead or more permanently dead, and buried.  It’s a useful distinction which also has relevance for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process these days. » Read more

Coalition of the Unwilling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Shmuel Rosner - (Blog) May 17, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — Hopes for the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians rekindled last week with the creation of a broad and more centrist governing coalition in Israel. The leaders of the Likud and Kadima parties declared that they would work to “advance a responsible peace process.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that she welcomed the commitment. » Read more

Putting on the Pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Noam Sheizaf - (Opinion) May 18, 2012 - 12:00am In the wake of a unity deal between the Likud and Kadima, which resulted in one of Israel's largest coalitions in history, some claimed that there is a chance to revive the peace process, and ultimately, arrive at a two state solution. Others have claimed that it's too late for a plan based on separating Palestinians and Israelis. » Read more

Boycotts and threats ultimately hurt the Palestinian cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ron Pundak - (Opinion) May 14, 2012 - 12:00am A few days ago, hundreds of left-wing Israeli peace activists met to discuss the big issue: what to do? Should the focus be social or political? Is there a political solution? One state or two? And how to generate a center-left majority in the next elections? This time around, we looked at an additional topic: the influence of a peace process vacuum on the capacity to actually carry out activities involving interaction between Israeli and Palestinian societies. » Read more

Does Israel have a state? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Ahmad Majdoubeh - (Opinion) May 17, 2012 - 12:00am Sixty-four years passed since the creation of the “state” of Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians, and neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis have achieved the aspiration of having a viable state. Because of this, both Palestinians and Israelis need to seriously reflect on the situation. » Read more

Beware "Creative Alternatives" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) May 17, 2012 - 12:00am It's easy to understand why so many people are giving up on negotiations and a two-state solution, and instead are looking for “creative alternatives.” Israeli-Palestinian talks are at an impasse. The two sides haven't seemed this far apart since the second intifada. The number of settlers and settlements continues to baloon relentlessly. Israel's government appears united behind recalcitrant policies, while the Palestinians appear hopelessly divided. » Read more

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