Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Hamas leaders in Gaza say they will allow the Central Election Committee to begin working in the territory. Turkey indicts four Israeli military officials for the deadly flotilla incident. An Israeli court sentences a Palestinian protest leader to 13 months in jail, counting as time served. Two Israeli police officers are convicted of negligent homicide for allowing a Palestinian to die from injuries on a roadside. Israeli schools are accused of systematically discriminating against Palestinian medical students. Israeli officials believe they may have discovered significant energy reserves immediately offshore. The UN warns against an emerging “one-state” reality between Israel and the Palestinians. Qatar supplies much-needed diesel fuel to Gaza. The UN criticizes Israel over the Gaza blockade. Even after a deal with prisoners, Israel is allegedly still jailing Palestinians in “administrative detention.” The Palestinian national airline has resumed flights after a seven-year hiatus. COMMENTARY: Saliba Sarsar and Hussein Ibish say nonviolent "people power" is needed for peace. Vered Lee says a new book casts grave doubt on the traditional Israeli narrative about “Operation Magic Carpet.” Akiva Eldar says Israel can only blame itself when the next Palestinian intifada erupts. Gershon Baskin says Israelis and Palestinians need to be imaginative about peace. James Klutznick says when Israeli leaders are being irresponsible, Jewish American friends should be critical. Nathan Brown says UNRWA should be supported. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid looks at the Palestinian dimension in the recent Egyptian elections. Boyd Tonkin looks at the issue of a cultural boycott against Israelis.

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Hamas Takes Step Toward Palestinian Unity Government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - May 28, 2012 - 12:00am Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, made the first step on Monday toward ending his group’s disputes with the » Read more

Turkish Court Indicts 4 Israeli Military Leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - May 28, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — An Istanbul court approved indictments on Monday against four senior Israeli military figures for involvement in a deadly raid on a Turkish passenger vessel trying to breach Israel’s naval blockade of » Read more

Israeli court sentences Palestinian protest leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Rawhi Razim - May 29, 2012 - 12:00am OFER MILITARY BASE, West Bank — An Israeli military court Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian protest leader to 13 months in jail, time he already served for urging youths to throw rocks at Israeli soldiers. Bassem al-Tamimi, 45, walked free because he already spent that much time in jail while awaiting trial. The activist led weekly marches in his West Bank village of Nabi Saleh for years to protest Jewish settlers seizing a nearby well for their own use, mirroring other protests in Palestinian villages. » Read more

2 Israeli police convicted in Palestinian death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - May 28, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court on Monday convicted two Israeli police of negligent homicide for abandoning an injured Palestinian man on a roadside, where he was found dead two days later. The case has raised questions about failures that led to the death of Omar Abu Jarban, a car thief from the Gaza Strip who illegally lived in Israel. The man was passed from medical officials to prison and police authorities before he died. » Read more

Israel curbing Arab enrollment in medical schools, activists say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - May 28, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court on Monday convicted two Israeli police of negligent homicide for abandoning an injured Palestinian man on a roadside, where he was found dead two days later. The case has raised questions about failures that led to the death of Omar Abu Jarban, a car thief from the Gaza Strip who illegally lived in Israel. The man was passed from medical officials to prison and police authorities before he died. » Read more

Israel gas finds launch navy into troubled waters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - May 29, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV, May 29 (Reuters) - When Israeli economists contemplate their country's untapped natural gas finds far out in the Mediterranean, they dream of energy independence and lucrative export deals. Those charged with Israel's defence, however, worry that the navy - small and long a middling priority in budgets - may be hard put to protect the multinational drilling platforms and rigs out at sea. » Read more

UN envoy warns of 'one-state reality' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 29, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process warned a session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday of the continuing diplomatic impasse between Israel and the PLO. Robert Serry told the council “if the parties do not grasp the current opportunity, they should realize the implication is not merely slowing progress toward a two-state solution. » Read more

Qatar-donated diesel to enter Gaza Sunday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 29, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A shipment of diesel donated by Qatar for Gaza's power plant will enter the Gaza Strip on Sunday, weeks after being stuck at Egyptian warehouses, a Palestinian official said Tuesday. Nazmi Muhana, the head of the Palestinian borders and crossings body, said that an agreement was reached between the Palestinian National Authority, Israel and Egypt on the delivery of the fuel. » Read more

UN official criticizes Israel over ongoing Gaza blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 29, 2012 - 12:00am The UN official responsible for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday that Israel has been too slow to relax its blockade of Gaza, which has devastated the isolated economy and failed to achieve its security goals. » Read more

After deal, Israel still jailing Palestinians without charge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Noah Browning - May 29, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- An Egyptian-brokered deal that ended a mass hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has failed to meet hopes that Israel would change its policy of detention without trial. In the two weeks since some 2,000 inmates agreed to end their hunger strike, more than 25 prisoners have either been rearrested after their release or had their six-month "administrative detention" terms renewed, Palestinian officials said on Monday. » Read more

Palestinian Airlines resumes flights after 7 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Karin Laub - May 29, 2012 - 12:00am MARKA AIRBASE, Jordan – Palestinian Airlines is back in the skies after being grounded for seven years by the deepening enmities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Once hailed as a symbol of Palestinian statehood dreams, the carrier is a tiny operation, with just two 48-seat turboprop planes, two weekly flights and a borrowed hub in Egypt. But Palestinians say just being on the map again is what matters. » Read more

People Power for Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Hussein Ibish, Saliba Sarsar - (Blog) May 25, 2012 - 12:00am June 5, 2012 marks the 45th anniversary of the start of the Six-Day War. One of us experienced the war in Jerusalem at the age of 11, and the other in Beirut at age 4, yet it haunts us to this day. The war led to the ongoing Israeli military occupation that has come to define the conflict. It has lessened neither the fears of the triumphant Israelis, nor those of the defeated Arabs; the mindset of confrontation that produced the war still haunts the region. » Read more

The frayed truth of Operation Magic Carpet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Vered Lee - (Book Review) May 28, 2012 - 12:00am In Israel's collective memory, the aliyah from Yemen is remembered as a rescue: Jews were whisked from oppression and replanted safely in the Land of Israel. » Read more

When the next intifada breaks out, Netanyahu will have only himself to blame ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) May 29, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's sword-polishing hasn't frightened the Iranians, according to recent reports about last week's nuclear talks in Baghdad. Foot-dragging by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opposite the six world powers has been accompanied by an attempt to strengthen the Iranian foothold in Lebanon. » Read more

Use your imagination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) May 28, 2012 - 12:00am Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s say all those (on the right and the left) who say it is too late for the two-state solution are correct. Let’s agree that the Oslo idea was nice in theory but in reality is/was not implementable. History, so far, is on their side; after all of the years of negotiations and attempts, there is no Palestinian state next to Israel. » Read more

Op-Ed: When Israel lacks leadership, we should speak up ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by James B. Klutznick - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am When a family member behaves self-destructively, what do you do? Do you become an apologist, an enabler, or do you call him out? Do you blame everyone else but him, or do you intervene? Do you sit back and just hope things will improve on their own, or do you take urgent action? » Read more

U.N.'s Much-Reviled But Helpful Agency ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan J. Brown - (Opinion) May 28, 2012 - 12:00am On a recent Sunday morning, I paid a visit to a women’s community center in Zeitun, an outlying neighborhood in Gaza City that is run by United Nations Relief and Works Agency. It was packed. Behind one curtain, several middle school girls were getting an English lesson to supplement their formal instruction. In another room, women in their 20s were learning how to write a résumé and cover letter. Behind another door was a group of mothers getting assistance on how to help their children with homework. » Read more

Palestinian dimension in Egypt's presidential poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am Khaled Ali, a lawyer and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections, has said that any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even one that would force Israel to pull back to its pre-1967 borders, will not satisfy him. Another candidate, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, vowed to amend the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel if he were elected. » Read more

'Artists should not boycott other artists' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Boyd Tonkin - (Opinion) May 28, 2012 - 12:00am As a fierce May sun scours Tel Aviv's Bauhaus-style "White City", it's cool down in the compact "cellar" theatre of Habima. » Read more

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