Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Current and former US officials are reportedly assuring Israel that the United States is prepared to use force against Iran if necessary. Israel announces 850 more new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank, and plans to "legalize" 13 outposts it says were not built on privately-owned Palestinian land. The US says the new settlement plans "undermine peace efforts.” Fatah and Hamas officials reportedly agree on the makeup of the new Palestinian government. Palestinian officials say the White House has denied press reports that Pres. Obama expressed doubts about Palestinian intentions regarding peace. Doctors say a hunger striking Palestinian prisoner is near death, as Israel releases another hunger striker. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis attack an elderly Palestinian in Jerusalem. Palestinian Monetary Authority Chairman Al-Wazir warns about an escalation in the PA financial crisis. Denmark joins South Africa in banning the label “made in Israel” on settlement products. A Palestinian court has sentenced a former aide to the late Pres. Arafat to 15 years in prison on corruption charges. COMMENTARY: Adam Gonn and Dave Bender say PM Netanyahu is stronger than ever after the defeat of a bill on settlement outposts. Ghassan Olayan asks if the world has room for the threatened village of Battir in the occupied West Bank. Ha'aretz says, in spite of his settlement bill victory, Netanyahu is still basically "bowing and scraping" to settlers through a raft of other measures. Muhammad Shtayyeh says Israel and the Palestinians are facing a last-chance moment to prevent "an apartheid future." Donniel Hartman says settlers are trying to train other Israelis to believe that settlement evacuation is impossible. Rachel Shabi looks at growing similarities and alliances between the extreme right in Israel and Europe. Rubik Rosenthal says Israel's wars in Lebanon backfired. Wray Herbert describes a new study looking at rage and opinion related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. David Margolick profiles Netanyahu.

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U.S. Aides in Israel Give Assurances About Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama and his senior advisers have said little publicly about Iran since the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear in April, preferring to let the diplomats hash out the issues in the hope that tensions with Tehran can be managed, at least until the election in November. » Read more

Israel to build 850 homes in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in Jewish West Bank settlements have put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at odds again with Washington and the Palestinians, without appeasing settlers furious over the government's plan to dismantle an illegally built enclave. » Read more

Israel plans to legalize 13 contentious West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The government has announced that it plans to legalize 13 of the 18 settlement outposts against which petitions to the High Court of Justice have been filed. Because the 13 outposts are not built on privately-owned Palestinian land, the legalization process could presumably make the petitions against them moot. The remaining five outposts cannot be legalized, because they are located on privately-owned Palestinian land, and so are slated for evacuation. » Read more

US denounces Israeli PM plans for new settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The United States Wednesday denounced Israeli plans to expand a West Bank settlement by 300 homes, saying it posed a hurdle toward kickstarting moribund peace talks with the Palestinians. "We're very clear that continued Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank undermines peace efforts and contradicts Israeli commitments and obligations," said a State Department spokesperson, Mark Toner. "You know, our position on settlements remains unchanged. We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." » Read more

Fatah, Hamas agree on unity government lineup ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas agreed here on the ministerial lineup of the national consensus government, official news agency MENA reported on Wednesday. The talks between Fatah and Hamas was held in the headquarters of Egypt's general intelligence. Fatah central committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad, who was leading the Fatah delegation, expressed his satisfaction with the results of the meeting, noting that "all matters are going smoothly in line with what was previously agreed upon." » Read more

U.S. denies comments attributed to Obama against Abbas: Erekat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The United States on Wednesday denied statements attributed to President Barack Obama against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior Palestinian official said. "The White House has officially presented clarifications to the Palestinian leadership on Obama's statements related to Abbas commitment to the Middle East peace process," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Earlier reports had said that Obama made statements that Abbas does not have good intentions to achieve peace with Israel and he is not committed to the peace process. » Read more

Doctor: Al-Sarsak at immediate risk of death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 7, 2012 - 12:00am After 80 days on hunger strike, Mahmoud al-Sarsak is at immediate risk of death and must be hospitalized immediately, an independent doctor said Wednesday. Until Wednesday, Israel's prison service had refused to allow independent doctors to visit al-Sarsak, who is being held at Ramle prison clinic. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel were able to send a doctor to visit al-Sarsak on Wednesday after petitioning an Israeli court for access. » Read more

Israel releases Palestinian prisoner Thaer Halahleh ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has released a Palestinian prisoner who had been on a long hunger strike amid growing international criticism of its administrative detention policy. Thaer Halahleh, 33, started a hunger strike in February to protest consecutive terms of administrative detention during which he was held without being charged or going on trial. » Read more

Jerusalem: Haredim attack elderly Arab ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Gili Elkabetz - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am A number of ultra-Orthodox attacked an elederly Arab and an Arab family following a violent demonstration in Jerusalem against the desecration of the Sabbath, Ynet reported. An eyewitness said the attack, which took place Saturday evening near the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, was "shocking." » Read more

Palestinian Banks Reach 'The Red Line' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Calcalist by Danny Rubenstein - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestine Monetary Authority Governor, Dr Jihad Al Wazir, warns against escalation of the financial crisis plaguing the Palestinian Authority. In an interview with the Israeli daily business newspaper Calcalist, Al Wazir says that the regional and global situation portends further deterioration. He cautions that "the financial crisis the Palestinian government is experiencing may worsen even further if Arab States fail to transfer the promised [aid] funds. » Read more

Settlement harvests in need of a new label ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Supporters of economic boycotts against Israel scored victories last month when South Africa and Denmark said they would ban the use of a "Made in Israel" label on products from Jewish settlements. Pro-Palestinian groups hailed the moves as a potential watershed in efforts to persuade the international community to penalise Tel Aviv for its settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel. » Read more

Palestinian court hands late leader Arafat's fugitive moneyman 15 years for corruption ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press June 7, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian anti-corruption court has sentenced the shadowy moneyman of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to 15 years in prison. Mohammed Rashid, whose whereabouts are unknown, was convicted of siphoning off millions of dollars in public funds. He was also fined $15 million and his properties were ordered confiscated. He was sentenced Thursday in absentia in a court in the West Bank city of Ramallah. » Read more

Israeli PM stronger after parliament rejects settlement legalization bill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Dave Bender, Adam Gonn - (Analysis) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government on Wednesday successfully navigated the first major test of its stability, since its inauguration last month. The country's Knesset members killed a bill that would have legalized disputed Jewish construction in a West Bank settlement that the Supreme Court recently ruled as illegal. The court said five three-story apartment buildings in the Ulpana neighborhood of Bet El near Ramallah were build on private Palestinian land, and ordered the government to remove them by July 1. » Read more

Does the world have room for Battir village? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Ghassan Olayan - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Battir, a Palestinian village south west of Jerusalem, has a charming, rural landscape which was recently recognized by UNESCO with the Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes. Battir also has had a unique agreement with Israel since 1949. The Rhodes Armistice Agreements, signed during the period of Jordanian rule over the West Bank, was implemented by Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan, Hassan Mustafa and six others from Battir village. » Read more

A display of leadership with a price ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  prevented Israel's law books from being stained on Wednesday by the retroactive legalization of thefts of land from its Palestinian owners, for the sake of building settlements. Netanyahu forced his cabinet to oppose a bill that would do just that, and his threat to fire anyone who voted for it indeed deterred those ministers and deputy ministers who sympathized with the settlers' struggle. » Read more

Last chance for two states, as apartheid beckons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Muhammad Shtayyeh - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Almost two decades ago, the world celebrated the beginning of a process that was supposed to lead to a just and peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within five years. The Oslo Accords was designed to be the means to an end: an end already defined by international law, which would fulfill the Palestinians’ natural and legal right to self-determination, see the return of the Palestinian Territory occupied in 1967 (OPT) to its rightful owners, and a just and agreed on solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees. » Read more

Will settlers win the war? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Donniel Hartman - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am For weeks now, our prime minister, government, judicial system and press have been spending an inordinate amount of time discussing the future of six buildings, called Ulpana Hill, in Beit El. The Supreme Court, after years of the issue moving through the courts, ruled that they must be removed, for they were built on privately owned property, a fact that violates both international law and Israel’s own policy regarding settlements in Judea and Samaria, a policy which views settlements only on public land as legal. » Read more

Far-right Europeans and Israelis: this toxic alliance spells trouble ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rachel Shabi - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Last month, demonstrations against African refugees in Tel Aviv turned violent. Protesters looted shops, broke windows and firebombed buildings, including a nursery. Days ago, arsonists torched the home of 10 African migrants in Jerusalem, injuring four, and leaving the unequivocal graffiti: "Get out of the neighbourhood." » Read more

The Lebanon Wars Backfired on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Rubik Rosenthal - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am This week marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the Lebanon War. For more than half of Israel’s citizens, that war is a part of history, mixed in with the wars that preceded it. The Second Lebanon War brought the first one back into relevance, but we’d rather repress that war, too. It is this distance that allows us to look back at the first Lebanon War to see what can be learned from it for the sake of future generations. » Read more

Rethinking Rage in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Wray Herbet - (Blog) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am In September of last year, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas petitioned the United Nations for full membership in the world body. For many Palestinians this event was a potent and long-overdue symbol of their statehood, a cause for celebration. For many Jewish Israelis, the Palestinians' bid was a betrayal of the spirit of ongoing peace negotiations in the region. For many others around the world, it was just one more flash point in the seemingly endless and intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine. » Read more

The Netanyahu Paradox ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Vanity Fair by David Margolick - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am At one point or another for an entire week last November, most of the Israeli establishment showed up at the Bauhaus home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem: members of the Cabinet and Knesset, security officials, rabbis, businessmen, journalists, supplicants of all stripes, “everyone who didn’t want to get in any trouble,” as one participant put it. They stood solemnly around the small stone courtyard with a tent on top, officially mourning, but also studying who else was there, who was whispering to whom. » Read more

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