Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Israel says it's investigating anti-Arab hate graffiti in a “peace village.” Israel's interior minister again vows to expel all African migrants, as an Israeli court rejects a human rights appeal by migrants. The UK and France join the US in condemning new Israeli settlement plans. The UN reiterates that all settlement activity contravenes international law. A former aide to the late Pres. Arafat says his recent corruption conviction in absentia was purely political. A new survey suggests Palestinian citizens of Israel are simultaneously becoming both increasingly pragmatic and alienated. COMMENTARY: Sarah Marusek says the West must recognize the importance of the Palestinian nonviolent protest movement. Gidi Weitz looks at possible indictments facing FM Lieberman. Ha'aretz says the clamor for war with Iran shows many Israelis are addicted to the use of force. Yoel Marcus says Israelis who are celebrating the anniversary of the 1967 war are deeply misguided. Sima Kadmon says PM Netanyahu has shown settlers the limitations of their power. Jay Bushinsky says Israelis need to understand the US interest is in ending the occupation. Hirsh Goodman says the controversy over the tiny Ulpana outpost shows Israeli society has lost a sense of proportion. Amira Hass says the blockade has made it easier for Israelis to demonize and target Palestinians in Gaza. Brad Rothschild says Jewish Americans should shun racist Israeli MKs. Ashraf Khalil says the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty may be revised no matter who wins Egypt's presidential election. Yael Paz-Melamed says Peace Now and its Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer are the only ones in Israel still taking a meaningful stance against the settlements. PLO chief of mission to the US Areikat says now is the time for Palestinian statehood, in the interests of all parties, including Israel.

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Israel police probe hate graffiti in peace village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press June 8, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli police are investigating hate graffiti and vandalism in an Israeli community built especially for Jews and Arabs to coexist peacefully. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Friday that "death to Arabs" was sprayed on buildings, and car tires were slashed in Neve Shalom near Jerusalem. The village was founded in the 1970s to show that Jews and Arabs can live together in peace. » Read more

Israel offers cash to African migrants to leave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ian Deitch - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — African migrants who entered Israel illegally will be given cash incentives if they leave on their own soon, or they will face expulsion, the Interior Ministry said Friday. A tent city is being built to hold other migrants, the vast majority, who can stay for now, the ministry said. About 60,000 Africans have trekked through Egypt and other Muslim countries to reach Israel over the past few years. Many are looking for work, while others are seeking political asylum. » Read more

Israel court clears deporting South Sudan migrants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Omri Efraim - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am The Administrative Court in Jerusalem rejected on Thursday an appeal filed by human rights groups against Interior Minister Eli Yishai's decision to lift the "collective protection" previously afforded to asylum seekers from South Sudan. » Read more

UK, France, Germany condemn Israeli settlement plans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The UK on Friday condemned Israel's decision to authorize 851 new housing units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel on Wednesday announced the new homes after upholding a High Court ruling to evacuate five families from the illegal Ulpana outpost. "The decision to move settlers from an illegal outpost by creating housing units in settlements elsewhere across the Green Line sets a dangerous precedent," UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement. » Read more

UN envoy: All settlements contrary to international law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process on Thursday reiterated the international community's view that settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegitimate. In a statement, Robert Serry said that Israel's settlements were contrary to international law "whether on private Palestinian land or elsewhere in occupied Palestinian territory." » Read more

Rashid: Corruption conviction is political ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A former aide to the late President Yasser Arafat convicted of corruption on Thursday dismissed the charge as politically-motivated. A Palestinian Authority corruption court on Thursday sentenced Mohammad Rashid and two other businessmen in absentia to 15 years in jail and ordered them to return $33.5 million in funds stolen during Arafat's rule. » Read more

Majority of Israeli Arabs Prefer to Live in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am The vast majority of Israeli Arabs are reconciled with the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and even exhibit a degree of patriotism, according to a poll released Thursday. The survey by Haifa University found that nearly one in seven (68.3%) preferred to live in Israel than anywhere else, even a future Palestinian state. It found that 57.7% are reconciled with Israel as a Jewish democratic state whose day of rest is the Sabbath on Saturday and Hebrew is the main language. » Read more

West must recognize peaceful Palestinian resistance movement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Sarah Marusek - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Some ask why the Palestinians seem to have been left behind in the so-called Arab Spring. In fact, they have not. » Read more

Will the coming weeks spell the end of Lieberman's career? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gidi Weitz - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am In the weeks ahead, barring unforeseen developments, the attorney general will file an indictment against Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. This will launch a new chapter in one of the most talked-about white-collar-crime investigations in recent years, about which Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein delayed making a decision for two and a half years. » Read more

An ongoing addiction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am At the beginning of every June, Israelis mark the anniversaries of the outbreaks of two major wars: the Six-Day War and the first Lebanon war. The 30th anniversary of the latter was marked this week. The three-decade mark shunts aside somewhat the memory of the earlier war, but the two - like the Yom Kippur War that fell between them - are intertwined. » Read more

'Celebrations' that miss the point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am The idea of demolishing the houses in Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood reminds me of a Jewish joke about the "wisdom" of the people of Chelm. Early in the morning the sexton used to walk through the streets of Chelm to remind people that it was time for the Shaharit morning prayer. One day the weatherman announced that snow was expected the following day. The locals didn't want the sexton's footprints to spoil the beauty of the blanket of snow, so the city's wise men convened for an urgent meeting to find a solution. » Read more

Netanyahu 1, settlers 0 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sima Kadmon - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory in the vote on the settlement regularization bill is not just a numerical win. It was also a moral win, because he taught the settlers an important lesson on the limits of power. » Read more

Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jay Bushinsky - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Invariably, it seems that Defense Minister Ehud Barak says one thing and the US State Department immediately contradicts him. At the end of his latest visit to Washington, where he conferred with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, and other senior US officials, the former IDF chief of staff and prime minister raised the possibility of a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank. » Read more

Ulpana, shmulpana – get real! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hirsh Goodman - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am This week, 45 years ago, Israel won the Six Day War and with it the territories. » Read more

Segregating Gazans has made them easier to demonise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Amira Hass - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am A stout sense of humour and self-irony is the least most Israelis expect of Gazans. It is certainly true today, when they are spoken of almost solely through the hyperbole of military commentators who jump frantically from discussing the Iranian threat to the danger that the tiny, overcrowded, impoverished and besieged enclave poses to the state of Israel, a global military power. » Read more

Time for American Jews to shun racist Israeli legislators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Rothschild - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, is no one’s idea of a soft touch. Hawkish on Israel’s settlement policy and a practitioner of a muscular, even bullying brand of diplomacy, Lieberman has a well-earned reputation as a hard-liner, no mean feat in Israel’s current rightist government. So when Lieberman becomes the voice of moderation on an issue, it’s worth a closer look. » Read more

Camp David Pact May Be Revised No Matter Who Wins Egypt Vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Ashraf Khalil - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptians are a domestically-obsessed population right now. It’s understandable given the state of the country 15 months after Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power. » Read more

Facing the Lords of the Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Yael Paz-Melamed - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am A young committed man brimming with public courage stands today almost alone against the settlers, mainly those who reside on private Palestinian lands in illegal settlement outposts. His name is Yariv Oppenheimer, and he drives the settlers mad because he has succeeded time and again in placing a few boundaries for this band of people, who are certain that the entire area beyond the Green Line is their private domain, and they can do with it as they please without interference. » Read more

The Time for a Palestinian State Is Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Maen Areikat - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am This week marks the 45th anniversary of the Arab-Israeli War, when Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip fell under Israel's occupation. Since 1967, the power relationship that ensued has had deep and wide ramifications. What is remarkable is how each side has observed the anniversary. » Read more

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