Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Israel's governing coalition is threatened by a dispute over military service. The Lebanese military says it has destroyed three Israeli signals intelligence devices in southern Lebanon. PM Netanyahu vows to increase settlement construction. After years of delay, Israel approves three Palestinian water projects in “Area C.” An Israeli human rights group publicizes a video of an Israeli soldier kicking a Palestinian child. One of Israel's most famous intelligence officers passes away. The PLO says Hamas' refusal to continue voter registration in Gaza is indefensible. Israeli settlers claim to have purchased land, one year after the owner's death, on which a significant “unauthorized” outpost has been built. Israel is set to institute a new “land registry” system involving the occupied territories which will deny Palestinians a right of appeal. The Israeli military holds a drill in an occupied Palestinian village. A new poll finds a majority of both Palestinians and Israelis want a two-state solution, but don't think it will happen in the next five years. The PA faces another cash crisis following the rejection of a $100 million loan request from the IMF. PLO official Hanan Ashrawi condemns the violent suppression of demonstrations by PA security forces. Negotiations over a proposed UN global arms trade treaty are embroiled in a controversy over Palestinian representation. COMMENTARY: Avi Issacharoff says public pressure forced Pres. Abbas to cancel a meeting of Palestinian officials with Deputy PM Mofaz. Amira Hass says Palestinian protests against the meeting were prompted by a sense of humiliation. Linda Gradstein looks at the reasons why the meeting might have been canceled. Leonard Fein says Jewish history means Israel should respect African migrants. Yossi Beilin says Israel and the United States should reach out to Egypt's new Islamist president. Raghad Jaraisy says Palestinians now face real police violence from their own security forces in the occupied territories. Jeremy Ben-Ami says the BDS movement is counter-productive.

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Israel Disbands Panel on Military Service Rules ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday disbanded the committee he had charged with devising a plan for universal military or national service, a move that could lead to a coalition crisis and end the national unity government he formed two months ago. » Read more

Lebanon: Israel explodes its spy devices in south ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has remotely detonated three spying devices in south Lebanon, the Lebanese army said Tuesday. The explosions occurred Monday evening in the village of Zrariye, north of the Litani river, which runs through southern Lebanon, the army said. The militant Hezbollah group said it discovered the devices before their detonation and hailed that as a major achievement, accusing Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty. » Read more

Israeli leader vows more settlement building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's prime minister says his government will continue settlement construction in the West Bank. A participant in a closed meeting of parliament's powerful Defense and Foreign Affairs committee said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday to continue developing areas near Jerusalem, deep inside the West Bank and in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli leader struck a defiant note on settlements days after Israel evacuated a West Bank outpost ruled illegal by Israel's Supreme Court. » Read more

Israel approves Palestinian water projects in controlled area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israel approved three water projects in a controlled area in the West Bank more than one year after the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) made the request. The projects will provide water supply system to three Palestinian villages located in Area C in the West Bank, where Israel retains security and administrative control. In a statement, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) said the projects are "important and vital," adding that they were funded by the governments of Japan and the United States. » Read more

Israeli NGO posts video of Israeli policeman kicking Palestinian child ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem on Monday posted a video showing an Israeli border police officer kicking a Palestinian child in the West Bank city of Hebron. The video, filmed by a B'Tselem volunteer on June 29, shows that a policeman caught a child and another officer hurriedly approached them, kicked the child once and left just as fast, while the kid ran away crying. In a statement, B'Tselem said the case was referred to Israeli Justice Ministry's department for investigation of police. » Read more

Fabled Israeli spy dies at 93 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Yaakov (Mayo) Meidad, widely considered one of the best to had served in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, died last weekend at the age of 93, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported Monday. Former Mossad chiefs and many of its past and present agents attended the funeral, held at an undisclosed location in central Israel on Sunday. » Read more

PLO: Hamas pull-out from voter registration 'unjustifiable' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO officials gathered in Ramallah on Monday evening to discuss Hamas' decision to suspend voter registration in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day. Electoral officials were set to start registration on Tuesday, the first time rolls have been updated in Gaza since 2005. The meeting in the West Bank, headed by Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas, called the move an "unjustifiable decision which contradicts with all agreements reached in Cairo and Doha." » Read more

Settlers say they bought outpost land, one year after Palestinian owner's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Residents of the condemned West Bank outpost of Migron have appealed the High Court to stay the demolition of the settlement's illegal structures on Tuesday, claiming that they had recently purchased the land on which the homes were built. However, a preliminary inspection of the purported sale reveals that the Palestinian whom the settlers claim sold them the land passed away in 2011, one year before the alleged transaction. » Read more

Israel to begin recording settler land claims, deny Palestinians' right of appeal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am After 45 years of running the West Bank, the State of Israel plans to start compiling land registry records of assets controlled by settlers. The registry would bypass regular tabu land-listing processes, and appears designed to prevent Palestinians from appealing the validity of the ownership listings. » Read more

IDF holds drill in Palestinian village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am The IDF held an urban warfare drill in the Palestinian village of al-Aqabah in the northeastern West Bank, Ynet learned Tuesday. The drill was held according to the military's training protocol. The IDF has recently resumed training in designated live-fire zones in the Jordan Rift Valley – even those riddled with some Palestinian and Bedouin villages. » Read more

Israelis, Palestinians: 2 states in 5 years unlikely ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sharon Udasin - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Most Israelis and Palestinians view the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the next five years as low or nonexistent, a new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll reported. Meanwhile, the majority of Israelis oppose military intervention in Syria and an unaided strike on Iran, the latter of which they agree could spark the eruption of a major regional war, according to the survey. » Read more

West Bank faces cash crisis after $100m IMF request is rejected ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinians in the West Bank are facing more financial hardship after a plan to borrow US$100 million (Dh367m) was rejected because they have no state of their own. The plan called for Israel to borrow the money from the International Monetary Fund and then turn it over to the Palestinian Authority to prevent its financial collapse. The PA would repay the loan to Israel, which in turn would repay the IMF. » Read more

Ashrawi condemns violence against Ramallah protesters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Monday condemned the violent suppression of weekend protests in Ramallah. Palestinian Authority police attacked demonstrators at a rally Saturday against a proposed meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's vice premier. A day later, police used brutal force at a demonstration against police brutality. » Read more

Palestinian dispute hits UN global arms treaty talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Talks on the $70 billion a year global arms trade talks hit deadlock before starting Monday amid a diplomatic battle over Palestinian representation. Arab demands that Palestinians be allowed to take part led to a threat of an Israeli walkout and a block on European Union presence at the conference, diplomats said. Even the Vatican has been drawn into the dispute. "This chaotic start is a tragedy for this event, which is so important," said a minister from a western nation who went to the UN headquarters for the start of the negotiations. » Read more

After Arab Spring, Abbas discovers importance of public opinion in PA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Several hours after an official from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud's Abbas' office leaked to the media that a planned meeting with Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz would not take place, the latter's aides claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was behind the move. This reaction was both immature and condescending, reflecting a characteristic Israeli response to Abbas' moves - as if the Palestinian leaderhas no will of his own, no independent interestsand especially no public opinion to take into consideration. » Read more

Palestinians humiliated by their own ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am The security men delivered a beating like there was no tomorrow, as if they were defending their lives. No, it wasn't the riot police in Tel Aviv, but rather the Palestinian police in Ramallah. On Saturday, cautiously and moderately in comparison with their Israeli counterparts, and again on Sunday with mounting brutality, the Palestinian police tried to prevent a small group of demonstrators from advancing on the grand presidential compound, the Muqata. » Read more

Israelis and Palestinians Share Intrigue over Cancelled Meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) July 1, 2012 - 12:00am It has been almost two years since Israeli and Palestinian officials at the most senior level have sat down together. That was supposed to happen on Sunday, when Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas had invited Israeli Vice Premier Shaul Mofaz to come to Ramallah. But that meeting was called off after a series of domestic events in Israel and the Palestinian Authority made it impossible. » Read more

Israel Confronts Strangers In Its Midst ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) July 1, 2012 - 12:00am What shall be done about the large number of non-citizens that dwell in Israel? This question is no longer merely vexing, it is urgent, inflammatory, sometimes violent, often vulgar. The ger has a long and detailed history in Jewish texts and thought. Its conventional translation is “stranger,” but you don’t have to search hard to find alternatives: sojourner, foreigner, alien. » Read more

Reach Out to Morsy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's new president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsy, is not a man after my own heart. He represents a movement that seeks to apply religious norms to a secular state -- even as he vows to represent all people, including Coptic Christians and liberals. Clearly, at some point in the near future, he will face the necessary conflicts between liberty and human rights on the one hand and his religious precepts on the other, and we cannot know how he will resolve them. » Read more

Palestinians face the real police violence – with no right to demonstrate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Raghad Jaraisy - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Difficult questions about the thin line between legitimate protest and disturbing the peace have been raised by demonstrations organized by Israel's social protest movement and the methods used to police these events raise. What makes a protest legitimate? Is it the measure of 'righteousness' inherent in the cause? Or is it just a permit to demonstrate authorized by the police? And what makes a protest 'just'? Does justice exist only in the eye of the beholder? Or in the eyes of the political camps that we identify with? » Read more

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Put Allies at Odds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Jeremy Benami - (Blog) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am As a long-time advocate for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am pained that frustration over failure to achieve a just and lasting peace has led allies in the struggle to end up at odds over tactics like boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Two years ago, the organization I head, J Street, was honored with an invitation to speak at a breakfast hosted by a Presbyterian Church (USA) peacemaking group -- a long-time ally in the struggle for Middle East peace. But we attended with heavy hearts. » Read more

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