Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: PM Netanyahu appears secure in his position, despite the breakup of his larger cabinet. DM Barak says Israel will stop Syrian refugees at the border. Iranian state television calls charges that the country was involved in an attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria “ridiculous.” A former Israeli intelligence official says the attack was probably a delayed reaction to the assassination of Hezbollah's military commander. Israeli officials claim the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. Israel announces plans to revive the Jordan River. Pres. Morsy meets with Hamas leader Misha'al. Israel is seeking closer ties with the Dominican Republic. Jordan's King says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the defining issue in the Middle East. Israeli soldiers confiscate water storage tanks from Bedouins in the Jordan Valley. COMMENTARY: Ma'an interviews Nurit Peled-ElHanan about the depiction of Palestinians in Israeli schoolbooks. Douglas Bloomfield says Israel is facing choices that will affect its relationship with the United States and Jewish Americans. The Media Line interviews Ari Fleischer about the upcoming American presidential election, Israel and Jewish Americans. J.J. Goldberg says Israel can't ignore international opinion about the occupation. Moshe Dann argues that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard should be released. George Hishmeh asks if Pres. Obama is re-elected, will he do something about Israel's settlements. Matthew Levitt asks if Hezbollah was responsible for the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Raja Shehadeh talks about what it's like to be a Palestinian visiting Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. The New Statesman says now is not the time to give up on a two-state solution. Benny Elon and Yossi Beilin say the Jewish right and left should work together for peace.

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Though Bruised, Netanyahu Is Seen as Secure in Post After Coalition’s Demise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s image of invincibility has taken a knock, Israeli analysts said on Wednesday, a day after the breakup of the large and broad coalition that had given him almost unprecedented power. But for now, they said, his political future seemed assured for one simple reason: he has no obvious rival for the premiership. » Read more

Israel's Barak: We'll block Syrian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing within earshot of fighting in Syria, said Thursday that Israel would stop Syrian refugees from entering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights if they try to flee there. Barak was touring the Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, a day after three top officials in the regime of President Bashar Assad were killed in a suicide attack in Damascus. Israeli defense officials are closely monitoring the deteriorating situation in their neighbor to the north, worried it could spill across the frontier. » Read more

Iran TV: Links to attack on Israelis 'ridiculous' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Iran's state TV is rejecting accusations of Tehran's involvement in an apparent suicide attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that killed at least eight people. A commentary Thursday on the TV website calls the claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others "ridiculous" and "sensational." The website described the Israeli charges as attempts to discredit Iran and its allies such as Syria. » Read more

Ex-official: Israel targeted Hezbollah army chief; Iran has been retaliating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Former National Security Adviser Uzi Arad responded on Thursday to comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and according to which Iran was behind the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, saying that Israel was not a "passive side" to the struggle against Iran and must do more to anticipate the responses. On Wednesday, Netanyahu, apparently supported by detailed intelligence, immediately blamed Iran for the terror attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, that let eight people dead, possibly including a suspected suicide bomber. » Read more

Israel official: Suicide bomber attacked Israelis in Bulgaria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yaniv Kubovich, Barak Ravid - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The bombing in Bulgaria on Wednesday was committed by a suicide bomber and not by a charge planted in the bus beforehand as believed at first, a senior official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Haaretz on Thursday. The estimate was bolstered by comments made by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Metodiev Borisov as saying that chances were that the bombing was perpetrated by a suicide bomber. » Read more

Israel plans to revive ailing Jordan river ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ari Rabinovitch - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The River Jordan is neither deep nor wide these days. The Biblical river, which has inspired countless spirituals and folk songs, is just a narrow stream in many parts - polluted and stagnant. But that's about to change. Thanks to desalination and wastewater recycling, there is more fresh water to go around and the Jordan will slowly be returned to its former glory. » Read more

Egyptian president meets Hamas chief ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi held talks Thursday with Islamic Hamas movement's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, official news agency MENA reported. The two talked about the latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation, efforts exerted by Egypt supporting the Palestinian issue, and ways to get a Palestinian independent state. The meeting was attended by the deputy head of Hamas movement office and members of the political bureau, including Mahmoud al- Zahar. Morsi met visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday. » Read more

Israel seeks closer ties with Dominican Republic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to deepen friendly ties with the Dominican Republic, Israel's embassy in Santo Domingo said Wednesday. In a message sent to Dominican President-elect Danilo Medina, Netanyahu wished to "strengthen the ties of friendship between the two countries," according to the embassy. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian peace remains core issue of Middle East: Jordanian king ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Jordanian King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that despite the turmoil and challenges facing the Middle East, the core issue of the region remains the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. » Read more

Israeli soldiers confiscate water storage tanks on West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am These rocky foothills are a forbidding place even for the scattered Bedouin communities that have herded livestock here for generations. Yet it is not the summer heat that is threatening their way of life. Last month, Israeli soldiers began confiscating water-storage containers used by Bedouin in several pastoral encampments on the northern fringes of the West Bank's Jordan Valley area. No explanation was given to the dozens of impoverished residents, who have since been rationing their already scarce water supplies and tending to thirsty livestock. » Read more

Interview: Israeli school books write out Palestinian, Arab story ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Brandon Davis - (Interview) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Professor of language and education at Hebrew University Nurit Peled-ElHanan recently released a book analyzing the portrayal of Palestinians in 16 history, civics and geography textbooks authorized by the Israeli Ministry of Education. 'Palestine in Israeli School Books' argues that the textbooks legitimate Israeli military policy in the eyes of young students, and prepares them for military service upon graduation. Ma'an spoke to Peled-ElHanan about the ideas behind her latest book. » Read more

Cracks in the foundation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Several recent developments to erode Israel’s support among American Jews and its political base on Capitol Hill. The government is grappling with questions involving conscription of ultra-religious Jews, recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, Israel’s control of the West Bank and the future of the settler enterprise. » Read more

Bush Press Secretary Says Pro-Israel Obama Voters Have “Buyers’ Remorse” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Michael Friedson - (Interview) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am  [Jerusalem] A sure sign that elections are drawing near is the effort by Democrats and Republicans to register Americans living abroad who are eligible to vote in November. In Israel, where absentee voters were credited with playing a key role in deciding the razor-thin battle between George W. » Read more

Israel Can't Ignore the World’s Opinion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am A friend wrote in last week to dispute my critique of Israeli judge Edmond Levy’s settlements report. Levy claimed the West Bank isn’t “occupied” under international law, and therefore settlements aren’t illegal. I wrote that while his interpretation squares with the language of the relevant treaties, not one nation in the world accepts it, so it’s meaningless. » Read more

Why Is Jonathan Pollard Still in Jail? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Moshe Dann - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Why are efforts to obtain clemency for Jonathan Pollard stuck? The man convicted in 1987 for spying for Israel and given a life sentence remains in jail despite a growing chorus calling for his release. » Read more

Will Obama do something about colonies if re-elected? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am A lengthy account in the Washington Post of the Obama administration’s nearly four-year fruitless effort to resolve the 64-year-old conflict between Palestinians and Israelis — running over four pages — carried the eye-catching headline, Where Obama failed on Middle East, and the subhead elaborated, Despite years of US trying new approach, Israelis and Palestinians came no closer. » Read more

Did Hezbollah Do It? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Matthew Levitt - (Opinion) July 18, 2012 - 12:00am Earlier today, on the 18th anniversary of the Hezbollah bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, a busload of Israeli tourists was bombed in Burgas, Bulgaria, a popular summer vacation destination among Israeli tourists.  Early reports indicate several people were killed, and many more injured.  Hezbollah is the leading suspect, and for good reason. » Read more

A Palestinian in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Raja Shehadeh - (Blog) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Jerusalem — As a tourist visiting the Old City of Jerusalem, seeing Christians, Jews and Muslims walking side by side, hearing church bells ringing and Muslims being called to prayer, you might think the place is a model of tolerance. As a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem, you think differently. » Read more

Leader: Now is not the time to give up on a two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Statesman (Editorial) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The window of opportunity for a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been narrowing. Should the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, endorse the conclusions of the Levy report, he could close it for good. The report, produced by a government-appointed panel led by the former Supreme Court justice Edmund Levy, argues that Israel’s presence on the West Bank does not constitute an occupation and, therefore, that the 121 Jewish settlements in the region are legal under international law. » Read more

After 20 Years, Moving Beyond Oslo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Review by Yossi Beilin, Rabbi Benny Elon - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Let us start with a rare activity in that twilight zone that is called the Middle East peace process: talking about things we agree upon. Regional leaders and experts on all sides of the discussion have declared the peace process to be dormant, if not dead. No meaningful negotiations have taken place in almost three years. The Obama administration is hiding its head in the sand. Rumors have replaced ideas and action. » Read more

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