Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: The attack on Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula tests Egypt's new government and its relations with Israel. The attack appears to lessen chances Hamas can get Egypt to change its Gaza crossing border policies, as Gaza is more or less closed to the outside world. Pres. Abbas expresses Palestinian solidarity with Egypt in the fight against terrorism. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood posts an article on its website saying Israel may be responsible for the attack. Tribal leaders in the Peninsula say they warned Egyptian officials about extremist activity. PM Fayyad says Palestinians should hold parliamentary elections as soon as possible without waiting for a reconciliation between the PA and Hamas. Environmental concerns shadow Israel's offshore oil drilling. Tel Aviv's city council rejects the inclusion of Arabic in its logo. Water in Gaza is increasingly polluted and expensive. Palestinian refugees in Syria are seeking help from Lebanon. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish says Egypt's new president has little choice but to continue with traditional foreign policy approaches towards the Sinai Peninsula and Israel. Ofer Aderet recalls the hanging of 2 British soldiers by Jewish extremists in Palestine during the mandatory period. Edgar Bronfman says Pres. Obama has not talked about supporting Israel, but simply done it. The Jerusalem Post says it's time for Egypt and Israel to combat a common enemy, terrorism. Gershon Baskin says Israel must relieve itself of the shadow of apartheid present in the occupation. Peter Joseph and David Halperin say both Israel and the Palestinians need a two-state solution. Gilad Kariv says Israel must accommodate Arabic. Richard Cohen says there is an important cultural difference between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

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Sinai Attack Tests New Egyptian President’s Relationship With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - August 6, 2012 - 12:00am With the relationship between Egypt's new Islamist leader and Israel still in its fragile infancy, the terrorist attack on the border that the two countries share with Gaza over the weekend presented a critical opportunity — and a crucial test. » Read more

Sinai attack seals up Gaza to outside world ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ahmed Aldabba - August 6, 2012 - 12:00am Although Islamic militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, has strongly condemned the killing of Egyptian guards at the border with Israel and Gaza yesterday, » Read more

Gaza-linked Egypt attack hurts Hamas border bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - August 7, 2012 - 12:00am The weekend's deadly attack on the Egypt-Israel border by Islamic militants with purported ties to Gaza spells trouble for the territory's Hamas rulers. » Read more

Abbas expresses solidarity to Morsi of Egypt against terrorism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 7, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed on Monday deep solidarity with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the Egyptian people against terrorism. » Read more

Egypt's Brotherhood blames Sinai raid on Israel's Mossad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News August 7, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has accused the Israeli spy agency Mossad of being behind Sunday's attack on an Egyptian checkpoint on the border with Israel. » Read more

Sinai tribes 'warned Egyptian government about jihadi threat' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 7, 2012 - 12:00am Sinai tribes say they repeatedly warned the Egyptian government about a jihadi threat in the peninsula, before Sunday's attack which left 16 Egyptian police officers dead. » Read more

Palestinian PM Fayyad calls for parliament vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - August 7, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian prime minister in the West Bank has said that Palestinians should hold parliament elections in the territory soon, instead of waiting for the elusive reconciliation with Gaza's Hamas rulers. » Read more

Environmental concerns shadow Israel's offshore drilling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ari Rabinovitch - August 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli officials said they recognise the need to protect the unique and fragile marine environment of the Levant basin in order to ensure the success of the oil and gas industry there. » Read more

Tel Aviv council rejects Arabic caption in city logo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Gilad Morag - August 7, 2012 - 12:00am The city of Tel Aviv may aim to serve as a beacon of co-existence but as far as its official logo is concerned it may not be so liberal. The Tel Aviv city council on Monday rejected a motion to reimagine the emblem so it includes the city's name in Arabic as well as in Hebrew and English.   » Read more

Gaza Water Increasingly Polluted and Expensive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - August 6, 2012 - 12:00am Gaza’s population is increasing, and the water supply is not keeping pace according to Oxfam, the British human rights organization. In a new report, the group asserts that Gazans are spending as much as one-third of their household income on drinking water, and are facing growing health risks. » Read more

Syria’s Palestinians Seeking Help in Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Stephen Staff - August 6, 2012 - 12:00am On the streets of Hamra, a neighborhood of Beirut where young Lebanese men in expensive sports cars make their presence known by playing loud music, Syrian accents are clearly heard. They come from the young mothers begging for money and food on the sidewalks who have fled the violence that has racked their country, in what initially began as a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Their children run and play in the streets of Hamra past well-heeled and fashionably-dressed Lebanese women. » Read more

“Dear President Perez” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 7, 2012 - 12:00am A major controversy erupted last week when Israel announced that Egyptian President Mohammad Morsy had sent a letter in reply to Ramadan greetings he had received from Israeli President Shimon Peres. » Read more

The 'cruel revenge' that helped drive the British out of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ofer Aderet - (Opinion) August 7, 2012 - 12:00am In July 1947, two British sergeants were being held in a narrow, closely-guarded bunker that had been dug underneath a diamond-polishing plant in Netanya. The two were captured by the Irgun, and the Jewish underground militia threatened to hang them unless the British commuted the death sentences of three Irgun operatives. » Read more

Obama: real actions, not bluster, in support of Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Edgar M. Bronfman - (Opinion) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am I have always held the well-being of the Jewish people close to my heart. On its behalf, I have engaged countless heads of state on matters relating to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. » Read more

Egypt’s challenge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am We express our heartfelt condolences to Egypt over the murder of 16 of its soldiers at a base in Sinai near the Israeli border on Sunday. » Read more

On Apartheid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am Spending days with the Jewish community of South Africa at Limmud is a unique opportunity to meet another dynamic, engaged Jewish community in the Diaspora. » Read more

Israel’s future depends on two states ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Halperin, Peter A. Joseph - (Opinion) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am The Israel Policy Forum clearly struck a chord when it sent a letter signed by a politically diverse group of over 40 philanthropists and Jewish leaders to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urging him not to adopt the Levy Report. » Read more

Israel Must Accommodate The Arabic Language ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Gilad Kariv - (Opinion) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am Not long ago while on an El Al flight, I received an explanation from a service manager about the plane’s sound system. On a list hung on the side of the control box was a roster of the numerous languages used in the in-flight announcements. Only one language did not appear: Israel's second official language, Arabic. » Read more

A difference beyond question ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) August 6, 2012 - 12:00am Before the Jews of Hungary were emancipated in the 19th century, they were not permitted to own land. By the end of the century, they were on their way to owning fully one-fifth of Hungary’s large estates and were hugely successful in business and the arts. The Jews of Germany had a similar history. » Read more

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