Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: An Israeli court rules that the state has no responsibility in the death of the American activist Rachel Corrie. Israeli schools are trying to address bigotry against Palestinians in the wake of the attempted lynching in Jerusalem. Israeli students in the extreme southern town of Sderot are now attending a rocket-proof school. Israel shells a Gaza compound after a rocket attack. Israelis are preparing gas masks and shelters in anticipation of a possible conflict with Iran. The UN suggests the Gaza Strip will become uninhabitable by 2020 if current trends continue. PM Netanyahu says the Etzion bloc of settlements south of Jerusalem are an integral part of Israel. Netanyahu suspends efforts to reorganize his personal investment portfolio. Human Rights Watch says the PA should investigate two incidents earlier this summer in which police beat protesters. Palestinian officials say Pres. Abbas will seek support for a renewed UN bid at the NAM conference. Israeli diplomats say FM Lieberman's attacks on Abbas are part of a campaign to discourage support for Palestinians at the UN. The PA says it is stopping recruitment and promotion due to its financial crisis. Increasing numbers of Palestinian students from occupied East Jerusalem are seeking degrees from Israeli universities. Pres. Morsy reassures Israel about his country's commitment to the peace treaty and security in Sinai, as Palestinian leaders reportedly express dissatisfaction with his government. Israeli officials are now claiming that the issue of Jewish refugees and migrants to Israel from Arab states is a “core issue” in negotiations with the Palestinians. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish argues Netanyahu and DM Barak have left themselves few good options in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. Amira Hass asks what can be learned from the Rachel Corrie case. Chris McGreal says the verdict reveals the Israeli "military mindset." Ha'aretz says Israeli settlement outposts are out of control. Gershon Baskin proposes a letter he thinks Abbas ought to send to the Israelis. Anat Hoffman says Israel must punish rabbis who preach hatred.

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Court Rules Israel Wasn’t at Fault in U.S. Activist’s Death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren, Danielle Ziri - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Rachel Corrie, the young American woman who was run over by a military bulldozer in 2003 as she protested housing demolitions in the Gaza Strip. The lengthy verdict in the civil case, read to a courtroom packed with supporters of Ms. Corrie’s family here, called the death an accident that occurred during “a military activity meant to prevent terrorist activity.” » Read more

After Attacks, Israeli Schools Confront Hate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, Jodi Rudoren - August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian student who speaks accentless Hebrew after years in a bilingual school that is about half Jewish, said he was not at all surprised when a mob of Jewish teenagers beat an Arab teenager unconscious this month while hundreds watched and did nothing to help. » Read more

Anti-rocket school protects Israeli kids near Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - August 27, 2012 - 12:00am For the first time in years, the children of Sderot can study in peace. Living under a constant threat of rocket fire from militants in the nearby Gaza Strip, their schooldays were often interrupted by mad dashes to bomb shelters. But on Monday, they started the school year safe from attack in a new, fortified, rocket-proof school building. » Read more

Israel shells Gaza compounds after rocket attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Dan Williams - August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli forces shelled two compounds run by the Hamas government's security services in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding two Palestinians, Hamas said. Israel described the targets as weapons manufacturing and storage sites and said they were hit in retaliation for recent short-range rocket salvoes launches from the coastal enclave into the Jewish state. Two such salvoes, on Sunday and Monday, caused no casualties and were claimed by ultra-conservative Salafi Islamists who have a presence in Gaza and the neighbouring Egyptian Sinai. » Read more

Israelis get gas masks, shelters in order ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - August 27, 2012 - 12:00am With his wife expecting their third child next month, Ram Gilboa, a sports commentator who lives just outside Tel Aviv, recently found himself jotting down a list of baby supplies that friends and family could buy: a crib, diapers ... gas mask. "That's not normal," Gilboa, 32, recalled with a nervous laugh. "When you're making a list of gifts for a baby, gas mask is not supposed to be on it." » Read more

UN agency: Gaza won't be viable by 2020 due to population growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 28, 2012 - 12:00am The United Nations agency that is responsible for Palestinian refugees warned Monday that the Gaza Strip will not be viable if population growth continues under closure. Robert Turner, operations director of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said at a news conference here that the population in Gaza will increase to over two million by 2020. The Gaza Strip's current population is 1.6 million. » Read more

UN: Gaza not 'liveable' by 2020 barring urgent action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Gaza will no longer be "liveable" by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health, and schooling, the United Nations' most comprehensive report on the Palestinian enclave said on Monday. "Action needs to be taken now if Gaza is to be a liveable place in 2020 and it is already difficult now," UN humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard told journalists when the report was released on Monday. » Read more

Israeli PM retracts from his request to amend investments, fearing public backlash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retracted on Monday from his request to modify his private investments, fearing public speculation over an upcoming war with Iran would circulate and affect global economy. On Aug. 15, a special committee at the State Comptroller's office authorized Netanyahu's request to make changes to his foreign and domestic investment portfolio. » Read more

Rights group: investigate Palestinian police abuse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press August 27, 2012 - 12:00am An American rights group is calling on the Palestinian Authority to investigate incidents where police beat protesters in the West Bank. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in two incidents, Palestinian police beat Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank city of Ramallah in June and July. The group said six people were hospitalized. The group said Palestinian officials conducted four inquiries but did not prosecute any of the police involved. » Read more

FM: Abbas to seek support for UN bid at Tehran summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 28, 2012 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas will canvas for support for the UN bid at a summit of 120 developing nations in Tehran, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Tuesday. The PLO plans to ask the UN General Assembly to upgrade its status to a non-member observer state. A previous bid for full UN membership stalled at the Security Council last year. Al-Malki told Ma'an he was confident Palestine had the support of the non-aligned states at the summit. » Read more

Diplomat: FM's letter aimed to block Abbas’s UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s letter to the Quartet last week calling for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ouster is part of a campaign to get leading democracies to oppose the PA’s UN bid, a senior diplomatic official said Monday. The idea behind the letter, the official said, was primarily to preempt Abbas’s move at the UN by putting on the public agenda his record of rejecting Israeli gestures and refusing to negotiate, while trying to diplomatically isolate Israel. » Read more

PA 'stops recruitment, promotions' due to financial crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 26, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority issued a decision on Friday to stop all new recruitment and promotions in government institutions until further notice as a result of the financial crisis it is currently experiencing, a statement from President Abbas' office said. Palestinian economist Nasser Abed al-Kareem told Ma'an that the PA was forced to make the decision as a result of the current financial crisis, adding that the move will add around $30 million annually to the PA's budget. » Read more

More East Jerusalem Palestinians seek Israeli academic degrees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am The number of young East Jerusalem Palestinians wanting to study in Israeli universities is rising rapidly. As a result, the number of East Jerusalem residents registering for Israeli matriculation exams has risen by tens of percent, Education Ministry officials estimate. Most Palestinians who take the Israeli exams, which are adjusted for the Israeli Arab students, do so after studying at one of the many private matriculation schools that have opened in East Jerusalem in recent years. » Read more

Egyptian President Morsi reassures Israel that peace treaty is safe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's new Islamist president said on Monday he would pursue a "balanced" foreign policy, reassuring Israel its peace treaty was safe, hinting at a new approach to Iran and calling on Bashar Assad's allies to help lever the Syrian leader out. Mohammed Morsi, who was elected in June and consolidated his power this month by dismissing top military leaders, is seeking to introduce himself to a wider world ahead of a trip to Iran - the first by an Egyptian leader in three decades - and China. » Read more

Palestinian Authority angry with Mursi gov’t ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kifah Zaboun - August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Well-informed Palestinian sources have revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that a state of anger and dissatisfaction prevails among the Palestinian leadership regarding the new Egyptian administration’s dealings with the Palestinian issue, and especially with regards to Palestinian representation and legitimacy. » Read more

Gov’t steps up campaign for Jewish Arab refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeremy Sharon - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am The Foreign Ministry – along with the World Jewish Congress and the Pensioners Affairs Ministry – is ramping up its campaign to bring the issue of Jewish refugee rights to public and diplomatic attention. According to the Foreign Ministry more than 850,000 Jews from Arab states fled their countries of birth following persecution that ensued after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Many also had their property confiscated. » Read more

Bibi's own "tree limb" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past few years it was frequently alleged, not least by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Palestinian leadership had climbed out onto various political “tree limbs.” The implication was that on issues such as the settlement freeze, Palestinian leaders adopted rhetorical positions that were not in keeping with their real strategic options and hadn't allowed themselves sufficient room to climb down. As a consequence, it was suggested, they were stuck with unworkable policies.  » Read more

What can we learn from the Rachel Corrie case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) August 27, 2012 - 12:00am On a foggy winter morning in early 1967, several young men were strolling through London's Hampstead Heath park. One was carrying a bucket, an odd sight, but it didn't attract any attention. The young men had deliberately picked a time when the park was fairly empty to carry out their intention without being impeded: the first successful trial of a leaflet bomb, a pre-Internet era invention. » Read more

Rachel Corrie verdict exposes Israeli military mindset ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Reporters covering Israel are routinely confronted with the question: why not call Hamas a terrorist organisation? It's a fair point. How else to describe blowing up families on buses but terrorism? » Read more

Outposts gone wild ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am After a seemingly endless number of legal hearings and debates among the highest-ranking politicians, as well as a public debate complete with pressure and threats from the interested parties, the Migron affair is due to come to an end this week. The High Court of Justice ruling on whether 17 families living on the outpost will be allowed to stay, because they say they purchased their land legally, is scheduled for 10 A.M. Tuesday morning, the day of the planned evacuation. It is expected to halt the extended frenzy surrounding a handful of infiltrators who made their own law. » Read more

What Abbas should say to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 27, 2012 - 12:00am To the people of Israel, We, the Palestinian people, seek peace with you, the people of Israel. We seek our independence, in a state of our own, just like you, as your neighbors, living side by side, Palestine next to Israel. I bring before you historic proof of our intentions, as we have let it be known to the entire world. Our intentions are real, our desire for peace, genuine, our plans for the future, peaceful. On November 15, 1988, in front of the world, and in front of our people, and in our Arabic language we declared our Declaration of Independence: » Read more

Israel must punish rabbis who preach hatred ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Anat Hoffman - (Opinion) August 27, 2012 - 12:00am Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin apologized to Jamal Julany, one of the victims of a racist attack in Zion Square, during his visit to the 17-year-old. "We are sorry," said Rivlin, a Likud Party leader. He went on to say, "It is hard to see you hospitalized because of an inconceivable act" and "What happened is the responsibility of every leader and member of Knesset." » Read more

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