Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: New divorce laws are allowing Palestinian women to more easily initiate divorces on their own. A rocket fired from Gaza hits a house in southern Israel, with no injuries reported. PM Netanyahu announces he will address the UN in September and focus mainly on Iran. DM Barak says Egypt is determined to control Sinai. Palestinians denounce new Israeli plans to control more land in the occupied West Bank. Iranian leaders say they support Palestinian reconciliation. Settlers stone a Palestinian bus near Ramallah injuring five. Hamas says it plans to censor the Internet in Gaza, ostensibly to fight pornography. Many Western countries have travel warnings for Israel. FM Lieberman compares FM Al-Maliki to Joseph Goebbels. Deputy PM Ya'alon complains that the US is undermining Israeli military threats against Iran. A UN rapporteur for human rights condemns the Rachel Corrie verdict. Normal life continues in Tel Aviv in spite of rumors of war with Iran. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey says the US should not be complicit in an Israeli attack against Iran. Gaza is enduring a severe and protracted crisis over water. The rabbi of a major Israeli settlement says attacking innocent Palestinians is “a sacrilege.” Swiss experts reiterate their willingness to analyze the remains of the late Pres. Arafat but they warn time is running out. COMMENTARY: Chaim Levinson provides a primer on the ongoing dispute over a tiny settlement outpost. Ben Shalev looks at a new sound being explored by violinist-composer Nassim Dakwar. Yehuda Lukacs says Israel should join NATO. Hassan Barari thinks Israel might attack Iran even without prior warning to the United States. Rachel Dolev says women are shut out of the national security conversation in Israel. Emily Hauser looks at the history of extremist comments by Rabbi Yosef of the Shas party.

---

---

---

Palestinians chip away at male divorce monopoly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — For decades, Palestinian women seeking to divorce their husbands risked years of miserable, expensive litigation or lengthy domestic battles as they begged their spouses for permission to leave. Now Palestinian religious authorities announced sweeping reforms of divorce laws that will make it easier for a woman to end her marriage. The changes make a huge step forward in a society where many still believe that a woman should have no right to separate from her husband. » Read more

Rocket from Gaza hits house in Israel, no injuries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press August 31, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza has struck a house in Israel. The Israeli military says no one was hurt in the attack before dawn Friday on the border town of Sderot, less than a mile (2 kilometers) from Gaza. The town of 24,000 has been a favored target for rocket squads in Gaza, whose activity has been curtailed sharply but not halted since Israel's offensive against them in 2009.

Israeli premier to address UN to condemn Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press August 30, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will address the United Nations General Assembly next month in order to condemn Iran. In a statement from his office Thursday, Netanyahu said he has decided to attend the assembly to tell world nations that Iran is a "terrorist regime" which poses the greatest threat to world peace. Netanyahu said he decided to address the U.N. because diplomats currently in in Tehran for a gathering were silent to what he described as Iran's hateful speech against Israel. » Read more

Israeli defense minister says Egypt bent on controlling Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 31, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday complimented Egypt's new leadership for working to restore law and order in the Sinai Peninsula, saying that Israel should grant the Egyptian military time necessary to root out militant groups operating in the area. "Egypt is certainly trying to gain control (in Sinai), and we must respect and allow them this experience," Barak told Army Radio. » Read more

Palestinians slam Israeli attempt to confiscate lands in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 31, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- A 3,500-dunum of land devoted for future economic and industrial investment in the West Bank, is facing a serious threat of an Israeli confiscation, although it is owned by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), officials revealed on Thursday. » Read more

Ahmadinejad 'supports Palestinian reconciliation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 31, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stressed his country's commitment to reconciliation between estranged Palestinian factions, his office said Friday, days after invitations to Iran strengthened a rift between Hamas and Fatah parties. Ahmedinejad told President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday: "We love Palestine, and we are committed to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation as it will contribute to the Palestinian resistance." » Read more

Settlers stone Palestinian bus near Ramallah, 5 hurt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 31, 2012 - 12:00am NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Five Palestinians were wounded on Friday morning after a group of settlers threw stones at their bus near Ramallah, witnesses said. The bus was traveling from Nablus, when it was attacked by the settlers from a hill near Burqa village, one of those injured, Raed Ewais, said. Settlers threw stones, damaging the bus and injuring passengers, witnesses said. The incident came after settlers gathered on the same road on Thursday night near Sinjil, throwing stones at passing vehicles. » Read more

Gaza authorities plan to block online pornography ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 31, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Gaza government's ministry of communications announced on Thursday it would block access to pornographic websites starting in September. Ministry licensing head Kamal al-Masr said they the authorities had asked the 10 main Internet providers operating in Gaza to block the sites from Sept. 1, after a government decision a week earlier. Any violations of the decision will be punished under Palestinian communications and penal law, he added. » Read more

Visit Israel at your own risk, warn many Western countries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ilan Lior - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has long starred in other countries' travel advisories, and reading these warnings isn't particularly flattering. The warnings about terror attacks are predictable: Most countries urge their citizens to stay alert while visiting Israel and to avoid certain areas, such as Gaza, the Lebanese and Egyptian borders, and sometimes the West Bank - though no country has yet included a warning about the Iranian threat. » Read more

Lieberman compares Palestinian FM to Goebbels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman compared his Palestinian counterpart to infamous Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Lieberman made the harsh statements following Riyad Al-Maliki's speech at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran earlier this week. » Read more

Ya'alon: US undermining military threat against Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 31, 2012 - 12:00am Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon said on Friday he feared Iran did not believe it faced a real military threat from the outside world because of mixed messages from foreign powers, including the United States. "We have an exchange of views, including with our friends in the United States, who in our opinion, are in part responsible for this feeling in Iran," he told Israel's 100FM radio station. » Read more

UN investigator condemns Corrie court ruling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 31, 2012 - 12:00am A UN investigator condemned an Israeli court on Thursday for clearing the military of blame for the death of American activist crushed by an army bulldozer, calling it a "victory for impunity". The ruling handed down on Tuesday on the civil suit brought by the family of Rachel Corrie was part of a pattern of decisions exonerating Israeli military actions and political leaders, said Richard Falk, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

War talks fails to dampen spirits in Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Hugh Sykes - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am The beaches in this coastal city are heaving with holidaymakers. Restaurants, clubs and bars are packed with happy diners, drinkers and dancers. In one cafe, couples were tapping their feet to Leonard Cohen's Dance Me to the End of Love. They were not wearing flak jackets. Or carrying gas masks. But some are taking precautions. Israelis fearful that an attack on Iran might bring revenge rockets from Hezbollah have collected gas masks from distribution centres. » Read more

On Iran Strike, U.S. Should Not Be 'Complicit': General ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 31, 2012 - 12:00am General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of U.S. armed forces, does not wish to be “complicit” in a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran. The Guardian reported that Dempsey said in London that such an attack would “clearly delay but probably not destroy Iran’s nuclear program.” He added, “I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it.” » Read more

Water crisis will make Gaza strip 'unliveable' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by John Vidal - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am The Gaza strip faces a water crisis that will soon make it "unliveable" unless plans for a $500m desalination plant are approved by banks, delegates at a water conference in Stockholm were told this week. » Read more

Settlement rabbi: Attacking innocent Palestinians ‘sacrilege’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 31, 2012 - 12:00am (JTA) -- The rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Bat Aiyn defined a recent attack on a Palestinian taxi as “sacrilege.” Rabbi Daniel Cohen said he hoped a police investigation of the attack, which occurred earlier this month, would show that youths from his community were not involved, Israel Radio reported on Friday. The attack left six wounded after a Molotov cocktail hit the driving taxi. Police questioned several youths from Bat Aiyn about the incident, which happened near the settlement.  » Read more

Swiss experts ready to help Arafat probe, but time running out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Stephanie Nebehay - August 30, 2012 - 12:00am (Reuters) - A Swiss institute has agreed to a request from the Palestinian Authority to exhume Yasser Arafat's body and determine whether he was poisoned, but time is running out for a credible scientific examination of his remains, it said on Thursday. » Read more

A short primer on the Migron outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - (Analysis) August 30, 2012 - 12:00am Q: What's the story with the eviction from Migron? A: Migron is a settlement outpost that was established near the main highway in the West Bank in 2001, just north of Ramallah. Nearly 50 Israeli families live in the outpost today. All the land upon which the outpost was built belongs to Palestinians. » Read more

Violinist-composer Nassim Dakwar is back with a new trio – and a new stripped-down sound ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ben Shalev - (Music Review) August 31, 2012 - 12:00am If only his violin were in his hand, it would be a whole lot simpler. He would play and things would be clear. But the violin is not here, and Nassim Dakwar is sitting in his kitchen in the northern village of Tarshiha, trying to describe the inner core of his music. He talks about the emotional connection between him and the violin, and says he aspires to reach the magic behind the sounds. These attempts leave him dissatisfied, however; he sighs and appears a bit frustrated. » Read more

Bring Israel into NATO ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yehuda Lukas - (Opinion) August 31, 2012 - 12:00am A nuclear Iran is virtually a fait accompli. A military strike by Israel, the United States or both may delay but will not prevent the Islamic Republic from eventually acquiring such capability. Decision-makers ought to consider devising a new security architecture, one that would deter Iran and guarantee Israel's long-term survival. A radical alternative to war is required - one that would make Israel a member of NATO, protected by the "one-for-all, all-for-one" policy of the 28-member alliance. » Read more

How serious is Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) August 31, 2012 - 12:00am The sense of urgency for the Israeli government these days cannot be higher. Israel’s concerns of Iranian nuclear capabilities have repeatedly been made at all international forums over the past two years. Additionally, Israeli leaders have made it perfectly clear that they would risk a war rather than coexist with an unpredictable and “irrational” nuclear Iran. Knowing the grave consequences of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Israeli public has strongly supported a military option to deal with Iran. » Read more

In Israel, No Women Are Deciding Matters of National Security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Rachel Dolev - (Opinion) August 23, 2012 - 12:00am "The prime minister, the defense minister and the foreign minister each have their own specific authorities; there is the forum of nine ministers and there is the Cabinet and the decision, when it has to be made, will be made by the government of Israel – that's the way it has always been and that's the way it should be; not any group of citizens is going to dictate the decision nor even any press editorial." Thus said (Israeli) Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the special parliamentary session convened to approve the appointment of Avi Dichter as home front defense mi » Read more

“Destroy them, God, obliterate them from the face of the earth.” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Emily L. Hauser - (Opinion) August 30, 2012 - 12:00am Pop quiz: What religio-political leader said the following, about which nation? Do good, God, wipe them out, kill them…. Destroy them God, obliterate them from the face of the earth. If you said Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, head of Israel’s Shas Party and one of the country’s ultra-Orthodox kingmakers, and further guessed that he was talking about Iran—please take a seat at the head of the class. » Read more

---

---