Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Palestinian protests against high prices continue. Palestinian taxi drivers clog roads as part of the protests. PM Fayyad says he is ready to resign if need be. Hamas says it will pursue Salafists in Gaza from “street to street.” Seven more Palestinians are killed in Syrian government shelling of the Yarmouk refugee camp. A Palestinian man is assaulted in Jerusalem in another suspected hate attack. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rogers confirms the US-Israel dispute over Iran policy. DM Barak says Israel reserves the right to take action on its own against Iran. A new poll suggests that most Jewish Israelis are optimistic about the future but Palestinian citizens are concerned. Pres. Morsy meets with Pres. Abbas. An Israeli oil company is asking the PA for permission to drill in the occupied territories. PM Netanyahu and US Amb. Shapiro reportedly had a harsh exchange of views on Iran last month. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish argues that the new Israeli campaign on Jewish refugees and migrants to Israel from the Arab world is cynical and unhelpful. Ahmad Majdoubeh says if there is a "Palestinian Spring" at hand, it's because of the divisions between Fatah and Hamas. Dominique Moisi says Palestinian and Jewish citizens have found a way to work together in medicine. George Hishmeh says the United States should work to build a nuclear-free Middle East. Ithamar Handelman-Smith says all of Israeli society is responsible for the attempted lynching of a Palestinian in Jerusalem. Khaled Diab says the plight of Bedouin children represents the threat Israel's occupation poses to all Palestinian students. Yoaz Hendel says the United States is naturally placing its own interests ahead of its friendship with Israel. Stuart Eizenstat and Lester Crown both say Pres. Obama has demonstrated his commitment to Israel's security "in countless ways." Eshkol Nevo says Jewish Israeli "price tag" violence is not just a disgrace, it's a national security threat. Chris McGreal says the DNC reversal on Jerusalem demonstrates what a low priority Middle East peace talks now are for the United States. Yossi Verter says Barak now opposes an attack against Iran. Eyal Chowers says the 1937 Peel Commission report still has much relevance for Israel and the Palestinians. Henry Siegman says Israel has destroyed the two-state solution and only serious Palestinian masures can revive it.

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Protests shake West Bank as Palestinians hit by rising prices ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - September 7, 2012 - 12:00am In a backlash against lighter wallets and rising prices in the West Bank, Palestinians burnt effigies of their prime minister and striking taxi drivers blocked traffic. As the unrest shook the West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas promised to revive the Palestinian bid for recognition at the United Nations. For Palestinians who are struggling to survive, the increasingly dire economic situation and the Palestinian Authority's (PA) financial crisis is a more pressing concern than Mr Abbas's move. » Read more

Palestinian taxi drivers snarl West Bank traffic to protest rising gas prices ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Dozens of taxi drivers have snarled traffic in several West Bank cities to protest rising fuel prices and the government's refusal to allow them to raise fares. The protests early Thursday caused traffic jams stretching to up to four kilometers in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron and Bethlehem. Small demonstrations have been staged across the West Bank in recent days to protest the rising cost of living. Teachers and Ramallah shop owners joined Thursday's strikes. » Read more

Fayyad 'ready to resign' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Thursday announced he would resign if that was the will of the people, amid growing protests across the West Bank over the rising cost of living. Palestinians have taken to the streets for three days in mass demonstrations against price rises and unemployment, and protesters in cities across the West Bank have called for Fayyad's resignation. In Hebron on Tuesday, protesters burned an effigy of the premier. » Read more

Hamas pursuing Salafists from “street to street” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kifah Zaboun - September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Relations between the Hamas and Salafist Jihadist groups operating out of the Gaza Strip have entered a fractious stage as the movement has begun to tighten the noose around Salafist Jihadist elements. Over the past two days the Hamas movement has been carrying out a campaign of arrests against armed Salafist Jihadist groups in Gaza, and is reportedly pursuing elements from these groups from “house to house and street to street.” Hamas is in the process of investigating the structure of these groups, as well as the sources of their funding and arming. » Read more

Residents: 7 Palestinians killed in Syrian army shelling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Seven Palestinians were killed on Thursday as the Syrian army bombed the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, sources in the camp said. Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad bombed Safad and al-Jaouna areas and the al-Basel Hospital, local Yarmouk media reported, adding that residents of the camp would protest the shelling outside the al-Waseem Mosque after evening prayers. At least 20 people were killed in Syrian army mortar and artillery bombardment in southern Damascus, residents and local emergency workers said. » Read more

Suspected hate crime: Arab man assaulted in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Noam Dvir - September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Jerusalem police are investigating an Arab man's claim that he was attacked on Wednesday night by Jewish youths just for being an Arab. Ibrahim Abu Ta’a, 28, an east Jerusalem resident who works at a local hotel, claims that he was the victim of a racist attack. According to Abu Ta'a, the assault occurred as he dropped off a co-worker after leaving a work event. » Read more

U.S. congressman confirms high-level U.S.-Israel spat over Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tabassum Zakaria - September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blew up at the U.S. ambassador last month because he was "at wits' end" over what he sees as the Obama administration's lack of clarity on Iran's nuclear program, a U.S. congressman who was at the meeting said. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, made his first public comments about the late August meeting in Israel in an interview with Michigan's WJR radio on Tuesday. » Read more

Israel reserves right to decide on military strike on Iran: DM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that although the Iranian nuclear threat is within Washington's main concerns, Israel and the United States are not on the same page regarding the time for a military strike, according to local media. "The Iranian challenge is a mutual one, however, Israel and the United States' clocks are ticking at different times," Barak said at a toast for the Jewish New Year. » Read more

Egypt's President meets Palestinian President Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi met Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Egyptian presidency headquarters, official news agency MENA reported. They discussed latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation, ways to unify the Palestinian sides, and the Egyptian efforts to alleviate the Palestinian people's misery. The meeting was also attended by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, Palestinian ambassador to Egypt Barakat al- Farra, and members of Fatah central committee Saeb Oraikat and Azzam al-Ahmed. » Read more

Most Jews see rosy future, Israeli Arabs cite prejudice: poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 7, 2012 - 12:00am A new poll released Thursday found most Israelis optimistic about the future, however, the Israeli Arabs -- some 20 percent of the state's 7.8 million residents -- feel less proud of their societal status than in 2011, and cite discrimination, The Jerusalem Post reported. The annual Israeli Democracy Index poll, conducted by Prof. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democratic Institute, sketches a portrait of public opinion on core issues connected to the country 's democratic values. » Read more

Israeli Oil Firm Seeks to Extend Drilling Beyond Green Line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Amir Ben-David - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The controversial permits for further exploratory oil drilling in Israel that the Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership is currently seeking may be another cause for headache for the State of Israel. The Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's financial supplement Mammon has learned that the partnership intends to apply to the Palestinian Authority and ask for a permit for drilling on the Palestinian side of the oil field — that is, on the other side of the Green Line. » Read more

US official: Shapiro, Netanyahu had 'sharp confrontation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 7, 2012 - 12:00am The White House issued denials – but a senior US official confirmed a report published earlier this week in Yedioth Ahronoth which claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough vis-à-vis the Iranian issue. » Read more

You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Recently Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon announced on twitter that he was launching a new “viral campaign” about Jewish refugees and migrants in Israel from the Arab world. From his official perch, Ayalon has jumped into a debate that already engendered much back-and-forth, including on Open Zion, when it was introduced in the U.S. Congress in late July. » Read more

Will there be a Palestinian spring? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Ahmad Majdoubeh - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am he possibility of a Palestinian spring may seem far-fetched at a first glance, yet upon careful consideration, it may be their only course out of the current paralysis. » Read more

Eyesight for Israel’s blind ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Dominique Moisi - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am To find a glimmer of hope on the Israel-Palestine question has become difficult, if not impossible. Most Israelis now believe that a peaceful solution will not come in their generation. As for the Palestinians, the political stalemate, and ongoing Israeli occupation, has led to radicalisation: if they cannot have “something”, they want it all. » Read more

Nuclear-free Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am It may have been coincidental that The Washington Post came out with a forceful column very critical of US silence about Israel’s nuclear arsenal as it assists the Tel Aviv government in its conflict with Iran over its alleged potential for nuclear weapons. » Read more

A lynch could happen in the bubble of Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ithmar Handelman-Smith - (Analysis) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am It is easy for Tel Avivians to file the attempted lynch in Zion Square, in which dozens of Jewish youths attacked three Palestinians in broad daylight, almost killing one, under the category of “that will never happen here." That filing tag has become worn out from overuse, but it is still there, trying to do its job. And what is its job? Autosuggestion. » Read more

Bedouin kids' school of hard knocks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In the twilight of the early morning, as the rising sun turns a nearby mountain a striking pinkish-red, Nujood emerges from the family shack ready for her first day back to school after the long summer holiday. The teenager is a member of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe which has been based in the West Bank since they were forcibly evicted from the Negev shortly after Israel’s creation in 1948. » Read more

Obama on the fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoaz Hendal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In Hebrew there is a slight difference between in the pronunciation and spelling of "obligation" and "commitment." There is a big difference when it comes to the nuclear threat. The Obama administration has said everything it had to say in order to convince us that it is committed to Israel's security. But what it isn’t saying is that it is obligated – because it isn't. » Read more

A President's badge of honor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Stuart E. Eizenstat - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama has demonstrated his unshakeable commitment to Israel's security in countless ways: enhancing security cooperation, passing unprecedented sanctions against Iran, and defending Israel against the Palestinian statehood bid, to name a few. While every single US president over the past six decades has had disagreements with Israel, some of President Obama's critics have completely ignored his pro-Israel record and labeled him anti-Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. » Read more

The Obama gut test ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lester Crown - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am For the majority of my adult life, I have been privileged to call Chicago my home. It is a beautiful city with a large and active Jewish community. It is also where, several decades ago, many of my friends and I had the good fortune to know a lawyer who became a local community organizer and would, in fairly short time, become the most powerful man in the world. » Read more

More Than Disgrace, 'Price-Tag' Violence Is Israeli Security Threat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Yedioth Ahronoth - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Considering the Israeli public’s hesitation with regard to the acts of atrocious violence committed by “price-tag” perpetrators, it may be fitting to open an article dealing with this group of thugs with a few decisive statements: “Price-tag” crimes are a mark of disgrace on Israeli society. Beating a 67-year-old shepherd with sticks and a razor simply because he is Arab is a shameful act that contradicts all the basic values of Judaism. » Read more

The Democrats' misstep on Jerusalem and Israel's place in the US election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Just off the main road through West Jerusalem toward Bethlehem sits a prime but barren piece of real estate surrounded by luxury flats. It's the site of a future American embassy to Israel that, for nearly two decades, the US Congress has demanded be built immediately. But once American presidents begin navigating the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they quickly realise they don't need to add to their problems by shifting the US embassy from Tel Aviv - a unilateral statement on the status of Jerusalem. » Read more

Barak now opposes Israeli strike on Iran, sources say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Word is that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is no longer as gung ho about an attack on Iran as his media interviews suggest. Haaretz's Amir Oren reported this week that Barak opposes launching an attack on the eve of the U.S. elections, and that he may be aiming to join a party headed by Tzipi Livni and to become defense minister in a Livni government. » Read more

Peel back time: Should Israelis revisit the partition plan of 1937? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Chowers - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In the summer of 1937, the Yishuv − the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine − was in uproar over the Peel Commission’s publication of its conclusions concerning the Arab-Jewish dispute in the country. For several decades the Zionist movement’s political vision remained vague, with the very revival of Jewish nationalism still in doubt. However, in the 1930s, Jews fleeing Europe’s darkening skies reached Palestine in increasing numbers and the Yishuv stepped up its land purchases. » Read more

The Triumph and Tragedy of Greater Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest by Henry Siegman - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am The Middle East peace process is dead. More precisely, the two-state solution is dead; the peace process may well go on indefinitely if this Israeli government has its way. » Read more

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