Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: The Romney Campaign announces the formation of an “Arab-Americans for Romney” coalition. An all-female ticket is making its presence felt in upcoming local Palestinian elections. New Israeli airstrikes bring the number killed in Gaza during the ongoing round of violence to five. Former Hamas prisoner Shalit recalls his captivity in Gaza. The US cancels scholarships for students in Gaza after Israel refuses to allow them to travel. Islamists in Egypt play on anti-Israel sentiment. Pres. Abbas says he was “two months” away from a peace agreement with former PM Olmert. Salafists in Gaza complain Hamas is preventing them from establishing a new political party. The Emir of Qatar is reportedly planning to visit Gaza. A former senior aide to the late Pres. Arafat says Israel is reaching out to potential future Palestinian leaders, including those in Israeli prison. Israel is planning an international PR campaign to improve the image of settlers. PM Netanyahu is in a strong position for upcoming Israeli elections, but faces numerous uncertainties. Palestinians in the West Bank are holding weekly nonviolent protests against the latest expansion of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. COMMENTARY: Saliba Sarsar and Hussein Ibish point to vital lessons for the Middle East conflict from events during past Novembers. Barak Ravid says, as Israel's elections loom, Palestinians feel nothing but despair. Harriet Sherwood thinks Netanyahu is on the right track to victory. Ha'aretz interviews PLO official Ashrawi. Ari Shavit says new reports on secret Israeli-Syrian negotiations reflect well on Netanyahu. Amos Harel says extremists in Sinai are making a Hamas-Israel conflict, which neither party wants, more likely. Jeff Barak says the next American president will find a pressing need to get the parties to return to the negotiating table. Khaled Diab says Israeli settlers can prove to be unlikely peace activists. Zohar Nevo says the new head of Magen David has a long history of ugly anti-Arab racism. Pierre Klochendler looks at the struggle over neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem.

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Romney Campaign Announces “Arab-Americans for Romney” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Arab American Institute (Press Release) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Washington, DC – On Friday, October 12, 2012, the Romney campaign announced “Arab Americans for Romney,” a national coalition of Arab American supporters of Gov. Mitt Romney’s bid for the presidency of the United States. » Read more

All-Female Ticket Aims to Be Heard, if Not Seen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - October 14, 2012 - 12:00am HEBRON, West Bank — The faces of five men in business suits and one woman in a white head scarf beam under the slogan “Modern Hebron” on campaign banners along the streets of this famously conservative city ahead of local elections scheduled for Saturday. Other banners saying “Hebron Independents” feature 12 less formal photos, including three women, with looks more stern than smiling. » Read more

Palestinian militant dies in continuous Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, putting death toll to 5 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian militant died Sunday shortly after he was injured in the continuous Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza Strip, putting the number of Palestinians killed in the round of violence to five, according to medics. » Read more

US drops Gaza scholarships after Israel travel ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Amal Ashour, 18, loves Shakespeare and American pop music. One of the brightest students in the Gaza Strip, she studied her senior year of high school in Minnesota through a U.S.-government funded program. » Read more

Israeli Ex-Soldier Recalls Captivity Under Militants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Almost a year after he was released from five years of captivity in Gaza, Gilad Shalit, the former Israeli soldier, has revealed more details of how he coped with the ordeal and his fears of being forgotten. » Read more

Egypt's Islamists play to anti-Israel sentiment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Aya Batrawy - October 13, 2012 - 12:00am CAIRO — A fiery tirade against Jews by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's leader highlights one of the foremost diplomatic challenges facing the country's new Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as he balances popular sentiment with the need for security relations with Israel. » Read more

Abbas says Olmert was "two months" from peace deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters October 14, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 14 (Reuters) - In comments that may stir Israel's election campaign, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that he and Ehud Olmert were "two months" away from a peace deal before Olmert had to resign as Israeli prime minister. » Read more

Salafis say Hamas security preventing new political party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The founders of a new Salafi political party said Monday that their official launch is being obstructed by Hamas security forces, not legal regulations as the government in Gaza has claimed. Last week, Salafis announced the Al-Nur party, or 'party of the light', would start officially operating in the coming days. It said it would work on similar lines to an Egyptian party of the same name, which follows an ultra-conservative Islamic ideology. » Read more

Report: Emir of Qatar set to visit Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Emir of Qatar is set to visit the Gaza Strip in the coming few days, the first visit by an Arab leader since Hamas took power in the coastal enclave, a Gaza TV channel said on Sunday. Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his wife Sheikha Mozah are slated to come to Gaza following the arrival of Qatari delegates on Sunday, al-Kitab satellite channel said. » Read more

Arafat aide: Israel reaching out to Abbas successors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- A former adviser to President Yasser Arafat on Saturday accused Israel of working to replace the current president behind the scenes. Bassam Abu Sharif said Israeli officials were making calls to Palestinian figures in Israeli jail to scope out a successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as to people close to the president. » Read more

Diplomacy Ministry seeks to boost settlers' global image ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Itamar Fleishman - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Against the backdrop of the upcoming Knesset elections, the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs is set to launch a campaign aiming to boost the West Bank settlements' global image. » Read more

Analysis: Israel's Netanyahu faces wild cards ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Dan Perry - October 14, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli government has called a general election for Jan. 22, and polls suggest Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist-religious coalition is likely to win a renewed majority — but an array of wild cards make the outcome of this campaign unpredictable nonetheless. » Read more

Palestinians plan protest to halt Shadma development ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinians on Sunday held the first of what they hope will be weekly protests meant to halt any attempt by settlers to develop a small Gush Etzion hilltop, known to Israeli as Shadma and to Palestinians as Oush Ghrab. Several dozen Palestinians holding flags and signs stood in the parking lot behind the hill, which is sandwiched between the Palestinian village of Beit Sahur and the Nokdim road. » Read more

The Lessons of Novembers Past ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish, Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Historically, November often signifies numerous crucial turning points in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The lessons of Novembers past demand close attention. Palestinians and Israelis can learn from them to address their differences and common future, and American leaders to be more balanced. » Read more

As Israeli elections near, Palestinians feel nothing but despair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH - On Monday, Yossi Beilin sat alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas  in a convention hall in Mukataa, and waxed nostalgic. “We used to work without the Americans,” he said. “Clinton heard about Oslo two weeks before the White House ceremony." Abbas, a bitter smile on his face, corrected him. “A week before,” he said. » Read more

Why Binyamin Netanyahu is on the right track for victory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) October 13, 2012 - 12:00am One end is a Jewish settlement across the Green Line, the other is close to Israel's haunting memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem. » Read more

World powers will soon support our cause, says top Palestinian official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Twice during an hour-long interview, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi let out a laugh that sounded embarrassed. The first time was when she explained what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did in his UN General Assembly address: a speech she deemed patronizing, cut off from reality, stuck in an outdated Manichean perception. The doctor of comparative literature suggests that he did not convince his audience. » Read more

In praise of Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Yedioth Ahronoth and diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer deserve all possible praise for their sensational story on Friday. Israel and Syria conducted peace negotiations in 2010 and 2011. » Read more

Gaza extremists endanger the balance of terror along border with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am For several months now, Israel and Hamas are maintaining a complex balance of terror along the Gaza Strip border. The relative calm is kept despite rockets being fired at Israel by extremist groups supporting al-Qaida (sometimes with a nod from Hamas, sometimes with its indirect assistance), and despite Israeli airstrikes against members of these groups. It is true that lately the lulls between escalation to escalation have become shorter, but still there is no room for comparison to the situation along the border during the years that preceded Operation Cast Lead in 2008. » Read more

Getting back to the negotiating table ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Guess who wrote this and where it was first published: “The Arab Spring showed the world that the Palestinians are happier and in [a] better situation than their Arab brothers who fought to liberate them from the Israelis. Now, it is time to stop the hatred and wars and start to create better living conditions for the future Arab generations.” » Read more

The Israeli settlers who make unlikely peace activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am In his recent speech to the UN general assembly, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas warned that Israel's ongoing settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank would make the creation of a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel "extremely difficult if not completely impossible". » Read more

Michael Bloomberg and Magen David's Anti-Arab Rabbi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Eshkol Nevo - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am When one enters Jerusalem, two structures immediately catch the eye. The first is a digital sign informing the traveler when the next Sabbath begins and ends. The second is a building bearing a sign identifying it as the William H. Bloomberg MDA Jerusalem Station. » Read more

Caged in the Great City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am AR-RAM, Occupied East Jerusalem, Oct 15 2012 (IPS) - Ali Shuruf turns on the lights, that shine into a gaudy living room. Beyond the window, the dominant colour is uniformly grey: the house stands literally against a wall. Not just any wall – the infamous eight-metre cement wall separates Palestinians from Israelis. » Read more

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