Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: US troops arrive in Israel for a joint defense drill. Palestinians are reportedly urged by Britain to delay renewing their efforts to secure more recognition at the UN. Shas welcomes back a disgraced former official as co-head of the organization. Israeli officials claim missiles from the war in Libya are making their way to Gaza, and add that war will not solve the problems regarding the territory. The State Department says Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank will be able to take SAT exams that were being withheld by Israeli customs. Egypt's new ambassador to Israel takes up residence in that country. Israeli media misinterpret Facebook comments by Pres. Abbas. A street in occupied East Jerusalem will be named after the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthoum. Hamas leader Mishaal will reportedly finally visit Gaza again. Hamas says it opposes teaching Holocaust studies in UN schools for Palestinians. In Israel, fascination with former Hamas prisoner Shalit continues. Israel's attorney general reiterates his opposition to the Levy Report and recognition of settlement outposts. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are going ahead with municipal elections despite a Hamas boycott. COMMENTARY: Adam Gonn says most Israeli experts think the center-left can't unseat PM Netanyahu in upcoming elections. Carlo Strenger says he attaches no hopes to the election. Yossi Verter says it offers the last hope for former PM Olmert to successfully return to Israeli politics. Michael Jansen says a Netanyahu victory would be a disaster for peace. Stuart Reigeluth says the EU needs to do much more to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace. Gil Troy says Pres. Obama is neither anti-Israel nor its best friend. Simran Sachdev looks at the all-women's slate running in Hebron in upcoming Palestinian municipal elections. Douglas Bloomfield says Palestinians are aiming for a "victory" at the UN that could prove more costly than beneficial.

---

---

---

American Troops Arrive in Israel for Defense Drill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The first of 1,000 United States troops have begun to arrive in Israel to take part in a joint missile-defense exercise, which the lead American planner described on Wednesday as the largest in the history of the two countries’ relationship and a testament to the strength of their military ties. » Read more

Palestinians urged by Britain to delay 'non-member state' bid at UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Britain is urging the Palestinian leadership to delay its bid for upgraded status at the United Nations general assembly, warning that the move is likely to be detrimental to US re-engagement with the peace process following next month's presidential election. » Read more

Popular Israeli politician back to help lead party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM —A popular ultra-Orthodox Israeli politician previously jailed for accepting bribes has agreed to return to his powerful party in upcoming parliamentary elections. The Shas Party announced Wednesday that Arieh Deri would share the party's leadership along with the party's current chief Eli Yishai and senior party member Ariel Atias. The decision came after lengthy negotiations with the three politicians, and with the blessing of the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. » Read more

Israel: Gaza getting missiles from Libyan war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM —A top Israeli defense official says Gaza is being flooded with sophisticated weapons from Libya and that the anti-aircraft missile fired last week at an Israeli helicopter likely originated there. Yossi Kuperwasser, who directs the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, says "significant" numbers of weapons have been smuggled into the territory from Libya since the fall last year of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country is awash in weapons after the eight-month civil war and has weak central authority. » Read more

War will not resolve Gaza problem -Israeli official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Crispian Balmer - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A major Israeli attack on Gaza would not curb growing extremism in the Palestinian enclave, with the ruling Islamist group Hamas itself struggling to quell radicalism, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday. Voicing concern about a recent influx of increasingly potent weaponry into the Gaza Strip, the director of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs told reporters that international pressure was needed to try to put an end to militancy. » Read more

Palestinian students will take SAT college admissions exam after delay by Israeli customs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The U.S. State Department said dozens of Palestinian students whose SAT exams were delayed because of Israeli customs will take the test this Saturday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday that about 100 students in the West Bank will sit the exam this weekend. “I’m happy to say that we have learned that this issue has now been resolved,” Nuland said. » Read more

Egypt's new envoy to Israel says brings message of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters October 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM -- Egypt's new ambassador to Israel took up his post on Wednesday, assuring the country of Cairo's continued commitment to a 1979 peace treaty. "I came with a message of peace and I came to confirm that we are working for mutual trust and transparency and we are committed to all the agreements we signed with Israel," Atef Mohamed Salem Sayed Elahl said on presenting his credentials to President Shimon Peres. » Read more

Israeli media misinterpret Abbas' Arabic remarks on Facebook ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Abdul-Hakim Salah - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli media on Wednesday misinterpreted a Facebook status by Mahmoud Abbas to suggest the president had abandoned the two-state solution. Discussing the bid to upgrade Palestine to a non-member state at the UN, Abbas posted an Arabic-language status update explaining that recognition of statehood would prove that Palestinian territory is under occupation rather than "disputed" land. The president referred to Palestinian land occupied before 1967 using terminology commonly used to refer to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. » Read more

Jerusalem street to be named after Egypt's Umm Kulthoum ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 16, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – After decades of refusal, the Israeli municipal council of Jerusalem has agreed to grant names to more than 100 roads in East Jerusalem starting Wednesday. One of the roads will be named after famed Egyptian singer Umm Kulthoum in a ceremony Wednesday at the entrance to the street, near Abdul-Hamid Shoman Street 20. Palestinian singer from Israel Nisreen Kader will sing one of Umm Kulthoum’s most popular songs Inta Umri (“you are my life”) during the ceremony. » Read more

Meshal set to make first official visit to Gaza visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Arab VIPs including the emir of Qatar are expected to visit the Gaza Strip next week to "completely and officially end the Israeli blockade of several years," Hamas' television station reported Wednesday. There were also unconfirmed reports that Hamas leader Khaled Meshal will accompany the emir for his first official visit. The station said Qatar is launching a huge reconstruction project in the Strip, for which building materials will be transferred through the Rafah crossing, which hitherto has been open for people only. » Read more

Hamas opposes Holocaust study at UNRWA schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas on Wednesday reiterated its strong opposition to teaching about the Holocaust in Gaza Strip schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency. The Refugee Affairs Department of Hamas said that teaching the Holocaust was a “crime against the issue of the refugees that is aimed at canceling their right of return.” The Hamas statement came in response to unconfirmed reports in a number of Arab media outlets that UNRWA was planning to reintroduce the Holocaust into its school curriculum. » Read more

Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Yolande Knell - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am At the Free Gilad campaign tent erected by his parents on the pavement outside the prime minister's official residence, school children tied yellow ribbons around a tree and passers-by would sometimes break down in tears. Tens of thousands joined a 12-day march from his home in northern Israel to Jerusalem in 2010 to focus attention on his plight. The ordinariness of Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old corporal on mandatory military service, when he was wounded and seized by militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006, meant that many Israelis could easily identify with him. » Read more

'A-G Weinstein opposes adoption of Levy Report' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein opposes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's supposed intention to seek government approval for the "Levy Report," which calls on the government to transform West Bank outposts on state land into legal settlements, Israel Radio reported Thursday. The Prime Minister’s Office said that they did not know of any formal decision to bring the report to either the Ministerial Settlements Committee or the cabinet, after rumors that Netanyahu intended to do so next week sparked condemnation from the Left on Wednesday. » Read more

Divided Palestinians hold municipal elections without Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jihan Abdalla - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Palestinians in the West Bank go to the polls on Saturday in long-delayed municipal elections that have already highlighted deep divisions in the occupied territory and stoked complaints about a lack of leadership. The Oct. 20 ballot will hold up a cracked mirror to a political landscape clouded by financial crises, failure to reconcile the major Palestinian factions and stalemate in peacemaking efforts with Israel. » Read more

Israeli center-left can't challenge Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A possible comeback by former prime minister Ehud Olmert has hit a snag as the State Prosecutor' s Office on Tuesday announced that it will appeal Olmert's acquittal in a recent corruption case. » Read more

Israel’s upcoming elections: No hope we can believe in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s next elections will take place in a bit more than three months, and there have been some interesting developments. Aryeh Deri’s return to the helm of Shas might turn this party from an appendix to the anti-democratic right-wing policies of the current coalition into a more productive contributor to urgently needed social policies. » Read more

For Ehud Olmert, it's now or never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Analysis) October 12, 2012 - 12:00am A day after announcing an early election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got into his armored car and made the short trip from his office to the official residence of President Shimon Peres. Veteran Government Press Office photographer Moshe Milner took their picture sitting side by side and having a cozy chat. Yet just two months ago, Netanyahu had his confidants rebuke Peres for daring to make public his opposition to the idea of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities before the U.S. presidential election and without coordination with Washington. » Read more

If Netanyahu wins ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am On Monday, the Israeli Knesset did Benjamin Netanyahu’s bidding by dissolving itself and going for an election on January 22. Netanyahu decided to opt for an early election because his right-wing government could not agree on an austerity budget and his Likud bloc is certain to win in 2013 with an increased majority. » Read more

What is EU doing for peace in Palestine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Stuart Reigeluth - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Despite the current crises within different member states of the European Union, the creation of such a supra-national body to encourage trade, social cohesion, and political unity is without a doubt an incredible achievement. Regardless of the pros and cons of creating a homogenous proto-European and the heavy bureaucratic structure of the overpaid institutions that are each day more and more distant from the majority of citizens who are outside the Brussels bubble, the EU has successfully created a peaceful ambiance to avoid the devastations of war. » Read more

Neither "Best Friend" Nor "Anti-Israel" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ACCESS by Gil Troy - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Washington Post editorial on October 16 matter of factly stated the obvious: that President Barack Obama “sought to publicly distance himself from Israel early in his term” and that Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu “have made a mess of their personal relationship.” Both of these statements are quite obvious even to many casual observers of the Middle East. » Read more

Hebron's Independent Women, Part I ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Simran Sachdev - (Editorial) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am This Saturday, the West Bank city of Hebron will hold its first municipal elections in over three and a half decades. While this is critical for Hebron’s people, what makes these elections remarkable is the first all-women list to ever run in Palestinian politics. » Read more

A UN victory could be costly for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Can the Palestinians afford the UN recognition they seek? That is the question their leadership must ask itself as it presses for a vote next month on its application to upgrade its status from observer to non-member state. The issue is being couched by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in terms of prestige and improved bargaining position for possible peace talks with Israel, but that conflicts with reality. The Palestinians already have diplomatic recognition by some 120 countries and that has put them no closer to statehood. » Read more

---

---