Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Fatah scores a mixed result in Palestinian municipal elections, which Hamas boycotted. Palestinian voters are driven by civic duty and economic concerns. Some analysts say the result was a failure for Fatah. Israel seizes control of an activist ship bound for Gaza. Israeli forces kill 2 militants in Gaza. PM Netanyahu says there will be no limit on Israeli settlement activity in occupied East Jerusalem. The Emir of Qatar is expected to visit Gaza this week. The Israeli government defers a decision on the Levy Committee Report. Israel is planning to build a National Defense College in occupied East Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives. The rise of Salafists in Gaza robs Hamas of the banner of “resistance.” The Israeli military thinks Hamas is gaining strength in the occupied West Bank. Extremist Jewish Israelis are suspected in an attack on a Palestinian taxi. COMMENTARY: Khaled Diab says Israel has squandered many opportunities on peace. Akiva Eldar says Arabs need to do more to sell the Arab Peace Initiative. Susan Hattis Rolef says Netanyahu won't make the mistake of accepting the Levy Committee Report recommendations. Philip French reviews the film "5 Broken Cameras.” Jonathan Freedland chides those quick to condemn Israel but seemingly uninterested in atrocities committed by the Syrian regime. Noam Marans complains about a letter from American Christian groups to Congress questioning aid to Israel. Moriel Rothman explains a decision not to serve in the Israeli military. Stephen Spiegel says Pres. Obama has a good record on Israel. Keith Koffler says in tonight's presidential campaign debate, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has a chance to win over Jewish Americans. Gershom Gorenberg says former PM Olmert does not offer solutions to the problems posed by Netanyahu's leadership.

---

---

---

Mixed Results for Fatah Amid Low Turnout in Municipal Elections in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - October 20, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — The dominant Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority posted mixed results in municipal elections across the West Bank on Saturday, winning in some key cities and losing in others, but with the whole exercise appearing compromised by a relatively low turnout. » Read more

Civic Duty and Economic Worries Drive Palestinian Voters in Parts of West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - October 21, 2012 - 12:00am AL BIREH, West Bank — More than half the Palestinians who participated in municipal elections on Saturday said they did so because they saw voting as a civic duty, twice the portion giving the next most popular reason. » Read more

Analysts: Despite Hamas absence, elections still Fatah failure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 22, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The first elections held in the West Bank for six years reflect how frustrated Palestinians are with their political system and ruling party Fatah, political observers said Sunday. The poll was held on Saturday in 92 of the 353 municipalities in the West Bank. Other seats were uncontested, creating automatic winners, or failed to register any candidates in this round, and will hold polls next month. » Read more

Israel Seizes Activist Ship en Route to Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - October 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli Navy on Saturday seized a European ship headed to the Gaza Strip to try to break Israel’s maritime blockade against the Hamas-controlled region and diverted it to an Israeli port. » Read more

Palestinians: Israeli airstrike kills 2 Gazans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 22, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli aircraft struck the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, killing two Palestinian militants, after mortar attacks targeted Israeli troops earlier in the day, officials said. » Read more

Israel's Netanyahu: no limit on Jerusalem building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 21, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister vowed on Sunday to continue building in east Jerusalem, despite objections from Palestinians who claim the territory as capital of their hoped-for state. » Read more

Qatar's emir to head to Hamas-ruled Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - October 21, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The ruler of Qatar is expected in the Gaza Strip this week, in what would be a major stamp of legitimacy for the territory's Islamic militant Hamas rulers. » Read more

Israeli PM defers cabinet decision on report legalizing settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 22, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday postponed a cabinet vote on a controversial report advocating legalizing the status of settlements and outposts in the West Bank. » Read more

Israeli local board green lights war college on disputed east Jerusalem plot, objection aroused ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 22, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Jerusalem district planning board has okayed construction of a National Defense College near the Mount of Olives on land in dispute with the Palestinians. The 42,000-square-meter structure, according to The Jerusalem Post, is to be erected adjacent to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mount Scopus campus, from where it overlooks the Old City, less than one kilometer away. » Read more

Salafis' rise in Gaza robs Hamas of resistance banner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Tel Aviv Israel and Hamas are seeking to restore the relative calm that has prevailed for months after a weekend flare-up in fighting between Israel and Gaza that left at least five Palestinians dead.  » Read more

IDF source: Hamas gaining strength in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - October 21, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas is getting stronger in the West Bank, but is focusing its activities on indoctrinating Palestinians in its extremist ideology and creating social assistance programs, an IDF source said Sunday. » Read more

W. Bank: Vandals graffiti, try to burn Palestinian cab ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ben Hartman - October 22, 2012 - 12:00am Vandals unsuccessfully tried to torch a Palestinian taxi cab at the entrance to the village of Danya in the southern Hebron Hills region late Sunday night, in what police are investigating as a 'price tag' incident. The vandals also spray-painted "tag mahir" (price tag) on a nearby wall. » Read more

Israel's missed opportunities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am It is 39 years since the 6th October/Yom Kippur war of 1973. After the peace talks in Geneva following the war, Israel’s then-foreign minister, Abba Eban, the ever-articulate founding father of Israeli diplomacy, quipped that, “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” » Read more

The general from Jeddah must shout louder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am About a month ago, I participated in one of the many seminars on the Arab Spring taking place around the world. One of the outstanding speakers was a retired general from the Saudi Arabian army who now heads a research institute in Jeddah. The general went out of his way to praise the Arab Peace Initiative that had been the brainchild of Saudi King Abdullah more than a decade ago. » Read more

Will Netanyahu change the status of the settlements? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Susan Hattis Rolef - (Opinion) October 21, 2012 - 12:00am As yet we do not know whether prior to the general elections Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will actually bring to the cabinet for approval parts of the report former Supreme Court justice Edmond Levy submitted to him concerning the legalization of the allegedly illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria. » Read more

5 Broken Cameras – review ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Phillip French - (Film Review) October 20, 2012 - 12:00am Back in the late 70s and early 80s, before he embarked on the grander works that made him famous such as his Decalogue series and his Tricolor trilogy, Krzysztof Kieslowski made a succession of films about politics and personal responsibility. One of the most notable is Camera Buff about Filip, a minor functionary in a provincial Polish town who buys an 8mm camera to photograph his baby daughter. » Read more

We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am We know the government hopes to do nothing, but what about the rest of us? Exactly one year after the death of Muammar Gaddafi, the chances of another round of Libya-style western military intervention, this time for Syria, hover close to zero. Even the hawkish Mitt Romney promises no such thing. Few politicians speak even of non-military options – of which there are many – let alone taking up arms. » Read more

Christians’ letter is an unworthy tactic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Noam E. Marans - (Opinion) October 21, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- Iran is threatening Israel, the Middle East and the world with the specter of nuclear weapons. Christians across the Middle East are persecuted and martyred in the repercussions of the so-called Arab Spring. But some American Christian leaders are busy dedicating time, money and resources to their habitual demonization of Israel. » Read more

Why I Refuse to Serve in the IDF ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Moriel Rothman - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am American Jews actively supported the civil rights movement. Or so goes the popular narrative in the American Jewish community. For the purposes of this piece, let’s call it “The Narrative.” The values that come along with The Narrative are values that have guided me throughout my life: values of nonviolence, values of anti-racism, and values of disobeying unjust laws. » Read more

Obama’s bad for Israel? His record indicates otherwise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel by Steven L. Spiegel - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama has been criticized for being antagonistic to or wrong for Israel. Some go so far as to claim that he is the worst president for Israel in American history. Really? » Read more

Romney’s big chance with Jewish voters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Keith Koffler - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney at the Monday foreign policy debate, should play to the Jewish TV audience like he was the star of a Borscht Belt revue. » Read more

The Man on a Mud-Stained Horse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am Somewhere in Israel, a printing house awaits Ehud Olmert's decision on his political plans before printing a Hebrew version of that most despairing of election slogans, "Vote for the Crook. It's Important." Or so you might think while reading Israeli headlines of recent days. » Read more

---

---