Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: After meeting with US officials, PLO officials say they are still intent on a UN initiative, but add this does not contradict the peace process. A PA report says settler violence against Palestinians increased "dramatically" in June. UNRWA insists its name has not changed. Israeli police deploy to meet a pro-Palestinian "flytilla." The PA eliminates immunity for ministers in a corruption probe. Hamas arrests another male hairdresser. Arabs and Israelis quarrel at an international water conference. Israel and Turkey are reportedly negotiating about a UN report on last year's flotilla. EU officials say the July Quartet meeting will try to develop the framework for new talks. COMMENTARY: Amira Hass says Israel's response to the flotillas is self-defeating. Larry Derfner says that flotillas should be supported despite their flaws, but D. Bloomfield says the whole thing is pointless. Ruqaya Izzidien says flotilla solidarity is more important than aid cargo. Leonard Fein says rather than just opposing Palestinian UN initiatives, the US should craft a compromise resolution. Michael Jansen says Palestinians should push the West to change its peace approach. Tony Karon questions the idea that Israel is the "national home of the Jewish people." Daniel Kurtzer says the role of mediators is crucial. Nizar Farsakh profiles the role of Quartet mediator James Wolfensohn in the Gaza redeployment. Ron Pundak looks at lessons from Oslo mediation. Aaron David Miller says chances of a negotiating breakthrough in the short run are slim.

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Erekat in Washington: UN bid continues despite pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 7, 2011 - 12:00am PLO official Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that Palestinians would continue the bid for the UN to recognize an independent Palestinian state, after meeting US officials in Washington DC. The former chief negotiator said the US had demanded they withdraw their appeal, Israeli news site Ynet reported. But in a press conference Erekat stressed that the resolution, planned for September, does not contradict renewing currently stalled peace negotiations with Israel. » Read more

PA report: Israeli settler attacks on the rise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli settler violence towards Palestinians increased "dramatically" in June, according to a Palestinian Authority report released Wednesday. The report documented 139 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank by the Israeli army and settlers as reported to the government during the month, including demolition of 95 buildings and over 3600 olive trees and vines. The release highlighted a fire in the village of Madama on Tuesday, and in Aqraba village on Monday, both in the northern Nablus district, which it attributed to Israeli settlers. » Read more

UNRWA: Name has not changed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 7, 2011 - 12:00am An UNRWA spokesperson said Thursday that the Palestinian refugee agency has not changed its name, after reports of a new title sparked protests in Gaza on Tuesday. Adnan Abu Hasnah said the only change was a logo update which actually added the term UNRWA, in English and Arabic, to the image. The organization's 60th anniversary, Hasnah said, and attracting donors and other partners was behind the update. But the no word in the title had been changed, he said. » Read more

Israel deploys airport police to screen activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Amy Teibel - July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Israel deployed hundreds of extra police at its already heavily guarded international airport Thursday and asked European airlines to bar potential troublemakers from Tel Aviv-bound flights in anticipation of the arrival of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists. In Paris, eight activists were blocked from boarding a Malev Airlines flight Thursday. One of those turned away, Philippe Arnaud, said Malev showed him a list provided by Israeli authorities of nearly 400 people being barred from Israel. German carriers Lufthansa and Air Berlin said they also received lists. » Read more

PNA lifts immunity for ministers over corruption inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 7, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) lifted immunity for several ministers in a rare move aimed at investigating charges of corruption, a Palestinian official said Thursday. The PNA commission against corruption presented the names of some ministers to President Mahmoud Abbas who accepted to withdraw their immunity, said Rafiq Al-Natsha, the head of the commission. » Read more

Palestinian official: UN vote on statehood won't contradict peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat attended a meeting with U.S. officials at the U.S. State Department Wednesday, at which U.S. officials were expected to push the PA negotiator to accept American terms for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Acting Middle East Envoy David Hale and diplomat Dennis Ross both attended the meeting with Erekat. Following their meeting, Erekat said in a brief press conference that he does not expect the Quartet’s meeting scheduled for July 11 to “invent the wheel.” » Read more

Hamas arrests man for styling women's hair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews July 6, 2011 - 12:00am The Hamas government in Gaza has arrested a man for violating a recent legislation that prohibits men from styling women's hair, the BBC reported Wednesday. The report said that following the arrest, many male hairstylists could be found loitering at the entrance to their salons, terrified of being detained as well. Last year Hamas officially announced a new law prohibiting men from styling women's hair, as it negates Sharia. » Read more

Panel on water solutions in Middle East gets heated ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sharon Udasin - July 6, 2011 - 12:00am A panel whose aim was to address “cross-border cooperation in managing water basins” quickly became a political struggle that overpowered participants’ individual ideas toward improving the water situation for the region. During the International Water Symposium on Tuesday, experts from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority discussed the increasingly dangerous situation the region is facing as water sources deplete, a problem they all agreed could only be solved by cooperation between neighbors, despite political differences. » Read more

Israel and Turkey row delays UN flotilla report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli and Turkish officials are working feverishly behind the scenes to agree on a reconciliation document which would draw a line under Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last May, which left nine Turkish activists dead and chilled relations with its closest ally in the region. » Read more

Ashton: Quartet meeting aim to set framework for talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post July 7, 2011 - 12:00am European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday said that the goal at a Quartet meeting in Washington scheduled for Monday will be "to try and adopt a statement that will help the Israelis and Palestinians to bridge the gap, and allow for a return to the negotiating table." The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- are scheduled to meet on July 11, a senior UN diplomat said last week. » Read more

In dealing with flotilla, Israel is anything but smart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Like an anti-Semitic caricature, Israel has extended its long tentacles around the globe in an effort to stop 10 decades-old ships from sailing to Gaza. Many Israelis interpreted this as a great victory. » Read more

Support flotilla, with all its faults ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) July 6, 2011 - 12:00am For political reasons, I wouldn’t go on the flotilla that’s trying to sail from Greece to Gaza, nor would I board the planned “air flotilla” to Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday. But for weightier political reasons, I hope the people on the boats make it to Gaza and those on the planes get through to the West Bank (even though it’s understood Israel won’t let them). As a Zionist, I don’t identify with these activists. But as a hater of the occupation, I support what they’re doing now. My heart isn’t really with them - but my head is. » Read more

Washington Watch: Ships of fools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 6, 2011 - 12:00am There’s more to the story of this year’s would-be Gaza flotilla than friends of Hamas going for another Mediterranean cruise just to poke their fingers in Israel’s eye. As this is being written, the ships remain bottled up in Greek harbors, stopped not by Israeli commandos rappelling from helicopters, but by something even more intimidating: squads of Jewish lawyers and diplomats. Israel also had help from international leaders who didn’t want to appear to be backing an international terrorist organization. » Read more

Gaza flotilla: 'Solidarity more important than aid' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ruqaya Izzidien - (Opinion) July 6, 2011 - 12:00am Support for the aid flotilla is universal in Gaza, partly because of the aid it aims to deliver, but more popularly because of the symbolism it holds. Khalil Shaheen, head of economic and social rights at the Palestinian centre for Human Rights, believes the most important message carried by the Gaza aid flotilla, which is attempting to leave Athens, is solidarity. » Read more

Colonisation, occupation - core problems ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians, Arabs and foreign regional players have to admit that all strategies adopted so far have failed to resolve the Palestinian/Arab-Israeli conflict. Armed struggle, the 1988 Palestinian declaration of independence and negotiations have not brought the Palestinian people nearer to liberation. » Read more

Is Israel the 'National Home of the Jewish People'? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tony Karon - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am In a scathing commentary on the folly of the Obama Administration relying on Dennis Ross to resuscitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar notes that Ross has been at the center of just about every failed initiative on that front over the past two decades -- and that now, as ever, he is running interference for the Israelis, sustaining what he says is an illusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to make major concessions while restraining the U.S. from putting any significant pressure on him. » Read more

Mediators matter, and good mediators can broker agreements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Daniel Kurtzer - (Blog) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Mediators matter, especially in the Arab-Israel conflict, where all parties have looked to the United States to play the role of third party helper. During the more than 30 years of active American mediation, the parties have sometimes defined what they wanted the US to do or to avoid doing, but they have not defined clearly the structure or functioning of the mediator's role. » Read more

What makes for an effective mediator: The case of James Wolfensohn ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Nizar Farsakh - (Blog) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am In 2005, the Quartet appointed James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank, as special envoy for the Gaza disengagement. His job was to get the parties to cooperate in the withdrawal process, as well as to revive the Palestinian economy post-withdrawal by harnessing the Quartet's resources, both financial and political. In my opinion, his case is illustrative of the conditions for effective mediation and their demise. » Read more

What do we do with our accumulated experience? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ron Pundak - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am When I think back and analyze the Oslo negotiations with regard to the task of the mediator, I recall three episodes that best describe the mission the Norwegians took upon themselves. The first took place on the first day of our meetings. Following an official event that provided cover for the Israelis and Palestinians to come to Oslo, the Norwegians left us in the room and our host Terje Roed-Larsen said, "We'll return only if you summon us or if we hear you quarreling . . ." » Read more

For America, An Arab Winter ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am Mark Twain once observed that history doesn’t repeat; it rhymes. As America reacts to the dramatic changes sweeping the Arab world, it would be wise to keep Twain’s insight in mind. These aren’t quite secular revolutions like those of 1789 and 1917, and they certainly aren’t Islamic ones, like Iran’s in 1979, at least not yet. They more resemble popular uprisings like those in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991. » Read more

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