Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: The Sinai gas pipeline is again attacked. PM Netanyahu meets Pres. Obama at the White House, and Israeli officials say they are “disappointed” with the meeting. Palestinians say they are also “disappointed but not surprised” by the tenor of the meetings. PA officials warn new austerity measures may not offset the financial crisis. A Palestinian Constitutional Court postpones a hearing on whether the PA president can also serve as prime minister. Two Palestinian children are killed by abandoned Israeli ordnance in the West Bank. Gazans turn to generators given constant electricity outages. A Hamas leader says the organization would not get dragged into any conflict involving Iran. COMMENTARY: The New York Times says neither Israel nor Iran should doubt Obama's resolve. Bruce Ackerman says there is an important legal case against any attack on Iran. Robert Malley and Aaron David Miller say a unilateral Israeli pullback from parts of the West Bank could be useful. The CSM asks if Israel is formally an "ally" of the United States at all. Merav Michaeli says Palestinian women in Israel face a double-discrimination. Gershon Baskin says something must be done urgently to save the two-state solution. Emad El Din Adeeb says Israel believes another intifada may be imminent, and if it does emerge, it must be peaceful. Linda Heard agrees another intifada may be coming. Musa Keilani says many Israelis think a destabilized, disintegrated Syria is in their interests. Connie Bruck explains how those quoted in an ad by the Emergency Committee for Israel strongly objected to the advertisement.

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Egypt: Sinai Gas Line Attacked ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Militants again blew up a Sinai Peninsula gas pipeline that carries fuel to neighboring Israel and Jordan, Egyptian security officials said Monday. The attack was the 13th on a pipeline since the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak last year. The officials said the bombing occurred just three days after the pipeline was repaired and shipments to Israel and Jordan resumed. Islamists have been blamed for previous attacks.

Obama assures Netanyahu on efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joby Warrick, Scott Wilson - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama sought to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but their meeting concluded with U.S. officials unsure whether the president had succeeded in persuading the Israelis to hold off on unilateral military action. » Read more

Israeli state officials disappointed with Obama meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am Israeli state officials were disappointed Tuesday with the results of the Netanyahu-Obama meeting at the White House on Monday. "There were no surprises," a senior state official said. "It was clear from recent months that there are differences between ourselves and the Americans. We have different perspectives when it comes to the question of time and red lines." It was claimed that the Americans view the Iranian issue in the context of the upcoming presidential elections. "It's a bad message for the issue and a good message for the Iranians," a state official said. » Read more

Palestinians taken aback by Obama embrace of Israel, but expect little in US election year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 5, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians say they are disappointed in President Barack Obama but not surprised by his especially warm embrace of Israel in an election year. Still, his weekend speech to the powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC was perceived in the West Bank as unprecedented in its show of support for Israel. It raised eyebrows even among hardened skeptics who have lost faith in Washington’s ability to serve as an honest Mideast broker. » Read more

Official: Palestinian issue ignored in US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian peace negotiator says the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is too big to ignore, even though it was sidelined in a meeting between Israel's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama. Saeb Erekat told reporters Tuesday that in the Middle East, "No issue is above the Palestinian issue." He spoke after Israeli and American leaders met to discuss Iran's nuclear program. » Read more

PA austerity measures 'will not solve budget crisis' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 6, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's recently introduced austerity measures will not make a serious impact on the public budget deficit, a finance ministry official warned Monday. Last week, the Ramallah-based cabinet agreed a series of cost-cutting measures on government expenses, including limiting travel to economy class and freezing purchase or rent of buildings for government purposes. » Read more

Court delays hearing on Abbas' PM role ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A constitutional court in Ramallah on Tuesday postponed a hearing on the legality of President Mahmoud Abbas' appointment as prime minister of a unity government to March 20. Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed that the president will lead a unity government in Doha in February. PLO central council member Abdul-Jawwad Salih submitted a legal challenge to the appointment on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. » Read more

Two Palestinian children killed in W.Bank explosion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 6 (Reuters) - Two Palestinian children were killed when abandoned ordnance exploded in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Ramadan Awad, police chief in the city of Hebron, said two 12-year-old boys, Hamza and Zayed Jradat, were killed and three teenagers were injured when an old Israeli mortar exploded. The group had been playing in a field filled with scrap metal in the nearby village of Sier, Awad said. » Read more

Power to the People: Gaza and Its Generators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Omar Ghraieb - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza – When Ahmed Ashour finished high school two years ago he knew where his future lay. He decided to not apply to any university, even though his family could easily afford it, and instead went in to the business of selling and servicing small electric generators. » Read more

Hamas rules out military support for Iran in any war with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am Hamas will not do Iran's bidding in any war with Israel, according to senior figures within the militant Islamic group. "If there is a war between two powers, Hamas will not be part of such a war," Salah Bardawil, a member of the organisation's political bureau in Gaza City, told the Guardian. He denied the group would launch rockets into Israel at Tehran's request in response to a strike on its nuclear sites. "Hamas is not part of military alliances in the region," said Bardawil. "Our strategy is to defend our rights" » Read more

Iran, Israel and the United States ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel share responsibility for the strains in their relationship. But there should be no doubt about Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security. When he warns that an Israeli attack on Iran could backfire, and that “there is still a window” for diplomacy, he is speaking for American and Israeli interests. » Read more

The legal case against attacking Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Bruce Ackerman - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington has provoked a broad debate over the military and political wisdom of an attack on Iran. But so far, there has been little attention to the legal issues involved, which are crucial. American support for a preemptive strike would be a violation of both international law and the U.S. Constitution. » Read more

Mideast peace, with something short of a deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Robert Malley, Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) March 3, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will devote little time Monday to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in part because of Iran and election-year politics. But the principal cause is this: A negotiated, two-state solution is running harder than ever against intractable political and psychological realities in Israel, Palestine and the Arab world. These are pushing toward a de facto outcome that will not be negotiated, comprehensive or conflict-ending. » Read more

War talk on Iran forces the issue: Is Israel a formal US ally? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am According to polls, Americans remain wary of supporting the idea of either Israel or the United States – or both together – attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Perhaps one reason for this hesitancy is the fact that Israel, in a historic choice to rely on itself for defense, has never become an official US ally. America has no treaty obligation to come to Israel’s defense as it does with many countries in Europe and Asia. This little-known fact may loom large in a meeting Monday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Arab women in Israel face double discrimination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Merav Michaeli - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am In Israel, 17-year-olds are minors for all intents and purposes - except when it comes to marriage. This is not merely theoretical: Every year more than 4,500 Israelis aged 17 or younger marry. The vast majority - around 4,000 - are female. For this purpose, they are not minors. After all, they can already cook and clean; more important, their wombs and all the organs leading to them are ready. The Knesset plenum is to vote today on a bill to raise the minimum marriage age from 17 to 18; there is still a danger that the ultra-Orthodox parties will scuttle it. » Read more

The Palestinian challenge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Something must be done, and quickly, to save the two-state solution. We are nearing the end of the road and soon there will be no one between the river and the sea who actually believes that it will be possible to partition the land into two states. » Read more

The next intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Emad El Din Adeeb - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am There is new Israeli intelligence information about an imminent Palestinian intifada, ranging from Gaza to Ramallah. This information was leaked from the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, but no one can be sure whether the objective of such an information leakage is to prevent a genuine intifada that is being secretly prepared underground, or whether it is merely a media cloud intended to cover up another crime committed by the occupying Israeli army. This issue cannot be analyzed without taking four other fundamental factors into consideration, which are as follows: » Read more

A third Palestinian intifada may be in the cards ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Linda Heard - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian leaders are talking tough these days. And who can blame them! For decades they've been listening to empty Israeli promises and put their future in the hands of a succession of US presidents duplicitously claiming to be impartial peace brokers. » Read more

Destabilised, disintegrated Syria benefits Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) March 3, 2012 - 1:00am The Israelis are having an ongoing debate over the anti-regime uprising in Syria, with participants saying that the world is not doing anything about the carnage against the Syrian people by security forces loyal to the government. Many Israelis use the opportunity to thrash the Arabs, in the process, accusing them of doing nothing to help the Syrian people. » Read more

The Emergency Committee for Israel Cries Wolf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Yorker by Connie Bruck - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am In the last few days, just before the highly-charged meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, and, also, the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting, where both Netanyahu and Obama were to address about fourteen thousand Israel supporters, the Emergency Committee for Israel moved into high gear. » Read more

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