Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Gaza-based militants say they will adhere to the cease-fire as Israel closes borders in anticipation of holy days. Settlers evicted from a home they seized in occupied Hebron vow revenge against Israeli police. Egypt says there is no evidence of an attack on southern Israel from Sinai. Palestinian activists ask Pres. Abbas to investigate attacks on protesters on Land Day. Christians mark Good Friday in the Holy Land. PM Fayyad may be preparing a reshuffle in his cabinet. Israel says it will retaliate against Hamas after any attack from Gaza, and against Hezbollah after any attack from Lebanon, no matter who the perpetrators might be. Israeli security services say they have managed to reduce attacks by settlers against Palestinians. PM Netanyahu is trying to balance appealing to his right-wing supporters and preserving his law-and-order credibility. COMMENTARY: David Keyes says there is a double-standard on Palestinian censorship. James Kirchick says Israel doesn't engage in “pinkwashing.” Don Futterman says he doesn't support a settlement boycott, but he does think it's essential for Jewish Americans to oppose the occupation. Anshel Pfeffer says Iran has insured the survival of the Assad regime in Syria for the foreseeable future. Nathan Guttman says some Israelis fear that a new UN investigation into Israeli settlement activity could turn into another Goldstone Report. The National says apparent Palestinian concessions on the 1967 borders are a sign of desperation. Gideon Levy says the "extreme left" is everyone pushing for a one-state reality and those who enable them. Majed Kayyali says the PLO must be reconstructed to mend Palestinian national divisions. Ben Caspit says Israelis are wrong to rejoice in having marginalized the Palestinian issue. Frida Ghitis says Israel is making small but significant moves towards peace. Israeli Amb. Oren says Israel is a vibrant democracy. David Harris-Gershon says tribalism should play no role in Jewish-American debates on attitudes towards Israeli policies.

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Gaza Militants Say They Will Adhere to Cease-Fire, As Wary Israel Seals Borders or Holiday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 5, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A Palestinian militant leader said Friday that his group is adhering to a cease-fire that stopped a barrage of rockets and air strikes between Israel and the Gaza Strip last month. Sheik Nafez Azzam of Islamic Jihad said Israeli reports that he had called for an ongoing struggle against Israel, despite a cease-fire, were mistaken. “We in the Islamic Jihad are committed to the cease-fire,” Azzam told The Associated Press. He said a firebrand speech calling for ongoing resistance was a general political statement. » Read more

Hebron Settlers Threaten Retaliation After Israeli Police Evict Them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Alon Bernstein - April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli security forces swiftly evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from an illegally occupied building in this volatile West Bank city on Wednesday, ending a week-long standoff that had threatened to spill over into broader violence. The raid caught the settlers off guard. Only a day earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had moved to block the eviction order. Settler supporters in Netanyahu's hard-line government condemned the surprise raid, a key political ally threatened to quit the coalition and settler leaders vowed retaliation. » Read more

Egypt: No Evidence of Sinai Rocket Launch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 5, 2012 - 12:00am EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian officials disputed on Thursday Israeli assessments showing that rockets which struck the city of Eilat were fired from Egypt's Sinai desert. An Egyptian security official in the southern Sinai, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Egyptian-Israeli border was "intensively secured", and no one had detected a flash of light or sound on Wednesday. No casualties or damage were reported after the rocket struck the Israeli resort town, police said, but the incident fueled Israeli worries over militant activity in the border area. » Read more

Abbas Urged to Investigate Land Day Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian civil society and activists on Wednesday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to investigate attacks on demonstrators during a rally to mark Land Day. A coalition of NGOs and civil society leaders called on the president to form an "independent and transparent" committee to investigate an attack on MP Mustafa Barghouti, who was injured at a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah on March 30. » Read more

Christians Mark Good Friday in the Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniella Cheslow - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Land commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Friday in prayers and processions through Jerusalem's Old City. In the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem, Palestinian Catholics re-enacted Jesus' stations of the cross in their olive groves and vineyards. Father Ibrahim Shomali led the Good Friday procession in Arabic, wearing a white tunic and purple clerical shawl. Dozens of believers followed him, bearing Palestinian flags and olivewood crosses. » Read more

Palestinian PM Begins Initial Contacts for New Gov’t Reshuffle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Salam Fayyad, premier of the Palestinian caretaker government in the West Bank, has begun initial contacts to reshuffle his cabinet in a bid to treat an internal deficiency, an official source said Friday. The source in Fayyad's government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Fayyad has finally agreed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reshuffle the government, without setting up a specific date. » Read more

Israeli Army Warns Against Attacks on Israeli, Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz on Thursday revealed a new deterrence policy towards attacks on Israelis or Jews worldwide, which specifically warned Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran. Gantz announced the army's new policy during a conference at an army base near Tel Aviv, the IDF Spokesman's office told Xinhua Thursday evening. » Read more

Shin Bet: Action Against Jewish Extremists Has Reduced Attacks on Palestinians in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Shin Bet security service officials say their actions against extreme right-wing activists have led to a significant reduction in violent incidents against Palestinians. Senior Shin Bet officials, from the unit monitoring the activists’ activity in the West Bank, made the statement recently at an internal defense establishment meeting dealing with events in the extreme right. » Read more

Netanyahu in Political Balancing Act ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV // With early elections likely this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting a political high-wire act. On the one hand, the right-wing premier must show his pro-settler credentials. On the other hand, in the face of widespread illegal Jewish construction in the occupied West Bank, Mr Netanyahu needs to prove at home and abroad that he is committed to law and order. Late on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu said he would provide the needed approvals to legalise three unauthorised Jewish outposts in the West Bank and save another outpost from a demolition order. » Read more

Where’s the outcry over Palestinian censorship? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Keyes - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am A university lecturer and single mother of two, Ismat Abdul-Khaleq, was arrested in the West Bank last week for criticizing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook. Perhaps this is what Abbas meant when he said during a recent interview with al-Jazeera that his party, Fatah, was a political and ideological copy of the terrorist group Hamas. His words: “In all honesty, there are no disagreements between us.” » Read more

The fallacy of the 'pinkwashing' argument ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by James Kirchick - (Opinion) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am On March 16, a group of gay Israeli teenagers was set to meet with the Seattle LGBT Commission, a body representing the interests of the gay community before the city government. The students were touring the United States under the auspices of the Alliance of Israeli LGBT Educational Organizations, a network of groups that support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The purpose of the visit was to exchange ideas about best practices for combating homophobia, share personal experiences and, like any cultural exchange, generally learn from one other. » Read more

The important message of Peter Beinart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Don Futterman - (Opinion) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Peter Beinart has been pilloried because of his call in a recent New York Times op-ed and in his newly published book, "The Crisis of Zionism," for a Zionist boycott of West Bank settlements. Beinart, former editor of the New Republic and founder of the new online forum "Open Zion," is tackling the concealed heart of our government's strategy: its campaign to erase any distinction between the occupied territories and Israel. Beinart has staked out a brave position, particularly in today's Zionist landscape. » Read more

Iran has saved Bashar Assad (for now) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Blog) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am The ongoing debate for and against international intervention in Syria has been rendered obsolete by the mounting evidence that at least one nation has already very much intervened. The details emerging over the last few days can leave little doubt that the active campaign of support by the Iranian regime has ensured that President Bashar Assad will remain the absolute ruler of Syria for the foreseeable future. » Read more

U.N. Pushes West Bank Settlement 'Probe' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - (Analysis) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Washington — A United Nations group’s decision to probe settlement activity on the West Bank has raised the specter of a new feud between Israel and the world body — and created a fresh headache for the White House. Israel quickly denounced the Human Rights Council’s resolution, which calls for a fact-finding commission to investigate the “implications” of the settlements for Palestinians. The Jewish state also severed all ties with the council. » Read more

Concession on 1967 borders is last-ditch effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the old saying goes. And with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resolutely stamping out hopes of a negotiated two-state solution, these are indeed desperate times for the fractured Palestinian leadership. » Read more

The real radical left ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Even a dead body can sometimes twitch reflexively. Here we go again: The settlers have occupied another building. Their lawyer isn't ashamed to boast about the deceptive way the property was acquired. The ministers make their pilgrimages. The defense minister pulls a surprise eviction. The right is furious, the remnants of the left utter praise, and even Europe and America seem satisfied - look, another settler real estate grab has been thwarted. » Read more

Palestine Must Revive the PLO to Mend Palestinian Divisions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat by Majed Kayyali - (Opinion) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am There is no electricity in the Gaza Strip — long a source of great suffering for the Palestinians. However, their problems are not limited to power cuts. Their national cause, political entities and struggle against the enemy have lost their momentum and vitality. » Read more

Israel Should Not Rejoice About Cornering Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) March 25, 2012 - 12:00am A letter rests on the table of the chairman of the Palestinian Authority (yes, such an entity still exists), Abu Mazen. The addressee is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The letter is biting, explosive, a true hot potato that can burn up the entire room — but it has not yet been sent to its destination. The Palestinians have already showed the letter to the Americans, the Europeans and other entities that are now putting heavy pressure on Abu Mazen to stop or at least delay the message. » Read more

In Israel, small steps toward peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Little more than a week from now, after the Jewish holiday of Passover ends, an interesting interaction will unfold between Israelis and Palestinians — at least that’s what the two sides are planning at this moment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will host Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office. Fayyad will hand the Israeli leader a letter from PA President Mahmoud Abbas in which he will blame Israel for the lack of peace negotiations and spell out four Palestinian conditions to restart talks. » Read more

Israel's Resilient Democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am At 64, Israel is older than more than half of the democracies in the world. The Jewish state, moreover, belongs to a tiny group of countries -- the United States, Britain, and Canada among them -- never to have suffered intervals of non-democratic governance. Since its inception, Israel has been threatened ceaselessly with destruction. Yet it never once succumbed to the wartime pressures that often crush democracies. » Read more

Tribalism and the Zionist BDS Debate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Harris-Gershon - April 5, 2012 - 12:00am In January, Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, wrote that Israel should “give the go-ahead for US-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel.” He saw the tactic as a way to resolve divergent opinions between the two countries on how to deal with Iran. » Read more

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