Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: An eyewitness to the attempted lynching of Palestinians by Israeli youth in Jerusalem posts an account of the attack on Facebook. Several young Jewish Israelis have been arrested in connection with the attack. Jewish extremists are also suspected in an attack on a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank. Rejecting settlers' appeals, Israel's Attorney-General's Office again orders the evacuation of an “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Iranian officials say any attack on their country by Israel would lead to Israel's own “annihilation.” Israeli defense officials reportedly consult a senior rabbi over the possibility of an attack on Iran. Palestinian citizens of Israel fear they lack access to bomb shelters and other protections Jewish citizens have. UN officials say a strong West Bank economy is not enough to ensure stability, and progress towards creating a two-state solution is required. The Egyptian crackdown on smuggling tunnels is being felt by Palestinians in Gaza. The wall Israel is constructing along its border with Egypt is almost complete. COMMENTARY: Shai Feldman says the debate in Israel over a possible attack on Iran is over, and an attack is not going to happen. Aaron David Miller agrees that Israel is not going to attack Iran in the foreseeable future. Reuven Pedatzur says comments by PM Netanyahu undermine the prospect of creating a workable deterrence strategy regarding Iran in the future. Aluf Benn says the debate over whether or not to have a war with Iran has strengthened Israeli democracy. Sefi Rachlevsky says Netanyahu is placing Israel in an exceptionally dangerous situation regarding Iran. Gerson Baskin says Pres. Obama should save Israel from making a mistake on Iran. Bernard Avishai says he doesn't think Iran could provide a “nuclear umbrella” to others in the region. Dov Weisglass says instead of criticizing Pres. Peres and others over the Oslo agreements, Netanyahu should thank them. Michael Cohen says plans by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills are contrary to Jewish values. The Media Line interviews Munib Al-Masri.

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Account of ‘a Lynch’ in Jerusalem on Facebook ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - August 20, 2012 - 12:00am As my colleague Isabel Kershner reports, several Israeli teenagers who appeared in court on Monday following their arrest for beating a young Palestinian unconscious expressed little remorse for the attack after a hearing. » Read more

Young Israelis Held in Attack on Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - August 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Seven Israeli teenagers were in custody on Monday, accused of what a police official and several witnesses described as an attempted lynching of several Palestinian youths, laying bare the undercurrent of tension in this ethnically mixed but politically divided city. A 15-year-old suspect standing outside court said, “For my part he can die, he’s an Arab.” » Read more

Attacks on Palestinians kindle debate on values ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - August 21, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Two vicious attacks on Palestinians, presumed to be the work of Jews, have some Israelis worried that their society is increasingly tolerant of hate crimes. Over the weekend, unknown assailants firebombed a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank. Hours later, a mob of Jewish teens beat a 17-year-old Palestinian unconscious in downtown Jerusalem. Israeli leaders have condemned the violence. On Tuesday, President Shimon Peres said he was "mortified" by the "intolerable" attack on the teen. » Read more

Israel overturns appeal, orders eviction of West Bank outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel's State Attorney-General' s Office (SAO) on Monday ordered the eviction of an illegal West Bank outpost, in response to an appeal by its residents hoping to prevent its destruction. » Read more

Top Iran official: If Israel attacks, it will bring about its own 'annihilation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 21, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli attack on Iran will lead to Israel's "annihilation," a senior Iranian official told the country's state-run TV station Press TV on Monday, ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement summit due to take place in Tehran later this month. » Read more

Israeli defense officials consult with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef over Iran strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yair Ettinger, Barak Ravid - August 21, 2012 - 12:00am Senior defense officials have recently been visiting the ultra-Orthodox Shas party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, to discuss a possible Israeli attack on Iran. Some want the 91-year-old rabbi to support it, others to oppose it. At least one visit, in which the rabbi was briefed on Iran's nuclear program, came at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is battling for support in the cabinet to strike Iran. » Read more

Arab Israelis 'have nowhere to hide' if war breaks out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hassan Shaalan - August 21, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's Arabs are extremely concerned by the mounting tensions between Israel and Iran and claim that the lack of shelters in their cities will leave them exposed in case a war erupts. » Read more

'Strong W. Bank economy not enough for stability' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post August 21, 2012 - 12:00am A strong Palestinian economy will not be enough to maintain stability in the West Bank, UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said Monday night. Serry was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Israel International Model United Nations at the College of Management Academic Studies (COMAS) in Rishon Lezion. The theme of this year's program was "It's Not All About the Money." » Read more

Gaza tunnel trade squeezed by Egypt 'crackdown' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - August 21, 2012 - 12:00am In the gently rolling dunes around the town of Rafah in southern Gaza, Sagah slopes around with his donkey looking like a man with time on his hands. Fine white dust clings to the sweat on his arms under a hot midday sun. He's glum. "For the last two weeks there has been no work. I am a poor man. I have no money," he shouts, clapping his hands together in exasperation. Sagah's trade is smuggling. He is one of thousands of tunnel workers who have made a living ferrying goods from Egypt into Gaza. » Read more

Behind the Barrier: Israel's Fence With Egypt Nears Completion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Oded Shalom - August 3, 2012 - 12:00am It was ten in the morning and the sun beat down mercilessly. From the place we stood, not far from border stone number 45, the activities taking place on the mountain opposite us seemed like a desert mirage. You clearly view the heavy machinery working and descending on a steep slope; you look at them and wipe the sweat that has rolled into your eyes, unsure if what you see is really happening. This entire situation seems to negate the laws of gravity. » Read more

The Israeli debate on attacking Iran is over ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Shai Feldman - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am For all practical purposes this weekend ended the Israeli debate on attacking Iran. What tipped the scales were two developments. The first was the decision of the country's president, Shimon Peres, to make his opposition to a military strike public. The second was an interview given by a former key defense advisor of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, questioning for the first time publically whether his former superior and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are fit to lead Israel in time of war. » Read more

KABOOM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Worried about a war with Iran, regional instability, more terrorism, rising oil prices or plunging markets? Don't be -- at least not yet. Think 2013. If Israel can't get assurances that the U.S. is prepared to use force, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will act later this year or early next. But for now, there will be no war and certainly no deal over the nuclear issue. And the reason for that is pretty compelling: the mullahs, the Israelis, and the Americans all don't want one right now -- and here's why. » Read more

Fear is not a deterrent, Bibi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Reuven Pedatzur - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am It is possible to argue about the estimates of the results and implications of a decision to attack Iran. However, it is clear that the prime minister, by his remarks on the Iranian issue, is severely undermining one of the basic tenets of the state's future strategy. » Read more

How Iran strengthened Israeli democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak deserve a medal for their contribution to strengthening Israeli democracy. For the first time a broad and noisy public debate is taking place over whether to go to war, with the encouragement and participation of the prime minister and the defense minister. When Israel does attack Iran it will not be a war of deception: The pros and cons have been discussed ad nauseam in the public arena. One can argue about the wisdom of Barak and Netanyahu's policy, but they did not act covertly. » Read more

Netanyahu on the balcony of war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am In the summer of 1995, the heads of the security establishment once again warned then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu against involvement in the campaign of incitement against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, under the slogan "With blood and fire, we'll expel Rabin." Netanyahu was warned that he was playing with fire. That it would end in catastrophe. But he covered his ears. » Read more

Obama, don't let us do it! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am An amazing line-up of military experts, retired generals, heads of the Mossad and the General Security Service, former heads of the National Security Council, former defense ministers and prime ministers have all called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to attack Iran without the full support and engagement of the United States. » Read more

How and Why the "Nuclear Umbrella" Argument Falls Apart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am The most subtle argument defending an Israeli aerial attack on Natanz and other Iranian nuclear installations is that an Iranian bomb would create an “umbrella” under which client regimes and terrorist organizations (Syria, or what will emerge after Assad, Hezbollah in south Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza) will grow in strength and consolidate Iran’s hegemony in the region. A nuclear bomb is a thousand times more powerful than any conventional weapon, right? » Read more

Oslo deal was good for the Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Dov Weissglas - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am In the first clause of Basic Law: The President of the State, it is written that "a president shall stand at the head of the State." The head of state not only has the right to express his opinion on such an existential issue as the timing of a strike in Iran – he has an obligation to do so. » Read more

The demolition of homes in the Palestinian village of Sussiya ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Michael Cohen - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Since 1996 the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has brought some 700 Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international undergraduate and graduate students together on its Kibbutz Ketura campus, where they have been provided with the tools needed to learn how to live and to work with each other. We expect our graduates to take the message of environmental cooperation beyond the academic framework into the field and put what we teach into action. » Read more

Iconic Palestinian Industrialist, Munib Al-Masri, Speaks About Peace, Statehood and Cooperation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am Munib Al-Masri is an iconic presence in the Palestinian world. After reportedly twice turning down overtures by Yassir Arafat to succeed him as president of the Palestinian Authority, Al-Masri focused his efforts on creating the institutions that would form the infrastructure necessary to support statehood, including the stock exchange, telecommunications company and largest holding company. » Read more

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