Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Israel's plans to expand the highly sensitive and controversial E1 settlement area threatens to cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank, and reportedly "shocked" the United States. Israeli officials reportedly say they only improved planning, not building, in E1, but commitments not to build in the area made to the US are nonetheless "no longer relevant." Israel also says it will "retaliate" by withholding millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues. The Israeli announcement poses a familiar challenge to Pres. Obama. EU states, including Britain and France, voice extreme displeasure over the move and may take additional diplomatic action. UNSG Ban says the plans could be a "fatal blow" to a two-state solution. PM Netanyahu dismisses international criticism. Despite euphoria over the UN vote, Palestinians still face the same challenges. Suspected collaborators in Gaza face a grisly fate. Gaza fishermen struggle despite slightly eased restrictions. A Palestinian man attacks occupation forces in the West Bank. Gaza smuggling tunnels are operating effectively again in the aftermath of the conflict with Israel. Israeli settlers in occupied East Jerusalem seize control of a five-story house. The World Bank announces a $6.4 million effort to save the water system in Gaza. A surge of support for Hamas in Gaza following the conflict with Israel is already beginning to fade. COMMENTARY: B'Tselem looks at the E1 settlement expansion plan and its implications for human rights in the occupied West Bank. The Jerusalem Post defends the plan. Meir Javedanfar says the E1 plan creates the very diplomatic crisis for Israel that Iran failed to create. Barak Ravid says punitive measures aimed at the Palestinians also hurt Israel. A.B. Yehoshua says it's time for Israel to talk to Hamas. Yehuda Ben Meir says the recent UN vote was mainly an international protest against Israel's settlement policies. Mouin Rabbani says Palestinians will have to work hard to make sure the UN vote is not purely symbolic. Raghida Dergham looks at the strategy behind the Palestinian UN initiative. William Saletan says Israel is losing friends by insulting everyone's intelligence. John Bell says after the Gaza war, Palestine has again become a central Arab concern. Matt Duss looks at a recent Washington event featuring PM Fayyad. Mark Baker looks at why Australia abstained at the UN. Hussein Ibish explains how Israel lost almost all European support at the UN. David Remnick describes his interview with Fayyad.

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Dividing the West Bank, and Deepening a Rift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 1, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — High up in an empty, mountainous expanse east of this city there is a stone patio with a pair of green metal benches and a plaque marking the cornerstone of a future Jewish community. Dedicated in 2009, the plaque promises the new city will be built “adjacent to the united Jerusalem, which will be quickly re-established.” » Read more

Netanyahu: Gov't okayed E1 planning, not building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am The government gave a green light to zoning and planning in the area known as E1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim, but not to actual construction there, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified to his Likud ministers Sunday as condemnations of the move continued to pour into Israel from around the world. » Read more

Israel: E1 Zone No-Build Policy 'No Longer Relevant' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Laura Rozen - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am As Israel announced that it was withholding tax payments to the Palestinian Authority on Sunday, an Israeli official told Al-Monitor that Israel considers its 2009 understanding with the Americans that it would not build in the sensitive E1 zone of East Jerusalem “no longer relevant.” » Read more

Israel withholds tax revenues from Palestinian Authority ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM -- Israel said Sunday it would withhold more than $100 million in tax revenue this month from the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, the latest reaction to last week's U.N. vote recognizing the Palestinian territories as a "nonmember observer state." » Read more

For Obama, Difficult Timing of an Israeli Plan Is Nothing New ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - December 30, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — For President Obama, the news on Friday that Israel is planning to construct Jewish settlements in a geographically sensitive area east of Jerusalem came as a rude shock. » Read more

France, UK summon Israeli ambassadors over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 3, 2012 - 1:00am PARIS (Reuters) -- France and Britain on Monday summoned their Israeli ambassadors to express concerns over Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after Palestine won de facto UN recognition of statehood. "The ambassador has been summoned in order to express our disapproval," French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said. The Israeli embassy also confirmed the meeting. » Read more

Britain, France 'consider recalling Israel envoys' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 3, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Britain is considering recalling its ambassador to Israel to protest at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to expand settlement building, a diplomatic source said on Monday. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that France was also considering withdrawing its envoy, and the two countries were coordinating discussions over a number of punitive steps. » Read more

Britain, France, Sweden summon Israeli ambassadors over settlement expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am Britain, France, and Sweden summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to express their condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to move settlement construction ahead in the area known as E1, between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem. » Read more

UN chief: Israel's construction plans 'fatal blow' to two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz December 2, 2012 - 1:00am UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday Israel's plans to build 3,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements "would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution." Ban said in a statement that in the interest of peace, any plans for construction in the "E-1" corridor must be rescinded. » Read more

Netanyahu brushes off world condemnation of settlement plans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maayan Lubell - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood. » Read more

Amid Euphoria Over U.N. Vote, Palestinians Still Face Familiar Challenges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — “Now we have become a state!” Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Sunday to a crowd of thousands in the courtyard of his headquarters in this Palestinian city. » Read more

Collaboration in Gaza Leads to Grisly Fate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — When Fadel Shalouf’s family went to pick up his body at the morgue the day after he was executed on a busy Gaza street corner, they found his hands still cuffed behind his back. Hamas, the militant faction that rules Gaza, did not provide a van to carry the body to burial, so they laid him on two men’s laps in the back of a sedan. » Read more

Throwing Gaza's fishermen a lifeline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Abeer Ayyoub - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am Sardines, shrimps, guitarfish and crabs were on display throughout the crowded fish market overlooking the Gaza seaport. "Local and fresh," a man hollered, before being interrupted by a customer asking about shrimp. » Read more

Palestinian rams Israeli jeep, attacks with ax ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 3, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel's internal security agency says a Palestinian man rammed his car into a military jeep in the West Bank, flipping it over, and then attacked the agents inside with an ax. » Read more

Tunnels between Gaza and Egypt are back in business since cease-fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - December 1, 2012 - 1:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — For eight days, the sounds of illegal commerce here at the ragged southern edge of the Gaza Strip were silenced by the pounding thrum of battle. » Read more

Israeli settlers occupy 5-story house in Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am Five Israeli settlers entered a five-story building in the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem early Monday morning, apparently in an effort to establish a new settlement in this Palestinian area. The building, which was erected in recent years, has remained largely empty, except for one Palestinian family living on the top floor. » Read more

World Bank to Spend $6.4 Million in Bid To Save Gaza's Water System ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Tamar Dressler - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am The World Bank is trying to help repair Gaza’s precarious water and sewage systems. Polluted water in Gaza has had an adverse effect on the health of local residents, and the situation is only getting worse. A UN report from last August maintains that the population in Gaza, which currently totals 1.64 million and is expected to increase by half a million by 2020, might lose its main water resource — the subterranean coastal aquifer. » Read more

In Gaza, surge of support for Hamas starts to fade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - December 30, 2012 - 1:00am JABALYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Strung across chaotic streets and through mazes of yard-wide alleys, the iconic green flags of the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas, festoon the gray acres of cement-block buildings. » Read more

The E1 plan and its implications for human rights in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from B'Tselem (Opinion) December 2, 2012 - 1:00am   This past weekend, the media reported that Israel has decided to advance the planning of thousands of apartments in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, as part of the E-1 plan, in the area connecting the settlement to Jerusalem. According to media accounts, this decision was reached following the UN General Assembly’s recognition of Palestine as a state with UN observer status. » Read more

The logic of E1 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) December 2, 2012 - 1:00am It can be argued that on a tactical level, our government’s reaction to the Palestinian UN bid was a mistake.The announcement of plans for 3,000 housing units in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria less than 24 hours after the UN General Assembly vote to give “Palestine” non-member observer » Read more

Bibi’s new settlement homes are helping Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel by Meir Javendanfar - (Blog) December 2, 2012 - 1:00am The Iranian regime was hoping that the recent Gaza conflict between Israel and Gaza based militants would create a diplomatic crisis for Israel. » Read more

Punitive measures hurt Israel as much as the Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to move ahead on construction in the E-1 corridor linking Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem could turn into another Western Wall tunnel affair. » Read more

It's time for Israel to talk to Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by A.B. Yehoshua - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   During the War of Independence in 1948, the Jordanians shelled western Jerusalem for months, besieged the city and prevented water and fuel from reaching its residents. Hundreds of civilians were killed during the shelling, yet Israel did not refer to the Jordanians as terrorists, but as an enemy. Once a cease-fire was attained, Israel began open negotiations with the Jordanians, at the end of which an armistice agreement was signed. » Read more

A diplomatic defeat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yehuda Ben Meir - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   Israel suffered a diplomatic setback at the United Nations last week. All the explanations, excuses, wisecracks and circumlocutions by government spokespeople and Likud members can't obscure the bitter truth. The General Assembly vote making the Palestinians a nonmember observer state put Israel's stark isolation on display - isolation we haven't experienced since the Sinai Campaign of 1956. » Read more

UN vote is symbolic - unless Palestinians take advantage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Mouin Rabbani - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The Palestinian Goals behind Demanding a Non-member State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   Perhaps the most important implication of Palestine receiving recognition as a state, at the UN General Assembly, is the fact that international laws have been reemphasized as a reference point, while Palestine has now obtained the right to ratify international treaties. In truth, this represents a strategic shift in the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, as it backs negotiations with international legitimacy, and releases them from the clutches of politicking or military escalation. » Read more

Get Real, Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

After the Gaza war, Palestine becomes an Arab concern again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The State-Builder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Matthew Duss - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Fair Go: Australia and the U.N. Vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The Death of Israel's "Quality Minority" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 30, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Palestine's Man in the Middle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Yorker by David Remnick - (Opinion) December 3, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

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