Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: The New York Times looks at the use of TV in Israel's election. Right-wing parties appear to have a commanding lead in the polls, but PM Netanyahu might try to form a coalition with political centrists. Some Palestinians despair over the prospect of another Netanyahu victory. Netanyahu pledges that if he is elected, no settlements in the occupied West Bank will be dismantled. The rise of extremist politician Naftali Bennett may have little to do with his annexation plans. A joint Jewish-Arab party in Israel is trying to make headway. Some analysts believe the economy, not peace issues, will dominate the agenda of the next Israeli government. Officials from Hamas and Fatah say they have agreed on a timetable for implementing reconciliation agreements. The Palestinian Election Commission says it still waiting for permission to resume operating in Gaza. 12 Palestinian refugees are killed in Syria. PM Fayyad says the PA's fiscal crisis is gradually improving. Contradicting some other security officials, senior occupation officers say they don't think another intifada is brewing. Israel may be quietly backing away from highly controversial settlement expansion plans. COMMENTARY: The Jerusalem Post interviews Netanyahu. Noam Sheizaf looks at the fragmentation of the Israeli left. Jonathan Tepperman profiles DM Barak. Roger Cohen says historically there is no right of return for refugees. Dov Waxman says Jewish Americans aren't going to abandon Israel. Yossi Sarid says there is a culture of lying in the Israeli military that no politicians have succeeded, and few have tried, to rectify. Hassan Barari thinks Pres. Obama will be too focused on domestic issues to confront Netanyahu on peace. Dalia Hatuqa says, despite constant criticism of settlement activity, trade with Europe actually sustains settlements. Daniel Birnbaum complains about the treatment of Palestinians at Pres. Peres' house. Hussein Ibish says columnist Jeffrey Goldberg has been subjected to unfair attacks by both the extreme left and right.





For Israeli TV Viewers, a Big Helping of Candidates, Both Real and Spoofed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Hawkish bloc leads in polls ahead of Israel vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Israel's Netanyahu might look to centre after ballot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to form a new governing coalition after next week's election, polls show, with the only question being whether he wants to soften its hardline contours.


Palestinians despair over likely Netanyahu win
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Israel election: Netanyahu 'will not dismantle settlements'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  Israel's prime minister has said no Jewish settlements in the West Bank will be removed during his next term in office if he wins elections on Tuesday.


Israeli voters flock to 'brother' Naftali Bennett - but not all his policies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  Every Israeli election season, there’s a politician with a provocative message who spurs his party to prominence and popularity.


Jewish-Arab party makes long-shot election bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  An Arab woman who's been toiling on the fringes of Israeli politics for nearly two decades has broken out of obscurity in this year's election with a non-conformist message that's resonating with protest voters.


Economy, not peace talks, to top agenda of next Israeli gov't
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  With Israel's parliamentary elections only five days away, the economy is expected to become the top issue that the next government will have to deal with, eclipsing the stalled negotiations with the Palestinians.


Palestinian rivals agree to unification steps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Elections commission awaiting authorization for Gaza work
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


The head of the central elections commission said Friday the organization is ready to start work in the Gaza Strip as soon as it receives authorization from the government.


Airstrike on Damascus kills 12 Palestinian refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


Twelve Palestinian refugees were killed and more than 20 were injured in an airstrike on southern Damascus on Thursday, according to local media.


Fayyad says PA financial crisis improving
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


Palestinian Authority premier Salam Fayyad said Thursday that the financial crisis besieging his government was set to improve in the next month.


'We don't see a third intifada on the approach'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Israel Backs Away from Controversial Building Plan?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  Senior Israeli Official Says Won’t Build Without New Permits   Israeli police tore down Palestinian protest tents in an area slated for Israeli building just outside Jerusalem after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Israeli government. Some 50 Palestinian demonstrators were removed from the area earlier this week.  


PM: Obama and I do have our differences on peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


He is in an enviable political position, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He is in a political position most other world leaders would die for.


Israel's Left in the Dark
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs
by Noam Sheizaf - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Barak's Last Battle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs
(Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Whatever happens after Tuesday's elections, American Jews won’t abandon Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Dov Waxman - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


From whence the defense stink comes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  Yaakov Sharett this week reminded us of some things we had forgotten. Writing to Haaretz, he quoted directly from the documentation in the diary kept by his father Moshe Sharett, Israel’s second prime minister. “Sharett: ‘In the army there is no truth.’’’


Is Obama getting tougher on Israeli prime minister?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


In closed-door briefings, President Barack Obama leveled tough criticisms at the Israeli leadership. “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are,” he told his associates. President Obama warned that the policies adopted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only complicated Israel’s status within the international community.


EU Trade Sustains Israeli Settlements in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Dalia Hatuqa - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Embarrassment at Israeli President Shimon Peres's House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


  It was supposed to be a routine ceremony, just another one of those events that appear on the official calendar of the President’s House. People give speeches and applaud, someone receives a trophy or certificate, and the guests share in the excitement of participating in some official event or other. Then everyone goes back home to get on with their day-to-day business.


The Goldberg Variations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 18, 2013 - 1:00am


 





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