The pleasant notion that the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” will make “progress” has receded. PALESTINE CRY notes “newspapers from the region [outside of Israel] are in agreement that Israel is acting to escalate the conflict and foment a war in the region.”
Mar 04
Feb 18
Hezbollah is prepared for war with Israel
Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Uncategorized
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From Iran’s state-controlled PressTV.
Nasrallah says Hezbollah will hit Tel Aviv airport if Lebanon is attacked.
There is an element of bluff in this. Hezbollah’s ability to take the battle so deep into Israeli territory is questionable. More likely, this is an in-kind response to Hillary Clinton’s pressurizing on Iran (understood among U.S. foes as a pro-Israeli position) that should not be underestimated. The Hezbollah leader’s ability to wage asymmetrical warfare to advance his group’s political agenda is proven. There’s not much doubt that Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon and the region is stronger today than it was before its 2006 mini-war with Israel.
Feb 08
Gaza tattoo
Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories
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Who took the elaborate care necessary to carve the symbol of Jewish statehood into Palestinian turf?
The Jerusalem Post doesn’t investigate.
Feb 08
Presumably because they are more of a pain to Israel. From the Pew Global Attitudes Project, these and other nuggets.
- Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is losing popularity at home and abroad.
- Even before their disputed elections last year, both Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were generally unpopular. Ahmadinejad’s highest ratings are in the Palestinian territories (45% confidence) and Indonesia (43%), although even among these publics fewer than half express a positive view of his leadership.
- There is no country in which even 40% express confidence in Karzai. In Pakistan (10%), Turkey (7%) and Lebanon (7%) one-in-ten or fewer hold this view of Washington’s favorite Afghan.
- And there’s a couple of pockets of support for Osama. Continue reading »
Feb 07
Land swap dreams
Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories
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Ghassan Khatib points out another reason why the two-state solution is going aglimmering.
Feb 04
That American journalists are averse to reading the Goldstone report documenting Israeli and Palestinian war crimes during the Gaza war of 2008 goes without saying. David Kenner of Foreign Policy makes that plain. He reads the Goldstone report (and Israel’s less than convincing response) “so that you don’t have to.”
Thus heavy moral burdens of the Washington reporter are eased. You don’t have to get familiar with the question of justice in Israel and Palestine. Just get your talking points and move on. On four key points, Kenner compares the South African jurist’s scathing report on Israeli Defense Forces actions during the Gaza war with Israel’s stout defense.
Guess who comes out ahead?
Nov 18
Hamas is willing to compromise. Is George Mitchell?
Middle East, Palestinian Territories
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…just asking, says a legislator for the Islamic party/militia in bitterlemons-international.org.
Nov 06
The peace process has failed
Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories
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Clinton doesn’t know it but Abbas has admitted it. Now the Palestinians need a new strategy:
Nov 04
Obama’s getting off on the wrong foot, says Rami Khouri of Beiruit’s Daily Star. First, Obama tried to kill the Goldstone report on Israeli and Palestinian war crimes in Gaza. Then a huge (non-binding) majority of the U.S. Congress rejected Goldstone’s findings without refuting any of his facts. Then Hillary Clinton bowed to Israel’s rejection of a freeze on new Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory.
These three moves by the US are more about domestic politics than Middle East diplomacy, but they augur badly for peace-making prospects if they point the way to future American positions.
Oct 29
The ‘gem of Palestine’
Middle East, Palestinian Territories
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The Palestinian town of Nablus in the 19th century
