In-Depth Issues:
Terror: The UK's New Christmas Export - Douglas Murray (Wall Street Journal)
It's that time of the year again: Somewhere in the world a Muslim
radicalized in Britain will try to blow up innocent men, women and
children in a suicide mission.
That appears to have been the case
of Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly. Authorities believe the Iraqi-born
Swede gained his extremist views while at university in Luton, England,
before he headed to Stockholm and detonated the bombs that killed
himself and injured two Christmas shoppers last Saturday.
On Dec.
22, 2001, a British man named Richard Reid tried to bring down a
commercial flight from Paris to Miami with bombs placed in his shoes.
Last year, Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, formerly of University College
London, tried to blow up a plane over Detroit with an explosive device
concealed in his underpants.
It's a story that is becoming
familiar: Ordinary young man goes to Britain, most likely to study, and
comes out an Islamic extremist.
Raid on Islamic Groups in Germany - Alan Cowell and Michael Slackman (New York Times)
The German Interior Ministry ordered simultaneous raids in the three
states of Bremen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday
against what it called Salafist networks suspected of seeking the
imposition of an Islamic state. The raids were directed at two groups:
Invitation to Paradise and the Islamic Culture Center of Bremen.
A ministry statement said: "For a well-fortified democracy, it is necessary and demanded, without waiting for the jihad to occur in the form of armed struggle, to take action against anti-constitutional organizations."
Germany has become increasingly vigilant in recent months about
potential threats amid deepening concerns that a small number of German
citizens may be under the influence of terrorist groups determined to
stage new attacks, either in Germany or elsewhere in Europe.
Jordan Soccer Brawl Highlights Tensions with Palestinians - Zvi Bar'el (Ha'aretz)
A skirmish broke out at a soccer match played Friday between the
Jordanian league's Al-Faisaly and Al-Wihdat, in which 250 fans and
policemen were injured after the wire fence that separates the
spectators from the field collapsed.
This was a political battle
pitting the Al-Wihdat fans, mostly of Palestinian descent, against the
Al-Faisaly fans, mostly of Jordanian origin.
Al-Faisaly, which
gets its name from the Hashemite King Faisal, is controlled by the
important Adwan tribe, while the Al-Wihdat team, named after the largest
Palestinian refugee camp, is controlled by businessman Tareq Khoury,
who was elected to the Jordanian parliament in 2007.
Winter Storm Uncovers Roman-Era Statue in Israel (AFP)
A massive storm that caused the collapse of a cliff in the southern
Israeli city of Ashkelon revealed a rare Roman-era marble statue, Yoli
Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Israel Antiquities Authority, said
Tuesday.
The white marble statue of a woman weighs about 200 kg.
and stands 1.2 meters tall. The statue was missing its head and arms,
but had "delicately carved sandals."
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Israel Still Seeking 20 Additional F-35 Fighter Planes - Gopal Ratnam and Viola Gienger
Israel's
ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, said Tuesday his country is still
seeking 20 additional U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets in addition to the
20 Israel ordered in October. "It was clear from the beginning that the
20 we were purchasing would not be enough and we'd require more" to help
"Israel maintain its qualitative military edge" in the region. "The
90-day [settlement construction freeze] extension discussion is off the
table, but the 20 extra jets are very much on the table," Oren said.
"It's not attached to the 90-day freeze." Discussion on providing Israel
with an additional 20 F-35 jets began around mid-year. "It wasn't a
bribe, and was not intended to be a bribe, but part of ongoing
discussions."
Recent U.S. sales of weapons to the Middle East
have eroded Israel's military edge, Oren said. In October, the Obama
administration told Congress of plans to sell Saudi Arabia arms valued
at $60 billion, the largest weapons sale in U.S. history. (Bloomberg)
See also Video: Interview with Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. (Bloomberg-Washington Post)
- Israel Outlines Easing of Economic Measures on Palestinians - Izzy Lemberg
Maj.-Gen.
Eitan Dangot, the Coordinator for Government Activities in the
Territories, cited major progress Tuesday in the Israeli government's
program to ease the economic blockade of Gaza, saying the flow of goods
has increased many fold. At a news conference he detailed how presently
180 to 200 double container trucks are entering Gaza daily compared with
80 to 90 such trucks before the June decision to ease the blockade. The
increase in materials entering Gaza supports 78 projects by the
international community in education, water and sewage works,
agriculture, housing, health and electricity.
He also sounded a
note of concern regarding the recent upswing of rockets and mortars
fired into Israel by Palestinian militants from inside Gaza. He said
this put the lives of those handling the transfer of material into Gaza
in danger. (CNN)
- Hamas Celebrates Anniversary with Mass Rally - Ibrahim Barzak
Huge
crowds of flag-waving Hamas supporters clogged the streets of Gaza City
Tuesday as tens of thousands turned out to mark the 23rd anniversary of
the group's founding. The turnout appeared to be at least on par with
previous years for an event billed by Gaza's rulers as a referendum on
their popularity. Hamas claimed it was a record crowd. But support for
Hamas is difficult to gauge because Gazans fear repercussions if they
speak freely. Hamas control remains unchallenged, but some analysts
detect growing impatience with Gaza's isolation and Hamas' moves to
impose strict Islamic mores and stifle dissent. (AP-Washington Post)
See also Hamas' Intransigent Denial of Israel's Right to Exist is Real Barrier to Peace - Editorial
Those
gathered erupted wildly at news that Hamas would continue meeting
Israeli overtures with violence and civil incitement. There in a
nutshell is why peace talks fail: because the Palestinian crazies want
them to fail. (New York Daily News)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- "Include Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands in Talks" - Herb Keinon
Deputy
Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is leading a push to include Jewish
refugees in discussions with the U.S. about the refugee issue, saying,
"It is vitally important to return this issue to the international
agenda. It is a matter of justice, closure and righting a wrong."
Ayalon, whose father came to Israel after being forced out of Algeria,
said this issue has "a practical as well as a moral aspect. The demands
from the two sides are asymmetrical, the Palestinians talk of rights and
justice [for Palestinian refugees], yet the rights and justice of the
Jewish refugees from Arab lands have been ignored and suppressed for too
long."
In an article Ayalon wrote in September entitled "I Am a
Refugee," he said that while 750,000 Arabs fled or left Mandatory
Palestine, there were 900,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands. (Jerusalem Post)
- Study: Living Conditions of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Worse than Believed - Simona Sikimic
The
EU-funded "Socio-Economic Survey of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon,"
released Tuesday, paints a bleak picture for the 260,000-280,000
Palestinian refugees the report found to be living in the country. This
is a significantly smaller figure than the 425,000 UN-registered
refugees, many of whom are thought to have emigrated in search of work.
The survey, conducted by researchers at the American University
Beirut in coordination with UNRWA, found jobless rates among
Palestinians to be 56%. Two-thirds of those employed were engaged in
agriculture and construction. Due to low wages in these industries, even
those with work find it difficult to lift themselves out of poverty. A
large amount of blame is being placed on the perceived lack of
opportunities, limited by state restrictions requiring Palestinians to
obtain work permits and which, in spite of recent relaxations, still
exclude Palestinians from certain professions, such as medicine. (Daily Star-Lebanon)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
- EU Holds Line Against Palestinian Unilateralism - Robin Shepherd
Monday's
joint statement on the Middle East peace process from the 27 EU foreign
ministers rejects the ever-growing calls from the Palestinian side to
support a unilateral declaration of independence on the 1967 lines and
then seek recognition through the UN. Calls "for all parties to refrain
from provocative unilateral actions" and affirmations of the EU's
"readiness to contribute to a negotiated solution" clearly show that at
this stage at least the EU is not yet ready to break with the U.S. on
such a sensitive issue in international diplomacy. The Palestinians are
going nowhere with a unilateral declaration without European support. So
the fact that it is still being withheld shows that there is everything
to fight for and that there is nothing inevitable about the
Palestinians ultimately succeeding in their aims.
That said, the
EU statement was just the same old dreary white-washing of Palestinian
rejectionism that we have become used to over decades, and they need to
be called on it. To wit: The word "Hamas" does not appear once in the
statement. The word "terrorism" does not appear once in the statement.
While referring to the need for a "comprehensive" peace in the Middle
East, the word "Iran" does not appear once in the statement. References
to Palestinian Authority incitement are also entirely absent. The writer is Director of International Affairs at the Henry Jackson Society in London. (Robin Shepherd)
- Israel Is a Victim of Turkey's Transformation - Michael Herzog
Turkey
today is not the same Turkey we once knew. The country has experienced a
major internal change, reflected in its foreign policy: From being a
state loyal to NATO and a close friend of Israel's, Turkey has
transformed into a country that follows an independent policy line - to
the point of defying Western interests, flirting with radical forces and
displaying hostility toward Israel. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has developed a policy doctrine motivated by economic
aspirations and a political desire to make Turkey a dominant force in
its historic region of influence (a kind of neo-Ottoman doctrine). This
orientation provided the background by which Turkey took such steps as
moving closer to Syria and Iran, voting in the UN Security Council
against slapping Iran with sanctions, and opposing charges against the
president of Sudan for murders in Darfur.
Israel has been a
natural victim of this Turkish transformation. Turkey now predicates its
participation in NATO's missile defense programs upon Israel's not
receiving relevant information. IDF Brig.-Gen. Michael Herzog (res.) is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Ha'aretz)
See also The New Indispensable Nation - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Zaman-Turkey)
See also The Question of an Israeli Apology to Turkey for the Flotilla Episode - Nava Lowenheim
An
apology entails responsibility. The ramifications far exceed the
flotilla affair and extend to the meaning of an apology and compensation
for previous Israeli military operations for which no compensation has
been paid as well as for future operations. Should Israel apologize and
compensate Turkey, the inevitable question will be: why did Israel not
do so in similar cases?
Israel surely questions whether Turkey's
intention is reconciliation or continuation of aggression against
Israel. Turkey will surely want a greater admission of responsibility
than Israel can or is willing to propose. (Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University)
Observations:
Nothing Left to Talk About - Hussein Agha and Robert Malley (New York Times)
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might not have been wholeheartedly
committed to a peace deal with the Palestinians, but upon taking
office, several factors tugged him in that direction. He imagined that
with creative ideas he might sway Mahmoud Abbas to move in directions
the Palestinian leader had not foreseen. Plus, history beckoned, as
Netanyahu caught a glimpse of himself as the man who finally would bring
recognition and security to Israel.
- Getting together with Abbas has had the perverse effect of
drawing the two men further apart. Netanyahu now senses that novel ideas
will have little purchase on a man with secure convictions, and that
substantive gaps between the two sides are far larger than he had
anticipated or hoped.
- Two years ago, Abbas also harbored a faith of sorts. Abbas
faced a heroic task for which he needed help from all. He got it from
virtually none. Belief in the U.S. soon started to fade, a victim of
Washington's serial tactical misjudgments and inability to live up to
its promises.
- Abbas felt betrayed, too, by Arab regimes that had pledged
their support only to desert him at the first opportunity. On the
domestic front, there is no political weight or momentum behind the
negotiations. Instead, there is at best apathy, at worst outright
skepticism.
- Netanyahu's and Abbas' disillusionment is not merely a crisis.
Short of an unexpected and seismic shift, it will represent, in more
ways than one, the end of a road.
Hussein Agha is a senior
associate member of St. Antony's College, Oxford. Robert Malley is
Middle East and North Africa program director at the International
Crisis Group.
See also The Peace Process Is Finished - Martin Peretz (New Republic)
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