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18 Oct 2011 10:15

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World: Israel: Gilad Shalit freed, along with hundreds of Palestinians

  • I thought that I would find myself in this situation many more years. If they wanted to secure my freedom, they had to pay a price for this.
  • Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit • Discussing his situation on Egyptian television this morning after getting freed from captivity in the Gaza Strip. Freedom for Shalit, who was there for five years, did cost Israel immensely — they had to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to allow for his freedom. Nearly 500 were freed today. In Palestine, those prisoners were welcomed with cheers by Hamas — while Shalit’s own return was much more subdued, with Israeli officials concerned that freeing so many prisoners at once could cause security issues. source
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17 Oct 2011 11:45

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World: Israel’s prisoner exchange for Gilad Shalit draws heavy controversy

  • 1,000 number of Palestinian prisoners expected to be freed in an exchange with Israel; as you might guess, this is controversial for some
  • one number of Israeli prisoners expected to be freed in exchange; this one, however, is Gilad Shalit, whose plight is fairly well-known source
  • » The fight goes to court: While Shalit’s parents fight for his freedom, families of the victims of militants in Israel aren’t exactly quite happy with this situation, and are trying to fight it in court. It’s unlikely the court is willing to fix this, but Israeli leaders are trying to soft-pedal this nonetheless. “I understand the difficulty in accepting that the vile people who committed the heinous crimes against your loved ones will not pay the full price they deserve,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a letter to families affected by the exchange.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Sep 2011 21:51

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World: Al Jazeera sister network raided by Egyptian officials; network defiant

  • If broadcasting the truth is considered endangering stability, then it is an honor for any media outlet to be endangering stability.
  • Ahmed Zein, manager of Al Jazeera Live Egypt • Sounding defiant amidst a raid that took the network off the air on Sunday. The raid was not without warning — a couple of weeks before, the country’s minister of media, Osama Heikal, said that it would take actions against media outlets that “endanger the stability and security” of the country — which one could argue the happened with last week’s attack on the Israeli embassy. Al Jazeera Live Egypt is a fairly new sister network that cropped up in reaction to the Egyptian revolution, seen in the West as a coming out party for the Qatar-based network. The affiliate focuses on street protests. source
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10 Sep 2011 13:15

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World: Egypt enacts security measures after violence around Israeli embassy

  • three people killed in the attack on the Israeli Embassy in the Cairo suburb of Giza
  • 1,000+ people injured in the incident — a level so high it made us do a double-take
  • 19 people arrested for their alleged roles in the attack, which hurt Egypt-Israeli relations source
  • » Emergency measures in place: In the wake of the attack, Egypt has enacted measures to speed up the response to the incident — including pushing those arrested through an emergency state security court. The country seems to be doing everything it can to prevent an international crisis over this. “About 95 percent of the Egyptians are disgusted at the attack on the embassy and any other violence that took place,” noted Hisham Kassem, a veteran editor and publisher in the region. “Even commentators who appeared on channels like Jazeera … who normally have a very anti-Israeli position, were saying, ‘This is wrong. We can’t attack an embassy.'”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Sep 2011 10:33

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World: Turkey: We’re severing all ties with Israel, the “spoiled boy” of the Middle East

  • We are completely suspending all of these, trade relations, military relations, related with the defense industry. All of these are completely suspended and other measures will follow this process.
  • Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan • Explaining why his country would be placing additional sanctions on Israel, which he compared to a “spoiled boy.” The two countries were once close allies, but one flotilla raid later, and all that’s out the window. It’s a pretty dramatic change if you ask us. source
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05 Jun 2011 12:34

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World: Golan Heights: 44 years after Six-Day War, violence erupts anew

  • “Anyone who tries to cross the border will be killed.” That was the message Israeli soldiers had today, the anniversary of the day when Golan Heights fell from Syrian hands to Israeli ones. Today, dozens of protesters, mostly Palestinian, went up to the border of the strategically-important piece of land — and were fired upon by Israeli soldiers. At least 14 died, and hundreds were injured during the protests. Prior to the violence, Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli soldiers to act with restraint but determination while protecting the border. “To my regret, today there are extremists around us trying to breach our borders, and threaten our towns and citizens,” he said to his cabinet. “We will not allow this.” source
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29 May 2011 13:33

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World: Amid divisions, Israel investing lots of money to improve Jerusalem

  • $100 million to keep Jerusalem an “undivided capital” source
  • » Israel’s long-term plan: While Obama continues to push Israel to return to their 1967 borders, Prime Minister Benjamain Netanyahu has plans for the capital, now a single piece thanks to the Six-Day War, which changed those borders. “The city was united 44 years ago,” he noted, “and we returned to our ancestral lands. Since then Jerusalem has flourished.” The multi-year package would increase funding for tourism, education grants and also give bio-technology companies incentives to work in the long-divided city.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 May 2011 20:17

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World: Middle East tepid about Obama’s Arab Spring speech

  • Obama really had an opportunity to reshape and reframe the debate and … he gave it away. This speech was an opportunity to say to Arabs, ‘We as Americans made mistakes, we did not support democratic aspirations as much as we should have, but we’re going to do better.’ Obama didn’t say that.
  • Brookings Doha Center Director of Research Shadi Hamid • Approaching Obama’s Middle East speech today from an outside-looking-in angle. The problem he and others in the Middle East see? It didn’t offer a clear strong apology for American screw-ups nor a good reason for the cynical to give up their cynicism. Obama’s 2009 speech on the Middle East received a much different response, but many in the region feel that the president broke promises and acted too slow on the Arab Spring protests. We understand where they’re coming from, and agree … but unfortunately, the push Obama made for an Israel/Palestine split based upon the 1967 lines is as bold as the president will probably get, considering how divisive the issue remains among Americans. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 21:58

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U.S.: Obama’s focus tomorrow: The quickly-changing Middle East

  • Obama’s giving a big speech tomorrow. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading to town to discuss the long-gestating peace deal with Palestine, Obama will give a speech from the State Department intended for both the American public and the Middle East. There’s speculation that he may push for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation … or more surprisingly, endorse pushing back Israel’s borders to pre-1967 levels as a starting point in negotiations between Israel and Palestine. What’s he gonna say? One thing that’s pretty clear at this point is that Egypt’s getting some aid money — roughly $2 billion, to be exact — possibly as an anchor to encourage support of Israel. All in all, fun day ahead. source
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05 May 2011 10:07

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World: Israeli ambassador to the U.S.: We gotta deal with Hamas? Ugh

  • There is no indication that Hamas is willing to give up terror, recognize Israel or recognize the peace process.
  • Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren • Expressing his country’s frustration with the recent unity deal struck between Hamas and Fatah, the two main political sects in Palestine. Oren makes it clear that he considers Hamas’ new role a major setback for Israel. “Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli citizens, at our towns, at our farms,” he noted, “and Hamas is one of the only elements in the Middle East to condemn the US’s action against [Osama] bin Laden.” While he emphasizes that peace is the goal for Israel, Hamas’ new seat at the bargaining table “is extremely difficult for us.” source
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