What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.
By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEA palestinian man reacts as he looks at a neighboring house which police said was destroyed in air strikes by the IDF in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.(photo credit: REUTERS)Third IntifadaAl Ayyam, Ramallah, July 8 The current clashes in different West Bank cities are extremely important but we can’t call it an intifada despite the vigorous Israeli attacks, says Palestinian writer Hani Al-Masri. What is happening is a confrontation that might escalate to a situation similar to an intifada. Many conditions are ripe for the outbreak of an intifada, but some conditions are missing. Palestinians don’t foresee any clear political horizon and lack any hope for reaching a settlement that guarantees the minimum of the Palestinian demands.Most importantly, the Palestinian national goals are not clear anymore. Is it going towards independence in a Palestinian state or heading towards a one state solution? Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas doesn’t believe in the intifada, considers it destructive and aims to prevent it. The lack of a strong leadership will delay the intifada especially as the people view the Palestinian Authority as a security agent for the Israeli occupation.Not to mention that the Palestinian parties are in a state of fatigue and paralysis. Adding the Palestinian split to all of that, it’s clear that the gap between the Palestinian people is deepening. Intifada is a collective organized work that works towards a bigger goal.Israel and killing in Ramadan Al Hayat, London, July 5 The only policy the Israeli government knows is killing the Palestinians, says prominent Arab writer Jihad Al-Khazen. The new Nazis ruling Israel want to kill as much as possible while they arrest and deport the rest.In the wake of new media, the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu can only kill Palestinians in phases and not in massacres of thousands. If Israel was to demolish the houses of Israelis that are involved in killing or incitement, few people will be let off the hook. Since the abduction and killing of the three Israeli teens, Israel killed tens of Palestinian, mostly children, wounded and arrested hundreds based on suspicion and not evidence.Netanyahu condemned the killing of Palestinian child Muhammad Abu Khdeir but I was interested to hear him say that Israel is a state of law. Israel’s understanding of law means accusing Hamas of the abduction right away, arresting Palestinians and demolishing their houses. Settlers are the new Nazis. While Abu Khdeir was hoping to go pray to God, settlers are imported people who don’t work and publish incitement on social media. I condemned the killing of the three kids and I condemn those who call for the death of Jews. There are lots of peace loving Israelis, but, not in this righteous government.Always the victim Al Riyadh, Riyadh, July 3 Bloodshed and killing of innocents is usually condemned as inhuman. Sadly enough, such morals don’t apply when it comes to the blood of Arabs, says writer Hani Hazaima. As soon as the report came out about the discovery of three Israeli teenagers’ bodies – who were allegedly abducted – all hell broke loose. Israelis did not shy from showing their true darker sides on various social media platforms and through the mainstream Israeli media. While some called Arabs animals, others urged their government to destroy the West Bank and Gaza.Since the abduction, the Israeli government knew that the teens had been killed but decided not to announce that as a way to keep blaming and shaming the Palestinians, particularly Hamas, in order to gain more support and sympathy from the world. Without any evidence, Hamas was accused as the perpetrator, an accusation that would help Israel shift the attention from its occupation and military attacks toward Hamas. Ironically, the world is turning a blind eye to the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians as Israel succeeded once again in gaining support of the international community.What Israel wants Dar Al Khaleej, Abu Dhabi, July 3 Israel was the first state to recognize the state of South Sudan upon its separation from Sudan. It will also be the first one to recognize the Kurdish state of northern Iraq if it is to be established. It’s possible that Netanyahu would have been the first one to congratulate the new caliphate; but Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, as a leader of ISIS, expected such a move would be perceived poorly.No doubt, Netanyahu and his government are happy to see more separation and rebellion among the Arab world. Israel role in South Sudan’s rebellion was obvious since the first day and the Jewish state was secretly involved in the Kurdish rebellion in the 1960s and 70s. Israel wants to see a continuation of the separation plans in the region aka “The New Middle East”, and “The Creative Chaos” designed by the neoconservatives during the time of George W. Bush.What is going on in Iraq and Syria is definitely an achievement to those who want fragmentations that will end the war with Israel as different entities will be engaged in sectarian and civil conflicts.A possible intifada Al Nahar, Beirut, July 7 As tensions continue to rise in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral of the murdered Palestinian teenager, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, killed by Israelis. Writer Hasan Bayari believes that the Palestinian street has not only been boiling over the last week, but many are desperate for change. Amidst these difficult times, Palestinians’ aspire to a third intifada that will help them shape their national objectives. Upon the breakdown of the peace talks in April and Israeli accusations towards Palestinians, hope for a potential solution through negotiations was lost, especially as settlements grow and settlers intensify their attacks.Palestinians now feel that they have nothing to lose if they resort to another deadly intifada. The level of desperation is so high that many have began to see violence as the only option to move forward, despite its cost. The general sensation among Palestinians reminds us of the atmosphere that preceded the second intifada in 2000. Anger at the grassroots level is always dangerous and sometimes unpredictable.