OPINION AND ANALYSIS
Week Ending 3 September 2014
1. A different sort of dangerous: the new jihadi threat from Syria
Mitch Ginsberg, The Times of Israel, 1 September 2014
A very wary Israel watches as an al-Qaeda offshoot wrests control of the Quneitra crossing area from Assad’s forces
2. Time for a brand new site for Israel-Palestinian peace talks
Bhaskar Chakravorti, The Huffingon Post, 1 September 2014
Experts remind us that a key ingredient to a formula for sustained peace is that it must draw upon a convergence of mutual interests. Economic security is surely an issue on which Israelis and Palestinians can agree even if there will always be disagreement over history, religion and politics. So why not move the peace process away from the historical, religious and political centres? Why not bring Israel’s entrepreneurial firepower to Palestine?
3. IS (formerly ISIS) threatens to march on Jerusalem and massacre Jews
ICEJ News, 1 September 2014
The Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) terror militia issued a statement on Sunday in its English language publication, Dabiq that it “will do everything within its means to continue striking down every apostate who stands as an obstacle on its path towards Palestine… its actions speak louder than its words and it is only a matter of time and patience before it reaches Palestine to fight the barbaric Jews.”
4. Gaza inquiry’s bias against Israel is already clear
Robert Blitt, Haaretz, 1 September 2014
The UN inquiry’s chair has said he will ‘park’ his personal views about Israel at the door. But what about the track record of a fellow commission member, Doudou Diene, in shaping facts and the law for his own political agenda?
5. Israel’s decision to declare 988 acres of West Bank territory State Land
Editorial, Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, 1 September 2014
There is considerable confusion about the recent action of Israel’s civil administration declaring 988 acres of West Bank territory as state land. In general, West Bank territory may be divided into three legal categories: state land, private land, and land whose status is to be determined. The territory in question had the status of territory whose status is to be determined. Before the declaration of the land as state land, an investigation had to be undertaken by Israel’s civil administration that took several years in order to ascertain its exact status.
6. On the ground in Israel and Gaza
Jodi Rudoren, The New York Times Magazine, 29 August 2014
Two photographers capture scenes from the most recent outbreak of war.
7. Saudi Arabia ups pressure on Qatar
Simon Henderson, The Washington Institute, 27 August 2014
The Saudi list of problems with Qatar is long, predating Sheikh Tamim’s succession last year of his father, Sheikh Hamad, who has taken on the title “Father Emir” and seems to act as his son’s closest advisor. Riyadh had disapproved of Hamad’s sidelining of his own father in 1995 and sponsored a coup plot attempting to reverse the change. For many years, an apparent key editorial purpose of Qatar’s Aljazeera satellite television service was to annoy Riyadh. The latest sore appears to be Tamim’s support for Muslim Brotherhood elements in the member states of the GCC, which have notionally pledged non-interference in one another’s internal affairs. But Saudi Arabia is also concerned about Qatari support for Libyan Islamists and Hamas in Gaza. Overall, the issues distract the GCC from trying to form a common front against Iranian adventurism.
8. The keys to the Gaza Strip
Shmuel Even, INSS InSIght, 25 August 2014
The blockade of the Gaza Strip, labelled by the Palestinians as a “siege,” is ostensibly one of the fundamental reasons behind Hamas’ barrage of rockets that led to Operation Protective Edge. Yet while the Palestinians claim that Israel’s purpose in imposing the “siege” is to overpower Gaza economically, this charge has no basis in reality. Rather, the terrorism emanating from the Gaza Strip is the root cause of Gaza’s abject economic state, and until it is eradicated from the area, the prospects for economic growth and development are slim. Insofar as the situation in Gaza returns to what it was or improves, it will become increasingly difficult to realize the notion of “reconstruction for demilitarization,” a vested interest of Israel, the PA, Egypt, and other Arab states, and also supported by the United States and EU member nations. Hamas’ continued rule of the Gaza Strip reduces the possibility of restoring the PA to full control there.
9. Where the black flags fly
Daniel Greenfield, The Sultan Knish blog, 25 August 2014
It’s been a while since Westerners lived in a society in which human life was truly worthless, in which no one trusted anyone else and it was easier to kill than not to kill. But when life is worthless, everyone has a gun and a grudge. It’s easier to kill than not to kill. You can see that phenomenon as readily in Chicago as in Iraq. Why not shoot the guy next door because he owes you money, because your daughter looked at him twice, because he’s on your turf or because he’s a Kurd.
Or because it’s Thursday.
