Main focus of Friday, March 19, 2010

Middle East violence menaces Europe

The peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine are grinding to a halt, while missile attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israeli air strikes and the announced construction of new settlements in East Jerusalem have done much to poison the atmosphere. The maelstrom of violence will engender more terror and thus threaten Europe, commentators write.

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany

An man was killed on Thursday by a Palestinian missile during the visit of EU high representative for foreign affairs Catherine Ashton. Although Ashton's objective was to further peace negotiations, peace is a long way off, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "The longer the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians goes on, the more destructive it will become for the tissue of the two societies in conflict. In Israel the internal conflict is played out for the most part within the framework of widespread democracy. But the Jewish state has experience with settlers' violence and domestic terror, up to and including the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Palestinian society, on the other hand, increasingly threatens to fall apart - also as a result of violence. Because it's not only the moderate Fatah and the radical Hamas that are locked in combat. Primarily in the Gaza Strip even more extreme groups are vying for power, movements that are no longer bound by Palestinian national interests and see themselves as part of the Jihad International. ... That's a challenge for Hamas and it will be a major danger to the world if al-Qaeda sets up shop in Gaza." (19/03/2010)

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De Volkskrant - Netherlands

Israel's most recent affront should should have consequences, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "The one rogue state, Iran, is being threatened with sanctions for failing to cooperate. Meanwhile the other rogue state, Israel, continues with its land-robbing policy with impunity. It believes that it is protected by international law and couldn't care less about UN resolutions. … The state of Israel is increasingly becoming a millstone round our neck. Its annexationist collision course has poisoned our relations with the Islam world. Our interest in candid relations with the latter goes much further than Israel's obsession because it affects our own security, and because the tolerance of Israel's bad conduct is stirring up more hatred of the West in the Middle East, which finds its expression in terrorist attacks from Madrid to London." (19/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Middle East, » Israel
All available articles from » Thomas van der Dunk

The Independent - United Kingdom

Although the Middle East peace process is once more on the rocks hopes that the US government will step in are in vain because the Israel lobby has too much clout, writes the daily The Independent: "Power lies in the perception of power, and no organisation in Washington is perceived to wield more power than AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. For proof, look no further than January 2009, when most of the rest of the world was horrified at the Israeli offensive in Gaza. At that moment the US House of Representatives, by a vote of 390 to five, chose to blame the entire crisis on Hamas. Now the lobby is working to defuse the present row, naturally on Israel's terms. ...The settlements in East Jerusalem will go ahead whatever the US thinks. The proximity talks, even if they do proceed, are doomed in advance." (19/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Middle East, » Israel
All available articles from » Rupert Cornwell

La Stampa - Italy

The Middle East conflict escalated on Thursday when the Israeli air force responded to a missile fired by radical Palestinians by bombarding certain sections of the Gaza Strip. Israeli author Abraham B. Jehoschua calls on his country to listen to the advice of the US in the liberal paper La Stampa: "The message of the US is unequivocal. The settlements threaten not just peace but harm Israel itself most of all, with its ideal of a Jewish and democratic state which Israel never misses an opportunity to proclaim. … Instead of emphasising the importance of the strategic military alliance the Israeli leadership would do well to listen to the new tone of moral resolve with which the US is addressing Israel." (19/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Abraham B. Jehoschua

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