What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.
By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEBinyamin Netanyahu speaks at the Knesset on Monday(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Kill a Palestinian every hour Al-Hayat, London, June 21 There is a Facebook page supporting the killing of a Palestinian “terrorist” every hour until the return of three Israeli children who disappeared in the West Bank. Until the State of Palestine is established, every Palestinian is a freedom fighter, and all Israelis are potential or experienced terrorists, says writer Jihad al-Khazen. Hamas didn’t abduct the three boys – the policy of occupation, terrorism and murder did.I’ve spent decades of my life working in journalism; I learned from the masters of the British press that the defendant is referred to as the “allegedly accused” until a trial decides on transforming this title into a criminal.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Hamas without evidence. He’s the one issuing orders to his army to kill people of late, and he wants the victims to love their oppressors. The current Israeli government is a crime against Israel, the Jews and the Palestinian landowners. The Israeli government is bred with terrorism, just like this Facebook page.No benefit from all of this Al-Rai, Amman, June 23 The presumed kidnapping of three young Israelis resulted in a harsh crackdown on all Palestinians. Hundreds of Hamas leaders were arrested, and are now being held without charges. Entire communities have been victims of collective torture. Door-to-door searches are underway to annoy Palestinians; houses were destroyed in an operation spreading fear and anger. The kidnapped should go back to their families, but nothing can justify Israel’s deliberate violations of international law and creating excuses to kill Palestinians.Netanyahu’s policies of exchanging prisoners can hold him responsible for the current operation. Thousands of Palestinians are often treated by Israelis as objects for a swap. A few years ago, Netanyahu gave Hamas over 1,000 prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier.With the Palestinians closely following the long hunger strike of 100 administrative detainees, one supposes that some might have assumed that the way to end the agony of those captives was to prepare another prisoner exchange. Negotiations and nonviolent resistance are the only way forward, but who will listen now?
Netanyahu’s unwanted unity Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, June 24 It seems so unlikely that Hamas would kidnap three Israeli settlers just weeks after signing a unity agreement with Fatah, says writer Bakir Oweida. However, Netanyahu is now trying to use last week’s incident to destroy Palestinian reconciliation. The Israeli prime minister never hid his rejection of any potential Palestinian reconciliation. He ended the talks once the reconciliation was announced, and attempted to get an international boycott of the new Palestinian unity government – but failed.The circumstances surrounding the three settlers’ disappearance in the West Bank remain unclear, but both the Palestinian government and Hamas have denied involvement. As the search continues, it is not clear how the story will end. Will it be a story similar to that of kidnapped and released IDF soldier Gilad Schalit? Will the Israelis seek to use it just to destroy the Palestinian reconciliation agreement and its government, or perhaps go even further? All that is needed is somebody to light the fuse, and there are people on both sides willing to do so.BDS gathers STEAM, putting Israel in the corner Al-Riyadh, Riyadh, June 23 The international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement is gaining momentum, Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg writes. On June 20, the US Presbyterian Church voted to divest itself from three US companies tied to the Israeli occupation of Palestine: Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions. The divestment decision was narrowly focused, directed at companies that closely aid Israel in enforcing its most racist policies in the occupied territories. The decision noted that these companies supply products used to destroy Palestinian homes, help enforce the Gaza blockade, and provide military and surveillance systems in illegal Israeli settlements.BDS is an example of the efficiency of “soft power,” using economic, social, cultural and political pressure on Israel. The goals of the movement are to end the occupation and settlement of Palestinian lands, full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel and respect for the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. In the 1980s and ’90s, the international BDS movement in South Africa was active in ending the apartheid system.Palestinian on the Emmy judges panelAl-Ayyam, Ramallah, June 24 A Palestinian-Syrian actress has been chosen as a judge for the Emmy Awards. Deema Bayyaa will be on the panel for the best European actress award, in the ceremony that will be held in New York in November.The award is as prestigious as the Academy Awards for film, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music. Bayyaa said she and the other judges assessed the performances of 21 actresses by watching one episode from each series.“I had to watch each episode more than six times,” she said, since simultaneously reading subtitles and watching the episode detracts attention from the actions and reactions. Bayyaa started her acting career in Syria when she was 16, and has been a part of more than 30 Arabic series.
