Entries for January 2009

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

The Obama administration's expressed intention to try direct diplomacy with Iran has been rebuffed, at least publicly, by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who demanded an American "apology" for past injustices against his nation. Now, in another statement unlikely to win friends in Washington (not to mention Jerusalem), Ahmadinejad has again cast his lot with Holocaust deniers, sending a message of encouragement to a Tehran conference titled "Holocaust? A Sacred Lie by the West." The official Iran News Daily reports:

"Zionists are plundering nations' resources and their wealth by making use of politicians and political parties as well as dominating most of the world's power, wealth and media sources," said the president in a message sent to a conference on Holocaust held in the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran . . .

President Ahmadinejad added that the Zionist regime is the "illegitimate child" of the Holocaust phenomenon.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

With the war in Gaza appearing to be all but over, despite brief, intermittent clashes, the moderate Arab world—which has no love for Israel or Hamas—is engaging in postmortems, and the conclusions are decidedly downbeat. Commentator Rahim El Kishky writes in Daily News Egypt that the war showed the weakness of the entire Muslim world, radicals and moderates alike:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mentioned more than three years ago and repeatedly afterwards that Israel should be wiped off the map. No one can deny the fact that he gained the admiration of many in the Arab world, but again we should pause and think twice. If he's really sincere, why didn't he even try to live up to his promise? What better opportunity than the current attack on Gaza? While Israel was at war with Hamas, Hezbollah could have started another war in the north; even better, the U.S. is involved in two different wars—both rejected by the majority of Americans—and facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

So what is Mr. Ahmadinejad waiting for? Another 70 years for such an opportunity to come again? Or maybe to win the elections in June and try in the next term? The fact is that he never intended to go to war or to wipe Israel off the map. The West should have never taken him seriously; and more importantly the Arab people should never allow such empty rhetoric to manipulate them.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

Amid a new flare-up in Gaza, after an Israeli soldier was killed in an explosion on Gaza's border with Israel, there is still no agreement holding the increasingly fragile cease-fire together. Egyptian mediators in Cairo are trying to hammer out an agreement for a longer-term truce, but Israel and Hamas remain on opposite ends of every disputed issue, and neither side is giving ground, as Yediot Aharonot reports:

[Hamas] spokesman, Ismail Radwan, said [in Gaza that] a long-term agreement "will kill the resistance, which is the Palestinian people's legitimate right as long as the occupation continues to exist."

Hopes that U.S.-allied Egypt could coerce Hamas into accepting Israel's terms have not been realized at all; if anything, Egypt's tilt against Hamas during the war has weakened the moderate Arab nation's influence. The Hamas-aligned Palestine Information Center, quoting sources in Cairo, reports:

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

With George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, due in the region on Wednesday to mark the Obama administration's debut in Mideast peacemaking, Israel is worrying about American pressure, something it felt very little of during the Bush years. The conservative Jerusalem Post's editorial reflects the apprehension, while counseling Mitchell and his boss to turn the pressure on the Palestinians and Iran instead:

There would be virtually no support among Israelis for concessions to a Palestinian unity government in which an unreformed Hamas plays any role. Conversely, if the Obama administration could devise a strategy of sidelining the radicals and defanging their chief backer and the most destabilizing force in the region - Iran, the prospects for a sustainable peace would improve dramatically.

One major topic of discussion in the Arab world is President Barack Obama, but the discussion is heavily influenced by the Gaza war. Obama's silence on the war before his inauguration, and his vague pronouncements and lack of action since, have already caused disappointment in the Arab world. Al Jazeera reports.

Commentator Randa Takieddine, writing in Lebanon's al Hayat, reflects the hopes for Obama tenure that have been tempered by a recognition of American realpolitik:

It is time for the western world, led by the new American president, to pressure Israel to abandon settlements and its policy of occupying and repressing Palestinians. The Gaza war showed the true barbaric image of the Israeli forces, which bombed hospitals, children and civilians and reaped only a Palestinian bloodbath. Hamas is still here and has become more effective than at any previous time. It will have a role to play in the domestic Palestinian arena, through any government of national unity that is formed.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

The Gaza war, now in the early days of a shaky cease-fire, continues to dominate Arab politics. Liberal columnist Daoud Kuttab regards its "Winners and Losers," naming one of the former as Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite TV news network that established its presence in the Gaza war just as CNN made its name in the 1991 Gulf War. He writes in the Jordan Times:

With non-Arab Western journalists denied entry into Gaza, the only English language media outlet which had the field to itself, succeeded in not only filling the gap but doing so with professionalism and balance. Unlike its mother station, Al Jazeera Arabic, which got carried away emotionally on more than one occasion, Al Jazeera International kept its poise and won the respect of many around the world.Al Arabiyah pan-Arab station won the respect of many, even if not for the number of those who watched Arab stations (that ranking continues to go to Al Jazeera Arabic). Al Arabiyah succeeded by giving much more serious analysis, much better field reporting (with serious human interest stories) and not being afraid or worried about showing Palestinians saying that they were scared. It didn't fall prey to repeating ad nauseam images that should never have been shown on any TV station without warning to the viewers. It did more to humanise the Palestinians than any other media outlet, showing children express fear and concern rather than restrict TV appearances to statements of courage and fearlessness.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

In the wake of a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, Israel has been hustling to withdraw its troops from the territory with the aim that all will be gone in time for the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. Israeli officials say that if Hamas and other Gazan militants continue to hold their fire, the goal will be achieved, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

However, even if Israel gets completely out of Gaza by the time Obama moves into the White House, the cease-fire is in danger of falling apart by the beginning of next week. By that time, Hamas says it will abandon its unilateral cease-fire unless Israel lifts its land, sea, and air closure of Gaza, which Israel adamantly refuses to do.