The Islamic Winter is already here

[bemildred]

Muslim Brotherhood success in Egypt elections could aid Hamas; Islamic Jihad seeking escalation in Gaza; fall of Assad regime in Syria only a matter of time.

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Even more so, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made Abbas into the great enemy of the peace process. Lieberman unintentionally strengthened Abbas in the eyes of the Palestinians. It may be too early to eulogize Abbas politically. He is tired and worn out and has made clear that he does not want another term as president but, in light of Fatah's problematic political situation, one can assume that great pressure will be placed on him that may change his position and turn him into the leading candidate for the presidency.

Various sources, both in Fatah and in Egypt, emphasized this week to "Haaretz" that Abbas is not going anywhere yet. And yet, Abbas is known as a man who sticks to his decisions. Obstinate, for better or worse. This was the case in the statehood appeal to the UN and also on the matter of resuming talks with the Israeli government. Only in recent weeks has it become clear that Fatah is preparing for elections and that Abbas does not intend to run for the presidency. The implications of such a decision may not be simple for Israel.

Bank of names

The variety of scenarios that could occur in democratic elections without Abbas does not bode well. First of all, it is not clear if Israel will permit the holding of elections, particularly in East Jerusalem. If Israel prevents elections, it will absorb harsh international criticism. But if elections are held, there is always a chance that Hamas will win, not just the parliament but also the presidency. It is not clear what Israel would then do - we're indeed speaking about the democratic decision of an entire people.

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/mess-report/the-islamic-winter-is-already-here-1.396459

[Ghost Dog]

1. How much international criticism

does the Israeli body politic think it can absorb?

Either you are fully committed to democracy everywhere it shows its head or you are not.

[xchrom]

2. interesting. nt

[bemildred]

3. Come visit Israel. Before it's gone.

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I want him to see it before they kill it. Kill it with settlements. Kill it with privatization and Social Darwinism and the lie they call the free market. Shred by shred, what is good is being drained away, voted away, diluted away in secret, or torn away by force.

Every morning we wake to it. Dreading it. Every morning, a new abomination, an obscene policy proposal, a rabbinical outrage, new plans to expel Palestinians from homes in Jerusalem, new plans to drive Bedouin from homes in the Negev, new steps taken to insult the United States, new ways of threatening a free press, new permits to expand settlements, an endless stream of opaquely worded legislative assaults on democracy, from ravenous middle and back-bench politicians on the make.

Last week, as Israel marked the watershed of the assassination of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, I was thinking about the place this could have been. The Israel, for example, that was the promise of the Rabin government.

A government that related seriously to the needs of Israeli Arabs. A government that more than doubled the education budget for all Israeli children. A government that fostered construction of thousands of homes for young couples and families within Israel, that invested millions in depressed outlying towns rather than new settlements, that dramatically expanded ties with the Muslim world, and with developing nations.

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/come-visit-israel-before-it-s-gone-1.395767

[AverageJoe90]

8. Rabin may have been Israel's only hope.........let us hope someone like him comes along.

[bemildred]

4. Egypt police, protesters clash over Cairo's Tahrir square

Police and protesters clashed for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday, after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in in the symbolic site.

Protesters attacked a police armored truck, shaking it and pummeling it with rocks. Earlier in the day, riot police beat protesters and dismantled a small tent city set up to commemorate revolutionary martyrs.

The clashes occurred after activists camped in the central square overnight following a massive Friday rally. The military tolerates daytime demonstrations in the central square, a symbol of the country's January 25-February 11 uprising, but claims that long-term occupation paralyzes the city.

Friday's rally was dominated by Islamists, but the sit-in appeared to be staged mostly by members of left- and liberal-leaning revolutionary youth groups.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-police-protesters-clash-over-cairo-s-tahrir-square-1.396485

[bemildred]

5. Syria forces attack restive areas, despite Arab League peace plan

Turkish PM Erdogan says that Syria has not kept its promises to Turkey, the Arab League and the world; British foreign secretary to meet with Syrian opposition representatives on Monday.

Syrian troops stormed Saturday a central town and a northwestern region in search of opponents of the government as pressure on Damascus intensified to end an eight-month crisis that has left thousands of people dead, activists said.

The attacks on the town of Shezar in the central province of Hama and the restive Jabal al-Zawiya region near the Turkish border came a day after Syria agreed in principle to allow Arab observers into the country to oversee a peace plan proposed by the 22-member Arab League.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syria-forces-attack-restive-areas-despite-arab-league-peace-plan-1.396470

[bemildred]

6. Reports: Tunisia parties agree to power-sharing deal

Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party reaches tentative deal with two other parties to form a unity government, after the country's first free elections last month.

Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda, winner of the country's first free elections last month, has reached a tentative deal with two other parties to form a unity government, which it will head, according to Tunisian and French media reports Saturday.

Ennahda secretary general Hammadi Jebali is poised to become prime minister, according to Tunisia's Radio Mosaique and Radio France Internationale (RFI).

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The party won 89 out of 217 seats in the assembly, followed by the Congress for the Republic with 29 seats. A list headed by an expatriate businessman, Hemchi Hamdi, came in third and Ettakatol came fourth.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/reports-tunisia-parties-agree-to-power-sharing-deal-1.396464

[bemildred]

7. UN reinstates Libya to Human Rights Council in post-Gadhafi era

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday to reinstate Libya's membership on the Human Rights Council after its new government pledged before the world body to defend human rights and establish the rule of law.

The General Assembly suspended Libya from the UN's top human rights body on March 1 as part of the international effort to halt Muammar Gadhafi's violent crackdown on protesters. It accused Gadhafi's regime of committing "gross and systematic violations of human rights."

With Gadhafi's death and a new interim Libyan government in place, the assembly adopted a resolution by a vote of 123-4 with six abstentions to restore Libya's rights on the council. The four countries voting "no" were Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Before the vote, Libya's deputy UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told the 193-member world body that the "new Libya" deserved to return to full membership on the Geneva-based council after Gadhafi's 42-year rule which saw massive violations of human rights.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/un-reinstates-libya-to-human-rights-council-in-post-gadhafi-era-1.396423

[bemildred]

9. UPDATE 2-UN assembly panel condemns Syria over crackdown

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee on Tuesday condemned Syria for its eight-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in a vote backed by Western nations and most Arab states.

The resolution, drafted by Britain, France and Germany, received 122 votes in favor, 13 against and 41 abstentions. Thirteen Arab states, including the six Arab co-sponsors, voted for it, as did Syria's erstwhile ally Turkey.

Russia and China, which vetoed a European-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution last month that would have condemned Syria and threatened possible future sanctions, abstained, according to an official U.N. tally, which diplomats said could indicate a shift in their positions.

Countries that voted against the resolution included Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Vietnam.

http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFN1E7AL1HJ20111122

[shira]

10. Arab Spring? This is turning into the winter of Islamic jihad

The Arab Spring is rapidly turning into a winter of chaos and oppression.

As protests grip the Egyptian capital of Cairo, and Islamic fundamentalists gain in confidence there and elsewhere across the region, the hopes of Western leaders for a new era of democracy across the Middle East have been exposed as hopelessly naïve.

For far from paving the way for freedom and pluralism, the uprisings have led only to more intolerance, authoritarianism and division.

The sense of darkening crisis in Egypt this week is a disturbing example of this trend.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2064503/Arab-Spring-This-turning-winter-Islamic-jihad.html#ixzz1eT40WYUi