Saturday morning roundup

Gregg Carlstrom | July 4, 2009 9:50 AM | 0 | recommend (0) |   |      

A happy Fourth of July holiday to our American audience!

A Hamas member was arrested for allegedly plotting to kill senior Fatah officials in the West Bank. The man, Zaher Abu Jebba, allegedly received three million euros from Hamas members in Gaza; he was reportedly going to distribute the money to assassins in the West Bank.

The arrest comes just two days after Fatah said Hamas was trying to assassinate Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials say Abbas does not plan to run for another term in office; they didn't provide details on why he's leaving the presidency.

Iraq's oil ministry will meet with foreign oil companies to try and save face after last week's disastrous oil auction. The meeting will take place in Istanbul. Iraq accepted just one bid during the first auction; most companies were unwilling to accept the ministry's price of $2 per barrel.

Obama wants Morocco's King Muhammad VI to play a role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In a letter to the king -- published in the Morooccan press -- Obama called on Arab nations to give political and financial support to the Palestinian Authority. And he encouraged Muhammad to take a role in negotiating the so-called Saudi peace initiative.

Two U.S. soldiers and 32 militants were killed in Afghanistan yesterday during a battle in the eastern Paktika province. The soldiers were killed when an IED struck their vehicle; most of the militants were killed after the military called in an airstrike.

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Categories: Business, Diplomacy, Israel & Palestine, News Roundups, War and Terrorism, War in Afghanistan

Tags: Fatah, Hamas, King Muhammad VI, Mahmoud Abbas, oil

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Dozens injured at Gaza wedding

A tragic story from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, where a deadly explosion at a wedding will likely pose another complication for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation.

Fatah agrees to election delay

Fatah has agreed to an Egyptian proposal to delay Palestinian elections by several months. Hamas says it will decide on the proposal after Eid al-Fitr.

B'Tselem: Settlements occupy 42 percent of West Bank

Ben-Eliezer makes "secret trip" to Turkey: Israeli TV

CENTCOM talking sense on Hamas and Hizballah

Al-Akhbar: Our weekly brief

Peace Processing

Talking about direct talks: Netanyahu returns to the White House

Gregg Carlstrom | July 6, 2010 4:00 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement in Jerusalem on July 1, 2010. (Photo: AFP)
US president Barack Obama will use a White House meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an extended West Bank settlement freeze. If Netanyahu doesn't offer one - and the domestic politics are quite difficult for him - it's hard to see any possibility of direct talks with the Palestinian Authority later this year.

The Afghan Surge

Obama's southern strategy

Gregg Carlstrom | June 24, 2010 6:09 AM | 1 | recommend (0)
Gen. David Petraeus testifying on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Reuters)
The president's decision to nominate Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan won't mean a major change in strategy. But there are mounting reasons for pessimism about current policy, particularly the relentless focus on southern Afghanistan. The deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Kandahar and Helmand serves few NATO objectives.

Freedom Flotilla Killings

Anticlimax: How much did the flotilla raid really change regional politics?

Gregg Carlstrom | June 17, 2010 7:35 AM | 4 | recommend (2)
A demonstration in London against the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla. (Photo: AFP)
It has accelerated Israel's isolation from several of its neighbors and allies; it has sharpened divisions within Turkish domestic politics; it has deepened perceptions that the Obama administration as too close to Israel. And it seems to have had a remarkably minor impact on Palestinian domestic politics.

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