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Today’s Top Stories
1. It’s rare for Western news services to look at the phenomenon of Palestinian honor killings. So due credit to Reuters for reporting a rising worrisome trend in the West Bank. Honor killings are mostly blamed on PA paralysis, patriarchal views, plus incidents covering up crimes, family disputes, and incest. But you can always count on someone take take the view that Israel Made Me Beat My Wife:
Palestinian Minister of Women’s Affairs Rabiha Diab saved much of her blame for violence toward women for Israel: “The Israeli occupation is the one practising the utmost violence . . . it’s the main thing keeping us from advancing.
2. Audit finds EU pays Palestinian civil servants in Gaza who haven’t worked in six years. AP writes:
Some 65,000 civil servants and members of the security forces in Gaza stopped reporting to their jobs in 2007, when the Islamic militant Hamas seized the territory from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, leaving him with only the West Bank.
Abbas decided at the time to keep paying their salaries, on condition they stay at home and don’t work for the Hamas government . . .
Wessberg said the auditors recommend halting EU payments to Palestinian civil servants in Gaza and using the aid instead on the West Bank.
3. Haaretz: US officials confirmed to Israel that the value of sanctions relief to Iran will be much higher than original $6 billion:
According to the security sources: “Economics is a matter of expectations. The Iranian stock exchange is already rising significantly and many countries are standing in line to renew economic ties with Iran based on what was already agreed in Geneva.” The sources mentioned China’s desire to renew contracts worth some $9 billion to develop the Iranian oil industry and the interest some German companies are showing for deals with Tehran. “In any case, it’s about 20 or 25 billion dollars. Even the Americans understand this,” the sources said.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Romania‘s no longer sending construction workers to Israel over settlements. And Holland‘s largest water company is severing ties with Mekorot for the same reason.
• Here’s a must-read reality check for John Kerry from Khaled Abu Toameh:
Given Hamas’ announcement that it would not honor or recognize any deal signed between the PA and Israel, Kerry needs to take into account that any peace agreement will not put an end to the conflict.
• While Bibi takes it on the chin for not attending the Mandela funeral, here’s a Gulf News headline you might have missed. Turns out Mahmoud Abbas was the only Arab leader to attend.
• Anti-Zionism is an inherently anti-Semitic doctrine. Here’s why.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Elliott Abrams and Dan Margalit.
- Israel and Saudi Arabia to get a voice at the nuclear talks?
- Russia, Israel to negotiate free-trade pact.
- Lebanese stubborness towards Syrian refugees — Palestinians to blame?
