Everything you need to know about today’s coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. UPI: Syrian rebels claim control of the Yarmouk refugee camp. Reuters/Maan News reports 95 percent of the Palestinians fled the camp. Many already reached Lebanon.
2. NBC News announced that its news crew in Syria, including chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, were released from captivity. So far, the abductors remain unknown.
Engel disappeared on Thursday, but NBC blacked out the news. Turkish media first reported the abduction, and as the news started to spread on Twitter, Gawker made itself part of the story by breaking ranks and publishing its own article.
3. What would happen to world oil prices if Iran becomes a nuclear weapon state? A Wall St. Journal op-ed (click via Google News) written by Dennis Ross, Charles Robb, and Michael Makovsky take a stab at that. Their conclusions in a nutshell:
- Due to instability, oil prices would rise 10-25 percent within a year, and 30-50 percent within three years.
- Gas prices would rise 10-20 percent within a year, and more than 30 percent within three years.
- Within three years, the US gross domestic product would fall 2.5 percent ($360 billion) with bad spillover effects on the unemployment rate.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Bungled Headline of the Day award goes to the Times of London:
You have to read Sheera Frenkel’s report to find out that the approved plans are actually within already-existing Jerusalem neighborhoods.
• NY Times reporter Steve Erlanger visited E1.
• Lead Screed: Paul Younger (The Scotsman) blames unjustified Israeli water use as the root of much evil.
• The UN’s resident Israel-basher, Richard Falk, is now a member of Human Rights Watch’s board of directors. I liked Hillel Neuer’s letter to HRW.
