In-depth
By giving himself sweeping powers, the Egyptian president has betrayed the principles of the country's revolution, writes Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed in Asharq Al-Awsat.
The presidential decrees are equivalent in terms of their importance and danger to the events of the revolution itself. Mursi has now become the president, the judiciary, the parliamentary councils and the guardian of the constituent assembly. Prior to this he dismissed the commanders of the army and intelligence services, securing all powers for himself in a brazen manner that even Hosni Mubarak didn’t dare adopt when he was president, although he did assume such powers under the pretext of emergency rule.
The Status of “Palestine” at the United Nations
Writing for the Insitute of National Security Studies, Robbie Sabel and Oded Eran take a critical look at the the upcoming Palestinian request to the UN for non-member state status.
The Palestinian draft also includes, apparently intentionally, a number of ambiguous references. It refers to the 1947 General Assembly Resolution 181, which proposed partition. This could be interpreted as a reference to the call for two states in Western Palestine, one of them explicitly referred to by the UN Resolution as “a Jewish State.” (Israel's Declaration of Independence also refers to Resolution 181) However, a more nefarious interpretation could be that the borders set out in the 1947 proposal are still on the negotiating table. The Palestinian draft refers to borders “on the basis of the pre-1967 borders,” and in his speech, Abu Mazen referred to the state “within the 1967 borders.” The terms on “the basis of” or “within” could mean that the Palestinians accept that a complete return to the 1967 border is not feasible; however, a less charitable interpretation could be that they might have demands for territories inside pre-1967 Israel.
More at stake than you think in Gaza
Terrorist groups around the world have been watching how Israel deals with an enemy embedded deep within its civilian population, writes Israeli Ambassador to the U.K. Daniel Taub in the Telegraph.
Not only Israel, but every country facing a terrorist threat has an interest in ensuring that the brutal tactics in play in Gaza are not seen to have succeeded. This means having the courage to stand firm and to engage in the unbearably difficult exercise of responding, proportionately but effectively, to terrorists wherever they may be. To do otherwise would to be to broadcast an open invitation to terrorist groups to set up shop inside hospitals and kindergartens, not only in Gaza but throughout the world.
Daily Digest
- Times of Israel: After lengthy career, Barak announces he is leaving politics
- Haaretz: When the left did it right
- Jerusalem Post: Abbas heads to New York ahead of UN statehood bid
- Ynet: Mughniyeh's 'Gaza project'
- New York Times: Yossi Beilin: Support Palestinian Statehood
- Washington Post: Lessons from Gaza
- Wall Street Journal: Israel's Iron Dome Defense Battled to Get Off Ground
Follow Shmuel Rosner on Twitter and Facebook for facts and figures, analysis and opinion on Israel and the U.S., the Jewish World and the Middle East
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.