Eye on the Enemy-- Livni: To Boost Middle East Pragmatic Camps
NFC news portal - Itzik Wolf
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni met yesterday the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and praised Germany's role in securing the release of Gilad Shalit, at a Berlin Jewish museum honoring the German chancellor.
"All of "Israel", from all the different positions that exist within it, values and appreciates Germany's efforts in releasing "Israeli" hostages, as happened in recent years in returning the bodies of Regev and Goldwasser and return of Gilad Shalit. These efforts are another expression of the strength and importance of relationships between countries," Livni said.
She also emphasized the need to "work together in the face of extremists in the region, such as Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas and radical Islamists that are strengthened by the Arab Spring." As she called to reestablish pragmatic camp preaching dialogue and not violence, the camp that vanished in recent years and ought to be bolstered.
Livni and upon the invitation of the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé will continue her European trip to Paris to hold meetings with politicians and with the Jewish community in France. She will be also interviewed by the French media before returning to "Israel" in the evening.
"Israel": No Joint Aerial Maneuver with Cyprus
Walla news portal - Amir Bohbot
Security officials told Walla news that contrary to recent various reports in Cyprus and Turkey, no joint maneuver between the Cypriot and "Israeli" army will be taking place over the neighbor island's air space. Cypriot newspaper, Daily Phileleftheros said that "Israel" and Cyprus wanted to send a strong message to Turkey. Reports have talked of increased military activity of "Israel" and Cyprus in the vicinity of the zone where Cyprus is exploring hydrocarbon and where Turkey has recently deployed its navy vessel.
The dispute over the ownership of gas reserves in eastern Mediterranean has raised tension between the two countries in recent months. Both Cypriot and Turkish media outlets reported on the story, and according to Cyprus mail an "Israeli" source in the embassy in Nicosia said the following, "Air force exercises over our allies' air space are routine for the "Israeli" military and there is no political agenda behind this." Cypriot authorities denied everything being reported, and Defense Ministry's acting press spokesperson, Andreas Tyrimos, said that "the Defence Ministry is not participating in any exercises."
Moderates? You Are So Wrong!
"Israel" Hayom - Boaz Bismuth
The Tunisian Islamist party, Annahda, didn't wait for the announcement of the elections official results to proclaim its victory. It rushed to spread its preliminary estimate that claims it had won at least 40% of the votes. The moment Ben Ali was ousted and the Islamist leader Rashed al-Ghanoushi returned after few days later, writings has been covering the walls. Rashed el Ghanoushi is Tunisia's new powerful man.
The admirer of Gamal Abedel Nasser and the passionate supporter of Khomeini revolution in Iran didn't have to wait for the elections to declare his victory. The scenario of the Arab Spring was predictable. The Tunisians ousted a tyrant, and the elections happened too early for a nation that never knew what democratic elections are since its independence in 1956, so their choice was simple: vote for religion. To them, they took no risks in this choice. Tunisia is a country that has succeeded in building a steadfast middle class and was the only country to give women a better status among the 22 countries of the Arab League. The Mediterranean club was always alive and thousands of tourists flocked to the liberal Arab country that was viewed as Eden by pious visitors coming from the Persian Gulf.
I was in Tunisia several weeks ago, and I saw in my own eyes that post-revolution Tunisia embraced more bearded men and veiled women. Mosques were full, and sermons sounded more extreme. Everything abandoned by Ben Ali is now the latest fashion. Elections, two days ago, were only an assurance for the Islamic course the country will be following. He, who claims the opposite, only expresses his own desires. Those who consider al-Nahda a moderate party, refuse to see the truth. If compared to the Salafists, who weren't allowed to run in the elections, then yes, al-Nahda is moderate, but we have to pay attention to the party's speech duality. On one hand, they talk about the Turkish model but on the other hand, they dream of the Iranian model. Al-Nahda received financial support from Qatar and indirectly from Iran too.
In the meantime, the National Transitional Council in Libya announced that Sharia laws will be applied. Suddenly Washington, Paris and London expressed concern for human rights in Libya. Those who just shelled bombs yesterday to free the Libyans from the grips of a tyrant are now concerned with the fate of Libyan women at the back of new religious rules. The big question is: No one ever expected this? Didn't Barak Obama, who encouraged the events of today in his speeches, realize that this result was the only thing that can't be controlled? Does anyone doubt that the same scenario will be seen in Egypt too?
One of Europe's senior experts in Islam, Baudouin Dupret, explained that the new Sharia law in Libya reflects the tribal and conservative spirit of the new Libya. "There are lots of elements we are unfamiliar with in the new Libya that don't give us a room to be optimistic", he adds, "We in the west must stop believing that we can change these nations according to our norms." It is unclear if Obama grasps this.
Meanwhile, results came in from Tunisians living abroad, specifically in Europe, and indicated the 1.1 million voters (of whom 600,000 reside in France) gave half the seats in the Constituent Assembly reserved for Tunisians living abroad to the al-Nahda party. Long Live the European integration. Recently, I sat with a western diplomat situated in an Arab country; I asked him, "How will the Arab spring be?" "It will be bad", he answered. And after that? "It will be worse," he added.
Source: Hebrew Newspapers, Translated by moqawama.org
