1-15 March 2013                    18 Rabiul Akhar – 2 Jamadiul Awwal 1434 Hijri

Note: Using editorials as an indicator, this series presents views, understanding and attitude  of the Urdu periodicals in India towards various developments concerning the  Middle  East.  The  selection  of  an  item  does  not  mean  the  endorsement  or concurrence with their accuracy or views. Editor, MEI@ND

The Siasat Daily (The Politics Daily), Hyderabad
Editorial, 9 March 2013, Saturday
1. Jerusalem and Israel
Palestinians consider Jerusalem to be the capital of the future Palestinian state. The Al-Aqsa mosque is the first Qibla for the Islamic world. The Jewish forces try to demoralise the Palestinians by putting them through violence and suppression. They have occupied Eastern Jerusalem and want to convert the Noble Sanctuary into a Jewish prayer site. A Palestinian youth was killed yesterday when the Israeli police fired on the people who had assembled for the Friday prayer. It is deplorable that the Israeli security again fired on the peaceful mourners as they took the body of the youth for burial. Israel had been occupying parts of the city since the 1967 war. Though it is not accepted by the international community, Israel is unaffected by the observations of the international organisations. The current streak of attacks by Israeli forces has come just before the visit of President Obama to Israel. The visit may not help in taking forward the stalled peace process because the Palestinians are angry with Israeli behaviour and international attitude. Obama cannot exert much pressure on Israel. The Israeli forces fear the start of a new Intifada by the Palestinians. Israel has also violated human rights of Palestinians prisoners in Israeli jails and tortured them. Israeli action against mourners is a deliberate attempt to create trouble and international organisations should take note of it. This could also be an attempt to stifle Obama’s speculated effort to take the peace process forward. Palestinians have pulled out of the peace talks because of continuing settlement constructions in occupied territories. If Israeli settlements are illegal then why no action is taken to stop Israel from building new settlements? Israel does not want any preconditions for talks, yet it wants to grab Palestinian lands. The international inaction has further bolstered its determination. If Obama fails in making any headway in the peace process during his visit, it will further diminish the American image in the Arab-Muslim world. Four years back when Obama had extended his hands to the Muslim world through his speech in Cairo, he had raised some hope but things seem to have come back to square one since then. Israel and the US should take note of the changing situation and political conditions in the Arab Islamic world. Islamist forces have come to power in many Arab countries and this could be a major headache for Israel. If Israel agrees to the 2002 Arab Peace initiative and ends the blockade of Gaza Strip and allow for the formation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, then Arabs will be ready to live in peace with Israel. Israel is aware that it is indulging in illegal activities but continues to do so because of inaction from international organisations.
Source

Compiled and Translated by Md. Muddassir Quamar

Md. Muddassir Quamar is a Doctoral Candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy.