Daybreak: Turkish, Israeli Ministers Break Bread
Plus Abbas charms, Kristof fumes, and more in the news
July 01, 2010
President Abbas earlier this week.(Thaer Ganaim/PPO/Getty Images)
• Turkey’s foreign minister and Israel’s industry minister—Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, of Ehud Barak’s Labor Party—secretly met in Zurich behind the back of Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman was perfectly okay with this. Not. [NYT]
• Tensions continue to rise in Silwan, the East Jerusalem neighborhood where 22 Palestinian homes are slated for demolition to make room for “a park that would flank a promenade of restaurants, art studios and shops.” [WP]
• U.S. envoy George Mitchell confirmed in person that the easing of the Gaza blockade is already underway. [WP]
• Palestinian President Abbas has launched a “charm offensive” at the Israeli public, telling reporters he will enter direct talks once Israel clarifies its positions on borders and security. [JPost]
• In what will be the first senior contact in almost half a year, Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad will soon meet with Israeli Defense Minister Barak. [NYT]
• “Our ally, Israel,” argues Nicholas Kristof from the West Bank, “is using American military support to maintain an occupation that is both oppressive and unjust.” [NYT]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
