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Daybreak: Islamists Score More Gains in Egypt

Plus Hamas concedes parameters, R.I.P. Havel, and more

by
Marc Tracy
December 19, 2011

• The second round of Egyptian elections had higher turnout than the first with similar results: about 70 percent voted for various Islamist parties, about 40 for the Muslim Brotherhood. [Haaretz]

• Meanwhile, the natural gas pipeline was blown up. Again. That makes it ten (10!) times on the year. [JPost]

• President Abbas claimed that during reconciliation discussions, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said his group would, if included in a unity government, adopt non-violent resistance and the idea of a Palestine based on the 1967 lines (rather than all the land). [JPost]

• Israel released another roughly 550 prisoners yesterday, the second stage of the swap for Gilad Shalit. [NYT]

• A new Knesset bill would limit Palestinians’ ability to claim land from Jewish settlers. Is another one of those laws. [WSJ]

• Unhappily, Vaclav Havel is dead. Happily, so is Kim Jong Il. [NYT/NYT]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.