Navigate to News section

Daybreak: Abbas Lukewarm on Unity Pre-U.N.

Plus Hariri indictments handed down, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
June 30, 2011
President Abbas earlier this month.(Thaer Ganaim /PPO via Getty Images)
President Abbas earlier this month.(Thaer Ganaim /PPO via Getty Images)

• Now President Abbas thinks unity talks with Hamas are not such a good idea, at least not before September and the U.N. General Assembly. [AP/WP]

• Defense Minister Ehud Barak tried to tone down the rhetoric and his government’s response to the impending flotilla. [Haaretz]

• The U.N.-backed court has delivered four indictments in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanon Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. If they are of four of the wrong people—senior Hezbollah or Syrian officials—the country could blow up, so stay tuned. [WP/AP]

• Activists have accused Israel of sabotaging two flotilla boats. [Haaretz]

• The Syrian army moved out of Hama as well as several smaller cities, giving the anti-regime protesters breathing room and an arguable victory. [NYT]

• Iran accused the United States of using the Syrian uprisings to try to drive a wedge between Damascus and Tehran. Hey, even a paranoid person is right sometimes! [JPost]

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