Daybreak: Grapel Still Jailed
Plus the crisis moves toward Syria, and more in the news
October 24, 2011
• Reports emerged over the weekend that Israel and Egypt were putting the “finishing touches” on a prisoner exchange that would free Israeli-American Ilan Grapel. It’s a tune they’ve been singing for well over a week, and he is still in a Cairo jail. [JPost]
• The death of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi energized the Syrian people to demand that President Assad be next to go. [WSJ]
• Meanwhile, U.S. ambassador Robert Ford, who has received wide plaudits for his bravery and effectiveness, was quietly pulled out of Syria due to “credible threats” to his personal safety. [JPost]
• Natural gas is flowing from Egypt to Israel once again, and will continue to do so until the Sinai pipeline is inevitably sabotaged for the seventh time this year. [JPost]
• The U.N. gambit could lead to automatic U.S. defunding of every organization the Palestinian Authority joins, starting with UNESCO. [NYT]
• Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon—still alive—responds to some stimulus through his six-year-long coma, according to his son. [NYT]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
