Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East

A survey by the Pew Research Centre in Washington has shown that the majority of Egyptians are supportive of President Mohammad Morsi's regime, despite a decline of confidence in the Muslim Brotherhood, to which the President belongs.

The poll, published on Thursday, revealed that 30 per cent of Egyptians believe that their country is heading in the right direction, compared to 53 per cent last year, and 56 per cent in 2011. Moreover, only 39 per cent believe that conditions are better than what they were during President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

It's time to cancel the European Union's trade association with Israel if their government persists in violating international law

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Lord David Steel spent four years of his childhood in Kenya at the time of the Mau Mau uprising in the fifties and sixties, when thousands were killed rebelling against British colonial rule; now he is one of the longest serving leaders of the Liberal Party. This early experience became an important part of his life and has affected his approach to morality and his political career. "Looking back on it as a student I was horrified by the assumptions of superiority of one race over others", he explains.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said that regarding Palestinian internal reconciliation, he "absolutely does not feel that the Egyptian position is closer to Hamas". "If I felt so, I would not be here in Cairo," he told Egyptian journalists.

In a meeting with the chief editors of Egyptian newspapers, Abbas said: "No one can deny that Hamas is a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, but what I heard from President Mohammed Morsi was that Egypt is still keen on achieving Palestinian reconciliation."

The government of Morocco has announced that it will not invite Israeli scientists to attend a scientific conference in Fez, local newspapers said on Friday. The news was confirmed by the office of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The conference is due to be held in June at the Sidi Mohamed Bin-Abdullah University.

Following the demands made by Egypt's permanent representative at the UN, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, phoned Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to halt Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque as they thwart peace efforts.

Joint efforts by Egypt's representative at the UN, Motaz Khalil, alongside those of representatives from Libya, Lebanon, Palestine and Deputy UN Secretary General, Yan Eliasson, led Mr Ban to phone Netanyahu.

They also asked the different UN departments to assume their responsibilities regarding the Israeli violations in Jerusalem, including settler invasions and attacks on Muslim and Christian places of worshiping. They called for Mr Ban to move immediately.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday morning that Russia sent 12 warships on naval tours near its naval base in Syria. American and European officials described the move as "violent and aimed at warning the West and Israel against intervening in the Syrian conflict."

News agencies, including Egyptian and Syrian agencies, reported yesterday that 5 Russian warships had crossed the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea. The spokesperson for the Russian fleet in the Atlantic Ocean said that it was the first time in decades that ships of the Russian fleet had sailed in the area. According to him, the 5 ships are headed for the Limassol marina in Cyprus.

The Russian Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoygu, stated that the Ministry of Defence began the formation of a special warship force of in the Mediterranean Sea to protect Russian interests in the region.

Author: Paul Keleman
Paperback: 225 pages
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-7190-8813-1

Review by Shazia Arshad

Zionism owes much of its 'success' to the support that it has received from Britain since its inception in the late 19th century. Within 20 years of having conceived of the idea of implanting the Zionist project in Palestine the then British government had been convinced to support the project and announced this decision to the world through the Balfour Declaration. As support for Zionism became de rigeur in the British establishment, the British Left and specifically the Labour Party adopted an identical policy. Paul Keleman's work tracks the relationship between Zionism and the Left as it has developed during the 20th century and most importantly how many on the Left have transitioned from Zionism's most stalwart supporters to campaigners for Palestinian rights and justice.

A member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ezzat Al-Resheq, has denied claims made in an Egyptian newspaper that Khaled Meshaal said, "Hamas is willing, in principle, to have negotiations with Israel". The quote in Al-Masry al-Yawm was apparently taken from Meshaal's interview with US magazine Foreign Policy.

According to Al-Resheq's Facebook page on Thursday, "Meshaal's interview with the American magazine did not include such fabrications."

At a time when internal problems preoccupy most Egyptians, there is an external problem that no one pays attention to; one that could leave Egyptians sleepless and put the country in a perilous economic and international position. This danger comes in the form of the law suits (arbitrations) filed against Egypt by the Israeli Electric Company, the East Mediterranean Gas Company and some of its shareholders, the Israeli Mirhav Company, the Israeli Impal Company, Thai BBT Company, Jewish American businessman Sam Zail and Hussein Salem.

Inevitably, the 65th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba - Catastrophe - was overshadowed by calls to exercise refugees' right of return. Although the vast majority of Palestinians live in forced exile and the focus tends to dwell on their plight, there is now an estimated 370,000 'internally displaced persons' (IDPs) within the Israeli state. They are also denied the right to return to their homes and villages. No Nakba anniversary can pass without remembering them.

Unlike their compatriots in the wider Diaspora, the displaced Palestinians in Israel enjoy little international assistance and far less protection. Ever since the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stopped providing services for them in 1952, they have remained refugees in their own land and second-class citizens in the state established around them.

The Palestinian Nakba that befell its people in 1948 continues today. 65 years ago, thousands of defenceless Palestinians were killed in their homes, hundreds of Palestinian villages were destroyed, many massacres were committed and the majority of Palestinians were displaced in order to establish the state of Israel on the ruins of the Palestinian state. Until today, we have not heard any admission of responsibility by the Israelis for what occurred, and Israel has not been held accountable for this heinous crime.

Jordan's Minister for Information and Communication, Mohammed al-Momani, last Thursday officially announced the departure of the Israeli ambassador to Amman, Daniel Nevo.

In a press conference held on Wednesday evening, Al-Momani said that the acting Foreign Minister, Hussein al-Majali, had summoned Nevo last Thursday.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza condemned on Thursday the kidnapping of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula near to the city of Al-Arish.

It also issued orders for stricter security measures at the terminals of the tunnels between Egypt and the Strip which are being used to smuggle commodities to Gaza out of fear that they will be used by the kidnappers.