Yossi Mekelberg

Nota: Este archivo abarca los artículos publicados por el autor desde el 1 de febrero de 2008. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

Israelis protest against Benjamin Netanyahu, who denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images.

MundoOriente Próximo,

After almost a year and a half - and three elections - Benjamin Netanyahu, the grand magician of Israeli politics, managed to pull off another of his tricks to mobilise a majority of MKs to support a coalition government he will lead, in theory, for only the next 18 months. Unless he is found guilty in the corruption trial he faces.

Significantly, his personal victory will be detrimental to the future of the country’s democracy, the justice system in particular, good governance, and whatever slim chance may remain of a peace process leading to a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Attributing Netanyahu’s success in forming a government to his vast experience, personal charm, unscrupulous manipulative nature, and limitless hunger for power provides only part of the answer.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli forces take at the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque. Photo: Getty Images.

MundoOriente Próximo,

Given the absence of a comprehensive and viable political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and the complete lack of trust between the two sides, a large scale confrontation is more a matter of when and not if. The situation in Jerusalem is especially fragile – any interference with the long-standing status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, especially one that is not coordinated with all interested sides, would lead to the eruption of violence in the city and well beyond.

So it was careless of Israel, in the wake of the shooting of two Israeli policemen by three Israeli Palestinian militants at the Lions’ Gate, to apply collective punishment on Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and to introduce metal detectors at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Jerusalem woke up on Tuesday to horrific images of slain Jewish worshipers, and scores injured in a terror attack on a synagogue. The assault which took place in the western Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof, shocked Israel to the core, as well as many others around the world. This is not surprising considering both the brutality of the attack and the fact it was carried out in a holy place, where innocent religious people were worshiping.

The two assailants, cousins from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber, were shot dead by the Israeli security forces. The incident in addition to the ongoing violence since the beginning of summer, left the city of Jerusalem more divided than for a long time.…  Seguir leyendo »