Tuesday links

From Ian:

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Study: Allow Gaza population to expand into Sinai By Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinian study recommends solving “population explosion” by transferring residents to West Bank, setting birth control rules.

"A study published Monday by a Palestinian engineer recommends solving the Gaza Strip’s “population explosion” by allowing the enclave to expand into the Sinai Peninsula.The study also recommends transferring some of the Gaza Strip’s residents to the West Bank and setting rules for birth control as a way of solving the problem.
The study was prepared by engineer Mustafa al-Farra and published in the daily Al- Quds newspaper."

France marches on Mali, and the Left's anti-war fervour falls silent. Is liberal interventionism back on the agenda?

"Surely it is only a matter of time before the righteous legions begin their counter-march. The demands for a boycott of French produce. The recall of our Ambassador from Paris. Soon the Mall will echo to lusty cries of “Pas en mon nom!”, while lawyers begin to draw up papers for the arrest of the 24th president of the Republic.
Then again, perhaps not. It may just be me, but the anti-war movement seems to have been a little slow off the mark when it comes to France’s latest bout of international adventurism. Seamus Milne has been strangely silent. A search of Google uncovers no condemnation from venerable anti-imperialist John Pilger. Even George Monbiot doesn’t yet appear to have found a pipeline with which to explain and expose Hollande’s true motives."

Caroline Glick: Bye-bye London

"At another point, I was asked how I defend the Nazi state of Israel. When I responded by among other things giving the Nazi pedigree of the Palestinian nationalist movement founded by Nazi agent Haj Amin el Husseini and currently led by Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas, the crowd angrily shouted me down.I want to note that the audience was made up of upper crust, wealthy British people, not unwashed rabble rousers. And yet they behaved in many respects like a mob when presented with pro-Israel positions."

London Review of Books Cheerleads for Hamas

"The London Review of Books is nothing if not consistent in its contemptuous attitude towards the Jewish state. A recent article, "Why Israel Didn't Win" (Dec. 6, 2012), by Adam Shatz is illustrative. Ignoring a litany of violent provocations and repeated proclamations by Hamas leaders that "Palestine is ours from the river to the sea," Shatz grasps at the disingenuous figleaf of a "temporary truce" offered by Hamas in order to cast Israel as the villain responsible for last November's intensification of violence. Shatz's argument is shoddy, transparently reversing cause-and-effect. It typifies the diminished quality of analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict coming from The London Review of Books."

BBC outsources coverage of Israeli elections to writer for far-Left magazine

"+972 magazine showcases the opinions of a tiny fringe on the far Left of Israeli politics which is alien to mainstream Israeli opinion. As its Editor himself admits, its English language format is intended to appeal primarily to foreign readers, with the aim of securing “dramatic pressure from abroad” in order (rather undemocratically, some might think) to influence the internal Israeli political process.
The BBC’s decision to outsource some of its election coverage to a contributor to such a forum is the equivalent of its publishing analysis of British elections by a writer for the ‘Socialist Worker’. One doubts very much that the BBC would dare to try that one at home."

Quick-Thinking Security Officers Head Off Arab 'Fire Libel'
Arabs who set several fires in central Samaria may have been trying to smear area Jews for the destruction of an Arab olive grove

Egyptian soccer referee threatens boycott of Israel

‘Israel is a cancer and we must fight it,’ official says, decrying upcoming European championships in Israel
“This Zionist Entity is planted, like a cancerous tumor, in the body of the Arab and Islamic nation. We must tear it out and, until we do, we must fight it as much as we can,” Nasser Sadeq Abdel Naby said in an interview on Egyptian television earlier this month that has been translated by MEMRI."

Syrian government has pattern of attacking bakeries, bread lines

"After a week without bread, people in the small central Syrian town of Halfaya got word two days before Christmas that a shipment of flour had arrived at the main bakery, prompting several hundred to queue up for the staple of life in the war-ravaged land.
For the Syrian air force, it was a moment of lethal opportunity. Soon, a Sukhoi-22 ground attack plane flew over the bakery and dropped eight bombs, each filled with cluster bomblets. The first struck 150 feet from the bakery, but the second was a direct hit on the bread line, killing at least 68 people, witnesses said."

Reports: Saudi commutes sentences of death-row inmates who agree to fight 'Jihad' in Syria
Reports claim that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been commuting the death penalty for those willing to fight against Bashar Al-Assad in Syria

UN chief blames Israel for Arab world stagnation

‘Conflict, injustice, occupation’ — and especially the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate — have prevented progress, says Ban; our conflict is not the core Arab issue, Israel responds

Hungarian lawmaker to speak on ‘Zionist threat’

"A lawmaker from Hungary’s Jobbik Party who recently called for listing Jews as a “security risk” reportedly is planning a lecture tour about the “Zionist threat."

Ethics board summons Belgian doctor over Israel boycott

Order of Physicians holds hearing to discuss efforts to block sales of Teva pharmaceuticals
"Gorissen, a veteran anti-Israel activist, is a member of GVHV, a group providing free medical services as part of an initiative started by the Marxist Belgian PvDA party."

Upgraded Iron Dome intercepts medium-range missile
Rafael and the Defense Ministry successfully test improved version of rocket interception system

Tel Aviv Ranked Seventh Best Beach City Worldwide

"Tel Aviv, known as the “White City,” placed seventh in the Lonely Planet’s review of top beach cities behind top-ranked Barcelona. Tel Aviv beat cities such as its Middle Eastern neighbor Dubai, Miami, as well as Brighton and Hove in Great Britain on the list."

New EU Marie Curie Prize goes to Israeli woman
Israeli biomed engineering researcher Sarit Sivan received the European Commission’s new prize for innovation and entrepreneurship.