Note: On 13 February 2012 the vehicle of an israeli embassy was the target of bomb blast in the high-security neighborhood of new Delhi. The wife of an israeli diplomat was injured along with three other persons, including the driver of the vehicle. Isrel immeidately held Iran responsible for the attack. Editorial commentaries from the international and Middle Eastern media on this issue are reproduced here. Editor, MEI@ND
*

The Hindustan Times,
New Delhi, Editorial, 14 February 2012, Tuesday
1. No diplomacy on terrorism
India is hardly a stranger to political terrorism and its human consequences. However, the attack that injured an Israeli and three Indians on Monday (13 February) just a stone’s throw from the residence of the prime minister seems to represent a new phenomenon when it comes to such violence. This is not the sort of indiscriminate killing that is the mark of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and messianic militant groups of that ilk. For the full text

The Jerusalem Post,

Editorial, 14 February 2012, Tuesday
2. Iran’s Tentacle
One motive behind the attacks in New Delhi and Tbilisi was Iran’s desire to deter the West from a strike on its nuclear facilities. Thankfully, the terrorist attacks staged in New Delhi and Tbilisi and orchestrated by Iran’s mullah regime with the help of its proxy Hezbollah were not fatal. Tal Yehoshua-Koren, the wife of an Israeli diplomat, was hurled out of her car from the impact of the bomb attached to the vehicle. Her condition was described as serious but improving. For the full text

Boston Herald, Editorial, 14 February 2012, Tuesday
3. Life in the sand for Iran
Israel’s diplomatic corps —and those associated with it — are now apparently fair game in the escalating terror campaign being waged by Iran. Two nearly simultaneous attacks — one in India which injured the wife of a diplomat and one in Georgia which was thwarted by a quick-thinking driver — were only the latest, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier attempts at similar bombings in Azerbaijan, Thailand and other unspecified countries were also thwarted. For the full text

The Peninsula,Doha, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
4. Targeting Israel
Tension has mounted between Iran and Israel after bombers targeted Israeli embassies in India and Georgia on Monday (13 February). In New Delhi, the wife of an Israeli defense envoy was injured when her car was destroyed by an explosive device. In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, an explosive device was discovered in the car of a local staff member of the Israeli embassy but was defused by the police. Immediately after the blasts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran and Tehran quickly denied any role. For the Full text

The Times of India, New Delhi, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
5. A new challenge
The bombing of an Israeli embassy vehicle in New Delhi - about 200 meters from the prime minister's residence - raises disturbing questions about the state of security in the most high-security zones of the capital city. That the motorcycle-mounted bombers appear to have gotten away after the attack reinforces those questions. It's apparent that the threat of sophisticated terror strikes in Indian cities has in no way receded. For the full text

The Asian Age, New Delhi, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
6. New-style attack: Probe Iran angle
The terror bombing of an Israeli embassy car in the heart of New Delhi on Monday (13 February) afternoon, which has left a woman diplomat seriously wounded, raises the threshold of militant tactics by non-state actors operating in India, and opens a new vista for terror strikes within the country. For the full text

The Hindu, Chennai, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
7. Painting fangs of a lamb
Ever since Monday's (13 February) near-successful assassination of an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, India's media have opened a 24x7 barrage of speculation about who carried out the attack. The question is important, but Indians ought to apply their minds to a more important issue nearer home: the dysfunction that continues to characterize the country's counter-terrorism infrastructure. Even though the attack took place less than 500 meters from the Prime Minister's official residence, there was no system in place to cordon off the area. For the full text

The Indian Express, New Delhi, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
8. Internal, external
New Middle East conflicts touch India; security and diplomatic establishments must work together. The bottom-line of a terror attack in broad daylight in the heart of New Delhi can only be this: a security failure. When that attack takes place in the diplomatic zone close to the prime minister’s residence and the heavily guarded Israeli embassy, the magnitude of that failure gets amplified. Monday’s (13 February) bomb attack on the car of Tal Yehoshua-Koren, on the Israeli mission staff and wife of an Israeli defense department official at the embassy, happened in a zone with several CCTV cameras and police personnel.
For the full text

Daily Times, Lahore, Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
9. Israel’s latest intrigue
Why should the world not be suspicious of Israel instead of its diehard foe Iran for a couple of alleged terrorist attempts against it in India and Georgia, which has failed to impress any corner with their poor execution and lack of evidence? Iran is already going through a rough patch owing to the latest US economic sanctions tightening the noose around its neck and growing military presence of the US, British, French and Italian navies near its waters. For the full text

The Tribune, Chandigarh (India), Editorial, 15 February 2012, Wednesday
10. Terror gets a new twist
Israeli-Iranian row comes into focus
It is not surprising at all that Monday’s (13 February) bomb blast in Delhi involving an Israeli Embassy car came soon after an unsuccessful attempt made at Israeli Embassy employees in Georgian capital Tbilisi. It remains to be investigated to find out the forces behind these terrorist attacks, but Tel Aviv has no doubt that it is the handiwork of terrorists linked to Tehran. Israel had recently warned its nationals visiting India that there was the possibility of such incidents occurring around March 12 (2012), the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Imad Mughniyah, a top leader of the Iran-supported Hezbollah outfit, operating from Lebanon. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 16 February 2012, Thursday
11. Do not jump to conclusions in Iran-Israel row
Israeli diplomats and Iranian nuclear scientists now have something in common: the danger of being killed by a magnetic car bomb. The technique has now been used against members of both groups. Israel denies involvement in such murders, the most recent one last month (January 2012), of Iranian scientists. Iran denies responsibility for car-bombings this week against Israeli envoys in Tbilisi and Delhi. For the full text

The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Editorial, 16 February 2012, Thursday
12. A pro-active non-alignment
Iran’s very successful bid to be portrayed as the global bad boy has been puzzling — not to mention, frustrating — for the international community. It is especially so for ‘friendly’ States such as India, which has, for practical as well as historical reasons, sought to play down Iran’s tag as a ‘rogue State’. For the full text

New Indian Express, Chennai, Editorial, 16 February 2012, Thursday
13. Do not succumb to pressure over Iran
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has showed unusual tenacity is holding its cards close to its chest and not succumbing to growing pressure from the United States and Israel to blame Iran for the February 13 (2012) bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi. Not only has the government refrained from airing its doubts but has also approached the scenario with maturity. For the full text

The Asian Age, New Delhi, Editorial, 18 February 2012, Saturday
14. On Iran, don’t go by the theatrics
Iran is hot property for news on a variety of fronts, but it would be silly to read a connected story. Tehran is supposed to be behind the Israeli embassy car blast in New Delhi, and botched attempts of a similar nature in Georgia and Thailand, prompting Tel Aviv to seek a UN Security Council resolution against Iran-inspired terrorism. For the full text

The Indian Express, New Delhi, Editorial, 20 February 2012, Monday
15. Ask Iran
Delhi can’t blame Iran without evidence but it must use its good terms to ask some questions. Israel’s request to India to help support a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran for last week’s attack in New Delhi on its diplomat as well as the near-simultaneous incidents in Tbilisi and Bangkok may appear to put India in a difficult situation. For the full text

Compiled by Alvite N

Alvite N is a Doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND.  Editor, MEI@ND:  P R Kumaraswamy