Note:  The tension along the Israel-Gaza border escalated following the killing of Ahmed Jabari, the deputy military head of the ruling Palestinian party Hamas, on 14 November 2012 in an IDF air-raid. This was followed by a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel and the launching of Operation Pillar of Defence by Israel. The conflict was brought to an end on 21 November after intense international mediation led by Egypt. Both sides claimed victory as Israel did not pursue the anticipated ground offensive and the Hamas agreeing to stop rocket attacks against Israel. The ceasefire was seen as the first diplomatic success for President Mohammed Morsi. Editorial commentaries from the international and the Middle Eastern media on this event are reproduced here. Editor, MEI@ND

Gulf News, Dubai, Editorial, 15 November 2012, Thursday
1. Israel’s brutalities in Gaza must stop
Onus is now on the Arab world and the international community since the US chooses to do nothing. It’s beginning to look like a rerun of the criminal aggression against Gaza four years ago that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, including hundreds of children. As part of its policy of ramping up tensions in the region at regular intervals, Israel has launched a series of deadly raids on the besieged Strip, which have killed more than a dozen people since last week and wounded at least 100. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 16 November 2012, Friday
2. Violence in Gaza kills Palestinians' chance at unity
When will Hamas ever learn? A flurry of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza this week quickly started another cycle of reflexive escalations, one that could lead to another full-scale Israeli incursion. That, at least, is what Israel is threatening, and what Hamas seems to be agitating for. Unable to rise above the temptations of violence, Hamas has revealed again its absence of strategic vision. For the full text

Khaleej Times, Dubai, Editorial, 17 November 2012, Saturday
3. The Gaza onslaught
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza is yet another episode of shamelessness. Tel Aviv’s trigger-happy adventurism has always been a curse for a region that had lived on the edges of volatility. This new stint of barbarism that has claimed dozens of lives over the last two days is likely to draw retaliatory fire from Hamas and the like. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 18 November 2012, Sunday
4. A de-escalation in Gaza requires US leadership
On Friday, Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil flew to Gaza for talks with the Hamas leadership about the current conflict with Israel. Although Israel observed a ceasefire during the brief visit, once Mr. Qandil left, it bombed the building where the talks had occurred. Hamas headquarters has been reduced to rubble, and many fear that the uneasy peace between Egypt and Israel, which has existed since the Camp David Accords came into effect in 1980, will soon be in tatters. For the full text

The Hindu, Chennai, Editorial, 19 November 2012, Monday
5. Israel is as Netanyahu does
The rapidly intensifying violence in the Gaza Strip has killed 52 Palestinians, including 11 children, and three Israelis so far, and is a clear example of total Israeli impunity. Israel ostensibly started its action by assassinating Ahmed Jabari, the deputy military head of the ruling Palestinian party Hamas, on November 14(Wednesday). By November 18 (Sunday), the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had launched over 1,000 air strikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip, with additional shelling from the sea. For the full text

The Jordan Times, Amman, Editorial, 19 November 2012, Monday
6. Hoping for a truce
Most of the region has turned its attention to Cairo, hoping to see it broker a truce between Israel and Hamas as a prelude to a permanent agreement. Egypt has been the traditional mediator between the two sides and even now, after the change of government and the Muslim Brotherhood in power, President Mohamed Morsi is expected to play the same role, particularly since his country also has an interest in maintaining peace and stability in Sinai and along the Gaza-Egyptian frontier. For the full text

The National,Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 19 November 2012, Monday
7. Cease fire first, followed by an open Rafah gate
For a fifth day, Israel and Hamas traded fire yesterday (18 November, Sunday), adding to the collective carnage on both sides of the border. Israel assaulted the Strip from the sea, killing six Palestinians, and Hamas lobbed rockets towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon. But there was also something previous days hadn't turned up: universal talk of a cease fire. Speaking yesterday, one Palestinian official told news agencies that "it is possible understandings will be reached today or tomorrow". For the full text

The New York Times, New York, Editorial, 19 November 2012, Monday
8. Hamas’s Illegitimacy
The death of more than 100 Palestinians and the wounding of hundreds of others in the six-day-old Gaza war were not enough for the top leader of Hamas, Khaled Ma'ashal. Speaking in Cairo on Monday(12 November), he taunted Israel to begin a ground invasion, saying “if you wanted to launch it, you would have done it.” He ignored the fact that an invasion would kill many more Palestinians and further devastate the Gaza Strip, which, in August, before the current fighting, the United Nations predicted would be unliveable by 2020. For the full text

Gulf News, Dubai, Editorial, 20 November 2012, Tuesday
9. Israeli violence must stop now
What is granting assurance to the continuation of Israeli atrocities is the silence of the world community. It has been labelled in so many ways. It has been described in so many words. And it has surely what is granting assurance to the continuation of Israeli atrocities is the silence of the world been justified with numerous reasons. However, for the people of Gaza, who are at the receiving end of the Israeli onslaught, the attacks on innocent civilians can only be seen as being barbaric and inhumane. For the full text

The Dawn, Karachi, Editorial, 21 November 2012, Wednesday
10.  Slaughter in Gaza
International efforts to effect a ceasefire in Gaza had not succeeded when these lines were being written, but eight days of Israeli rocket fire on the Mediterranean enclave’s crammed population centres has led to over 100 deaths. More menacingly, as reported by a Western wire agency, Israel has “signalled a readiness to expand” the war. That was hardly a reportable “readiness”. For the full text

The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Editorial, 21 November 2012, Wednesday
11.  War as a mnemonic
While no one should close their conscience to the latest bout of violence that is taking place between Gaza and Israel, it is nonetheless important to realize that this exchange of fire is about politics in its rawest form. The Hamas has been under fire from the Palestinians for having been unable to keep the cause alive with the international community and losing ground to arch-rival Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the West Bank. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 21 November 2012, Wednesday
12.  Israel's strategy in Gaza leads to endless conflict
Cutting the grass" is the euphemism some Israeli strategists have used to describe the policy that has been conducted in Gaza. The idea behind it is that Israel unable on the one hand to make peace with its neighbours, and unable, on the other, to completely dominate or deter them by force must resort to regular military incursions and strikes to degrade their military capability. Such a policy explains the latest Gaza offensive. For the full text

China Daily, USA, New York, Editorial, 22 November 2012, Thursday
13.  All eyes on Gaza
After a week of Israeli air strikes and Hamas rocket attacks, a window of opportunity for peace seems to have emerged as both sides have said they support a ceasefire amid intensifying international mediation. Gaza's wounds are shedding fresh blood again to become a new flashpoint in the Middle East, where the situation is already volatile as a result of the crisis in Syria and the Iranian nuclear standoff. For the full text

Gulf News, Dubai, Editorial, 22 November 2012, Thursday
14. Israel has to change its policy of violence
Given Arab pressure, the US will not be able to go on condoning the use of force against innocent civilians. The ceasefire in Gaza agreed between Israel and Hamas is undoubtedly a victory for the latter. There is no question that the Israeli attempt to launch an all-out attack and invasion of Gaza has failed. For the full text

The Jordan Times, Amman, Editorial, 22 November 2012, Thursday
15.  Beyond ceasefire
It is rather premature to pass a final judgment on the outcome of the ceasefire accord struck between Israel and Hamas under Egypt’s auspices.  As the saying goes, the devil is in the details and one still does not know what exactly the two sides agreed to so far. Gazans celebrated after the truce was struck, as most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip reached the conviction that they came out victorious from the latest round of fighting. For the full text

Arab News, Jeddah, Editorial, 23 November 2012, Friday
16.  Israel running out of shots
The celebratory gunfire in Gaza that greeted the start of Wednesday’s truce, may have been in part to greet the end of the slaughter of the Israeli onslaught. This has seen at least 162 Palestinians die, the majority of them civilians, and in excess of 1,200 people injured. Some of these will die later and many more will have to live with crippling disabilities for the rest of their lives. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 23 November 2012, Friday
17.  Palestinian ties must strengthen after ceasefire
As talks of a ceasefire progressed yesterday (22 November), two competing images of Palestinian leadership emerged. On one side was Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, visiting injured civilians in hospital. On the other, a grinning Mahmoud Abbas, grasping hands with Hillary Clinton, even as the US unconditionally supports the very country that is killing Palestinians in Gaza. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 23 November 2012, Friday
18.  Uncertain truce sets the stage for statehood bid
Dawn broke over Gaza yesterday (22 November) not to the sound of rockets or shelling, the refrain of the previous eight days, but to a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The tally from the week of violence: more than 150 Palestinians and five Israelis killed, and hundreds wounded. Those are the numbers. Now come the questions. For the full text

Compiled by MariMuthu U

MariMuthu U 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