Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

• To Bolster Palestinian Moderates, Let Abbas Win at the UN - Bloomberg

  "A few weeks ago, the U.S. and Israel were painting Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian faction Fatah, as an extremist for vowing to ask the United Nations on Nov. 29 to grant Palestine status as a nonmember observer state. In light of the violence just unleashed on Israel by Fatah’s rival, Hamas, it now seems a relatively mild maneuver. Growing popular support for Hamas’s belligerence makes Abbas an increasingly rare moderate, whose legitimacy needs to be bolstered by the international community."

  tags: palestine israel peace media imperialism

• Kurdistan’s food security begins at home - FT.com

  "If Iraq is the cradle of civilisation, the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north gave birth to agriculture. The first crops were planted in these fertile plains and mountain valleys and animals are said to have been domesticated on the area’s ideal pastoral land seven millennia ago. More But if the region was once the bread basket of Iraq, renowned for its top-quality wheat, it is now an increasingly large consumer of imported food."

  tags: iraq turkey foodsecurity middleeast kurdistan kurds iran

• Hamas backs UN statehood bid - The National

  "Hamas's leader in exile has supported a bid this week by his Palestinian rivals to become a non-member observer state in the United Nations. Khaled Meshaal yesterday gave his backing in a call to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, in the West Bank. Mr Abbas also heads the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is expected to formally submit the request to the UN General Assembly on Thursday."

  tags: palestine independence imperialism colonialism israel middleeast peaceprocess

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