• Nato must increase attacks in Libya says armed forces chief
• More killings in Syria despite promise of dialogue
• Palestinians plan Nakba rally in occupied terrorities
Gaddafi will be named tomorrow as wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court, according to reports in the Spanish press.
Time magazine reported the court's prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo told a Spanish newspaper that he would see arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief Abdullah Senoussi. Spanish radio has carried similar reports, according to Reuters. Earlier this month Ocampo told the UN that he would seek arrest warrants against three unnamed Libyan officials.
Al-Jazeera has shown live footage of thousands of Palestinians gathering in Ramallah in the West Bank for the start of Nakba demonstrations to mark the displacement of Palestinians during Israel's founding in 1948.
It reports:
Small clashes were reported on Sunday in various neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli security forces, as access to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City was blocked in anticipation of possible violence erupting. There were no reports of injuries.
Israel's Jerusalem Post carries a defiant editorial on the protests which it says represents a "distorted" view of history.
Palestinians continue to focus on their victimization and suffering while ignoring personal responsibility for their predicament. One of the crucial psychological barriers to peace today is Arab Israelis' and Palestinians' stubborn insistence on ignoring their own role in creating the refugee problem and in the failure to obtain Palestinian political autonomy.
Instead of devoting so much energy to emphasizing their victimization, Arab Israelis and Palestinians would do well to learn from their mistakes. At present, they seem bent on repeating them.
Several Coptic Christians have been injured in the Egyptian capital Cairo after they were attacked at a demonstration outside Egypt's state TV building.
Deutsche Press-Agentur says dozens of men threw Molotov cocktails at the protesters, who responded by throwing stones back at the attackers.
Last weekend Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo left 12 dead.
Tens of thousands of protesters occupied Tahrir Square on Friday calling for an end to sectarian violence.
In Libya the burials took place yesterday of 11 clerics, who the regime said were killed in a Nato airstrike on Brega.
Speaking at news conference imam Nureddin al-Mijrah called for revenge against Nato, according to ABC news.
He urged Muslims across the world "to take revenge for our brothers who died today. For every man we should take down one thousand men... from France, Italy, Denmark, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates".
In his interview with the Telegraph, Sir David claimed there had been few civilian casualties in Nato's campaign.
So far there have been hardly any civilian casualties as a result of the extreme care Nato has taken in the selection of bombing targets. If any risk is posed to Libya's civilian population then we do not hit the target. No one wants to kill innocent civilians.
Welcome to a Sunday instalment of Middle East Live. Libya and Syria remain the main points of interest today, but we will also be keeping an eye on planned Palestinian demonstrations in the occupied territories.
On Libya, the head of the armed forces, Sir David Richards, said Nato should step up its military campaign against the Gaddafi regime by broadening the range of bombing targets.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph Sir David said:
The vice is closing on Gaddafi, but we need to increase the pressure further through more intense military action...
At present Nato is not attacking infrastructure targets in Libya, but if we want to increase the pressure on Gaddafi's regime then we need to give serious consideration to increasing the range of targets we can hit...
If Nato withdraws its forces with Gaddafi still in power, then there is a significant risk that he will launch fresh attacks against the rebels.
Meanwhile, officials in Tripoli claim that Muammar Gaddafi is planning a gradual transition from autocratic rule. "He wants to move to the background and lead a dignified life. He himself has said he wants to be like the Japanese emperor, or Castro," one official told Martin Chulov.
In Syria more protesters have been killed in the continuing crackdown despite the regime's promise of a "national dialogue". At least four people were killed in the border town of Tall Talakh, the Gulf Times reported.
The New York Times puts forward a possible explanation for the latest crackdown:
The assault on Tall Kalakh may have been spurred by a protest Friday by hundreds of professionals who have recently resigned from the governing Ba'ath Party. In their protest, a show of dissent unheard of just months ago, residents said many of them chanted slogans calling for the fall of the government.
Leading dissident Ammar Abdulhamid writes:
Assad calls for dialogue with opposition as his security forces keep shooting people, which only reinforces the stand of protesters who see no possibility for real dialog with him on board: Assad must go!
The Syrian state news service Sana has published an English translation of a press conference given by the information minister Adnan Mahmoud in which he said the regime was committed to dialogue
"President Bashar al-Assad met with popular activities from different Syrian governorates and listened to their opinions, demands and visions on what is happening in Syria," adding that next days will experience a national dialogue involving all the Syrian governorates.
He said after the restoration of tranquillity, stability and security, the army units began to gradually depart from Banias and surroundings while the army units deployed in Daraa and surroundings are completing the gradual depart to return to their main camps.
In the Palestinian Territories, protesters have clashed with the Israeli police at the start of Nakba Day demonstrations. Protests, partly inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere, are planned in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Kim Willsher, Paul Gallagher 15 May, 2011
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/may/15/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live
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