DAILY ALERT

In-Depth Issues:

Iran Treads Lightly in a Culture of Martyrs - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim (Los Angeles Times)
    As new protests were planned for Thursday in Tehran, unsuccessful presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has asked backers to go to local mosques to pay tribute to those killed in the protests.
    Within a culture steeped in the Shiite Muslim mystique of martyrdom, each death may motivate rather than discourage activists.
    Perhaps more perilous for the authorities is the possibility that some soldiers, security officials and Revolutionary Guardsmen might refuse orders to fire on protesters.
    "I would never do it," said Hossein, 23, a member of the security forces who said he and many of his friends at the military base where he serves support the marchers.

Iran's Latest Protests Are Seen as the Toughest to Stop - Neil MacFarquhar (New York Times)
    This time, analysts say, the government will have trouble bringing about a swift end to the demonstrations in the same way it had shut down previous eruptions.
    First, there is the sheer size of these demonstrations, with protests that are not limited to students, but cut across generations and economic classes.
    Second, there is a more pronounced leadership centered around the leading opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has adopted an openly hard-edged attitude toward the government.
    Finally, there has been a critical shift in alliances. In the earlier uprisings, it was basically the reformists calling for change, opposed by both the religious hard-liners and the more pragmatic conservatives.
    This time, the pragmatists and the reformists have joined forces against the hard-liners, analysts said.

Islamist Leader in Israel: "Netanyahu Wants to Rebuild Temple" - Ahiya Raved (Ynet News)
    Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, claimed Wednesday in Haifa that Prime Minister Netanyahu was planning "to dig additional tunnels under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount."

Israel Launches Naval Center to Combat Pirate Attacks - Zohar Blumenkrantz (Ha'aretz)
    Israel on Sunday opened a naval center for the search and rescue of ships attacked by pirates and other hostile groups at sea.
    The Rescue Coordination Center "will give an initial response and aid to maritime incidents, including search and rescue activities for ships that have encountered difficulties at sea, as well as incidents related to protecting the environment against pollution," said Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.
    The center will deal with emergencies that occur up to a distance of 40 km. off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean, and 20 km. in the Red Sea.

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Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

Observations:

A Palestinian Choice - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)

• On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a detailed speech in which he hailed President Obama's "desire to bring about a new era of reconciliation in our region." He said he was "willing to meet" with Arab leaders "at any time, at any place, in Damascus, in Riyadh, in Beirut and in Jerusalem as well" to make peace. He invited Arab entrepreneurs to "assist the Palestinians and us to give the economy a jump-start." He committed his government to all of Israel's international agreements. He said "we have no intention to build new settlements or set aside land for new settlements." "In my vision of peace," he said, "there are two free peoples living side by side in this small land, with good neighborly relations and mutual respect, each with its flag, anthem and government, with neither one threatening its neighbor's security and existence."
• To this, the Palestinian reaction was to say the speech was "worthless," "nothing but a hoax," that it had "destroyed all peace initiatives and [chances for] a solution," and that Mr. Netanyahu was "a liar and a crook." And that was the reaction among the Palestinian moderates.
• The transformation of the Gaza Strip into an armed and hostile Hamas enclave is evidence enough of why any future Palestinian state would have to be demilitarized. Nor should the thought of Israel as a Jewish state be controversial: That's how it was conceived by the UN resolution that helped bring it into existence, and that's how it was recognized by Harry Truman minutes after it declared independence.
• For too long the Palestinians have practiced a kind of fantasy politics, in which all right was on their side, concession was dishonor, and mistakes never had consequences. Mr. Netanyahu's speech now offers them the choice between fantasy and statehood. Judging from early reactions, they're choosing wrongly again.