World press on Romney's speech in Israel and military operation in the Syrian city of Aleppo (July 27-30, 2012)

"Mitt Romney likely to get a warm welcome in Israel" is an article published by the Washington Post on the eve of Mitt Romney's trip to Israel. The article discusses the interview published by Israel's Haaretz daily, in which the presidential candidate suggested that if elected he would support Israeli politics. "Romney’s remark touched on a widespread perception here that the Obama administration has distanced itself, in policy terms, from its key ally in the Middle East. Romney’s apparent goal is to reassure voters back home — particularly American Jews and pro-Israeli evangelical Christian conservatives who have been wary of backing him — that he will be different," the article reads. According to the newspaper, "Obama received only about a quarter of the votes cast by Americans living in Israel in 2008, according to a post-election survey." Commenting on the reaction of the Israeli leader, the newspaper reports that "despite his cool relationship with Obama, Netanyahu has avoided taking sides ahead of Romney’s visit, refusing in recent interviews on two U.S. television networks to be drawn into evaluating the Republican candidate."

The New York Times published an article headlined "Romney Backs Israeli Stance on Threat of Nuclear Iran", already after Mitt Romney arrived in Israel. Commenting on the speech given by Romney in Israel, the newspaper suggests that "while the Obama administration typically talks about stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Mr. Romney adopted the language of Israel’s leaders, who say Tehran must be prevented from even having the capability to develop one. And while President Obama and his aides always acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself, they put an emphasis on sanctions and diplomacy; Dan Senor, Mr. Romney’s senior foreign policy aide, went further on Sunday, suggesting that Mr. Romney was ready to support a unilateral military strike by Israel." The NYT reports that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu "whose relationship with Mr. Obama has been rocky, was generous in his praise of Mr. Romney" during his visit to Israel.

The Los Angeles Times commented on the visit of the Republican Party nominee to Israel with an article headlined "Romney takes hard line on Iran in Israel speech". "The sundown speech capped a carefully orchestrated visit that was aimed in part at the audience back home — particularly Jewish and evangelical voters disenchanted with Obama — and in part as a retreat for some of Romney's top donors, who filled the first few rows of folding chairs at his speech," the article reads. The newspaper also conveys the support drawn by the speech of Romney among Israelis: "Romney was surrounded by a throng of admirers who crowded around him shouting from the time he stepped out of his motorcade on the plaza. "Here comes the next president," one man shouted. 'He is for Israel," another man said."

The political crisis in Syria and its recent intensification at the battlefield of Aleppo continues to be at the center of the international press. "Syrian government renews Aleppo assault" is an article published by the Financial Times on July 27. "Firdous is one of a number of districts where fierce clashes have occurred since the rebel Free Syrian Army took its fight to the capital, Damascus, and Aleppo, the country’s commercial hub, last week. The human rights advocacy group Avaaz put the death toll in Firdous at 17, including five children, in what it described as a sustained assault with tanks, mortars and helicopter gunships," the article reads. The author of the article notes that "the battle in Aleppo comes amid anecdotal but tangible signs of a shift in sentiment among members of the civilian population there. As in other big cities, brutal crackdowns in residential areas where rebels are active appears to make the government more and more enemies among those who are affected — or who simply hear of what is happening."

The New York Times analyzes the radicalization of the conflict in Syria in an article "As Syrian War Drags On, Jihadists Take Bigger Role." "The past few months have witnessed the emergence of larger, more organized and better armed Syrian militant organizations pushing an agenda based on jihad, the concept that they have a divine mandate to fight. Even less-zealous resistance groups are adopting a pronounced Islamic aura because it attracts more financing," the author of the article writes and calls Idlib Province in northern Syria the prime example of the tendency. "What began as a largely peaceful, secular protest movement in March 2011 first took on a more religious tone late last summer as it shifted into an armed conflict waged by more conservative, more rural Sunni Muslims, whose faith already formed an integral focus of their daily lives… Fighters, activists and analysts say that jihadi groups are emerging now for several reasons. They generally stand apart from the Free Syrian Army, the loose national coalition of local militias made up of army defectors and civilian volunteers. Significantly, most of the money flowing to the Syrian opposition is coming from religious donors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region whose generosity hinges on Salafi teaching. Further, as the sectarian flavor of the uprising deepened, pitting the majority Sunni Muslims against the ruling minority, the Alawites, it attracted fighters lured by a larger Muslim cause. Alawites, the president’s sect, dominate Syria, but many orthodox Muslims view them as a heretical offshoot of Shiite Islam. Understanding the military players in the Syrian opposition has become remarkably more difficult in recent months through the proliferation of brigades, battalions and fronts, many bearing religious names. Plus they change all the time, and some have all but disappeared," the article concludes.