News Nosh 3.05.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday March 5, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"I am going to say something that sounds harsh: there are between 15% and 20% [who oppose two-states] on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side. On their side it is mainly Hamas and on the Israeli side it is the fundamentalist ideologues who prefer the Land of Israel over the Zionism of a Jewish and democratic State of Israel."
--In an expansive interview in Maariv, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon says Israeli society is led by extremists who support a one-state solution.*
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News Nosh 3.03.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday, March 3, 2017
 
Quote of the Day #1:
“…Once we used the Jewish National Fund to raise money to buy the lands. Today? We just pass a law saying we can just take their lands and that’s it. Soldiers shoot at stone-throwers because they’re a real threat, but if in Israel someone throws stones they won’t even be charged…for years we’ve been deepening the hatred,  the same hatred that we later complain about in peace talks, ‘Why do you incite your children against us? Why don’t you teach them to love us?’ Israel’s most impressive innovation, more than any hi-tech project, or Rafael weapon, is our amazing ability to ignore what is happening mere kilometers away to our neighbors. A whole people, transparent. Like it doesn’t exist. Not in the news. Not online. Not in social media. And definitely not in the hearts of the people. Nothing. We’ve got a great country and great restaurants and it’s fun to travel abroad. Just don’t tell us what’s really happening. We’re good. Don’t bum us out…"
-- In his last show, Israeli political comedy show host, Asaf Harel, made a searing indictment of Israeli society that has gone viral on social media.
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News Nosh 3.02.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday March 2, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"You want to win, but it's friendly too."
--Karem Joubran, a 27-year-old Palestinian from Shuafat refugee camp, in E. Jerusalem, who crossed IDF military checkpoints to participate in a very special Jewish-Arab backgammon event held in west Jerusalem.*
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News Nosh 3.01.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday March 1, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"Hamas doesn't plan to destroy Israel through tunnels, it's looking to wear it down. In the psychological war, in the tunnels category, Hamas 1: Israel 0.”
--Maariv’s military correspondent, Noam Amir, writes that Israel has its spending priorities all wrong due to Israelis' psychological fears.*
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Harold Shapiro z"l

Harold_Shapiro200Americans for Peace Now (APN) is deeply saddened at the death of Harold Shapiro, a longtime member of our Board of Directors, a leader of our movement and a beloved member of the APN family and the American Jewish pro-Israel pro-Peace extended family.

Harold was an inspiration and model for American pro-Israel progressive activism. In addition to his longtime work with APN, he was the Chairman of Partners for Progressive Israel (formerly Meretz USA) and a longtime member of organizations that preceded PPI and Meretz USA. He was a three-time delegate to the World Zionist Congress and a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel. He was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and spent most of his adult life in New York City, where he invested in Broadway productions.

APN Salutes Harold’s dedication to Israel’s security and well-being and to Israel’s moral standing, as well as his immense contribution to America’s pro-Israel progressive movement.  

News Nosh 2.28.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday February 28, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"Democracies don't disappear overnight. They are slowly gnawed away."
-Law professor and head of the human rights division at the Ramat Gan Academic Center for Law and Business, Yossi Dahan, describes how two recent legislative proposals are the latest in the right-wing camp's attempt to create an 'empty democracy.'*

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Former Major General and Labor Party Leader, Amram Mitzna on military power and security

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The latest in a series of ads from APN, featured in the Washington Jewish Week and Baltimore Jewish Times. This month's edition features former Major General and Labor Party Leader Amram Mitzna.

You can support additional ads by donating here.

See all our other ads here: Wise words from Shabtai Shavit, Yuval Diskin, Yitzhak Rabin, Meir Dagan, Shomo Gazit, Rabbi Michael Melchior, and more....

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News Nosh 2.27.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday February 27, 2017  
 
Quote of the day:
“If there is no legal reason preventing their arrest, why haven't we done so until now?”
-- Yedioth's Yossi Yehoshua quoted an unnamed Israeli general, who questioned Minister Naftali Bennett's plan in 2014 to re-arrest Palestinians released in the Shalit prisoner deal as a means to get the release of three Jewish Israelis kidnapped in the West Bank in May 2014. Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon said Sunday that it was that massive wave of arrests that sparked the conflict that led to Operation Protective Edge.*
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February 27, 2017 - Isaac Herzog’s peace plan

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Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses Labor and Zionist Union leader Isaac “Bougie” Herzog's just published ten-point plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and its context; why this one is important; what Herzog’s proposal comprises; his view of the proposal’s relevance and validity; what we have learned from this drama, beginning with the abortive Aqaba summit and ending in Herzog’s proposal.

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News Nosh 2.26.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday February 26, 2017
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
"Currently, all NGOs are exempt from paying a fee for information obtained under under Israel's Freedom of Information Act. However, the new bill seeks not only to revoke this exemption for organizations that get more than 50% of their funding from foreign governments, but would require them to pay double the normal fee."
--Haaretz+ revealed new legislation aimed at harming Israeli left-wing human and civil rights organizations, since they are the ones that foreign governments generally choose to finance.**


Front Page:
Haaretz
  • Rise in number of arrests of ISIS supporters (in Israel)
  • Trump steps up battle against media: Reporters were thrown out of White House meeting
  • Clashes in Hebron on anniversary of massacre at Cave of Patriarchs
  • UN Human Rights Office: Azariya’s light sentence is very worrying 
  • New position in Education Ministry: Intelligence Officer who will be required to operate agents and collect information
  • Campaign to save the Dead Sea began, too late
  • The 11th point // Gideon Levy
  • Milchan actually does receive gifts // Eitan Avriel
  • Outside of criticism // Amira Hass
  • The dubious deal of (Netanyahu’s advisor) Perach Lerner reveals the lawlessness in Netanyahu’s office
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
  • “Our children’s blood is screaming from the ground” – Tension in political and security establishment ahead of release of State Comptroller report on Operation Protective Edge
  • (Former chief of staff) Gantz: “I don’t accept what is said in State Comptroller
  • Germany: Ran over three people and escaped (likely not a terror attack)
  • The White House against the media
  • Deadly weekend on the highways: four killed in traffic accidents
Israel Hayom
News Summary:
The political and military establishment braced for the imminent release of the State Comptroller's report on the 2014 Gaza campaign, which then-IDF chief Benny Gantz rebuffed, [while Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wrapped up a five day visit to Australia and Yedioth’s daily cartoon joked that he wished he could keep flying so as to avoid the release of the report,] Israel slammed the UN Human Rights Office, calling it ‘hypocritical,’ for saying that the 18 month prison sentence given to soldier Elor Azariya, in the execution of an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, was lenient [although last week's Israeli newspapers agreed – OH], worrying and ‘unacceptable,’ and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Israel and the Palestinians should “keep working on a two-state solution,” in response to US President Donald Trump’s earlier statement that he likes the two-state solution, but he will leave it up to Israelis and Palestinians – making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
  
Merkel wasn't alone, outgoing French President François Hollande also pledged allegiance Thursday to a two-state solution in the Middle East. And Maariv and JPost reported that former Palestinian Authority minister for prisoner affairs, Ashraf Al Ajrami, said that the "The Palestinian Authority is ready for a demilitarized state...and Hamas is willing to go back to the '67 borders.” Al Ajrami spoke in Acre at a cultural event hosted by the Keshet NGO, an Arab-Jewish nonprofit organization he helped found. He said that the Palestinians are ready to normalize relations and end the conflict with Israel. Coalition whip and Likud MK David Bitan participated and got photographed with Al-Ajrami. 
 
Quick Hits:
  • Palestinians throw shoes at Trump poster to mark Shuhada street closure, anniversary of massacre of Palestinians - Dozens of Palestinians and foreign activists mark 23rd anniversary of closure of Shuhada Street in Hebron with protest; Street closed by IDF in 1994 after All Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) massacre perpetrated by Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein. 'We disrespect this president who does not see us as equal human beings with everyone,' organizers of Hebron protest say. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Liberal Jewish groups blast Israel after human rights worker denied visa: 'Like North Korea' - VP of New Israel Fund, who was recently delayed upon entering Israel, says 'Netanyahu government has proven that either you agree with Netanyahu's ultra-right wing coalition or you're out.' (Haaretz
  • Israel backtracks on Human Rights Watch: Willing to reexamine work visa request - Flip flop follows orders from Netanyahu, source says; investigator's work visa request was initially denied 'due the NGO's extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda.' (Haaretz+) 
  • Israel Mulling Whether Land-grab Law Also Relates to Palestinian Agricultural Land - Government wants four months to respond to High Court petition by Palestinians who are claiming ownership of land near settlement of Shiloh. (Haaretz+) 
  • Ignoring Forecasts of Its Demise, Palestinian Authority Develops Six-year Policy Plan - Plan emphasizes institutions whose existence is not dependent on the life span of President Mahmoud Abbas; the end of the occupation is listed as number one goal. (Haaretz+)
  • Impeachment proceedings underway for Arab MK - Seventy-one MKs sign petition to remove Joint Arab List MK Basel Ghattas, indicted for smuggling phones to prisoners, from Knesset. "Ghattas committed the crime of expressing support for the armed struggle of a terrorist organization," petition says. (Israel Hayom
  • Three Palestinians Die After Inhaling Poisonous Gas in Gaza Tunnel - Hamas condemns Egypt for filling tunnels in gas when demolishing them, calls on Cairo to open Rafah crossing. (Haaretz
  • US envoy to UN meets with slain Israeli soldier's parents - US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley meets with the parents of Lt. Hadar Goldin whose remains have never been returned after he was killed in Gaza during Protective Edge Operation. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • **New Israeli Bill Would Have Left-wing NGOs Pay for Info From State - Proposed law would affect nonprofits that get over 50% of their funding from foreign governments and submit requests under Freedom of Information Act. (Haaretz+) 
  • Hamas school in east Jerusalem closed over incitement - Curriculum in Zur Baher neighborhood school "included content that undermines Israel's sovereignty and is compatible with Hamas ideology," Education Ministry says • "Schools that teach incitement will be closed," Education Minister Bennett says. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli army disperses protesters who crossed border from Lebanon - The protest was held in wake of reports that Israel installed surveillance devices near Lebanese border village. (Haaretz
  • High Court: The Talpiot terrorist's home to be demolished - The High Court of Justice approves the destruction of the home of Fadi Qunbar, the terrorist who carried out the ramming attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiot which killed four soldiers. (Ynet
  • Palestinians Take to the Streets as Local Boy Makes Good on 'Arab Idol' - Yaqoub Shaheen from Bethlehem beats Yemeni and Israeli Arab in final round of massively popular talent show. 'A national historic day for Palestine,' says viewer in Gaza. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Israeli Arab teen stabbed to death in latest violent incident in community - This is the second murder in Jisr al-Zarqa this year and the 11th in Israel's Arab community. (Haaretz
  • Local police chief who oversaw home demolitions built rooftop bar without permit - Structure was set up by a friend of the Border Police commander; police say permit was issued, but fee wasn't paid because of 'human error.' (Haaretz+) 
  • Iron Cage Around Holy Sepulchre’s Tomb of Jesus Removed After 70 Years - A massive renovation enabled the supporting gird, built by the British, to be dismantled. (Haaretz+) 
  • 600-percent Increase in Number of Arabs Jailed in Israel for ISIS or Al-Qaida Activity Since 2016 - 83 people detained in past year for jihadist activity, including both Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. (Haaretz+) 
  • Hezbollah village exhibition shows live footage of IDF soldiers - Antitank and antiaircraft missiles, observation equipment and weapons are all part of the 'Exhibition of Martyrdom and Victory' in the southern Lebanese village of Meiss Ej Jabal; held in a Shiite house of worship, the display has been visited by local villages, including on school trips. (Ynet
  • Minister: Israel developing terminator robots to kill Nasrallah and Hamas leaders - Ayoub Kara says ‘impossible to destroy’ androids will be able to assassinate heads of Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups. (Times of Israel, Israel Hayom and Maariv)
  • Noble Energy to invest $3.75B in developing Leviathan gas field - Development of Israel's largest offshore gas field includes four wells, gas handling platform, and pipeline • PM: This is a big day for the Israeli economy • Energy minister: This cements Israel's position as an important player in the energy market. (Israel Hayom
  • Egypt's top court upholds 10 death sentences over football violence - Ruling was made over a violent outbreak in 2012 when more than 70 fans were killed, many of whom were crushed or even thrown off terraces, when fan rivalry spilled over into complete chaos. (Agencies, Ynet
  • Iranian company nearly receives 15K IDF costumes - A mixup in a Chinese company between country codes 'IRS' for the Jewish state and 'IRN' for the Islamic Republic nearly resulted in an uncomfortable situation with Purim costumes. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Iran Plans to Buy 950 Tons of Uranium Ore From Kazakhstan, Expects Russian Help in Producing Nuclear Fuel - The acquisition would not violate Iran's landmark 2015 deal with world powers over its disputed nuclear program as the deal did not set limits on the Islamic Republic's supplies of uranium ore. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Muslim fundraising drive to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery tops $100K in under 48 hours - 'We hope to send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate, desecration, and violence in America,' the campaign's fundraising page states. (Haaretz+) 
  • Citing Small Town neo-Nazi Row, Montana Moves to Crack Down on Israel Boycotts - Bill allows Montana to stand in solidarity with Israel after neo-Nazis moved against Jews in Whitefish, Republican House speaker says, but others say state should stay out of global politics. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Mike Pence tells Republican Jewish Coalition: 'America stands with Israel' - The group of Republican donors and Jewish leaders was among the first to hear from the new vice president. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Report: Jewish Man's Finger Sawed Off, Brother Beaten in Attack in Paris Suburb - The alleged attackers reportedly forced the brothers off a main road, surrounded them and beat them repeatedly while threatening them with murder. (JTA, Haaretz


Features:
A Palestinian Was Standing Still at a Checkpoint. Why Did Israeli Troops Shoot Him Dead?
A video shows that Nidal Mahdawi, a mentally unstable Palestinian on his way to visit his wife and kids in Israel, could have been arrested without being shot. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+)
900 days a Hamas captive—and counting
Hamas apprehended Abera Mengistu more than 2 years ago after he crossed into the Gaza Strip; after years of fighting and dwindling concern and assistance by the government, his family has grown tired of fighting for his return.
(Danny Adeno Abebe, Yedioth/Ynet)
Officers: 10 Key Questions Police Must Answer Following Deadly Clashes in Bulldozed Bedouin Town (Yaniv Kubovich, Haaretz+) Events in Umm al-Hiran, when a police officer and local man died, likely to have damaging impact on police's work in the Arab community.
Illegal outpost rejects another illegal outpost's evacuees
Those who were removed from Amona three weeks ago still don't have a home. They'd like to move to Geulat Zion—another hilltop settlement that Israeli authorities continually have to dismember—but those who have already laid claim to it aren't having any of it. (Elisha Ben Kimon, Yedioth/Ynet)
New York's 'Silicon Alley' Gets an Israeli Makeover
The number of Israeli startups in Manhattan has increased fivefold since 2013. Who are the main players who think that if they can make it there, they'll make it anywhere. (Haim Handwerker, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
The One Politician Netanyahu Should Be Very Worried About (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Netanyahu would do well to take note of what’s happening in Habayit Hayehudi. Israel's opposition leader hopes for a comeback after details of secret peace summit emerge. According to Herzog, Netanyahu initially seemed ready to go a long way to advance a historic peace summit. Then two of his ministers entered the picture. 
The frustrations of politicians over shooting coming from Gaza could be focused toward the elimination of the new Hamas leader, Sanwar (Ran Edelist, Maariv) The elimination of the enemy is not something to be proud of. The state does not work from the gut, and revenge is not part of its laws. (So maybe we could be at peace with) ticking time bombs, but now the Shin Bet is talking about "ticking infrastructure" and soon we will have ticking children. The most problematic part of assassinations is results on the ground. In 2012, Ahmed Jabari, the commander of the Hamas military wing, was assassinated in what was the opening of Operation Pillar of Defensive. Recently Hamas elected a new leader, Yahya Sanwar. He too is not an ardent Zionist. I fear that all the frustrations of politicians over shooting coming from Gaza could be focused toward the elimination of the new Hamas leader, Sanwar, as an opening to a war in the spring, just as Minister Yoav Galant promised us, one of the planners of Jabari's assassination. Happy Passover to you all. 
No God, No Occupation (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) A straight line leads from the Jewish religion to the Jewish occupation. 
Force majeure: Justice Minister Shaked recorded a historic achievement, but the right-wing celebrations are over the top (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Minister of Justice won big, but the sun will rise tomorrow at the High Court. And, Netanyahu rejected the opportunity regional change….
Israeli forces look after their own, whether in Israel or the West Bank (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Conflicting accounts of what happened in a deadly Negev clash last month are just the tip of the iceberg of what has been known to take place among troops involved in confrontations with Palestinians. 
Mental blocs (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) The definition of what comprises the "large settlement blocs" has changed with the successive governments. But the blocs are only part of the issue, which is that Israel doesn't have sufficient land for a territorial exchange with the Palestinians. 
Too soon to say how conservative Israel's new high court bench will be (Sharon Pulwer, Haaretz+) Not everyone in Israel's legal community is certain about the court's future direction despite the latest appointments of justices backed by the far-right justice minister, Ayelet Shaked.
Veterans of the Lehi (pre-state Jewish militant organization) can’t believe it: How could the state, which sent Elor Azariya to fight, go to prison? (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) ‘What will be?’ asked the fighters of the liberation of Israel over the grave of "Yair" Stern, 75 years after his assassination, on the day the State of Israel sent to prison a soldier who killed a terrorist. Not for this did we pray. 
The bulldozers and the Bedouin (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The West Bank Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar received a temporary respite this week from seemingly inevitable demolitions.
Battle Between Brothers: Yair Lapid moves to combat against Bennett on the way the Prime Minister’s Residence (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The interview that Yesh Atid party chairman, MK Yair Lapid, gave to TV marked the next political battle that will accompany us in the next elections. The State Comptroller's report on Operation Protective Edge is supposed to be his security card in the battle.
Who really started the 1948 war and when (Uri Avnery, Haaretz+) Relatively few Arabs remained within Israel’s post-1948 borders, but the fact that no Jews remained in the territories conquered by the Arabs has been forgotten.
The main problem in establishing a Palestinian state: the undemocratic nature of the entity (Udi Segal, Maariv) Without borders, without settlements, without an economy and without water. The problem is that this is an entity that is flooded with incitement and has limited capacity for internal control. Therefore, Israel must insist that Palestine be democratic. 
Welcome to Israel (As Long as You Love Us) (Matan Rosenstrauch, Haaretz+) If you’re planning a visit to the Holy Land in the near future, don’t dare criticize the Israeli government or the settlements before you travel.
Double-edged apartheid claims (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The demographic threat is spoken of by those who accuse anyone who doesn't agree with them of "racism" • Those who hurl claims of apartheid should know that their false claim is a double-edged sword that harms the justification for Zionism as a whole. 
What will the second half of Eisenkot’s term as IDF chief look like? (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) With renewed power following the extension of his term, the chief of staff is leaving his illness behind and looking to the future. In his remaining two years in office, he will have to deal with the explosive reality in the West Bank during the Trump era, promote promising generals and prepare the IDF for the next decade. 
According to foreign reports: This is how Israel's secret operations have changed in nature (Alon Ben-David, Maariv) Israel learned its lesson from the assassination of Mabhouh, and it has become more dangerous. It’s only important to choose carefully the target for which it harnesses precious resources.
What Does Israel Have to Hide? (Haaretz Editorial) From a state that invited the world to come and marvel at its achievements, under Netanyahu Israel has become a state that is closed and closed off. 
Between the lines, between the tunnels (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Dealing with the Hamas tunnel threat should have been part of the IDF’s defense plan vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip. So how is it possible that, according to what has been quoted from the state comptroller’s report on Operation Protective Edge, the army was unprepared for it?

Israeli Opposition Leader's 10-point-plan for Peace Missing 11th Point (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Isaac Herzog's plan is an abomination. 
Netanyahu's Jaunt Down Under and Colonial Ties That Bind (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) If Israel was America, protesters would await Netanyahu at the airport holding signs with the letters BLM inscribed on them: Bedouin Lives Matter. 
This Also Happened in 1948 (Alon Confino, Haaretz+) We must strive to write a history of the Israeli War of Independence that does not seek to blame, to score points and to divide the world into the absolute victimizers and the absolute victims – then we may begin to move forward. 
A Silver Lining in Trump's Clouds (Avraham Burg, Haaretz+) What looks like an out-of-control pot of popcorn becomes logical when the political lens is replaced with a historical one. The president is the official liquidator of rapacious capitalism.
The Revolution That Never Happened (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked did not insist on appointing people who are capable of leading the campaign against judicial activism.
To the American Jewish Establishment: Being Neutral on Trump or Netanyahu Is Cowardice (Daniel May, Haaretz+) After pushing so hard for a values-based, 'unbreakable' U.S.-Israel bond, the Jewish community now faces the aftermath of its pyrrhic victory: two leaders overtly hostile to democratic norms. 
The Polish People Weren't Tacit Collaborators With Nazi Extermination of Jews (Grzegorz Berendt, Haaretz+) Polish leaders warned citizens against helping Nazi crimes, says Prof. Grzegorz Berendt, a historian at Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, in reply to Ofer Aderet's article about Poles who 'hunted' Jews during the Holocaust. 
Why Breaking the Silence? (Yuli Novak, Haaretz+) A place where breaking the silence is illegitimate - is not a democracy.
How Israel could benefit from Russia's control of the Assad alliance (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israel and Hezbollah are usually only two mistakes away from a war. But a potential mediator has come on the scene. 
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.
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