Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Lieberman: Foreign Ministry will remain in our hands and will not be given to Lapid
• Plant council affair: Netanyahu's lawyer appointed as advisor with monthly salary of $18,000
• Nemo snow storm paralyzed north-east of US: 6000 flights cancelled
• Police investigating arson at Beitar (Jerusalem soccer club) offices - Game against (Arab) Bnei Sakhneen team tonight at Teddy Stadium
• Because of severe shortage of dialysis equipment, they are beginning to do transplants in Gaza
• State compensated man with 95,000 shekels after 15 years of legal red tape
• Two injured in car explosion in Tel-Aviv; suspicion of assassination attempt by criminals
• External economist examination: train to Eilat will cause loss of billions of shekels (and derail economy)
• Lasagna from horsemeat: Crime gangs suspected of marketing the meat in Europe
• Vandalism at the museum: The masterpiece, 'Liberty Leading the People' was defaced

Yedioth Ahronoth

• They burned the club - Battle between extremist fans and Beitar Jerusalem soccer club's management over the hiring of two Muslim players at boiling point. Molotov cocktail destroyed the team's museum
• "Let's act together" - Fans and senior Beitar people from past and present sign petition: No to violence and racism
• Thousands of career soldiers to be laid off
• The first course // Alex Fishman
• The frozen apple - Nemo snowstorm hit the eastern coast of the US
• Rabbi Ovadia (Yosef): Lapid is a miscreant
• Suha: I'm sorry I ever married Yasser Arafat

Maariv

• Two weeks after elections: Coalition negotiations at dead end, Likud-Beiteinu trying to find breakthrough - Netanyahu to present new draft plan in order to mediate between Lapid and ultra-Orthodox
• (Deputy Foreign Minister Danny) Ayalon: Israel must recognize the Palestinian state as a UN member (Hebrew)
• Lieberman: It is impossible to find a solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, it must be managed (Hebrew)
• Following renewal of riots in Egypt, court ordered blocking YouTube
• Appointment of US Secretary of Defense delayed - Republicans demand investigating if Hagel received funds from 'Friends of Hamas' organization (Hebrew)
• US: Severe snow storm
• Police: "La Familia" (extremist group of Beitar Jerusalem soccer team fans) is a crime organization, Beitar chairman: "I fear for my life" - Friday: Beitar's offices arsoned, Tonight: hundreds of police to secure (Arab team) Saknin at Teddy Stadium (Hebrew)
• The Stone Age - Because of dispute between Treasury and Defense Ministry: Budgeting for protection of private vehicles stopped (Hebrew)

Israel Hayom

• Prime Minister to Lapid: You won't get the Foreign Ministry
• The club burned, tension at record height
• US: Era of the snow
• Assassination attempt in south Tel-Aviv
• Yesterday: Worsening of (singer) Shmulik Krauss' health situation
• For those who forgot: today is Family Day
• Horsemeat scandal in Europe - expands
• Washington Post: Israel will operate in Syria also in the future

News Summary:
Arson at Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, declarations that Avigdor Lieberman will be Israel's next foreign minister and the attempt by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to find an elusive compromise on the draft issue were today's top stories in Hebrew papers. Meanwhile, Lieberman claims the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be managed not solved and his former deputy says Israel must recognize Palestine as a state - and has a prediction about the US President's visit.

Tension will be high tonight at Teddy Stadium where Beitar Jerusalem soccer team will be hosting the Arab team, Bnei Sakhnin. Hundreds of police will be securing the game and protecting the Arab team arriving from a northern Arab village. Last Friday morning, Beitar club's offices were found torched in an arson attack, destroying the club's museum. The day before, a number of the extremist Beitar fans - part of the racist and violent 'La Familia' group - were indicted for incitement to racism - after sparking riots against the acquisition of two Chechnyan Muslim players. The police has promised to break-up 'La Familia,' which it calls a crime organization. The arson incident has brought many people from society together against the racism among the Beitar fans - some famous Beitar people past and present have signed a petition against the violence and racism. But one member of La Familia told Israel Hayom: "There will likely be more violent acts of protests in the near future if these Muslim players don't leave."
 
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will also be the foreign minister in the coming government - that is, until the end of the trial of former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman, who heads the Israel Beiteinu party, which is in a joint faction with Likud, told Channel 2's 'Meet the Press' he will be reinstated after he is found innocent of charges of fraud. If this is true, it means that Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid will not get the job - if he wanted it. 

Netanyahu and his party are in a conundrum trying to find an IDF draft plan that will be acceptable to both Lapid's Yesh Atid and to the ultra-Orthodox parties. Maariv reports that Netanyahu has prepared a new plan, which he will present. (NRG Hebrew)

The papers report that Tzipi Livni is close to signing on an agreement to enter the coalition government.  Despite their polar views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Lieberman welcomed her arrival, Haaretz reported. Lieberman also was quoted as saying that it was "Impossible to reach permanent peace deal with the Palestinians" and that Israel can only manage the conflict by seeking a long-term interim deal.

 **On Saturday, Lieberman received mixed reviews from outgoing Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Israel Hayom reported. Ayalon also revealed his view that Israel must recognize Palestine as a UN member state - as long as it agrees to the condition that Palestine recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Ayalon predicted that US President Barack Obama will hold a mini-summit with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - possibly in Jordan.
 

Quick Hits:

• Israeli forces remove new Palestinian tent village in West Bank - Dozens of Palestinians and activists attempt to set up tent village named Canaan near Hebron, the fifth in the West Bank in the past few weeks. (Haaretz, Ynet and Maan)
• Farmers blocked from Hebron land - Israeli forces prevented nearly 150 farmers and activists from reaching their lands in Susiya in the south Hebron hills on Saturday morning. Rabbis for Human Rights, which is helping represent Susiya in court, said over 1,000 letters of support for Susiya were sent to Israeli President Shimon Peres last week. (Maan)
• Army cutbacks? Thousands to retire, new positions added - New IDF program to see 4,000 career officers retiring, 1,000 new positions added to cyber, intelligence units. (Ynet)
• Surgeons at Gaza hospitals get training (from British surgeons) to perform organ transplants - Shortage of medicine, medical equipment in hospitals as Palestinian Health Ministry owes NIS 850 million in unpaid bills. (Haaretz)
• Palestinian Minister: If a hunger striker dies, UN will lose credibility - Palestinian Authority Minster of Prisoners warned Saturday against the death of any of the three Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Samer Issawi, from East Jerusalem, last week stopped drinking water after refusing food for 190 days. (Maan)
• Sources close to Israel's Education Minister say rivals trying to damage him with fake letter - In a letter sent to Likud members, Gideon Sa'ar is accused of inappropriate behavior toward a female employee; letter is signed with employee's initials, but she denies writing it. (Haaretz)
• 'Gatekeepers' wins peace prize in Berlin - Israeli Oscar-nominated documentary, which presents conversations with six Shin Bet chiefs, honored by Cinema for Peace Foundation as part of Berlin International Film Festival. (Ynet)
• Clashes erupt after settlers visit Nablus tomb - Ten buses of Israeli settlers visited Joseph's Tomb in Nablus after mid-night accompanied by Israeli soldiers, locals said Thursday. Many Israeli soldiers accompanied them and deployed in the area. Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians, and soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades. (Maan)
• Suha Arafat: I tried divorcing Arafat 100 times - Former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's wife of 14 years, calls marriage to him 'big mistake' explaining she attempted leaving time and again but he prevented her from doing so. (Yedioth p. 1, Ynet)
• Habayit Hayehudi: Deri wants us out of the coalition - Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef calls Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid a "yeshiva-hating miscreant," but national-religious Rabbi Haim Druckman is trying to bring Yesh Atid and Shas closer together to ensure Shas' place in the coalition. (Israel Hayom)
• Egyptian protesters clash with police after days of calm - Protesters throw stones, homemade bombs at main gate of presidential palace in Cairo gathered; chant 'we want to overthrow the regime'; additional anti-Morsi demonstrations held across country; at least 45 injured across country. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Egypt court suspends YouTube over anti-Islam video - Court orders to block Google's video service for 30 days for carrying a trailer for the movie "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked deadly riots across the Muslim world. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Cyprus upgrades Palestinian diplomatic mission to embassy status - Cyprus supported the Palestinians' successful bid last year in the United Nations General Assembly to elevate their status from UN observer to nonmember observer state. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Iran denies involvement in Burgas bus bombing that killed five Israelis - Bulgaria has accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of carrying out the July attack at Burgas airport; Iran's Bulgaria envoy: This has nothing to do with Iran, we are against any form of terrorism. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Argentine president defends accord with Iran over 1994 bombing - Refuting criticism from Israel and the Jewish world over pact with Iran to set up 'truth commission,' Argentina says it wants to avoid 'pain of victims' families.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Iran's English-language TV channel dropped in North America - U.S. Treasury announces new sanctions that blacklist the Islamic Republic's state-owned 24-hour Press TV news channel. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• IDF spokesman posts cartoon of Nasrallah seeking terror target - Brig.-Gen. Mordechai posts cartoon on Facebook page, says Hezbollah leader 'not sitting in bunker counting prayer beads.' (Ynet)
• Tel Aviv peace rally planned to welcome Obama to Israel - Joint Camp movement hopes U.S. President will take part in a mass event in Rabin Square; organizers also plan to invite President Shimon Peres. (Haaretz)
• Syria debate on Hezbollah TV turns soggy - Political debate between pro, anti-Assad regime figures on Al-Manar show nearly turns violent. (Ynet)
• Assad regime calls for dialogue with Syrian opposition, for first time since conflict began - For first time since 22-month conflict began, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad says it is willing to negotiate with the Syrian National Council, so long as talks are approached without preconditions and that arms are put down. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• UN: 5,000 fleeing Syria daily - UNHRC sees disconcerting increase in number of people fleeing Assad's atrocities; say number of displaced Syrians rapidly approaching 800,000. (Agencies, Ynet)

Features:

A woman at the helm: Layla Ibrahim Musa embarks on a journey of survival
Filmmaker Anat Zuria's newest effort, 'The Lesson,' examines the story of an Egyptian-born Muslim woman whose life story is so dramatic that it's hard to believe reality concocted such a plot. (Haaretz)
The conspiracy theory of religious Zionism's takeover of the IDF
Long before the current election's draft dodging controversy, Dr. Reuven Gal, former chief psychologist of the IDF and the deputy head of the National Security Agency, ran a project called: "Religion, Politics and the Military in Israel." The result was a 626-page book titled "Between the Skullcap and the Army Beret," which will certainly cause an uproar here. (Israel Hayom)
How Bruce-Lee Eid lost his Israeli residency
The residents of Burin and neighboring villages set up a camp to protest frequent settler attacks. The IDF quickly arrived to 'educate' them.
(By Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz)
What exactly is this thing the Jews call 'Arab Mentality'?
Do Arabs live near their parents because of culture, or because that is what is convenient for Israelis? (Satire by Sayed Kashua, Haaretz)
 
Commentary/Analysis:

National struggle on the soccer pitch (Haaretz Editorial) Law enforcement and the courts must convey the clear message that sports stadia and pitches are not outside the law. Such a message will be conveyed only if significant indictments are filed and harsher penalties imposed as a rule.
It's the settlers - not the ultra-Orthodox - that threaten Israel most (Gideon Levy, Haaretz) We should ask: how is it that the tribe of the ultra-Orthodox is ostracized, while the tribe of the settlers is glorified? Could it be that we lord it over the weak?
Time waits for no man (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Likud-Beytenu and Yesh Atid should reach a binding agreement on drafting the ultra-Orthodox before inviting other parties to join the coalition.
The people in Israel who never make threats (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef wrote to President Shimon Peres, raising the fear of a civil war if everyone in society must share the burden.
Include Arab party in coalition (Naftali Rothenberg, Ynet) Jewish state's strength measured in part by its ability to protect minorities' rights.
No to three states in Israel (Aner Shalev, Haaretz) Budgets and services from the settler and ultra-Orthodox states, including cheap construction and low-cost housing, must be duplicated in the State of Israel. This is also the way to improve our standing in the world.
Age of innocence over (Alon Pinkas, Yedioth/Ynet) Obama's visit to region will bolster US-Israel ties, but it will not reignite peace process.
What's wrong with Israel's political system? (Moshe Arens, Haaretz) What is needed is a good dose of leadership plus party loyalty by party leaders, whether they win or lose internal elections.
Under the shadow of Obama's visit (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Netanyahu trusts the haredim, but he doesn't trust Lapid. He'll invite Bennett into the coalition as a last resort and he won't have to pay much for Livni. Yachimovich is on the fence, Mofaz forgot the election results and everyone is waiting for Obama.
Netanyahu's coalition-building efforts are guided by suspicion and skepticism (Yossi Verter, Haaretz) Benjamin Netanyahu is trying, so far without success, to find a coalition recipe that will allow him to mix most of the Knesset ingredients into a stew fit for human consumption.
The importance of the Eisenhower debate (Dore Gold, Israel Hayom) Eisenhower actually came to regret the tough line he took against Israel in 1956.
By ignoring international law, Israel is only hurting itself (Ruth Gavison, Haaretz) Conceding part of our homeland and recognizing another nation does not relinquish our strong historic ties. But only by doing so can Israel demand support at home and abroad for the realization of its own dreams. 
Will Brooklyn College now co-sponsor an anti-BDS event? (Alan M. Dershowitz, Haaretz) Mayor Bloomberg and the New York Times willfully distorted the opposition to Brooklyn College's BDS event. It was not about academic freedom: It was a principled objection to departmental sponsorship of BDS' hate speech - one whose goal is blacklisting all Israeli, Jewish institutions and ultimately the end of Israel's right to exist.
Iran and the plagues of Egypt (Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Ahead of Ahmadinejad's visit to Cairo the Ayatollah regime put on a show: "stealth" jets, space monkeys, new missiles and more centrifuges. None of it helped sway Sunni Egypt to abandon its Gulf State allies, or relieve pressure on Iran's Syrian ally.
O to have been born a Jew (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz) If the decision to grant ranches to Jews only is derived from the definition of the state, then this is a racist state and please do not involve Judaism in the definition, because it only besmirches it.
President Obama's tactical visit to Israel (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) None of Obama's Middle East goals were achieved, highlighting the increasingly violent and unpredictable anti-U.S. Islamic Street.
The war on war crimes (Haaretz Editorial) The Turkel Committee wanted what is best for Israel and the IDF. Now we must demand that the government and army not engage in foot-dragging or try to sweep the report's important conclusions under the carpet, but instead implement them promptly, exactly as written.
Has the right wing lost the magic touch? (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz) After years of political hocus-pocus, Shas party leader Aryeh Deri and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can't seem to find the rabbit in the hat.

Interviews: 

The coming ultra-Orthodox mutiny
Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who also serves as deputy prime minister and who occupies the top slot on the Shas Party list, doesn't mince words. If there is forced conscription of the ultra-Orthodox, Yishai vows, there will be chaos. (Interviewed by Yehuda Shlezinger in Israel Hayom)

 

Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.