APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday January 6, 2016
Quote of the day:
"We're cousins. We need to forget this nonsense about Arabs and Jews. We are all human beings, no
matter what your religion is, we are one people. We give you a hand, you help us and we help
you."
--Mazen Qaq, an Arab Israeli, who has offered 40,000 shekels to anyone who provides information that could lead to the capture of suspected Tel Aviv shooter Nashat Melhem.**
--Mazen Qaq, an Arab Israeli, who has offered 40,000 shekels to anyone who provides information that could lead to the capture of suspected Tel Aviv shooter Nashat Melhem.**
You Must Be Kidding:
"We told the officers that we are people, not numbers. We have no problem with a security check, but not in this manner."
--Hebron residents outraged after IDF assigns numbers to Palestinians who live near Jewish settlement enclave in Hebron.***
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Yaalon approved new settlement that will expand Gush Etzion bloc south
- The General Custodian sold four plots in Silwan to right-wing NGO for less than a million shekel and without a tender
- Father of murderer from Tel-Aviv suspected of aiding him;
- Police Commissioner: The tension can drop in Gush Dan (Tel-Aviv area)
- Two Arab Israelis were taken off a plane at demand of Jewish passengers
- Obama cried over his failure in the battle against weapons
- IDF officer killed in training exercise in Tze’elim
- Mayor of Ashkelon Itamar Shimoni arrested on suspicion of rape and receiving bribes
- (Rabbi) Pinto’s appeal was rejected by High Court: Will be sent to year prison
- Under ultra-Orthodox pressure, construction project in Jerusalem delayed because of graves
- Adjusting Israel’s TV to the right // Haaretz Editorial
- The Israeli architect who pissed off Donald Trump
- Wasted money // Moti Bassok
- The father planned the oven to burn Eichman, the son made an exhibit of it
Yedioth Ahronoth
- (IDF officer Yishai Rusales) Immigrated from Mexico, killed in Tzeelim
- The telephone call between the terrorist and his father
- Ashkelon: Mayor under arrest – suspicion: Rape, bribery and “hush money”
- Questionable honor – Expose: Yedioth created a fictitious oligarch, who offered to donate millions to Bar-Ilan University, the Biblical Zoo and Tel-Aviv Museum, and exposed what they were willing to do for him
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- (IDF officer) Immigrated from Mexico, killed in Tzeelim
- “Father of terrorist spoke with him after attack at Dizengoff”
- Suspicion: Mayor of Ashkelon silenced with bribe money an employee he raped
- Storm in Germany: 1,000 Muslims sexually attacked dozens of women at a train station
When Obama cried
Israel Hayom
Israel Hayom
- Suspect family – Police Commissioner Alsheikh in calming message: “The tension can be lowered in Gush Dan”
- Another disaster in Tzeelim: Officer killed
- Starting today: Yossi Cohen is Mossad chief
- Suspect: Ashkelon Mayor raped, harassed – and paid hush money
- High Court rejected Rabbi Pinto’s appeal; Goes to jail next month
- Approved: New Druze town to be established in Lower Galilee
- Germany: Dozens of women sexually attacked on New Year’s Eve; Suspects: Migrants from north Africa
News Summary:
The father of the Tel-Aviv shooting suspect was arrested, an Israeli officer was killed in a training exercise and the mayor of Ashkelon was arrested on suspicion of rape and bribery making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. In the wave of violence, an 18-year-old Palestinian from Sair, near Hebron, was shot dead after stabbing and lightly wounding an Israeli soldier at Gush Etzion junction. Palestinian shot dead after Israeli soldier stabbed at Gush Etzion. His body was returned within hours, a sign of a change of Israeli policy.
The Israeli police still have no clue as to the whereabouts of Nashat Melhem, who murdered two Jews and likely an Arab in Tel-Aviv on Friday, and have arrested his father, Mohammed, and other relatives. Mohammed reported his son to the police when he found his gun was missing on the day of the attack and called on Nashat to turn himself in. Mohammed Melhem’s lawyer told Channel 10 News that Mohammed spoke with his son after he discovered his weapon was missing and Nashat told him that he was in the Tel Hashomer Hospital visiting a relative there. The lawyer said the Shin Bet knew about the call. In what Maariv called “another blow to police," a Haifa judge ordered the release of Melhem’s brother, Jawdat, and would only extend the remand for Melhem’s father and uncle for two days, not the 12 days the police had requested. A security official criticized the police, telling Maariv that "the craze to make arrests of whomever is easy to arrest and the release of some of them by the court does not improve the image of the police and does not increase the information of the investigation. Therefore, they need to base (the investigation) on the field of intelligence and deep field work, and lie in wait for any mistake on the part of the terrorist.” A relative of Melhem seemed to imply that the arrest of relatives might be to put pressure on the son, but said, “Nashat won’t care about seeing any of his relatives under arrest...He is an insane person. I ask the Shin Bet and police to leave the family alone and search for Nashat. We are also urging him to turn himself in." Israel’s Police Chief Roni Alsheikh (finally) made a public statement about the manhunt and urged Tel Aviv residents to calm down, which the media thought might hint that the police were onto something.
Meanwhile, an Arab-Israeli offered money for information that would help catch Melhem. “We need to forget this nonsense about Arabs and Jews, we want to live in peace,” said Mazen Qaq. “I won’t allow someone like him to destroy trust and security.”
The father of the Tel-Aviv shooting suspect was arrested, an Israeli officer was killed in a training exercise and the mayor of Ashkelon was arrested on suspicion of rape and bribery making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. In the wave of violence, an 18-year-old Palestinian from Sair, near Hebron, was shot dead after stabbing and lightly wounding an Israeli soldier at Gush Etzion junction. Palestinian shot dead after Israeli soldier stabbed at Gush Etzion. His body was returned within hours, a sign of a change of Israeli policy.
The Israeli police still have no clue as to the whereabouts of Nashat Melhem, who murdered two Jews and likely an Arab in Tel-Aviv on Friday, and have arrested his father, Mohammed, and other relatives. Mohammed reported his son to the police when he found his gun was missing on the day of the attack and called on Nashat to turn himself in. Mohammed Melhem’s lawyer told Channel 10 News that Mohammed spoke with his son after he discovered his weapon was missing and Nashat told him that he was in the Tel Hashomer Hospital visiting a relative there. The lawyer said the Shin Bet knew about the call. In what Maariv called “another blow to police," a Haifa judge ordered the release of Melhem’s brother, Jawdat, and would only extend the remand for Melhem’s father and uncle for two days, not the 12 days the police had requested. A security official criticized the police, telling Maariv that "the craze to make arrests of whomever is easy to arrest and the release of some of them by the court does not improve the image of the police and does not increase the information of the investigation. Therefore, they need to base (the investigation) on the field of intelligence and deep field work, and lie in wait for any mistake on the part of the terrorist.” A relative of Melhem seemed to imply that the arrest of relatives might be to put pressure on the son, but said, “Nashat won’t care about seeing any of his relatives under arrest...He is an insane person. I ask the Shin Bet and police to leave the family alone and search for Nashat. We are also urging him to turn himself in." Israel’s Police Chief Roni Alsheikh (finally) made a public statement about the manhunt and urged Tel Aviv residents to calm down, which the media thought might hint that the police were onto something.
Meanwhile, an Arab-Israeli offered money for information that would help catch Melhem. “We need to forget this nonsense about Arabs and Jews, we want to live in peace,” said Mazen Qaq. “I won’t allow someone like him to destroy trust and security.”
Quick Hits:
- Israeli defense minister OKs addition of West Bank church compound to settlement bloc - The property at Gush Etzion was purchased by U.S. businessman Irving Moskowitz, a high-profile supporter of the settlements. (Haaretz+)
- Hezbollah releases photos from Lebanon border attack - In effort to glorify attack, Lebanese media reports at length how militants managed to cross electronic border fence into Israel without being detected. (Ynet and Maariv)
- Israeli military: Israel-Hezbollah tension after Samir Kuntar hit appears over - Defense establishment believes that despite failed Har Dov attack, Hezbollah seems to be willing to mark incident as a success - allowing it to return to its main issues: keeping its standing in Lebanon and aiding Assad. (Haaretz+)
- Senior IDF officer to Saudi website: I recommend Hezbollah not to do anything stupid - In a rare interview with a Saudi website (‘Elaf’), a senior IDF Strategic Division officer said: "We told Russia that we are opposed to turning Syria into Iranian military outposts." (Maariv)
- Israeli soldier who leaked info to right-wing activists sentenced to nearly four years in prison - Elad Ya'akov Sela of Bat Ayin settlement was accused of passing police, Shin Bet secrets to right-wing activists suspected of violence against Palestinians. His sentence was result of plea bargain. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Jewish Extremist Suspected of Jerusalem Arson Released After Five Months - Mordechai Meyer, 18, of the West Bank settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim, was put under administrative detention in August but never formally charged. (Haaretz+)
- Police Data Indicate Sharp Decrease in Price Tag’ Violence - About a third of the cases opened in past years were closed because police were unable to figure out who the perpetrator was. (Haaretz+)
- Israel Police: Suspect provides telling info during Duma murder reenactment -Amiram Ben-Uliel willingly revealed details about Molotov cocktail, Dawabsheh home that only perpetrator could know, police say. (Haaretz+)
- IDF to distribute neck vests to combat soldiers against stabbing attack injuries - The wave of terror has led the IDF to a possible solution for protecting the upper body of combat soldiers: a special protection piece that attaches to the bullet proof ceramic vests and protects the neck and throat. (Maariv)
- How Israel Helps Right-wing Settler Group Move Jews Into East Jerusalem’s Silwan - Over the years, a government department has stood shoulder to shoulder with Ateret Cohanim in its struggles against Palestinian families who sought to remain in their homes. (Haaretz+)
- IDF demolishes homes of two terrorists in Jabel Mukaber - Israel seals off home of Alaa Abu Jamal, who murdered Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky in attack on Malkhei Yisrael Street, and destroys home of Baha Aliyan, who along with a second terrorist murdered three in East Talpiot attack. (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- IDF assignation of numbers to Palestinians sparks outcry - ID cards of local residents in Hebron marked with special numbers to streamline security check process, but outcry and Palestinian plan for protest leads to cancellation of plan. (Ynet and Maariv)
- Reports of PA 'collapse' spur call by MK Livni to convene Knesset committee - Haaretz article provokes letter by Tzipi Livni, urging foreign affairs committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi to set up discussion on preparations for and ramifications of such a scenario. (Haaretz+)
- PA says Netanyahu 'plotting' against it after he warns of its collapse - PA foreign ministry said Netanyahu’s comments were attempt to "mislead" the international community, and part of an ongoing "campaign of lies and incitement…” The ministry condemned Netanyahu's government for weakening the PA while simultaneously "shed(ding) crocodile tears and claim(ing) they are concerned about the PA and its continuity." (Maan)
- Israel releases veteran hunger striker Khader Adnan -Adnan was detained at around 3 p.m. while driving through a checkpoint east of Ramallah. He does not know where he was taken, but believed it may have been the Ofer military prison west of Ramallah. He was later released in Nablus at around 8 p.m. The reason for his detention was unclear. (Maan)
- Dayan vows not to give up on Brazil ambassadorship - Despite Brazil's reluctance to accept his posting, Dani Dayan says he has no plans to withdraw, and has full support of PM and deputy foreign minister • Dayan tweets that 13 MKs from Joint Arab List "and then Tzipi Livni" worked against his appointment. (Israel Hayom)
- Foreign Ministry: Dayan will likely not be ambassador to Brazil - The settler leader's appointment is strenuously opposed by Brazil, but ministry officials intend to exhaust all options before giving up. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Group seeks to counter religious 'coercion' in Israeli public schools - Parents, teachers and principals meet to discuss ways to combat what they see as the religious Zionist movement’s hostile takeover of the nonreligious state schools. (Haaretz+)
- MK Zohar to a muezzin: "Be loyal to the state and lower the volume of the mosques" - A Muezzin from Tel Sheva and Likud MK Mickey Zohar clashed on a FM103 radio program over the Prime Minister's intention to limit the volume of the call to prayer in mosques. Muezzin: "Thank God I do not live in the State of Netanyahu, Smotrich, Shaked and Ben-Gvir." (Maariv)
- Ayelet Shaked defends her Transparency Bill in U.S. Jewish media - In a JTA op-ed, Shaked writes that the bill seeks to protect Israel and maintain its autonomy in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. (Haaretz)
- Kahlon: Kulanu can live with new NGO funding bill - In Knesset briefing, finance minister also denies contacts with Gideon Sa'ar, rejects idea of joint list with Likud, praises plan to allocate funds to Arab community. (Haaretz)
- The search for a Palestinian suspect in Herzliya ended - The suspect, Ahmad Khatib, 20, from Sur Baher, near Jerusalem, has a criminal record. According to police, he had a fight with his father and then threatened to commit an attack. He left his house early Tuesday morning and his family called authorities and said they feared he would make an attack. He was caught later that day. (Ynet, Haaretz+ and Maariv)
- Family buries son after 88 days in Israeli morgue - Muhammad Saed Ali’s mother: "I hugged my son after he was held three months in the Israeli morgue. I hugged him, talked to him, warmed him, and forgave him." Thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral of the 19-year-old from E. Jerusalem, who was shot dead when he stabbed two Israeli soldiers. (Maan)
- Hundreds attend funeral of 2 Palestinians after Israel returns bodies - Israel held the bodies of Badran Imraiesh, 16, and Ahmad Hamada al-Qunaibi, 23, from the West Bank village of Kafr Aqab since October. The families each paid a deposit of 5,000 shekels to the Israeli authorities to be returned if they met Israel's stipulations for the funeral. (Maan)
- Israel returns body of Palestinian hours after he was shot dead - The quick return of 18-year-old Ahmad Younis Kawazba’s body is a change of policy by the Israeli authorities, who have since the beginning of October held the bodies of alleged Palestinian attackers for long periods of time. (Maan)
- Yisrael Beytenu head receives death threats on Facebook - "You are our target. Your murder is close," says a menacing post on Avigdor Lieberman's Facebook page • Knesset Guard commander files police complaint • Lieberman already has a permanent security detail, which for now will not be increased. (Israel Hayom)
- Views on torture split along ethnic lines, Israeli poll finds - Attitudes toward torture in Israel differ significantly among Jews and Arabs. Poll also finds conciliatory views about the legitimacy of the ‘other’ and their claims to the land. (+972mag)
- Israel Tourism in 2015: Foreigners Flee, Israelis Fly - Incoming tourism fell for a second year in a row amid security concerns, but Israelis took vacations abroad in record numbers as airfares fell. (Haaretz+)
- New Druze town approved - Israel's National Council for Building and Planning approves the establishment of a new Druze town that will initially comprise 400 apartments in the Naftaly Estate area, near Tiberias. It will be, according to the prime minister, the first new Druze town to be built since the founding of the state. (Ynet)
- Israeli forces confiscate road construction material in Hebron - The agricultural road was being built in cooperation with the international aid group Action Against Hunger. Last month, the The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah demanded that all of Israel’s demolitions in Area C be halted, and that confiscated humanitarian materials -- including shelter for both residents and livestock -- be returned. (Maan)
- Israeli Arabs removed from flight at demand of Jewish passengers - The Israeli Arabs constituted a security risk, said Jewish passengers, who prevented the flight from taking off by standing in the aisles. (Haaretz)
- Several Israeli high schools defy controversial book ban - At least 11 high school classes hold lively discussions on 'Borderlife,' the disqualified book telling of Israeli-Palestinian romance. (Haaretz+)
- Chinese man arrives in Israel by boat - without meaning to - Chinese national sets out from Greece and is blown off course by the strong winds, finding himself on a beach in Israel without knowing how he got there. (Ynet)
- WATCH: ISIS' new 'Jihadi John' once sold bouncy castles for children's parties - The masked militant in an Islamic State video showing the killing of five men accused by the group of being Western spies is believed to be a Londoner known as Sid who once sold 'bouncy castles' for children's parties. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
One of the world's most mysterious organizations gets a new boss
Wednesday will be Tamir Pardo's last day as head of the Mossad. How was Israel's secret service run under Pardo, who succeeded the famed but controversial Meir Dagan? Who is Yossi Cohen, the national security advisor and one of PM Netanyahu's closest associates, who will replace him, and what revolution did he bring to the organization when he was in charge of recruiting and operating its agents around the world? Ronen Bergman offers a peek into the secret world of Israeli spies. (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet)
The children who won't let us forget the occupation
A six-year-old Palestinian girl was run over on a main road while begging for change in northern Israel. She is one of many Palestinians sent over from the West Bank, where both poverty and despair is only growing. (Yasmine Halevi, +972mag)
Haaretz Q&A: Duma Attack and Jewish Terrorists
Readers put their questions to our correspondent: Will suspects be found guilty? Will Israel compensate the Dawabsheh family? How do these extremists compare to the Jewish underground? Did the key suspect really act alone? What rights does the dual Israeli-American citizen have? And others. (Chaim Levinson, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
Wednesday will be Tamir Pardo's last day as head of the Mossad. How was Israel's secret service run under Pardo, who succeeded the famed but controversial Meir Dagan? Who is Yossi Cohen, the national security advisor and one of PM Netanyahu's closest associates, who will replace him, and what revolution did he bring to the organization when he was in charge of recruiting and operating its agents around the world? Ronen Bergman offers a peek into the secret world of Israeli spies. (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet)
The children who won't let us forget the occupation
A six-year-old Palestinian girl was run over on a main road while begging for change in northern Israel. She is one of many Palestinians sent over from the West Bank, where both poverty and despair is only growing. (Yasmine Halevi, +972mag)
Haaretz Q&A: Duma Attack and Jewish Terrorists
Readers put their questions to our correspondent: Will suspects be found guilty? Will Israel compensate the Dawabsheh family? How do these extremists compare to the Jewish underground? Did the key suspect really act alone? What rights does the dual Israeli-American citizen have? And others. (Chaim Levinson, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
Why is the Israeli reaction to Tel Aviv terror so atypical? (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Attacks in Tel Aviv and its immediate environs affect Israelis, including those
who live elsewhere but look to the city for a haven, in a different way.
The prime minister's empty commitments (Amnon Abramovich, Yedioth/Ynet) Last week, Netanyahu allotted a future budget to strengthen Israel's Arab sector; on Monday, he said the budget would only be received under good behavior. If behavioral tests were a condition for receiving budgets, quite a few sectors would not see a single shekel.
You Can't Say the Jew's a Wild Weed While the Arab Is a Terrorist (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The religious Zionists will remain a state within two states, Israel and Palestine, in which Israeli law isn’t always enforced.
Rationality test: Is it possible to deter terrorists? (Prof. Boaz Ganor, Maariv) Establishing a system of deterrence that is relevant and effective in preventing terrorist attacks should take into account the question of what would cause the threat: Will it bring the abandonment of the intention to carry out attacks, or merely sharpen the sense of inferiority and humiliation of the organization?
Adjusting Israel's TV to the Right (Haaretz Editorial) Removing Channel 33 from the broadcast lineup of Idan Plus in favor of Channel 20 symbolizes a worsening of the government’s treatment of its Arab citizens, who are now totally excluded from its official broadcast lineup.
Who receives more foreign funds: The Left or the Occupation? (Dror Etkes, +972mag) The Israeli government is up in arms about the foreign funds propping up human rights organizations. Guess what else foreign cash props up: the occupation.
Investigation Into West Bank Arson Murders Showcased a Weak Legal System (Chaim Levinson, Haaretz+) Uttering the magic words 'national security' is enough to get all judicial values and human rights thrown into the trash can.
Culture of torture: For 28 years, the Shin Bet has been using the same methods (Yossi Melman, Maariv) At the orders of the judiciary, the Shin Bet has made a long way since the days of torture and lies, and claims by the Duma murder suspects' lawyers that testimony was given by illegitimate means are merely preparatory defensive line which they will take in court.
Two sides of the same coin (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Tel Aviv and Duma murder suspects are not errant weeds, mentally Ill, lone wolf terrorists or confused young people. They are filthy fingers which should be cut off by Shin Bet, while ground they developed on should be handled like a spreading epidemic by both Jewish and Arab societies.
Israel's Once-temporary Occupation Is Now Permanent (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Oslo Accords allow Israel to evade its responsibility for the Palestinian population and pretend to be the side that's being attacked.
Israel must act wisely (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Was Monday's Hezbollah attack enough revenge for the Samir Kuntar killing, or is there more to come?
Joining Forces to Campaign Against the Occupation Is No Danger for the Jewish Community (Henry Rosen and Max Fineman, Haaretz+) David Bernstein is right – in the spirit of intersectionality, more activist groups are embracing BDS in solidarity with the fight for Palestinian liberation. But the Jewish community can't – and shouldn't – isolate itself from them.
The real danger (Dr. Ephraim Herrera, Israel Hayom) The hidden danger for Europe is less the terrorist attacks and more the Muslim Brotherhood plan to take over the continent.
Saudi-Iranian crisis: An ongoing cold war (Soli Shahvar, Yedioth/Ynet) Why has Saudi Arabia's leadership decided to aggravate its conflict with Tehran and how will heightened tensions affect fighting in Syria and Yemen?
Iran-Saudi clash turns regional (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Diplomats want to shoot this conflict with a tranquilizer dart, because it is entirely uncertain that a cure exists.
What we know on U.S.-Israel eavesdropping and who gets to say 'told you so' (Ron Kampeas, JTA, Haaretz) Reports that the NSA was listening in on Netanyahu's conversations created big waves, but what really happened and how significant is the seeming breach of trust?
How to foil a human rights probe: Keep the investigator out (Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, +972mag) Makarim Wibisono resigns as UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territories — because Israel never allowed him to visit Palestine.
President Trump's America? Think: Netanyahu's Israel on Bad Steroids (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) So successful has Trump been in adopting Netanyahu's anti-migrant, anti-minority, scrape-the-sewer model, that some Trump admirers argue that it's now Netanyahu who's aping Trump.
The prime minister's empty commitments (Amnon Abramovich, Yedioth/Ynet) Last week, Netanyahu allotted a future budget to strengthen Israel's Arab sector; on Monday, he said the budget would only be received under good behavior. If behavioral tests were a condition for receiving budgets, quite a few sectors would not see a single shekel.
You Can't Say the Jew's a Wild Weed While the Arab Is a Terrorist (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The religious Zionists will remain a state within two states, Israel and Palestine, in which Israeli law isn’t always enforced.
Rationality test: Is it possible to deter terrorists? (Prof. Boaz Ganor, Maariv) Establishing a system of deterrence that is relevant and effective in preventing terrorist attacks should take into account the question of what would cause the threat: Will it bring the abandonment of the intention to carry out attacks, or merely sharpen the sense of inferiority and humiliation of the organization?
Adjusting Israel's TV to the Right (Haaretz Editorial) Removing Channel 33 from the broadcast lineup of Idan Plus in favor of Channel 20 symbolizes a worsening of the government’s treatment of its Arab citizens, who are now totally excluded from its official broadcast lineup.
Who receives more foreign funds: The Left or the Occupation? (Dror Etkes, +972mag) The Israeli government is up in arms about the foreign funds propping up human rights organizations. Guess what else foreign cash props up: the occupation.
Investigation Into West Bank Arson Murders Showcased a Weak Legal System (Chaim Levinson, Haaretz+) Uttering the magic words 'national security' is enough to get all judicial values and human rights thrown into the trash can.
Culture of torture: For 28 years, the Shin Bet has been using the same methods (Yossi Melman, Maariv) At the orders of the judiciary, the Shin Bet has made a long way since the days of torture and lies, and claims by the Duma murder suspects' lawyers that testimony was given by illegitimate means are merely preparatory defensive line which they will take in court.
Two sides of the same coin (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Tel Aviv and Duma murder suspects are not errant weeds, mentally Ill, lone wolf terrorists or confused young people. They are filthy fingers which should be cut off by Shin Bet, while ground they developed on should be handled like a spreading epidemic by both Jewish and Arab societies.
Israel's Once-temporary Occupation Is Now Permanent (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Oslo Accords allow Israel to evade its responsibility for the Palestinian population and pretend to be the side that's being attacked.
Israel must act wisely (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Was Monday's Hezbollah attack enough revenge for the Samir Kuntar killing, or is there more to come?
Joining Forces to Campaign Against the Occupation Is No Danger for the Jewish Community (Henry Rosen and Max Fineman, Haaretz+) David Bernstein is right – in the spirit of intersectionality, more activist groups are embracing BDS in solidarity with the fight for Palestinian liberation. But the Jewish community can't – and shouldn't – isolate itself from them.
The real danger (Dr. Ephraim Herrera, Israel Hayom) The hidden danger for Europe is less the terrorist attacks and more the Muslim Brotherhood plan to take over the continent.
Saudi-Iranian crisis: An ongoing cold war (Soli Shahvar, Yedioth/Ynet) Why has Saudi Arabia's leadership decided to aggravate its conflict with Tehran and how will heightened tensions affect fighting in Syria and Yemen?
Iran-Saudi clash turns regional (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Diplomats want to shoot this conflict with a tranquilizer dart, because it is entirely uncertain that a cure exists.
What we know on U.S.-Israel eavesdropping and who gets to say 'told you so' (Ron Kampeas, JTA, Haaretz) Reports that the NSA was listening in on Netanyahu's conversations created big waves, but what really happened and how significant is the seeming breach of trust?
How to foil a human rights probe: Keep the investigator out (Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, +972mag) Makarim Wibisono resigns as UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territories — because Israel never allowed him to visit Palestine.
President Trump's America? Think: Netanyahu's Israel on Bad Steroids (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) So successful has Trump been in adopting Netanyahu's anti-migrant, anti-minority, scrape-the-sewer model, that some Trump admirers argue that it's now Netanyahu who's aping Trump.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.