APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday August 10, 2016
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
Quote of the day:
"[The Strategic Affairs Ministry] is confusing Israel's right to exist with rejection of its right to occupy
territories that don't belong to it. She's confusing the reasons that turned Israel into a 'pariah state' with
the symptoms of a serious disease."
- Haaretz writer, Zvi Bar'el, in response to the Strategic Affairs Ministry's goal
to reverse the world's perception of Israel as a pariah state by 2025
to reverse the world's perception of Israel as a pariah state by 2025
Front Page:
Haaretz
- What the Putin-Erdogan Summit means for the Middle East, Europe, and Israel
- US warns it will respond harshly if Israel demolishes Palestinian village of Sussia
- Netanyahu's son expected to be questioned over illegal funding allegations
- Israel admits it erred in using private Palestinian land for settlement homes
Israel Hayom
- Israeli Judoka Yarden Gerbi wins Olympic bronze medal
- Riots erupt near hospital treating hunger striking Palestinian prisoner
- Likud: Bid to shield prime ministers from probes wasn't coordinated with PMO
- Islamic Movement deputy leader under house arrest for incitement
Times of Israel
- Gaza man infiltrates Israel, evades capture for nearly a day
- Hamas official: Prisoner exchange talks with Israel underway
- Jerusalem police act to end neglect of city's East
- 68% of Israelis support civil marriage, poll finds
Ynet News
- Initial talks begin over releasing body of "Symbol of Intifada"
- UN-siphoned funds pay for Hamas commando marina
- Hundreds attend memorial service held for Capt. Hadar Goldin
- Municipal leaders threaten strike on first day of school
News Summary:
Negotiations have been underway between the Palestinian village of Susya (Area C) and the Israeli Civil Administration since early 2016 with the goal of regulating the village and issuing construction permits. A sudden silence, beginning in June, has caused many to fear the Israeli authorities have decided to demolish the village. Inhabitants of nearby Jewish settlements have been pressuring the authorities to carry out demolition orders. The US warns it will respond harshly if Israel demolishes the village, and the EU and Britain have echoed the sentiment. The British Foreign Office said it would find it difficult assisting Israel in international forums in the event Susya was demolished.
As these events unfold, Israel admits to its High Court of Justice that it mistakenly expropriated 45 dunams of private Palestinian land in the Ofra settlement - the state has decided to revise the master plan for the settlement to exclude this land, though not statement has been made on whether the settlers on this land will be evacuated.
Initial talks have begun between Israeli authorities and the family of Baha Alyan - one of the Palestinian terrorists who attacked the Jerusalem 78 bus last October, killing three - over the release of his body. Baha Alyan is referred to as the "symbol of the intifada" and the recent wave of violence. A Hamas official has stated that Israel has also begun talks with the group over a possible pisoner exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers and two civilians.
Quick Hits:
- Yarden Gerbi wins the bronze medal in Judo and becomes the second Israeli woman ever to win an Olympic medal. (Haaretz)
- In raids across the West Bank, IDF soldiers uncovered weapons caches and the Shin Bet arrested a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for allegedly planning a shooting attack on a military post. (Times of Israel)
- Israel bans 15 Palestinian hunger striking prisoners from seeing lawyers. The prison service claimed that the ban was imposed on the prisoners due to their health conditions. (Maan)
- Israel is preparing to tender 24 offshore exploration blocks as it looks to bolster its oil and gas industry after a four-year lull sparked by regulatory uncertainly and stock-price volatility. (Reuters)
- Food & Wine Magazine has an interesting article titled, “Ancient Grapes Are the Future of Israeli Wine.” (Food & Wine)
- 68% of Israelis support civil marriage in a survey conducted by a liberal Orthodox group. There is widespread opposition to current religion-based laws. (Time of Israel)
- The Palestinian Minister of Education declared it would no longer recognize degrees from Gaza's largest academic institution, Al Aqsa University, following the transfer of two Fatah-affiliated professors from the university. Fatah and Hamas have been fighting for control over the university since the resignation of the university chairman and the appointment of a controversial replacement. (Times of Israel)
- Israel will provide state funded mikvehs for non-Orthodox Jews, as they are prevented by law from using Orthodox mikvehs. An ultra-Orthodox lawmaker has vowed to wage a "world war" against this initiative. (Haaretz)
- The Ibiza municipality - the Spanish island that brings in tourists from around the world, including many Israelis - endorsed BDS and declared the area of Santa Eulalia to be be "free of Israeli Apartheid." (Jerusalem Post)