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.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
This Purim, some Israeli kids will dress up as Elor Azaria, the 'Shooting Soldier from Hebron,' who executed a Palestinian assailant who was already laying on the ground, wounded and incapacitated for 11 minutes.**


Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • War report: They weren’t prepared for tunnel threat and hid it from the cabinet, they didn’t deal with the crisis in Gaza that would prevent the escalation, they didn’t succeed in eliminating the tunnels, the danger still exists
  • Fake security // Nahum Barnea
  • The mountain gave birth to a mountain // Sima Kadmon
  • The tunnels as an example // Alex Fishman
  • The next war // Yossi Yehoshua 
  • (The report is a) Strategic attack // Ben-Dror Yemini 
  • Bibi vs. the State Comptroller // Shimon Shiffer
  • Study: Israelis smoke less
  • (Israeli tennis player) Shahar Peer is hanging up her racket
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Finally, the partially leaked and long-discussed State Comptroller report on the failures of Operation Protective Edge saw light and struck a scathing blow to then and now Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, then defense minister Moshe Yaalon, then IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, and then IDF Intel chief Aviv Kochavi for lack of preparedness and for hiding information from the security cabinet. But it also slammed the cabinet for not taking into consideration the desperate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and not looking at diplomatic alternatives to attacking it – making top stories and commentaries in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Haaretz has an article with the key points of the State Comptroller report, Yedioth/Ynet wrote in fascinating detail about the cabinet minutes that revealed the failure to detect the escalation on the eve of the summer of 2014 Gaza war. Some choice quotes include from then-finance minister Yair Lapid, who noted that “we never even held a discussion on whether we want the Hamas rule in Gaza to continue.” Ya’alon said in his testimony that “the cabinet’s main job is to discuss different scenarios in advance—not during the fighting—and to plan an endgame. The cabinet is supposed to deal with policy questions. Such discussions were not held in that cabinet.”

After the report was released, Yaalon lambasted the cabinet, describing it as the “most irresponsible and the worst I have ever known. I am saying this as someone who has participated in the cabinet since 1995. It was a leaking cabinet, a superficial, political and populist cabinet.” Speaking in a video he uploaded to the internet, he said, “I am proud of the fact that I stood with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz against the public frenzy and the political subversion.” The Comptroller said Hamas still has border-crossing tunnels. In a letter drafted by parents of soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge, they demanded “a leadership that takes responsibility.” Gaza border residents said that the report “doesn't change situation and that they trust the IDF to protect them.
 
Separately, at a conference about the future of the Jewish people, which was held at the President’s Residence, Miriam Naor, Chief Justice of Israel’s High Court made a connection between rising anti-Semitism in the US, the Holocaust and the need to preserve the independence of Israel's High Court, which the present government is trying to curtail. Naor said that the path to the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust was a result of the negation of civil and human rights of Jews in Europe. The importance of protecting human rights and minority rights is one of the biggest lessons of our history as a people, she said. In order to preserve the State of Israel as democratic and Jewish the judicial system must be independent, she said and noted the recent calls to harm the independence of the judicial branch.
 
Quick Hits:
  • **This Purim, Some Israeli Kids Will Dress Up as Hebron Shooter - One supporter of the soldier has even launched an Elor Azaria Purim costume contest. (Haaretz
  • Israeli Cop Who Admitted to Urinating on a Palestinian Detainee to Be Prosecuted - High Court orders charges filed against cop, after Justice Ministry decided to close the case despite his admission. (Haaretz+, Ynet and Maariv
  • Hundreds barricaded as Israel evacuates West Bank settlement homes - Police said the evacuation had proceeded relatively calmly, but that at least 11 officers had sustained light injures including bites by protesters, and one police officer suffered a head wound. (Haaretz+, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Israel's ship-purchase affair: Netanyahu 'personally ordered' canceling tenders - Testimony gathered by police is supported by documentation. The authorities are investigating whether crimes were committed in the navy’s purchase of ships and submarines from Germany. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel says it doesn't have drone use procedures, adds that revealing them is security risk - In response to a petition demanding exposure of procedures on drone use in West Bank and Gaza, state says that outing the procedures, which don't exist, would harm state security. (Haaretz+) 
  • Soldiers trade entry into Israel for drugs and money - Four IDF soldiers at a checkpoint are indicted for accepting bribes to aid Palestinians to cross the border into Israel without permits or checks. (Ynet)
  • Qalandiya refugee camp activists continue to block road in support of hunger strikers - Raed Fayez Mteir, 47, head of the Qalandiya youth center, and Jamal Abu al-Leil, 50, a former member of Fatah’s revolutionary council, declared hunger strike on Feb. 16 for being imprisoned by Israel without charge or trial for one year. (Maan
  • Tel Aviv Suburb, Whose Mayor Spoke Against 'Black Folks,' Cutting Power to African Refugees' Homes - City officials in Petah Tikva say they’re not acting against asylum seekers per se, but against illegally subdivided, overcrowded apartments. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israeli soldier lightly wounded in shooting attack near Bethlehem-area settlement - An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an on Tuesday that overnight, “a gunman opened fire at forces in the vicinity of Efrat, lightly wounding a soldier who was treated at the scene." (Maan
  • Israeli killed in Bolivia fought in Protective Edge - During a post-army trip to South America, 23-year-old Dor Jian was killed when the ATV he was riding careened down a ravine; ‘He was so full of love, so giving.’ (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
  • False rocket alarm sirens sound in Israeli communities near Gaza border - Alarms sound in Gaza border communities 48 hours after a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in southern Israel, though none were wounded and no damage was caused. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Palestinian Authority Calls Local Elections in West Bank as Its Split With Hamas Intensifies - Each side blames the other for blocking elections in Gaza Strip. (Haaretz+) 
  • Man killed in clash at Palestinian camp in Lebanon - Power struggle between Islamist militants and the Palestinian Fatah faction at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon leads to clashes claiming at least one life. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • GOP Senators Propose Cutting All U.S. Funds to Palestinian Authority Over 'Institutional Terror Support' - The proposed bill is called the 'Taylor Force Act,' named for an American citizen who was murdered in a terror attack in Israel in March 2016. (Haaretz+) 
  • For Parents of U.S. Student Killed in Tel Aviv Attack, Cutting Funds for Palestinians Is Personal - The U.S. Taylor Force Act aims to halt funding to the Palestinian Authority if it continues 'institutional support for terrorism.' Force's parents also hope to see a little remorse. (Haaretz+) 
  • Trump 'Yet to Make Contact With PA,' Palestinian Diplomat Tells J Street Conference - Maen Areikat says Palestinian Authority interested in working with U.S. administration as long as relationship is based on 'long-standing U.S. policy.” (Haaretz+)
  • Phone Threats Against Jewish Centers Made Using 'Spoofing' Technology, Expert Says - Authorities say perpetrators' use of certain technologies has made the investigation more challenging, Buzzfeed reports. (Haaretz
  • Informal Trump adviser implies wave of bomb threats against U.S. Jews linked to Democrats - GOP donor Anthony Scaramucci unleashes Twitter storm: 'It's not yet clear who the #JCC offenders are. Don't forget @TheDemocrats effort to incite violence at Trump rallies.' (Haaretz
  • More than 1,500 Jews attend New York Aliyah event - Around 350 of the participants in the Manhattan Nefesh B’ Nefesh ‘Mega Aliyah Fair’ were from the medical and high-tech background; ‘My mom won’t be surprised by my decision to make Aliyah.’ (Ynet)
  • 40,000 Sign Petition Against Trump's Israel Envoy Pick David Friedman - Petition delivered to members of the U.S. Senate describes Trump's nominee as 'a threat to longstanding U.S. policies in the Middle East.' (Haaretz+)

 
Commentary/Analysis:
Israel's Gaza War Failure Was First and Foremost a Diplomatic One (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) The Israeli government did almost nothing to address Gaza's humanitarian crisis, which worsened then and is worsening now. The next war is just a matter of time.
*Wrong priorities: The tunnels threat is not an existential threat, it’s primarily psychological warfare (Noam Amir, Maariv) The following words are going to be unbearable, but we need to tell the truth. Our hysteria over the tunnels was excessive and unreasonable. The billions of shekels that we spilled in order to find a solution, which the whole world is looking for for the sake of a pinpoint threat - is unnecessary and incorrect. Hamas has made continued efforts to reach an important achievement in everything concerned with the digging of tunnels. Hamas does not plan to destroy Israel through tunnels, it is looking to wear it down. In the psychological war, in the tunnels category, Hamas 1: Israel 0. And it’s all because were got stressed during the defense. There is no doubt that a terror cell that penetrates under the ground of an Israeli community and murders an entire family would be a huge blow to Israel. But it’s not an existential blow. Hamas has a better ability to hit the home front harshly, yet Israel isn’t spending billions to stop these threats. How many Israeli civilians were murdered because of the terrorist tunnels? How many Israelis were were murdered in the wave of terror? And how many lose their lives every day in traffic accidents? Now check the government budgets and you will find that Israel once again has its priorities wrong. We must understand that with our country's limited budgets it is impossible to turn the world upside down, and therefore the State Comptroller’s report is not much more than just commentary on paper that can be recycled. We need to be satisfied with the improvements that the IDF has been making - and let it win. And with that we need to say - that does not mean that Hamas will not penetrate through tunnels, by sea, air or land. That does not mean we need to panic, but we have to understand that the threat to Israel's security is not going to disappear soon, and occasionally it will only grow stronger. The IDF is considered the first body to learn lesson and it has been doing that over the past two years. It is sad to see him it being beaten up (by detractors), and it is important to say that we guard the army and its commanders and not drag it into the bestial discourse. The IDF is strong and the IDF wins and it has certainly won over the last two years, in its preparations for the nearing conflicts.
A Difficult Day for Israel's 'Mr. Security,' but That's the Least of His Worries (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) While the state comptroller's report will be quickly forgotten, Gaza will be there for the next confrontation. 
Unimaginable irresponsibility: State sent its sons to be killed without any strategic vision (Ben Caspit, Maariv) With the exception of Ministers Bennett and Livni and Gen. Turgeman, the rest all received a serious blow from the State Comptroller. The cabinet did not examine diplomatic alternatives, did not hold any organized discussions, and Netanyahu is shirking his responsibility.
It’s time for a clear decision on Gaza (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF officials believe—just like on the eve of Operation Protective Edge—that neither Israel nor Hamas are interested in an armed battle. At the time, a series of military activities on both sides led to misunderstandings of the situation and to a comprehensive battle. We must not wait for an uncontrolled deterioration again.
Darkness at the End of the Tunnel (Haaretz Editorial) The report fails to evaluate the wisdom of embarking on the Gaza operation and the soundness of adopting the concept of wholesale destruction as a tool of deterrence.
Netanyahu's Teflon coating will serve him this time too, but Gantz and Ya'alon are likely to be hurt (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The inherent paradox in wars: it is precisely the results of the wars in which flaws and omissions were revealed that lead to strategic gains for Israel. This was how peace was achieved with Egypt after the Yom Kippur War.
In Gaza war Bennett pressed, Netanyahu repressed, Ya'alon sputtered (Moran Azulay, Yedioth/Ynet) The comptroller's report provides a rare glimpse into what happened in the cabinet during the summer of 2014: There was Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett, who kept asking questions, the prime minister who perceived it all as a hassle and a defense minister who had run out of words. 
The Five Top Jewish Leaders More Concerned With Threats to Trump Than to U.S. Jews (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I've got news for Bibi. The six million Jews of America are under threat. When Israel can't be bothered to support them at a time like this, no one should recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Trump’s Congress Speech Hits Reset Button on His Presidency, Until His Next Tweet (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+VIDEO) The U.S. president condemned anti-Semitic attacks hours after raising unhinged conspiracy theories about their perpetrators.
Middle East puzzle: Trump's test will be the return of deterrence (Dr. Emily Landau, Maariv) The change of the US approach toward Iran is welcome. But there is a need for consistency in order to stop it and the other influential things in the region, among them the US-Russian relations. 
There's Something Trump's Not Telling Us About Supremacist Hate Crimes (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) You know Donald Trump: The man who prides himself on straight talk and fast action. Yet there's something he's not telling us. Because he can't.
The State Comptroller’s report reveals a lack of vision: MK Amir Peretz in a special column (MK Amir Peretz, Maariv) Netanyahu failed to translate the threat of tunnels into a plan of action and the Cabinet shirked its responsibility to shape a vision regarding Gaza. One can only hope that the public will draw the necessary conclusions. 
The Israeli Incitement Won’t Feature in the Report (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) The failure, according to the common view in Israel, is in 'the system' that failed in upholding the values espoused by 'the street.'
Sticking to unimportant issues: The Operation Protective Edge report won’t prevent the next war (Ran Adelist, Maariv) A real report on the operation in Gaza should not hand out grades, but rather examine the roots of the escalation and the actual decision by the political establishment to enter the Gaza Strip. But that won’t happen.
For the First Time, I Thought of Yair Lapid as Prime Minister (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Perhaps a centrist emergency government can still save Israel from massive systems failure.
Time Tunnel: How can a report on the tunnels not deal with those kidnapped in them? (Zehava Shaul, mother of dead and kidnapped soldier, Oron, Maariv) Yosef Shapira presented a document that criticizes the lack of order in and the conduct of the cabinet during Operation Protective Edge, but there is not a word referring to to Oron and his friends, who did not return. When will we see them again?
Morality Isn't an Ashkenazi Province (Sami Peretz, Haaretz+) The characteristics Uri Avnery attributes to the Mizrahi and Ashkenazi camps seem to come from the 1950s: They embody a wealth of arrogance, ignorance, racism and stereotyping.
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.