News Nosh 3.26.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday March 26, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"But one minute and 33 seconds after the video begins, something happens that shows that, as opposed to what the police claim, (riot policeman Moshe) Cohen works in an organization where violence against civilians has become routine, acceptable. In those last 16 seconds, a few of his colleagues from the unit enter the picture and see him acting violently, kicking (Palestinian truck driver) Shweiki in the back and knocking him to the ground, bleeding from his head."
--Haaretz+ police correspondent writes that violence actually is part of the culture of Israel police.*


Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Hamas accused Israel of assassinating a senior militant,  Mazen Fuqha, inside Gaza, but commentators said Hamas was not interested in entering an all-out confrontation, the future of the Israeli government coalition stood still ahead of the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon today over the launching of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), and Israel’s Police chief is considering firing the riot police officer who was caught on video beating a Palestinian truck driver - making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, Israel and the Trump Administration reportedly arrived at an agreement regarding ‘restrained’ settlement construction, while the UN Human Rights Council, passed resolutions against settlement construction and the UK attacked the Council for its 'anti-Israel' attitude.

The funeral of Mazan Fukha, a Hamas operative who was assassinated Friday near his adopted home in Gaza, was held Saturday, turning into a display of Hamas's military power as thousands attended, dozens of them armed, all accusing Israel in his death, wrote Ynet’s Eliior Levy. Hamas accused Israel of the assassination. Fuqha, who is from the West Bank, was released from prison and expelled to Gaza as part of the Shalit prisoner deal. Fuqha's father said the Shin Bet came to his house and warned him they would kill him if he continued with his actions. Fuqha was killed with four bullets. Maariv’s Yossi Melman wrote that by assassinating him from inside Gaza, Israel has shown it is using more aggressive methods. (See Commentary/Analysis below.)
 
Israel’s Police Commissioner, Roni Alsheikh, summoned Moshe Cohen, the riot policeman from Jerusalem who was caught on video assaulting a Palestinian truck driver in E. Jerusalem. Alsheikh said Cohen may be dismissed from the police and that he ‘shamed Israel Police officers who work day and night to ensure Israelis' safety.’

After weeks of negotiations over where Israel can build homes in the West Bank, Channel 2 News reported that an agreement has been reached between the Trump Administration and Netanyahu’s negotiators. A new settlement will be build for the settlers evicted from the Amona outpost and Israel will be allowed to continue to build in settlements – but only within the blocs. (Maariv)
 
Meanwhile, on Friday, the UN’s Human Rights Council passed four resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Friday and urged states and businesses to cut off ties to Israeli settlements because of alleged Israeli human rights abuses in the West Bank and the occupied Golan Heights. Britain responded with unprecedented criticism of the Council. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was worried that Israeli settlement building undermined the two-state solution. In the US House of Representatives, nearly 200 House members urged US President Donald Trump to voice a 'clear support' for the two-state solution.
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israeli and Palestinian Experts Draw Up Road Map to Save Palestinian Economy - Allow movement between the West Bank and Gaza, reopen the airport, build a port and let the Palestinians develop tourism in the Jordan Valley. These are just a few of the recommendations in two new studies. (Haaretz+) 
  • Scent of Elections in the Air? Lapid Drops Demand for Palestinian State - Centrist Yesh Atid party leader veering rightward as possibility of early elections grows. (Haaretz+) 
  • MK asks court to overturn PM’s ban on Temple Mount visits
  • Right-wing activist and parliamentarian Rabbi Yehuda Glick is certain that Netanyahu’s ban on MKs visiting the flashpoint will fail to stand up to the scrutiny of the High Court of Justice. (Ynet)
  • Israeli troops shoot Palestinian teen in the back amid firebomb plot - Soldiers in ambush shot Murad Abu Razi while he was fleeing. He died on the spot. (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+)
  • Israeli MK demands colleague be charged with sedition for calling for draft dodging - MK Bezalel Smotrich published article saying that religious youths should avoid enlistment in order to 'save the IDF.' (Haaretz+ and Ynet
  • Shaked, Naor at odds over Supreme Court's next chief justice - So far, all chief justices were appointed based on seniority, with Judge Esther Hayut being the next in line. But Shaked, like many of her predecessors, believes the appointment must be made based on merit alone. (Yedioth/Ynet
  • Arab council demands end to community violence - In light of increased gun violence in many Arab cities and villages across Israel, Arab representatives are looking to traditional forms of conflict mediation to stem violence against the community. (Ynet
  • Israeli believed to be behind 1,000 threats in two years - Police believe the young Israeli man behind a wave of international bomb threats and scares against Jewish institutions became addicted to the rush the ensuing panic aroused. (Yedioth/Ynet
  • Trump Pushed FBI to Nab Israeli-American Suspect in Bomb Threats on Jewish Centers, Sources Say - The youth from Ashkelon has been making similar threats for the past two years, but only after the FBI sent investigators to Israel was an arrest made. (Haaretz+) 
  • Two time zones for two peoples: What happens when Israel moves clock, but Palestinians don’t - 'This is so stupid, I don't get why we have to use different times even though we live together,' Palestinian says amid time gap between Palestinians and settlers. (Haaretz+) 
  • After 115 days in jail, conscientious objector Tamar Zeevi released from Israeli army - Another consciousness objector, Tamar Alon, remains in prison after the army determines that her refusal to enlist was based on political motives. (Haaretz+) 
  • Rivlin asks Vietnam to consider supporting Israel more - At the conclusion of their meeting in a state visit to Hanoi, Reuven Rivlin asked the Vietnamese president to be more supportive of the Jewish state in international institutions like UNESCO. (Yedioth/Ynet
  • Visiting West Bank, Richard Gere compares Hebron to segregated U.S. South - Touring the city with members of anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence, the American actor and activist comments on 'dark energy.' (Haaretz)
  • UN: Israel didn't comply with call to halt settlement activity - UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the council the large number of settlement announcements and legislation action by Israel indicate 'a clear intent to continue expanding the settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory.' (Agencies, Ynet
  • The right angle: A nationalist group takes Israelis on a tour of Hebron - Im Tirtzu has launched tours of the West Bank hot spot in an effort to counter what it calls the 'delegitimization and lies' of left-wing tours of the city. (Haaretz+) 
  • Albanian police detain Israeli man with bugging device - The 51-year-old man, identified as F.Y., was stopped at the Rinasi International Airport Mother Teresa before leaving the country. (Haaretz
  • Israeli ambassador in Cairo: Peace with Egypt is based too heavily on military ties - In unusual speech, David Govrin says diplomatic relations should also combine civilian and economic ties if 'peace is to forge deep roots.' Egypt's ambassador says his country is interested in promoting economic relations with Israel. (Haaretz+) 
  • Kushner's close ties to Israel raise questions of bias in Mideast peace efforts - Trump son-in-law's ties, including a previously undisclosed real estate deal with a major Israeli insurer, may compromise his ability to serve as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians. (Agencies, Haaretz)  
  • Jewish Groups Offer Mixed Responses to David Friedman’s Confirmation as Israel Envoy - The Senate confirmed Friedman, a longtime lawyer of President Donald Trump who outraged some Jewish groups with his broadsides against liberal Jews. (JTA, Haaretz)
  • U.S. Confirms Striking Mosul Target Where Up to 200 Civilians Were Reportedly Killed - Iraq pauses its push to recapture western Mosul from ISIS over the high rate of civilian casualties. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Is Trump's electronics ban meant to undermine terrorism... or Turkey? - While the U.S. and U.K. cite security concerns for banning large electronics from passenger carry-on, some smell a business conspiracy of sabotage. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Arabs protest UN's withdrawal of Israel 'apartheid' report - Palestinian envoy claims ‘bullying tactics and intimidation’ were used to nix the controversial document; UN chief Antonio Guterres' spokesman says report published without prior consultations and did not reflect his views. (Agencies, Ynet)


Features:
Inside the clandestine world of Israel's 'BDS-busting' ministry
The Strategic Affairs Ministry's leaders see themselves as the heads of a commando unit, gathering and disseminating information about 'supporters of the delegitimization of Israel' – and they prefer their actions be kept secret. (Uri Blau, Haaretz+)
The Israeli-Arab special ed student who became a highly praised cancer researcher
Prof. Nabieh Ayoub on being an Arab in Israeli academia, excelling against the odds and the future of cancer science. (Smadar Reisfeld, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
*Israel Police's Culture of Violence Highlighted by Video of Officer Attacking Palestinian (Yaniv Kubovich, Haaretz+) Israel Police's handling of the video's aftermath confirms that the officer's colleagues were committed to a conspiracy of silence, and not to the greater public.
Israel is the prime suspect, but not the only one (Elior Levy, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel, Hamas, Gaza Salafists and even the Palestinian Authority all had good reason to want Hamas commander Mazan Fukha dead. So who killed the released prisoner who returned to his terrorist ways? 
Israel 2017, Now the Video (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The public outcry over footage of a violent policeman attacking a Palestinian truck driver is almost as nauseating as the video itself. 
The crisis of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation: Kahlon couldn’t believe that he would find himself defending the rule of law and democracy (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Does it really make sense to anyone that Geula Even's appointment to the IPBC is supposed to upset a prime minister as if it were a nuclear Iranian missile? Where are Ministers Bennett, Shaked, Lieberman and Deri? What are they afraid of?
Israel's Public Security Minister Serves as the Wake-up Call (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Perhaps the sane public in Israel needs an electric shock in order to jolt it into action and shake off the racist regime that is staining the name of the Jewish people for generations to come. 
In light of changes in Syria, Israeli policy must be updated (Amos Yadlin, Yedioth/Ynet) The situation in the northern arena requires Israel to clarify its strategic targets, while continuously and thoroughly reviewing the benefit of its moves versus the risk of unwanted escalation. The most important diplomatic and military objective is to prevent Iran from putting down roots in Syria. 
It’s Folly to Believe All Will Be Well (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) One of these days Hamas will succeed in carrying out a major terror attack. The timing is not known. One thing is for sure: It will happen soon. 
The Jewish Resistance comes to AIPAC (Ayelet Reiter, Haaretz+) I will be joining thousands of IfNotNow activists to protest AIPAC's shameful silence since Trump's election and its attempts to make the Israeli occupation permanent. 
In Topsy-turvy Trump Era, AIPAC Is Twisting in the Wind (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The lobby's attitude toward a two-state solution recounts the slogan of an old Israeli bra commercial – walk with, but feel without. 
Israel’s City of David: A Tourist Attraction Concealing a Violent Enterprise (Yuval Evri, Haaretz+) The Jerusalem site draws an imaginary line between Zionist nationalism and Jewish sovereignty in the Bible. It wipes out the history of the land and its Arab inhabitants. 
Fighting spirit: In most the cases, we were dragged into war because of considerations that were other than national security (Ran Adelist, Maariv) A prime minister who was pushed into the corner of lepers and a defense minister who prefers to play with fire rather than go to elections. Could it be that someone here wants to consciously start a battle in Syria?
Reality of False Threats (Haaretz Editorial) The fake threats by an Israeli from Ashkelon are liable to undermine the battle against anti-Semitism. But anti-Semitism is real, and Israel and the Jewish world must continue to fight it. 
This Year at AIPAC, Unquestioning Support for Trump and Netanyahu Can’t Be an Option (Jeremy Ben-Ami, Haaretz+) Are traditional pro-Israel voices really willing to voice the American Jewish community’s opposition to the attack on liberal, democratic values underway in both Israel and the U.S.? 
Sorry Trump & Co.: This Isn’t the Start of the Londonistan Intifada (Daniella Peled, Haaretz+) Londoners are calm and carrying on, with no thanks to ignorant anti-immigrant commentary by the White House and its British surrogates, nor self-serving advice from Jerusalem. 
Return of the new Middle East: What happens to the heads of the security forces upon retiring? (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) Like his colleagues who starred in the documentary film, ‘The Gatekeepers,’ this week it turned out that former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, also lived his life mistakenly and did not correctly identify the enemy. Instead of love, he made war. 
Netanyahu's government partners turn on him in opposition to early elections (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Israel has been taken hostage by a leader who looks, sounds and behaves like he's lost his mind; can opposition leader Isaac Herzog cobble together an alternative coalition? 
Netanyahu's tales: Is there anyone in the Likud who believes the prime minister? (Kalman Libeskind, Maariv) Everything that the Prime Minister is going through regarding the Public Broadcasting Corporation seems as if it were from another department. But the bigger problem is the lies, and it's really hard to live with them. 
Hamas Faces Dilemma After Accusing Israel of Killing Top Militant in Gaza (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) Launching renewed hostilities against Israel now would derail plans for the group in the Gaza Strip. 
The Gaza Strip: They want revenge, but the6 are afraid of an all-out confrontation (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Official Israel remains silent about whether it was responsible for the assassination of the senior Hamas member. But if it really does succeed in assassinating Hamas commanders or Hamas experts without leaving fingerprints, it means Israel is adopting a more aggressive approach than we have seen until now. 
Despite rhetoric, Israel shows restraint against Hamas in Gaza (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) It's hardline Salafist groups, not Hamas, that have been firing rockets at Israel ■ the Salafists, that have been luring Hamas members to their ranks, seek to show the enclave's leaders that they can drag them to war with Israel. 
Bomb threat suspect’s identity embarrassing for Jews, but ultimately a relief (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) It may be a blow to Jewish pride and a political black eye to those who blamed the Trump camp for the JCC threats, but this means that a fearful Jewish community can finally exhale.
 
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.