APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday February 02, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Kerry pressuring: Framework agreement before release of prisoners in March
• Lapid: Stop transfer of monies to Yesha settler Council
• Volcano exploded two days after residents returned
• Suspected in murder of his wife charged in the past with violence, but was sentenced to suspended sentence
• Judges allowed to open social network account, but not to 'friend' attorneys
• The first (officially recognized) Eritrean refugee in Israel: I prefer to die than to return
• Costa Rica likely to join the red (communist) club today

• Kerry threatens - US and Europe increasing pressure on Israel
• It's better to be smart than right // Shimon Shiffer at the Munich Conference
• The boycott beings among us: Restaurants won't buy wine from settlements
• Wave of flu despite nice weather
• The son was assassinated 14 years after his father was murdered
• Heart patrol - 3 men closely following the recovery of the children from pesticide
• Information at your service - Bezeq losing monopoly over 144 telephone service

• Kerry threatens: Illusion of Israel's prosperity will change when the negotiations fail (Hebrew)
• Saturated with malice // Amnon Lord (Hebrew)
• By way of the pocket // Nadav Eyal
• Jewish Nakba for peace // Ben-Dror Yemini (Hebrew)
• Ashkelon: Criminal assassinated 15 years after his father's murders upset the country (Hebrew)
• The student Sapir Sabah: "I'm not willing to continue to study with the teacher Adam Verete" (Hebrew)
• The fourth tragedy of the Lapid family: '86: The son Yoram drowned in a pool. '93: The father Mordechai and the son Shalom were murdered in a terror attack. The son Moshe drowned in a well (Hebrew)
• The all out war of the residents of the Arab sector against cellular antennas (Hebrew)
• Superbowl: the kosher version - Jewish Mehadrin version to the half-time show of the game tonight: without cheerleaders, with Hasidic singers (Hebrew)

• Rage in right-wing against Kerry: He should pressure Abu Mazen; Kerry: In Israel there is prosperity and security, but it's an illusion. "If there won't be an agreement, there will be a boycott"; Minister Uri Ariel: "That is not a 'fair mediator"
• The Middle East is burning and we are the problem? // Dan Margalit
• Encouraging the recalcitrance of the Palestinians // Haim Shine
• Suspicion in Beersheva: Murdered his wife in her sleep with a hammer
• Season of the poppies - Israelis taking advantage of warm weather to travel on weekend
• Assassination in Ashkelon: Criminal shot to death outside his mother's house
• Minister of Finance ordered to stop transfer of money to settlements
• One disaster after another: Father and son were killed in terror attack, another brother drowned in a mikveh - yesterday Moshe Lapid drowned in a well

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Peace Talk Highlights:
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israel that its economic flourishing will end and boycotts will increase if peace talks fail making the top story in today's Hebrew papers. Haaretz+ reports that Kerry is pressuring Israel to agree on a framework agreement before the next prisoner release at the end of March. Kerry's statements enraged Israel's right-wing politicians: Pro-settler Habayit Hayehudi leader and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett attacked Kerry for his boycott warning, saying boycotts are 'anti-Semitic,' while his party member MK Moti Yogev accused Kerry of 'anti-Semitic' undertones and said he puts 'obsessive pressure' on Netanyahu, for which the ADL called on Yogev to apologize. Meanwhile, Yedioth's Itamar Eichner reveals more details from the peace talks: The Americans have offered parts of the Negev to Palestinian refugees in exchange for Israel keeping settlement blocs. The offer, writes Eichner, is meant to satisfy West Bank Arab leaders, who will be expected to give up the idea of having the right of return. Also expected is a buffer zone in the Jordan Beqaa Valley with drones and sensors. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Mideast Quartet mediators discussed Israeli-Palestinian talks Saturday and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Palestinians come from the Canaanites and "were here before the Jews."

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Man's best friend -- and fighter
Established four decades ago, the IDF's Oketz canine unit has seen its work constantly expand. Oketz dogs attack terrorists, go on manhunts and locate explosives. "I trust him with my life," one Oketz soldier says of his dog. (Israel Hayom)
Compensation a difficult topic for Jewish refugees from Arab lands
Despite recent proposals, Jews who fled Arab states for Israel object to conflating their compensation with that of Palestinian refugees. (Ynet)
Compensating Jews who fled Arab nations is historic justice'
'We should get what we deserve', says Minister Silvan Shalom on matter of paying compensation to Jews from Arab countries who were forced to leave behind homes, land, businesses in 1948, echoing claims made by (some) other Sephardic Jews attempting to find balance between past grievances and future prospects. (Ynet)

Commentary/Analysis:

Netanyahu close to accepting Kerry plan, and losing his coalition (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) PM is still trying to play with words and engineer the document so that it won’t break up his government, but the chances of that are slim.  
How John Kerry won me over (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) The U.S. Secretary of State gets the concerns of Israel and the U.S. Jewish community.
American demand for compensation for Jews from Arab countries gives peace a chance (Ben-Dror Yemini, Maariv/NRG Hebrew) John Kerry's plan to compensate Jewish refugees who were persecuted and expelled from Arab countries makes it clear to the Palestinians that the dream of return or compensation are nothing more than a fantasy. There is no chance for peace without recognition of Arab responsibility of the Jewish Nakba. It should be made clear to them, particularly for the sake of peace. 
Israel can rise to the boycott challenge (Eli Hazan, Israel Hayom) Put Israel’s nuclear program on a diet (Amir Shula, Haaretz+) Now is the time to introduce top-down change to what has become one of Israel’s most powerful pressure groups. 
Who’s afraid of a binational state? (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Jews and Arabs have lived together in one state since 1948 - the one state solution is already here. 
Settlers have passed point of no return (Emily Amrousi, Israel Hayom) After investing in "peace talks" for over a generation, perhaps now is the time to turn to other means of resolving this conflict, this time without transferring Jews or Arabs.
The 'Nazi’ law and the Rabin murder (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The law proposed by the extreme right against use of the word 'Nazi’ and of Nazi symbols is an expression of denial of the Rabin assassination.
Radical grace: A eulogy to Shulamit Aloni, from her youngest son (Udi Aloni, Haaretz+) The graveside eulogy given by Udi Aloni, the youngest son of former Israeli cabinet minister Shulamit Aloni, who died on January 24, 2014. 
Peres should bow out gracefully (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) Peres should leave the ship of state to today's elected political leaders, and stop contradicting Netanyahu.
Kerry, don’t let up (Yoel Marcus, Haaretz+) Mr. Secretary, please disregard the zealots’ talk about God and the holiness of the land. 
The Kerry plan -- can Israel say no? (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) Accepting the Kerry plan would mean subjugating realism to wishful thinking, thus jeopardizing Israel's survival. 
Cronyism unleashed in Israel's culture ministry (Haaretz Editorial)  In her attempts to push her world view on Israel's artists - whom she identifies as political enemies - Livnat has drained the Council for Culture and the Arts of professionals. 
Schooling Bennett (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Faced with diminished poll numbers and growing pressure, Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett tried this week to solve his problems by standing against PM Benjamin Netanyahu • But Netanyahu did not take it quietly, forcing Bennett to back down.

Malcolm Hoenlein: The Iranians have been bazaaris for 2000 years; they can run rings around us
Ahead of a Conference of Presidents visit to Israel, its top executive talks about Iran, BDS, the Administration, Judaism and himself. (Interviewed by Chemi Shalev in Haaretz+)
 
Maj. Gen. Dangot: Palestinian incitement threatens future co-existence
Palestinians could have gained more had they dealt with incitement properly, says Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, stepping down as coordinator of government activities in the territories. Another intifada unlikely as Palestinian civilians would lose out, he says. (Interviewed by Lilach Shoval in Israel Hayom)
  
**Dennis Ross: "Benjamin Netanyahu can reach a peace agreement"
The man who has accumulated an impressive amount of mileage on intensive negotiations refuses to get excited about the Israeli political tussle surrounding the talks. In a special interview on his visit to the  INSS think tank in Tel-Aviv, he expresses concern over the emerging international boycott and offers a creative solution to the issue of Jerusalem. (Interviewed by Sara Dar-Leibowitz in Maariv/NRG Hebrew)
On the possibility of settlers living under Palestinian sovereignty:
"It's possible, but tricky. You would need to check if the settlers who choose to remain under Palestinian rule do so because they want to create provocations..."
And what about the Jordan Valley? 
"There is a difference between the Jordan River and its great importance to Israel's security and the Jordan Valley, which does not have the same degree of importance. Israel can withdraw from the Jordan Valley with security measures at a high level. It is impossible to leave Israel with the situation like what is happening in Gaza, but the security measures in the Jordan Valley could provide Israel with a high level of security.
In your book "The Missing Peace" You write the Camp David Ehud Barak You had to accept rule Palestinian East Jerusalem. You still believe that a peace agreement will control East Jerusalem Palestinians? 
"In any peace agreement, Jerusalem must remain united, but be the capital of two peoples. I do not understand why Israel wants to control the Palestinians in East Jerusalem. What is the interest in such control? Without concessions there will not be peace. Jerusalem will be the most difficult problem in any agreement, but without reaching a solution in Jerusalem it will be impossible to reach a peace agreement. It's possible to find creative solutions. You could say that the sovereignty belongs to God, for example."
What prevents the formulation of the agreement? 
"Israelis feel they are not accepted in the region, they suffer rejection and terror, and they feel they must protect their security and be strong. Palestinians feel a continuous injustice has been done to them, they feel weak. The two different narratives prevent the signing of a peace agreement."

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