News Nosh 07.08.14

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday July 08, 2014

Quote of the day:
I want to apologize for the unforgivable.
For the boy whose face in the photograph I can see even with my eyes closed. The face of the boy before he was wrestled into a car by people on my side, who charred him to death.
--Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston writes an apology to the Palestinians 'for the unforgivable, for the unfathomable, and for all those on my side who never will.'**


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

News Summary:
Israel begins a military operation against the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Minister and leader of Yisrael Beiteinu dissolved the joint faction with Likud and three of the six Jewish suspects in the horrific murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir admitted to their crimes and re-enacted the murder making top stories in today's Hebrew papers. Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official in Gaza tells an Israeli reporter the movement's demands for a ceasefire and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he spoke with Abu Khdeir's father, but the father said he was unaware of it.
 
GAZA:
Israel began a military operation against Gaza, which it named Operation Protective Edge, after dozens of rockets were fired on Israel following the killing of nine Palestinian militants by Israel overnight Sunday.  The IDF called up 1,500 reservists. Yedioth reported that southern cities are preparing their bomb shelters. Israeli planes have dropped 'warning' leaflets over Gaza, Maan reported. Israel says that six of the Hamas militants killed overnight Sunday died in a 'terror tunnel leading to Israel.' A senior IDF official said the men had come into contact with explosive materials, and hinted that the explosives had been placed there days earlier by the Israeli military. Hamas says they were killed in an air raid on a tunnel. Moreover, Maan reports that a child, two teenage girls and two men were injured by an Israeli airstrike on Beit Hanoun, and a four-year-old boy was injured in an Israeli airstrike in northern Jabaliya. Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the launches, which set off alarms in central Israel and Jerusalem. 

Ynet writes that Israeli security officials have noted a discrepancy between statements by Hamas' political bureau, which keeps signaling that it is not interested in an escalation, and Hamas military wing, which continues to act aggressively against Israel. The Israeli assessment is that the military wing is acting out of anger and intends to take advantage of the outrage following the brutal murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir in East Jerusalem last week, writes Ynet. 
 
However, Israel's Hebrew-language Walla news website reporter Avi Issacharoff interviewed a high-ranking Hamas official, who said that Hamas conditions for a ceasefire were returning to the situation before the kidnappings of the Israeli teens. He said israel must release all the prisoners released in the Shalit deal that it has re-arrested and it must return and stick to the understandings of the Egypt-brokered ceasefire achieved after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. Hamas detailed that information in a statement and also urged all resistance factions to join the fight in Gaza. It noted that Israel was detaining prisoners who already have been released, closing the crossings to Gaza and “working hard to take over every piece of land.” 
 
Indeed, Israel has reduced the amount of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip for two days in a row, allowing only 150 truckloads of goods into the Strip per day, down from the usual 350-450. Only a limited quantity of diesel fuel for Gaza's sole power plant has been allowed, and only a small amount of gasoline. 
 
Washington fears an escalation and in a phone call Monday night, US Secretary of State John Kerry asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint massive Israeli responses from Gaza, in order to avoid an escalation in the West Bank, Maariv reported. Kerry also condemned the Gaza rocket attacks on Israel and a US State Department spokeswoman said the US supports Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks.
  
A Maariv poll found that 47% of Israelis do not support a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, while 38% do. The poll also found that the recent murders hurt Jewish-Arab co-existence: 76% of respondents expressed pessimism about the prospects for a normal life between Jews and Arabs in Israel.
 
ABU KHDEIR KIDNAPPING-MURDER:
Three of the six Jewish Israelis suspected of kidnapping Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir and burning him alive confessed to the murder and re-enacted it for police yesterday, showing the route of the car they kidnapped him in from Shuafat to the Jerusalem Forest.

The press also published statements that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Abu Khdeir's father in a condolence call Monday morning about how the murderers would be punished. The quotes were released as a statement to the press. But Maan reported that according to a relative, the father was unaware that one of the Israelis who called to offer condolences was Netanyahu and had he known he would have rejected the call because Netanyahu "agrees to the murder of our people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.” The relative also said that the “body guards of Shimon Peres came to the tent earlier to prepare for his visit” but the family refused to receive him.
 
Abu Khdeir's father did receive the left-wing Environment Minister Amir Peretz and Labor MKs Shelly Yachimovich and Miki Rosenthal, who visited the mourning tent in Shuafat, Maariv reported and published a photo of Yachimovich and Rosenthal looking at a phone screen being held by Abu Khdeir's father. Yachimovich told the father she feels shame that such base murderers perpetrated their act in the name of collective revenge (for Jews). According to the paper, Israel is considering giving the Palestinian family the status of a family that is a victim of terror, which would offer them various rights and benefits by law. But according to a lawyer who deals with such issues that will be very difficult. (See Commentary/ Analysis below.)
 
Clashes continued in E. Jerusalem and near Arab towns across Israel in response to Abu Khdeir's murder and dozens have been arrested. Unlike, Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who threatened the rioters, Ministers Yaakov Pery and Tzipi Livni have been meeting with Arab mayors to try to calm the winds. 

Kidnapping/Murder Quick Hits:
  • Netanyahu phones father of murdered Palestinian teen - Prime Minister promises Mohammed Abu Khdeir's killers will be prosecuted 'to the full extent of the law,' according to a statement. (Ynet
  • Abu Khdeir family rejects Israeli leaders' condolences for son's death - A relative said that Muhammad Abu Khdeir’s father was not aware that one of the Israelis who called to offer condolences was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He added that he rejected the Israeli PM's condolences because Netanyahu "agrees to the murder of our people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.” The relative also said that the “body guards of Shimon Peres came to the tent earlier to prepare for his visit” but the family refused to receive him. (Maan
  • Shin Bet tells Peres not to visit family of murdered Palestinian teen - Peres wanted to visit the Abu Khdeir family's mourning tent in East Jerusalem, but pandemonium broke out when people heard he was going to visit. (Haaretz)
  • Palestinian-American teen walks, others 'rot in jail' - Suha Abu Khdeir, the mother of a 15-year-old Tareq  who was released on bail Sunday after being beaten by Israeli police, said that if her son were not a US citizen, "He would have been left to rot in jail." Tareq is the cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir. (Maan
  • PPS: Israeli court extends detentions (ostensibly of Palestinian youth rioting over Abu Khdeir murder) - An Israeli court extended the detention of 10 Palestinians and put another on house arrest on Monday, a lawyer said. The detention of two minors was extended until July 8. Mahmoud Abu Rmeileh was sentenced to house arrest for 10 days, prevented from entering the Shufat neighborhood for 30 days, and fined 5000 shekels ($1,461). (Maan)
  • From both sides of the stone - Two women with completely different background and same fate yesterday: Chabadnik Michal Malka, 20, from Afula hit by rock in Wadi Ara. At the same time: Arab woman, Riham Farhouni, 24, from the north attacked by Jews in Upper Nazareth. There were hospitalized in the same hospital. (Yedioth, p. 22)
  • Woman wounded by stone thrown at bus as riots persist - Twenty-year-old Michal Malka sleeping at the back of an Egged bus driving through Wadi Ara is awoken when stone hits her forehead. Malka: "The bus driver did not stop, rather he accelerated to avoid the stone-throwing, and that actually saved us." (Israel Hayom)
  • Mayor of (Arab town) Sakhin: "There is no difference between (Arab and Jewish) blood" - Justice Minister Tzipi Livni held emergency meeting with Arab mayors in her Tel-Aviv office in a joint attempt to calm the winds. At the beginning of the meeting they called for co-existence. (Maariv, p. 10)
  • Mayor of (Jewish community) Omer: "Considering whether to stop letting Bedouin walk around here" - Pini Badash referred to the public disorder by the Bedouin residents of Tel Sheva at the entrance to Omer: "This kind of neighbor relations cannot exist where, during the day they are here with us enjoying the services (our town offers), and at night they throw Molotov cocktails." (Maariv)
  • Mayors of Jewish, Arab towns urge residents to 'maintain calm' - Municipal leaders across Israel call on residents to exercise restraint, preserve coexistence amid escalating violence. (Haaretz+)
  • Dozens injured by tear gas at Beit Ummar rally for Abu Khdeir - Palestinian protesters had gathered in the center of Beit Ummar to demonstrate against the killing of Muhammad Abu Khdeir. Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas in the town, lightly injuring dozens of people. A tear gas canister landed inside the house of 60-year-old Ahmad al-Allami and his wife was evacuated to hospital for treatment. (Maan)  
  • Widespread condemnation for murder of Palestinian teen - Jewish organizations in the US, Israeli ministers and even rightwing rabbis call for harsh punishment of those behind the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, as six suspects arrested for involvement in case. (Ynet)
  • Well known Israeli Arab leader arrested for involvement in riots - Leader from Abnaa el-Balad movement is suspected of incitement to violence and organizing recent rioting in wake of Arab teen's murder. (Ynet
  • Bnei Akiva U.K. threatens withdrawal if Rabbi Perel isn't removed - World Bnei Akiva leaders to hold emergency meeting in Israel over secretary general's Facebook post urging revenge against Palestinians for murder of three Israeli teenagers; British branch of international Jewish youth movement is one the world's largest. (Haaretz+)
Quick Hits:
  • POLL: Despite it all, most Israelis still support the two-state solution - Although the majority of Israelis support partition, almost a quarter are happy to sanction a binational state in which the Palestinians lack full rights, study shows. (Haaretz)
  • Settlers attack 3 Palestinian villages:
  • Halamish/Deir Nidam: Halamish settlers hurled stones at passing Palestinian vehicles, then raided nearby Deir Nidam village, but were confronted by villagers, who threw stones and empty bottles. Israeli forces were present at the scene and opened fire at the villagers, locals said.
  • Halamish/Nabi Saleh: Halamish settlers attempted to raid nearby Nabi Saleh village but were blocked by locals.
  • Yitzhar/Einabus: Dozens of Yitzhar settlers raided Einabus village and attempted to attack houses, but were chased away by villagers. Israeli military arrived and fired tear gas canisters at Palestinian residents, lightly injuring several people. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers storm Sheikh Jarrah in E. Jerusalem - Some 50 settlers stormed the neighborhood, attacked two brothers, beating them after spraying them with pepper spray, then hurled stones at Palestinian homes before clashing with residents. Israeli forces arrived to protect the settlers and beat the Palestinians with clubs and rifle butts injuring a young man and a little girl. (Maan
  • Israeli officers beat 3 East Jerusalem teens - Israeli soldiers broke into a building belonging to Mahir Abu Dalou family late Saturday evening and “brutally” assaulted his son Abdul-Rahman, 17, cousin Ammar Abu Dalou, 20, and their friend Majd Jamal Siyam, 16, with rifle butts and clubs. The officers, Abu Dalou added, threatened to “beat and shoot my brother and my wife.” (Maan)
  • Palestinian journalist, young woman attacked in Jerusalem - Journalist Nuha Musleh told Ma’an she was interviewing a young woman near the Old City's Damascus Gate with another journalist when she was (a young Jew) threw a big rock at her shoulder, which caused her to suffer from bruises and lose consciousness. The attacker was caught by locals and turned into police. (Maan)
  • Palestinian youths hurl firebombs at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus - Palestinian security forces told Ma'an that youths gathered in the area after late prayers and hurled firebombs at the tomb, before being dispersed by Palestinian security personnel. (Maan)
  • Lieberman ends partnership with Netanyahu, dismantles Likud-Beiteinu - Foreign minister says Yisrael Beiteinu will remain in coalition; Lieberman: Disagreements between PM and me are fundamental, partnership didn't work and won't work. (Haaretz)
  • 'Dancing Arabs’ to launch Jerusalem Film Festival - The film, based on novels by Haaretz columnist Sayed Kashua, tells the story of an Arab Israeli boy whose parents send him to a boarding school in Jerusalem. (Haaretz+) 
  • The violent past of Shelly Dadon's suspected killer - Hussein Khalifa had previously been jailed for brutally attacking a bailiff; residents of his village call him a difficult man with a history of violence. (Ynet
  • Israeli wins global choreography contest - Idan Sharabi's 'Ours' takes won first place at 28th International Choreographers Competition in Hanover, Germany. (Ynet)
  • Man beaten with iron pipes in Sweden for flying Israeli flag - Police suspect that the attack in the southern Swedish city of Malmo against the 38-year-old was a hate crime, The Local website reports. (JTA, Haaretz
  • Israel signs first-of-its-kind R&D agreement with Japan - Japanese economy minister arrives in Israel at Netanyahu's invitation, initiates collaboration in industrial research between Israeli, Japanese firms. (Ynet
  • U.S., Israel playing 'good cop, bad cop' over Iran's nuclear program, says Khamenei - Iran's supreme leader claims the two countries are trying to intimidate his country into making concessions on the nuclear dispute with the West. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Iran slams Iraqi breakup as Israeli plan - Expressing support for Iraq PM Maliki, Iran says it will never allow 'Netanyahu's dream of disintegrating Iraq to come true.' (Agencies, Ynet
  • NFL players praise Israeli company's orthopedic shoes - AposTherapy develops brand of shoes that helps deal with knee and back pain. (Ynet
  • Israel among Tour de France sponsors - Hundreds of ads and commercials promoting Holy Land are being broadcast on Eurosport during annual bicycle race as part of €500,000 contract signed with Israeli Tourism Ministry. (Ynet)
  • Tourists unsatisfied with value for money in Israel - Foreign visitors rate tour guides and archeological sites as most satisfying components of their Holy Land trip, Tourism Ministry survey shows. (Ynet)


Features:
Mourning by day, mayhem by night: Shoafat still seethes
Two Abu Khdeir family teens- the martyred Mohammed and the beaten Tariq- play key roles they never signed up for in the ongoing conflict that could be the start of the Intifada, Part III. (Ilene Prusher, Haaretz+)
There is a chance for co-existence
Not so long ago, commentator Smadar Shir was at a meeting of Jewish and Arab Israelis who are sure that peace begins within us. And then three yeshiva boys were kidnapped, a youth from Shuafat was murdered and the country became filled with anger and calls for revenge. Yesterday, Smadar Shir returned to the women and heard how the desperation is taking over the hope. (Yedioth's '24 Hours' supplement Monday)
Where did Mohammed Abu Khdeir's murderers come from? The lost children of Israel 
Teens in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods and towns are susceptible to canvassing by Kahanist and other racist groups. They're being overlooked. (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+)
Bi-national state
The wound from October 2000 (riots where security forces killed 13 Arab-Israelis) did not yet heal and now it has re-opened. The severe riots in the north of the country once again connect the Arabs of Israel to the Palestinian powder keg. What is the direction of the biggest minority in Israel? (Arik Bender, Maariv' magazine supplement Monday)
Sayed Kashua: A 'dancing Arab,' caught between two worlds
After making his mark in Haaretz, three books and a popular TV show, Sayed Kashua will see his work featured on the silver screen. (Haaretz+)

Peace Conference Op-Eds (no paywall):
Peace would be possible with the Arab Peace Initiative at its core (Turki Al Faisal, Haaretz) The 2002 initiative still provides a template for a just solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and the Arab world.
Peace is the only path to true security for Israel and the Palestinians (Barack Obama, Haaretz) In an exclusive article for Haaretz's Israel Conference on Peace, Barack Obama says that the only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state. 
Palestine's vision of peace is clear (Mahmoud Abbas, Haaretz) We believe that no just and lasting peace can be achieved without respecting the rights of everyone, including both Palestinians and Israelis.
Peace in the Mideast in our own good time (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz) He who pins his hopes on the next war, which will forever be the last war and also the most successful war, until its deceit and lies are found out.
How the Israeli-Palestinian conflict looks from Mars (Margaret Atwood, Haaretz) All the human beings say they want peace in the Middle East, but none know how to achieve it. The Martians don't understand why. 
The undisputed truth about Israeli occupation (Munib al-Masri, Haaretz) All too often the 'honest brokers' mediating negotiations agree with our occupiers that the destructive spread of settlements is not on occupied land.
For Israel’s existence, peace with the Palestinians is the only way (Haaretz Editorial) There is no method for achieving the goals of Zionism than dialogue, agreements and compromise with our neighbors. 
 
Commentary/Analysis:
**An Israeli Jew's apology to Palestinians
 (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I want to apologize for the unforgivable, for the unfathomable, and for all those on my side who never will.
Palestinian society is the problem (Likud MK Yariv Levin, Israel Hayom) othing unites Palestinians more than their shared hatred of Jews and their desire to eliminate Israel. 
About those unsubstantiated allegations (Simon Plosker, Times of Israel) Police statements that left all potentialities open morphed into “facts” concerning honor killings and Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s sexuality. So many of us hoped and prayed that Jews had played no part in this so that we would not have to confront the devastating reality that some of our own could have committed this crime. 
A foreign, dangerous flame (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) The individuals who burned Muhammad Abu Khdeir to death are light years away from the morality and the humanity of the parents of the three murdered Israeli teenagers.
Justice first, peace later (Chaim Levinson, Haaretz+) The conference for which we’ve gathered today must focus on human rights and injustice. It must tell the stories of people. Otherwise, it’s pointless. 
It will be difficult to recognize the (Abu Khdeir) family as victims of terror (Adv. Yoav Tzach Wax, Maariv) Unfortunately, the law gives clearer solutions to those who are harmed by actions from Arab terror organizations. According to the existing law, it will be difficult to recognize the Abu Khdeir family as victims of terror because of the difficulty to prove that the attackers were part of a terror organization...
World cares only about Jewish killers (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) We don't need a moral stamp of approval from those who are lying in wait, spinning a blood libel. 
Israel must apply rule of law to Jewish revenge vigilantes (Alan M. Dershowitz, Haaretz+) There is no moral equivalent between Israel’s rule of law and Hamas’ rule of terror: Every country has its vigilantes, but where Israel pursues them, Hamas celebrates the killers.
Denouncing Arab youth's murder is not enough (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Rightist politicians rushed to condemn Shuafat murder, but incitement is still considered a legitimate, patriotic act.
No moral symmetry (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) Comparisons that place Israeli and Palestinian societies on the same moral plane are evil and untrue.
New causes for concern at home, in the West Bank, and facing Gaza (Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel) Domestic Arab protests are intensifying, the West Bank is heating up, and Hamas may be about to escalate its attacks. 
And Netanyahu says he's against incitement (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) Throughout his term - and before - the prime minister has never missed an opportunity to speak of Palestinians as monsters, lacking morals and infinitely brutal. 
A sobering moment for complacent Israel (David Horovitz, Times of Israel) If we are to heal this nation, the killing of Muhammed Abu Khdeir must rid us of the illusion that we enjoy a distinctive moral superiority over our neighbors.
When the margins become the center (Dr. Shlomo Yishai, Israel Hayom)  Social media has erased the margins of society, which serve an important function in a healthy society, and given a "long tail" to extremism.
Talk of peace is futile without regime change (Sefi Rachlevsky, Haaretz+) Even closed eyes can see the return of the alliance that led to Rabin’s murder: Netanyahu and the inciting rabbis.
How do we deal with the shame? (Uri Heitner, Israel Hayom) Israel has been far too forgiving of hate crimes and racism, and now we cannot say we heard no evil and saw no evil.
Abbas’ cooperation with Israel sinking him at home (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Only 10 percent of the Palestinian people support Abbas, a Fatah member who is a resident of a refugee camp and a former prisoner said this week.
Why Mahmoud Abbas 'shut down' (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) How America repeated mistakes it made in the past and contributed to the collapse of the recent Israel-Palestinian talks. 
Cease-fire needs 'braking distance' (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Hamas has made it clear that it is not interested in further escalation, but as in previous cases, things may take a while to calm down.
Israel's controlled escalation with Gaza (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Restraint shown by Israel in face of rocket fire and its speedy response to murder of Arab teen have left it in a comfortable situation to launch major operation in Gaza.
Hamas won’t blink first this time if IDF threatens ground operation (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Netanyahu seeks a 'controlled escalation' that would not lead to a ground operation. The question is whether this is possible.
Escalation at Hamas' request (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Out of despair, Islamic organization is doing a lot to draw Israel into Gaza, seeing it as the only choice it has left.
Chicken Game of Israel against Hamas (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Israel estimates that it can prevent a ground invasion, and that even if forces enter Gaza, the operation can be contained. The problem is that if you are planning your exit strategy in advance, more than once things have gotten out of control. 
Our collective responsibility (David Seth-Kirshner, Times of Israel) The murder of Muhammed Abu Khdeir by Jews has brought a deep sense of communal shame.
Israel responded correctly, what of the Arabs? (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) The awful killing of a Palestinian teenager does not justify incitement against the state or throwing stones at the police, drivers and innocent citizens.
The Lebanese paradox (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) While groaning under a flood of Syrian refugees, the Lebanese government is incapable of stopping the group responsible for the influx: Hezbollah.


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