APN's daily news review from Israel - Wednesday May 20, 2020

Quote of the day:

"The man accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, who dragged an entire country through three costly election campaigns for a whole year in an attempt to evade justice, and who has, in the middle of an economic plague, just finished putting together the most bloated, wasteful, ostentatious, exploitative government Israel has ever known, is suddenly worried about the taxpayer’s money, and claims that his presence in court for a needless technical hearing would “cost the public a fortune.”
—Haaretz Editorial on the request by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be absent from the upcoming opening of his trial.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lior Haiat, slammed the European Union for publicly declaring its opposition to Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, calling it 'megaphone diplomacy' and said things should be discussed in 'intimate diplomatic dialogue.' He declared this on Twitter.**

APN is proud to join with 50 organizations from 17 countries in the initiative against Israeli annexation in the West Bank from the J-Link International Progressive Jewish Network, and in committing to take action to prevent this damaging, if not fatal, blow against the two-state solution and peace and security.

APN's daily news review from Israel - Tuesday May 20, 2020

You Must Be Kidding: 

While on leave, a Givati brigade soldier from Dolev settlement dressed in uniform and carrying his weapon, stopped Palestinian cars at a fake checkpoint near his settlement, removed the occupants and then stole the cars.*

In response to the formation of Israel’s new government, which is officially committed to annexing parts of the West Bank, eight members of the Progressive Israel Network, including Americans for Peace Now, together released the following statement:

We are frustrated and alarmed by the intention of the new government, formed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank. We join with all Americans who refuse to sit idly by as Israel’s new government, with the encouragement of the Trump administration, contemplates action blatantly at odds with any commitment to democracy and the pursuit of peace.

APN's daily news review from Israel - Tuesday March 10, 2020

Quote of the day:"After all the empty talk about an 'emergency government,' they set up the biggest, most wasteful government in Israel's history – 36 ministers, 16 deputy ministers. In Israel, there are currently fewer than 50 corona patients on ventilators. There are more ministers and deputy ministers than patients being ventilated.”
—Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said in an impassioned speech at the swearing-in of the new government.*

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

Hear the recording of APN's May 22nd briefing call with Dr. Saeb Erekat:

West Bank Annexation: The Palestinian Leadership’s Perspective

Dr. Erekat is Secretary General of the PLO’s Executive Committee and served for many years as the Palestinian chief negotiator with Israel.

Hear him address the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations as a result of the Israeli government decision to annex large parts of the West Bank. Included was discussion on Tuesday's declaration by the Palestinian Authority that agreements with Israel and the US, including those that are security-related, would cease.

APN's daily news review from IsraelSunday May 17, 2020

Quote of the day:"I really don't get the your disregard for Jordan. Look at the Israeli citizen, right or left, he does not care about this peace. It is a strange indifference, as if the Israeli public takes us for granted, while Netanyahu acts disdainfully toward the Royal House."
--Jordanian Dr. Dureid Mahasana talked about the Israel-Jordan relationship through Jordanian eyes and about the Israeli plan for annexation of West Bank lands in an interview with Yedioth's Arab Affairs correspondent, Smadar Perry.*

The announcement comes as liberal pro-Israel groups mount a pressure campaign to influence Washington politicians to speak out against plans in Israel to annex parts of the West Bank. 

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA MAY 14, 2020

Americans for Peace Now, an influential group on the Jewish Left that was among the first to advocate for the two-state solution, is naming as its president Hadar Susskind, a veteran senior official of an array of Jewish groups. 

1. Bills, Resolutions, & Letters
2. Hearings
3. On the Record

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.