--In his speech at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, opposition and Zionist Camp leader, MK Isaac Herzog, gave scathing criticism of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's leadership.**
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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.
This week, Alpher discusses developments in both Egypt and Lebanon, two of Israel’s Arab neighbors, which appear to reflect a steady expanse of the regional influence of Russia, Syria and Iran, based on their military progress in Syria; what this means for Israel and the US; Egypt's tilt toward Assad; Lebanon's attempt to break an extended political logjam; who gains strategically from all this; where this leaves Israel; and does this affect the Israeli-Palestinian equation.
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On October 21, the Israeli Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth published a comprehensive interview and profile of Avi Bouskila, Peace Now’s new executive director. The interview was subsequently translated into English and published by Yedioth’s online service, Ynet. Following is a selection of quotes from the article. To read the feature in its entirety, click here.
“Avi Buskila, the new director of Peace Now, is the opposite of a stereotypical leftist leader: his parents emigrated from Morocco, he grew up in the periphery, and he served as a combat soldier in the IDF.”
"I won’t apologize for serving in the IDF longer than Naftali Bennett or for living in the periphery longer than Miri Regev,’ he says defiantly.”
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Earlier this week Haaretz
reported that a new illegal outpost is being established on private Palestinian land near Givat Salit and near
the Palestinian community of Al-Khaimah. Yesterday (25.10) the settlers moved the outpost from the private lands
and re-established it on "state lands" in a nearby hill.
It is yet to be seen whether the government takes action to evacuate the illegal structures or allows for the
substantiation of a new outpost.
All of the structures in Al-Khaimah were demolished completely by the Civil Administration approximately a month
ago and Peace Now tends to think that the demolition of Al-Khaimah and the establishment of the new outpost
are related, in the sense that the settlers exerted pressure on the government to demolish specifically in that
area. Furthermore, It is possible that the new illegal outpost is meant to serve as a bargaining chip by
the settlers, who will demand demolitions of more Palestinian homes if the government will seek to enforce the law
and evacuate them. Peace Now is familiar with at least one case in which this method was utilized by the settlers,
when two years ago settlers established an illegal outpost near the settlement of Maskiyot and the Palestinian
community of Ain al Hilweh and agreed to evacuate only after several Palestinian homes were demolished.