APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday August 18, 2015
Quote of the day:
“I'm not one of those people any more. Not after the last few weeks.”
--Senior Haaretz+ editor Bradley Burston explains his sudden change of view on the question of whether Israel implements Apartheid policy.
--Senior Haaretz+ editor Bradley Burston explains his sudden change of view on the question of whether Israel implements Apartheid policy.
You Must Be Kidding:
“Today they uprooted 1,500-year-old trees.”
--Beit Jala Mayor Nicola Khamis said Monday after Israel resumed construction on a separation barrier near his town - in violation of an Israeli High Court ruling.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- At least 970 minors are taken advantage of through prostitution; Less than a third of them receive aid
- The (whore) house on Fine St. was destroyed and no one will miss it // Ofer Aderet
- 19 killed in attack on tourist area in heart of Bangkok
- Fraud Squad secretly probing Ehud Barak’s monies abroad
- The ‘Panel of Two’: Retired judges filter out candidates for judicial positions – without clear criteria and without legal authority
- Third stab attack in West Bank in three days: Palestinian tried to stab policeman and was shot dead
- Mengenistu family opened battle to get their missing son
- 340,000 a year: Rise of 13% in use of animals for experiments
- Unnecessary (anti-drug) authority // Haaretz Editorial
- Mehadrin tourism
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Terror in Bangkok
- And again: Terrorist with a knife at a junction
- Zigzag government // Yoaz Hendel
- This is what’s done to a Brit who falls in love with Israel
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links)
- Inferno in the heart of Bangkok
- The terrorist asked for medical aid – and stabbed the soldier
- “The hunger-striker will be released if he promises to leave the country”
- Reasonable compromise // Yossi Melman
- Tragedy in the north: 14-year-old drowned in the Jordan River while with her family
Israel Hayom
- Terror in Bangkok
- “The terrorist tried to stab me in the head”
- Life after the horror – Ronit Yagal gave birth two years after her ex kidnapped their two children and threw them to their death off a roof
- Due to his homophobic remarks, (religious) Dr. Sudi Namir was dismissed from the ethics committee of the Medical Association (Hebrew)
- Khamenei threatens: “It’s not clear if the nuclear deal will be approved in Iran”
- Ahead of the return to studies: Teachers will develop a teaching application
News Summary:
A enormous explosion goes off in the heart of Bangkok’s tourist area, a Palestinian is shot dead after allegedly attempting to stab a an Israeli soldier – the third such incident in three days, and Israel surprises by offering a compromise to release a comatose hunger-striking Palestinian man from detention without trial making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, conflicting reports about talks between Hamas and Israel and a new IDF assessment that says the Iran nuclear deal has its plusses.
Israel said it would allow Palestinian hunger-striker and detainee Mohammed Allaan, 31, to go free if he agreed to live in exile for four years. Allaan was comatose on his 62rd day without food when Israel made the compromise offer to the High Court on Monday. Doctors say the Palestinian hunger-striker will die soon if he does not begin to eat. Allaan demands to either be put on trial – he has been imprisoned for months without charges in what Israel calls ‘administrative detention’ – or to hunger-strike to death. Maariv’s security analyst, Yossi Melman, wrote today that the compromise was meant to “allow all sides to climb down their high trees,” but mainly, it was meant to save Israel’s prestige. (See Commentary/Analysis) Allaan’s lawyer, Jamil Khatib, from the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, rejected the offer immediately, saying that it "shows that the administrative detention has become a serious, long-term punishment without trial and is based on outside considerations." Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan slammed the State’s proposal saying, “It would obviously lead to mass hunger strikes among administrative detainees – a new weapon for the terrorists.” Allan, who is a lawyer from the Nablus-area West Bank village of Einabus, has been on hunger strike 62 days. Palestinians from across the political spectrum, as well as Israeli Arabs, are rallying in solidarity with him. At a rally in Nablus, a Fatah official delivered a speech on behalf of all Palestinian political factions urging the international community to save Allan's life. The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of preventing a Palestinian doctor, Dr. Hani Abdeen, from visiting Allan to examine his health, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of personally interfering in the case and preventing the visit. Meanwhile, Israel doctors said Monday they would try to bring Allaan out of his coma, although it remains unclear whether he has suffered irreversible brain damage. On Sunday, violent confrontations broke out both at the northern entrance to Ashkelon and Barzilai Medical Center, where Allaan is being treated.
Israel denied the reports of truce talks with Hamas. This comes after Arab media outlets reported significant progress made toward a long-term cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, which included the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip. The reports said that a delegation of Hamas officials, led by Deputy Head of Hamas’ politburo Ismail Haniyeh, will travel to Cairo soon for talks with Egypt's intelligence chief about a long-term truce with Israel.
The reports have upset the Fatah party, which told JPost/Maariv that a Hamas-Israel agreement would lead to a separate Palestinian state in Gaza. Fatah accused Hamas of trying “to win Israeli recognition at the cost of the Palestinian national project.” But Haniyeh said Hamas will not accept a separate state in Gaza, noting that Gaza only accounts for 2% of Palestinian land, and as such, the creation of a Palestinian state in the coastal enclave would be unacceptable.
In contradiction to Netanyahu’s declarations, an analysis of the Iran nuclear agreement by the IDF Intelligence Corps revealed that Iran will be deprived of military nuclear capability and it will also likely avoid supporting terrorist attacks aimed directly at Israel, and instead will act with relative restraint. On the down side, once the agreement expires, Iran will be weeks away from possessing full nuclear capabilities, the report said, seeing more minuses than plusses. Interestingly, one of the major risks in Israel’s view is that the agreement makes Iran kosher, ‘legitimate,’ and no longer a pariah state. This will allow for its relations with the West to be "institutionalized,” which will affect the battles being waged in the Middle East. (More from Haaretz+ and Ynet) Meanwhile, 340 US rabbis urged Congress to support the Iran deal. They sought to challenge the assertion that US Jewry is united against the deal.
A enormous explosion goes off in the heart of Bangkok’s tourist area, a Palestinian is shot dead after allegedly attempting to stab a an Israeli soldier – the third such incident in three days, and Israel surprises by offering a compromise to release a comatose hunger-striking Palestinian man from detention without trial making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, conflicting reports about talks between Hamas and Israel and a new IDF assessment that says the Iran nuclear deal has its plusses.
Israel said it would allow Palestinian hunger-striker and detainee Mohammed Allaan, 31, to go free if he agreed to live in exile for four years. Allaan was comatose on his 62rd day without food when Israel made the compromise offer to the High Court on Monday. Doctors say the Palestinian hunger-striker will die soon if he does not begin to eat. Allaan demands to either be put on trial – he has been imprisoned for months without charges in what Israel calls ‘administrative detention’ – or to hunger-strike to death. Maariv’s security analyst, Yossi Melman, wrote today that the compromise was meant to “allow all sides to climb down their high trees,” but mainly, it was meant to save Israel’s prestige. (See Commentary/Analysis) Allaan’s lawyer, Jamil Khatib, from the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, rejected the offer immediately, saying that it "shows that the administrative detention has become a serious, long-term punishment without trial and is based on outside considerations." Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan slammed the State’s proposal saying, “It would obviously lead to mass hunger strikes among administrative detainees – a new weapon for the terrorists.” Allan, who is a lawyer from the Nablus-area West Bank village of Einabus, has been on hunger strike 62 days. Palestinians from across the political spectrum, as well as Israeli Arabs, are rallying in solidarity with him. At a rally in Nablus, a Fatah official delivered a speech on behalf of all Palestinian political factions urging the international community to save Allan's life. The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of preventing a Palestinian doctor, Dr. Hani Abdeen, from visiting Allan to examine his health, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of personally interfering in the case and preventing the visit. Meanwhile, Israel doctors said Monday they would try to bring Allaan out of his coma, although it remains unclear whether he has suffered irreversible brain damage. On Sunday, violent confrontations broke out both at the northern entrance to Ashkelon and Barzilai Medical Center, where Allaan is being treated.
Israel denied the reports of truce talks with Hamas. This comes after Arab media outlets reported significant progress made toward a long-term cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, which included the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip. The reports said that a delegation of Hamas officials, led by Deputy Head of Hamas’ politburo Ismail Haniyeh, will travel to Cairo soon for talks with Egypt's intelligence chief about a long-term truce with Israel.
The reports have upset the Fatah party, which told JPost/Maariv that a Hamas-Israel agreement would lead to a separate Palestinian state in Gaza. Fatah accused Hamas of trying “to win Israeli recognition at the cost of the Palestinian national project.” But Haniyeh said Hamas will not accept a separate state in Gaza, noting that Gaza only accounts for 2% of Palestinian land, and as such, the creation of a Palestinian state in the coastal enclave would be unacceptable.
In contradiction to Netanyahu’s declarations, an analysis of the Iran nuclear agreement by the IDF Intelligence Corps revealed that Iran will be deprived of military nuclear capability and it will also likely avoid supporting terrorist attacks aimed directly at Israel, and instead will act with relative restraint. On the down side, once the agreement expires, Iran will be weeks away from possessing full nuclear capabilities, the report said, seeing more minuses than plusses. Interestingly, one of the major risks in Israel’s view is that the agreement makes Iran kosher, ‘legitimate,’ and no longer a pariah state. This will allow for its relations with the West to be "institutionalized,” which will affect the battles being waged in the Middle East. (More from Haaretz+ and Ynet) Meanwhile, 340 US rabbis urged Congress to support the Iran deal. They sought to challenge the assertion that US Jewry is united against the deal.
Quick Hits:
- Israeli settler allegedly runs over Palestinian teen near Nablus - An Israeli settler on Sunday reportedly ran over a Palestinian teen in Yatma village in southern Nablus then fled the scene. Muhammad Mustafa Najjar, 19, was moderately injured and taken to Rafidia hospital. (Maan)
- Israeli forces demolish Bedouin structures east of Jerusalem - The structures belonged to more than 20 families of the Jahalin Bedouin community in eastern Jerusalem, in an area that lies in the E1 corridor. (Maan)
- Egypt opens Rafah crossing for 4 days after months of closure - Muhammad Abu Zayed, Palestinian director of borders and crossings, said that the crossing would be open for students, medical patients, and other humanitarian cases. (Maan)
- Gaza woman dies of wounds from Israeli ordinance explosion - Amina Abu Naqira, 77, died Sunday morning a week after sustaining wounds when an unexploded Israeli ordnance from last summer's Israeli military offensive went off. It killed four other Palestinians and injured more than 30. (Maan)
- Israeli forces deny Gaza poet, novelist entry to West Bank - Poet Salim al-Naffar said he and novelist Ibrahim al-Zant were denied permission to cross Erez Crossing after having been invited by the PA Ministry of Culture to take part in a writers' conference next week in Ramallah. (Maan)
- Israeli military vehicles raze land in Gaza border area - Five Israeli excavators raided a neighborhood near Rafah and leveled Palestinian land, while Israeli reconnaissance planes flew overhead and Israeli military tanks positioned on the border between Gaza and Israel. (Maan)
- Israeli authorities confiscate land adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque - Jerusalem inspectors from Israel's Nature and Parks Authority, escorted by Israeli troops, stormed and confiscated land belonging to the al-Husseini and the al-Ansari families near the Golden gate. One of the owners said he believes Israel plans to use it for settlement expansion. (Maan)
- Israel builds West Bank separation barrier despite court ruling - Palestinian mayor blasts uprooting of '1,500-year-old olive trees.' (Haaretz+ and Maan)
- East Jerusalem village virtually sealed off after stone-throwing - Residents of Isawiyah complain of collective punishment, but police say it’s for the security of passing traffic on the nearby Jerusalem-Ma’ale Adumim road. (Haaretz+)
- Malachi Rosenfeld's murderers used PA money to fund attack - Indictments filed against terrorists behind murders of Rosenfeld, Danny Gonen; leader of terror cell, released in Shalit deal, used PA monthly stipend to train and arm cell members. (Ynet)
- In Jerusalem, even a temporary pool is cause for controversy - The city's call for proposals to restore and develop Mamilla Pool has drawn protest from environmentalists, preservationists and Muslim officials. (Haaretz+)
- A legal umbrella for IDF soldiers in face of ICC - Col. Sharon Afek is set to become the IDF's new Military Advocate General in the face of the growing legal threats the IDF's commanders and troops are facing, with ICC investigations presenting a serious challenge. (Yedioth/Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- Probe: Israeli Army Was Lax in Ill-fated Transfer of Wounded Syrians - No action taken against soldiers following mob murder of Syrian. (Haaretz+)
- Sources: Fraud squad secretly checking Ehud Barak’s foreign holdings - Former Israeli prime minister denies that he failed to report money he held overseas and says neither the police nor tax authority has contacted him. (Haaretz+)
- ‘Panel of two’ holds sway over appointment of Israeli judges - Senior judicial officials could recall very few instances of a judge being promoted despite getting a negative rating from the two-member panel. (Haaretz+)
- Family of missing Israeli wants pressure on Hamas - Friends, family and activists gather outside Israeli prison to protest Hamas' inhumane holding of mentally unstable Avera Mengistu. Protest held on visitors' day to highlight that Palestinian prisoners in Israel receive visits. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- IDF gears up for threats posed by Iran deal - IDF Intelligence Corps is stepping up its monitoring of Iran, with the goal of detecting any Iranian violations of the terms of the nuclear deal. IDF estimates that Islamic State group is recruiting around 1,500 new members each month. (Israel Hayom)
- Israeli high school students to be offered cyber studies - Education Ministry launches pilot program for cyber studies in 20 high schools nationwide. Education Minister Naftali Bennett: Nothing is as satisfying as knowing you're helping the state deal with the challenges of the new millennium. (Israel Hayom)
- Mike Huckabee heading to Israel to raise funds, discuss Iran deal - The Republican presidential hopeful says he'll meet with 'a number of officials' while in Israel; his campaign says details are to be provided only after his return due to security concerns. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Israel's economic growth slowing dramatically in 2015 - Stunted growth and declining exports are driving Israel’s dramatic economic slowdown, with the second quarter of 2015 mirroring Operation Protective Edge growth figures. (Ynet)
- Palestinian group in Syria says Israeli strike killed one of its fighters - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine says Israel Air Force attacked one of its sites in southwestern Syrian town of Zabadani. (Haaretz+)
- Spain: Matisyahu show nixed due to BDS demands - Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival organizers, under intense pressure from anti-Israel group, cancel Jewish reggae star's show after he refuses to express support for Palestinian statehood. World Jewish Congress: This is a clear case of anti-Semitism. (Israel Hayom)
- Israeli tourists take Berlin - Official figures reveal number of nights spent by an Israeli tourist in German capital is the most of any country in the world; Israel is also second in number of tourist stays. (Ynet)
Features:
‘I sent a healthy child to the army, and now he’s scarred and damaged’
A unique support group, the first of its kind, helps the parents of soldiers wounded in Protective Edge deal with the new reality they and their sons find themselves in; 'I got a new child,' one of the father says. 'Less happy, more introverted. This is a child I don't know. I want to learn how to bring back the child I had.' (Chen Kotas-Bar, Yedioth/Ynet)
Palestinians Laugh It Off in Ramallah
The town's first-ever comedy festival featured seven U.S.-Arab stand-ups who reveled in lampooning their own dual loyalties. (Danna Harman, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
A unique support group, the first of its kind, helps the parents of soldiers wounded in Protective Edge deal with the new reality they and their sons find themselves in; 'I got a new child,' one of the father says. 'Less happy, more introverted. This is a child I don't know. I want to learn how to bring back the child I had.' (Chen Kotas-Bar, Yedioth/Ynet)
Palestinians Laugh It Off in Ramallah
The town's first-ever comedy festival featured seven U.S.-Arab stand-ups who reveled in lampooning their own dual loyalties. (Danna Harman, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
It's Time to Admit It. Israeli Policy Is What It Is: Apartheid (Bradley
Burston, Haaretz+) I used to be one of those people who took issue with the label of apartheid as
applied to Israel. Not anymore.
On the edge of the abyss (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel is willing to do anything to thwart the nuclear deal, including publicly threatening Iranian scientists, interfering with the internal affairs of the US, and dividing US Jews; meanwhile, Netanyahu's mistaken 2002 assessment of Iraq is coming back to haunt him in his battle against Tehran.
Is There a Long-term Israel-Hamas Agreement in the Works? (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) An advisor to Turkey's prime minister says progress has been made on an accord. Such a deal would remove the last obstacle in normalizing Israel-Turkey relations.
A reasonable compromise: the hunger strike caught Israel between a rock and a hard place (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The state’s surprise proposal to the High Court to release Mohammed Allaan p was intended to allow all the parties, including the Palestinian Authority, to climb down from their high trees. But, mainly, it was meant to save Israel’s prestige…and it indicates how much Israel fears his death and its ramifications in the (Palestinian) Territories. The security establishment fears creating a precedent. If it gives in to Allaan, then other detainees can take the same step. Allaan is one out of 340 administrative detainees in Israeli jail without trial for periods ranging from six months to two years and a half. [The military court then extends the detention. – OH] Administrative detention is a difficult to accept in a democratic country, in which one of the sacred principles is the presumption of innocence. Precedents from the UK where hunger strikes ended in compromise. Let us hope that that will happen this time too.
The State of Israel is turning into a one-time historic event (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) Political society is disintegrating and the political crisis that is the occupation is too deep for the right-wing government to extricate us.
The two-faced HaBayit HaYehudi (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) Bennett and Shaked appear to be the fulfillment of the Zionist dream - modern, nationalistic and stately. But this facade crumbles when Bezalel Smotrich and Moti Yogev come out of the woodwork.
In Bennett's eyes, Diaspora Jewry serves Israel and only Israel (Noa Osterreicher, Haaretz+) We've all been drafted for life, and only death will release us from the ranks. You’re here for us, not the other way around.
Doomed: Netanyahu puts American Jews to the most severe test of loyalty (Uri Sevir, Maariv) Netanyahu standing at the forefront of the battle for the heart of the Jewish-American against Obama, and on Obama’s political turf, will be held against him and the State of Israel.
Hunger striker a headache for both Israel and the Palestinians (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Mohammed Allaan’s death would spur unrest and a clampdown, while dulling the tool of detention without trial.
According to the military's assessment, there is no war about to happen on the northern border (Yossi Melman, Maariv) In these humdrum days for the media, it generates artificial hysteria. But in background discussions with senior officers there was no word of unusual deployment or high alert.
IDF chief Eisenkot is challenging the known order (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) In releasing the IDF's grand strategy, the chief of staff has pushed the political leadership into a corner, while circumventing any weight held by the Locker report.
Israel's new UN envoy is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) Israel’s ambassador to the UN has to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on an almost daily basis - but the opinions Danny Danon brings with him are a red flag for many of Israel's allies.
Israel, Gaza and the seven-state solution (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Instead of still grousing about the disengagement from Gaza, the Israeli right wing should thank Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for it.
Free Mohammed Allaan now (Haaretz Monday Editorial) Israel did the right thing last month when it released Khader Adnan, a Palestinian detainee whose life was at risk after a 54-day hunger strike, and it must do the same this time.
The fight against terrorism isn’t a utopia (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The government's proposal to release hunger striker into exile isn't ideal, but better solutions are nowhere to be found.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not about religion (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) Extremists call it a 'holy war,' but this conflict has always been about the very secular issues of territory, injustice and identity.
With Sissi, Egypt sees a return of the pharaohs (Elie Podeh and Elad Gilad, Haaretz+) Ever since Sissi began his presidential term, he has frequently spoken of the Egyptian people as a single entity – not Muslims, not Christians, but Egyptians.
Submission in France, a dilemma in Israel (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Michel Houellebecq's 'Submission' presents a France that easily succumbs to Islamic rule merely for convenience. What will happen if similar processes happen in Israel? Will Israelis revolt, risking their next paycheck, their next vacation, their next meal? Or will they, too, submit?
On the edge of the abyss (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel is willing to do anything to thwart the nuclear deal, including publicly threatening Iranian scientists, interfering with the internal affairs of the US, and dividing US Jews; meanwhile, Netanyahu's mistaken 2002 assessment of Iraq is coming back to haunt him in his battle against Tehran.
Is There a Long-term Israel-Hamas Agreement in the Works? (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) An advisor to Turkey's prime minister says progress has been made on an accord. Such a deal would remove the last obstacle in normalizing Israel-Turkey relations.
A reasonable compromise: the hunger strike caught Israel between a rock and a hard place (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The state’s surprise proposal to the High Court to release Mohammed Allaan p was intended to allow all the parties, including the Palestinian Authority, to climb down from their high trees. But, mainly, it was meant to save Israel’s prestige…and it indicates how much Israel fears his death and its ramifications in the (Palestinian) Territories. The security establishment fears creating a precedent. If it gives in to Allaan, then other detainees can take the same step. Allaan is one out of 340 administrative detainees in Israeli jail without trial for periods ranging from six months to two years and a half. [The military court then extends the detention. – OH] Administrative detention is a difficult to accept in a democratic country, in which one of the sacred principles is the presumption of innocence. Precedents from the UK where hunger strikes ended in compromise. Let us hope that that will happen this time too.
The State of Israel is turning into a one-time historic event (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) Political society is disintegrating and the political crisis that is the occupation is too deep for the right-wing government to extricate us.
The two-faced HaBayit HaYehudi (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) Bennett and Shaked appear to be the fulfillment of the Zionist dream - modern, nationalistic and stately. But this facade crumbles when Bezalel Smotrich and Moti Yogev come out of the woodwork.
In Bennett's eyes, Diaspora Jewry serves Israel and only Israel (Noa Osterreicher, Haaretz+) We've all been drafted for life, and only death will release us from the ranks. You’re here for us, not the other way around.
Doomed: Netanyahu puts American Jews to the most severe test of loyalty (Uri Sevir, Maariv) Netanyahu standing at the forefront of the battle for the heart of the Jewish-American against Obama, and on Obama’s political turf, will be held against him and the State of Israel.
Hunger striker a headache for both Israel and the Palestinians (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Mohammed Allaan’s death would spur unrest and a clampdown, while dulling the tool of detention without trial.
According to the military's assessment, there is no war about to happen on the northern border (Yossi Melman, Maariv) In these humdrum days for the media, it generates artificial hysteria. But in background discussions with senior officers there was no word of unusual deployment or high alert.
IDF chief Eisenkot is challenging the known order (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) In releasing the IDF's grand strategy, the chief of staff has pushed the political leadership into a corner, while circumventing any weight held by the Locker report.
Israel's new UN envoy is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) Israel’s ambassador to the UN has to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on an almost daily basis - but the opinions Danny Danon brings with him are a red flag for many of Israel's allies.
Israel, Gaza and the seven-state solution (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Instead of still grousing about the disengagement from Gaza, the Israeli right wing should thank Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for it.
Free Mohammed Allaan now (Haaretz Monday Editorial) Israel did the right thing last month when it released Khader Adnan, a Palestinian detainee whose life was at risk after a 54-day hunger strike, and it must do the same this time.
The fight against terrorism isn’t a utopia (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The government's proposal to release hunger striker into exile isn't ideal, but better solutions are nowhere to be found.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not about religion (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) Extremists call it a 'holy war,' but this conflict has always been about the very secular issues of territory, injustice and identity.
With Sissi, Egypt sees a return of the pharaohs (Elie Podeh and Elad Gilad, Haaretz+) Ever since Sissi began his presidential term, he has frequently spoken of the Egyptian people as a single entity – not Muslims, not Christians, but Egyptians.
Submission in France, a dilemma in Israel (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Michel Houellebecq's 'Submission' presents a France that easily succumbs to Islamic rule merely for convenience. What will happen if similar processes happen in Israel? Will Israelis revolt, risking their next paycheck, their next vacation, their next meal? Or will they, too, submit?
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.