APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday February 16, 2016
Quote of the day:
"Many voices in Israel today have a narrow, minimalist understanding of the substance of
democracy. For them, democracy is not anything but majority rule. Some of them believe
this."
--Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sounded alarms over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill aimed at suspending Arab Knesset members.*
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You Must Be Kidding:
Police investigating a fire at a Muslim holy site in an Arab village in northern Israel said they saw no indication that this was a hate crime, as they didn't find any inflammatory graffiti. The tomb was seriously damaged and holy books were burned.**
--Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sounded alarms over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill aimed at suspending Arab Knesset members.*
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You Must Be Kidding:
Police investigating a fire at a Muslim holy site in an Arab village in northern Israel said they saw no indication that this was a hate crime, as they didn't find any inflammatory graffiti. The tomb was seriously damaged and holy books were burned.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Rivlin: Law to suspend MKs – problematic understanding of democracy
- Former prime minister Olmert began serving his prison sentence at Ma’asiyahu prison
- Wave of terror: Intifada that is not called by name // Amos Harel
- Jerusalem Municipality brings back plan for Wailing Wall cable car
- The traffic accident on Hwy 1: The driver is suspected of attempting to hide evidence that documented speed of bus
- Parents in Kafr Kassem suspected of involvement in murder of their 18-year-old daughter
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Prisoner number 9032478 – Ehud Olmert began serving his sentence
- Rivlin against Netanyahu’s bill
- Suspicion: Bus driver deleted the ‘black box’
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Prisoner number 9032478 – Former prime minister behind bars
- Presidential attack against Netanyahu (for PM's law to suspend MKs)
- Six funerals in a day (casualties of bus accident)
- The long arm – This is how Israel tried to sabotage the computrs of the Iranian nuclear project
Israel Hayom
- Prisoner number 9032478 – Ma’asiyahu prison gates closed behind the back of Ehud Olmert
- A modest bed for soul-searching // Mordechai Gilat
- “Why did they let the driver drive a bus again?
- Rivlin against bill to suspend MKs: Harms the essence of the Knesset and its voters
News Summary:
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert declared his innocence as he entered the jail gates and Israelis got a peek at his new living space, ultra-Orthodox Jews buried their loved ones killed in a traffic accident and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin criticized the bill to suspend Arab MKs making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, the latest in Israeli-Palestinian violence and Israeli diplomacy.
Monday, the Shin Bet released statistics on the latest wave of violence, showing that nearly half of the assailants were under the age of 20. That afternoon, a young female Palestinian was overpowered by Border Police after she took her hand out of her pocket holding a large knife at the Damascus Gate Jerusalem’s Old City. Some 37% of the Palestinian attackers are between the ages of 16-20 and another 10% are under age 16. About 11% of the assailants are females. Almost three-quarters of the 228 attacks took place in the West Bank, some 16% in Jerusalem. [It appears no differentiation was made between Palestinian East and Israeli west Jerusalem. – OH] The Shin Bet counts the attacks beginning October 1st , 2015, when the Heinkin couple were murdered in the West Bank. (Also Maariv) Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said that “In Israel there are thousands of potential terrorists,” Maariv reported. Some 28 Palestinians were shot and injured during clashes with Israeli forces in the Al-Amari refugee camp, near Ramallah, when the Israeli forces surrounded a home and Palestinian youth "tried to defend" the home, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces. Haaretz+ reported that the forces also encountered shooting.
Meanwhile, Israel returned the first of the 10 Palestinian corpses of attackers from E. Jerusalem that it has been holding in what some Jews and many Arabs see as reprehensible. The first was returned at night after being held for over three months. (Also Haaretz+ and Maan)
The wheelchair incident in Hebron made waves in Maariv and Yedioth newspapers today. The papers noted that the foreign papers reported on the video showing a Border Policeman dumping a 50-year-old handicapped Palestinian man from his wheelchair onto the ground, minutes after a reported stabbing attack a few meters away. Now the Border Police announced it, too, has opened an investigation, along with the Justice Ministry into the incident.
*Both President Rivlin and Speaker of the Knesset MK Yuli Edelstein criticized Netanyahu’s bill that would make it easier to suspend MKs – specifically Arab ones from the Knesset. Rivlin said the bill exemplifies a problematic understanding of democracy in Israel, and that it betrays the voters and the essence of the Knesset. He called the liberal wing of the Israeli right to form an alternative to what he said was a narrow and dangerous perception of democracy. (Also Maariv) But MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi) was undeterred and was set to present a new, tougher version of the bill today, at Netanyahu’s behest.
Netanyahu led a ministerial delegation to Germany yesterday and will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel today in the framework of a series of government-to-government meetings between the Israeli and German governments. (Ironically,) Israeli Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin will present Israel's absorption model to German authorities to deal with the Muslim refugees. Ahead of the trip, Netanyahu met Monday with US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and showed her videos, saying Palestinians incited to violence. (Maariv)
On the Turkish-Israel front, a Turkish official said conditions are ripe for reconciliation.But things look less positive on the Arab front. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said the Palestinians will “never” return to direct negotiations with Israel and stressed that a multilateral framework to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is needed. Maliki also warned that without international involvement, a vacuum will be left that may end up being filled by the Islamic State jihadist group. (Maariv) And, a Saudi website reported that Egypt has canceled a planned visit by Netanyahu because Cairo is furious after Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Egypt flooded Hamas tunnels to Gaza at Israel's request. (Maariv)
Also, some interesting quotes by Israeli leaders who spoke at Ynet’s new visual broadcast studio. Bennett: Give Palestinians 'autonomy on steroids.’ Tibi: 'Holding onto bodies amounts to necrophilia'; Lieberman: 'Government has no clear policies'; Lapid: 'Israeli foreign policy completely fallen apart.'
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert declared his innocence as he entered the jail gates and Israelis got a peek at his new living space, ultra-Orthodox Jews buried their loved ones killed in a traffic accident and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin criticized the bill to suspend Arab MKs making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, the latest in Israeli-Palestinian violence and Israeli diplomacy.
Monday, the Shin Bet released statistics on the latest wave of violence, showing that nearly half of the assailants were under the age of 20. That afternoon, a young female Palestinian was overpowered by Border Police after she took her hand out of her pocket holding a large knife at the Damascus Gate Jerusalem’s Old City. Some 37% of the Palestinian attackers are between the ages of 16-20 and another 10% are under age 16. About 11% of the assailants are females. Almost three-quarters of the 228 attacks took place in the West Bank, some 16% in Jerusalem. [It appears no differentiation was made between Palestinian East and Israeli west Jerusalem. – OH] The Shin Bet counts the attacks beginning October 1st , 2015, when the Heinkin couple were murdered in the West Bank. (Also Maariv) Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said that “In Israel there are thousands of potential terrorists,” Maariv reported. Some 28 Palestinians were shot and injured during clashes with Israeli forces in the Al-Amari refugee camp, near Ramallah, when the Israeli forces surrounded a home and Palestinian youth "tried to defend" the home, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces. Haaretz+ reported that the forces also encountered shooting.
Meanwhile, Israel returned the first of the 10 Palestinian corpses of attackers from E. Jerusalem that it has been holding in what some Jews and many Arabs see as reprehensible. The first was returned at night after being held for over three months. (Also Haaretz+ and Maan)
The wheelchair incident in Hebron made waves in Maariv and Yedioth newspapers today. The papers noted that the foreign papers reported on the video showing a Border Policeman dumping a 50-year-old handicapped Palestinian man from his wheelchair onto the ground, minutes after a reported stabbing attack a few meters away. Now the Border Police announced it, too, has opened an investigation, along with the Justice Ministry into the incident.
*Both President Rivlin and Speaker of the Knesset MK Yuli Edelstein criticized Netanyahu’s bill that would make it easier to suspend MKs – specifically Arab ones from the Knesset. Rivlin said the bill exemplifies a problematic understanding of democracy in Israel, and that it betrays the voters and the essence of the Knesset. He called the liberal wing of the Israeli right to form an alternative to what he said was a narrow and dangerous perception of democracy. (Also Maariv) But MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi) was undeterred and was set to present a new, tougher version of the bill today, at Netanyahu’s behest.
Netanyahu led a ministerial delegation to Germany yesterday and will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel today in the framework of a series of government-to-government meetings between the Israeli and German governments. (Ironically,) Israeli Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin will present Israel's absorption model to German authorities to deal with the Muslim refugees. Ahead of the trip, Netanyahu met Monday with US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and showed her videos, saying Palestinians incited to violence. (Maariv)
On the Turkish-Israel front, a Turkish official said conditions are ripe for reconciliation.But things look less positive on the Arab front. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said the Palestinians will “never” return to direct negotiations with Israel and stressed that a multilateral framework to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is needed. Maliki also warned that without international involvement, a vacuum will be left that may end up being filled by the Islamic State jihadist group. (Maariv) And, a Saudi website reported that Egypt has canceled a planned visit by Netanyahu because Cairo is furious after Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Egypt flooded Hamas tunnels to Gaza at Israel's request. (Maariv)
Also, some interesting quotes by Israeli leaders who spoke at Ynet’s new visual broadcast studio. Bennett: Give Palestinians 'autonomy on steroids.’ Tibi: 'Holding onto bodies amounts to necrophilia'; Lieberman: 'Government has no clear policies'; Lapid: 'Israeli foreign policy completely fallen apart.'
Quick Hits:
- Lawyer: Hunger-striking Palestinian journalist 'screams' to hear son's voice - Mohammed al-Qiq, 33, was suffering sharp pain in his chest, numbness in his face, and had begun "shouting loudly, and screaming: 'Let me hear my son's voice, please God," said Hanan al-Khatib, a lawyer with the Palestinian Authority Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, in a statement. (Maan + VIDEO)
- Palestinian hunger-striker rejects compromise sought to save his life - On 82nd day of Mohammed al-Qiq's hunger strike, Israeli High Court proposes transferring him from Israeli hospital to Palestinian one in East Jerusalem; Qiq demanded that Israel end his administrative detention and allow him to be treated in Ramallah. (Haaretz+, Maan and Ynet)
- 16 Hamas prisoners in Israel launch hunger strike in solidarity with detained Palestinian journalist - Two Israeli activists also said over the weekend they would join the hunger strike. There are demonstrations in support of Qiq in Palestinian towns across the West Bank on an almost daily basis. Family members say Mohammed al-Qiq, who has been on hunger strike for 82 days, is in grave danger of suffering a failure of his internal organs. (Haaretz+)
- **Torching of tomb deliberate attack on Muslim site, Israeli Arab mayor says - Residents of Kaukab Abu al-Hija village, in northern Israel, protest arson at tomb on Saturday night, the second such incident in two years; police say no evidence yet of incident being a hate crime. Holy books left in the compound were also burned. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli naval forces open fire on Gaza fishermen - Fishermen told Ma'an that the forces opened fire on their vessels, forcing them to return to the shore. No injuries were reported. (Maan)
- Israel demolishes homes, structures in Nablus-area village - Israeli troops forced residents, as well as foreign activists, to evacuate the structures for immediate demolition. (Maan)
- Jews and Arabs 'simply singing' together in Jerusalem - Jewish and Arab residents of Jerusalem build bridges with the sound of music; 'Every event that is held is the best answer to the violence,' says on participant. (Ynet)
- Israeli army cordons off West Bank village after clash with Palestinians - IDF clamps down on Araka after two Palestinian youths killed in clashes, while lifting closure on village of Nahalin, imposed a week ago after a stabbing attack. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli lockdown of West Bank village enters seventh day following stabbing - As of Sunday, the army has searched only a fraction of Nahalin's homes. Villagers say that during the night, soldiers periodically throwing gas grenades. (Haaretz+)
- Head of Tanzim in Qalandiya arrested - Jamal Abu-Leil, head of the Tanzim (a militant arm of Fatah) in the West Bank (sic- also partly in E. Jerusalem) refugee camp Qalandiya, was arrested late Sunday night by IDF and Shin Bet forces. Abu-Leil, who is an Israeli citizen [probably only holds an Israeli residence ID, like all E. Jerusalemites– OH], directed the execution of multiple shooting terror attacks towards Israel and passed terrorist funds to finance militant action before he was arrested, according to the Shin Bet. [Note Ynet reporter fails to attribute accusations] . (Ynet and Israel Hayom, p. 13)
- [Likud MK who sparked disdain and laughter:] 'Palestinian identity was created in response to Zionism' - After sparking uproar last week by stating that there was no such thing as "Palestine" because Arabic does not have a "P" sound, Likud MK Anat Berko sticks to her guns, vowing to continue to expose "Palestinian lies." (Israel Hayom)
- Homefront Command to certify high schoolers as first responders - Tenth graders nationwide to receive 10 hours of search and rescue and firefighting training. Col. Sigal Tidhar of the IDF Homefront Command: If there are working hands that know what to do in a major event like an earthquake, we've done our part. (Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Cabinet to vote on plan to increase number of Palestinian workers - "We will get to more than 70,000 Palestinian construction workers" and make border crossings smoother for them, says Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Officials suggest that improving economic conditions for Palestinians could help reduce terrorist attacks. (Israel Hayom)
- Palestinian official: Israel revoking hundreds of Gazans' entry permits to Israel - The revocations of some 300 permits first began three weeks ago, said a Gaza official, adding: "When Israel delivers permits to Palestinians, they make announcements about it in media, but in reality a majority of permits are revoked later." Israel confirmed the revocations. (Maan)
- Egypt closes Rafah crossing after rare 3-day opening - Officials from Gaza’s Interior Ministry said around 2,000 Palestinians -- among them students, people in need of medical treatment, and Gazans residing abroad -- were able to leave the besieged enclave in those three days, the first in 70 consecutive days of closure. (Maan)
- Iran paying families of Palestinian terrorists, IDF officer says - “In recent months, Iran is prepared to give money to families of terrorists who stabbed Israeli in the current wave of terror,” Israeli Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Herzl Halevi was heard saying in recordings released by Army Radio on Monday. (JPost/Maariv)
- Vacationer refused Airbnb accomodations in London because he is Israeli - Host says world sees Israelis as 'aggressive settlers occupying lands'; Airbnb states he has been removed from the community. (Haaretz)
- U.K. to bar publicly funded bodies from boycotting Israeli goods - Government set to make announcement during visit of cabinet official to Israel, prompting criticism from Labour. (Haaretz)
- IN PHOTOS: Israeli Druze rally in support of Syria's Assad - Hundreds of Druze gathered in the Golan village of Buq'ata to express support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Haaretz photographer Ofer Vaknin was there to document. (Haaretz)
- Muslim Brotherhood's Jordan Branch Cuts Ties With Egypt-based Parent Group - The Jordanian branch has undergone several splits over the past year, with breakaway groups emphasizing a domestic agenda. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Reports: Hezbollah chief in Iran to receive life-saving treatment for cancer - According to Lebanese media reports, Nasrallah was evacuated to the Iranian hospital, where he was treated by doctors from Russia and North Korea, after cancer cells spread to new parts of his body. (JPost and Maariv)
- UN Security Council to Discuss Turkish Shelling in Syria - Russia voices concern about Turkish military attacks on Kurds militia fighters after shelling of YPG positions for a third straight day. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- 50 Killed by Deadly Airstrikes on Hospitals, Schools in Northern Syria - U.S. State Department condemns strikes, blamed on Russia, saying they cast doubt on Moscow's 'willingness and/or ability to help bring to a stop the continued brutality of the Assad regime against its own people.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Samples Confirm ISIS Used Mustard Gas in Iraq, Says Diplomat - If Islamic State used chemical weapons, experts are still uncertain of how the group might have obtained them, or whether it could have access to more. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Bahrain Detains Four U.S. Journalists - A spokesman for journalist Anna Day's family rejected suggestions that they were involved in any illegal behavior on non-journalistic activities. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
A visit to the city of terrorists
Residents praise 'martyrs' who kill civilians in Qabatiya, where the IDF has been focusing its anti-terrorism activities in the past couple of weeks. (Yoav Zitun and AFP, Ynet)
PHOTOS: Gazans hope to get out during rare border opening
Egyptian authorities decided to open the Rafah border crossing for two days this weekend. Thousands of people showed up hoping to leave the besieged Gaza Strip. (Ezz Al Zanoon, +972mag)
The long arm
Just before its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival: A peek at the documentary film that exposes the cooperation between the United States and Israel to thwart Iran's nuclear program, the secret development of the deadly virus, the operation that led to the exposure of the operation, the billions of dollars down the tubes and the need to establish rules also for cyber warfare. (Yossi Melman, Maariv)
The roots of Palestinian and Israeli teenage violence
The violence we are witnessing among Israeli and Palestinian teenagers is a response to a system that limits their independence through power and control. A look at three different news items on teenage violence aired in the Israeli media recently. (Gil Gertel, +972mag)
Commentary/Analysis:
Eight Attacks in 12 Hours Leave No Doubt: Israel Is in the Midst of an Intifada (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Had the army killed more Palestinians or reduced the number of Palestinians allowed to work in Israel, far more Palestinians would likely be participating in violent clashes.
Just another arbitrary detention of a Palestinian child (By Yossi Gurvitz, Yesh Din/+972mag) Soldiers detain a child in his pajamas and slippers, harshly interrogate him without a parent or attorney present, and then release him 12 hours later as if nothing ever happened. We can already tell you what the military’s investigation will look like.
Should Israel Flatten Beirut to Destroy Hezbollah's Missiles? (Amitai Etzioni, Haaretz+) Most of Hezbollah's 100,000 missile arsenal are hidden in civilian areas. Israel should examine now the ethical and logistical consequences of its first use of extreme conventional weapons against them.
Sucking Up to Netanyahu Doesn’t Pay (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) Israel's prime minister mainly helps people who can hurt him in the future.
The Balad problem (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Provocation is the bread and butter of Balad. However, they did not break the law. 'Those observing a minute of silence in memory of shahids aid terrorism,' says Elkin. Based on that, any provocateur can be accused of aiding terrorism - even Elkin himself, when he goes on the Temple Mount.
Obama forgoes US influence (Yossi Beilin, Israel Hayom) The Obama administration has opted for stability over democratization, choosing not to fight for human rights.
Did police downplay threats against Ayman Odeh? (Haggai Matar, +972mag) When Joint List head Ayman Odeh received a death threat and police arrested a young settler, police strangely issued a press release about threats against Avigdor Liberman — from a month earlier.
A new cold war? (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Israel doesn't want tensions between the U.S. and Russia to develop into a new cold war.
Egypt's Liberals Being Sacrificed on the Altar of Religion (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A publicist critical of animal sacrifices on Muslim holidays was sentenced to prison in Egypt, sparking discussion on the conflict between the regime and religious groups in the country.
Residents praise 'martyrs' who kill civilians in Qabatiya, where the IDF has been focusing its anti-terrorism activities in the past couple of weeks. (Yoav Zitun and AFP, Ynet)
PHOTOS: Gazans hope to get out during rare border opening
Egyptian authorities decided to open the Rafah border crossing for two days this weekend. Thousands of people showed up hoping to leave the besieged Gaza Strip. (Ezz Al Zanoon, +972mag)
The long arm
Just before its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival: A peek at the documentary film that exposes the cooperation between the United States and Israel to thwart Iran's nuclear program, the secret development of the deadly virus, the operation that led to the exposure of the operation, the billions of dollars down the tubes and the need to establish rules also for cyber warfare. (Yossi Melman, Maariv)
The roots of Palestinian and Israeli teenage violence
The violence we are witnessing among Israeli and Palestinian teenagers is a response to a system that limits their independence through power and control. A look at three different news items on teenage violence aired in the Israeli media recently. (Gil Gertel, +972mag)
Commentary/Analysis:
Eight Attacks in 12 Hours Leave No Doubt: Israel Is in the Midst of an Intifada (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Had the army killed more Palestinians or reduced the number of Palestinians allowed to work in Israel, far more Palestinians would likely be participating in violent clashes.
Just another arbitrary detention of a Palestinian child (By Yossi Gurvitz, Yesh Din/+972mag) Soldiers detain a child in his pajamas and slippers, harshly interrogate him without a parent or attorney present, and then release him 12 hours later as if nothing ever happened. We can already tell you what the military’s investigation will look like.
Should Israel Flatten Beirut to Destroy Hezbollah's Missiles? (Amitai Etzioni, Haaretz+) Most of Hezbollah's 100,000 missile arsenal are hidden in civilian areas. Israel should examine now the ethical and logistical consequences of its first use of extreme conventional weapons against them.
Sucking Up to Netanyahu Doesn’t Pay (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) Israel's prime minister mainly helps people who can hurt him in the future.
The Balad problem (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Provocation is the bread and butter of Balad. However, they did not break the law. 'Those observing a minute of silence in memory of shahids aid terrorism,' says Elkin. Based on that, any provocateur can be accused of aiding terrorism - even Elkin himself, when he goes on the Temple Mount.
Obama forgoes US influence (Yossi Beilin, Israel Hayom) The Obama administration has opted for stability over democratization, choosing not to fight for human rights.
Did police downplay threats against Ayman Odeh? (Haggai Matar, +972mag) When Joint List head Ayman Odeh received a death threat and police arrested a young settler, police strangely issued a press release about threats against Avigdor Liberman — from a month earlier.
A new cold war? (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Israel doesn't want tensions between the U.S. and Russia to develop into a new cold war.
Egypt's Liberals Being Sacrificed on the Altar of Religion (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A publicist critical of animal sacrifices on Muslim holidays was sentenced to prison in Egypt, sparking discussion on the conflict between the regime and religious groups in the country.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.