APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday July 3, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

“Last time I checked, Zuckerberg was not elected prime minister of Israel and is not a member of our security cabinet, so he will not stop the terrorism.”
--Zionist Union MK Erel Margalit responded to Minister Gilad Erdan, who blamed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for the killing of two Israelis in the West Bank.**

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
An Israeli settler was killed in a drive-by shooting near Hebron, ministers blamed Facebook and put 700,000 more Palestinians under siege and famed Holocaust survivor and writer, Elie Wiesel, died - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, the Israeli Prime Minister slammed the Mideast Quartet report and a rocket fell in a pre-school in Sderot Friday night.
 
Israel is still on a manhunt to find who shot at the car of a family from Otniel settlement, killing the father, Rabbi Michael Mark, 48, who was the head of the settlement’s pre-military yeshiva, and injured his wife and two children.Maariv reported that it was a Palestinian couple gave first aid to the injured settler family. 
 
Israel responded to the killing of Michael Mark and that of 13-year-old Hallel Yaffe Ariel, who was stabbed to death in another Hebron settlement the day before, by imposing a closure on the whole Hebron governate, locking some 700,000 people in their villages and in Hebron, the most populous Palestinian city, and declaring to build 42 new Kiryat Arba homes, as well as to freeze the transfer of monies owed to the Palestinian Authority and of bodies of Palestinian assailants to their families and revoking work permits of all the people from the village of Thursday’s attacker. Moreover, the IDF is boosting infantry battalions in the West Bank, Maariv reported. Maan has details of the blockade. Rabbi Mark was a close friend of Temple Mount activist, MK Yehuda Glick (Likud), also from Otniel. A new Palestinian animated video shows the killing of the Likud MK, who has already survived an assassination attempt in the past, and was close to the area where his friend Mark was murdered Friday. For the most part, the Israeli commentators thought that the measures the government took, and which had been taken many times in the past, were collective punishment and would not change anything. Yedioth’s Alex Fishman wrote that the only thing in common between the two attacks on the weekend was that they were particularly daring and successful, but that it was too early to frame them as part of the wave of terror.
 
**Two Israeli ministers pointed an accusatory finger at Facebook. Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad called Facebook a 'monster' for ‘permitting too much incitement and stymieing police work’ and said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, had blood on his hands. Education Minister Naftali Bennett proposed a program, which would block the use of Facebook to the whole Hebron area. (Maariv) Facebook said it was in ongoing dialogue with the Israeli government on these issues.  The Opposition made fun of the Israeli government for blaming terror on Zuckerberg.
 
What was not in the news, except in Haaretz+, was the death of an elderly Palestinian man from inhaling tear gas that Israeli soldiers shot at Palestinians in a clash at Qalandiya checkpoint in E. Jerusalem. Some 40 others suffered severe tear gas inhalation, too.
 
The single rocket attack that hit a kindergarten was not big news in the Hebrew newspapers. Israel attacked four Hamas undefined targets in the Gaza Strip as retaliation for the rocket that exploded late Friday night, but did not injure anyone. Afterward, the IDF said that the rocket was not from Hamas, but from an extremist Salafi group.
 
The Mideast Quartet report gave Israel the brunt of the blame for the stalling of the peace process with the Palestinians, due to Israel's settlement construction could prevent a two-state solution. It also said the Palestinians must condemn terror attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the Quartet was comparing Israeli settlement construction to terror and that he rejected. The Palestinians were also disappointed with the report and wanted the 1967 borders added to it. 

In response to the report: the settlement city of Maale Adumim called to apply Israeli sovereignty on the city. The mayor, along with MKs Yoav Kish (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), are expected to sign today a "Declaration of Sovereignty of Ma'ale Adumim" and launch a campaign on behalf of the annexation of the city to the state. (Maariv)
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

After Shooting a Palestinian With Down Syndrome, Israeli Soldiers Fled Without Looking Back
Eyewitnesses say Arif Jaradat, 23, did not endanger anyone when he was shot by Israeli troops. Jaradat, loved by all the children in his village, died of his injuries last week. (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) 
Operation Entebbe as told by the commandos: The return home
40 years after one the most famous commando operations in history, Sayeret Matkal's soldiers recount the events that culminated in the release of 106 hostages from an airport terminal in Uganda: The stressful flight home, a hero's welcome, and the joy that was mixed with pain. Part 5 of 5. (Ronen Bergman and Lior Ben-Ami, Yedioth/Ynet) 
Bittersweet Life for Israeli-Arab Food Vendors During Ramadan
A trip to Lod during the Muslim month of fasting to sample the delights of qatayef and despair at the neglect of this fascinating city. (Hagai Amit, Haaretz+)
IN PHOTOS: Iran holds annual anti-Israel Quds day rallies
Iran does not recognize Israel and has marked al-Quds day since the start of its 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran says the day is an occasion to express support for the Palestinians and emphasize the importance of Jerusalem for Muslims. (Haaretz) 

Commentary/Analysis:
Israeli Collective Punishment May Push Palestinians Into More Terror (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Benjamin Netanyahu has to deal with squads using improvised weapons, teens taking knives from their parents’ kitchens, and social media. 
The $30 billion (or more) question: Why is the US military aid package so important? (Itamar Eichner, Yedioth/Ynet) What is the disagreement about? What's a memorandum of understanding? Who wants to sign with Obama, and who would rather wait? Should we have sorted this out before the Iran deal? Questions and answers about the terms and conditions of US military aid to Israel.
Moldy solutions: no blood is on the hands of Mark Zuckerberg (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The government found those responsible for the wave of terror: Facebook and Mahmoud Abbas, but there is no point fighting the social media network, and we will be the ones missing the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It's time to harm the summer camp conditions of security prisoners.
Right-wing Populism Wins in Britain and Israel (Carlo Strenger, Haaretz+) When people are hurting and resentful, logical and considered arguments do not capture hearts; simple stories do.
Time for Abbas to go (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Mahmoud Abbas has held the keys to the Palestinian leadership for too long, and has done nothing with it. He not only hasn't done anything productive regarding the peace process, but even for his own people. It's time for him to go. 
How Can Israeli Leaders Still Argue That Settlements Boost Security? (Haaretz Editorial) The killings over the weekend prove that collective punishment against the Palestinians leads to a situation where the army can’t protect Israelis. 
We must not fall into the trap: we must enact a general law, not a personal against MK Haneen Zoabi (Attorney Yechiel Gutman, Maariv) It’s time to remove the MK from the Knesset, but unlike the suggestion of the chairman of the coalition, there is a proper and legal way to do this worthy act, which the High Court won’t oppose.
Heinous Killing on Both Sides of the Israeli-Palestinian Divide (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Tears have poured in Kiryat Arba, Sa’ir and elsewhere. The motives are different, but the results are identical and horrendous. 
Reconciliation and disgust: unusually, Netanyahu made a move that was not populist (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Prime Minister, who ignored the warnings regarding the operation on the Marmara, finally acted properly in the matter, but is still not able to speak the truth to the Shaul and Goldin families. 
Elie Wiesel Hides Ethnic Cleansing Behind a Prayer Shawl (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz 2014) This ostensible messenger of peace supports an organization that evicts Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. Among the signatures on an ad blessing the “dozens of new families joining the Jewish community in the City of David” [the settler’s name for the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan – OH] was the name of Elie Wiesel. He is the chairman of Elad’s public council. (See also +972mag) 
To sign deal with Turkey, Netanyahu turned his back on his electoral base (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) In striking a deal with Erdogan this week, Netanyahu veered away from his constituency and paid a low price for it. But he'd ask for a serious payback from Herzog if he decides to join the coalition. 
Why the Israeli Army Is Dropping Its Controversial Hannibal Directive (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Army chief Gadi Eisenkot is determined to rid the IDF of its entrenched conventions, whether that's on the battlefield or at training bases. The actions of politicians and religious leaders don't make his task any easier.
The war between us and ourselves (Tali Ben Ovadia, Yedioth/Ynet) The reconciliation agreement with Turkey matters less than the more important—and more needed—reconciliation agreement with ourselves: Netanyahu must lead the nation to unity, and pot-stirring politicians need to cut it out. 
Blame Facebook for Donald Trump and Brexit (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) The site threatens to impose a world order that is racist, separatist, militant, tribal and religious, and to dismantle any universal, humanist and liberal identity. 
Realistic expectations are key (Prof. Efraim Inbar, Israel Hayom) The political realities in the Gaza Strip are very complex, and Israel must be realistic about what can be achieved by military action.
Political Lynching of an Israeli Arab Lawmaker (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) Haneen Zoabi remarked 'you murdered,' which was later interpreted as 'Israeli soldiers are murderers,' after she was insulted and shouted at by her Knesset 'colleagues.'
 

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