APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday August 22, 2016
Quote of the day:
"The normalization of relations with Israel does not mean that we have to remain silent about attacks against
the Palestinian people in Gaza. On the contrary, we will continue to defend the Palestinian issue in the face
of Israeli actions which violate international law and are contrary to basic human morality.”
Front Page:
- Statement from Turkish Foreign Ministry
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Putin offers to host talks after European officials fail in bid to arrange Netanyahu, Abbas talks
- Risking escalation in Gaza, Israel sends Hamas a strong message
- Rights groups: Israel's new policy is to rearrest freed Palestinian prisoners
- Child suicide bomber kills 51 at Turkish wedding
Israel Hayom
- IAF strikes Gaza terror targets following rocket fire on Israel
- Egyptian leader: Putin offered to host peace talks between Israel, PA
- Iran unveils its own version of S-300 air defense system
- Hamas threatens to abduct Israeli soldiers, 'unleash volcano'
Times of Israel
- Turkey: restored ties won't halt criticism of Israel on Gaza
- Israel said planning to build several Jewish homes in Hebron
- With 50 raids in 2 hours, has Lieberman begun to implement his new security plan?
- At least 22 kids among dead in Turkey wedding bombing
Ynet News
- Only a small majority of Israelis, Palestinians support two-state solution
- Iran says Russian use of air base for Syria strikes over 'for now'
- Snack attack: finding free food in the Knesset
- Egyptian FM: no connection between Israel and terror
News Summary:
Israel struck Gaza 50 times in two hours on Sunday night - the second round of airstrikes that day in retaliation for a rocket fired from Gaza into Israel. The Salafi Gazan group, Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdi, which identifies with ISIS' ideology, fired the rocket that struck between two houses in Sderot, no damage or injuries were reported. The IDF says they targeted Hamas infrastructure, but in addition to Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites, they also fired at a water storage facility. Five Palestinians were injured during the bombardment. Hamas blames Israel for the escalation, and some ruminate on the connections between the upscaled force and Liberman's "carrot and stick" policy he discussed last week.
European officials failed in their recent bid to bring Netanyahu and Abbas to the table. Abbas requested that negotiating team leader Dr. Saeb Erekat meet with his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Molho first, but Netanyahu refused the preliminary meeting and insisted on direct talks with Abbas only. Egyptian President el-Sisi said Putin reiterated his offer to host the peace talks as an alternative.
These developments come as the Israel Democracy Institute and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research publish a joint poll showing a general decrease in support on both sides for a two-state solution: 51% of Palestinians and 59% of Israelis (53% of Jewish Israelis and 87% of Arab Israelis).
Quick Hits:
- Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, sparked an uproar on Sunday saying Israeli actions "cannot be described as terrorism without an international agreement characterizing it as such" in his response to a question on the killing of Palestinian children. (Jerusalem Post)
- 51 people were killed in Turkey on Saturday when a child carried out a suicide bombing among a Kurdish wedding party celebrating in the streets of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border. The Islamic State is suspected to be involved, as they have carried out attacks on Kurdish gatherings in the past. (Haaretz)
- The Turkish parliament has accepted the deal with Israel, which will allow Turkey to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, "restored ties won't halt criticism of Israel on Gaza." The Turkish Foreign Ministry has denounced the recent Israeli strikes on Gaza. (Times of Israel)
- German historian, Oliver Hilmes, claims that the Magda Goebbels' father was Jewish - Magda Goebbels, nicknamed the "the First Lady of the Third Reich," was the wife of Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Hilmes suggested this upon finding a population registry document in which a Jewish business man named Richard Friedlander claimed Magda was his daughter. Magda's birth certificate lists her mother's name and her father as anonymous. Hilmes' claim, however, has not been confirmed by any other archival evidence. (Haaretz)
- Israeli company UPnRIDE is planning a commercial launch for September of a product that will allow quadriplegics, people paralyzed from their neck down, to stand and be mobile - this product builds upon the success of ReWalk, which allows paraplegics, who have use of their upper body, to do the same. (Times of Israel)
- Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández is presenting a military agreement with Israel to his Congress. The agreement will boost Honduras' military capabilities by utilizing Israeli technology innovations and expertise to combat the nation's organized crime. (Jerusalem Post)
- Over 150 Palestinians and Israelis gather in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina for a backgammon tournament, which was initiated by a group of Israeli and Palestinian social activists. One host said: "We have to ask not whom Jerusalem belongs to,” he said, “but who belongs to Jerusalem, because belonging comes with a commitment.” (Haaretz)
- George P. Bush, Texas Land Commissioner, Jeb Bush's oldest son and a Trump endorser, visited Israel last week
to express his support to PM Netanyahu and discuss Texas-Israel partnerships on technology and desalinization.
(CNN)