APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday September 09, 2016
Number of the day:
57.6.
--Percentage of Israelis who oppose annexation of the West Bank, despite growing calls for such a move among right-wing politicians.*
You Must Be Kidding:
--Percentage of Israelis who oppose annexation of the West Bank, despite growing calls for such a move among right-wing politicians.*
You Must Be Kidding:
- A direct route from the West Bank settlement bloc of Gush Etzion to Tel Aviv through Jerusalem - without stopping at a single traffic light.
- A direct route from settlement city of Ma'ale Adumim to Tel-Aviv - without stopping at a single traffic light.
- Either light rails or trains that will connect Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem
- Either light rails or trains that will connect West Bank settlements of Givat Ze'ev and Sha'ar Binyamin to Jerusalem
- Either light rails or trains that will connect the settlement city of Ariel and the Samaria region to the Greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Police Fraud Squad opened investigation against Teva Pharmaceuticals for giving bribes abroad
- (Netanyahu should be concerned:) Ashkelon Mayor to go on trial for the type of bribery that Netanyahu demanded from (Yedioth publisher) Mozes. And the one behind the indictment is none other than the State Prosecutor
- Belarus extradited the Israeli blogger to Azerbaijan
- In the wake of the expropriation law: European Union rejected a summit with Israel
- Bennett’s puppet // Yossi Verter
- The next escalation in the Gaza Strip could actually come from the offices of the ministers in Jerusalem // Amos Harel
- Amnesty Int’l: Some 13,000 people who oppose the Assad regime were secretly hung in prisons in Syria since 2011
- Education Ministry is making the funding of pluralistic Judaism studies difficult
- Revoke now // Haaretz Editorial
- A burkini for Shoshka
- Silence in the capital – Mayor Barkat summoned for a hearing before eviction the owners of galleries who want to host “Breaking the Silence”
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Netanyahu’s line of defense: “I didn’t know about the champagne for Sara”
- Assad’s house of horrors
- “How old are you” “16-years-old” “I have a client looking for someone young like you. Do you have good sexual experience?”
- Oren (Hazan) and I – A moment before the wedding, MK Oren Hazan and Rinat Kotkovsky in a joint interview
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Attorney General against the government: Will declare at High Court that he opposes the “Regularization Bill”
- Law of justice // Kalman Libskind
- Wagging the dog // Ron Kaufman
- The majority does not rule // Nadav Haetzni
- The release of Ben Hasin: ZAKA hardened its conditions for transferring the (ransom) money
- Dozens of ultra-Orthodox arrested and police injured in demonstrations against military draft
Israel Hayom
- The White House: We will discuss the “Regularization Law” in Netanyahu’s visit
- Report: Attorney General likely to state in High Court opposition to the “Regularization Bill”
- Suspicion: Teva Pharmaceuticals gave bribes to senior officials abroad
- IDF reveals: 40% of female draftees want to serve in combat units
- Because of the detention of an AWOL soldier: Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox demonstrated; 48 arrested
- “Netanyahu: I didn’t know that the presents that my wife received were from Milchan”
- Israeli blogger Alexander Lipshin was extradited to Azerbaijan
- Mayor of Ashkelon, Itamar Shimoni, indicted on bribery; Attorney General: Suspend him
News Summary:
The repercussions of Israel’s expropriation law, which the Attorney General will not defend at the High Court, the denials of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he knew that the champagne and cigars he received were gifts, and the war calls by Israelis ministers a day after an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip - and Hamas' calls for restraint - were the top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
Not only did the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini join the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, France, Britain, Turkey and Jordan in condemning Israel’s new law that legalizes expropriation of Palestinian land, saying it entrenches a one-state reality of unequal rights for Palestinians, but France, Sweden and Ireland also pushed for the postponement of an important EU-Israel summit, which would have signaled a thaw in Israel, EU relations, Haaretz+ wrote. A Palestinian cabinet minister called on the international community to punish Israel for the law. And Jewish-American leaders blasted the land grab law, as well. Rabbi Rick Jacobs said it “significantly undermines Israeli democracy.”
In the wake of the international condemnations, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office released a statement saying the ‘Regularization Law,’ which legalizes illegally built outposts and settler homes built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the West Bank, was a “very balanced solution…(which will) minimize the need to destroy houses built many years ago.” Netanyahu will discuss the law with US President Donald Trump in their meeting next week. Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry is also trying to make Israel look less bad and has issued talking points to Israelן embassies stressing that Israel’s High Court will likely repeal the law. Indeed, in an exceptional move, the Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit will stand before the High Court and say he does not support the expropriation law because it is not legal and violates international law. A number of organizations and MKs have announced that they will petition the High Court against the law and it remains unclear whether, in the framework of the petitions, the Attorney General will be required by the court to express his opinion, or will do so from his own initiative. (Maariv)
Regarding the investigations into Netanyahu, Channel 2 reported that Netanyahu allegedly told his investigators that he was unaware of any champagne bottles being given to his wife by Hollywood producer and billionaire, Arnon Milchan and that there weren’t that many cigars, just some boxes laying around. A famous lawyer, Eldad Yaniv, petitioned the High Court to remove Attorney General Mendelblit from dealing with the investigations, declaring that there is a conflict of interests, since Mendelblit was appointed by Netanyahu. Netanyahu said the petition was “an unrestrained attack” on him. Separately, Yedioth reported that the State Comptroller found that “45% of Netanyahu's trips abroad had outside finance.”
The repercussions of Israel’s expropriation law, which the Attorney General will not defend at the High Court, the denials of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he knew that the champagne and cigars he received were gifts, and the war calls by Israelis ministers a day after an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip - and Hamas' calls for restraint - were the top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
Not only did the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini join the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, France, Britain, Turkey and Jordan in condemning Israel’s new law that legalizes expropriation of Palestinian land, saying it entrenches a one-state reality of unequal rights for Palestinians, but France, Sweden and Ireland also pushed for the postponement of an important EU-Israel summit, which would have signaled a thaw in Israel, EU relations, Haaretz+ wrote. A Palestinian cabinet minister called on the international community to punish Israel for the law. And Jewish-American leaders blasted the land grab law, as well. Rabbi Rick Jacobs said it “significantly undermines Israeli democracy.”
In the wake of the international condemnations, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office released a statement saying the ‘Regularization Law,’ which legalizes illegally built outposts and settler homes built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the West Bank, was a “very balanced solution…(which will) minimize the need to destroy houses built many years ago.” Netanyahu will discuss the law with US President Donald Trump in their meeting next week. Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry is also trying to make Israel look less bad and has issued talking points to Israelן embassies stressing that Israel’s High Court will likely repeal the law. Indeed, in an exceptional move, the Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit will stand before the High Court and say he does not support the expropriation law because it is not legal and violates international law. A number of organizations and MKs have announced that they will petition the High Court against the law and it remains unclear whether, in the framework of the petitions, the Attorney General will be required by the court to express his opinion, or will do so from his own initiative. (Maariv)
Regarding the investigations into Netanyahu, Channel 2 reported that Netanyahu allegedly told his investigators that he was unaware of any champagne bottles being given to his wife by Hollywood producer and billionaire, Arnon Milchan and that there weren’t that many cigars, just some boxes laying around. A famous lawyer, Eldad Yaniv, petitioned the High Court to remove Attorney General Mendelblit from dealing with the investigations, declaring that there is a conflict of interests, since Mendelblit was appointed by Netanyahu. Netanyahu said the petition was “an unrestrained attack” on him. Separately, Yedioth reported that the State Comptroller found that “45% of Netanyahu's trips abroad had outside finance.”
Quick Hits:
- Scores of Haredim arrested in protest across the country - Hundreds of Ultra-orthodox demonstrators stage protests from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak against the arrest of Yeshiva student who deserted the IDF; arrests made after crowds attempt to block roads and disrupt traffic. (Ynet)
- Israeli Army Won't Let Palestinian Farmer Till Their Land Because of Settler Violence - One family's lawyer reached out 12 times to the Israeli authorities so that the farmers could coordinate access to their almond grove, but to no avail. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli settlers assault Palestinian photojournalist near Ramallah - At least five Israeli settlers Tuesday afternoon assaulted a Palestinian photojournalist, Zaher Abu Hussein, with rocks and batons while he was driving on a road near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ofra. (Maan)
- Palestinian family 'violently assaulted' by masked Israeli police in Jerusalem raid - In the wake of a large-scale raid Sunday night in occupied E. Jerusalem that targeted the families of Palestinians who were either slain or incarcerated after carrying out or allegedly carrying out attacks, one of the families, the al-Shaer family, reported that masked Israeli police violently assaulted them while breaking into their homes during the raid. (Maan)
- Israeli forces raid Palestinian refugee camp, seize security footage and computers - Israeli troops held head of the camp’s community center, Salah Ajarmeh, and head of the center’s media unit, Muhammad al-Azza, as soldiers searched the building and confiscated surveillance camera recordings and a computer. (Maan)
- Israeli forces demolish Palestinian building in East Jerusalem - Israeli authorities demolished a Palestinian-owned building that was under construction in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina on Tuesday. (Maan)
- Israeli forces demolish Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley - In the village of Kardala, located on the northeastern edge of the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished tents and shacks used as a sheep barn. (Maan)
- Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishermen in Gaza - The fishermen, who were off the coast of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, said that they were forced to flee and return to shore after Israeli forces opened fire on them, adding that they feared for their safety. (Maan)
- **West Bank roads to receive NIS 5 billion upgrade - Five-year plan expected to help ease traffic congestion in the area, especially at entrances to Jerusalem, and make the roads safer; Transportation Minister Katz says massive upgrade to infrastructure will help the Jewish settlements further expand and develop. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- High Court Orders Demolition of 17 Settler Buildings Built on Private Palestinian Land in Tapuach - The court's president set a deadline of June 22, 2018 for implementing the ruling at the unauthorized West Bank settlement. The law to retroactively legalize the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land passed by the Knesset on Monday will not prevent these demolitions. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- An Israeli Bar Put Palestinian Beer on Tap. Then the Depressingly Expected Happened - Angry social media backlash and calls for a boycott followed the sale of Ramallah-made brew at a pub in Haifa. But the owners remain steadfast. (Haaretz+)
- *Most Israelis Against Exploiting 'Friendlier' White House to Expand Settlements, Poll Shows - Israelis think it unwise to move ahead with settlement construction or West Bank annexation plans, Israel Democracy Institute poll shows. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli mayor charged in bribe case involving hush money over sexual offenses - Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni allegedly solicited funds from contractors, in return for favors, to pay off two women who claimed he sexually assaulted them. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli blogger jailed in Belarus extradited to Azerbaijan - Joint Israeli, Russian efforts have failed to prevent the deportation of Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan, which he has criticized in posts. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Porn star claims he was 'humiliated' at Ben Gurion Airport over Arab-sounding name - French gay adult film actor Ibrahim Moreno claims he was forced to undergo a humiliating strip when he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, all due to his Arab-sounding name. (Ynet)
- Ethics Committee to discuss Arab MK's support for terrorist - After MK Jamal Zahalka (Joint Arab List) attends rally for terrorist Walid Daka and later posts support for him on Facebook, complaint filed with Knesset Ethics Committee • Daka was one of group who abducted and murdered IDF Cpl. Moshe Tamam in 1984. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel continues to hold 15 Hamas-affiliated prisoners in solitary confinement - According to Israel’s Channel 2 news site, IPS has taken punitive measures against hundreds of Palestinians in the two Israeli prisons following the alleged attacks, despite reports on Friday that Israel and Hamas leadership had cut a deal to prevent any further escalations in the prisons. (Maan)
- Israel's Secular Schools to Lose Out After Changes to Jewish Studies Program - The Education Ministry refused to confirm the designated budget for boosting Jewish subjects like Bible, oral Torah or Judaic studies in high schools. (Haaretz+)
- Online incitement spurs terrorism, justice minister says - Internet companies must increase intervention against inciting content, Justice Minister Shaked tells envoys at conference • She says internet companies agree to most government requests to remove content supporting terrorism. (Israel Hayom)
- WATCH: Female soldier catches Hamas terrorists shooting at IDF - During her first guard shift after completing her military lookout observer course, Gali Badhani spotted a terrorist aiming and shooting at military forces from Gaza, prompting IDF to destroy outpost. (Ynet)
- Trump Administration Lists 78 'Under-reported' Terror Attacks - Leaves Israel Out - List includes attacks – such as the Bataclan attack and San Bernardino – that were widely covered by media. No reason was given how list was compiled, and why Israel not included. (Haaretz
- Staunch Israel Supporter Elliott Abrams Leading Nominee for U.S Deputy Secretary of State - Abrams, a former Bush official, continuously supported Netanyahu throughout his confrontations with Obama and was more than skeptical about Trump during the election. (Haaretz+)
- Iran's Supreme Leader Thanks Trump, Shrugging Off U.S. 'Threats' - Ayatollah Khamenei urged Iranians to take to the streets in a show of force against Trump. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Assad Has Killed 13,000 in Mass Hangings Since Syrian Uprising Began, Amnesty Says - Report says 20-50 people were executed each week at Saydnaya Prison in killings authorized by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- As Details Emerge From Trump's Botched Yemen Raid, Fears of Escalation Grow - 'Rather than advancing a political solution, it seems the Trump administration's actions are just adding fuel to the fire,' said Adam Baron, a Yemen expert. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
Young Jews and Arabs From Israel Join Forces to Help Syrian Refugees
The new effort to create educational and social programs for young refugees stranded in Greece is the latest Israeli initiative aimed at helping victims of the civil war. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
Ma'an News launches film exploring the life of Marwan Barghouti
After being detained in 2002, Barghouti was later handed five consecutive life sentences after Israeli authorities charged him with the founding of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a group Israel designates as a “terrorist” organization, and being involved in several murders during the Second Palestinian Intifada, charges he has consistently denied. He has remained politically active from behind bars, including assisting in the drafting of the Mecca agreement in 2007, which paved the way for a unity government aimed at ending internal political conflict in the besieged Gaza Strip. (Maan)
Commentary/Analysis:
Israeli Support for Trump Gives American Jews a Taste of Their Own Medicine (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz) When leftists complain about occupation and democracy, Jewish Americans prefer to believe Israel's Sean Spicers and Kellyanne Conways.
Netanyahu and Trump: A relationship based on flattery and groveling (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister’s silence in light of the violence, racism and even anti-Semitism of the new US administration could be defined as an attempt to satisfy the American president to achieve practical goals in the future. But is there more to it than just an indecent tactic?
Israel's Aggressive Tone Could Spark an Unwanted War in Gaza (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) It's doubtful Israel needs another war in the Strip just because each party misreads the intentions of the other.
Netanyahu Has Lost Control, and Is Now in Survival Mode (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Netanyahu's behavior in Israel's land-grab law saga shows that he no longer bothers to hide that he's a puppet whose strings are pulled by Naftali Bennett and his Habayit Hayehudi party.
Trump's message to both Israel and Palestinians: I’m in no one’s pocket (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) If Netanyahu thought he had the ‘green light’ to expand settlements and build new ones as soon as Trump took office, the US president has made it clear in recent days that he is the one setting the tone. At this stage, he supports the two-state solution and plans to put a lot of effort into reaching a peace agreement.
The Court’s Duty (Haaretz Editorial) Israel, and the entire Zionist project, is entitled to a Supreme Court that legally blots out the shame that is the bill to expropriate private Palestinian lands.
The ‘Regularization Law’ mortally injured Netanyahu’s status in the European arena (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The fact that the law passed under the leadership of Prime Minister appears like an arrogant show of disrespect to (Israel’s) friends. And if Netanyahu is counting on Trump - he is likely to discover that the President does not like subservient politicians .
Netanyahu Marks Scapegoat as His Coalition Stabs Israel in the Back With Land-grab Law (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Instead of imploring his colleagues to cease and desist, the prime minister portrays Breaking the Silence as the true February Criminals.
The Scarecrow at The Hague: Israel won’t stand trial over several hundred acres in the West Bank (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) It is difficult to understand those who try to intimidate through the International Court of Justice at The Hague. After all, what are the chances that there will be criminal proceedings because of the “Regularization Law”?
I Helped Destroy the Israel I Love. Apartheid Will Do the Rest (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I see it now. Because of that new law, potentially Israel's worst ever. I was too cooperative, too long. I was not crazed enough, not aware enough of my own power. I wasn't fierce enough early enough. I wasn't loud enough soon enough.
10 Questions U.S. Senators Should Ask David Friedman, Trump's Pick for Israel Envoy (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+) From his financial support of a radical West Bank settlement to his questionable condemnations of prominent U.S. Jewish groups - 10 questions for Friedman.
For Us Jews, Our Land Registry Is With God (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) There's a name for the reality in which a government that sees itself as representing only one nation determines the future of two nations and creates two separate and unequal systems.
All in the Family: The trial of Elor Azariya proves that soldiers are still the "children of all of us" (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Despite Chief of Staff Eizenkot's claim that the ‘Shooting Soldier’ [who extra-judicially killed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant – OH] is not an “infant," coverage of the trial and the military’s treatment (of the incident) proves that Israeli society still sees soldiers as children who should be protected.
Palestinian Landowners, Take the Money, Now (Asaf Ronel, Haaretz+) After Palestinian landowners receive compensation under the 'expropriation law,' they should demand from the Israeli parliament the right to elect and be elected.
The right of annexation (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) In 1949, PM Ben-Gurion declared Jerusalem Israel's capital. In 1981, PM Begin applied sovereignty to the Golan Heights. Now it is Judea and Samaria's turn.
Israel Robs Land, but Only in Accordance With the Law (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Half a million Israelis – the settlers – are being removed from the purview of the law. A democratic country’s basic values are being shattered.
Israel Has Already Fallen Foul of a Pro-settlement Trump White House (Michael J. Koplow, Haaretz+) Israel's 'Regularization Law’, legalizing private Palestinian land expropriation, is a moral, legal and political fiasco – even if the Supreme Court strikes it down.
McCarthy Called Us 'unAmerican.' Now, Israel Says We're 'anti-Jewish' (Larry Rubin, Haaretz+) American Jewish students don’t want Trumpism, whether it originates in the U.S. or Israel. So why is Hillel taking money from Israel’s pro-Trump hard right religious nationalists?
A historic day (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Even if the High Court strikes down the Settlement Regulation Law, it still makes a statement: We will not apologize for returning to Zion.
Annexing the West Bank Would Be Economic Suicide (David Rosenberg, Haaretz) As it is, too much of Israel is poor and undereducated. Annexing the West Bank would make the problem many times worse.
The new effort to create educational and social programs for young refugees stranded in Greece is the latest Israeli initiative aimed at helping victims of the civil war. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
Ma'an News launches film exploring the life of Marwan Barghouti
After being detained in 2002, Barghouti was later handed five consecutive life sentences after Israeli authorities charged him with the founding of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a group Israel designates as a “terrorist” organization, and being involved in several murders during the Second Palestinian Intifada, charges he has consistently denied. He has remained politically active from behind bars, including assisting in the drafting of the Mecca agreement in 2007, which paved the way for a unity government aimed at ending internal political conflict in the besieged Gaza Strip. (Maan)
Commentary/Analysis:
Israeli Support for Trump Gives American Jews a Taste of Their Own Medicine (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz) When leftists complain about occupation and democracy, Jewish Americans prefer to believe Israel's Sean Spicers and Kellyanne Conways.
Netanyahu and Trump: A relationship based on flattery and groveling (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister’s silence in light of the violence, racism and even anti-Semitism of the new US administration could be defined as an attempt to satisfy the American president to achieve practical goals in the future. But is there more to it than just an indecent tactic?
Israel's Aggressive Tone Could Spark an Unwanted War in Gaza (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) It's doubtful Israel needs another war in the Strip just because each party misreads the intentions of the other.
Netanyahu Has Lost Control, and Is Now in Survival Mode (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Netanyahu's behavior in Israel's land-grab law saga shows that he no longer bothers to hide that he's a puppet whose strings are pulled by Naftali Bennett and his Habayit Hayehudi party.
Trump's message to both Israel and Palestinians: I’m in no one’s pocket (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) If Netanyahu thought he had the ‘green light’ to expand settlements and build new ones as soon as Trump took office, the US president has made it clear in recent days that he is the one setting the tone. At this stage, he supports the two-state solution and plans to put a lot of effort into reaching a peace agreement.
The Court’s Duty (Haaretz Editorial) Israel, and the entire Zionist project, is entitled to a Supreme Court that legally blots out the shame that is the bill to expropriate private Palestinian lands.
The ‘Regularization Law’ mortally injured Netanyahu’s status in the European arena (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The fact that the law passed under the leadership of Prime Minister appears like an arrogant show of disrespect to (Israel’s) friends. And if Netanyahu is counting on Trump - he is likely to discover that the President does not like subservient politicians .
Netanyahu Marks Scapegoat as His Coalition Stabs Israel in the Back With Land-grab Law (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Instead of imploring his colleagues to cease and desist, the prime minister portrays Breaking the Silence as the true February Criminals.
The Scarecrow at The Hague: Israel won’t stand trial over several hundred acres in the West Bank (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) It is difficult to understand those who try to intimidate through the International Court of Justice at The Hague. After all, what are the chances that there will be criminal proceedings because of the “Regularization Law”?
I Helped Destroy the Israel I Love. Apartheid Will Do the Rest (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I see it now. Because of that new law, potentially Israel's worst ever. I was too cooperative, too long. I was not crazed enough, not aware enough of my own power. I wasn't fierce enough early enough. I wasn't loud enough soon enough.
10 Questions U.S. Senators Should Ask David Friedman, Trump's Pick for Israel Envoy (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+) From his financial support of a radical West Bank settlement to his questionable condemnations of prominent U.S. Jewish groups - 10 questions for Friedman.
For Us Jews, Our Land Registry Is With God (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) There's a name for the reality in which a government that sees itself as representing only one nation determines the future of two nations and creates two separate and unequal systems.
All in the Family: The trial of Elor Azariya proves that soldiers are still the "children of all of us" (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Despite Chief of Staff Eizenkot's claim that the ‘Shooting Soldier’ [who extra-judicially killed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant – OH] is not an “infant," coverage of the trial and the military’s treatment (of the incident) proves that Israeli society still sees soldiers as children who should be protected.
Palestinian Landowners, Take the Money, Now (Asaf Ronel, Haaretz+) After Palestinian landowners receive compensation under the 'expropriation law,' they should demand from the Israeli parliament the right to elect and be elected.
The right of annexation (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) In 1949, PM Ben-Gurion declared Jerusalem Israel's capital. In 1981, PM Begin applied sovereignty to the Golan Heights. Now it is Judea and Samaria's turn.
Israel Robs Land, but Only in Accordance With the Law (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Half a million Israelis – the settlers – are being removed from the purview of the law. A democratic country’s basic values are being shattered.
Israel Has Already Fallen Foul of a Pro-settlement Trump White House (Michael J. Koplow, Haaretz+) Israel's 'Regularization Law’, legalizing private Palestinian land expropriation, is a moral, legal and political fiasco – even if the Supreme Court strikes it down.
McCarthy Called Us 'unAmerican.' Now, Israel Says We're 'anti-Jewish' (Larry Rubin, Haaretz+) American Jewish students don’t want Trumpism, whether it originates in the U.S. or Israel. So why is Hillel taking money from Israel’s pro-Trump hard right religious nationalists?
A historic day (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Even if the High Court strikes down the Settlement Regulation Law, it still makes a statement: We will not apologize for returning to Zion.
Annexing the West Bank Would Be Economic Suicide (David Rosenberg, Haaretz) As it is, too much of Israel is poor and undereducated. Annexing the West Bank would make the problem many times worse.
Interviews:
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi) will promote more laws of annexation: "We’re done with begging from (High Court) judges"
After the passing of the “Regularization Law” [Expropriation Law – OH] which he submitted to the Knesset ("We broke a glass ceiling"), MK Smotrich announces his next steps and makes clear he is not afraid of the world: "There were condemnations in the past, no one died from condemnations.” (Interviewed by Arik Bender in Maariv’s Magazine supplement, cover)
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi) will promote more laws of annexation: "We’re done with begging from (High Court) judges"
After the passing of the “Regularization Law” [Expropriation Law – OH] which he submitted to the Knesset ("We broke a glass ceiling"), MK Smotrich announces his next steps and makes clear he is not afraid of the world: "There were condemnations in the past, no one died from condemnations.” (Interviewed by Arik Bender in Maariv’s Magazine supplement, cover)
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.