APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday February 20, 2017
Quote of the day:
“Netanyahu always signals left and when he comes to the intersection, if it has a right turn he turns
right.”
--Hatnua party leader, MK Tzipi Livni, commented on the report that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu backed out of a regional peace arrangement.
--Hatnua party leader, MK Tzipi Livni, commented on the report that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu backed out of a regional peace arrangement.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Netanyahu offered freeze in isolated settlements in exchange for recognition of blocs
- Netanyahu in cabinet: It will be difficult to establish a new settlement for Amona evictees
- Millions of shekels of public funds were transferred to illegal outposts
- Iraq opened campaign to conquer western Mosul from ISIS
- Highly exceptional: State gave demolition orders to a whole Bedouin village in the West Bank
- Knesset to discuss today increasing money taken from foreign works by hundreds of shekels a month
- After declaring war on ethnic discrimination, it turns out that ultra-Orthodox unity is more important to (Minister Arieh) Deri // Yair Ettinger
- Netanyahu’s plan: Political council will control the Israel Public Broadcasting Corp
- The 112 year-old Bedouin outdoor market in Beersheva to close
- The Aqaba oversight // Haaretz Editorial on Kerry’s regional peace initiative
Yedioth Ahronoth
- “The caretaker bent my father’s arm. But my father said to me, ‘Don’t make a complaint, they will get even with me” – Yedioth investigations opened Pandora’s box: What is really happening at the nursing homes
- Loss of humanity // Igal Sarna
- Do not cast me away // Aharon Applefield
- From Sweden with embarrassment – Trump accuses media of ‘fake news,’ but invented a terror attack in Sweden, the third invention of the administration in one month
- The public’s enemy // Nahum Barnea
- Winnie the Pooh at the Dead Sea – The official cartoonist drew the bear in the Holyland on the occasion of its 90th birthday
- Avner Netanyahu is searching for someone to take the dog, Kaya, for a walk when the family is abroad
- ‘The Closely Guarded Secret’ – poem by Yehuda Atlas about abused children
- (Soccer player) Ariel Harush vs. Beitar (Jerusalem soccer team) – An interview with ‘the most hated soccer player’
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Herzog: Netanyahu and I already prepared a document for a regional arrangement, but he folded
- Report: ISIS people were killed before the launching of the rockets on Eilat
- Abuse at nursing homes in Haifa: Probing suspicion of manslaughter
- Trump’s wild imagination: Invented a terror attack in Sweden
Israel Hayom
- They are everyone’s parents and they are in need of love – Hagit Ron-Rabinovich reacts to the horrifying abuse of elderly
- “Third apartment tax frees up apartments”
- “Olim (Jewish immigrants) are immigrants, Arabs are natives” – Storm in Committee to appoint judges: Prof. Gideon Sapir, Justice Minister Shaked’s preferred appointee to High Court, spoke sharply and was disqualified
- Netanyahu to ministers before taking off to Singapore and Australia: A solution will be found for Amona evictees – but in coordination with the Trump administration
- Tomorrow at 12:000: Azariya’s sentencing
News Summary:
More revelations of abuse of elderly at nursing homes, more revelations about the regional peace deal that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu passed up on and the latest invented terror attack by US President Donald Trump
were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, Netanyahu lowered expectations of Amona outpost evictees, but one minister said it could cost him the coalition. And at the Munich Security Conference, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey close ranks against Iran.
*At the secret summit held last February in Aqaba between Netanyahu and then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, Netanyahu offered a construction freeze outside the settlement blocs in exchange for a US okay to build within them, Haaretz+ revealed today. Following the initial exposé by Haaretz yesterday, Netanyahu admitted to attending the secret peace summit and even suggested that he initiated it. However, Opposition leader, MK Isaac Herzog, who was told about the summit only a few days after it occurred and who spoke about it with Kerry, Sissi and Abdullah, told Channel 10 that as far as he knew the summit was Kerry’s idea, not Netanyahu’s. Haaretz wrote that he initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled out after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government. In an interview with 103FM/Maariv, Chairwoman of the Hatnua party MK Tzipi Livni said, "The maximum that Netanyahu is willing to do for the sake of regional peace is what [far right Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali] Bennett allows him." She added that “Netanyahu always signals left and when he comes to the intersection, if it has a right turn he turns right.” And on Trump’s suggestion of considering a one-state solution she said: "The two-state solution isn’t holy."
Netanyahu confirmed in the Sunday cabinet meeting that he and Trump agreed to form a team to examine West Bank settlements. He told the cabinet that he would not necessarily be able to deliver on his promise to make a new settlement for the Amona outpost evictees on land of their choosing. He blamed Trump. Ministers complained, wrote Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner and “After hearing them out, Netanyahu said that while Amona is important, there are larger and more important issues at stake, hinting at Iran,” he wrote. But Likud ministers expressed concern that this could lead to Habayit Hayehudi party leaving the coalition and thereby causing it to fall. Indeed, Maariv reported, Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) said “I do not see how the coalition can continue to work without standing by its promise to the people of Amona and to all of the people of Israel.”
More revelations of abuse of elderly at nursing homes, more revelations about the regional peace deal that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu passed up on and the latest invented terror attack by US President Donald Trump
were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, Netanyahu lowered expectations of Amona outpost evictees, but one minister said it could cost him the coalition. And at the Munich Security Conference, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey close ranks against Iran.
*At the secret summit held last February in Aqaba between Netanyahu and then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, Netanyahu offered a construction freeze outside the settlement blocs in exchange for a US okay to build within them, Haaretz+ revealed today. Following the initial exposé by Haaretz yesterday, Netanyahu admitted to attending the secret peace summit and even suggested that he initiated it. However, Opposition leader, MK Isaac Herzog, who was told about the summit only a few days after it occurred and who spoke about it with Kerry, Sissi and Abdullah, told Channel 10 that as far as he knew the summit was Kerry’s idea, not Netanyahu’s. Haaretz wrote that he initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled out after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government. In an interview with 103FM/Maariv, Chairwoman of the Hatnua party MK Tzipi Livni said, "The maximum that Netanyahu is willing to do for the sake of regional peace is what [far right Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali] Bennett allows him." She added that “Netanyahu always signals left and when he comes to the intersection, if it has a right turn he turns right.” And on Trump’s suggestion of considering a one-state solution she said: "The two-state solution isn’t holy."
Netanyahu confirmed in the Sunday cabinet meeting that he and Trump agreed to form a team to examine West Bank settlements. He told the cabinet that he would not necessarily be able to deliver on his promise to make a new settlement for the Amona outpost evictees on land of their choosing. He blamed Trump. Ministers complained, wrote Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner and “After hearing them out, Netanyahu said that while Amona is important, there are larger and more important issues at stake, hinting at Iran,” he wrote. But Likud ministers expressed concern that this could lead to Habayit Hayehudi party leaving the coalition and thereby causing it to fall. Indeed, Maariv reported, Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) said “I do not see how the coalition can continue to work without standing by its promise to the people of Amona and to all of the people of Israel.”
Quick Hits:
- Supreme Court appointments in jeopardy - A disagreement among judges and among members of the Judicial Selection Committee over the appointment of Judge Yosef Elron, who some consider unfit for the position, may bring a deal to replace four current justices down. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- In Rare Move, Israel Orders Demolition of Entire West Bank Bedouin Village - Israel has avoided large-scale evacuation of Palestinians in Area C, partly because of the involvement of European and American diplomats. (Haaretz+)
- Breaking the Silence event carries on outdoors after cancellation - "It is cold outside, but our hearts are warm, and that is enough," says Breaking the Silence event organizer of outdoor lecture following a Pardes Hanna-Karkur regional council decision to shut down what it says was an unapproved event in council space. (Israel Hayom)
- Attorney General Rejects Plan to Freeze Demolition Orders in Israeli Arab Towns - Avichai Mendelblit says a general freeze would be illegal, but main target is illegal construction that threatens national infrastructure. (Haaretz+)
- ISIS says Israel killed 5 of its members - Terror group’s news agency claims Israeli UAV attacked a vehicle in the Sinai on Saturday, liquidating 5 of its members in the process; report comes ten days after ISIS fired rockets into Eilat. (Ynet)
- Attorney General Challenges Jerusalem Municipality’s Rules on Protests in the City - Mendelblit tells court that city hall’s regulations on demonstrations violate freedom of expression and should be redrafted. (Haaretz+)
- Report: 3,173 cases of child abuse in one year - Recently exposed case of child abuse rates are only the tip of the iceberg: according to estimations, 1 out of every 5 children in Israel are experiencing some form of abuse. (Ynet)
- Ten Arab men murdered less than 2 months into 2017 - Despite expectations that the new year would mark a decrease in the number of murders in the Arab sector, stats bode poorly for an optimistic conclusion to 2017; 'Not a weekend goes by without a murder or attempted murder.' (Ynet)
- Transgender women face harassment by El Al security screeners - Mor Vital is a frequent flier with El Al, but over the past year traveling with the Israeli airline has become a humiliating experience after she and others were subjected to personal invasive questions; after her complaint to the company fell on deaf ears, she and others are now planning to sue. (Ynet)
- Police Demand Footage of Israel's 'Big Brother' After Contestant Calls Cops 'Nazis' - The show's production company refused to comply with the warrant and said it would appeal the warrant on Sunday. (Haaretz)
- Military releases new details about Hamas 'honey trap' plot - Terrorist group used fake social media profiles to trick soldiers into downloading spyware onto their smartphones • IDF worked with civilian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab to crack breach and shared report with other civilian cybersecurity firms. (Israel Hayom)
- Hamas court in Gaza sentences 3 to death for alleged spying - Court also upheld sentences of three others for allegedly spying for Israel, bringing total number on death row to 10; past executions have included hangings and shootings. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Report: Arab states warned Hezbollah of Israeli retaliation - The Lebanese terror organization reportedly warned of forceful response from the IDF to any attempt to launch an attack against Israel from Syria or Lebanon. (Ynet)
- Hate crimes against Jews in New York have doubled in 2017, NYPD says - Fifty-six hate crimes reported from January to mid-February, with 28 incidents targeting Jewish population. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Neo-Nazis Cheer After Trump Shuts Down Jewish Reporter Over anti-Semitism Question - The editor of the Daily Stormer website dubs Thursday’s press conference ‘one of the greatest things I’ve ever witnessed.’ (Haaretz and VIDEO)
- Jewish reporter scolded by Trump comes to president's defense - Jake Turx says Trump reacted defensively to his question about rising anti-Semitism in America because of the 'unfair' treatment the president receives in the media. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Top Jewish leader urges Trump to act against anti-Semitism - Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, petitions US President Trump to speak out plainly and emphatically against anti-Semitism, in light of a rise in hate crimes fueled by anti-Jewish sentiment in North America. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Top Jewish American Leader Gives Thumbs Up to David Friedman as Israel Envoy - 'Given his background, his family lineage, his love for this country, and his general intellect – he has all the makings,' Conference of Presidents leader Stephen Greenberg says. (Haaretz)
- Pence Visits Nazi Concentration Camp Site Near Munich - The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of Dachau, and other dignitaries, as he passed through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, 'Arbeit macht frei.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Syrian forces attack rebel-held areas of Homs, Daraa, Damascus - Assaults on insurgent areas in western and northern Syria intensify as Syrian warplanes bomb large suburban areas, further eroding fragile truce, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says • Peace talks in Geneva to begin next week. (Israel Hayom)
- Iraqi forces launch push to retake western Mosul from ISIS - The offensive to dislodge Islamic State from its last major city stronghold in Iraq started in October • Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January, but battle for its western half is expected to be more difficult due to denser population (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
- German chancellor: Islam is not the source of terrorism - "The joint fight against Islamic terrorism is one area where we have the same interests and we can work together," Angela Merkel tells Munich Security Conference • Including Muslim countries in the fight against Islamist terrorism is critical, she says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
Features:
The Full Guide: All the alternatives to a two-state solution
Avraham Burg’s Confederation, Emanuel Shahaf’s autonomous provinces state made up of 30 cantons or Meron’s Rappaport’s joint Palestinian-Israeli "two states, one homeland", Moshe Feiglin’s one state with an emigration encouragement plan for Arabs and IDF full control, or MK Yoav Kish’s autonomy plan giving Palestinians autonomy under full Israeli control. After Trump probably just put an end to the leading political solution, which led the discourse for decades, a look at the other options. (Arik Bender, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)
Israelis help German aid workers deal with Syrian refugees
Magazine: After taking the dangerous and arduous journey from the war-torn Syria to Berlin, refugees are surprised to be greeted by professionals from the Israeli Trauma Coalition, who teach German aid workers how to handle the 1.5 million refugees who came into their country. (Yaniv Halili, Yedioth/Ynet)
Performers are flooding Israel: A sign of the cultural boycott's failure?
As a veritable airlift of artists is on its way to Israel, best efforts of Roger Waters and BDS appear to be in vain. A veteran producer and local boycott activists agree: It's a trend, and like any other, it has ups and downs. (Itay Stern, Haaretz+)
Friedman vs. Friedman: 5 Times Trump's Pick for Israel Envoy Disagreed With Himself
On everything from the settlements to the two-state solution, the views David Friedman laid out at his Senate confirmation hearing contradicted the positions he expressed in his columns. (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Avraham Burg’s Confederation, Emanuel Shahaf’s autonomous provinces state made up of 30 cantons or Meron’s Rappaport’s joint Palestinian-Israeli "two states, one homeland", Moshe Feiglin’s one state with an emigration encouragement plan for Arabs and IDF full control, or MK Yoav Kish’s autonomy plan giving Palestinians autonomy under full Israeli control. After Trump probably just put an end to the leading political solution, which led the discourse for decades, a look at the other options. (Arik Bender, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)
Israelis help German aid workers deal with Syrian refugees
Magazine: After taking the dangerous and arduous journey from the war-torn Syria to Berlin, refugees are surprised to be greeted by professionals from the Israeli Trauma Coalition, who teach German aid workers how to handle the 1.5 million refugees who came into their country. (Yaniv Halili, Yedioth/Ynet)
Performers are flooding Israel: A sign of the cultural boycott's failure?
As a veritable airlift of artists is on its way to Israel, best efforts of Roger Waters and BDS appear to be in vain. A veteran producer and local boycott activists agree: It's a trend, and like any other, it has ups and downs. (Itay Stern, Haaretz+)
Friedman vs. Friedman: 5 Times Trump's Pick for Israel Envoy Disagreed With Himself
On everything from the settlements to the two-state solution, the views David Friedman laid out at his Senate confirmation hearing contradicted the positions he expressed in his columns. (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
The Debate in Israel Is Over. Annexation It Is (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) The occupation has defeated sanity, even that of Reuven Rivlin. The
president is calling for the country's annihilation.
One-State – a nightmarish vision (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth) The right-wing describes Israel make Israel as the one that rejects the two-state solution, supplying the BDS movement with gasoline, by legislating laws that have no purpose and do infinite damage. Why? Jews in America who support Israel ask me about the ‘Regulation (expropriation) Law’. Why? The worst tragedy could happen if Trump encourages the right-wing or allows them to continue in their steps towards one-state. The result will be the fulfillment of the BDS vision. And that anti-Zionist vision must be stopped.
The Palestinian Heroes of Hebron (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The IDF won’t admit that Palestinian farmers need a military escort to work their own lands in order to keep the settlers from running riot.
Netanyahu won in Washington? Trump doesn’t care about the Jewish identity of Israel (Uri Savir, Maariv) Netanyahu's allegedly victory in Washington will be exposed as a Pyrrhic victory. Because Trump walks on thin ice, he can not be trusted, and the values of Israel don’t interest him at all.
News for Trump: The real danger of ‘Fake News’ (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The term "Fake News’ is fraught with the great danger that it will neutralize our thinking abilities as citizens. In the United States, like Israel, the only way to deal with such attempts to flatten is to continue to consume the same media that the rulers oppose.
Netanyahu’s Aqaba Failure (Haaretz Editorial) At the moment of truth, he preferred the political comfort of curling up with his right-wing base to taking a political chance for the benefit of Israel’s future.
Recognize Israeli sovereignty in Golan Heights (Uri Heitner, Israel Hayom) Diplomatic initiatives on the Golan Heights focus on Israeli withdrawal. It is time for an initiative that grants the annexation proper recognition.
Two States, One State, No State (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) The Palestinians already have a country of their own. It is Jordan, more than 70 percent of whose population is Palestinian.
The message of the meeting (Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom) President Donald Trump's willingness to let local and regional powers shoulder the responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a refreshing change.
Abandoning the Israeli High Court Option Is an Abandonment of Palestinian Rights (Michael Sfard, Haaretz+) It’s easy to sit in Tel Aviv and plan an end to the occupation via the International Criminal Court, but it’s the Palestinians who will suffer from the expropriation in the meantime.
A Roll-call of American Jewish Politicians of Honor (Marisa Fox-Bevilacqua, Haaretz+) Netanyahu and Kushner are paraded as Trump's Jewish 'cover.' But the truly powerful Jewish voices in American politics, fighting anti-Semitism and immoral orders, aren't in the White House. They’re in Congress.
The case of disappearing support (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Given the fact Arab nations are no longer willing to sacrifice their interests for the Palestinian cause, it is up to the PA to rethink its policies.
No, Donald Trump Is Not an anti-Semite. Accusing Him of Being One Dangerously Misses the Point (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) In order to fight Trump, we must stop being so righteous and admit to ourselves that he is simply an opportunist who stokes racism for his own purposes.
Yes, Donald Trump IS an anti-Semite (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) We have to just come out with it, those of us who are American Jews in the media. It's time we made Trump bathe in his own batshit.
A complex answer: the two-state solution appear differently to each person (Meir Uziel, Maariv) From the optimistic, through those who remembered that the Gaza Strip also exists, and to the pessimistic: Here are some answers that Israelis will give to the question of how a two-state solution will look. The optimist believes that there will be two states and the settlers will move to the Israeli side of the border. The less optimistic also believes there will be a border and that will bring quiet. In a foggy way, he believes that parts of (E.) Jerusalem will stay in the state of Israel. He doesn’t know that the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood is over the ’67 line and doesn’t believe that will be a problem for the Palestinians. He believes there will be terror attacks from time to time, but they won’t have an army or navy or air force. That will be agreed upon….
The Cultural, Political and Intellectual Hollowing Out of Turkey (Louis Fishman, Haaretz+) The delegitimization, if not criminalization, of any opposition – political, media or cultural – by Turkey's ruling party coincides with a crucial referendum on expanding presidential power even further.
One-State – a nightmarish vision (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth) The right-wing describes Israel make Israel as the one that rejects the two-state solution, supplying the BDS movement with gasoline, by legislating laws that have no purpose and do infinite damage. Why? Jews in America who support Israel ask me about the ‘Regulation (expropriation) Law’. Why? The worst tragedy could happen if Trump encourages the right-wing or allows them to continue in their steps towards one-state. The result will be the fulfillment of the BDS vision. And that anti-Zionist vision must be stopped.
The Palestinian Heroes of Hebron (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The IDF won’t admit that Palestinian farmers need a military escort to work their own lands in order to keep the settlers from running riot.
Netanyahu won in Washington? Trump doesn’t care about the Jewish identity of Israel (Uri Savir, Maariv) Netanyahu's allegedly victory in Washington will be exposed as a Pyrrhic victory. Because Trump walks on thin ice, he can not be trusted, and the values of Israel don’t interest him at all.
News for Trump: The real danger of ‘Fake News’ (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The term "Fake News’ is fraught with the great danger that it will neutralize our thinking abilities as citizens. In the United States, like Israel, the only way to deal with such attempts to flatten is to continue to consume the same media that the rulers oppose.
Netanyahu’s Aqaba Failure (Haaretz Editorial) At the moment of truth, he preferred the political comfort of curling up with his right-wing base to taking a political chance for the benefit of Israel’s future.
Recognize Israeli sovereignty in Golan Heights (Uri Heitner, Israel Hayom) Diplomatic initiatives on the Golan Heights focus on Israeli withdrawal. It is time for an initiative that grants the annexation proper recognition.
Two States, One State, No State (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) The Palestinians already have a country of their own. It is Jordan, more than 70 percent of whose population is Palestinian.
The message of the meeting (Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom) President Donald Trump's willingness to let local and regional powers shoulder the responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a refreshing change.
Abandoning the Israeli High Court Option Is an Abandonment of Palestinian Rights (Michael Sfard, Haaretz+) It’s easy to sit in Tel Aviv and plan an end to the occupation via the International Criminal Court, but it’s the Palestinians who will suffer from the expropriation in the meantime.
A Roll-call of American Jewish Politicians of Honor (Marisa Fox-Bevilacqua, Haaretz+) Netanyahu and Kushner are paraded as Trump's Jewish 'cover.' But the truly powerful Jewish voices in American politics, fighting anti-Semitism and immoral orders, aren't in the White House. They’re in Congress.
The case of disappearing support (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Given the fact Arab nations are no longer willing to sacrifice their interests for the Palestinian cause, it is up to the PA to rethink its policies.
No, Donald Trump Is Not an anti-Semite. Accusing Him of Being One Dangerously Misses the Point (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) In order to fight Trump, we must stop being so righteous and admit to ourselves that he is simply an opportunist who stokes racism for his own purposes.
Yes, Donald Trump IS an anti-Semite (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) We have to just come out with it, those of us who are American Jews in the media. It's time we made Trump bathe in his own batshit.
A complex answer: the two-state solution appear differently to each person (Meir Uziel, Maariv) From the optimistic, through those who remembered that the Gaza Strip also exists, and to the pessimistic: Here are some answers that Israelis will give to the question of how a two-state solution will look. The optimist believes that there will be two states and the settlers will move to the Israeli side of the border. The less optimistic also believes there will be a border and that will bring quiet. In a foggy way, he believes that parts of (E.) Jerusalem will stay in the state of Israel. He doesn’t know that the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood is over the ’67 line and doesn’t believe that will be a problem for the Palestinians. He believes there will be terror attacks from time to time, but they won’t have an army or navy or air force. That will be agreed upon….
The Cultural, Political and Intellectual Hollowing Out of Turkey (Louis Fishman, Haaretz+) The delegitimization, if not criminalization, of any opposition – political, media or cultural – by Turkey's ruling party coincides with a crucial referendum on expanding presidential power even further.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.