APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday April 23, 2017
 

Quote of the day:

"We do not know yet whether we will reschedule this tour to another date this year or whether we’ll have to suspend our Israel Study Tour program indefinitely, until the law is either revoked, amended or applied in a way that does not impact APN, its staff members, board members and activists.”
--Americans for Peace Now notified prospective participants that its 2017 Israel Study Tour won't take place as planned this summer due to fear participants will not be allowed entry into Israel following legislation banning people who support the boycott of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The popular tour has been taking place annually for some 30 years.* 

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Breaking News:
Three Reportedly Killed in Israeli Strike on pro-Assad Militia in Syria
Militia says casualties of Quneitra attack were Syrian soldiers. (Haaretz and Ynet)

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Sad and inspiring features on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, fears that far-right-wing candidate Marie Le Penn will be elected president today in France, and anger that the Education Ministry moved a vacation day back to appease Orthodox religious fears of the desecration of Sabbath were today’s top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. What was practically absent from the newspapers, with the stark exception of Haaretz, which put part of it on the front page, were the reports of three different attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, on Israeli left-wing activists and on Israeli soldiers, leaving some Palestinians hospitalized.
 
In diplomacy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was ready to meet Netanyahu under Trump's patronage in Washington. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with Israel’s president and prime minister and stressed that the US remained committed to Israel’s external and internal security. And while the tension rises between the US and Russia, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman will be attending a conference hosted by Moscow, along with participants from Iran and Iraq, to discuss radical movements in the Middle East. The United States is expected to boycott the event.
 
The recent developments in Lebanon: On Thursday morning Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem warned that any military adventures launched by Israel on the northern border would be a 'foolish and reckless step' and said Hezbollah had deterred Israeli leaders from launching a war on the northern border. Later that day, Hezbollah's information department gave journalists a tour of the Lebanon-Israel border and said that the IDF's new defensive posture demonstrates Hezbollah's strength (VIDEO). On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri toured the border area with Israel, highlighting the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israeli border in what was said to be a message that the government of Lebanon is the sovereign power in southern Lebanon and not any other group, including Hezbollah. Afterward, Hariri asked the UN to help seek a permanent truce between Lebanon and Israel. On its part, UNIFIL denied any prior knowledge of the Hezbollah media tour.
 
Settler attacks were rampant over the weekend. On Friday, some 15 masked men clubbed and stoned members of the left-wing Israeli Ta’ayush organization who were accompanying Palestinian shepherds in the Binyamin region, injuring some of them. The attack was recorded on video and the Jewish-American organization, ADL, denounced the settler attackers in a Tweet.  On Saturday in the Nablus area, hundreds of settlers (Maan) from the radical Yitzhar settlement attacked homes and vehicles with rocks in the nearby village of Urif, causing heavy damage (PHOTOS). Villagers tried to ward off the attackers with stones and Israeli forces came and dispersed the Palestinians with rubber bullets, injuring some of them. Later on Saturday, some 50 settlers attacked locals in the Palestinian town of Huwarra, injuring two local people, including an elderly Palestinian woman who was hospitalized after they threw a rock at her head (VIDEO). (Also Maariv) When IDF forces arrived at the scene, the settlers attacked the soldiers, injuring an officer in the hand.
 
Ynet ran a story noting that Israeli soldiers escort Palestinian children to school in the hills of southern Hebron every day in order to avoid possible violence from nearby settlers. And Maan reported that hundreds of Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian village escorted by Israeli forces in order to perform religious rituals at Islamic shrines that they claimed were religious sites. Israeli forces even prevented Palestinian cars from entering the town and the Israelis set up a tent and portable toilet in the center of the village.

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Trigger fingers: The IDF officers responsible for intercepting missiles
Army officers barely in their twenties are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of identifying rocket attacks on the State of Israel and launching interceptor missiles within seconds, be they Arrow, Iron Dome or Patriot. Three officers share the moments of their famous interceptions. (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) 
The Israeli photojournalist collective that foments social change
There is striking disparity between the impressive display of resistance documented in Activestills' new book and the lack of action by the Israeli and Palestinian left. (Shaul Setter, Haaretz) 
Arab Israeli children live in fear of gunfire
Shootings are plaguing the Arab populace in Israel, endangering dozens of innocent bystanders; since the beginning of the year, there have been 18 Arab civilian deaths in shooting incidents, similar to last year's January–April toll of 20; Arab child, after reporting a shooting: 'No policeman came. Why is that? Do they think Arab blood is cheap?' (Hassan Shaalan, Ynet) 
How IDF’s intelligence hunted the ‘lone wolf’ terrorist
At the close of 2015, Israel faced an unprecedented challenge of thwarting a new kind of terror for which there could be little or no prior warning: Speaking to the senior intelligence officials, Ynet learns how the IDF placed an almost insurmountable obstacle in the way of prospective terrorist, clamped down on Hamas activity in the WB and restored normality to the country; 'After building profiles, we followed them and carry out arrests.' (Elisha Ben-Kimon, Yedioth/Ynet)
Likudniks recall 40 years since their dramatic win
Nearly 30 years of left-wing rule ended with anchorman Haim Yavin's declaration of 'a revolution.' 'People went wild,' say veteran activists to Ynet, as they recall feelings of discrimination that brought about the political change, as well as their longing for Menachem Begin. (Adir Yanko, Yedioth/Ynet) 
Israeli Troops Shot a Palestinian Holding a Firebomb - and Then His Friends, Too
Jassem Nakhle is the second fatality in an incident where soldiers fired at a car of Palestinian teens after one of them tried to throw a firebomb at a settlement. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+) 
Open Account: New and surprising revelations in Rabin's dollar affair
Who were the people who "sought" Rabin in the United States, what senior figure had sent them, who warned those around the prime minister, and was the affair originally shelved for political reasons? (Eyal Levy, Maariv)
Six-Day War: The Israeli Navy's commandos 'suicide missions'
The commandos of Shayetet 13, the Israeli Navy's special operations unit, were sent deep into enemy territory 50 years ago during the Six-Day War—without maps, intel or sufficient time to safely return; the missions failed, and some were taken into captivity; half a century after the failed operation, the commandos recount the brazen and mishandled missions. (Assaf Kamar, Yedioth/Ynet)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
The Messiah's donkey wears fascism (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz+) In 1995, Umberto Eco outlined 14 features of what he called ‘eternal fascism.’ An examination of statements by Israeli politicians suggests democracy may be on shaky ground in the Jewish state. 
And Netanyahu remains silent (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) Over two weeks later and the prime minister has yet to condemn White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's comments that Hitler, unlike Assad, 'didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons … he was not using the gas on his own people.' The eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day is a fitting time to finally do so. 
Netanyahu's Scapegoat - Gaza (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Jerusalem's disregard of Hamas' amended charter, even before its official publication, is a continuation of the rejectionist line laid down by the prime minister.
Holocaust survivors’ situation is a stain on Israeli society (Yehuda Shohat, Yedioth/Ynet) We don’t always have the power to make a real change, but when we have a government whose ministers and MKs are more concerned about their seat than about their citizens’ wellbeing, the power is in our hands. 
The Most Justified Social Protest in Israel (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The 1,000-plus Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike are all part of a national struggle for freedom, something that should seem admirable even to Israelis 
A disgrace at the Knesset committee (Ariella Ringel-Hoffman, Yedioth/Ynet) We used to have a unique code of manners toward bereaved parents, but it seems that for the sake of politics, it’s okay to settle petty accounts in front of people who have paid an unbearable price.
When Will Marwan Barghouti’s Cellmate Go Free? (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Until a week ago, Majd Ziadeh shared a cell with the most well-known Palestinian in an Israeli prison. His family says they don't know where he is now.
Hezbollah's PR Provocation on Border Comes at a Good Time for Israel (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) For years, all of the IDF’s actions in Lebanon were presented as proof of Israel’s belligerent intentions. Now that the Israeli army is fortifying the border, Hezbollah is waving it around as proof that the Jews are afraid 
Prisoner or future president? (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Jailed terrorist Marwan Barghouti is determined to position himself as a successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas • Israel is wary Barghouti's call for a hunger strike by security prisoners may escalate into fresh unrest on the ground. 
ISIS Takes Aim at Egypt's Soft Underbelly: Fragile Muslim-Christian Relations (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) In the attack on St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai ISIS revealed a new strategy. 
Lost you at Sinai (Annika Hernroth-Rothstein, Israel Hayom) We Jews have bought into the "good vs. bad" narrative in which the good Jew now is the left-winger and the bad Jew, like me, belongs on the Right.
The referendum in Turkey led to the continued deterioration of the democratic regime (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The trend of weakening a democracy and the rise of populist leaders does not stop in Turkey. Ask the French, the Italians or the Americans. The processes in Israel are not much different. 
New Cold War Helps Warm Ties Between Pentagon and Israeli Army (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) The U.S. warning to Israel before its airstrike on a Syrian air base earlier this month and Gen. James Mattis’ visit to Israel reflect the increasing trust between the two militaries 
It would have been better if the censorship had imposed a blackout on the identity of the two combat soldiers (Uri Bar Lev, Maariv) The exposure of the arrest in Nablus of two soldiers from the [undercover – OH] Duvdevan unit fighters could harm the vital interests of the State of Israel and the security of civilians. It would be good if lessons were learned. The two soldiers were arrested by the Palestinian police at a police roadblock on a main street in Nablus. The [undercover, dressed as Arabs – OH] soldiers, who were engaged in operational activity in the city, were taken to the Palestinian police station and then transferred back to the IDF. The incident was investigated by the army, but according to what was published and from my familiarity with the unit's soldiers, they did not tell the Palestinian police officers which unit they belonged to. The exposure of them as being fighters in Duvdevan not only is inappropriate, it is irresponsible, harms coordination with the Palestinians, and may have serious consequences. Although I do not see immediate operational damage caused to the capabilities of the unit, which continues to fight terrorism around the clock, I am definitely concerned about the damage that may be caused by the publication itself. Not necessarily to combatants, but to every [Jewish-Israeli – OH] civilian who might be find himself in territory under Palestinian control. The great fear is that if young Israelis in civilian clothes are mistakenly caught in Palestinian territory and arrested, they will pay a much higher price.
Netanyahu Says He Was Dragged Into 2014 Gaza War. Is It About to Happen Again? (Amos Harel, Haaretz) Putin and Trump's maneuvers have turned Israel into a secondary player in Mideast 
For the Leadership of Israel's Opposition: Only Amir Peretz (Merav Alush Levron, Haaretz+) As a Mizrahi, traditional leader from the periphery who is true to his roots and seeks peace, he has the greatest potential in the leftist camp to defuse Israel's divisions.
If anything: Trump bombed Afghanistan because of the investigations against his men (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The bomb that the American leader directed against the people of ISIS has nothing to do with what is happening on the ground and a real strategic move. This is merely an act by a president who needs legitimacy for the entanglement of his associates.
From the Passport Stamp Controversy to Trump's Son-in-law (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Both Washington and Jerusalem are laboring under serious leadership crises that will continue as long as Trump and Netanyahu keep at it.
Hezbollah is Iran's cannon fodder for Assad's survival (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The civil war exacts a bloody price from the organization, causing it to experience a financial, moral and political crisis. During the fighting, up to 1,800 soldiers were killed and another 6,000 wounded.
Pence's Visit to Indonesia Another Strike in Internal White House Battle Over Islam (Amir Tibon, Haaretz+) Pence praised Indonesia's 'moderate Islam' as 'an inspiration to the world,' but others in Trump's administration still see all Muslims as a threat.
French Election Could Be the End of Europe as We Know It - and a Headache for Israel (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz) If far-right's Le Pen and far-left's Mélenchon overtake front-runner Macron, it's hard to see how the EU could last for long.
Counting Down the Hours Before France Becomes a Police State (Natasha Lehrer, Haaretz+) France’s reverence for authoritarian politics never went away. But even those who oppose Le Pen consider strategic voting to keep the neo-fascists out as selling out. 
How Le Pen Could Pull Off the Perfect Storm in France (Asaf Ronel, Haaretz+) France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen may find herself facing an opponent in the second round whom voters find just as repulsive.
 
 

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