News Nosh 12.20.17

by APN 12/20/17
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"We're operating in a space filled with people, and we need to differentiate between incidents in which a soldier acts in violation of orders or against IDF values, and incidents in which a soldier acts in accordance with IDF values and uses judgment, even if his decision is not perfect in the end."
--An unnamed senior IDF officer defended the two soldiers who did not use force against the Palestinian girls who hit them.*

Front Page:
Haaretz
  • Netanyahu: So there will be (police) recommendations (to indict me), so what? Most of them are thrown in the garbage
  • Low, Bibi, low // Yossi Verter
  • Soaked in fear // Dan Margalit
  • Assad preparing to expand his control near the border with Israel // Amos Harel
  • Health Ministry gave in to food companies: Will remove nutritional labeling of small snacks
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals CEO to Netanyahu: “The dismissals plan is not open for discussion”
  • Ahead of a plea bargain: (Alon) Kastiel will not be convicted of rape, the prosecution will demand prison time
  • The turnaround is in, the murder of Rabin is out: key points in the history of Israel, according to the Education Ministry
  • The gallows are right for Israel // Zvi Bar’el
  • Fortified islands // Noa Osterreicher on who will live in the residential towers
  • Waiting for an arrangement - Channel 20 threatens to close if it doesn’t get a permanent permit
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
  • “So there will be (police indictment) recommendations against me, so what? Most of them are thrown in the garbage” - “The Recommendations Speech” - Netanyahu in frontal assault against police
  • Record low, in the meantime // Ben Caspit
  • Bibi and the principle of innocence // Meir Uziel
  • The constitutional revolution of (Justice Minister) Shaked: Disqualification of a law by the High Court, only with a majority of nine justices
  • Bar Refaeli’s tax trouble: The supermodel returns to court today
  • Teva management: “The factories in Jerusalem don’t have a right to exist”
Israel Hayom
  • Prime Minister: “And if there will be recommendations (for indictment against me), so what?” - Sharp speech against the police and the media: “Organized hunt”
  • The law for weakening the High Court sparks storm; Kulanu party: “This won’t pass”
  • The Sea of Galilee is praying - The lake is getting smaller. Chief Rabbbi David Lau to hold special prayer for rain
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals employees: We won’t let the factory in the capital be shut down
  • Provoking the combat soldiers: Battle the psychological warfare // Amnon Lord
  • Following ‘Israel Hayom’ expose: State Comptroller probing situation of psychiatric hospitals

News Summary:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attacked the police and the media in a speech, Israeli forces detained the 16-year-old Palestinian girl who was filmed hitting soldiers to get off her property, and the CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals told Netanyahu he would not change the company’s plan to close down factories in Israel while Israeli Teva workers threatened to stop distributing cancer and AIDS drugs in protest making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. And the latest on the consequences of the Trump Declaration: Israel is preparing for humiliation at the UN General Assembly, which will vote Thursday on a resolution calling to annul Trump’s decision to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Speaking at Likud party event celebrating the final night of Hanukkah, Netanyahu addressed the corruption investigations against him by attacking the police, the press, and the anti-corruption Saturday night protesters at Rothschild Boulevard in Tel-Aviv, saying they were in cahoots and that it was all an organized hunt against him. Israeli commentators called the ‘Recommendations Speech’ a ‘new low.’  The police, which is expected to recommend putting Netanyahu on trial in at least one case, called it a ‘strange’ speech.

*Early Tuesday morning, Israeli forces arrested Ahed Tamimi, the 16-year-old Palestinian girl who was filmed Friday hitting two Israeli soldiers and pushing them out of her front yard. The IDF was accused of making the arrest only because of the outrage by some Israelis after the video went viral on Monday. In the video, Ahed and another girl are seen pushing and then slapping and kicking the soldiers, moving them off their property. Eventually the soldiers do move off. Education Minister Naftali Bennett said the Palestinian girls “need to be jailed for their whole lives.” Many called for action against the family, which is known for standing up to soldiers at the weekly protests against land confiscation in their village of Nebi Saleh. Tamimi's father, Bassem, said that during the arrest, the soldiers beat his wife and children, broke furniture and stole their phones, cameras, and laptops. Later on Tuesday, police arrested Ahed’s mother, Nariman, when she went to the police to ask where her daughter was. The police said Nariman was arrested for assault from the same Friday incident. [But then the question arises why they didn’t arrest her when they arrested her daughter. - OH] Moreover, the father also said the incident Friday took place after one of those two soldiers shot Ahed’s cousin, Mohammed, 14, in the face. Indeed, Mohammed Tamimi, 14, remains in a coma after being shot in head by Israeli forces, Maan reported. Ahed told her family that she 'may be a martyr.’ Ynet said Ahed will remain in custody until Thursday. Ynet interviewed an IDF officer, who said that in the West Bank, soldiers should be smart, not right.

The UN General Assembly meets tomorrow in a rare emergency special session to vote on the resolution to annul the Trump decision, after the US vetoed the same resolution at the UN Security Council. It is expected to pass due to a Muslim and Arab majority and the fact the US has no veto right there. Haaretz+ reported that Israel has told its ambassadors to seek meetings with high-level officials to persuade them to direct their representatives at the UN to oppose, not to support, or at the very least not to deliver a speech at the General Assembly. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the US veto at the UNSC a disgrace and accused the US of being totally biased in favor of Israel. He also signed applications for 22 international organizations. On a tour of the Gaza border, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel was willing to pay any price over Trump’s Jerusalem declaration. Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Palestine was a ‘fake state.’
 
Quick Hits:
  • Jerusalem court calls arrest of Palestinian suspected of planting explosive device 'dramatization' - The East Jerusalem student was accused of planting an explosive device alongside the separation barrier on Thursday.  (Haaretz+)
  • Israel's top court rules against Palestinian who claims he was tortured by Shin Bet interrogators - High Court says no court intervention needed over Shin Bet ombudsman’s decision that there was no basis for a criminal investigation about the interrogation of Assad Abu Ghosh, a suspected Hamas explosives expert, which included a ‘degree of pressure.’ Last year Haaretz disclosed that hundreds of Palestinians had complained to the ombudsman’s unit responsible for handling complaints by suspects under interrogation. The unit has not opened any criminal investigations against Shin Bet staff.(Haaretz+)
  • Israeli forces open fire at Palestinian protesters in northern Gaza - Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at dozens of Palestinian protesters near the Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing Tuesday morning. Dozens of youths had gathered near the border fence - where four Palestinians were shot dead over the past two weeks - to protest US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Maan)
  • UN human rights chief slams Israel for 'wanton' killing of Palestinian amputee, blames Trump for clashes - Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, who lost his legs during an Israeli airstrike nine years ago, was one of four Palestinians killed during protests over Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Israel denies targeting Gazan amputee in riots amid UN outcry - IDF says investigation shows 'no live fire was aimed at' wheelchair-bound agitator during 'day of rage' clashes on Gaza border; 'It's impossible to determine what caused his death.' (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli bulldozers level lands along border of central Gaza - Locals told Ma’an that four Israeli D9 bulldozers entered into eastern Deir al-Balah in central Gaza from the nearby Kissufim military site and leveled lands in the area. (Maan)
  • Video shows IDF's retaliatory attacks on 40 Hamas targets in Gaza - IDF Spokesperson's Unit publishes video showing IDF attacks on 40 Hamas targets in past 2 weeks, retaliation to recent rocket, mortar launched from Gaza Strip at Israel; all targets had high operational value, army says, countering claims they were insignificant. (Ynet)
  • Despite Israeli Declarations of Widespread Settlement Construction, Only 46 Units Being Built - New UN report shows now bidding process was completed in East Jerusalem in 2017, and 80 percent of construction announced by government is concentrated in the settlement blocs. (Haaretz+)
  • German FM compares Israeli policy in Judea and Samaria to apartheid - Speaking with Arab, Muslim activists in Berlin, Sigmar Gabriel stresses the German government reserves the right to criticize Israeli government's policies • Gabriel says he visited Hebron in the past, what he saw there reminded him of apartheid regime. (Israel Hayom)
  • Ex-CIA Adviser Denies Report That Obama Thwarted anti-Hezbollah Operation to Save Iran Deal - Brian O'Toole, who was a senior officer in the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, calls the Politico report 'a grand conspiracy led by Hezbollah.’ (Haaretz)
  • Likud official provided intel for Hungarian anti-Soros campaign - MK Oren Hazan claimed that George Soros supported V15, an organization that sought to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2015 election. (JPost)
  • ‘Breaking the Silence’ (activist): “Muslim Arab and Jewish Arabs are the same shit" - In a secretly recorded conversation held at the organization's offices, which was broadcast on (right-wing religious) Channel 20, Ido Even-Paz, the coordinator of the educational activity of ’Breaking the Silence’ said, “Arab Muslims and Arab Jews are the most violent people in the country, let’s face it.” Even-Paz said later: "In private conversations, I speak in a free and informal language to explain a well-known claim - that in Israel there is fear of Arabs and there is educational tracking. To claim that (saying) this is racism is like claiming that there is no occupation and that there is no discrimination in Israel. And by the way, Channel 20, which published the secret recording, cares about Mizrahi Jews like they care about racism against Palestinians." (Maariv)
  • Netanyahu heckled at Bible Quiz for arms sales to 'murderous regimes' - Israeli activists decry government's military aid to regimes with poor human rights records such as Myanmar and Honduras; 'Light unto the nations, don’t sell to murderers,' activists yell. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Motorcycle Terrorist' Sent to 15 Years in Prison for Ramming, Stabbing Attack - In October 2016, Murad Rajbi, from E. Jerusalem, hit one man with his motorcycle — breaking the man’s ankle, thumb and hand — and looked for people ‘with a religious Jewish appearance’ to stab in Jerusalem. Defense claimed he suffered from suicidal tendencies, depression. He tried committing suicide twice before the incident. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Israel Deports African Jew With Valid Visa Hours After Landing at Ben-Gurion Airport - The Ministry of Interior cites concerns that 31-year-old convert 'would stay here.' Conservative movement leader: Deportation 'is act of racism’.  (Haaretz+)
  • Austria's Chancellor: 'I Fully Respect' Israel's Decision to Boycott New Far-right Ministers - Sebastian Kurz, whose party took office with the far-right Freedom Party, says he'll 'dispel all concerns' regarding the latter's Nazi roots. (Haaretz)
  • Vienna Says Will Grant Citizenship to Descendants of Austrian Holocaust Victims - Austrian government says 200,000 people would be eligible in plan aimed at building trust with Israel amid criticism of coalition partners' Nazi roots. (Haaretz)
  • Egyptian colonel jailed after announcing he will run for president - Colonel Ahmad Konsowa was convicted of violating military regulations that ban political activism by active duty officers. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Assad slams France for pushing peace settlement: 'Their hands are soaked in Syrian blood' - France accused Syria of doing nothing to reach a peace agreement after almost seven years of war and said it was committing mass crimes in the Eastern Ghouta region where 400,000 people are besieged by government forces. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Assad is enemy of millions of Syrians, Macron hits back - Syria's President said on Monday France was supporting bloodshed in Syria, making it unfit to talk about peace settlements. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Saudi-led airstrikes killed 136 Yemenis in past two weeks, UN claims - United States calls for delivery of UN aid shipments to Yemen. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Animated Video of All-out Saudi-Iranian War Breaks Arab World's Internet - The release of an animated video, 'Saudi Strike Force,' showing an all-out war between the Sunni and Shi'ite superpowers, comes at a time of rising tensions in the region. (Haaretz+)

Features:
'Living in a Prison, Though I Have the Key': All Alone on the Wrong Side of Israel's Separation Barrier
The Hajajlehs say the Israelis are trying to get rid of them, but defense officials maintain the special gate at the family’s house, in the village of Wallajeh on the outskirts of Jerusalem, is for security needs. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+ YOUTUBE)
New Nablus: Welcome to Little Palestine, New Jersey
Only 14 minutes by car separate two worlds that are so close yet so far apart: a story of a Palestinian neighborhood and a nearby Jewish-Israeli hub in the middle of New Jersey. (Tzach Yoked, Haaretz+)
Young U.S. Christians Fear Trump Is Turning 'Evangelical' Into a Dirty Word - and Israel Is Paying the Price
U.S. Jews and evangelical Christians have something in common other than a love of Israel – a younger generation that is becoming less connected to their faith's core beliefs, including on the Holy Land. (Shachar Peled, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
Palestinian Girl in Viral Video Arrested for Making the Occupation Look Bad (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Israeli politicians perpetuating the occupation aren't really worried about Palestinian resentment or international pressure. Their deepest fear lies elsewhere.
A modern Dreyfus: Netanyahu's “Recommendations Speech” was a record point in the general wretchedness (Ben Caspit, Maariv) It turns out that the prime minister's pan has no bottom, even with the problematic standards to which we are accustomed. He continues to ignore the facts and act like a victim as if he were a martyr.
Proposed Nation-state Law Repudiates Israel and Undermines Its Democracy (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The Netanyahu-supported law would confirm to the world that Israel is discriminating, racist and en route to apartheid, as its worst enemies allege.
Israeli achievement: No ICC probe over Gaza flotilla raid (Tova Tzimuki, Yedioth/Ynet) International Criminal Court prosecutor reaffirms her previous decision not to launch an investigation into the deadly raid on Mavi Marmara ship in May 2010, after Israel succeeds in convincing her that all aspects of the incident have already been properly and thoroughly investigated by the IDF and by a government-appointed commission.
The Gallows Really Befit Israel, or So the Death Penalty Bill Makes It Seem (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The government wants to convince us that the scaffold is the only solution for the terror plaguing the country.
Before Gaza turns into Somalia (Nadav Eyal, Yedioth/Ynet) To save the strip from a collapse, which will naturally become Israel’s problem, there is a need for an international humanitarian intervention that will get rid of the Hamas rule one way or another; while Israel is incapable of leading such an intervention, it can explain its urgency to the world.
The Netanyahu Lavish Gifts Affair Isn't a Borderline Case (Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz+) We aren’t talking about gifts but about illicit benefits, and we aren’t talking about a 'friendship' but about an open door to the prime minister – a tradable currency.
As international legitimacy for military action grows, so will the room for maneuver vis-à-vis Hamas (Liram Koblentz-Stentzler, Maariv) The state must give a clear ultimatum to Hamas. It will also be visible to the international community. This is so that if and when a military operation is launched, the reasons that led to the outbreak of the operation will be clear to all.
It’s Not a Fair Fight (Haaretz Editorial) Instead of turning the public against the opposition or army commanders, the right-wing government should recognize that there's no solution to Israel’s main problem except an end to the occupation.
How to deal with the Palestinian camera war (Yoaz Hendel, Yedioth/Ynet) Images of ‘David versus Goliath’ are the IDF’s weak spot; the solution is professionalism on the IDF’s part against the Palestinians' professionalism in producing these images: A Palestinian who raises a hand must be handcuffed, and a Palestinian girl who hits a soldier must be arrested on the spot.
Moshe Arens and the Ostrich Syndrome (Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Haaretz+) For the benefit of the former Likud defense minister, here are a few facts about the Arab leaders in the Knesset and about Arab society in general – especially Arab in Wadi Ara.
Lights, Camera, Modest Action: Saudi Arabia Lets People See Movies Again (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) For the first time since 1980, Saudis will be allowed to watch films; censored, of course. But it’s not clear if women will be permitted to sit next to their husbands.
In a New Challenge to Israel, Syria's Assad Sets His Sights on Golan Border Area (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) After the conquest of Aleppo, Dir a-Zur and Raqqa, the regime is ready for its next move. Israel will now have to rethink its policy.
We Have to Talk About Chabad (Ram Fruman, Haaretz+) Even though Chabadniks are anti-Zionists bent on spreading religiosity, the state and its citizens continue to grovel before them and give them easy access to our most precious resource: our children.
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.

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