APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday, March 23, 2018
You Must Be Kidding:
Thousands of Palestinians unable to work in Israel due to strike by Israeli employees of Israel’s Civil Administration. The sanctions have reportedly so far harmed some 4,000 Palestinians, and each additional day of sanctions will harm another 1,000 Palestinians. (Haaretz+)
Front Page:
You Must Be Kidding:
Thousands of Palestinians unable to work in Israel due to strike by Israeli employees of Israel’s Civil Administration. The sanctions have reportedly so far harmed some 4,000 Palestinians, and each additional day of sanctions will harm another 1,000 Palestinians. (Haaretz+)
Front Page:
Haaretz
- The organized utilization of information from Facebook to tilt public opinion teaches that dystopia is already here // Chemi Shalev
- Open file - State to discuss anew the asylum requests of prisoners at Saharonim Prison, after a court ruled that deserters of the Eritrean army justifies asylum status
- Syria is not Iran // Amos Harel
- Three heads of government, one burning hatred // Yossi Verter
- Netanyahu already marked the next threat: Saudi Arabia // Zvi Bar'el
- Tamar Zandberg elected chairman of Meretz by majority of 71% of vote
- The quiet channel in Ramallah: Acting chummy in Arabic, arranging debts but fearing being considered left-wing: How (Foreign Minister) Kahlon became the contact man to the Palestinian Prime Minister
- Female workers complained about the senior prosecutor, but his term was extended before a hearing was held
- Netanyahu wanted us to listen to his supporters. So that’s what we did // Roi Chicky Arad
- Roni Somek is on the right path to liberating the ‘Mizrachi voice’
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Expose - State Comptroller report on the Syrian reactor: “Intel failure”
- First publication of most dramatic chapter of Olmert’s book with his full version of the attack
- Barak answers Olmert, (former Mossad chief) Pardo vs. Military Intel and (former Military Intel chief) Yadlin vs. the Mossad
- One reactor less // Nahum Barnea
- A grandiose operation, an ugly battle // Sima Kadmon
- New Meretz - Tamar Zandberg defeated Avi Buskila and was chosen as Meretz Chairman
- Israel to probe Facebook on suspicion of harming privacy
- The charoset and maror (sweets and bitter herbs) speech - Netanyahu attacked the media and his opponents in a speech at a pre-Pessach event for Likud activists
- On the way up - Orly Levy-Abukasis threatens to turn into the surprise of the next elections
Maariv Weekend
- The maror (bitter herbs) speech - PM again attacked his detractors at a pre-Pessach celebration the Likud held
- Police Commissioner: “The state witnesses supplied the goods”
- Meretz chose Zandberg - Won 71% of the votes of voters
- Death on the roads - 4 killed
- Columns of fire: The war behind the legacy of the liberation of Jerusalem
- The feud: This is how Rivlin and Netanyahu became the most bitter enemies in politics
- The appointment and the torture: Everything that is frightening to know about the new CIA chief
- His fine moment - This is how Ehud Olmert conducted the operation to destroy the nuclear reactor in Syria; “He led a process that needs to be taught in schools of strategy,” say senior officials who worked alongside him
- The nuclear success - From the gut feeling of one brave officer in Military Intel, through the stormy cabinet discussions and to the dropping of 17 tons of bombs. Operation ‘Outside the Cube’ stage by stage
- With open binoculars // Avi Benayahu
- The missed scoop // Udi Segal
- Ego of the maniacs // Ron Kaufman
Israel Hayom
- Prime Minister: “There is a simple rule - if it's not Bibi, there are no investigations" - Netanyahu: “People in the media are pressuring the law enforcement authorities in order to bring us down”
- The chutzpah of the UN: Demands compensation from Israel for the damage to UNRWA buildings
- Israeli probe against Facebook
- A shot of Meretz (energy): Zandberg was chosen head of the party
- History: A flight from India to Israel passed for the first time above Saudi Arabia
- The American dream is getting closer: Starting now, it’s possible to renew a visa to the US without doing an interview first
- From the IDF with pride - Ofer Erez, who was the first transgender officer in the army, speaks for the first time
- “A mission of once in a lifetime”: Gen. (res.) Shkeidi recounts how the Syrian reactor was destroyed
News Summary:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attacked the police again, claiming it only opened investigations against him (did he forget that Ehud Olmert was just released from jail?), and that the media was pressuring the police to bring him down, Israel will investigate Facebook for breaching the privacy of Israeli citizens in the Cambridge Analytica affair, MK Tamar Zandberg won the leadership of the Meretz party, and the battle and the mud-slinging over the story of the Syrian nuclear reactor continued, while Yedioth reported that the State Comptroller found that the Israeli intel community failed miserably in providing forewarning on Syria’s reactor.
Interestingly, while the the Hebrew press gave top headlines days ago to the assassination attempt in Gaza on visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdullah, which the Palestinian Authority had blamed on Hamas, the print papers mainly omitted reporting today that yesterday in a gun battle to catch the main suspect, two Hamas security forces were killed as well as the suspect and his accomplice. The suspect, Anas Abdul Malik Abu Khussa, was initially arrested, but died of his injury of a bullet to his stomach, Maariv Online reported, adding that Hamas had identified him as a suspect and offered $5000 to information that could lead to his arrest. Hamas sources said that the suspect had a direct connection with Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank and claimed that "he was recruited for the mission by them,” Maariv reported. Israel Hayom omitted those details.
Also of interest, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly bragged he had Jared Kushner ‘in his pocket,’ according to The Intercept.
And Maariv Online published the results of the monthly Peace Index poll of the Israel Democracy Institute. Here are the findings:
62.5% of Israelis do not believe the Prime Minister's statement that "there will be nothing because there is nothing"
70% oppose a pardon for Netanyahu if he pleads guilty and resigns
55% think that if Netanyahu is indicted, he must resign.
50% trust the Police’s investigations against Netanyahu and 45% do not.
54% trust the Attorney General that he will decide in a professional manner whether to indict Netanyahu.
55% trust the judicial establishment to act with professionalism and integrity.
61% believe there is a high possibility of an outbreak of violence by Palestinians with the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, out of those 61%, 59.5% believe the transfer should take place despite expected violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attacked the police again, claiming it only opened investigations against him (did he forget that Ehud Olmert was just released from jail?), and that the media was pressuring the police to bring him down, Israel will investigate Facebook for breaching the privacy of Israeli citizens in the Cambridge Analytica affair, MK Tamar Zandberg won the leadership of the Meretz party, and the battle and the mud-slinging over the story of the Syrian nuclear reactor continued, while Yedioth reported that the State Comptroller found that the Israeli intel community failed miserably in providing forewarning on Syria’s reactor.
Interestingly, while the the Hebrew press gave top headlines days ago to the assassination attempt in Gaza on visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdullah, which the Palestinian Authority had blamed on Hamas, the print papers mainly omitted reporting today that yesterday in a gun battle to catch the main suspect, two Hamas security forces were killed as well as the suspect and his accomplice. The suspect, Anas Abdul Malik Abu Khussa, was initially arrested, but died of his injury of a bullet to his stomach, Maariv Online reported, adding that Hamas had identified him as a suspect and offered $5000 to information that could lead to his arrest. Hamas sources said that the suspect had a direct connection with Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank and claimed that "he was recruited for the mission by them,” Maariv reported. Israel Hayom omitted those details.
Also of interest, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly bragged he had Jared Kushner ‘in his pocket,’ according to The Intercept.
And Maariv Online published the results of the monthly Peace Index poll of the Israel Democracy Institute. Here are the findings:
62.5% of Israelis do not believe the Prime Minister's statement that "there will be nothing because there is nothing"
70% oppose a pardon for Netanyahu if he pleads guilty and resigns
55% think that if Netanyahu is indicted, he must resign.
50% trust the Police’s investigations against Netanyahu and 45% do not.
54% trust the Attorney General that he will decide in a professional manner whether to indict Netanyahu.
55% trust the judicial establishment to act with professionalism and integrity.
61% believe there is a high possibility of an outbreak of violence by Palestinians with the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, out of those 61%, 59.5% believe the transfer should take place despite expected violence.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.