APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday May 27, 2018
 

Quote of the day
"We don't feel like second-class citizens, but rather like seventh-class … Like (we're worth) nothing."
--Musa Al-Ubara, a relative of the young man who was injured by police when he was detained for an expired driver's license.*

You Must Be Kidding:
Labor party MK Eitan Cabel urged his colleagues to “sober up and shake off” their adherence to the land-for-peace paradigm.**

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
An Israeli soldier died of his head injury sustained when a Palestinian dropped a stone slab on his head during an arrest raid in a refugee camp in the West Bank, reports on the investigations of alleged corruption by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and a confusing and conflicting reports on police violence towards a Bedouin man from Rahat and the angry response from locals who witnessed it were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, four Palestinians crossed into Israel again to set fire on an IDF outpost and also left Israelis a message on a symbolic refugee tent before running back into Gaza. (Hamas TV ran a video of it a few hours later.) The Friday Gaza border demonstrations continued leaving 109 protesters injured by the IDF, but that barely made the news. In E. Jerusalem, Israeli police did not impose any age restrictions on entering the Old City to attend the Friday prayer , as it has in previous years, and tens of thousands of worshippers attended the Friday without incident.

Netanyahu’s corruption cases are coming back to the front pages. Haaretz reported that State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan will recommend indicting Netanyahu in Case 1000, the luxury gifts case. Netanyahu will be questioned by police again on June 12th in regards to Case 4000, the alleged quid pro quo relationship with telecom tycoon Shaul Elovitch of Bezeq Telecom. Former Netanyahu-confidant-turned-state-witness, Nir Hefetz turned over a text message from Sara Netanyahu that allegedly is incriminating evidence of exchange of favors. Maariv reported that he has incriminated other suspects.

Oddly, the Hebrew newspapers didn’t discuss reports about the northern front, but the websites did: that Israel gave Russia a new set of red lines and that Israel attacked a Hezbollah convoy on Saturday. A-Shaq al-Awsat newspaper reported that Israel notified Russia of a redrawing of 'red lines' for Iran such that Israel will now operate in all of Syria to keep Iran out. Sky News reported that 21 people were killed in the air strike in Homs on Thursday, nine of them Iranian. Islamic republic's official press agency denied the claim. (Also Maariv) And sources in the Syrian opposition said Israel attacked a Hezbollah convoy on its way to Lebanon, killing numerous people. (Maariv)

Just a week after an Israeli police officer beat an Arab civil rights activist in Haifa and lied about it, now in the southern Bedouin town of Rahat, an undercover Israeli Police officer slapped hard a young man, whom officers were holding. The incident all started when the police wanted to stop a car because its driver's license had expired. From the different reports in the papers and the videos on the news websites, it was hard to say what happened and in what order. The police said the driver drove away and that after they forced the driver to stop his car, the driver and his two friends got out carrying clubs and stones and began to attack the (armed) police officers and called for other locals to join them. Yedioth reported that the family of the driver, Yusuf Al-Ubra, said that he wanted to pull over so as not to disrupt the traffic and the police called on him to stop and used vulgar language and a clash broke out. Maariv reported that the video shows “dozens of people began throwing rocks at the patrol car, and even injured two police who needed medical treatment…During the rioting an undercover police officer was filmed slapping a resident of the city who tried to prevent the arrest.” But Yedioth reported that the man who was slapped was a passersby, Osama Abu-Siyam, 22, who has a prior brain injury, and was slapped when he was held by police and could not harm anyone. Moreover, Yedioth also published a photo of Al-Ubara standing handcuffed in the hospital with his head bleeding. His family says he was beaten even after he was detained (much like Jafar Farah, the civil rights activist, a week ago - OH). But most of the papers reported only on the injured police officers. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan tweeted that the officer will soon find himself outside the police. Regarding the ‘mob that attacked the police,’ upon looking at one of the longer videos, one sees stone-throwing by the locals after one of the three young men screamed from being tasered while in the police car. Worthy of note, the translation to English of the Hebrew article was changed in some ways, making the police seem less guilty. The article in English did not always add the words, ‘According to the police,’ as the reporter Ilana Curiel had done, did not note clearly that both two police officers and two detainees were injured, putting more emphasis on the police officers, who were bruised and sent home. Haaretz Hebrew reported that residents of Rahat held a protest calling for an end to ‘police terror.’
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:
Gideon Levy: A Palestinian vineyard annihilated with chainsaws, with a chilling message in Hebrew
Vandals slashed hundreds of mature grape plants near Hebron, and the odds that the culprits will be caught are slim. (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+)
In Hebron, residents choose Ramadan shopping over riots
Less than 3,000 Palestinians went out to protest in the West Bank on Nakba Day in support of Gazans; a tour of the former terror capital of the West Bank reveals residents have remained almost indifferent to the deadly riots in on the Gaza border, some even asking the Hebron brigade commander to apprehend would-be terrorists. (Yoav Zitun, Ynet)
Why Sirhan Sirhan, a Jerusalem-born Palestinian, Shot Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy's assassination, 50 years later: Sirhan Sirhan, whose family fled Jerusalem in 1948, may have been America's first Middle Eastern lone-wolf terrorist. (Nettanel Slyomovics, Haaretz+)
In Gaza, border opening brings relief and anxiety
Egypt has opened the crossing during the month of Ramadan easing a border blockade of Gaza that it has enforced, along with Israel, for the past 11 years; Hamed al-Shaer encountered difficulties while attempting going back to Saudi-Arabia where he has been living for the past 13 years, after visiting his family in Gaza. (Associated Press, Ynet)
The unknown story of the Polish diplomats who saved Jews from the Nazis
Polish diplomats serving in the Swiss capital ran an underground factory making fake passports for Latin American countries, including Paraguay. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
The Bill to Protect Elor Azaria (Haaretz Editorial) Israel is set to consider a proposal banning any photographing of soldiers if carried out with the intention of 'undermining the morale of Israel’s soldiers and residents.’
The diplomatic day after Abbas (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) No one knows if the inevitable Palestinian political shakeup will foster a better Israeli-Palestinian future. Israel must prepare itself for a post-Abbas period of instability.
With Trump at His Back, Netanyahu Feels Invincible. But Reality May Soon Come Crashing Down (Amzos Harel, Haaretz+) Jerusalem hopes that the support from Washington will be leveraged into practical achievements against Iran, an intelligence source says.
The boomerang effect of anti-Israel lies (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Although Hamas has already admitted that 50 of the Palestinians killed on the Gaza border some two weeks ago were its own operatives, the ‘massacre’ claims have become a consensus in progressive circles in Israel and worldwide. The result of this incitement campaign is a radicalization of Muslim communities across Europe.
The hair-raising scenarios behind Netanyahu's war power saga (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) When the opportunity arose to get around the security cabinet when declaring war, it beckoned to Netanyahu. But then he took it too far.
Between UNHRC, ICC and EU: Palestinian legal war on Israel (Shlomo Puterkovsky, Yedioth/Ynet) As part of their strategy to internationalize the conflict, the Palestinians are trying to replace the language too: To stop ‘talking diplomatically’ and start ‘talking legally.’ The Israeli challenge, therefore, isn’t to win in Gaza, but to win in the international arena.
Israeli F-35 over Beirut: A fine line between deterrence and hubris (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israel's publication of the dramatic photo of the F-35 above Lebanon had some embarrassing side effects.
Tehran at a crossroads (Erez Linn, Israel Hayom) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's aggressive demands of Iran put the Islamic republic on the defensive but it is hard to believe Tehran will comply with the American demands • With a sword hanging over their heads, the ayatollahs face fateful decisions.
To Get Iran Out of Syria, Israel and the U.S. Must Cooperate With Putin (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Russia's strategy is now the main guarantee to prevent war between Iran and Israel. The question is if Tehran will keep seeing eye to eye with Moscow.
Stopping terrorism, night after night (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Israelis enjoy quiet for the most part because elite IDF units operate nightly to apprehend terrorists and thwart planned attacks through actions that are as necessary as they are dangerous.
The Ambiguity Has Been Replaced by Arrogance (Friday Haaretz Editorial) It’s strange that the leaders poking every finger into the eyes of the Iranians, Syrians and Lebanese insisted until recently on a policy of ambiguity regarding operations in other countries.
U.S. Embassy celebrations: A who's who of the Israeli arms trade (Eitay Mack, +972mag) Only around 30 countries took part in the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s gala celebrating the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem last week. Not coincidentally, Israel’s ties with most of them are based on arms sales used to carry out gross human rights violations.
Netanyahu’s Man in the Police (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) When Bibi exits the stage of (rewriting) history, an inquiry will surely be conducted in an effort to stanch the bleeding of the dying democracy he left behind. And it will get to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan too.
Do you even know what apartheid means? (Noah Klieger, Yedioth/Ynet) A state with complete academic freedom, with Arab ministers and MKs, a state that fosters Arab professors, doctors, pharmacists and teachers, can’t be called an ‘apartheid state,’ unless it’s by ignorant or evil people. And the last person who can throw this accusation at Israel is a dictator like Erdoğan who has been cracking down on freedom of speech and the free press in his own country.
Israel's Far-right Zionist Left (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Labor Party's Eitan Cabel proposes not peace but annexation. His Palestinians have no status and no rights, and they of course are to blame for this.
For Hamas, the worse the better (Clifford D. May, Israel Hayom) The line between Israel-hatred and Jew-hatred has all but disappeared. Not everyone who defends Hamas and bashes Israelis supports the annihilation of Israel, but all are enablers of those who do.
The countless Israeli connections to Mueller’s probe of Trump and Russia (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The Israel-lobbyists, Netanyahu cronies, psyops manipulators and well-connected oligarchs — could it all be just one big coincidence?
That roaring sound? It’s Palestine unleashing a legal tsunami against Israeli war crimes (Victor Kattan, Haaretz+) Palestine is determined to bring the full weight of international law down on Israel. And it’s starting now.
Gaza's protest leaders still believe in nonviolent struggle (Rami Younis, +972mag) Despite the bloodletting in Gaza over the past months, the leaders of the Great Return March believe that nonviolent resistance is still the best way to end the siege. Rami Younis spoke to Hasan al-Kurd, one of the leaders of the march about the successes, mistakes, and future of the movement.
Why the Palestinian struggle is more necessary than ever (Ofri Ilany, Haaretz+) Israel and the U.S. hope to bury the Palestinian national project and make Jerusalem a playground for settlers and evangelicals; the Palestinians won't let that happen.
The British Jewish community won't silence our solidarity with Gaza (Rob Abrams, +972mag) Young British Jews are facing a torrent of hatred from their own community for expressing solidarity with Gaza. And yet, more British Jews are struggling to see the values they hold reflected in the Israeli government.
If you think Israel is illegitimate and inspired by white supremacy, can you really be its 'impartial' critic? (Petra Marquardt-Bigman, Haaretz+) Omar Shakir, the long-time anti-Israel activist threatened with deportation, clearly feels at home at Human Rights Watch. But claiming he's a dispassionate observer of Israel’s conduct? That's either deluded, or dishonest.
Israel Wants to Deport Human Rights Watch Official. So Did Egypt and Syria (Omar Shakir, Haaretz+) Israel claims to be the region’s only democracy, yet it is deporting a rights defender over his peaceful expression, joining the ranks of Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela.
'I'll open up your face': The routine of collective punishment in Hebron (Orly Noy, +972mag) A new video shows Israeli Border Police preventing children from passing through a gate in order to reach their homes. This is what collective punishment looks like.
What not to learn from Israel’s unusual baby boom (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) While western birthrates decline, the Israeli fertility rate is high and rising, which makes some people think we can win a demographic race with the Palestinians. It doesn’t, but it alleviates a lot of economic distress.
Flight From the Enemy and Its Reward (Israel Harel, Haaretz) The 2000 exit from Lebanon without an agreement remains the disaster that keeps causing more disasters for Israel.
 

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