APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday June 11, 2018
 

Quote of the Day #1:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
The fear and hope ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, the destruction of an alleged Hamas commando underwater tunnel, the inability of the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting to decide how to stop the humanitarian-economic crisis in Gaza and the latest on the southern fence with Gaza and the northern border with Syria were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, the latest on ‘diplomacy.’

The IDF destroyed a land-sea tunnel it said was for the use of Hamas naval commandos, it also introduced a new burning kite attack drone called ‘Firefly,’ which may have been the one used on Friday, and which will be presented for sale for the first time at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris next week. Dr. Oded Amichai, an Israeli expert in drones and missiles, wrote in Maariv today that Israel uses expensive solutions against the Palestinians in Gaza so it can make a profit selling the equipment abroad. (See Commentary/Analysis below.)

While the IDF and the Israeli military industries have been busy putting out fires, literally, the political leaders are unable to make any decisions, the papers reported today. At a three-hour cabinet meeting Sunday on how to help the Gaza economy and provide humanitarian aid, politicians took no decisions, despite security officials' warnings of an economic collapse in Gaza. Maariv’s Yossi Melman wrote an insightful analysis of the politicians’ problem. (See Commentary/Analysis below.) Yedioth reported that an ‘embarrassing' disagreement broke out in the meeting between Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. And senior ministers expressed criticism of the seriousness of the discussion held by the political-security cabinet regarding the fear of the collapse of the Gaza Strip, calling them "Improvised measures, nothing new,” Maariv reported. And Ministers Gilad Erdan and Naftali Bennett demanded that the youth squads of kite launchers be assassinated. Meanwhile, 1,500 Palestinians demonstrated in Ramallah calling on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to lift punitive sanctions imposed on Gaza in an attempt to weaken Hamas.

DIPLOMACY and SECURITY QUICKEES:

Quick Hits:

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Features:
*From Israel to Iran, Mideast unites in praise of compassionate chef Bourdain
American chef’s TV specials on Iran, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are seen as some of his best work, hailed for avoiding stereotypes and telling complex stories with rare humanity. For Bourdain, landing in peacetime Beirut one day and finding a city at war the next transformed his mission. The harsh realities that informed the countries he was visiting could no longer be ignored, he wrote. “I just saw that there were realities beyond what was on my plate, and those realities almost inevitably informed what was – or was not – for dinner…I came away from the experience deeply embittered, confused – and determined to make television differently than I had before.” Bourdain did a show from Bethlehem, a settlement and a kibbutz, but it was his depictions of everyday life in Gaza that drew the strongest reactions, particularly from Palestinians. (Haaretz+)
Alone in the campaign: the struggle of the National Service girls (who come from abroad)
They come from abroad imbued with ideology, but find that being a solo volunteer in Israel’s  National Service is not a simple task: Beyond loneliness, the economic shortage forces many of them to work another job to survive. (Ilana Stutland, Maariv)
In Photos: Palestinians travel from West Bank to Al-Aqsa on last Friday of Ramadan (Maan)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
A Successful Trump-Kim Summit Could Be the Prelude to War With Iran (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) In Singapore, the Trump administration hopes to ‘clear the table’ of the North Korean distraction before dealing with what it sees as the real threat: Iran. And the hawks in Washington have already made clear that diplomacy is not an option with Tehran.
Even if he comes out victorious due to the very existence of the summit, Trump's Nobel Prize is still far away (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) President Trump is already reaping handsome profits from the upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-On. Even for Trump, who is exposed and is reported about in the media at a scale and pace that no president has ever received, attention to this summit meeting is on the scale of a tsunami wave.
Response to Jason Greenblatt The Trump administration, peddling Israeli extremism, is killing the peace process, not me (Saeb Erekat, Haaretz+) In dozens of meetings, Mr. Greenblatt refused to discuss substance: borders, settlements, even the two-state solution. This White House can't come remotely close to facilitating a just and lasting Mideast peace.
When you hear Nasrallah, the Iranians and Hamas, you can not help remembering the excited Nasser (Yossi Ahimeir, Maariv) It is good to recall that brilliant victory in the Six-Day War, but it is important to learn the lessons, because 51 years later, hostility toward Israel in the Arab-Muslim world is only intensifying.
In Bizarro World, Trump Might Triumph in Summit With Kim - but at What Price? (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Israel wants the U.S. president to succeed and get stronger, but not to the point that he will seek a negotiated deal with Iran as well
Full gas in neutral:  Cabinet ministers are unable to make a decision on the future of the Gaza Strip (Yossi Melman, Maariv) In private conversations, most of the ministers support a decision that will make it possible to improve the lives of the two million Palestinians, who live there in garbage, literally, without a sewage system, without electricity, without drinking water. But before they get to the discussion, they Tweet,  they give interviews and they deliver messages that contradict their original position. In short, one mouth and another heart. Cynicism at its best. And this is also politics in the pasture. The ministers know very well that the position of the defense establishment is that easing the situation in Gaza can perhaps ease the tension on the border and reduce violence, but whether they are afraid of the Goldin family, whose only desire is to see the remains of their son brought to the grave, and whether they are considering their ratings - the result is the same. The cabinet ministers and the prime minister at their head are unable to make a decision about the future, and that’s while it is clear that the cease-fire agreement with Hamas reached after Operation Protective Edge four years ago is collapsing. Instead of trying to make every effort to take a decision, the ministers avoid it. The only one who has shown a trace of the backbone is the Minister of Transport and Intelligence Yisrael Katz, who has been proposing for several years to establish an island and a port in Gaza. When he found out that there was no chance that his proposal would be raised for discussion, even though it had strategic significance, Katz removed his proposal. In the background stands the position of the Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who does not believe in any arrangement that will provide relief to the economic distress of Gaza residents as long as Hamas is in power. Most of the ministers believe that the recommendations of the defense establishment should be accepted, but because of their cowardice and the pressure exerted on them by the Goldin family and the fear of public opinion - even though most of the public supports providing relief - the Defense Minister succeeded in forcing his position on the cabinet. The even bigger problem is the fact that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who only last week expressed his support for a package of concessions to Gaza, is not prepared to confront Lieberman while the investigations against Netanyahu hang on him. Proposals for the transfer of humanitarian aid and for economic activities for industries in the fields of water, sewage and electricity are abundant, and there is also a commitment by the international community - Europe, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and elsewhere - to transfer billions of dollars. But the government of Israel prefers not to make decisions, and in the meantime the heavy price will continue to be paid by the residents of the Gaza perimeter, which might have reduced the current wave of terrorism that comes in the burning of fields with kites and firebombs. Humanitarian aid is an Israeli interest, even if Hamas enjoys it, too.
Silwan, a Model for Oppression (Haaretz Editorial) The state and a right-wing group are shamefully fighting to evict Palestinians from a Jerusalem neighborhood, citing technical grounds.
**Why does the security establishment ignore the solution to the (Gaza) mortars and kites threat? (Dr. Oded Amichai, Maariv) There is another solution (to prevent the) launches from the Gaza Strip - and it is necessary: A commercial laser of several hundred watts, already on the shelf, will do the job. There are several types of such a laser. They are all small. Most of them are good and efficient and are used in the material processing industry. No need to develop anything. All it takes is to integrate into the laser an appropriate optical system. A simple, short and inexpensive project. The problem - it is not profitable to the security establishment. This system can not be sold to anyone. Its operation is also cheap, so it is impossible to make a living from it. What can you do when today these are the decisive considerations against its use…We are also operating as if there were a solution to the threat of tens of thousands of precision rockets, through the use of the Iron Dome missiles, the Magic Wand, the many times more expensive Arrow 2 and 3. But that’s the thing. Those are not a solution. Unfortunately, the security establishment continues to ignore the only solution that can remove the threat of the mortar shells and the simple and precision rockets: the (Israeli-made) Skyguard laser interception system, which was ready for production more than a decade ago and was ready to transfer production to Israel. Eight lasers would hermetically seal the Gaza Strip. Nothing would come of it. No kites, no mortar shells, no rockets.
Is Israel starting to kill business with ideology? (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The cancelled friendly soccer match with Argentina and the gratuitous ban on Indonesian tourism are signs that Israel's vital interests are being sacrificed to politics.
Why Not Posthumously Declare a Medic a Terrorist? It's the Easiest Solution (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Of lies and soldiers.
How to beat Hamas' guerrilla terrorism (Amiram Levin, Israel Hayom) The IDF needs to change tactics and go on the offensive to punish Hamas, rather than trying to "deter and contain" it. But we also need a solid diplomatic plan to complement a military victory.
Jordan, the Only Democracy in the Middle East (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The country’s king is more democratic, and its police carry on a respectful dialogue with demonstrators. In Israel, every police officer is a walking piece of steel.
Is Jordan burning? (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Now mired in the instability afflicting our region, Jordan is facing an Iranian-Shiite threat from abroad and an economic crisis at home – which Islamist elements in the kingdom, with Iran's help, are liable to exploit.
Should Palestinians 'return' to Judaism? (Seraj Assi, Haaretz+) 'They belong to our people': Why Israel's founders believed Palestinians were originally Jews, and how this discredited theory could offer hope for reconciliation today.
Iran's fighting force in Gaza, calling and firing the shots: This is Islamic Jihad in Palestine (Yaniv Kubovich, Haaretz+) Hamas may rule the Strip, but it’s Islamic Jihad that will determine whether rockets are directed at Israel.
A resounding failure (Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom) As the campaign for a "March of Return" went on and the extent of Iran's involvement in Gaza became clear, Palestinians began to distance themselves from the Hamas-organized protests on the border.
How to Solve the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) Maybe international inspectors could make sure that resources from abroad go where they’re supposed to go, not to Hamas' nefarious projects.
A day on the frontlines of the Gaza riot war (Nikki Guttman, Israel Hayom) Seen from up close, the events on the Gaza border are clearly war, and despite criticism of its tactics, the IDF knows exactly where and why it is shooting. Its goal is to protect Israelis living near the border while minimizing Gazan casualties.
 

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