---

Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Gaza responded to an Israeli attack, changing the formula of deterrence, Poland withdrew its Holocaust law, to which Israel expressed satisfaction, Prince William met with Israeli Eurovision winner Neta Barzilai and with Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian children and won hearts and Germany lost a soccer game and is out of the Mundial, shocking the world and making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Hamas stood by its statement last week that ‘bombs would be met with bombs’ and repeated it yesterday after Israel bombed the car of a Gazan burning kite launcher and Gazan militant groups responded with 13 rockets at communities in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip. There were no reports of injuries. Israel Hayom wrote that in Gaza, they were “flexing muscles,” Yedioth wrote that “Hamas changed the rule of the game” by responding to Israel’s attack on a kite launcher. Until now, Gazan para-military groups did not retaliate to every Israeli attack on Gaza, but that policy has changed, says Hamas, and “Israel no longer has any doubt the group wants to establish a new formula of deterrence,” writes Haaretz+ military analyst Amos Harel. According to Haaretz, more rockets were launched from Gaza so far this year than in all of 2014, when the number launched helped trigger the last Gaza war. (NOTE: The trigger was the barrage of rockets that fell on Israel after three religious Jewish-Israelis burned alive the Palestinian youth from E. Jerusalem, Mohammed Abu Khdeir. - OH)
Maariv shared an important angle of the story: That Israel won’t be drawn into an escalation because of Israeli public pressure. So said a ‘security source,’ who revealed the two main reasons why not: “We could reach a military confrontation tomorrow (with Gazan militants), but there are other considerations like the situation in the north and the continued building of the underground barrier in the south,” the source told Maariv. Indeed, Haaretz+ reported that due to the fear of an Iranian missile attack, Israel was boosting its defense of its nuclear reactors. The unnamed security source, who spoke to Maariv, said Israel was planning on presenting an ‘aid package’ for Gaza within the next two months. Ynet reported that the plan to set up a solar field to increase power supply to Gaza was approved by Israel.

And, Maariv reported that an Egyptian newspaper reported that Egypt is formulating an arrangement between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel said it foiled an infiltration attempt by three Palestinians when it shot and wounded three Palestinians, who were hospitalized in Gaza. Earlier in the day, the IDF fired at another group of Palestinians who tried to breach the border, seriously injuring a 15-year-old Palestinian, who was evacuated in critical condition to an Israeli hospital.

Maariv also reported that according to a French media report, Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, participated in an ‘Intel Summit' with his Sunni Arab counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority,” which was held in Aqaba, Jordan under US auspices the day before Netanyahu and the Jordanian King meet in the coastal city
on June 17th. The organizers of the conference were Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Trump, and his special Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt.

Israelis were thrilled with the jaunt that Prince William took with Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai in Tel Aviv and his Tweet of a Hebrew phrase, ‘Kappara aleichem,’ (‘You guys are great’), which Barzilai uses regularly.

Later Prince William traveled to the West Bank, where he met with Abbas, visited a Palestinian refugee camp, and met with Palestinian youths, played soccer with them and met the Palestinian soccer association chief Jibril Rajoub (whom the right-wing Israelis can’t stand - OH). And while the Israeli part of his trip did not seem so political, his statements on the Palestinian part did. ”My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten, it has been a very powerful experience to meet you and other Palestinians in the West Bank and to hear your stories," the prince said in a speech at a garden party at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem that serves the Palestinians. The Israeli papers noted that Abbas told Prince William that the Palestinians were serious about peace with Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin publicly asked Price William to tell Abbas it is time to find a way to ‘build confidence’ between Israel and the Palestinians. Maariv reported that the Prince refused to meet with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat [who opposes dividing the city to its Palestinian and Israeli parts - OH]. “Only at the British Ambassador’s residence in Ramat Gan,” was the British answer. Barkat said he refused because of Jerusalem's ‘honor.’ Later the Prince toured Jerusalem’s holy sites and told crowd of Palestinians he ‘hopes the links of friendship’ between Britain and the Palestinians ‘can grow stronger.’
 

Quick Hits:

---

Commentary/Analysis:
Only Freedom of Movement Can Save the Gaza Strip From Imminent Collapse (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Gaza's condition could improve if Israel lets Gazans work, thereby increasing their income sources. But the government's policy is to divide the Strip from the West Bank– which only serves Hamas.
Israel shooting itself in the foot with bill barring filming of soldiers (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Banning filming won’t prevent filming. Photos and videos can be taken from every window in Hebron and sent to news desks around the world. The photographers won’t get caught, and the damage will be much greater, because they will talk about a less democratic Israel with something to hide.
An Appointment to Serve Israeli Propaganda (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) A country in which all its Arab citizens are practically deemed suspects at the airport cannot take pride in the appointment of an Arab opposition leader.
Netanyahu's Gaza Dilemma: How to Avoid a War Without Being 'Weak on Terror' (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) After the army and Hamas exchanged more fire overnight, Israel no longer has any doubt the group wants to establish a new formula of deterrence.
A message to the free world (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) By withdrawing from the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose members stand for anything but human rights, the U.S. is sticking to its policy of conditioning American support on pro-American policy
Ode to the World Cup (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Suddenly a world where a Turkish referee tells Messi what’s what and a black African referee blows the whistle on European whites.
And Thank You for Not Flying El Al (Haaretz Editorial) The boycott of the airline by a high-tech giant fed up with its discrimination against women is a lesson in social responsibility.