APN's daily news review from Israel

Wednesday December 19, 2018

 

Quote of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Israel’s presentation at the UN today about Hezbollah tunnels, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s declaration that attacks on Israelis in the West Bank will only “strengthen the settlement enterprise” and Rona Ramon’s final journey to the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation where she will lie in repose before cremation (to spare her children another funeral) - were the stop stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Also making news, US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley said Trump’s Mideast peace plan "will be different from all previous peace plans," but noted it was unclear “whether the response to it will be any different.” ‘Israel Hayom’ said it learned that the plan gives Israel unlimited security control over the Beqaa Jordan Valley and that it gives the Palestinians parts of Jerusalem. Haley also accused Arab countries of not making the Palestinian people a priority: “Because if they were, you would all be in a room helping bring both sides to the table.”

And, the Hebrew papers quoted from a Wall Street Journal article that reported that the Saudi-Israel back channel took a hit after the two Saudi officials in contact with the Israelis were dismissed over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Also of interest, Maariv reported that Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel stopped the Israeli import of Palestinian fruits and vegetables, which the security establishment said will not only harm Palestinian farmers, but also Israeli security. Ariel’s move was allegedly in response to the suspension of the importation of goats from Israel to the Palestinian Authority and the decision was made without consulting the security establishment or the Prime Minister. “This is a very difficult blow for the Palestinian farmers, since it is estimated that the loss of one million shekels a day, and between 280-300 tons of fruit and vegetables will be lost,” wrote Maariv. The security establishment vehemently opposes the decision, saying: “This is an irresponsible and populist decision that stems solely from political considerations at the expense of the security of the entire public, including the settlers." Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank said the Palestinian Authority was ready to come to the table and talk [about the issue of the goats - OH] and there was no need (for Minister Ariel) to escalate the situation.

The UN Security Council will discuss today the Hezbollah's cross-border tunnels and Israel is on the diplomatic offense. The IDF has released video from the tunnels, and says that Hezbollah operatives have tried to block some of the tunnels that were exposed. A Lebanese paper reported that Israel asked the US to pressure Lebanon to uncover additional tunnels, according to Western diplomatic sources. (Maariv) However, former Lebanese minister Tarek Mitri said, “The tunnels, which have been present for a long time, don’t constitute any evidence of violation of Resolution 1701.” According to the IDF, none of the tunnels that have been found, as well as others the military is trying to locate, poses a threat to the citizens of Israel, Ynet wrote.  The IDF has yet to release the location of the concrete-reinforced tunnel.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

As smoke clears, capturing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem snapped the most dramatic moments that occurred along the Israeli-Gaza border over the past year, documenting the March of Return protests, Hamas's rocket salvoes, Israeli fields scorched by incendiary kites and balloons and buildings destroyed by IDF strikes. (Reuters, Ynet)
'Daughters of Jerusalem' sing out
A new album was released by "Banat Al Quds" (Daughters of Jerusalem), 25 young Palestinian women from families with deep roots in Jerusalem. They all study at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music and live in East Jerusalem. Now they are releasing a CD where they also perform duets with the American Princeton Girls Choir and the Oslo based Norwegian Girls Choir. (Maan)

Commentary/Analysis:
*In the West Bank Terror Is Good for the Jews (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Only in the territories does Israel let a terror attack get the bulldozers moving. Authorizing illegal outposts is an act of revenge.
Politicians in reserve duty: We should learn the lesson of the ugly withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Gaza (Yossi Achimeir, Maariv) In the midst of a severe wave of terror in Judea and Samaria, when we are burying our dead, the victims of Palestinian terror coming out of Ramallah and directed from Gaza, we got a full-page ad signed by "Commanders for Israel's Security." You go over the names: generals and brigadier generals, heads and deputy heads of divisions. Many of them are known, others less, and all contributed to the security of Israel over the years and in the wars. They led fighters on the battlefields, repulsed the enemies, risked their lives, saw death before their eyes, their comrades fell and they did more than any other citizen in the country. To them we owe our existence here. When they reached the status of reserve duty, they united into one ad in the leftist newspaper Haaretz and the right-wing newspaper Israel Hayom to call on the Knesset and the government to "initiate separation from the Palestinians, to block annexation that would lead to a national disaster and ensure that Israel remains Jewish and democratic. To divorce the Palestinians." Faced with such commanders, who am I the little one, just a lieutenant colonel in reserve, who will stand before them?…Their experience and rank put them - at least in their opinion - higher in military-political understanding than the average citizen. Here stands a political position which can be found between left and extreme left. This is a political ad under the cover of the so-called "commanders" who supposedly know things. How is this "security" ad different from a declaration signed by several dozen taxi drivers? "Divorce from the Palestinians"? Don’t we have experience in escaping from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip without agreements? And what did we get? A growing threat in the north, terror and incitement in the south. "We divorced" from the Gaza Strip, did the Strip "divorce" us? Did the threat not increase since the divorce we gave them? The ad adopts, in indirect and clean language, from an Israeli interest, precisely the Palestinian narrative. Is the exact opposite of the idea of the iron wall that is so realistic in the reality of the Middle East power. The "commanders" demand of the government and the Knesset plays into the hands of the Palestinians. When the first stage of the PLO and Hamas demands materializes, they will not be satisfied; They will step up their multi-stage struggle: they will also demand Tzahala, Yavneh, Jaffa, Haifa and Ramle. It is a shame that in these blood days, this ad is published, certainly by our best commanders, from the near and far past. This is a political announcement, not a security one, and it is also unrealistic. The ad undermines our right to settle in all the regions of our homeland. It serves purposes that are opposite to those to which the signatories, with their naiveté, aimed.
It's time for Benny Gantz to show his hand (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) No one has any idea about the former IDF chief's political positions, but it's clear those who would give him 16 Knesset seats are eager to hear what he has to say, and sitting on the fence can work only up to a certain point.
Between Putin and Trump: Israel is increasingly entangled with Russia because of its vote at the UN (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Jerusalem responded to Washington's request and voted in favor of a motion in the General Assembly condemning the occupation of Crimea. The move is another step in the worsening relations that began with the downing of the Russian plane in Syria.
Zionism as a form of toxic masculinity (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Toxic masculinity, as in: I, as a self-decreed Alpha, can do whatever the Capital Eff I please, to whomever I please, for whatever personal benefit I can extract, with absolutely no fear of negative consequence.
If the mufti failed to liquidate the Jewish settlement in Hebron, Meretz will also fail (Prof. Aryeh Eldad, Maariv) Those who thought that the leftists and the Arabs had given up hope of carrying out a transfer to the Jews of Hebron do not know the Arabs and the Israeli left. "Evacuation of the settlement in Hebron is a vital step towards a political solution and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said the racists who want to expel Jews from Hebron and make it Judenrein on the Facebook page they set up for the event. In order to avoid the need to obtain approval from the Knesset Speaker, the conference was defined as a “meeting.” (But) The City of the Patriarchs should be the first to be annexed to Israel. Thus, once and for all we will close the mouths of our haters, and their anti-Semitic proposal to carry out ethnic cleansing.
A wakeup call for Israel's leaders (Merav Batito, Yedioth/Ynet) Just like we didn’t know we'd need a supertanker until Mount Carmel burned down and we didn't know we'd need a special parliamentary committee until 25 women were murdered in the space of a year, we forgot about the Arab community until their neighborhoods were drenched in blood. The only person to rise to the challenge and establish one of the most advanced and generous programs to help fight crime in Israel's Arab communities was outgoing police commissioner Roni Alsheikh. Now, on his way out, he faces a barrage of unjustified criticism. In his final address as he left office, he made the parlous [dangerous] social neglect of the Arab minority the focal point. But are the politicians capable of picking up the baton and fixing the problem?
A threat to our existence (Amit Halevy, Israel Hayom) Allow me to repeat what should be obvious: An Israel that is not the Jewish state is not Israel. Canceling Israel's Jewish identity would mean canceling its very existence.
If Israel doesn’t deal with the pollution coming from Gaza, it will be the main victim (Dr. Maor Cohen, Maariv) The dirty water and air comes straight from the Strip to our water and air. Therefore, in the end, we will have to deal with them, or we will pay an expensive environmental price.
Hezbollah's tunnels are the least of Lebanon's problems (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Beirut knows as well as Jerusalem that the tunnels are a minor problem; the Hariri government sees Israeli political capital born of restraint and knows the story will be very different once Iran is involved.
Palestinians are trying to have it both ways (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) The Palestinian national movement has been a troublemaker everywhere it has operated. And now, even as the Palestinian Authority collaborates with Israel, it tries to outdo Hamas by inciting against Israel.
Rona Ramon: The woman who soared (Miriam Peretz, Yedioth/Ynet) The story of the Ramon family is the story of the people of Israel. Of people who never give up, of people who reach for the stars.

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