APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday December 3, 2020

Quote of the day:

“The officer admitted that he shot, why are they closing the case? There’s no justice in this world.”
—Wael Issa, a Palestinian father from E. Jerusalem, said after the Justice Ministry closed the case against the Border Police officer who shot his son, Malek, in the face.*

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Knesset plenum approved dissolving itself in a preliminary reading
• Back to back (lies) // Yossi Verter on Netanyahu's speech
• Kahol-Lavan withdrew equality law out of fear that it wouldn’t pass without MKs Hendel and Hauser
• (Meretz MK) Yair Golan: Meretz insists remaining ‘small and purist’
• Children and pregnant women recovering from corona will be last to be vaccinated in Israel
• Britain approved use of Pfizer vaccine, Russia to begin vaccine campaign
• IDF tightened coordination with US military in preparation for possible Iranian retaliation
• Biden: We will return to the nuclear agreement if Iran stands by its commitments
• Resident of (Arab-Israeli town) Reineh suspected of shooting dead his mother and brother and seriously injuring another brother
• Number of people in Israeli Gaza periphery communities receiving psychological therapy has doubled between 2017-2019
• No left-wing // Gideon Levy
• Budget or elections // Haaretz Editorial
• Hundreds of thousands of corona unemployed have right to tax refunds, but many of them don’t know how to ask for it

Yedioth Ahronoth

• Disconnected - For fourth time in two years: Israel charges to elections
• Netanyahu cannot be believed // Limor Livnat
• Bennett’s junction // Amichai Attali
• [The police and welfare authorities) could have saved Yuli (18-year-old who died of overdose)

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• Dispersing - Israel on the way to elections
• (Leading Likud members) Be ashamed of yourselves // Ben Caspit
• Rift in the Joint List faction: MKs of the Ra’am party were absent from the vote (to dissolve the government)
• The light at the end of the epidemic: Britain will start a vaccine campaign next week
• Investigation into the crashing of the (IAF) training plane: Technical error still not ruled out

Israel Hayom

• Blame game - Netanyahu: “It’s still possible to avoid elections”; Gantz: “You’ve lost it”
• The pioneers of progress: First mass vaccine in the West
• The storm over Effi Eitam (being appointed as Yad Vashem chairman): Targeted assassination of the “enlightened” // Meir Indor
• Exclusive - The requirements of every commander: The IDF Officers’ Convention was revealed
• Recognition of the capital expands: Czech Republic will also open diplomatic office in Jerusalem
• Iran: “We identified the suspects in the assassination of the chief of the nuclear program, we will respond accordingly”
• Investigation of the crash in the (IAF) training course: “Two glitches in the plane were fixed, but no connection was found to the crash”

Top News Summary:
Alternate Prime Minister and Kahol-Lavan chairman, Benny Gantz, broke with his coalition partner, Prime Minister and Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu, and voted with the opposition to dissolve the Knesset. The preliminary vote passed, starting the process towards a fourth elections in two years and making the top story in today's Hebrew newspapers. But the commentators noted that Gantz left Netanyahu an opening. So if Netanyahu allows the 2020 and 2021 budgets to be passed by December 23rd, then elections can be averted. Otherwise the Knesset will be disbanded automatically, and Israel will enter another round of elections.

Hours after the first reading passed, Netanyahu made an angry speech accusing Gantz of unnecessarily dragging the country into elections, saying, “the country needs vaccinations, not voting.” Both Opposition leader and Yesh Atid party chairman MK Yair Lapid and Yamina party chairman MK Naftali Bennett slammed Netanyahu for his speech of sowing “hate” and putting his personal interests before the country.

Interestingly, Channel 13 News showed live fact-checking of Netanyahu’s misleading speech. While Netanyahu blamed Gantz's party of violating the coalition agreement, Channel 13 News displayed on screen that it was Likud that breached the agreement by refusing to pass the budget. Gantz was quick to respond to Netanyahu’s claims in a recorded video that was released while Netanyahu was taking questions from reporters: "The economic attack you are carrying out on the citizens of Israel while an economic, medical and social pandemic rages, shows that you have lost it.”

A new poll found that a potential new party headed by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot would get 15 Knesset seats, leaving the right-wing parties with a 61-seat majority out of the 120 Knesset seats. Today, Gantz called for a February election and accused Netanyahu of lying. Lapid called on Gantz to rejoin forces with him.


Iran-Related News:

• Senior US official: Israel behind assassination of Iran's nuclear chief - The official, who spoke with CNN, would not comment on whether the Trump administration knew of the mission or helped carry it out. ith the US about their targets and covert operations before carrying them out, but did not do so this time. (Israel Hayom)
• Former CIA official to i24NEWS: Assassination changes dynamics in Iran - Michael Mulroy says hardliners will strengthen in wake of elimination of Iran's nuclear chief. (i24News/Israel Hayom)
• UN Security Council unlikely to act on Iran scientist killing, diplomats say - At a minimum, the 15-member body could discuss Friday's killing of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh behind closed doors if a member requests such a meeting. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Israeli, U.S. militaries step up coordination ahead of possible Iranian retaliation - Coordination includes protocols for detecting missile launches toward Israel and U.S. targets in the region. Israel estimates that Iran’s response to nuke chief's assassination may come before month’s end. (Haaretz+)
• Israel receives its most advanced warship as Iran tensions rise - The Saar-6 corvette missile boat will be used as a precaution against Soviet-designed Yakhont cruise missiles and Iranian-made Khalij Fars rockets, while also protecting off-shore gas fields close to Lebanon. (Agencies, Ynet and Israel Hayom)
• Iran watchdog passes law on hardening nuclear stance, halting UN inspections - The law pushed by hardline lawmakers would make it harder for Biden to rejoin the nuclear agreement once taking office. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Iranian president opposes bill to increase uranium enrichment in the country - Hassan Rouhani rejected the bill, which sought to enrich uranium by 20% and to stop international supervision of nuclear facilities, for fear of undermining diplomatic efforts. (Agencies, Maariv)
• Biden says he will reenter Iran deal without new conditions, then negotiate new agreement - In NYT interview with Thomas Friedman, President-elect Biden says it is critical for U.S. to return to nuclear deal – which Trump pulled out of in 2018 – as a means of stemming Iran's nuclear program. (JTA, Haaretz)
• Saudi press lauds killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist, condemns critics - The elimination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, "the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb," was a "service to mankind," Saudi writers assert. (Israel Hayom)

Quick Hits:

• Bahrain Willing to Import Goods From Settlements, Minister Says in Israel Visit - Palestinian officials blast Bahraini Minister al-Zayani, who says 'We will treat Israeli products as Israeli products.’ (Agencies, Haaretz and Ynet)
• PM announces new bilateral agreements with visiting Bahraini minister - "These are wonderful days. We signed several agreements and more are in the works, but more importantly is the understanding that this is real peace between our peoples," says PM Benjamin Netanyahu after meeting with Bahraini Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. (Israel Hayom)
• Dubai commodities center opens Tel Aviv office to boost Israeli trade through UAE - "This is an exciting new chapter in the trade story of the United Arab Emirates and Israel, and one that will usher in a new wave of Israeli enterprise through Dubai," said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange. (Israel Hayom)
• Czech Republic Plans to Open Branch of Tel Aviv Embassy in Jerusalem, Minister Says - The new branch office will be set up in the first half of next year and will be manned by a diplomat. (Agencies, Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
• Foreign Ministry summons Czech diplomat over diplomatic office in Jerusalem - Acting on President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad Malki’s instructions, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Amal Jadou summoned head of the Czech Republic Representative Office to Palestine Petr Starý to seek clarifications on the Czech Foreign Ministry’s announcement on permanently stationing a diplomat from its embassy in Tel Aviv at its honorary consulate in Jerusalem. (WAFA)
• Israel hands over $1 billion in Palestinian tax backlog in sign of warming ties - PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh tweets Israeli government 'transferred all its financial dues' amounting to some NIS 3.768 billion; payment is first since June, when Abbas cut ties with Israel over annexation plans. (Agencies, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
• UN refugee agency for Palestinians pays salaries, but crisis persists - UNRWA finds itself in limbo after the U.S. election - President Donald Trump ended all U.S. payments, but while Palestinians hope President-elect Joe Biden's administration will at least partially resume payments. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Palestinians push series of anti-Israel resolutions at UN - Resolutions seeking to promote the Palestinian narrative with regards to the regional conflict shunned by major UN member-states. Ambassador Erdan: It is time for more countries to join our struggle to change the anti-Israel agenda at the UN. (Israel Hayom)
• *9-year-old Palestinian Was Hit by Police Fire and Lost an Eye. Israel Closed the Case - Officer's attorney welcomes the Justice Ministry's decision in the February incident in Jerusalem, while Malek Issa's family says they will appeal: 'There is no justice in this world.’ After the incident, Malek was fitted with a glass eye, which was paid for by donations. His father, Wael, said that the eye fell out while he was in school, and that he did not want to return to his studies afterward. (Haaretz+ and VIDEO and Maariv and PHOTO)
• Detained Boy, Assaulted By Soldiers, Undergoes Surgery - Mohammad Monir Miqbil, 16, from the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, was assaulted by several soldiers, who fractured his jaw and broke his teeth, on November 29, while he was heading to his school. Surgery at Hadassah Hospital involved a platinum implant in his broken jaw. Israeli army refuses to allow his family to visit and he is shackled to the hospital bed. (IMEMC)
• Palestinian child detainee assaulted by Israeli prison guards for saying he felt unwell - Hani Irmailat, 17, from Jenin Refugee Camp, was arrested in October 2020, and underwent 20 days of harsh interrogation. On Wednesday, December 2, the minor complained of feeling sick to prison authorities. Israeli prison guards responded by assaulting Irmailat, resulting in severe bleeding and injuries to his head. Irmailat was transferred to hospital for treatment, no further information was available, said the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission. (IMEMC and WAFA)
• Israeli Soldiers Attack Detainees In Negev Camp - Soldiers attacked several detainees and conducted extensive and violent searches of Section 6 of the Negev Desert detention camp. The PPS added that the soldiers then moved all 80 detainees to other sections of the detention camp. (IMEMC)
• "Fear of health consequences": Surprising cooperation between settlers and Palestinians - Palestinians and settlers from the Gush Etzion area have joined forces to fight against turning the Al-Minya garbage dump into a quarry, which they claim could have serious health consequences for the area. A few days ago, local Jews together with local Palestinians filed an objection led by the Kfar Etzion Field School and the Society for the Protection of Nature through Adv. Eran Ben-Ari. (Maariv)
• Coronavirus Live: Israel Confirms 1,500 New Cases in a Day; Gaza Active Cases at 10,000 - Ten new cities designated high-risk as Israel tweaks criteria ■ Pandemic czar says Israel in 'state of emergency' ■ Hamas chief in Gaza Sinwar contracts COVID. (Haaretz and Ynet)
• A gloomy Christmas in store for Gaza handicraft workshop - Coronavirus lockdowns have made it difficult to export its hand-crafted Christmas gifts from Gaza to Europe and to Bethlehem. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• Internationally-recognized singer, composer Omar Kamal lends his voice to help Palestine refugees - Kamal, who originally hails from the city of Nablus in the occupied Palestinian territory, will serve as an UNRWA Advocate. The pianist and vocalist will share stories of Palestine refugees and launch his own crowdfunding campaign to support the Agency’s programs for 5.7 million registered refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), it said. (WAFA)
• Thursday: Hundreds of Ethiopian Immigrants Land in Israel, Reuniting With Families - Israel doesn't consider Ethiopians of Jewish lineage as Jewish under religious law, but permits them to enter the county under a family-unification program that requires special government approval. (Agencies, Haaretz, Maariv and VIDEO and Ynet)
• Qatar and Saudi Arabia Close to Restoring Ties Following Kushner Visit, Reports Say - Three-year rift between Saudi Arabia and Qatar over foreign policy, including close Iran ties, may be nearing an end, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg report, but similar talks collapsed in February. (Haaretz)
• Hezbollah chief Nasrallah reportedly flees to Iran over security concerns - Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reports Hassan Nasrallah will stay in Iran for an unspecified amount of time and could already be there. (Israel Hayom)

Features:

This Bedouin Family Lived in Peace and Quiet. Then They Tried to Enroll Their Kids in School
Widad Hasanat wanted to sign her three daughters up for a local public school, prompting a backlash from municipality, which sought to prove the family had trespassed onto their own territory. The eight family members live in a dilapidated building built around a well, near the Kfar Aharon neighborhood in the southern part of the city. The neglected brick structure is surrounded by tin sheets, which serve as a fence when needed. It has no running water and a makeshift electricity supply. The kitchen is outside the building and the children sleep on beds beside their parents.(Bar Peleg, Haaretz+)
On the way to the wedding, they're stopping in Dubai
The restrictions over holding evens in Israel due to corona led to a new trend: Israeli couples decide to marry in Dubai and fly dozens and more guests there. There's also the possibility of kosher meals, bachelor parties and groom's Shabbat events. "It's cheap, but the demand is incredible," said a travel agent. (Dudi Patimir, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Almost Everything He Said Was a Lie: Netanyahu's Speech Would Shatter a Lie Detector (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+)  Netanyahu and the alternate PM Gantz made an effort to hide their mutual loathing as they take another turn on the Israeli election merry-go-round, and they can't blame the coronavirus crisis anymore.
Netanyahu cannot be believed (Limor Livnat, Yedioth/Ynet) If Blue & White thought that bill to dissolve Knesset they would push the prime minister into delivering a budget they were wrong; the election train has left the station and the PM is on track to get the coalition of his dreams.
Netanyahu Lost the Vote to End His Government, but Scored a Major Victory (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Netanyahu just ensured the political demise of the politician who actually won Wednesday’s preliminary vote to dissolve the Knesset, Benny Gantz.
The political alliance that will change the rules of the game (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) Prime Minister Netanyahu's alliance with Joint Arab List MK Mansour Abba will considerably improve the Arab sector's civil equality and create a government that adheres to strict security policies.
The Case for a True Left, Minuscule, Jewish-Arab Party (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) This is the current face of the center-left in Israel: Only 0.7 percent of voters belonging to this camp are certain they’d vote for a Jewish-Arab party. A further 21 percent said there was a chance they would do so.
A former glorious party crouches at Netanyahu's feet and bows to his face (Ben Caspit, Maariv) It is important that these (Likud) people know. Each and every one of them. From Yisrael Katz to Avi Dichter, from Uzi Dayan and Nir Barkat: You will not be able to abdicate responsibility. You were there, and you were silent.
Gantz is calling Netanyahu a liar. Who cares anymore (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) The defense minister began his speech powerfully and faded away into hollow cliches about his party’s patriotism, but compromise still isn’t impossible. A senior member of Meretz, the party that commissioned the survey, said that “such a move has no feasibility. Any effort is pointless. The whole story has expanded to disproportionate dimensions.” The true proportion is that the left in Israel comprises all of a fraction of one percent. There are no buyers here for a truly democratic party. If Meretz, the last left-wing Zionist party, needs a survey in order to find out whether to establish an egalitarian democratic party, for some reason called in our parts Jewish-Arab, then it too is no longer a left-wing party…
There's still hope we can avoid another election (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) With or without a rotation agreement, a government cannot function this way. Gantz has been consistently weak in reining in his party's members. From the start, he allowed them to continue to rail against the head of the government unhindered. Contrary to what has been said, non-compliance with the rotation government isn't the beginning of the government's process of disintegration, but the end.
Gantz, This Is the Only Thing You Have to Tell Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) Netanyahu deceived Gantz and deceived Israel’s president, the Knesset and the public as a whole when he signed a rotation agreement and committed to unity, without any hanky-panky. He slyly inserted a provision into the coalition agreement that permits him to break up the partnership without transferring the position of prime minister to Gantz as he committed to do. Now Netanyahu is holding the state budget hostage, and it appears that only a surrender by Gantz to Netanyahu’s dictates – either forgoing the rotation or granting him immunity – will make him pass the budget and restore the flow of economic oxygen to the citizens of the country. The only message to Netanyahu is a budget now or an election.
The Desperate Campaign to Tar Biden as 'anti-Israel' (Abe Silberstein, Haaretz+) You might think Biden’s lengthy pro-Israel record would inoculate, or at least modestly protect, him from the overwrought, vituperative 'Israel-hater' hyperbole thrown at Obama. You'd be wrong.
SCOTUS ‘Religious Freedom’ Ruling: Supremely Irresponsible, Immoral and Profoundly unJewish (Daniel Landes, Haaretz+) We Jews already made a crucial decision about what religious freedom really means some 2,000 years ago. And it isn’t about defying COVID, shirking social solidarity and sanctifying death.
 

Interviews:
The Israeli Left 'Has No Hunger for Power': General Turned Lawmaker Wants to Reinvent 'Small, Purist' Meretz
Yair Golan vows to 'silence and suppress' voices pushing to turn his party in a Jewish-Arab alliance: 'This could be the Israeli left’s big opportunity.’ (Haaretz+)

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