APN's daily news review from Israel - Sunday December 6, 2020

Quote of the day:

“We cannot accept the imprecise, overreaching wording of the definition’s examples. We can’t accept it because we are witnessing how it is already being abused, indeed weaponized, to quash legitimate criticism and activism directed at Israeli government policies by tarnishing individuals and organizations as antisemitic.”
--Leaders of Americans for Peace Now explain to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations why APN can't sign on to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.*

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Public health care providers preparing to vaccinate masses every day
• Yaalon: I will probably run separately from Lapid with Eisenkot as #2
• (Alternate Prime Minister and Kahol-Lavan chairman) Gantz: I will lead the camp, people will line up after me; (Opposition chairman and Yesh Atid chairman) Lapid: I assume we will lead
• Demonstrators against Netanyahu talk about the violence they suffered from in the streets
• Reforms that (appointed State Prosecutor) Aisman plans: Narrowing the authority of the authority of the department for investigating police and limiting interrogation tricks
• 13-year-old Palestinian killed by IDF fire in the West Bank; European Union called to investigate the incident
• State to increase water supply to the north. Not clear where it will flow
• Change needed // Josh Breiner on need for permanent police commissioner in light of lack of public trust in police
• IDF feminism // Amira Hass on how more women are joining combat units and taking part in the occupation
• Information about insured continues to be leaked, and there is fear in the insurance industry that the great damage to Shirbit Company will destabilize its stability

Yedioth Ahronoth

• Light at the end of the tunnel - Israel ordered six million vaccine doses against corona
• The highest decile conquers IDF Intel Unit 8200 - Data show that youth coming from wealthier towns have a higher representation in the elite unit than their percentage in the population and youth from periphery towns have a much lower percentage (Hebrew)
• First Israel // Yossi Yehoshua
• Thousands of demonstrators; 20 arrested
• Eisenkot on MK Yaalon’s claims that he will be Yaalon’s #2: “Nothing is yet agreed upon” (Hebrew)
• “The budget is hostage in the hands of politicians and the public pays a heavy price” - Shai Baved, Director of Finance Ministry in interview

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• Fateful days (Photos of Gantz and Netanyahu)
• Waiting for vaccines
• The great hack into Shirbit Insurance Company: Data leak continues
• Maariv correspondent with Israelis vacationing in Dubai: “We feel safe”

Israel Hayom

• World beginning to get vaccinated: In Israel - 60-year-old and above
• Education system challenge: Teach in the shadow of corona and flu
• Left-wing presents: Fateful courtship after Eisenkot
• With so many candidates, you can’t see the block // Mati Tuchfeld
• Iron Dome for the epidemic: Test results in seconds
• IDF examining: Recruits to be assigned according to hobbies
• In the wake of corona, psychiatrists demand: “Include pacemakers that help with depression with subsidized health aids”
• Leaking of information from Shirbit company continues (after cyberattack); Expert: “Businesses could be harmed”
• Friendly signal from Turkey: “We will sign a maritime border agreement with Israel”

Top News Summary:
Israel prepares to begin vaccinating at the end of December, demonstrators went out to protest across the country against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the Saturday night and Israeli politicians and politicians-to-be disputed who will lead the non-Netanyahu camp, while concern rose after an Israeli insurance company refused to pay a ransom to cyber hackers, who began leaking data of customers - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. 

Some 30 people were arrested in protests that took place against Netanyahu around the country. Last night Jerusalem Municipality inspectors backed by police removed a statue in the form of a demonstrator placed near the site of demonstrations in Jerusalem across from the Prime Minister’s Residence. The six-ton sculpture by artist Itai Zlait was a tribute to the protesters. (See Maariv VIDEO) Haaretz+ ran a couple of features about violence against the demonstrators. In Rehovot, suppressing the anti-Netanyahu protests is a policy, Haaretz+ reported.

Meanwhile, after the dissolving of the Knesset passed a preliminary reading last Wednesday, the race over who will lead the anti-Netanyahu camp is heating up. Alternate Prime Minister and Kahol Lavan chairman Benny Gantz insisted he will lead again and won’t run with Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid. Both politicians expressed hope that former chief of staff Gadi Eiskenkot will join their parties. But leader of the Telem party, Moshe Yaalon, insisted that Eisenkot will be his #2. Eisenkot on his part said that he hasn’t made any agreements with anyone and he has had many offers.

A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Friday by Israeli soldiers who shot him in the stomach during a demonstration of villagers against a new settlement outpost on their lands in the Palestinian village of Mughayyir. Ali Abu Aliya died in Ramallah Hospital; the doctors said he was shot with live fire. The IDF insisted soldiers only shot rubber-coated bullets. The story was on Haaretz’s front page. In Maariv it was on the bottom of page 10 and in Yedioth it was on the top of page 12 with a photo of the boy. The killing was not reported on in ‘Israel Hayom.’ The European Union called on Israel to probe the killing. The top UN political envoy in the region Nikolay Mladeno said he was “appalled” by the killing.
The following information was not in any of the Hebrew newspapers: The day before the killing, the UN had called for an investigation into Israel’s attacks on Palestinian children after Israeli forces shot at least four children with live ammunition and rubber bullets in separate incidents across the West Bank over the past two weeks. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the “use of lethal force is only allowed as a measure of last resort, in response to a threat to life or serious injury” and that children throwing stones at Israeli soldiers do not constitute such a threat. The Presidency of the State of Palestine called it a cold-blooded murder crime and asked the international community to work to provide protection for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry announced it will sue Israel at the International Criminal Court at The Hague for the murder of a Palestinian child, WAFA reported. The Arab League called the killing an “heinous crime” and said that “it is nothing but a continuation of the occupation's series of systematic crimes against the Palestinian people and desecration of Palestinian blood, rights, land, and holy places.” US Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D - Minnesota) also denounced the fatal shooting, calling it a “grotesque state-sponsored killing.” McCollum said, “This senseless incident must be condemned as a direct result of Israel’s permanent military occupation of Palestine” and she urged the incoming Biden Administration “to verify to the American people that no US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel provided material assistance enabling this taking of a child’s life.” On Saturday, clashes erupted at Abu Aliya’s funeral. Dozens of mourners hurled stones at IDF forces and burned tires. But this time, soldiers responded only with tear gas - not bullets.

 

Quick Hits:

• Israeli Armored Vehicle Runs Over Palestinian Near Salfit; Protesters Injured in Beit Dajjan - Orotests took place at West Bank villages against Israeli expansion on Palestinian land. In al-Ras village, near Salfit, an Israeli armored vehicle ran over a Palestinian, seriously injuring him. In Beit Dajjan, east of Nablus, protesters were attacked by Israeli soldiers. (IMEMC)
• Officials among dozens of protesters attacked by occupation forces near Salfit - Thursday, dozens of nonviolent Palestinian protesters in Salfit were injured by rubber-coated bullets, while others suffocated from teargas, after Israeli occupation forces attacked them while they demonstrated against Israel's plan to confiscate more Palestinian land in the area for settlements. Recently, settlers placed caravans there in a prelude to establish a new settlement. (WAFA)
• Settler leader lauds 'true peace' with Bahrain after green light to import West Bank goods - Palestinian officials blast Bahraini Minister al-Zayani, who says 'We will treat Israeli products as Israeli products.’ (Haarez+)
• Bahrain Backtracks, Says It Won't Allow Imports From West Bank Settlements - Bahraini Minister al-Zayani has voiced openness to importing goods from Israeli settlements, which the kingdom's Industry Ministry now says was 'misinterpreted.’ (Haaretz+)
• Israel expects $220 million in non-defense trade with Bahrain in 2021 - Jerusalem anticipates growth in exports of diamonds and refined metals to Gulf kingdom, as well as potential future deals to purchase Israeli military and security technologies. (Agencies, Ynet)
• IAI to service (Bahrain’s) Gulf Air planes while in Israel - The companies signed the line maintenance deal during a visit by a Bahraini delegation led by the country's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. (Israel Hayom)
• Israeli water-from-air tech to be sold in UAE, Gulf states - Agreement between Emirates' Al-Dahra company, Israel's Watergen follows MoU signed in October; partnership to focus on agriculture sector, offices and apartment buildings, hotels, industry and maritime. (Ynet)
• Top women diplomats from Israel, UAE, Bahrain stress need for Middle East peace - First-of-its-kind online event features Israeli, Bahraini and UAE UN Ambassadors, all women. Israel-UAE accord "already beginning to foster partnerships that will unlock enormous opportunities for women in the region," says Emirati ambassador. (Israel Hayom)
• Far-right Soccer Fans Storm Jerusalem Training Session Over Potential UAE Investment - Dozens of trespassers, fans of Beitar Jerusalem team, shouted racist slogans in protest of the proposed $30-million deal from an Abu Dhabi royal. (Haaretz+)
• Qatar rules out normalizing ties with Israel 'for now' - "Right now, I don't see that the normalization of Qatar and Israel is going to add value to the Palestinian people," Doha's foreign minister says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• *Americans for Peace Now refuses to adopt ‘weaponized’ definition of antisemitism - Pro-Israel U.S. Jewish nonprofit rejects request from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to adopt the definition, saying its objections relate specifically to the “examples” within the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance organization (IHRA) document used to “illustrate” antisemitism. APN said that the IHRA definition is ‘already being abused to quash legitimate criticism and activism directed at Israeli government policies.’ (Haaretz+)
• Jerusalem Man Arrested for Arson at One of Christianity's Holiest Sites - Fire at Church of All Nations in Jerusalem caused minor damage. Police say Jewish suspect's motive is criminal, but the Catholic church is asking for a thorough investigation. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
• Al-Azhar condemns attempted arson attack on Gethsemane Church - Al-Azhar described in a statement today that this arson attempt as “repugnant” and affirmed that it stems from an extremist terrorist ideology based on the hatred of others. It said terrorist Israeli groups that commit acts of violence are no less dangerous than ISIS. (WAFA)
• IDF Home Front Command troops were sent to Honduras to help cities - Joint aid delegation of IDF’s Home Front Command and Israeli Foreign Ministry assisting for several days cities in northwestern Honduras that were hit by hurricane. The local president tweeted: "There is no need to speak the same language, solidarity is a universal language." (Maariv and Ynet)
• Four Men Murdered in Israeli Arab Communities in 24 Hours - Two men in their 20s were shot dead in family altercations, while one killing is said to be of criminal nature. (Haaretz+)
• Demonstration in support of Arad resident (who shot dead Bedouin man): "Minimum penalties for thieves" - Dozens of people demonstrated last night at the entrance to Arad to support the city's resident, Aryeh Schiff, 70, who shot dead a Bedouin-Israeli man who he suspected was trying to steal his car. The demonstrators carried signs of support. (Israel Hayom Hebrew)
• Israeli brothers who enslaved nephews sentenced to less than five years in plea deal - The nephews worked long hours seven days a week in (Amjad and Anwar Gabur’s bakery), sometimes entire nights and were not given any days off or regular breaks. “An objective view must be taken to judge acts according to the state of Israel’s values, and not to give weight to the subjective views of the family of the accused, whose archaic values-based positions must be eradicated” wrote the judges [in reference to the Bedouin identity of the accused - OH] (Haaretz+)
• Israeli court delays auction of historic recordings, presidential memorabilia - State requested a restraining order to prevent sale that includes historic recordings from state’s founding, Sadat’s visit, and items from the estate of Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israel’s second president. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
• UK: University of Birmingham adopts universal definition of anti-Semitism - "The adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition will go a long way in ensuring Jewish students are safeguarded from anti-Semitism on their campus," UJS said in a statement posted on Twitter. Lancaster, Cambridge, Manchester Metropolitan and Buckingham New universities have also recently adopted the definition on their campuses. (Israel Hayom)
• WATCH // Christmas Tree Lighting in Bethlehem with Little Joy in Midst of Pandemic & Occupation - The city of Bethlehem, revered by Christians worldwide as the birthplace of Jesus, held its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday in a manner that was much more subdued than usual, with Palestinian leaders taking part in the event through video conferencing, and only a few in-person participants. (IMEMC and Haaretz+)
• Israel Tells Its Health Care Providers: Don’t Exclude Women From Ads - The Health Ministry has received a raft of complaints that the country’s health maintenance organizations exclude women from publicity material aimed at ultra-Orthodox Jews. (Haaretz+)
• What Yuval Noah Harari Thinks About Women’s Fight for Equal Rights at the Western Wall - The acclaimed philosopher believes zealous discrimination against one group – like Women of the Wall – is a way for religion to hide the radical changes it has embraced. (Haaretz+)
• Erdogan confidant sends Israel another message of reconciliation - Former Turkish Admiral Cihat Yayci is proposing a bilateral agreement on the countries' shared exclusive economic zones, which would leave Israeli ally Cyprus in the lurch. Israeli official: Any proposal that comes at the expense of Cyprus is a non-starter. (Israel Hayom)
• Facing global outcry, Egypt set to free members of leading rights group - UN and Western governments protested the abusive detention and inhumane treatment of human rights activists, jailed after they gave a briefing to diplomats. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Lebanese politician claims death of former customs official may be linked to Beirut blast probe - Colonel Munir Abu Rjeili was found dead in his home northeast of Beirut, with a blow to the head, a security source said. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Iran says will comply with nuclear deal if U.S. and EU honor commitments - Zarif's comment Thursday come as U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Iran on Thursday, in line with outgoing President Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign on Tehran. (Agencies, Haaretz and Ynet)
• Report: Iran's Khamenei transfers power to son over health concerns - Newsweek report cited an unnamed Iranian journalist as saying that the 81-year-old supreme leader required urgent medical assistance. (Israel Hayom)

Features:

Hundreds of Palestinian Minors Are Imprisoned in Israel. This Is What Arrests Look Like
Israeli soldiers burst into a refugee camp in the dead of night and abduct a teenager. They then hold him for a full day, with no food. Nearly 300 invasions like this take place every month in the West Bank. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+ and VIDEO of IDF killing of profield teenager’s brother)
Tired and afraid, Palestinian children report brutal IDF arrests
Many of the testimonies describe young boys being taken from their homes in the dead of night for interrogation, where they are forced to sit alone for hours, without food or drink or often even a bathroom break. (Elior Levy, Yedioth/Ynet)
How a campaign to legalize West Bank outposts settled into Gantz's party
As settler leaders realized annexation would be shelved for the time being, they launched efforts to legalize outposts by depicting them as communities without access to basic needs such as water and electricity. (Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz+)
Occupying Dubai: The Israel airlift has begun
Extensive tours of Dubai have illustrated to me over the weekend that it has become a new destination for many Israelis. Thousands of Israelis from all walks of life - businessmen, tourist groups and singers - arrived by an 'airlift' that has just begun. (Moshe Cohen reporting from Dubai, UAE for Maariv)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Israel’s Nation-state Law Isn’t ‘Declarative,’ It Does Real Damage (Amir Fuchs, Haaretz+) Supporters of the law said it would not actually harm the rights of minorities, particularly the Arab minority. Opponents said the same thing mainly to try to reassure themselves that “nothing really happened” and that liberal democracy in Israel had not been affected. But promoters of the law – at least those who were truthful about it – openly stated without embarrassment that they aimed to change the Supreme Court’s rules that ban discrimination between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens, including on matters of local residency and housing…By its nature, a legislative resolution affects the entire system. From a situation in which such judicial discrimination was inconceivable, things have been upended to the point where there is now a need for a remedy at the Supreme Court. It’s simply not possible to chase after and remedy every action by judges, registrars, lawyers and bureaucrats in the central and local governments that gives a Basic Law an interpretation that practically writes itself.
The PA's codependence problem (Michael Milstein, Yedioth/Ynet) Its six-month suspension of coordination with Jerusalem taught the Palestinian Authority that it needs to achieve economic autonomy as well as security if it wants an independent and viable future state of its own.
Israel’s War on Palestinian Children (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) On Friday they killed Ali Abu Alia, a 13-year-old boy. It was a lethal shot to the abdomen. No one could remain indifferent to the sight of his innocent face in photographs, and his last picture – in a shroud, his face exposed, his eyes closed, as he was carried to burial in his village. Ali, as he did every week, went with his friends to demonstrate against the wild and violent outposts that sprouted out of the settlement of Kokhav Hashahar, taking over the remaining land of his village, al-Mughayir. There is nothing more just than the struggle of this village, there is nothing more heinous than the use of lethal force against protesters and there is no possibility that shooting Ali in the abdomen could have been justifiable. In Israel, of course, no one showed any interest over the weekend in the death of a child, one more child.
What will Biden do? Arab funding for U.S. universities encourages anti-Semitism (Prof. Eitan Gilboa, Maariv) Israel needs to ensure that the Biden administration continues to work against the phenomenon of donations from Arab states and Palestinians to American universities, which intensifies anti-Semitism on campuses.
Criminal Trespass by the Israeli Army (Friday Haaretz Editorial) Two weeks ago, dozens of soldiers raided the al-Arroub refugee camp in the dead of night. They sowed terror and anger, dragged out a 16-year-old boy and took him barefoot to be arrested. The boy was left for almost 24 hours without food, and much of that time, he was outside in the cold, until he was finally questioned for a few hours and released…It’s no secret that some of these nighttime raids are meant to train the soldiers, and also to demonstrate control and make a show of force to the Palestinian population. In other words, some of these raids are unnecessary and even criminal.
Warning from the top of the hill: The connection between Khan al-Ahmar and the Palestinian "claim to return" (Prof. Arie Eldad, Maariv) The idea of returning the land thieves of Khan al-Ahmar [Bedouin who live in the West Bank close to Jerusalem - OH] to the Negev and granting them civil status is so dangerous that even the initiator of the proposal understands that it could serve as a precedent that the state has so far avoided…This week I interviewed Yoel Marshak with my colleague Ben Caspit. For more than a year, he has been trying to mediate between the Bedouin residents of Khan al-Ahmar and the state authorities. As you may recall, these Bedouins took over state lands adjacent to Highway 1, and although eviction and demolition orders have been pending against them for 11 years, which have been approved by the High Court, these land thieves of state land have won the support of many left-wing anti-Zionist organizations and vigorous EU assistance. An Italian association has erected illegal structures there, and the Palestinian Authority sees these invaders as a pioneering force to take over Area C. And although the Bedouin were offered dozens of compromise proposals, and to be relocated to alternative sites in Judea or the Jordan Valley [both in the West Bank], and even though tens of millions of shekels were invested in preparing grounds and infrastructure works at an alternative locality, a few kilometers away near Abu Dis, the Palestinian Authority ordered them to refuse any proposal. Extreme left-wing bodies have volunteered to fight forcefully in the face of any evacuation attempt. They threatened with violent struggle and bloodshed. The EU pressured, Angela Merkel intervened, officials from the International Court of Justice in The Hague warned that they would view the evacuation as a war crime - and although Binyamin Netanyahu had already pledged two years ago to demolish the illegal structures within a few weeks - he has been dragging his feet. He does nothing and explains (behind closed doors) to the High Court why he is not evicting them. And the court gave him another extension this week. Another eight months. Then Marshak arrived with a compromise offer, and they saw it as a miracle: even Khan al-Ahmar's mukhtar signed it. The Palestinian Authority also tacitly agrees. "Only extremists on the right and left want bloodshed," Marshak said. "The Palestinian Authority will also be happy if there is bloodshed, and therefore the residents of Khan al-Ahmar should be removed from the PA’s custody." Marshak's idea of solving the Khan al-Ahmar problem is simple and revolutionary. The Bedouin accept it, and according to Yoel - also the “top brass“ in Israel. He found a location in the Negev where the residents will move, they will be granted resident status in the State of Israel. So simple! How come they did not think of it before? Marshak is well aware of what he is proposing, so he reiterates, “this is a one-time solution. One-time. It will not be possible to repeat it. It will not be a precedent." For 70 years, Israel has refrained from approving from the children of the villagers of Iqrit and Baram, Maronite Christian Arabs, to return to the villages from which they were expelled during the War of Independence. In 1950, the High Court ordered that they be returned to their villages. Ben-Gurion ignored the High Court and ordered the houses to be blown up. During the Mapai rule, Zionism was stronger than the High Court. Even in the decades since, when some of the members of Iqrit and Baram have served in the IDF, the state has refrained from allowing them to return to their villages, "so as not to set a precedent." Yoel Marshak reminds that the residents of Khan al-Ahmar are Bedouin descendants who were expelled from the Negev by the State of Israel. He proposes to remove them from the control of the Palestinian Authority, grant them Israeli residency and settle them on state lands that he located for them in the Negev. And although he insists - returning the descendants of Arab refugees to the Negev is a precedent that Israel has so far avoided…I live in Kfar Adumim, on a hill above Khan al-Ahmar. "Aryeh Eldad sees all this from the hill and does not interfere," said Yoel in an interview, when he came to laud a small and delusional group of people from Kfar Adumim, who help the robbers of state land and who declare their intention to forcibly prevent the evacuation. "They help," Yoel said, "and at least Eldad doesn't hinder.” But, that is not the case. Prior to this instructive interview with Yoel Marshak, I had not heard of the idea of bringing the Bedouin land robbers back to the Negev and granting them civil status in the State of Israel. Now that I have heard it, I pledge to try and thwart it. And I will start by bringing this dangerous precedent to the public's attention.
The new-old American strategy on the Gulf (Abdul Aziz Hamad Al-Oweishek, Yedioth/Ynet) There is bipartisan consensus among American policymakers that Gulf security is paramount to their country's national security, and Biden’s election marks a return to this traditional course, in terms and in style.
Iran, Biden and the Bomb: Why Tehran Is Now Speeding Up Its Nuclear Program (Ariane Tabatabai and Henry Rome, Haaretz+) Iran has delivered its first real response to Joe Biden’s victory, announcing plans for a major escalation in its nuclear program. It's a step-by-step guide to triggering a nuclear crisis – but there's still a way out.
What's Really Behind Kushner's Visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Is it possible that Kushner’s recent visit was not only to resolve a local conflict or begin normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but to lay financial groundwork ahead of his family's departure from the White House?
Jonathan Pollard is far from an Israeli hero (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) An embarrassing chapter of Israeli-American relations is now over, but if the convicted spy believes the fanfare that will no doubt be await him upon arrival in Israel will lasts more than moment, he clearly does not know Israelis very well.
Biden and Israel's unsteady Right (Caroline B. Glick, Israel Hayom) The Kahol-Lavan - Likud clash over Iran policy, like their clash over Israel's national and strategic interests in Judea and Samaria, makes it clear that the farcical unity government has run its course.
Can Netanyahu Really Call Off His Corruption Trial? (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) “You’ll see,” a former close confidant told me. “I know him too well. He’ll call off his trial.” How will that happen? I asked. “I’m no jurist,” he said. “But you’ll see it’ll happen.” In a normal country, a first-rate expert in the field told me, there’s no such animal. But Israel isn’t a normal country. So here are the ways – all of them insane and delusional in a properly run country – Netanyahu might try to stop his trial.
Gantz Is Probing Israel’s 'Submarine Affair,' but as Army Chief He Saw Nothing Wrong (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) In statements to the police in 2017, two and a half years after he left the military, Netanyahu’s main rival today found nothing wrong with Israel buying more submarines from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.
It's not too late for Labor to come to its senses (Avi Bareli, Israel Hayom) The Labor party would be wise to learn something from the public that abandoned it and radically change its diplomatic strategy. Some kind of peace with the Palestinians can – possibly – be reached if, and only if, we cut them off from their demographic rear in the east.
Heading into another election, Israeli center-left looks for a new savior (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) As Kahol Lavan crumbles and Gantz rules out renewed partnership with Lapid, Netanyahu’s opponents are looking for another avenue for investment.
The Right's political tragedy is stuck on repeat (Dr. Limor Samimian-Darash, Israel Hayom) In every election campaign in recent years, the right-wing parties have put aside national and governmental ideology for a temporary embrace from the so-called "center."
If he runs for office, Eisenkot would not consider joining the Likud (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot will not present himself as a savior, or as a knight who will expel the biblical dragon. He will not deliver solemn speeches with cheering crowds who receive 30 shekels an hour. He will come to represent only one thing: stateliness.
A Fourth Election Would Be a Disaster for Israel's Left (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Even though this is a terrible government the likes of which we’ve never seen before and even if the current coalition is intolerable, it’s better than what the country could anticipate if it were to be dismantled. After all, it would be replaced by a government in which even the few checks that restrain Netanyahu would disappear.
Center-Left is in disarray (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) By pushing the country toward elections, Blue and White head Benny Gantz is putting not just the party he heads but the entire bloc at risk. If things don't change, Netanyahu's victory is almost guaranteed.
Netanyahu and Gantz Are Locked in a War of Attrition. Israel’s Security Is Under Threat (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israel's system of government, the defense establishment and the chain of command have been shattered.
Biden makes Netanyahu-Gantz divorce necessary (Jonathan S. Tobin, Israel Hayom) Israel has so far gotten away with a dysfunctional farce of a unity government. But with relations with Washington about to get tricky, the Jewish state needs to speak with one voice.
The Holocaust has become a cheap and effective product that anyone can use (Dror Refael, Maariv) The Holocaust has no uniqueness. Everything is a Holocaust. And every political decision is reminiscent of dark regimes. And any dark regime is just the regime of Hitler. As if we had all learned only one lesson in history: the Nazis. Just for the sake of diversity, compare it to Stalin. To Bismarck. To Franco. To Ceausescu. To Mobutu Sessa Seko. We really we can no longer listen to this.
 

Interviews:
Ex-CIA Chief: Israel Helped Kill Bin Laden, Netanyahu Is Not an Ethical Man
As he publishes a dramatic memoir covering nearly 40 years of service to the U.S., former CIA chief John Brennan talks about Netanyahu, Biden – and voting Communist. (Interviewed by Yossi Melman in Haaretz+)

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