APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday December 10, 2020

Quote of the day:

"Only in an Israel stricken with hatred for Netanyahu, and where the left doesn’t exist and the center is duplicitous, can one talk about a supporter of apartheid as a liberal and a fan of annexation as statesmanlike. If someone who worked to shut Tel Aviv down on Shabbat, who sent students [on school trips] to prostrate themselves at Abraham’s tomb in Hebron and established the disgrace of the Holot detention center [for African refugees] is liberal, what should we say about Bezalel Smotrich? That he isn’t liberal?"
--Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz how center-left-wing Israelis are considering supporting far right-wing Likud MK Gideon Sa'ar, who broke off to form his own party.*

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Saar gets 15-18 mandates in polls; Netanyahu prepares for dissolving the Knesset in another month
• Kahol-Lavan’s (flagship) Equality bill was passed in preliminary reading
• First delivery of corona vaccines landed in Israel
• The information that was stolen in the hacking of Shirbit Insurance Company puts employees in security institutions in danger
• Academic institutions advancing acquisition of program that will monitor students doing exams from home
• All living beings on Earth together weigh less than the materials and waste that humans created
• The Sa'ar platoon // Gideon Levy on apartheid-supporting MK Gideon Sa’ar
• Indictment // Vered Lee writes about systemic failures that led to Yonatan Heilo committing suicide
• Hanukkah shows expected to earn 10 million shekels, compared to 120 million shekels last year

Yedioth Ahronoth

• The ‘Sa’ar’ effect: Likud examining possibility of postponing elections - After the explosion in the right-wing: quiet discussions for a coalition compromise
• “We don’t have money for the Friday kiddush (ritual wine prayer)”
• The vaccines and the myths
• Government expected to approve ban on visiting someone for Hanukkah

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• The vaccines are in our hands
• MKs Hendel and Hauser joined Sa’ar
• Horror in Givatayim: Pitbull bit toddlers
• Trying again to land spaceship on moon: Project ‘Genesis 2’ launched at President’s Residence

Israel Hayom

• Contacts for a compromise: Extending the Knesset and postponing reactions
• Netanyahu against Sa’ar: Trying to save his career; Sa’ar: He is stressed
• Sa’ar is waiting for Eisenkot // Mati Tuchfeld
• During holiday: Travel restrictions; After the holiday: vaccines
• My Hanukkah miracle - Special wonderful holiday for Israelis who recovered from corona
• Secret visit: Shin Bet chief examined emirates security arrangements
• Avoid chemotherapy treatments: New test predicts whether breast cancer will return
• Launching of ‘Genesis 2’ spaceship project: As exciting as the first time // Kfir Damari
• Tonight: First Hanukkah candle

Top News Summary:
The popularity of breakaway Likudnik, MK Gideon Sa’ar, caused Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to rethink his election track, because polls showed that Sa'ar's new party would block Netanyahu from achieving a Knesset majority. Netanyahu was at the airport to accept the first delivery of Pfizer corona vaccines, but the first vaccinations won’t be given until after the Hanukkah holiday ends and fears are high that many more people will get infected during holiday get-togethers. Meanwhile, almost a third of all Israelis are living under the poverty line after corona pushed 268,000 more Israelis into destitution, according to the Latet charity organization. These were the top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers.

Diplomacy:

• For 1st time in over 10 years, PM to make official visit to Egypt - In meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, PM Netanyahu to discuss a series of regional issues, chief among them bolstering security and diplomatic ties in light of the Iranian threat and coordinating positions between Jerusalem and Cairo ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's entry into the White House. (Israel Hayom)
• Senate unsuccessful in halting Trump's arms sales to UAE - Senators argue the sale of the defense equipment, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally authorized last month after the Abraham Accords, was unfolding too quickly and with too many questions. (Agencies, Ynet and Israel Hayom)
• Turkey appoints ambassador to Israel after 2-year break - Ufuk Ulutas, chair of the Center for Strategic Research at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, who holds highly pro-Palestinian views, will take over the role. (Israel Hayom)
• Israel summons Russian envoy for calling Jewish state a Mideast 'problem' - Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov also suggests that Jerusalem's ignoring of the Palestinian issue is the root cause for the region's instability. (Israel Hayom)
• Veteran Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi resigns - In resignation statement, Ashrawi, one of the few women to hold a senior position in the Palestinian leadership, calls for reforms in the PLO and more diverse leadership. "The Palestinian political system needs renewal and reinvigoration with the inclusion of youth, women, and additional qualified professionals," she says. President Abbas accepted Ashrawi's resignation. (Israel Hayom and Times of Israel)

Quick Hits:

• EU diplomats visit Palestinian families in Silwan in East Jerusalem threatened with eviction from their homes - Diplomats from the European Union member states and like-minded countries today visited Batan al-Hawa area in Silwan in East Jerusalem to meet representatives of eight Palestinian families faced with imminent risk of eviction by Israel, five of them as soon as 18 December. Court's decision was based on Israel’s 1970 "Legal and Administrative Arrangements Law" stipulating that Jews who owned property in E. Jerusalem and lost it in 1948 can take it back from the Israeli public trustee. [NOTE: The law is one-sided. It does not stipulate that Palestinians who owned property in west Jerusalem and lost it in 1948 can get it back. - OH] (WAFA)
• Suffocation cases confirmed as Israeli forces storm Nablus-district town - A number of Palestinians Wednesday morning suffered from suffocation during an Israeli raid to Sebastia town. Sebastia was a prominent city in the Iron Age and Hellenistic era and the archaeological site has become a scene for daily settler targeting and encroachments, particularly following the opening of a Palestinian tourist project, known as Bydar Project, and hoisting a large Palestinian flag. (WAFA)
• Sunday: Discussion on the case of the defendants in the "hate wedding" - A tense hearing was expected to take place Monday morning in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court at the evidentiary stage in the trial of the eight defendants in the "hate wedding." The incident took place in 2015, when a number of celebrants at a [religious] wedding held in Jerusalem were filmed stabbing the picture of baby Ali Dawabsha, who was burned to death with his parents [when Israeli extremist youth - OH] threw Molotov cocktails into their home [while they were sleeping - OH] in the village of Duma. Several of the defendants were filmed holding Molotov cocktails and brandishing weapons in the air. [NOTE: This article was on Maariv website on Monday but no more was published about it. It is unclear if the hearing took place. - OH] (Maariv)
• Amnesty criticizes Airbnb for Israeli settlement listings ahead of IPO - "Airbnb stock is expected to be purchased by investment and pension funds across the world, which could mean that a large number of people will indirectly hold investments in Airbnb without understanding the full ramifications," the human rights group says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom, Ynet and WAFA)
• Israeli Colleges Looking Into Using AI to Monitor Students During Online Tests - Officials say software would prevent cheating 'and preserve the integrity of the grades issued by the university,' but students fear invasion of their privacy. (Haaretz+)
• Israel's moon program relaunched as new spacecraft unveiled - SpaceIL is planning another unmanned lunar landing of ‘Beresheet 2’ (Genesis 2) in early 2024 after its first attempt ended with the spacecraft crashing on the moon's surface. (Israel Hayom and Ynet)
• New recruits give Israel's 'eyes in the sky' a female perspective -  Five female graduates are among the 25 cadets who completed the Israeli Air Force's UAV Operational Training Course on Wednesday. (Israel Hayom)
• Hamas hackers targeting Arabic speakers, Israeli security firm says - Victims sent fake messages about burning issues in Mideast to entice them to click on malicious files; believed to be effort by terror group to understand mood in region as Israel begins to normalize ties with more Arab states. (Ynet)
• New bill seeks to transform Israel into free trade zone - If passed, the legislative proposal is expected to revolutionize the import of goods and turn Israel into a "modern, progressive economy and a significant player of the global economy." (Israel Hayom)
• Moody's reaffirms Israel's credit rating as A1 - The rating has been unchanged since 2008. Agency lauds the Israeli government's fiscal policy but criticized its inability to pass a state budget. (Israel Hayom)
• Israeli baker offers 'Abu Dhabi' doughnut for Hanukkah - Jerusalem-based chef Itzik Kadosh offers traditional pastry filled with Emirati dates, nougat and cream, topped with a golden leaf in honor of new diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Israel-based channel and UAE broadcaster ink partnership - Ynetnews partner i24NEWS and Abu Dhabi Media sign a memorandum of understanding that allows for shared reporting and archival content; CEO Frank Melloul says arrangement highlighted 'possibilities' following Abraham Accords. (Agencies, Ynet)
• With the surge of coronavirus cases, occupancy of Gaza hospitals has reached 100% - official - 20 percent of all active coronavirus cases in the Gaza Strip are in serious condition with the majority suffer from pneumonia, Fathi Abu Warda, an advisor to Minister of Health Mai Alkaila told Voice of Palestine. (WAFA)
• Gaza's 'only Iranian' wants to go home - Qassem Sheyasi, an explosives expert, says he left Tehran 40 years ago to join Arafat's PLO, later becoming Palestinian leader's bodyguard and confidant, but his connections to Fatah made it impossible to fit in with Hamas, leaving him destitute. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Iran claims some of those involved in hit on nuclear mastermind arrested - European, Gulf officials warns of "imminent retaliation" against Israeli, Jewish targets over the Nov. 27 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Israel has already placed its diplomatic missions around the world on high alert. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• Europe, Gulf officials expect imminent Iranian retaliation against Israeli, Jewish targets - Furious Iran hard-liners want revenge against American and/or Israeli assets following assassination of top nuclear scientist, with European source telling Business Insider that Tehran sees 'need to project ability to deter such attacks.’ (Agencies, Ynet)
• US says no sanctions penalty on humanitarian aid for Iran - Banks that process payments for humanitarian aid to Iran will not be penalized under US sanctions, the US Treasury has said, following a European appeal for leniency. (Israel Hayom)

Features:

Salfit, a Palestinian city chocked by Israeli settlements from all directions
On the morning of November 29, the sound of Israeli settlers' bulldozers working on the lands of al Ras area to the west of Salfit city in the north of the West Bank, an estimated area of 50 dunums surrounded by olive trees, woke up the Palestinian residents of Salfit from their sleep. "The settlers took over the land, and put sheep sheds on it. They put up electricity poles and prevented us from reaching our land and every time we try to reach it, they, protected by the army, attack us,” said Deeb Nassif, one of the owners of the land. (Alaa Mawqidi, WAFA)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
*For 'Hope,' We're Down to Extreme Right-winger Gideon Sa'ar (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) That’s how it is when it’s Anyone But Bibi. Any racist or brother-in-arms as long as it’s not Bibi. You’ve been told: If you don’t offer a personal and ideological alternative, things will end badly. And here it is, ending in Gideon Sa’ar. They still hadn’t managed to get over the excitement of Bennett and were even considering voting for him when on Tuesday there emerged another extreme right-winger, Sa’ar, whom the center-left can live with in peace.
“He opposes a Palestinian state and will support annexation,” Haaretz political commentator Yossi Verter noted, but two sentences later he dared say: “But in the end, he is statesmanlike and a liberal.” How is he statesmanlike? Since when is he liberal? Only in an Israel stricken with hatred for Netanyahu, and where the left doesn’t exist and the center is duplicitous, can one talk about a supporter of apartheid as a liberal and a fan of annexation as statesmanlike.
Let the infighting on the Right begin (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Gideon Sa'ar's resignation from the Likud and establishment of the New Hope party have made the right-wing camp more relevant than ever, leaving the other camp out in the cold. If this situation holds, we may yet see Telem head Moshe Ya'alon abandon his alliance with Lapid and join one of the right.
Gideon Saar is very bad news for secular Israelis (Michal Shalio Reicher, Ynet Hebrew) As minister of education, Saar was responsible for systematically imposing Orthodox Jewish identity on students of the state education system. When he joins (far-right-wing religious Yamina party leader) Naftali Bennett and (even farther right religious MK Rafi) Peretz, the concern is sevenfold greater. What will we do about this?
Finally, Honest Words About Netanyahu From a Member of His Party (Haaretz Editorial) There’s no need to be a Likud member to identify with Gideon Sa’ar’s remarks when he announced Tuesday that he was leaving Likud, setting up a new party and planning to run against Binyamin Netanyahu for the premiership. Sa’ar confirmed what everyone knows: “Loyalty to the path was replaced by a personality cult,” and that party “has become a tool to serve the interests of the prime minister, including those related to his criminal trial.” Likud, he said, had been taken over by “an illegitimate culture of systematic humiliation and defamation of political rivals inside and out.” Therefore, Sa’ar said, “I can no longer support a government led by Netanyahu and I cannot support a Likud headed by him.”
The truth about Binyamin Netanyahu's lies (Prof. Gabi Weiman, Ynet Hebrew) Speaking of the Prime Minister's speech, it should be noted that he did indeed learn during his tenure to deceive, hide and obscure in the service of the nation. But too many lies, especially recently, serve only him and his survival.
The Arab Spring's unintentional results (Oded Granot, Israel Hayom) A decade after a series of revolutions rattled the Middle East it seems Iran and Israel were the only ones to emerge stronger, albeit for opposite reasons.
This may sound strange, but in the democratic state of Israel people have forgotten the right to equality (Orit Lavie-Nashiel, Maariv) Our country is concerned with the right to life, liberty, property, work, movement and privacy, but not with equality. Today, when Human Rights Day is celebrated around the world, the Declaration of Independence is shamed.
Why 'human rights' has a bad reputation in Israel (Avi Dabush, Israel Hayom) In the best case, they are a matter for liberals, leftists, peaceniks and bleeding hearts. In the worst case, they are used a tool used by our enemies to undermine our security. What does Judaism say?
Human rights and what can be learned from history (Prof. Elyakim Rubinstein, Yedioth/Ynet Hebrew)  Five brief remarks on International Human Rights Day on the subjects of a brief meeting with Saeb Erekat in Madrid. the fate of Jonathan Pollard, violence against women and the importance of compliance with agreements…About Saeb Erekat and an "Almost Criminal Case." Ahead of the 1991 Madrid (Peace) Conference, in which we insisted on the participation of Palestinians from Judea and Samaria [West Bank] and Gaza only - and not the PLO, Saeb Erekat, a young academic from Jericho, was supposed to participate in the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. Prior to the conference, he was interviewed and announced that he was a representative of the PLO. We stated that he would not be able to participate in the talks. In the plenum of the conference, in front of the cameras, he appeared wearing a large symbolic kaffiyeh, and approached me in my position as head of the Israeli delegation for negotiations. He reached out to me and I shook his hand, but I told him, my advice is not to show up for the bilateral talks in two days if you want to help your brothers. He did not appear, but then-MK Dedi Zucker, who supported the recognition of the PLO, filed a complaint to the ombudsman against me, for the sake of a joke, against my contact with the PLO, which was in violation of the law. On my return, Attorney General Harish called and asked what to do with the complaint. I laughed and suggested he close it. I was happily left without a criminal record. Later, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin approved the addition of Erekat to the talks. Erekat became a human rights flag bearer, and was among those who daily presented us with a list of complaints, and of course published them in the media. We took them seriously. Deputy secretaries in the government secretariat, Aryeh Zohar and myself, would take the trouble to get the authorities' attention and prepare a response. One of the Israeli representatives in the post-Oslo negotiations, in which I did not participate, told me that Erekat told him "how we wore Eli Rubinstein down, and he took us seriously." I'm not sorry I did. Human rights are important to me.
Taking advantage of an opportunity: Trump is gone, so the Palestinian Authority welcomes the incoming president (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) What is happening in the Palestinian Authority? Out of the gloom of the twilight period of the rule of Abu Mazen's and his gang, and in the face of the political and economic bitterness that the Trump administration fed the PA, the hope for a positive change arose. Trump is leaving and a Democratic government is rising. As such, the PA decided to immediately seize the opportunity to restore its relations with the US administration and to show goodwill towards it. We are now on a Palestinian smile attack ahead of the incoming government, and it is likely to intensify towards January 20, 2021. Israel, for its part, should refrain from provocations. The PA's main steps are as follows: First, the PA officially announced that it is renewing its security and civilian cooperation with Israel, which the PA froze in May this year amid the atmosphere of annexation and the PA’s steps against Trump’s ‘deal of the century.’ Second, the PA is expressing willingness to accept the Palestinian tax money from Israel (all the tax and customs money that Israel collects for the Palestinians).
The ushering in of a new era for the UAE (Hassan Ali Mansoor, Israel Hayom) Collaboration in the banking and financial services sectors in the UAE offers an unprecedented opportunity.
Oil, guns, and gas: How Gulf money will fuel Israel’s arms industry (Sahar Vardi, 972mag) Israel and its new Arab allies are striking major deals to advance fossil fuel projects — endangering the region's stability and the global climate.
https://www.972mag.com/gulf-oil-israel-arms-industry/
Biden and Israel's unsteady Right (Caroline B. Glick, Israel Hayom) The Blue and White-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.
Israel can no longer delay its decisions on Iran (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) As Tehran moves to reinvigorate its nuclear program and a new U.S. administration taking office in January, Jerusalem must formulate its own red lines and decide whether to pursue a diplomatic or a military avenue.
Forget a Comprehensive Iran Deal. It's an Illusion (Udi Evental and Raz Zimmt, Haaretz+) Two major events have recently put the Iranian nuclear project back into international focus. First is the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was considered the dominant figure in the Iranian nuclear program. Second is the interview given by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to The New York Times, in which he reiterated his intent to rejoin the nuclear agreement with Iran and remove the sanctions imposed on it by President Donald Trump….Netanyahu reiterated that not only does the agreement not block Iran’s path to a bomb, but it enables Tehran to finance a campaign of terror, occupation and destruction throughout the Middle East…Israel’s demand to link together all the issues strengthens the notion that Israel has in recent years diverted its emphasis on the nuclear issue to halting Iran’s moves in the region, with a stress on Hezbollah’s precision missile project. This is a mistaken order of priorities.
Don't let the Palestinians fool Israel twice (Stephen M. Flatow, Israel Hayom) The think-tank crowd wants the one Jewish state on the planet to hand over even more territory in exchange for the Palestinian Authority making the same worthless promises.
The challenges for American and Israeli democracy (Eric R. Mandel, Israel Hayom) President-elect Joe Biden has an opportunity to bring the United States together or choose to listen to the rising voices of "Justice Democrats" who want vengeance, not reconciliation, and revolution, not evolution.
The declining credibility of Palestinian objections to IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism (Ben Cohen, Israel Hayom) A dramatic sense of how this process is unfolding was on display at the United Nations – the citadel of global anti-Zionism.
Why the Holocaust is unique to the Jewish people (Rachel Avraham, Israel Hayom) Six million Jews did not perish during the Holocaust merely so decades later, commentators could transform regular wartime suffering into a "potential holocaust" in a vile attempt to defame the State of Israel

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