APN's daily news review from Israel

 Tuesday June 17, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Palestinian killed and wounded in clashes in West Bank; Netanyahu: Locating the kidnapped could take time
• Kerry: We are prepared for cooperation with Iran against the rebels in Iraq
• Report warned of serious blunders in emergency hotline
• Security establishment to receive an extra billion shekels
• Israel's goal: Divide between Gaza and the West Bank // Amos Harel
• Redefining the problem anew // Amir Oren
• Islamic organization murdered 48 people in Kenya during Mundial games
• Danziger hinted: Ruling in appeal to High Court over Olmert's acquittal was delayed due to differences of opinion

• The military operation expands; IDF: Hamas will pay the price
• One-time opportunity // Alex Fishman
• Political hitchhiking // Yoaz Hendel

• "On the way to a significant (military) campaign" - Operation Return the Brothers
• No answer to question when it will end // Yossi Melman
• Developments in murder case of Shelly Dadon

• Netanyahu to Abu Mazen: Disconnect from Hamas
• Senior Police officer: In call to emergency hotline, kidnapped youth did not say, "We were kidnapped"; Families: "Keep praying"
• Is Abu Mazen and the West beginning to wake up? ; Palestinian Authority Chairman called PM and condemned the kidnapping; Netanyahu made clear: "The unity with Hamas is bad for Israel and the Palestinians"; Senior official in PA: "Hamas betrayed us, if it is behind the kidnapping, the unity government will dissolve"...
• Disgrace at Yitzhar (settlement): Military vehicle tires punctured
• Likely a political achievement for Netanyahu // Dan Margalit
• 1000 people who are one family // Emily Amrousi
• 'Meitzav' (school efficiency index) exams return, this time - once every three years
• Ministerial committee approved 0% VAT benefit for those buying their first apartment

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News Summary:
The kidnapping of the three Israeli youth in the West Bank remains the top story in today's Hebrew papers. 

The main stories were the expansion of the military operation, whose target is now two-fold: finding the three youth, but also destroying Hamas, by arresting anyone having to do anything with the organization and also harming infrastructure. (Haaretz+ reporter Chaim Levinson noted sardonically on his Facebook page that the IDF Spokesman posted photos of 'confiscated weapons' that included household drills). The army has not only tightened its grip on Hebron, but it began targeting Nablus, raiding homes in Balata refugee camp. The military has called it "cleaning house."
 
Some write of Netanyahu's third goal: To bring an end to the unity government between Fatah and Hamas. Yesterday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the two spoke for the first time in over a year. Netanyahu repeated that Hamas was responsible (although Hamas has said that was 'stupid') and called on Abbas to end the unity government, which he said was "bad for the Palestinians and for Israel." Afterward, Abbas' office released a statement denouncing the kidnapping, but also the killing of a Palestinian youth in a clash with Israeli soldiers. He also lauded the Palestinian security forces for their efforts to "stop the PA from being dragged into disorder and prevent the factions from taking advantage of the situation for non-nationalistic purposes."
 
A 'senior Palestinian Authority source' told both Maariv and Israel Hayom that "if the kidnappers are Hamas, we will disband the unity government." The source said that "The more evidence is collected, the more it appears that Hamas betrayed the trust it was given and that the organization exploited the reconciliation agreement to throw sand in our eyes."
 
Meanwhile, Yedioth reported that the government's security-diplomatic cabinet discussed harsh punitive steps against Hamas - including "temporary expulsion" of West Bank Hamas leaders to Gaza and "renewing targeted assassinations" [although Israel already recently renewed them - OH]. The judicial establishment told the political echelon that it would only allow expulsion if the person being expelled got a hearing in front of a military judge before being expelled.
 
Kidnapping Quick Hits:

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Must read: The doctor's guide to force-feeding - Ethical concerns prompt Israel Medical Association to publish booklet for doctors for monitoring and treating hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and also discusses bioethical issues and int'l conventions that prohibit force-feeding. (Ido Efrati, Haaretz+) 

Commentary/Analysis:

Underhanded opportunism in the search for kidnapped Israeli teens (Haaretz Editorial)  There could not be a harsher blow to Israel’s security than placing a dartboard on our Palestinian partner’s chest.
Netanyahu showed terror groups road to success (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Instead of blaming Abbas and Kerry, Netanyahu must take full responsibility for his part in collapse of security perception he has been leading in past few years.
Wanted: A mix of courage and caution (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Israel must not overreact lest it generate sympathy for Hamas and draw international pressure. 
Netanyahu has put on his war paint (Tal Niv, Haaretz+) The premier's one and only vision is to seize control of the territories based on an unequivocal working assumption that every Palestinian is suspect and violent.
Another failure for Mahmoud Abbas (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Abduction affair is seen as Palestinian unity government's first test. If Hamas and its affiliates are responsible, Palestinian president has been kicked in the most painful area.
Abbas, at the depths of weakness (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Fearing the unity government will collapse, Abbas is shirking responsibility for ending the kidnapping crisis.
The dust is settling on Netanyahu's peace fraud (Kobi Richter, Haaretz+) I expect the Labor Party and Isaac Herzog to recognize the opportunity and the historic responsibility that lays at their doorstep. Joining the government can ignite a real diplomatic process. 
Terror apologists blame Israel for abduction (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) According to experts on Middle Eastern affairs, Israeli teens' kidnappers are actually activists for peace and watchdogs of human rights.
War of Independence isn't over (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) We must convince the Palestinians beyond any reasonable doubt that the Jews are prepared to live by the sword, and to draw it whenever necessary. 
West Bank kidnapping is turning Israelis against each other (Yair Ettinger, Haaretz+) Some people do not believe in prayer. Others do. Some believe in a unifying gathering of solidarity in the city square, while others take no interest at all in the story of the kidnap victims.
In missing teens' case, prisoner release debate likely irrelevant (Giora Eiland, Yedioth/Ynet) If abducted teens are located in West Bank, government will probably favor military option.
The extreme Left's hatred (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) According to Yedioth Ahronoth's top columnist, the culprit responsible for the kidnapping of three Jewish boys is none other than Benjamin Netanyahu. 
'Two states in one land’: A Nobel Prize chemist's search for peace (Martin Karplus, Haaretz+) The separation between Israelis and Palestinians is a heavy obstacle to peace: Working together to improve their common homeland would greatly benefit both Jews and Arabs. 
Hamas must pay a price (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) If and when the rescue operation ends, defense officials' pent-up anger will be released.
Expelling Hamas militants to Gaza will only harm Israel (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Israel deported 415 Hamas operatives to Lebanon in 1992, giving them a chance to hone their terror skills under Hezbollah’s tutelage.
**Expected kidnapping - the shrapnel is bleeding (Yariv Oppenheimer, Yedioth) It wasn't for nothing that we crossed our fingers during the negotiations and hoped for a breakthrough. It wasn't for nothing we pulled our hair when the Housing Ministry continued to publish tenders for building in settlements. It wasn't for nothing that we got angry when we saw the pictures of the unjustifiable shooting in Beitunya (that killed two Palestinian youth). It wasn't for nothing that we complained when the government ignored the hunger strike of the (Palestinian) security prisoners. It was clear that the hopelessness, the hatred, the enmity, and the anger on the Palestinian side would find its way out. We knew that time was not working in our favor, that we were talking about crucial issues and people's lives. Seven years of quiet, during which we could have improved the relations with the Palestinians and achieved a peace agreement, were wasted...Israel now needs to do everything to save the youth and return them home, whether by a military action if that is possible or through a painful (prisoner exchange) deal, if there is no choice.  But the day after, Israel must go back to that same defining crossroad and ask itself what is the hope and what is the future for the Israeli presence in the heart of  the Territories. Without a drastic change of the reality on the ground and renewing the political process, the stage remains in the hands of the terror organizations, and the coming attacks will be just a matter of time.

Interviews: 

Man responsible for the release of Gilad Shalit warns: Chasing after Hamas - a waste of time
Gershon Baskin, who led the breakthrough in the negotiations for the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier, calls not to point fingers at Abu Mazen and recommends a surprising partner for collaboration in the search for the abducted youth: Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades.

Excerpts:
Who do you think is behind this?
"It really doesn't look to me like a Hamas operation. They have too much to lose..And it contradicts all of their interests...They gave in to Abu Mazen's agenda in order to achieve reconciliation and they gave up on all their demands of him. They entered a government that recognizes Israel and is willing to hold negotiations with it and and is collaborating on a security level...If you notice, there is an embarrassing silence from (Gaza). Those who speak are not connected to the decision-makers."
Israel is pointing an accusing finger at Hamas. Maybe Hamas is trying to establish its status?
"It's possible they will take responsibility, but there are other groups in the Territories, such as 'Hizb al-Tahrir,' the Liberation Party, which could have gotten inspiration from Iraq. It has tens of thousands of supporters in the West Bank and they walk around in traditional clothes: long beards, head covering. There is a not so small potential for an eruption."
Baskin blames Netanyahu for not achieving a peace agreement.
"It was possible to make an agreement with Abu Mazen if Netanyahu had wanted to and he did not want to...In the last three years, I passed to the Prime Minister five personal appeals from Abu Mazen, requesting a meeting and direct secret negotiations. And he refused. According to my theory, when Netanyahu saw the Americans reached an agreement with Iran on November 4th, he thought it was betrayal and since then the Israelis stopped meeting with the Palestinians. Until April, there were no real negotiations and this process ended."
Would Hamas have allowed a hand-shake?
"Hamas is in the worst situation it has ever been since its founding. They would have given in to Abu Mazen, which could have brought about an agreement with Israel on the basis of two states. It was a opportunity that was missed."
What would you recommend to those searching?
"If it's not Hamas, then the intelligence is putting the emphasis in the wrong place. I recommended to the Palestinian intelligence that if I were in their place, I would use the help of some Al-Aqsa Brigades men of Fata, from the period of the Second Intifada. Those are people from the Hebron area, who know all the hiding places and succeeded in hiding from the IDF and Shin Bet..."
So maybe you'll try to pass your knowledge also to our side?
"They know everything, they don't need help from outside."
A matter of (their) ego?
"Exactly."
(Interviewed by Eyal Levy in Maariv Magazine - Monday)

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