APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday August 03, 2014

Quote of the day:

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An Israeli officer, previously thought to be captured, is declared dead and Israel decides to pull out of Gaza unilaterally, making the top two stories in most of the Hebrew papers.

Israel accused Hamas Friday of kidnapping one of its soldiers at 9:30AM Friday and thereby violating the ceasefire that went into effect an hour earlier. Israel said the incident took place while forces were searching for tunnels, a right Israel maintained as part of the ceasefire agreement.
 
Israel's security cabinet decided after a five-hour meeting Friday night that Israel will no longer seek a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip via negotiations with Hamas, Israel will not send a delegation to the Cairo truce talks and will withdraw from Gaza - or at least parts of it - unilaterally. Hamas said the clash took place at 7AM, an hour before the ceasefire began and said it had no knowledge about a kidnapped soldier. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri also stated the Palestinians would not be bound by any unilateral decisions made by Israel. 
 
Commentators agreed that Israel's aim to end the operation unilaterally also stemmed from its fear of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and its desire to prevent the collapse of essential infrastructure.
  
The IDF began withdrawing troops Saturday and said that it only had a handful of tunnels left to destroy within the next few hours. Army officials said the IDF destroyed in two weeks tunnels Hamas has been digging for five years.
 
But Israel Hayom, which publishes after midnight, reported Sunday that Goldin was dead. (Indeed, he was buried today.) Nevertheless, before that became known, the West was turning against Hamas. President Barack Obama called for Goldin's immediate release and called his believed-to-be kidnapping 'barbaric."
 
UN Chief Ban Ki-moon also blamed Hamas for violating the ceasefire and called for his unconditional return. Turkey offered to help negotiate his release. Israeli Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu reportedly spoke sharply to US Ambassador Dan Shapiro saying, "Don't ever second-guess me again" about Hamas.
 
Before Goldin was declared dead (based on some of his remains that were found - OH), his family called on Israel not to withdraw from Gaza without him. An officer and a soldier were also killed in the clash.
 
In the search for Goldin [and possibly as part of a 'Hannibal Directive' - OH] the IDF made numerous air strikes and shot artillery fire causing massive destruction in Gaza and killing dozens more people. The IDF was not even sure that Goldin was alive, Ynet reported Saturday at around 2PM. Hamas' military wing said it believed Goldin was killed in the clash with Hamas' fighters.  
 
Haaretz has an excellent review of live updates of Day 26 of Operation Protective Edge.

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Quick Hits:

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Commentary/Analysis:

Sending our sons into battle: the failure of another Israeli generation (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) We can blame the Palestinians, the Arabs and the international community all we like, but it was our responsibility to make sure our children wouldn’t have to go off and kill or be killed.
Israel should end the offensive (Haaretz Editorial) Barring surprises like the discovery of new tunnels, the cabinet’s decision to stop the fighting is based on sound logic.
Goldin in captivity: Third act of Gaza op begins (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Four weeks into the Israeli offensive in Gaza: Iron Dome still intercepting rockets, the ground invasion continues; but efforts to bring the captive IDF officer home will prove to be the hardest act yet.
For Israel, the rules in Gaza have now changed (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Given that Hamas deliberately violated the ceasefire in order to kidnap a soldier, Israel cannot unilaterally end the fighting now without delivering Hamas a victory.
The Shin Bet’s failure in Gaza (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) The security service’s basic purpose has become blurred over the years; it has become a kind of Military Intelligence for the occupation.
What, it took Washington 25 days to call the Gaza war barbaric? (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Palestinians’ famed barbarity has finally reached Washington in another Israeli public-relations feat.
Conclude operation and come home (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF forces must leave Gaza now because they have no missions justifying their presence there.
Loudmouthed Right should ask Israeli people for forgiveness (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) War doesn’t discriminate, but some right-wingers do by implying that some Israelis are good enough to die for their country, but not to live in it.
Pillay's dastardly 'doublethink' (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) The person charged with promoting and policing global human rights has been actively abetting global jihad. Go figure. 
There are only two sides in this conflict: moderates and extremists (Achinoam Nini (Noa), Haaretz+) It’s too easy to point fingers and become extremely defensive, to stick to your own and blame the other.
Netanyahu's brave decision (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Prime minister knows that ending the war in Gaza in a unilateral withdrawal marks the beginning of a new war at home, against his own political camp.
U.S. in race to divert Israel from all-out war on Hamas (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The administration’s public outrage at suspected capture of Hadar Goldin gives Israel new leeway but is also meant to avert a go-it-alone mentality.
Global media smells blood (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) All the cameras today are pointed at Gaza, and the images are growing increasingly difficult to stomach 
Capturing of soldier should not shape the face of the war (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Despite the pain and sadness following Friday morning's attack - as well the expected public pressure - the cabinet must remain calm and make rational decisions. 
Why, for the first time ever, is Hamas claiming not to have seized a soldier? (Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel) Gaza’s Islamist rulers invariably play up such ‘achievements.’ Are they lying when they say they know nothing of the fate of Hadar Goldin?
Spilling and defending blood (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The only way to respond to Hamas' Nazi-like ideology is to return war with equal force.
Hamas claims its prize and deepens its isolation (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) By snatching an Israeli officer, the Islamist group has alienated powerful players on the Mideast stage and blown the cease-fire to smithereens.
Let diplomacy win, because an army can't (Ariana Melamed, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF can destroy every house in Gaza and kill any terrorist emerging from a tunnel, but in the 21st century war is won in the negotiating room.
Switching gears (Shlomo Cesana, Israel Hayom) While grateful for the operational leeway the U.S. has given Israel during Operation Protective Edge, Jerusalem is perplexed by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry's negligent diplomatic stance, which has juxtaposed Hamas with Israel.

On Gaza, Israel is losing the Obama coalition (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) As America grows less nationalistic, less hawkish, and less religious it will grow less sympathetic to an Israel defined by exactly those characteristics. 
Crush the monster while it's still small (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel will be committing a crime against itself and against the free world if it fails to forcibly demilitarize Gaza before it's too late.
The Qatari code of silence (Boaz Bismuth and Eli Leon, Israel Hayom) WikiLeaks documents prove that the U.S. has known for years that Qatar has been bankrolling Hamas. Tiny Persian Gulf state's involvement in recent Israel-Hamas conflict has managed to turn it into major player in international politics. 
For Hamas, kidnapping isn't a win, only a bargaining chip (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Hamas is in no rush to take responsibility and legitimate an Israeli attack.
The decision to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip - the most logical and out of lack of choice (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Gantz admit that they have no solution. With all its power, Israel cannot defeat Hamas, not even extract a ceasefire. After more than 60 soldiers killed, with an international credit problem and an approaching humanitarian catastrophe, the smartest thing to do right now is lower (Israel's) profile. 
Netanyahu finally realizes: Abbas is not Hamas (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is behind Israel’s decision to embark on a different diplomatic approach to Gaza, one that will strengthen more moderate forces and leave Hamas in the cold.
Sayed Kashua can write what he wants from New York. And it's scary. (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) It's different to hear about the ground invasion of Gaza when sitting in the Big Daddy diner on Broadway, with pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe on the walls.
March of folly (Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom) The more time U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spends in the Middle East, the less he understands the intricacies of the forces at play. The out-of-control Kerry is behaving like a man without a cogent strategic plan and with no clear objectives.
IDF’s worrisome shortcomings revealed in Gaza operation (Haaretz Friday Editorial) The Israeli army relies too much on air force, neglects ground forces, a failure most prominent in handling of Hamas' tunnels.
Tunnel vision: Digging for tunnels, attacking commanders (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF intelligence forces say Hamas efforts to dig Gaza terror tunnels are professional and wide reaching; meanwhile, IDF targets homes of commanders, begging question: What is the operation's true target - tunnels or Hamas' leadership? 
After the unilateral withdrawal, what’s next? (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) With the IDF exiting Gaza without a cease-fire, the next stage of the war will depend on Hamas.
From Israel's point of view, Operation Protective Edge is over (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Hamas' violation of the recent was the straw that broke the camel's back. Israel understood that there is no point in dialogue, not even indirectly. IDF hopes its deterrence was returned, and that the Lebanon effect will also come to Gaza. 
Kerry’s no alien or schlemiel. Israel is the side that must adjust (Yoel Marcus, Haaretz+) Our army knows what it’s doing; let’s hope our leaders do too and relaunch peace talks when the Gaza fighting ends. 
Can Obama pressure Israel effectively? (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) On a rainy day, the U.S. is better off with a defiant, rather than a feeble, Israel. 
America’s 'allies’: Qatar and Turkey are accessories to Hamas’ war crimes (Alan M. Dershowitz, Haaretz+) Qatar and Turkey are among the worst villains in the Gaza tragedy and should be treated as pariahs unless and until they stop becoming state sponsors, supporters and facilitators of terrorism. 
Don't hurt the good neighbors (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) We have enough enemies, so let's make friends with those who live here with us, who hold the same passports that we do. 
Netanyahu devises an exit strategy, with a touch of risk management (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) If rocket fire continues after IDF forces pull out of Gaza, the prime minister is likely to be held responsible for national humiliation.

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