APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday July 5, 2015

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

• Getting closer to an agreement: Breakthrough in talks between Iran and world powers
• Iran is preparing for a new era // Zvi Ba’rel
• Close battle in Greece: Today, referendum on Europe’s offer
• (Bogus) Security zones around settlements turned into tool for grabbing land 
• Despite the crimes, the Defense Ministry is dodging giving explanations for relations with South Sudan 
• Today, government to cancel conversion reform  
• For the sake of equality // Haaretz Editorial

• Israeli communities around Gaza Strip: Between Hamas and ISIS
• Waiting for quiet // Amiel Yarchi, 17, from Beni Netzarim
• Greece to decide today: ‘Yes’ or ‘no’ to Europe
• It will end in a tragedy // Sever Plocker
• Ohad, the most severely injured soldier from Operation Protective Edge, is learning anew how to live
• Not all is lost – (Actress) Gila Almagor is still angry at (Culture) Regev, but thinks it’s possible to open a new page

• “The sanctions will be lifted within six months” - Diplomat tells Maariv
• Final stretch // Yossi Melman
• “The situation in Sinai is under control” – Egyptian President
• A new assessment of the situation // Eliezer (Cheney) Merom
• Greek referendum
• (Finance Minister) Kahlon’s test
• Despite the petition by the State Comptroller: The Attorney General approved the government to continue getting approval for the gas agreement

• Greece follows its fate
• Europe does not want Greece to turn into a symbol // Boaz Bismuth
• The West is with Iran: Compromises, compromises
• Surrendering without a battle // Haim Shine
• IDF Commander of the region: Full support for the Brigade commander who shot (dead a Palestinian teen who allegedly threw a stone)
• Battle over the budget: Government to begin discussing today Kahlon’s reforms
• Lapid: Considering supporting the gas agreement – on condition that there will be supervision of prices

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News Summary:
Iran nuclear talks make a breakthrough and rockets shot by an ISIS affiliate from Sinai reach Israel making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, Hamas rejects Israeli accusations that it supported Sinai ISIS, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the resolution condemning Israel and Hamas over last summer’s Gaza war, and the Military Police open an investigation into the deadly shooting of a Palestinian teen by an Israeli brigade commander.
 
With the exception of Yedioth, which relegated the news to page 12, the big story in today’s Hebrew newspapers was the breakthrough in nuclear talks cited yesterday by Iran and the world powers. The papers noted that both government and opposition leaders believed the agreement was bad for Israel and for the world. Israel Hayom was vehement in its presentation of the compromise on the thorny issue of sanctions relief for Iran as negative.
 
Meanwhile, the Sinai affiliate of the ISIS took responsibility for the firing of three rockets from Sinai into Israel, which caused no injuries or damage, but greatly worried the Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip where they fell.
 
Meanwhile, Hamas denied Israeli claims that it is tied to ISIS. Sami Abu-Zuhri, Hamas Spokesman in Gaza, dismissed an Israeli claim that it provided support to Sinai ISIS calling it "propaganda that aims to incite against Hamas.” And the deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk. said the attack in Sinai was “detrimental to the security of Palestinians, especially those living in Gaza, since Sinai is the only exit for Gaza residents." Abu Marzouq also said that Hamas was not holding negotiations with Israel but that some ambassadors and other diplomats were promoting initiatives on their own accord. Nevertheless, Haaretz+’s Jack Khoury wrote that Abu Marzouk was in Beirut last Thursday for a meeting with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in order to give Nasrallah a letter from the Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal, providing details about Hamas’ policy regarding a cease-fire with Israel, according to a report.
 
Israel was none-too-pleased that everyone but the US and a few abstaining countries voted in favor of adopting the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council report, which condemned Israel's targeting of innocents in last summer’s Gaza War. Forty-one countries voted in favor of adopting the report, including all European Union member states of the Council, including Britain, France and Germany. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu blasted the UNHRC, accusing it of hypocrisy and saying it doesn’t care about human rights.
 
The Military Police has opened an investigation into the Friday morning killing of Muhammad al-Kasbah, 17, who was shot dead by Central Command Brigade Commander Israel Shomer near the Qalandia checkpoint in the West Bank. Maariv reported that there was deep concern that Kasbah’s killing would spark retaliation attacks. Thousands attended his funeral and mourners called for a response to Israeli crimes against Palestinians and to al-Kasbah's death. Israel Hayom noted that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov ‘compared’ the shooting of Kasbah by Israeli forces to the drive-by shooting attacks of Israelis by Palestinians in the statement he released after the funeral when he wrote he was “Concerned by the continued deadly incidents in the West Bank, including in E. Jerusalem, towards Israelis and Palestinians.” Al-Kasbah died when Col. Shomer shot two bullets to his head and one to his chest after Kasbah allegedly threw stones at Col. Shomer's military jeep close to the Qalandiya checkpoint south of Ramallah. The windshield of the jeep was shattered and Col. Shomer got out and opened fire on Kasbah because he and his soldiers felt their lives were threatened, the IDF Spokesman said. Palestinians say one of the shots was in the back, Maariv and Maan reported. Eyewitnesses say al-Kasbah left his home early that morning to reach the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and was attempting to climb the separation wall when he was shot. The GOC Commander of the Central Command gave Col. Shomer his full support and Yedioth focused on the backing Col. Shomer received from officers serving in the West Bank, as well as from MK Yair Lapid. The officers were furious that the Military Police was investigating whether the colonel had followed the rules of arrest.

Quick Hits:

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Features:

The Forgotten War: A Year Since Gaza
One year after Operation Protective Edge, Haaretz sends its top writers to examine what has changed since the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, and to ask whether – or when – the next war will erupt. (Haaretz)
Life in the ruins of post-war Gaza  
It was a hardscrabble existence in the Gaza Strip even before last summer’s war. Now, the young dream of emigration and adults despair over ruined homes and lives. Haaretz reports from inside Gaza. (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+)
Life on hold: Disengagement evacuees are still waiting for their permanent home
A solution for every settler? For ten years dozens of families of Gush Katif evacuees are waiting for permanent homes in Amatzia, but the state, which was quick to unroot them, is not in a hurry to house them. (Sarah Beck, Maariv) 
“The incitement on the Internet will end with murder”
Since that incident, in which she interrupted Culture Minister Regev, Gila Almagor preferred to be silent. Until now. She told Yedioth exactly what she thought about Miri Regev and why she never hid her views despite threats to her life. “Why should we be silent? Because the minister called us 'tight-asses, idiots and arrogant people who neglect the periphery'?! I could not let that pass.” (Yoav Birnberg, Yedioth ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)
From wounded hero to pediatrician
Asael Lubotzky, seriously wounded in the Second Lebanon War will receive his doctorate degree 9 years after being wounded; 'Now it's my turn to apply and pass on what I learned to other people.’ (Rotem Elizera, Ynet)
How ‘The Jewish Quarter’ became the talk of Cairo
Ramadan TV shows have become a festive staple, but this year’s hottest features a daring Jewish-Muslim romance. (Eyal Sagui Bizawe, Haaretz+) 
'Sean brought the people of Israel together'
When lone soldier Sean Carmeli was killed in Gaza, 40,000 people, most of whom did not even know him, attended the late night funeral. A year later, his parents decide to move to Israel • "After a while, Sean became everyone's child," his mother says. (Liav Nahmanil, Israel Hayom)
Disillusioned former Israeli peace negotiator finds hope online
The outpouring of support by young Israelis and Arabs to Uri Savir's YaLa Young Leaders program, a youth-geared online push to achieve peace, has made him the region's "last optimist.” "I believe that the majority wants peaceful coexistence," he says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom) 
A Mossad man’s mission to bring the Entebbe raid back to life
Avner Avraham searched the world — and his old buddies’ memories — to collect artifacts on the 1976 hostage rescue. They’re on display in Tel Aviv. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:

Israel, where the best TV dramas are on the evening news (Michael Handelzalts, Haaretz+) Television is always offering us warning disclaimers ahead of medical and police dramas. Maybe it’s time they started putting them where they’re really needed.
Death penalty for stone throwing (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Col. Yisrael Shomer shot and killed a stone thrower in the West Bank. If an investigation is ever opened in the incident, it will, of course, quickly be closed.
Why Egypt isn't pointing finger at Hamas following Sinai attack (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) The connection the Egyptian government makes between the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah and jihadi militias in Sinai has created the impression that it’s looking for excuses to justify its battle against the Brotherhood. There is no real proof of any military connection between the Brotherhood and the others. Granted, Hamas is an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood, and it once cooperated routinely with both Hezbollah and the Sinai jihadists. The latter let Hamas use their smugglers and arms stockpiles; in exchange, Hamas provided safe haven to jihadists pursued by Egyptian security forces. But circumstances have changed. Hamas severed ties with Syria, Iran and Hezbollah over the ongoing Syrian civil war.
Israel must eliminate ISIS while it's still small (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) The jihadist organization is neither a state nor an army; it's an enchanting idea. That's why it's important to hit those spreading this foolish idea before it turns into an epidemic.
Israel prefers not to air its dirty laundry (Zeev Sternhell, Haaretz+) The norm of distorting and whitewashing the army's activities was set by David Ben-Gurion in 1952, when he lied to the UN about the Qibya massacre. 
No more domestic enemies (Minister Zeev Elkin, Israel Hayom) Israel must not overlook the slander and lies spread by those constantly seeking to condemn it. 
A bigger threat than BDS: anti-normalization (Joel Braunold and Huda Abuarquob, Haaretz+) By seeking to police all interactions between Israeli Jews and Palestinians, the movement prevents any progress in advancing coexistence and achieving peace.
Palestinian incitement growing stronger (Dr. Edy Cohen, Israel Hayom) The Israeli media has failed to report on Abbas' Gaza-based army during Operation Protective Edge and has equally shirked its duty to cover the daily incitement on the PA airwaves.
The broken promise to rebuild Gaza (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Whatever happened to the billions of dollars in aid the international community .
Saying one thing and doing another (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Statements from the French prime minister that France is fighting a ‘war of civilizations’ against global jihad don’t amount to much when the French government continues funding organizations who call for a boycott against Israel.
Gas isn't flowing, but coalition is rife with bad blood (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+)  The saga of the non-vote on the natural gas plan being pushed by the PM exposed his – and his coalition's – weakness, which may be exploited by a quartet of politicos seeking an election sooner rather than later.
Hamas left all alone (Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Faced with dwindling domestic support, Hamas is also becoming increasingly isolated in the Arab and global spheres.
Policy being tested: what are the opportunities and dangers of the situation in the Arab world? (Alon Ben-David, Maariv) The developments in Syria make Israel closer to the moment when it will be forced to make a moral decision. Treatment of war casualties is one of the smartest investments made in Israel. And what kind of opportunity is the Kurdish awakening creating.
Iran is preparing for the day after nuke deal (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) A final agreement has yet to be reached, but even Netanyahu understands that the era of Iran under economic blockade is coming to an end.
One year on, Gaza war still a success (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Operation Protective Edge's primary goal was to create a period of calm that would last as long as possible.
Have Israelis really forgotten so quickly? (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+) Conventional wisdom is that Israelis showed enormous resilience during last year's Gaza war – but many are belatedly showing symptoms of trauma. 
Stuck in the Gaza mire (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Hamas is not interested in a clash with Israel, but are constantly preparing for one. Israel is currently the only entity helping Gaza rebuild. Israel is also taking Hezbollah into account as part of the lessons drawn from last year's war with Hamas.
How Bibi convinced Israelis to forget about Gaza (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) How Netanyahu won re-election despite Israel's costly 2014 ground offensive in Gaza. 
'UNRWA, Hamas are two sides of the same coin' (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Hamas maintains a tight grip on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency's facilities in the Gaza Strip, and the two's symbiosis is growing stronger, despite the U.N.'s denials. Israel is reluctant to have UNRWA removed over its strategic value in Jordan.
How Egypt lost Sinai long before the ISIS attacks (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Cairo's decades-long neglect of the northern part of the strategic peninsula and its people is now being paid for in Egyptian soldiers' blood.
Israel’s intelligence flaws in Sinai (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) For Egypt, the Islamic State’s murderous attack against its troops in Sinai is a price it has taken into account. Israel, on the other hand, cannot afford to allow a threat to grow right under its nose while it is plagued with intelligence flaws in this area. And the danger doesn’t just lie across the border – it’s already here.
Entebbe aftermath: How Bibi’s family cultivated the Yoni Netanyahu myth (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) The Netanyahu family won the Israel branding championship and minimized the role of every other officer in the 1976 operation.
Has the world turned against Israel because of Gaza? (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Israel’s international credit is depleted, public opinion has turned hostile and prospects of boycott loom larger than ever.
Obama vs. Netanyahu: The visionary and the survivor (Baruch Leshem, Yedioth/Ynet) Only leaders who make courageous decisions, which influence their nations' existence and nature, will be given an eternal life in textbooks.
Israel must protect journalists in next Gaza conflict (Robert Mahoney, Haaretz+) The death toll among journalists during Operation Protective Edge was staggering. Israel has the capabilities to avoid this in the next round of conflict – it just needs the courage to carry through. 
The true winner in Syria: Iran (Ari Heistein, Haaretz+) The gruesome images coming out of Syria make it hard to imagine it in such terms, but Tehran sees Damascus as an investment.
The colonial powers should have plundered more antiquities (Benny Ziffer, Haaretz+) Entrusting the treasures of Middle Eastern civilization to the Arab people is turning out to have been a criminal mistake, argues Benny Ziffer. 
And still: Nothing in the nuclear talks with Iran has been closed (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Even if the subject of the removal of sanctions was resolved, a big obstacle remains, which is certainly very important to the world – the issue of oversight of the nuclear facilities. The world powers require intrusive supervision, without delays and with short advanced notice.
Gas owned by the public? Can't be (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) The concept of a resource that belongs to the public and is equally shared by everyone simply doesn't exist here. For us Israelis, money buys everything.
A historic opportunity for Israel in the Golan Heights (Zvi Hauser, Haaretz+) Now is the time to achieve international recognition of Israeli rule on the Golan Heights. 
The difference between Netanyahu and Obama (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz+) Our problem is that there is no voice of inspiration in Israel today; no voice that is heard above all the other voices.
Israel and Egypt have a common interest in stopping ISIS, but they must proceed with caution (Friday Haaretz Editorial) Israel should not exploit the regional chaos in order to exacerbate the crisis with Hamas, even if sources within Hamas’ military wing really are cooperating with ISIS.
Self-hating Jews are not necessarily leftists (Ofri Ilani, Haaretz+) Israel-bashing leftists are the usual suspects for charges of Jewish self-hatred. But the anti-intellectualism of the Israeli right also resonates with classic anti-Semitism. 
The Orwellian logic of Israel’s blockade of Gaza (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) It goes like this: There is no such blockade, and if you violate it, you will be arrested.
 

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