APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday August 12, 2015
Quote of the day:
"A temporary directive was issued to underscore the ways in which troops on the ground must handle situations
that do not constitute an imminent threat to their lives."
--An IDF statement on the important change (or clarification) to the rules for opening fire on
Palestinians: no more shooting at people who are running away.
You Must Be Kidding:
"Enemy of the settlements, minister lacking defense, strong against Jews and weak against Arabs.”
--Far right-wing activists yells as he jumps at Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's vehicle in Hebron.
You Must Be Kidding:
"Enemy of the settlements, minister lacking defense, strong against Jews and weak against Arabs.”
--Far right-wing activists yells as he jumps at Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's vehicle in Hebron.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- High Court ruled: Permissible to detain asylum seekers at Holot (detention facility), but for shorter periods
- Ruling in fog // Aeyal Gross
- The battle is not over // Or Kashti
- Minimum standards // Asaf Ronald Neumann
- Battle for freedom of creativity: Bennett replaces chairman of Theater Committee of Culture issues
- Shin Bet arrested Hamas man who told them about tunnel from Rafah to Kerem Hashalom crossing and revealed details on preparations in Gaza
- (State Prosecutor) Shai Nitzan opposed appointment of senior member of office and members of appointing committee were dismissed “due to constraints”
- Council for Higher Education: No discrimination in prohibiting babies from entering classrooms
- Close the Rabbinate // Haaretz Editorial
- Asylum seekers in Tel-Aviv knit their futures
Yedioth Ahronoth
- 1,200 infiltrators will be released – High Court approved the law, but softened it
- The balance point // Ben-Dror Yemini
- Former senior member of judicial system: “Justice Minister (Shaked) crossed lines”
- Battling the boycott - This is how they threw us out of a coffee shop in Sweden // Moshe Sheinman
- The grounds for disqualifying the Israeli movie: “It doesn’t deal with the occupation”
- The British deal - $200 and you’re in London: Monarch Charter company starts flights from Israel
- Red flag for incitement – Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev in special interview: “Violence and racism will be dealt with harshly”
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The infiltrators to residents of south Tel-Aviv: “This is our home” – For third time: High Court intervened in Knesset legislation (on infiltrators bill)
- (The High Court) finally understood // Adv. Yehiel Gotman
- (Public Security) Minister Erdan: “High Court ruling creates social and security problems”
- Before the ruling: (Justice) Minister Shaked warned about canceling the law and was criticized
- Testimony from under the ground – Hamas fighter told Shin Bet that the organization continues to dig
- Confrontation with Iranian support // Yossi Melman
- Britain: Petition calls for arresting Netanyahu; France: Fear of fight at ‘Tel-Aviv beach’; Holland: “Mitzpeh Ramon is part of Palestine”
- Explosive gas: Representatives of Nobel Energy left the talks over the gas (monopoly) guidelines
Israel Hayom
- Some 1,000 infiltrators will be released within two months – For third time, High Court intervenes in Infiltrators Law: Doesn’t not strike it down, but limits detention time
- Proportionate and effective ruling // Dan Margalit
- Vague and dubious “proportionality” // Prof. Avraham Diskin
- Hamas plan: New tunnels –and a surprise attack
- Sabena, action film
- Kerry: Even if Iran violates the arms embargo – the sanctions won’t return immediately
- British Monarch Airlines: Flights to Israel from 49 pounds
News Summary:
The High Court approves Knesset’s anti-infiltration law, but limits time that illegal migrants and asylum seekers can be detained, but Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked sparks an uproar when she warns the High Court before the ruling,
the Shin Bet says a young Hamas militant shared tunnel secrets and details of Iranian aid to Hamas, and a British petition at Parliament calls for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, right-wing activists make more headlines (and not in a positive way) and a new temporary IDF rule regarding opening fire on Palestinians raises questions.
After being questioned by police over his remark supporting burning churches in the Land of Israel, Bentzi Gopstein, head of the far-right-wing racist Lehava organization, claimed his interrogation was at the order of the Vatican and that if Israel wants less price-tag attacks, it should allow freedom of speech. (Also Maariv) Meanwhile, the administrative detention of two radical right-wing Jewish activists, Meir Ettinger and Eviatar Salonim was extended to the end of the month.
But Jewish extremists don’t seem to be deterred by recent police actions. Far right-wing activist Baruch Marzel of Kiryat Arba jumped at the car carrying Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in Hebron and screamed: “Enemy of the settlements, minister lacking defense, strong against Jews and weak against Arabs.” Anti-terror police forces detained Marzel and warned him against being arrested, but Marzel was unimpressed. “This is the worst Defense Minister ever for settlements. In a tour in the West Bank, Yaalon said, “We are still in a wave of response to the attack in Duma village. Not that there weren’t attacks before that, but it is clear that some of the attacks we are seeing, like the hit and run of the soldiers at Sinjil junction in Shilo area – it’s clear this is in response to Duma…These are temporary attacks.” Maariv noted that in 1995, a month before his murder, right-wing activists attacked then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car and bragged about pulled off the symbol of the Cadillac from the hood of the armored car. Yedioth reported that Hagai Amir, the brother of Yigal, Rabin’s murderer, posted on Facebook, the news about the British petition to arrest Netanyahu. One person responded writing: “There are more decisive solutions to make a prime minister disappear.” Amir responded writing: “He’s not important enough.” This comes days after settler activist Daniella Weiss said that President Reuven Rivlin wasn’t important enough to murder.
A revolutionary change was made to the rules of engagement, i.e. when it is permissible to open fire on Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and officers expressed “shock” and dismay. In short, no more shooting at people who throw something (rock or firebomb bottle) and then run. Previously, soldiers were allowed to fire on the torso of the terrorist, wrote Maariv, (NOTE: that includes stone-throwers.) IDF sources gave contradictory responses to the change of what is called ‘Guidelines for Arrest’. The official military statement said it was ‘temporary,’ due to the sensitive situation following the Jewish attack that killed two Palestinians in Duma. Others told Haaretz+ that it was not new at all, just a clarification or refinement of the rules that exist. “So, for example, the officer said if an attacker throws a firebomb and then flees, he should not be shot to kill as long as he no longer poses a threat to security forces. Instead, shots should be fired in the air,” wrote Gili Cohen. Israel Hayom wrote that the soldiers must find other ways to arrest the individual. [Note: What is interesting here is that the officer admits that until now the ‘guideline for arrest’ was to kill a person who is fleeing. Interestingly, Israel has long denied accusations that its soldiers and police have shot Palestinian demonstrators in the back. But this clarification to the rules of engagement, as well as the soldiers’ statements prove that it was actually part of the IDF rule to fire on someone running away. – OH] Indeed, Israel Hayom reported that the other reason was to narrow unnecessary harm to Palestinians. The goal now is to avoid a situation in which the soldiers open fire and cause death of the terrorist, wrote Maariv, which in turn could escalate the situation. This is contrary to the provisions set forth whereby after several warnings, shots can be fired at the lower part of the body, Maariv wrote. Now, soldiers can only shoot in the air after someone throws something. Soldiers called it “a fiasco” and complained that they are no longer allowed to shoot at someone who has just thrown a firebomb at them if the soldiers are not in immediate danger of being killed.
The High Court approves Knesset’s anti-infiltration law, but limits time that illegal migrants and asylum seekers can be detained, but Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked sparks an uproar when she warns the High Court before the ruling,
the Shin Bet says a young Hamas militant shared tunnel secrets and details of Iranian aid to Hamas, and a British petition at Parliament calls for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, right-wing activists make more headlines (and not in a positive way) and a new temporary IDF rule regarding opening fire on Palestinians raises questions.
After being questioned by police over his remark supporting burning churches in the Land of Israel, Bentzi Gopstein, head of the far-right-wing racist Lehava organization, claimed his interrogation was at the order of the Vatican and that if Israel wants less price-tag attacks, it should allow freedom of speech. (Also Maariv) Meanwhile, the administrative detention of two radical right-wing Jewish activists, Meir Ettinger and Eviatar Salonim was extended to the end of the month.
But Jewish extremists don’t seem to be deterred by recent police actions. Far right-wing activist Baruch Marzel of Kiryat Arba jumped at the car carrying Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in Hebron and screamed: “Enemy of the settlements, minister lacking defense, strong against Jews and weak against Arabs.” Anti-terror police forces detained Marzel and warned him against being arrested, but Marzel was unimpressed. “This is the worst Defense Minister ever for settlements. In a tour in the West Bank, Yaalon said, “We are still in a wave of response to the attack in Duma village. Not that there weren’t attacks before that, but it is clear that some of the attacks we are seeing, like the hit and run of the soldiers at Sinjil junction in Shilo area – it’s clear this is in response to Duma…These are temporary attacks.” Maariv noted that in 1995, a month before his murder, right-wing activists attacked then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car and bragged about pulled off the symbol of the Cadillac from the hood of the armored car. Yedioth reported that Hagai Amir, the brother of Yigal, Rabin’s murderer, posted on Facebook, the news about the British petition to arrest Netanyahu. One person responded writing: “There are more decisive solutions to make a prime minister disappear.” Amir responded writing: “He’s not important enough.” This comes days after settler activist Daniella Weiss said that President Reuven Rivlin wasn’t important enough to murder.
A revolutionary change was made to the rules of engagement, i.e. when it is permissible to open fire on Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and officers expressed “shock” and dismay. In short, no more shooting at people who throw something (rock or firebomb bottle) and then run. Previously, soldiers were allowed to fire on the torso of the terrorist, wrote Maariv, (NOTE: that includes stone-throwers.) IDF sources gave contradictory responses to the change of what is called ‘Guidelines for Arrest’. The official military statement said it was ‘temporary,’ due to the sensitive situation following the Jewish attack that killed two Palestinians in Duma. Others told Haaretz+ that it was not new at all, just a clarification or refinement of the rules that exist. “So, for example, the officer said if an attacker throws a firebomb and then flees, he should not be shot to kill as long as he no longer poses a threat to security forces. Instead, shots should be fired in the air,” wrote Gili Cohen. Israel Hayom wrote that the soldiers must find other ways to arrest the individual. [Note: What is interesting here is that the officer admits that until now the ‘guideline for arrest’ was to kill a person who is fleeing. Interestingly, Israel has long denied accusations that its soldiers and police have shot Palestinian demonstrators in the back. But this clarification to the rules of engagement, as well as the soldiers’ statements prove that it was actually part of the IDF rule to fire on someone running away. – OH] Indeed, Israel Hayom reported that the other reason was to narrow unnecessary harm to Palestinians. The goal now is to avoid a situation in which the soldiers open fire and cause death of the terrorist, wrote Maariv, which in turn could escalate the situation. This is contrary to the provisions set forth whereby after several warnings, shots can be fired at the lower part of the body, Maariv wrote. Now, soldiers can only shoot in the air after someone throws something. Soldiers called it “a fiasco” and complained that they are no longer allowed to shoot at someone who has just thrown a firebomb at them if the soldiers are not in immediate danger of being killed.
Quick Hits:
- Israel declassifies cabinet minutes on first US-sponsored peace plan - The Rogers Plan, named for then US secretary of state, sought to engage Israel and the Arab state in a peace process. 45 years on, splits in Golda Meir's cabinet over the plan, that was never implemented, are unveiled. (Ynet)
- MK Jabarin "The issue of compensation for (Palestinian) victims of Jewish terror must be probed" - Joint List MK Dr. Yosef Jabarin petitioned the Attorney General to examine the issue to allow the Dawabsheh family from Duma village to be compensated for injuries to persons and property (as Jewish Israelis are by Palestinian terror). (Maariv)
- Education Ministry invests more money (double) in isolated settlements - Israel invests NIS 13,000 per student in settlements outside the main blocs, while the national average is NIS 6,500, a new study finds. (Ynet)
- Archaeological Dig Inside Settlement Must Be Open to Palestinians, Civil Administration Decides - Civil Administration gives retroactive approval to illegal development of site at Shiloh, but insists site should be made available to all. (Haaretz)
- US appeals Palestinian Authority terrorism fine - Justice Department concerned about court ruling that PA must pay damages to victim of terror attacks, citing danger of financial collapse, which could hurt "the critical national security and foreign policy interests of the United States." (Ynet and Israel Hayom
- Ultra-Orthodox school denies Rivlin visit for condemning LGBT parade stabbing - School's administration says that Israeli president's remarks could be seen as support for the LGBT community and thus offend the religious students and their parents. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Report: Netanyahu's envoy holding security-related talks in Cairo - Prime minister's special envoy, Isaac Molho, holds meeting with Egyptian security officials, Turkish news agency reports. (Haaretz)
- Report: Abbas plans to visit to Iran in coming months - Senior Palestinian official says goal of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's trip to Tehran will be to restore the PA's relationship with Iran. Ties between PA and Iran have deteriorated over past decade due to Iran's support for Hamas. (Israel Hayom)
- Deal with coalition partners saves Jewish identity agency from axe - Reform leader says agency was 'born in sin as a pipeline to funnel money' to Orthodox groups, vows to petition High Court against it. (Haaretz+)
- Cyberattack on Israel's Defense Ministry thwarted - "The ministry's internal or classified systems weren't attacked, rather the open and nonconfidential Internet system. The ministry's security systems went into action, and the online network was not damaged whatsoever," Defense Ministry says. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel launching new firm to do grunt work in arms exports - New government company will provide administrative support to the ministry. (Haaretz+)
- Teen Israeli entrepreneurs conquer European contest - Group of 15-year-olds take third place out of 37 countries competing in Berlin to create the most successful start-up company. (Ynet)
- Arrest of haredi man refusing to serve in IDF sparks riot - Three ultra-Orthodox rioters arrested for attacking police officers and endangering public safety on the roads. Firefighters twice called to the scene of the riots only to be ambushed with stones, bricks and glass bottles upon their arrival. (Israel Hayom)
- Haifa to become Israel’s first Clean Air Zone city by 2018 - New policy bans diesel-powered vehicles from certain areas, among other plans aimed at reducing air pollution and environmental hazards in Haifa Bay area. (Haaretz+)
- East Jerusalem Arabs suspected of extorting Jewish drivers - Two Arab residents of Silwan arrested in undercover police operation on suspicion of demanding protection money from Jewish drivers who parked in their neighborhood. Police official: We will continue relentless effort against all law breakers. (Israel Hayom)
- Turkey becomes Israelis' No. 1 destination in July - Despite strained diplomatic relations between countries, data released by Israel Airports Authorities show 172,507 passengers traveled on Israel-Turkey route last month, a 30% increase from July 2014. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Iran's Zarif to discuss 'new plan' to resolve Syrian crises on Lebanon visit - Details of plan will be revealed after discussions with Syrian government in Damascus, where Zarif will travel on Wednesday, and 'other players,' says Iranian spokesperson. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Two-day ceasefire called between Hezbollah, rebels in Syria's Idlib - Iranian delegation reportedly instrumental in talks to halt fighting in Syrian town of Zabadani and Shi'ite villages Foua and Kefraya. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Egypt’s U-turn on cotton highlights wider problems - In July, Cairo overturned ban on import of once-prized crop, angering and confusing farmers. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Kurdish PKK group claims responsibility for deadly Istanbul police station blast - Four people died in midnight attack on station in Istanbul's Sultanbeyli neighborhood; attack comes amid upsurge in violence between Turkish military, Kurdish militants. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- UN official warns of 'deliberate starvation of civilians' in Yemen - Special rapporteur on the right to food says 850,000 children face acute malnutrition due to civil war; Red Cross says country is 'crumbling.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
Drama of Dislocation: A Child's-eye View of Life in a 1950s' Israeli Transit Camp
Author Ronit Matalon’s new novel is one of fitful illumination, favoring fragmented impressionistic scenes over conventional plot. (Benjamin Balint, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Author Ronit Matalon’s new novel is one of fitful illumination, favoring fragmented impressionistic scenes over conventional plot. (Benjamin Balint, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Shaked's warning: A blatant attempt to intimidate the High Court (Aeyal Gross, Haaretz+) Ayalet Shaked's warning against invalidating the anti-infiltration law indicates
that the justice minister doesn't understand her job, as well as the basic meaning of the rule of law.
Try West Bank settlers in Israeli military court - just like Palestinians (Alexander Yakobson, Haaretz+) Nowhere in the Israeli security legislation for the territories is it stated that the laws apply only to Arab residents of the territories, and not to Jews or to Israeli citizens.
Israelis will pay the price for Obama-Netanyahu battle (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) The US president will go back to Chicago in a year and a half and the Israeli prime minister will retire one day, but Israel's citizens will likely be left with Iranian atom bombs and an America which won't forget and won't forgive.
For the culture minister, whoever undermines her undermines the state (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Regev is deliberately misleading when she makes a distinction between funding and freedom of expression; but she's still more honest than the attorney general.
Vanishing World: Who will save the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is supposed to represent us in the world? (Dana Somberg, Maariv) Without a minister and with a cut budget, lacking budgets for positions, representative offices abroad closed and the ministry’s authorities scattered between many sources – the Ministry will very soon be washed over with a political tsunami - and there is no one to save us.
Out of the Israeli Public Eye, Into the Israeli Public’s Pocket (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) The salient characteristic of the Yisrael Beiteinu case is the cynical way in which our money was allegedly transferred to that thin layer of party hacks, fixers and others close to the people in power.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and billionaire Donald Trump - find the similarities (Tal Schneider, Maariv) He is an expert in making the political discourse shallow, he changes his mind, he refuses to reveal his positions (because he probably doesn’t have any), and every answer he gives is a fleeting slogan. Sound familiar?
If that's 'true Judaism,' I don't want a bar of it (Reuven Hammer, Haaretz+) Anshel Pfeffer got it wrong: true Judaism is not the same as the fundamentalist Judaism that burned a Palestinian baby to death; the latter ignores thousands of years of development and interpretation of our Torah.
Damned if they do, damned if they don't (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Doctors are exploiting a real tragedy to discredit and vilify the State of Israel, a tragedy that is entirely born out of Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel.
An orgy of violence and closed cases (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The police, prosecution and army must immediately order the reopening of all the investigations of attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank that were closed on bizarre pretexts.
Now it’s his turn: The way to defeat Netanyahu is only with his weapon - a committee (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) After the recommendations of the Locker committee were thrown in the trash, like others established by the Prime Minister, it's time to set up a committee to objectively examine the irresponsible behavior of the Prime Minister.
US Jews and the rise of old ghosts (Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom) We can only hope that the seeds of division Obama has sown regarding "dual loyalty" will not take this community back to a dark era, an era that supposedly faded away long ago.
If Mideast leaders raised taxes, they would become more accountable (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) If taxation is at the core of representation, does the inverse hold in the Middle East: that without taxation, there is no representation?
How Jon Stewart contributed to the decline of journalism (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) In his fusion of journalism and comedy, The Daily Show host achieved the opposite of what he aspired to.
Stand With Israel's Threatened President Rivlin. Where Does Netanyahu Stand? (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) In this nightmare time, no one has to remind anyone here, that the monsters we've made are killing the Israel we love.
Try West Bank settlers in Israeli military court - just like Palestinians (Alexander Yakobson, Haaretz+) Nowhere in the Israeli security legislation for the territories is it stated that the laws apply only to Arab residents of the territories, and not to Jews or to Israeli citizens.
Israelis will pay the price for Obama-Netanyahu battle (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) The US president will go back to Chicago in a year and a half and the Israeli prime minister will retire one day, but Israel's citizens will likely be left with Iranian atom bombs and an America which won't forget and won't forgive.
For the culture minister, whoever undermines her undermines the state (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Regev is deliberately misleading when she makes a distinction between funding and freedom of expression; but she's still more honest than the attorney general.
Vanishing World: Who will save the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is supposed to represent us in the world? (Dana Somberg, Maariv) Without a minister and with a cut budget, lacking budgets for positions, representative offices abroad closed and the ministry’s authorities scattered between many sources – the Ministry will very soon be washed over with a political tsunami - and there is no one to save us.
Out of the Israeli Public Eye, Into the Israeli Public’s Pocket (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) The salient characteristic of the Yisrael Beiteinu case is the cynical way in which our money was allegedly transferred to that thin layer of party hacks, fixers and others close to the people in power.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and billionaire Donald Trump - find the similarities (Tal Schneider, Maariv) He is an expert in making the political discourse shallow, he changes his mind, he refuses to reveal his positions (because he probably doesn’t have any), and every answer he gives is a fleeting slogan. Sound familiar?
If that's 'true Judaism,' I don't want a bar of it (Reuven Hammer, Haaretz+) Anshel Pfeffer got it wrong: true Judaism is not the same as the fundamentalist Judaism that burned a Palestinian baby to death; the latter ignores thousands of years of development and interpretation of our Torah.
Damned if they do, damned if they don't (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Doctors are exploiting a real tragedy to discredit and vilify the State of Israel, a tragedy that is entirely born out of Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel.
An orgy of violence and closed cases (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The police, prosecution and army must immediately order the reopening of all the investigations of attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank that were closed on bizarre pretexts.
Now it’s his turn: The way to defeat Netanyahu is only with his weapon - a committee (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) After the recommendations of the Locker committee were thrown in the trash, like others established by the Prime Minister, it's time to set up a committee to objectively examine the irresponsible behavior of the Prime Minister.
US Jews and the rise of old ghosts (Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom) We can only hope that the seeds of division Obama has sown regarding "dual loyalty" will not take this community back to a dark era, an era that supposedly faded away long ago.
If Mideast leaders raised taxes, they would become more accountable (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) If taxation is at the core of representation, does the inverse hold in the Middle East: that without taxation, there is no representation?
How Jon Stewart contributed to the decline of journalism (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) In his fusion of journalism and comedy, The Daily Show host achieved the opposite of what he aspired to.
Stand With Israel's Threatened President Rivlin. Where Does Netanyahu Stand? (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) In this nightmare time, no one has to remind anyone here, that the monsters we've made are killing the Israel we love.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.