Quick Hits:

• Shin Bet: Number of terror victims in 2015 highest in seven years - Though there were fewer attacks in West Bank than in 2014, attacks were more severe, Shin Bet says; Israeli Arab's involvement in terror on the rise, but still minor. (Haaretz+ and Ynet) 
• B'Tselem report: "The routine abuse of security detainees is the policy of the Shin Bet" - According to a document based on the testimonies of Palestinian detainees in prison was established, including investigations restraints, violence, exposure to cold and heat, little food and solitary confinement hygiene. (Maariv, Times of Israel and B’Tselem) 
• For second time this month, Israeli military imposes closure on West Bank city - Closure lifted two days later; move intended to prevent further 'copycat' attacks on Israelis by residents of Qabatiyah, not as means of punishment, army said. (Haaretz+) 
• Detention without trial prolonged by 4 months for Jewish extremist - A number of right-wing extremist Jews were arrested following the attack on the Dawabsheh family, but as of Tuesday only Meir Ettinger is still in administrative detention after some were released and others charged, a legal group said. (Times of Israel and Israel Hayom) 
• IDF demolishes West Bank homes of two Palestinians who carried out deadly terror attacks - The assailants carried out two separate attacks on November 19, killing five people, including an American, and wounding others. (Haaretz and Ynet)
• Israel Police chief joins ultra-rightists at private film screening - The film, 'Ma'aminim Bamishtara,' is a documentary about a police program of the same name (known as 'Believing in the Police' in English) that is aimed at recruiting more religious Zionists to the force. (Haaretz+) 
• Any cultural institution refuses to perform in the West Bank? Fine of up to 700,000 shekels - Minister of Culture Miri Regev trying to pass regulation that would allow it to fine cultural institutions who refuse to appear anywhere in the country, according to Channel 2 News report. Associates of minister: "Cultural justice." (Maariv)
• Netanyahu pledges anti-terror cooperation with Africa - Kenyan president's visit prompts reaffirmation of military and intelligence ties; Netanyahu says 'Israel is a unique partner against this extremism.'  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday pledged his country's cooperation with African nations against terrorism as he met Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. (Ynet)
• NSA tapped a Netanyahu-Berlusconi call over U.S.-Israel relations - A document leaked to WikiLeaks shows American intelligence intercepted a 2010 conversation about low point in Jerusalem's relationship with Washington; PM asked for his Italian counterpart's help due to an 'absence of direct contact' with Obama. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
• Visiting German general praises military cooperation with Israel - German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has said in the past that no other country shares such close military links with Germany as does Israel. (Haaretz+) 
• No end in sight for ICC war crimes examination, chief prosecutor says - Fatou Bensouda declines to say when her examination of alleged Israeli war crimes might end or whether she’ll influenced by UN report. (Haaretz) 
• Knesset marks first-ever LGBT rights day - For the first time, the Knesset has earmarked a day to discuss the rights of the community and its overall status, as well as the fact that reported incidents of anti-LGBT harassment have gone up. (Ynet) 
• Police commissioner: Police recruiting massive number of Muslim officers - Roni Alsheikh says that his organization is preparing for a large recruitment effort among Israeli Muslims. (Ynet) 
• Israeli Arab’s family suspect he joined IS - Relatives have not heard from the 24-year-old since he left for Turkey a month ago and became suspicious after finding a letter stating his intention to join the terror group in Syria. (Ynet) 
• Report: Netanyahu plans to import foreign high-tech workers to Israel - A shortage of engineers and computer scientists is pushing up salaries and eroding Israel’s competitive edge, the finance ministry said in a report last week. (Haaretz) 
• *Gay Iranian poet requests asylum in Israel - Payam Feili, who came to Israel on a tourist visa at the end of 2015, has requested asylum because his life would be at risk if he returns to his native Iran. (Haaretz)
• Activists: Hebrew-only bus signs show gap vis-a-vis Arab citizens - Knesset panel discusses claims of inaccessibility of bus lines as well as signage. Transportation Minister: Translation of bus stop signs into Arabic, English due to be completed in summer. (Haaretz)
• Israeli companies in West Bank feel pressure to relocate - Israeli companies argue that they are helping Palestinians in the West Bank - employing about 36,000 - by giving them a far better salary than in Arab-owned businesses. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Variety Refuses to Publish a pro-BDS Ad Accusing Israel of Apartheid in Oscars Issue - After the sponsored trip to Israel included in the swag bags for the Oscars, the magazine rejected Jewish Voice for Peace ad due to the sensitivity of the topic and the rude tone it has. (JTA, Haaretz)
• IAC establishes new anti-BDS group - Israeli-American Nexus established to advocate to policymakers on behalf of the Israeli-American and pro-Israel communities. Israeli American Council Chairman Adam Milstein stresses that IAC is committed to stopping the spread of BDS. (Israel Hayom) 
• Tel Aviv Ranks 104th for Best Quality of Life, Survey Says - German-speaking cities offer the best quality of life, according to a survey conducted by global consulting company Mercer. (Haaretz)
• Hotel Stays by Foreign Tourists in Israel Still Far Below Levels Before 2014 Gaza War - Recent violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank are helping keep visitors away, Israel Hotel Association says. (Haaretz+) 
• Palestinian corruption chief recovers $70 million, but hundreds of millions may still be missing - Rafiq al-Natsheh says 'tens of millions of dollars' unaccounted for but he has no evidence behind allegations that far greater sums have disappeared. (Agencies, Haaretz) 
• Forced Off the Streets, Iran's Activists Campaign Online - Ahead of the Iranian elections, reformists turn to social media apps like Telegram to reach voters; ironically, so do the militia groups that broke up the 2009 protests. (Agencies, Haaretz) 

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Features:
5 Israeli startups making world more accessible for people with disabilitiesAn all-terrain wheelchair and glasses that help blind people sense their surroundings are just two inventions by Israeli companies driving disability tech. (Ben Sales, Haaretz) 
Conquering Paris: Introducing the Jewish (French) politician Audrey Azoulay
She learned Hebrew as a child and her father is an adviser to the King of Morocco. The stateswoman leapt from obscurity to her new position as French Minister of Culture and succeeded in unleashing the anti-Semitic circles in France. (Gideon Kotz, Maariv’s Magazine supplement, cover) 
Demanding Land 
This is how senior members of the Ta’ayush organization are persuading Palestinians to clash with IDF soldiers and demand ownership over lands. A mole of the ‘Ad Kan’ organization documented with a hidden camera how the method works and how also the Palestinian farmers also admit that there is not basis to the suit, but that does not bother the Ta’ayush people. “These are false claims. We will continue to aid the Palestinians to protect their lands,” answers Taayush. [Note, the article actually quotes the Palestinian farmer, Suleiman, saying that the land is his, he inherited it from his father, but he hasn’t farmed it for 40 years. According to the Ottoman law Israel, which Israel employs to its interests in the West Bank, any land not farmed in more than 73-10 years goes back to the ‘state.’ Israel considers all ‘state lands’ as belonging to Israel. – OH] (Yifat Ehrlich, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement.)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
How Israeli Military Chief Tried and Failed to Spark Debate on Shooting Palestinian Teens (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Gadi Eisenkot aimed his controversial remarks on response to Palestinian stabbings at the political arena; politicians were not interested. 
Dear Oscar Star, Say Yes to That Free Israel Trip. Then Do This. (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Listen to all those people telling you not to make the trip. They have important points to make. Then go anyway. 
No hope for Gazans (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) The IDF is preparing for the next round of fighting with Hamas, which is expected to be much more intense than in previous operations. Yet, the spark which may start the fighting this time will be different. The Gazan population is at its boiling point, and when it explodes, the entire region will feel it.
‘One who rises to kill you, kill him first’ is dangerous (Orit A. Brown, Maariv) The debate in Israeli society and the behavior towards terrorist girls, even if their goal is to kill, must change so that the reality doesn’t turn us into something that we don’t want to be.
Syria Cease-fire: A Daring Decision Which Will Put Russian and American Prestige to the Test (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) With issues like ISIS, Nusra Front, the Kurdish-Turkish feud and an unresolved prisoner release, the truce has slim chance of being implemented, or even holding for the first two-week stage. 
Erdogan wants a trip to Gaza (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel and Turkey are supposedly preparing to reconcile, but the complicated status of the region and its interweaving alliances delay them from reaching an agreement. At the moment, it’s simply more comfortable for Israel to wait.
Keep Religion Out of Israel's Courts (Haaretz Editorial) Jewish law is not the appropriate tool to manage a free, modern society. 
Behind the Myth: The Ministry of Education should learn to recognize the real Jerusalem (Ronit Sela, Maariv) Instead of continuing to teach about the unified Jerusalem that does not exist, Education Minister Naftali Bennett should talk with children at eye level about the reality in which they grow. 
Palestinian Authority Treats Its Own People as the Enemy (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Israeli policy dictates the impoverishment and unemployment in the West Bank, but coping with it falls on the shoulders of the PA, the buffer between the principal culprit and the people.
Begin and Rivlin have no place in the right-wing of Netanyahu and Lieberman (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The way out of the national impasse goes through the crack which will expand further in the right-wing and will separate the right-wing that is waking up, and with whom an understanding can be reached, and between the blind, deaf and cruel right-wing. 
Herzog, Lapid Are Running Amok to Israel's Right (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) What we need is a sharp debate over the state’s character: an annexationist settler state or an enlightened state that aspires to peace agreements.
Our friend Nasrallah in Lebanon will continue to laught at us from the bunker (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Yossi, don’t come back, listen to me: stay in Miami. Travel to Cuba or any other Caribbean island. In the summer there might be a war, and if not, you have nothing to find for. 
The need to bear arms (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Self-defense is a universal right of utmost importance. The State of Israel was founded so Jews could defend themselves and no longer be trampled on.
Israel’s Revolutionary Guards March With the Nationalist Revolution (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Compared to the traumatic steps in Iran, Egypt and China, Israel's theocratic-nationalist revolution is homeopathic – well diluted so as not to cause spasms.
Canadian FM outdoes himself (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) Fortunately for Israel, Canada has no real power; it has simply become yet another former ally professing to have its best interests at heart. 
The Basic Mistake in Israel Is the Separation in Education (Sefi Rachlevsky, Haaretz+) If an abominable apartheid exists in the education system, at least let free, non-religious education be in free and humanist hands.
 

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