APN's daily news review from Israel

Thursday June 23, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

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Breaking News:

 

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

 

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Britain’s fateful day, the death of two infants in a hot car, Israel’s first F-35 aircraft, (which costs $35,000 per hour to fly) and the tension over the revealed police report on suspicion of criminal acts by ministers and Knesset members were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

In diplomacy, President Reuven Rivlin told the Europian Union Parliament that the French Initiative has faults that make it unworkable. Rivlin also said it was impossible to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians at this time. 
 
Also, there were conflicting reports about the details of the Israel-Turkey reconciliation agreement expected on Sunday. The agreement will end six years of ties severed since the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, on which Israeli soldiers killed 10 Turkish citizens. Israel Hayom reported that Turkey will close Hamas headquarters in Istanbul, but Turkey told its local media its relations with Hamas will not be impinged upon. As part of the deal, Turkey will build a power plant in Gaza. It remained unclear whether Turkey’s demand that Israel end the siege on Gaza would be agreed to.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Why Doesn't the West Care About the Middle East's Christians?
That question is the subject of Danish journalist Klaus Wivel's nuanced and compelling new book about Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. (Samuel Thrope, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
*Sorry, Mahmoud Rafat Badran, 15, Was Killed by 'Mistake' (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Israeli soldiers fired fiercely, with full intent, at the moving car, and they had no idea who was inside except for the fateful fact that they were Palestinians. 
The despairing vision of the Prime Minister – Every initiative is a plot (Yossi Dahan, Yedioth) In the view of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, every peace intiative is a conspiracy meant to put an end to the State of Israel, a death trap that Israel needs to be rescued from by any ruse, deception and delay possible. With this background, it is possible to understand the conduct of Israel in recent weeks and the purpose of his trip to Europe next week – a trip meant to stop every opening of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and to soften the report that the Mideast Quartet prepared on the freeze in the peace process. A report that will include sharp criticism of Israel’s policies in the [Palestinian] territories and of construction in settlements. Netanyahu is actually making a double obstruction of the two channels of diplomatic negotiations: the international channel is illegitimate [he says] because only direct negotiations between the sides will lead to peace, and the direct channel is completely neutralized because of the demand that the Palestinians announce their support for Zionism.
Israel Must Turn New Leaf With Gaza - Not Just Turkey (Haaretz Editorial) Agreement with Turkey doesn't absolve Israel of responsibility for 1.8 million people in Gaza. 
Risk vs. danger: Netanyahu is gambling on the future of the country, and that’s his job (Shmuel Rosner, Maariv) When it comes to negotiations with the United States on security assistance, like any other subject, like any other decision of the leader, there is a chance of failure. What is important is to make a reasonable gain under the existing circumstances. Therefore the claim that Netanyahu is gambling with state security when he doesn’t make an agreement with the United States on security aid for ten years - a claim made by quite a few politicians in recent weeks - is an invalid argument. It is clear that he is betting on the country's security. He gambles when he doesn’t make an agreement, and gambles even if he signed an agreement. 
It's Not Too Late to Save Israel From Itself (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) The moderate left and right must work together, seek peace and stop bashing Benjamin Netanyahu, however paltry his emotional intelligence. 
Women of the Wall Is a Diversion From the Real Issue: The Occupation (Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Haaretz+) The battle for Orthodox women’s rights is a fig-leaf for liberals who, by fetishizing the Western Wall, are avoiding the one issue posing the greatest threat to Jews and Judaism around the world. 
Brexit's Big Lie: That Voting 'Leave' Is Bad for Israel (Seth Lipsky, Haaretz+) If Europe is so hostile to Israel as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron insists it is, why would any friend of the Jewish state want to be part of the EU in the first place?
Delusions: Don’t count on "an alliance of moderate countries" (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) Despite the recent geopolitical change in the Middle East, prospects for open cooperation with Saudi Arabia and for a regional alliance that we are part of are extremely low. 
With Rivals Snapping at His Heels, Netanyahu Should Be Sweating (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) From Ehud Barak to Moshe Ya'alon, political movements will beef up their ranks with people with impressive military backgrounds in order to oust Netanyahu.
Will Dahlan be Gaza's next ruler? (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Mohammed Dahlan, the Fatah leader with a base of support in Gaza, is supported by the pro-Western bloc in the Middle East; Israel also has worked with him previously and Avigdor Lieberman may see him as a tool to weaken the Palestinian Authority; however, not all bets should be placed on Dahlan. 
Ron Dermer, Meet With America’s pro-Israel Progressives, Not Only Its Hawks (Sonia Brinn, Haaretz+) If Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. is serious about defeating BDS, he needs to get over his opposition to working with progressives who oppose the occupation and support a two-state solution. 
Operation Benjamin: Netanyahu, Give Entebbe a Rest (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) The prime minister’s megalomaniac, gratuitous showcase journey to Entebbe next month contributes nothing to Israeli security. 
Time to Form an American Jewish Emergency Committee Against Donald Trump (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) A mobilization would counter the shameful acquiescence to Trump in some corners of the American Jewish establishment. 
Calm Down, Israeli Theaters Have Always Performed in Periphery and Settlements (Michael Handelzalts, Haaretz+) Don’t panic over the drums of revolution — there is no revolution: Miri Regev is simply taking credit for something that started long before she came along

Interviews:
It's A.B.
He is jealous of the determination of the right-wing, doesn't always understand the left-wing and tries not to lose hope. On the occasion of Book Week and the release of his new book, the author A. B. Yehoshua speaks about Israel on 2016.
"I won't boycott a person with whom I can have a dialogue. And if they say I need to give a talk also to Hamas in Gaza, I won't prevent that."
Do you identify that the left-wing has gone soft and just accepted the situation?
"Somehow the main energy of the Left has went in the direction of culture, and they think that there they will realize their political activities. In other words, if they present a story about Palestinians they feel they've done their job. Suddenly there is a wave of performances about Nazi Germany. I went to the theater and saw Israeli actors in Nazi uniform. As if they want to show: Look at how facism began in German society and come to conclusions about our society. In my opinion that does not help anything. We are not Nazi Germany, it is impossible to compare us to them. There is a dispute over territory and a conflict over identity. Comparisons confuse the whole system." 
(Interviewed by Yaakov Bar-On in Maariv's Magazine supplement 19 June)
 

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