APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday August 3, 2016
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
Quote of the day:
"Fascism is the left's derogatory name for its enemies. Jabotinsky was called a 'fascist,' does that sound
familiar to you? I suggest to my friends to read the Hebrew Encyclopedia article under the 'fascism' entry -
there's a sentence there that the author wrote according to which 'there is a tendency among the left to
denounce any enemy as fascist.'"
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Israeli Border Police officer suspended after throwing Palestinian girl's bike in the bushes
- Six Hasidic teachers in Tel Aviv charged with sadistic abuse of little boys for 12 years
- New restrictions on prisoner swaps could undermine Hamas talks, Israel's negotiator warns
- Qatar transfers $31 million for Hamas civilian wages in Gaza Strip
Israel Hayom
- 'Government expected to serve full term despite coalition spat'
- US, Israel narrow differences in new talks on defense aid
- PA president meddled in Israeli election, mayor claims
- Prominent American journalist decries anti-Semitism at Haaretz
Times of Israel
- Video by Egypt's Islamic State affiliate threatens Israel
- Netanyahu, at variance with GOP platform, says he favors two states
- Builders sought for underground Gaza border wall
- Palestinian official: Hunger-striking prisoner at death's door
Ynet News
- IDF to open Haredi paratrooper platoon
- Chief Rabbinate opposes 'Egalitarian Marriages' radio campaign
- Rapper The Shadow joins Likud
- Watch: Arabs in East Jerusalem shoot fireworks at police
News Summary:
Last week, two Israeli Border Police officers stopped an 8 year old Palestinian girl, took her bike, and threw it in the bushes after she ran away crying. Border Police have suspended the officer who threw the bike and made a public statement: 'the Border Police views the incident with severity and is sorry for it.' They are also currently reviewing the behavior of the officer who stopped the girl.
The security cabinet has approved a report recommending Israel should avoid mass prisoner swaps with Hamas for Israeli prisoners, like the 2011 release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinians. Col. Lior Lotan, the special envoy for hostages and missing persons, firmly opposes the new policy for fear that it will be harder to continue negotiations with Hamas over the return of Israeli civilians currently missing in the Gaza Strip.
Despite mounting criticisms of Netanyahu's policies and tensions in the government between Likud and Habayit Heyehudi, Israeli official Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is confident the coalition will survive the storm: 'The coalition will survive in its current make up and even pass the state budget despite the recent upheavals. The government will be able to serve out its full term [which expires in 2019] so long as the prime minister wants this to happen. This government is much more homogenous than the previous government, because it is more harmonious, and more things are being accomplished. When the 2017-2018 budget passes, we'll be able to govern without worries for two more years.'
Quick Hits:
- At a minimal cost of NIS 2 billion (over $500 million), Israel's Defense Ministry will issue the first tender for digging and construction of an underground barrier around the Gaza Strip. This system will be based on seismic sensors that can monitor vibrations. (i24)
- Israel will participate in a US military exercise alongside two countries that it currently doesn't have diplomatic relations with: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. (i24)
- CEO of SodaStream issued a scathing critique of Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Israeli company recently relocated to the Negev from the West Bank, where it used to employ 500 Palestinians. CEP Birnbaum said this had nothing to do with BDS and everything to do with needing more space. Birnbaum said that the government is complicit in seeing that SodaStream is no longer permitted to provide employment for any of its previous Palestinian workers. (Times of Israel).
- 2,047 female soldiers today serve in combat roles in the IDF, compared to only 435 a decade ago, an increase in 400 percent. Female soldiers serve in three mixed-gender battalions, and a fourth will soon be formed. (Ynet)
- Israel’s Government Press Office is investigating how an Italian freelance reporter tricked senior Israelis into interviews, by allegedly misrepresenting herself while preparing a documentary film for al-Manar, Hezbollah’s TV channel. (Ynet)
- Israel's biggest internet firm, Tel Aviv based IronSource, is in advanced talks to be sold to a Chinese technology firm. This would be the second major Chinese purchase of an Israeli company in the last few days, after Playtika sold its operations to a consortium of Chinese companies. (Haaretz)