APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday September 07, 2016
Quote of the day:
"I am used to seeing soldiers at checkpoints - and here soldiers are searching and trying to rescue.
That's how it should be. A common destiny. Here, there are no Jews and Arabs."
--A relative of Mohammed Dawabsheh, from Duma village in the West Bank, told Maariv. Dawabsheh is one of the three missing construction workers still buried under the rubble of the collapsed parking complex in Tel-Aviv.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Jordanian journalist Mudar Al-Momani, who is considered by Israel as someone 'works tirelessly for closer relations between Jordan and Israel’ and has traveled regularly between Jerusalem and Amman for years, was denied a visa by the Shin Bet on grounds of 'security concerns’ – after he married an Arab-Israeli.**
--A relative of Mohammed Dawabsheh, from Duma village in the West Bank, told Maariv. Dawabsheh is one of the three missing construction workers still buried under the rubble of the collapsed parking complex in Tel-Aviv.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Jordanian journalist Mudar Al-Momani, who is considered by Israel as someone 'works tirelessly for closer relations between Jordan and Israel’ and has traveled regularly between Jerusalem and Amman for years, was denied a visa by the Shin Bet on grounds of 'security concerns’ – after he married an Arab-Israeli.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Israel asked the US and European countries to aid the regime in Sudan
- The rescuers are certain: The parking complex was built negligently
- High Court: Netanyahu does not have the authority to stop train infrastructure works on Shabbat
- Court: There is reasonable suspicion that senior officials in Netanyahu Municipality received bribes in the millions
- After four years in jail, the High Court acquitted on reasonable doubt a man who was convicted of sodomy on a baby
- The British understood: Loneliness kills the elderly
- It’s not just negligence // Haaretz Editorial
- The secret of Yedioth’s hatred for Netanyahu
Yedioth Ahronoth
- The battle over Shabbat - High Court on train crisis: Netanyahu exceeded his authority
- Poll: Lapid passes Netanyahu – 24 mandates for Yesh Atid and 22 for Likud
- Parking complex disaster – Experts: “Severe engineering failure”
- Their Yanai (photo of young women holding babies) – The heroism of Yanai Weisman, who jumped on a terrorist and was killed, moved many. Four couples named their sons after him
- Defense Ministry approved selling spying program to Arab states
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Turning over every stone (at parking complex disaster zone)
- The second tragedy: Rifaat Dawabsheh, whose relatives were burned to death in Duma, came to the site to look for his missing cousin
- The poll and the shake-up: Yesh Atid passes Likud for the first time
- “I went through hell, I only want to go back to my life” (High Court acquitted on reasonable doubt a man who was convicted of sodomy on a baby)
- On the suspects’ bench: Son of the mayor of Netanya and brother of Yitzhak Teshuba
- Everything is possible: Clinton and Trump are head-to-head in the race for the White House
Israel Hayom
- The parking complex negligence: “Without walls, thin metal, the building never had a chance” – 3 bodies found, 3 still missing
- Minister Haim Katz will rule whether there will be works (on the train) on Shabbat
- Corruption affair in Netanyahu Municipality: Mayor’s son arrested
- Why did Hilary cough? // Boaz Bismuth
News Summary:
Reports of negligence in the engineering of the collapsed parking complex surface, while three construction workers remain buried and hundreds continue to search for them, the High Court ruled that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu does not have the authority to stop the works on the train infrastructure and for the first time, Netanyahu’s Likud party falls behind Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party in a poll, while the son of the mayor of Netanya was arrested on suspicion of corruption making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas each said it was the other who didn’t want to meet for a summit in Moscow.
*From the hospital and the disaster site, Yedioth shared the story of the three Rimawi brothers from the West Bank, all of whom worked in constructing the parking complex, two of whom were injured and one, Iyad, was found dead by rescue forces yesterday. Maariv reported on the Dawabshe family from Duma, one of whose family members was wounded and another who is still missing under the rubble. The paper wrote at length about the tragedy the extended family suffered, when Jewish terrorists set the home of a part of the family on fire, killing a couple and one of their children. Another one of the three that was killed was a foreign worker. A report found that Israel has one of highest rates of construction accidents in West, report shows. In 2015 alone, 50,000 people were injured and 54 killed in work accidents in Israel, the majority of them construction laborers, Haaretz+ wrote.
Meanwhile, Israel's High Court ruled that Netanyahu does not have authority to stop Shabbat work and that it is the decision of the Transportation Minister, whom he criticized and almost fired. Meretz chief, MK Zehava Galon, who filed the petition, said, “If it weren’t for the petition, the Israeli public might have been left with the impression that the prime minister, as an individual, could order any institution in the country to halt plans essential for the public.”
A poll taken yesterday by Channel 2 found that if elections were held yesterday, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would surpass Likud in mandates. Likud would lose right-wing votes to Habayit Hayehudi, Defense Minister Avigor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, while Zionist Union voters would also lose numerous mandates. Likud and Israel Hayom downplayed the results, saying it was due to the Shabbat train works crisis.
In diplomacy, Netanyahu said he was willing to meet with Abbas any time, but that Abbas has set pre-conditions that Israel stop settlement construction and releasing prisoners. However, a senior PLO official and aide to Abbas told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas never presented any conditions and that it was Netanyahu who asked to delay the Russian proposal for a summit. But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had a different take. “First and foremost,” said Rutte, “that means that settlement building needs to stop, and so do demolitions and incitement.” Rutte was speaking alongside Netanyahu at a press conference in The Hague. Netanyahu ignored the Dutch lecture on settlements and said Israel was "helping to defend Europe" from radical Islamic terror.
Quick Hits:
- Police Retract Terror Accusation Against Palestinian Killed by Cops - It was initially claimed that a vehicle had tried to run them over, but the driver is no longer suspected of terrorism after his brother was shot dead in the passenger seat, while video records two more gunshots after the car had stopped. [NOTE: Only Haaretz reported on this correction. - OH](Haaretz+)
- Monthly Peace Index: About two-thirds justify the shooting of El Azerbaijani - Survey by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Democracy Institute, shows that almost half of the population supports the shooting of neutralized terrorist, who posed no danger. The majority thinks Barak's criticism of Netanyahu – is out of political motives. (Maariv)
- Israel Supplies South Sudan Government With Wiretapping Equipment - While Israel stopped selling offensive weapons to African country after civil war broke, it continued to permit the sale of defensive and intelligence equipment, UN report says. (Haaretz+)
- Israel Urges U.S., Europe to Bolster Ties With Sudan, Citing Apparent Split With Iran - Jerusalem believes that Sudan has moved closer to the Sunni Muslim axis, and that positive gestures would encourage favorable developments. Sundan's Bashir, one of the world's notorious dictators, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide. (Haaretz+)
- Building starts on underground Gaza barrier - Watch: With a budget of NIS2 billion, work has begun on constructing an above and below ground barrier on the border with Gaza; work has started primarily in the Gaza border communities; government promises that there is a budget for the project. (Ynet)
- Netanyahu Says Netherlands, Israel to Improve Water, Gas Supply to Gaza - Prime minister commits to more hours of electricity, gas pipeline into strip. (Haaretz and Maariv)
- Dutch ex-PM: ‘War criminal’ Netanyahu should be tried in Hague - Ahead of Netanyahu visit to Netherlands, Dries van Agt says Israeli leader should go straight to the ICC over ‘occupation,’ ‘building of settlements.’ (Times of Israel)
- New in the academic program for schools: A day about the expulsion from Arab states - For the first time: The 'day of the departure and expulsion from Arab countries and Iran' will be marked this year on November 30th in all the educational institutions in the country. The decision is part of the implementation of the Biton Commission Report on integrating issues regarding Mizrachi Jews into the education system. (Yedioth, p. 26)
- Vocal Israel critic Swedish FM Wallstrom opposes BDS - Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, who in the past has linked Palestinian "desperation" to Islamist terrorism, has asked the Swedish opposition leader, who is visiting Israel, to tell lawmakers that she opposes anti-Israel boycott efforts. (Israel Hayom)
- **Jordanian journalist denied entry into Israel - Mudar Al Momani, widely regarded as a promoter of bilateral relations between Israel and Jordan, has been denied entry into Israel on grounds of 'security concerns,' despite being described by the Israeli embassy in Jordan as someone 'works tirelessly for closer relations between Jordan and Israel.' (Ynet)
- Herzog's spokesman left him for the MK who attacked him, Stav Shafir: "She is the leader of the protest of my generation" - Ofer Neumann will be the spokesperson for MK Stav Shafir, who called on Herzog to resign because he held talks with Netanyahu: "I admire her." A few months ago Neumann made headlines when he said: "The settlers built houses at the expense of the blood of our friends." (Maariv)
- Subterranean cemetery 'city' being constructed in Jerusalem - As a solution to the dearth of burial space in the capital, a large section of a mountaintop is being excavated to permit an underground city of graves. (Ynet)
- Archaeologists Restore Second Temple Flooring From Waqf's Trash - Experts recreate geometrically patterned marble floor tiles by piecing together ancient fragments of stone. The result recalls the Talmudic teaching that 'whoever has not seen Herod's building has not seen a beautiful building in his life.' (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
- Detecting Trump's Feelings Lands Israeli Startup $3 Million - Beyond Verbal, a startup that has developed a way to analyze emotions from vocal intonations, uses the presidential candidate's infamous rhetoric to showcase its product. (Haaretz)
- Israel, Hezbollah and Iran in secret negotiations over Ron Arad - Another recent attempt to learn the fate of the IAF navigator who went missing in Lebanon nearly 30 years ago has failed; Iran's Revolutionary Guards are motivated to find Arad in return for solving the mystery behind the disappearance of 4 Iranian diplomats it believes Israel is holding captive. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- With Arab Oil Influence Dropping, Japan Strengthens Business Ties With Israel - After years of minimal trade between Israel and Japan, the two countries sign a series of economic deals on the back of a visit by Japan's PM to Israel and Netanyahu's trip to Tokyo. (Haaretz)
- Turkey Seizes Company While Downplaying Risks From Gulen-linked Firms - Ankara has taken control of a bank, media firms and other enterprises as part of a crackdown on companies with suspected links to U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the failed putsch. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Rescue workers: Chlorine gas attack in Aleppo chokes dozens - Human rights groups say 70 to 80 people affected by attack, no deaths reported. This is the third suspected chlorine gas attack by Syrian army on civilians. Rebels look to Turkey, Russia to create "safe zone" in border areas captured from ISIS. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
- France Deploys Artillery Ahead of Iraqi Army's Mosul Offensive - While the Iraqi army takes up positions around the city, international coalition forces are keen to capitalize on ISIS' loss of territory in both Iraq and Syria. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
What Israeli Civil War? It Takes Two Sides to Tango (Kobi Niv, Haaretz+) Anyone who dreams of a civil war in Israel should remember that it needs two
sides. Here, only one side is present – the national religious, Messianic, zealot right.
Between Warsaw and the Nakba (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) A strong and confident nation can recognize the wrongs it has done without undermining the foundations of its existence. It is time to accept that we have also done wrong in the past.
Israel's Construction Accidents Are the Result of Willful Ignorance (Haaretz Editorial) The cause of the recent collapse of a Tel Aviv parking garage is still unclear, but half of work-related deaths in Israel are on construction sites and 90 percent of those killed are Arabs or foreigners.
A crack in the iceberg (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu isn't stupid. He understands that Likud voters are moving in droves to other parties, that they are fed up with his conduct, preferences and his family's behavior. He realizes that if he fails to change his conduct immediately, he is finished.
Illusion of War: The [right-wing] legal organization "Shurat HaDin" is playing with the feelings of terror victims (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Filing civil suits against Palestinian organizations on the grounds of "fighting terrorism" adds to the pain of the bereaved families, and pushes them into hopeless actions for the sole purpose of scraping wounds.
The Trap of Discarding Israel's Religious Status Quo (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The dream of a popular secular rebellion is appealing, but it’s a mirage. Secular folks who demand open stores on Shabbat cannot simultaneously adopt the definition of the state as a Jewish state.
Enough is enough (Tami Arad, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu is suffering from mental fatigue. The only way to possibly prevent complete chaos in the future is to enact a law limiting a prime minister in Israel to just two terms in office.
Parking Lot Disaster Reminds Israelis They Are Screw-Up Nation as Well (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Creative improvisation may win battles and innovate technology but can be deadly when discipline is paramount.
Let the IDF win: Also in the case of Elor Azariya (Shooting Soldier from Hebron), the question is about left-wing and right-wing (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The trial of the Shooting Soldier is only the tail of the true story. The question is how will the army deal with the too many unruly incidents of shooting, that pass under the public and media radar.
Between Warsaw and the Nakba (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) A strong and confident nation can recognize the wrongs it has done without undermining the foundations of its existence. It is time to accept that we have also done wrong in the past.
Israel's Construction Accidents Are the Result of Willful Ignorance (Haaretz Editorial) The cause of the recent collapse of a Tel Aviv parking garage is still unclear, but half of work-related deaths in Israel are on construction sites and 90 percent of those killed are Arabs or foreigners.
A crack in the iceberg (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu isn't stupid. He understands that Likud voters are moving in droves to other parties, that they are fed up with his conduct, preferences and his family's behavior. He realizes that if he fails to change his conduct immediately, he is finished.
Illusion of War: The [right-wing] legal organization "Shurat HaDin" is playing with the feelings of terror victims (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Filing civil suits against Palestinian organizations on the grounds of "fighting terrorism" adds to the pain of the bereaved families, and pushes them into hopeless actions for the sole purpose of scraping wounds.
The Trap of Discarding Israel's Religious Status Quo (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The dream of a popular secular rebellion is appealing, but it’s a mirage. Secular folks who demand open stores on Shabbat cannot simultaneously adopt the definition of the state as a Jewish state.
Enough is enough (Tami Arad, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu is suffering from mental fatigue. The only way to possibly prevent complete chaos in the future is to enact a law limiting a prime minister in Israel to just two terms in office.
Parking Lot Disaster Reminds Israelis They Are Screw-Up Nation as Well (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Creative improvisation may win battles and innovate technology but can be deadly when discipline is paramount.
Let the IDF win: Also in the case of Elor Azariya (Shooting Soldier from Hebron), the question is about left-wing and right-wing (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The trial of the Shooting Soldier is only the tail of the true story. The question is how will the army deal with the too many unruly incidents of shooting, that pass under the public and media radar.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.