APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday July 16, 2017
 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
After three Israeli Arabs shot dead two Israeli Border Police at the Temple Mount Friday, Israel closed the site for two days, but worried that the situation would escalate making the top story in today's Hebrew newspapers. Also high up in the news was the participation Saturday of the new Labor Party chief, Avi Gabai, at a weekly demonstration near the Attorney General’s home calling to speed up proceedings in the corruption cases against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. 

*While it was not a big surprise that the White House condemned Friday’s attack with firearms against Israeli Border at the Temple Mount and even supported the exceptional move of closing the holy site for two days, what may be a surprise to some were the condemnations from ordinary Arab Israeli citizens, Arab Israeli MKs, (the latter also blamed the occupation), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan. Head of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee of Arab citizens in Israel, Muhammad Barakeh, blasted the attack and said it did not contribute to the Arab public's struggle to defend its rights and holy places. Members of Israel's Joint Arab List faction failed to agree on a joint statement so members made individual ones. MKs Ahmad Tibi and Osama Sa'adi (Joint List) jointly warned against exploiting the events for incitement against Arab Israelis and also slammed the attack. ”The position of the Arab leadership has always been that the use of weapons is not the instrument of struggle of the Arab citizens of Israel," they said. The residents of the city of Um al-Fahm, where the three assailants came from, were stunned. One family believed their relative was not involved and just killed in the crossfire. The Shin Bet forced the three families of the assailants to dismantle the mourners’ tent in their neighborhood and reached an agreement with them allowing them to receive condolences at a public building provided by the Umm al-Fahm municipality.

Both Abbas and King Abdullah called Netanyahu, condemned the attack and asked him to reopen the site. Abdullah called for calm, according to the Jerusalem Post, but a spokesman for the Jordanian government accused Israel of violating the status quo by barring Muslim worshippers from praying on the Mount. Netanyahu assured them that Israel will take all necessary measures to maintain security in Jerusalem without compromising status quo on the Temple Mount. The papers noted that Netanyahu and Abbas were acting responsibly to prevent a holy war. Israeli Police detained the top cleric of Jerusalem, Grand Mufti Mohammed Hussein, and his predecessor Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, for questioning following the attack.

Egypt and Turkey issued ‘balanced messages.' However, the Arab League accused Israel of 'continuing to harm Al-Aqsa and Hamas called on Palestinians to start an ‘intifada' targeting soldiers and settlers. Indeed, the Israeli army is bracing for unrest in the West Bank after Temple Mount shooting, fearing the attack will inspire more shootings. The victims were both Druze, one was a new father and the other a son of former lawmaker. Israel reopened the Temple Mount under heightened security today.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

**Testimonies From the Censored Massacre at Deir Yassin: 'They Ran Like Cats'
A young fellow tied to a tree and set on fire. A woman and an old man shot in back. Girls lined up against a wall and shot with a submachine gun. The testimonies collected by filmmaker Neta Shoshani about the massacre in Deir Yassin are difficult to process even 70 years after the fact. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
How Elite Billionaires Like Sheldon Adelson and Peter Thiel Are Restricting Press Freedom in America
With one vengeful tycoon in the White House, another the brains behind Hulk Hogan's $140-million lawsuit and Adelson controlling a Las Vegas newspaper, a new documentary depicts the ways U.S. journalists are increasingly being silenced. (Nettanel Slyomovics, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
In Calculated Risk, Israel Shutters Jerusalem's Old City After Temple Mount Attack (Nir Hasson, Haaretz) Jerusalem becomes a ghost town after the terrorist attack at Temple Mount, and currently the decision to close the Old City has been accepted with relative quiet
Israel faces existential threats - against its democracy and its values (J-Street President, Jeremy Ben Ami, Maariv) Diaspora residents to whom Israel is dear, like me, need to deal with the urgent decisions of the present, and especially with the question: What will the state of Israel look like in the coming decades?
Israelis Killing Israelis (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The shooting of two police officers on the Temple Mount has a motive, a reason and deep roots. But discussing them is considered treason and a justification of terror.
Following Deadly Shooting, Netanyahu Walks a Tightrope Over the Temple Mount (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Enough elements, first and foremost Hamas, are seeking to fan the flames.
Another nail in the coffin: US President Donald Trump is getting into trouble (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The recent revelation in the Trump affair and his ties with Russia only reinforce the absurdity of the idea that the American president, who is in trouble over his head, will make peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Temple Mount attack is a nightmare for Israeli security forces, but the real test is yet to come (Amos Harel, Haaretz) What comes next depends on how Israeli police handle the situation in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
What Netanyahu needs to know before heading to Paris for Macron meeting (Dov Alfon, Haaretz+) The link between the 'Marsellaise' and the Book of Esther, and Ben-Gurion’s advice to de Gaulle. A few anecdotes in advance of a Netanyahu trip to France.
On the Kotel swindle, U.S. Jews can’t count on the Israeli Left for help (Jonathan S. Tobin, Haaretz+) The 90% of U.S. Jews who identify as Reform or Conservative are angry with Netanyahu and looking for allies. But they could be waving or drowning – Israelis simply don't care enough to find out. 
According to Trump, there's one deal more elusive than Israeli-Palestinian peace (Amir Tibon, Haaretz) Trump had described Mideast peace as 'the hardest deal to get.' Now it seems he has changed his mind.
People very close to the prime minister are immersed in interrogations up to their the necks and only Netanyahu "did not know” (Ben Caspit, Maariv) It's hard to know how this will all end, but the gift affair, called "Case 1000", is enough to bring an indictment. Those around Netanyahu made profits and he did not know anything?
Mendelblit must not drag out criminal investigations into Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) The present uncertainty not only harms proper governance, but creates a crisis of confidence between the public and the justice system, which is supposed to act faster and more resolutely.
Soros the scapegoat (Ronen Dorfan, Israel Hayom)
Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire George Soros was never hated in his home country until he urged Hungary to take in Muslim refugees. Now he is being vilified as an enemy of the state in posters that are strikingly similar to Nazi propaganda.
How Netanyahu went behind defense officials' backs in Israel’s submarine deals (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Shipyard mediator Michael Ganor, who has shared a lawyer with Netanyahu, has been detained this week on corruption suspicions. But the prime minister’s strange maneuvers started in 2012.
The long and winding road (to peace) (Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen, Israel Hayom) A two-state solution is viable only if Israel considers significant population growth on both sides and devises an environmental master plan • Developing the necessary infrastructure, especially highways, could present great opportunities for Israel. 
The fragility of the Israeli peace camp's hope (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) A confirmed optimist would say that Labor probably needed the defeats it suffered in order to wake up; that the recovery process of Israeli society’s internal injuries took time.
Anti-Semitism and the 'moral' disguise (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) It is a grave mistake to take BDS lightly or to believe that Jews like George Soros, who attack the legitimacy of Israel, are "just" enemies of the Right • Missiles and terror are not the only tools at the disposal of those seeking to eliminate the Jews.
Temple Mount Attack Raises Tensions Between Israel's Muslim, Druze Communities (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) Killing of two Druze police officers by three Muslim gunmen at Al-Aqsa complex could set the two Arab groups on a collision course.
AIPAC is feeling the heat to address Israel's 'Ayatollah' Judaism (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Israel’s staunchest defenders in America are still furious. As spokesman, advocate, champion and defender of the Jewish people, Netanyahu is finished. Forever.
 

 

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