APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday, December 19, 2017
 

Quote of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
The crisis over the massive layoffs at the collapsing Teva Pharmaceuticals company was pushed to the inner pages of today’s Hebrew newspapers and a video that surfaced of a couple of Palestinian girls provoking IDF soldiers at the weekly Nebi Saleh protest made headlines, along with the US veto of the UN Security Council draft resolution rejecting US President Donald Trump’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Also, US Vice President Mike Pence delayed his visit to Israel once again and Israeli courts show an irony of the occupation.

*Yedioth and Maariv applauded the restraint of the Israeli soldiers, who did not respond, when hit by the teenage girls outside a home (theirs?) in Nebi Saleh. (The IDF said: "Several Palestinians entered a nearby home and continued throwing rocks at soldiers from inside the home with its occupants' consent. Forces removed the rioters from the home and remained standing in the entrance in order to prevent further entry. Later, several Palestinian women [sic- girls and women - OH] came out to face the soldiers in order to incite provocation.” Top political commentator at Maariv, Ben Caspit, compared the restraint with the situation heating up with the Gaza Strip, where the IDF hit a number of Hamas targets late Sunday night in response to the latest rockets shot toward Israel. Caspit maintained that the restraint shown in Nebi Saleh is also being shown by Israel vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip in order not to escalate the situation to a war which neither Hamas nor Israel want. But that the question was for how long, in light of the 'security image' of the top ministers. (See Commentary/Analysis for analysis translation.) Haaretz+’s Amos Harel reported that Hamas was even arresting and torturing the Salafite extremists who were shooting the rockets. In contrast, Israel Hayom quoted on its front page extremist MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), who said, “We will pay in cold blood for this containment policy.”

On the day that the US vetoed the UN resolution against Trump's Jerusalem decision, the only country out of the 15 UNSC members to oppose the resolution, Trump unveiled his national security strategy, according to which, Iran and terrorism destabilize the Middle East, not Israel. The Palestinians, meanwhile, planned to call for an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly to declare Trump’s declaration “null and void.” And Russia said it was ready to act as an impartial mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, after the Palestinians said that Trump’s declaration and the administration's "pro-Israel bias" preclude it from acting as a fair mediator in peace talks. Arab diplomats are now urging India to take a stronger stance on Trump's Jerusalem move ahead of Netanyahu’s upcoming visit. In the meantime, US Vice President Mike Pence has again delayed his trip to Israel and Egypt (he isn’t welcome by the Palestinians), officially, due to the tax reform vote.

**Ironies of the Israeli military judicial system:
Settler Teen Who Attacked Activist Rabbi at Knifepoint Gets Community Service - Rabbi Arik Ascherman was attacked while assisting Palestinians with an olive harvest; Judge said teenager has good chance at rehabilitation. (Haaretz+)
Palestinian Charged With Attempted Murder for Throwing Stones at Hikers in West Bank - Indictment alleges that Mohammed Wadi threw rocks at children from close range near Qusra. 19 other Palestinians were arrested and more indictments are expected to follow. The army determined that Palestinians threw rocks at the hiking children before the armed settler opened fire and killed a Palestinian farmer working in his field. But local human rights activists said the rock-throwing Palestinian mob only arrived after the fatal shooting. (Haaretz, Ynet and Times of Israel) The IDF closed the case against the settler who killed the farmer. The police have yet to rule on the case.
 

Quick Hits:

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Commentary/Analysis:
This time the American veto was friendly to Israel and also painful, irritating and insulting to Jerusalem (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) Opposition to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel unites the members of the UN Security Council, with the exception of the United States. 14 of the 15 members voted for the initiative that undermines the status of the capital.
It has often been said that there are times when restraint is power, we are in the midst of one of those times (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The video of the Palestinian girls hitting the IDF combat soldiers turns stomachs, but it is actually in their lack of a response, the beaten officer and soldier demonstrated the power and common sense…Sometimes restraint, too, is power, and in this case the fighters deserve the badge of courage, not reprimands. To be restrained in this impossible situation is far more difficult than using force, especially when the bitter enemy in front of you is three girls who do everything to get beaten, knowing that any raising of the hand of armed fighters on seemingly innocent girls will serve as lethal propaganda weapons in the endless war. This situation, on the outskirts of Nebi Saleh village (in the West Bank), accurately describes the trap Israel faces in the face of the Palestinian challenge. Take Gaza, for example. The assessment of Israeli officials is that Hamas does not seek escalation. A war with Israel now is not desirable for Hamas, which is rapidly losing its underground property [tunnels - OH], has not recovered from the trauma of Operation Protective Edge and will not benefit from anything else in the winter. Still, the rockets are falling. Israel can attack Gaza now with a 5-kilogram hammer, strike Hamas forcefully and break the balance (of power) in a way that will lead to a quick escalation and another war. Then in two or three months, when all is over and both sides gather their dead, we will ask ourselves what we have gained and if the situation has improved. The answer will be negative. So isn’t it better to restrain ourselves a moment? Apparently yes. But what about the security image of Netanyahu, Lieberman and Bennett? What about the election promises? What about the residents of the south,? Also these questions need to be answered and there is no answer…Just like the story of the girls in Nebi Salah village, restraint at this stage is the best solution to get out of the situation without harm. You can lose your nerve and go wild, which will lead to a huge frenzy from which no one will come out well, and you can try to contain the situation because there are no better alternatives. In the case of the girls, the price should be collected on another occasion, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras. The Tamimi family (the family of the girls - OH) needs to learn the hard way that such systematic provocations against IDF soldiers will cost them dearly, and the IDF has enough capabilities, creativity and means to produce such inputs without paying an exorbitant public price.  On the Gaza front, the same applies: We only enter the war if we know how to get out of it, and only if we believe that the situation in the end will be better than the current situation. This is not the case with the Gaza Strip as of this moment. Tomorrow morning it can change, just like our very existence in this place, but in the meantime, as has been said more than once, there are cases where restraint is power. We are in the midst of one.
Daily Life in Israel Is Hell (Kobi Niv, Haaretz+) Unless you lose a child — through illness, accident or, best of all — in war. Then you get an exemption from hell for 30 years.
Moving Jerusalem from heaven to earth (Donna Robinson Divine and Asaf Romirowsky, Yedioth/Ynet) Unlike the diplomatic activity set in motion by Obama, Trump’s declaration signals that time may not be on the Palestinian side; indulgence of Palestinian hopes to reverse history and shrink Israel’s borders are no longer on offer from the US president, and with the global shift of energy resources, such deference is no longer necessary.
Sometimes I ask myself: What else needs to happen in order for the prime minister to understand that there is a problem here? (Dror Refael, Maariv) I do not know how the prime minister will get out of his troubles, but it is more worrying how Netanyahu’s right-hand man (coalition leader suspected of bribery) David Bitan will get through his. If the suspicions against him prove to be correct, it will be necessary to choose a new David Bitan. Because it is less important who is the head and more important who is his right hand and who is the right hand of his right hand.
Hamas Arrests and Tortures Salafi Operatives to Curb Gaza Rocket Fire Into Israel (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The group has sent messages to Israel saying it does not seek an escalation, but Israel’s opposition parties are dangerously accusing Netanyahu of being soft.
The Israeli Military First Took His Legs, Then His Life (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) On Friday, a sharpshooter shot and killed Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, a Gazan double amputee, as he protested from his wheelchair near the Israeli border.
Marches send a message to the Palestinians (Dr. Ronen Yitzhak, Israel Hayom) The Jordanian street is becoming increasingly hostile to Israel but also more determined than ever to solidify the Hashemite family's role as defender of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.
A Hero Over a Double Amputee (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Israel’s army suspended an officer who stole three apples, but didn’t immediately investigate the death of an unarmed Palestinian protester in a wheelchair.
So Rabin Was Murdered at a Concert? (Idit Shafran Gittleman, Haaretz+) A new textbook for state religious elementary schools is infuriatingly simplistic in its treatment of the events leading up to Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.
Deal or No Deal: It is hard to see how the Trump approach will overcome Palestinian refusal (Zalman Shoval, Maariv) It is not clear whether the plan will solve the conflict, but the question is how Trump will respond when he finds out that there is no practical possibility of reaching a deal.
Running to the UN Won't Bring a Palestinian State Closer. Abbas Has to Bite the Bullet and Talk to Trump (Victor Kattan, Haaretz) The Palestinian president was taken by surprise by one of the most-flagged U.S. diplomatic moves ever. Panicked, he ran into Erdogan's arms, reframed the conflict in religious terms – but misunderstood that Trump did not give Israel a free pass.
All Political Parties Must Admit Women (Haaretz Editorial) Multiculturalism should not become a pathway to legitimizing the violation of the basic rights of ultra-Orthodox women.
Netanyahu’s Speedy Absolution for Austria’s neo-Nazis (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) In the past, for a state to be forgiven for its anti-Jewish past, it would have to publicly repudiate its sins, but not so with Israel’s stance on the new Austrian government.
A different Europe (Eldad Beck, Israel Hayom) The Freedom Party of Austria has gone from a group of fringe radicals to politicians who can now position themselves as part of the mainstream and say, "Consider yourselves warned."
Don't Fixate on the Freedom Party. In Austria Today, the Real anti-Semitic Threat Is From Muslims, Not Nazis (Martin Engelberg, Haaretz+) As the first active Jewish post-war Austrian MP, I support Sebastian Kurz’s coalition-building with the Freedom Party. Despite its Nazi roots, it has long become an anti-immigration, populist movement. The protestors shouting anti-Semitic slogans in Vienna these days are Muslims, not neo-Nazis.
Lights, Camera, Modest Action: Saudi Arabia Lets People See Movies Again (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) For the first time since 1980, Saudis will be allowed to watch films; censored, of course. But it’s not clear if women will be permitted to sit next to their husbands.
Pakistan's New anti-Soros Campaign Boosts Its anti-Semitic, Conspiracy Theory-Infested Political Culture (Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, Haaretz+) When blaming a Jewish conspiracy is Pakistan's common explanation for every fiasco, there should be no surprise that George Soros is Karachi's latest target.
The Populist Rage Against Teva Is Ugly and Idiotic (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The howling at Teva combines a subtle xenophobia and an overt misunderstanding about how business works, with the aim of creating enemies for the people to hate.

 

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