APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday March 13, 2018
 

Quote of the day:

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Breaking News:
Palestinian Prime Minister survives assassination attempt in Gaza; Abbas blames Hamas (further escalating tensions between the rival factions), Hamas blames Israel
Rami Hamdallah, who was traveling with Palestinian intelligence chief on a rare visit to Gaza to dedicate a long-awaited sewage plant, was unhurt and vowed to continue reconciliation efforts. Several people lightly wounded and several suspects arrested. Manhunt underway. (Haaretz, Ynet, Israel Hayom, Maariv)

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Today is the day when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will decide if early elections will be held in June - that is, if he hasn’t already decided to hold them, and many are convinced that he and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman have decided. (See Commentary/Analysis below.) Today the two meet, supposedly in an effort to come to an agreement about the Draft Law, which Lieberman said he vehemently opposes. But coalition members accused Netanyahu and Lieberman of coordinating the crisis. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked again called the political crisis 'fabricated'  and said that toppling the right-wing government would be a ‘historic mistake.’ Nevertheless, Netanyahu acted as if he had no such intention. He came to the Knesset plenum following the demand of 40 Knesset member and called for unity and keeping the government in place, but told the plenum that “If there are elections, we'll win – but we're not there yet.” Indeed, polls continued to show Likud as leading and even getting stronger than earlier polls showed. Opposition MK, Isaac Herzog told him: "We are not afraid of elections, we are afraid of you.” Meretz and Yesh Atid sought to dissolve the Knesset, arguing that if the coalition is allowed to raise private bills to a vote in the Knesset, they should be able to do so as well.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan is being finalized - and it won’t clearly endorse a two-state solution. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah to discuss the plan. The Palestinians continue to stand by their decision to sever ties with the Americans on peace-making issues.

Quick Hits:

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Commentary/Analysis:
Offering Netanyahu a Pardon Is a Threat to Democracy (Zehava Galon, Haaretz+) The offer of a pardon will tell every corrupt politician that they only need to step down to escape the clutches of the law - which will shape the future of Israeli politics.
If I were Mandelblit, here’s what I would offer Netanyahu (Amnon Straschnov, Yedioth/Ynet) Mr. Prime Minister, the moment of truth has arrived. My advice is that you follow the example of Ezer Weizmann, who sensibly quit his post as president before it was too late without being prosecuted. Otherwise, you may end up like Moshe Katsav.
Netanyahu and Lieberman are perfectly coordinated and run the city's best show (Ben Caspit, Maariv) They began the political road together and they will probably finish it together. Only that the defense minister makes a mistake for himself because with him it can be between being or not being (in the next government), with a good chance for the second possibility.
A Scheme for Survival (Haaretz Editorial) The prime minister’s coalition partners failed to stand up and say the new military conscription bill is both discriminatory and a political ploy.
*Leadership needed (Former IAF commander, Amir Eshel, Yedioth) We must not allow the criminal test to be the only test. We need to demand more from ourselves. Our test is a test of values. And when we don't preserve our values - we quickly reach a slippery slope. Hence, leadership requires personal example. A leader has many more obligations than rights and a strong leader is one that has the ability to admit a mistake, without fear. Only the weak hide behind poses and are scared to admit they erred...And the last principle is modesty and humility. A leader is not a god. He is flesh and blood. Without the people whom you lead you won't get anywhere and, therefore, you need to put yourself among the people and to deal with them and among them with modesty and humility. The journey of our people over generations is unique. It is the outcome of far-sighted leadership. And to our young generation...I say - you are our young generation and however high you point that's how high we will reach. [Words taken from his speech given at the Haifa Conference for Leadership 2.]
It seems that Netanyahu will do everything in his power to evade justice (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) If the prime minister is forced to exempt hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox from military service and national service in the next few years, that’s small stuff for him. The Council of the ‘Wise Men’ will continue to instruct their representatives to focus on the taking advantage of the secular majority in Israel.
To Bibi or not to Bibi: Does Netanyahu want early elections? (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is caught between his wish to capitalize on his popularity and the fear that state attorneys might choose an opportune time right to leak damaging details from the investigations.
Reason and responsibility will prevail (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) There can be no coalition government without collective responsibility. Running a government as if the interests of the state are a secondary concern is irresponsible.
The sweeping exemption of 'His Torah is His Belief’ is an open wound in Israeli society (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) The election campaign, if it breaks out now, is not about the equality of the burden (of military service for ultra-Orthodox). There is not even a milligram of ideology in the current crisis, only political cynicism, narrow personal or party interests, and hollow slogans.
Who benefits from an early election? (Gideon Allon, Israel Hayom) With the exception of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, no party stands to gain anything tangible from early elections. In the overall calculus, the risks outweigh the benefits.
Who Will Fight the New Israeli Right? (Rami Hod, Haaretz+) Israel's Justice Minister Shaked is leading the new right – will a left-wing alternative emerge and take a page from her book?
3 reasons why Israel's largest privately-owned defense contractor will pay $520m for IMI (Yoram Gabison, Haaretz) The synergies are clear, but so are the costs and risks, which might explain why the company’s shares fell sharply Monday.
How did the term 'globalist' become an anti-Semitic slur? Blame Bannon (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) White supremacists have used the term as a barely concealed dog-whistle for several years, but the problem comes when it’s used in the ‘globalist vs. nationalist’ economic debate.
Trump's abrupt new romance with Kim leaves Netanyahu hurting, and stranded (David Rothkopf, Haaretz+) We’ll always have Jerusalem? North Korea would remain, even under any deal, a far greater imminent threat than Iran to the U.S. That's bad news for Netanyahu, and for U.S. - Israel relations.
 

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