News Nosh 4.2.18

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday, April 2, 2018
 
Quote of the day:
“[The IDF] will continue to act against the demonstrators in Gaza as we acted last Friday,” an army source said.
 -- Meaning the IDF will not shift to greater use of other crowd dispersal means (Haaretz)
 

Front Page:
Haaretz
Israel Hayom
Times of Israel
Ynet News
i24 News

News Summary:
The Israeli Prime Minister's office announced today that Israel and the UN have reached a deal, and Israel has canceled its plans to deport the African asylum seekers to Africa. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has agreed to help settle over 16,000 of the African asylum seekers in Western countries, and Israel will give permanent status to the remaining 18,000. At a news conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the mass deportation plan was scrapped because the countries to which the asylum seekers would be deported "did not meet the required conditions." It should be noted that these countries (Rwanda and Uganda) refused to accept the asylum seekers upon hearing the deportations would be done by force.

The Israeli English media is covering the Gaza protests from a variety of perspectives. Israel Hayom reports that the IDF remains on high alert and are predicting an escalation in violence Because Hamas has said it will not restrain the protesters. The article also quoted an IDF soldier warning that Hamas could use protests as cover to carry out terrorist attacks. i24 News highlighted that one of the protesters killed was a member of Islamic Jihad and that the IDF claims 10 of the dead were in Palestinian terror groups. The news outlet also covered a rally in Tel Aviv of hundreds of Israelis demonstrating against the shootings of the protesters in Gaza. In Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer writes that by keeping up momentum behind the popular protests in Gaza, Hamas could "overturn Israel's victory over [them]." The Times of Israel reports the Israeli Foreign Ministry insists their handling of the messaging around Friday's events was a success, largely because they felt the protests didn't garner much interest globally. Michael Oren, on the other hand, felt they lost "big time" to the Palestinian narrative on the global stage. 

 
Quick Hits:
  • White House officials say claims that the administration will fully adopt Netanyahu's positions and put forth a deal that would be completely unacceptable to Palestinians are false. They say they are committed to putting out a realistic, sellable plan. 
  • A demolition order was issued by Israeli security forces for the house of a Palestinian terrorist, 28-year-old Abd al-Rahman, located in the Old City. Additionally, eight suspected Palestinian terrorists were arrested across the West Bank on Monday morning.
  • Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “anti-Semite.” On Sunday, Erdogan responded to the Gaza protests by stating that Israel was a “terrorist state and occupier” and that Netanyahu was a “terrorist."
  • Former Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan commented that Ehud Olmert should be allowed to return to politics. Minister Eitan served in Olmert's cabinet. Olmert was banned from political office after being convicted of bribery and fraud and serving 16 months out of his 27-month sentence.
  • Police questioned National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz last week concerning his involvement in Israel’s purchase of German-made naval vessels, known as the “submarines affair.” Steinitz was only questioned as a witness, not as a suspect, and the investigation is nearing its conclusion.
  • Yediot Aharonot interviewed six former Mossad Chiefs about Israel’s efforts to clarify its borders with Palestinians. The six all agreed that Israel should be doing more to make peace with the Palestinians. There was disagreement regarding how far Israel’s past peace efforts went to settling the border issue. 
  • Bernie Sanders stated in a CNN interview that “My assessment is that Israel overreacted,” responding the violence which occurred during the protests on Friday. Bernie Sanders tweeted earlier on Saturday calling the killings tragic and affirming the right for all people to protest without being subjected to violence.