News Nosh: 10.4.18

by APN 10/04/18
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday October 4, 2018

 
Quotes of the day:
"I'm not saying I won't fight anymore. I'm saying I don't want any more wars. What I want is an end to the siege."
--Hamas Politburo Chief, Yahya Sinwar, gave a rare interview to an Israeli newspaper.*

“He states positions that are exceptionally dovish. Essentially, he has bypassed Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) from the left."
--Yedioth military analyst Yossi Yehoshua wrote about Sinwar's interview.*

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

  • Fines, helmets and a test: Limitations to electric bicycles
  • Police: We will question the youth who was involved in the accident in which Ari Nesher was killed
  • (IDF Ombudsman) Brick is against the Chief of Staff committee
  • Special - “Time doesn’t heal” - Today is 15 years since the attack at ‘Maxim’ restaurant in Haifa. Tovah Bahat lost her husband in the attack

News Summary:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Israel and allegedly threatened to cancel the trip if Israel demolished Khan al-Ahmar village ahead of her visit (for which Israelli Culture Minister Miri Regev said Merkel better not interfere) and photos proved that Russia’s S-300 missile system was indeed transferred to Syria making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

*Meanwhile, Yedioth led with its exclusive interview of Hamas politburo chief, Yahya Sinwar, who had a message for Israelis: He does not want war with Israel, he wants to come to an agreement to end the siege on the Gaza Strip and the suffering of Gazans. Yedioth military analyst Yossi Yehoshua wrote, “He states positions that are exceptionally dovish. Essentially, he has bypassed Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) from the left. Sinwar offers Israel to speak directly with him and to conclude the negotiations over the (long-term ceasefire) arrangement without the mediation of the Palestinian Authority. Sinwar’s statements can be understood as a last call from his point of view to Israel to go with him to an arrangement. And here is where the question arises about whether Israel believes him…If we believe the Hamas leader, Israel must not miss again this opportunity…”
The other Yedioth commentators did exactly that, they rejected Sinwar. Alex Fishman wrote that “Sinwar says to the Israeli public: we won’t sign an agreement, we will have a comfort relationship for years, until the day that we will expel you from your house.”  Ben-Dror Yemini asked the very un-journalistic question of why should the newspaper interview Sinwar and publish it. He repeated the rmantra common to right-wingers everywhere: Don’t forget who they are, i.e. terrible people, so don’t ask them what their motives and desires are. Yoaz Hendel wrote that the interview “should be read for ‘knowing thy enemy’ and not as information or facts.” Yossi Yeshoshua, however, expressed support even for an ‘unwritten agreement.’

Of significance, Israel has agreed to transfer to the Gaza Strip fuel shipments paid for by Qatar to increase the Gaza power plants output from 4 hours a day to eight. Israel hopes the move will reduce risk of war with Hamas, Haaretz+ wrote. (Also Maan News.) But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to thwart the transfer of fuel to Gaza, Maariv reported. Israel Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz accused Abbas of wanting to cause a war.

Also, Haaretz ran a fascinating article by ‘The Forward’ yesterday that exposed that the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco bankrolled the controversial Canary Mission through money it received from the Helen Diller Family Foundation. For three years, the McCarthyite Canary Mission website has spread fear among university students in the US, who are activists supporting Palestinian rights and opposing Israeli occupation. And it shares the information with official Israeli government people, who use it to prevent the students from visiting Israel. ‘The Forward’ article also revealed that the donation was made to the Central Fund of Israel, a New York-based charity that serves as a conduit for U.S. taxpayers seeking to make tax-exempt donations to right-wing and extremist groups in Israel. And CFI transferred the money to Megamot Shalom, a hitherto-unknown Israeli charity, which apparently operates or operated Canary Mission. After the publication of the article yesterday, the Jewish Federation of San Francisco said it would not transfer any more money to the 'Canary Mission' blacklist. In the midst of all of this, it turns out that George P. Smith, who yesterday was announced as the Nobel Prize laureate for Chemistry, is one of the people featured on the controversial Canary Mission website. Smith is a longtime pro-Palestine, BDS activist, who says he is opposed to ‘Jewish ethnic sovereignty over other peoples,’ Haaretz+ reported. The other Israeli newspapers also noted that he was anti-Zionist.
 
Quick Hits:
  • Palestinians: 15-year old killed by Israeli army fire in Gaza clashes - Gaza Health Ministry: 15 injured by live fire, tear gas inhalation ■ 3 Gazans wounded in Hamas outpost blast ■ IDF detains two Palestinians who crossed into Israel. (Haaretz+, Maan and Ynet)
  • Israeli settler runs over Palestinian in Ramallah - According to Hebrew-language news outlets, a Palestinian identified as Nassif Saleh Khalifa was run over by an Israeli settler while on the sidewalk at the Nilin checkpoint. (Maan)
  • Court extends detention of (Jewish) Israelis suspected in anti-Arab attack - In recordings presented by police in court, one suspect can be heard calling on others to join assault. 'They're dangerous to everyone,' police representative says. (Haaretz+)
  • Israeli settlers force Palestinian residents out of property in Silwan - Israeli settlement group Elad reportedly took over a Palestinian-owned property in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Wednesday. Property belongs to the Fatiha family, which currently lives in the US. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers set house on fire in Hebron's Old City - The four-story house has been empty for several years after the Palestinian owners were forced to leave due to continued harassment by Israeli settlers, who continuously threw rocks at the house and residents. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers uproot dozens of olive trees in Turmusayya village - Settlers from the illegal Israeli settlements (outposts) of Adi Ad and Amichai, which were illegally built on lands belongings to the residents of Turmusayya village, uprooted 40 olive trees belonging to  local Mahmoud al-Araj. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers flood Khan al-Ahmar with wastewater - As Israel threatened to raid and demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar at any moment since the evacuation period ended, Israeli settlers from Kfar Adumim stormed the village and flooded the area with wastewater, on Tuesday afternoon. (Maan)
  • Israeli court delays deportation of American student, demands state to explain - Border authority said 22-year-old student, whose grandparents are Palestinian, was denied entry 'because of boycott activity.' Ministry says she was president of 'BDS branch' at university. (Haaretz+)
  • (Israeli) Study ranks Israel high among world's most democratic countries - A new study by the Jerusalem-based [Right-wing Israeli think tank - OH], Institute for Zionist Strategies, compares Israel to world's 15 leading democracies, finds Jewish state "stands in line with the freest countries in the world in the balance it strikes between rights and obligations." (Israel Hayom)
  • Chairman of the Labor Party Youth: "Likud propaganda in Tel Aviv screams of generalizing the Arabs of Jaffa, hatred of the Other and of racism" - Tomer Pines addressed Prime Minister Netanyahu, Likud MKs and MKs, demanding that he renounce the party's "campaign of incitement" in the municipal elections in Tel Aviv: “It’s a violation of the Local Authorities Law.” (Maariv)
  • Liberman aide quits so his mother can help pick next IDF head - Departure of Yisrael Einhorn, media adviser to the defense minister, paves way for Talia Einhorn to join committee vetting new heads of army, police. (Maariv, p. 6 and Times of Israel)
  • IDF Ombudsman: "Failures in army preparedness - worse than before the Yom Kippur War" - Yitzhak Brick attacked Chief of Staff Eizenkot's committee and claimed that an external body must carry out the probe: “(The Chief of Staff’s committee) was intended to give an official stamp to the chief of staff's words." IDF: “(His statements are) neither appropriate nor correct.” (Maariv)
  • Netanyahu likely to extend secrecy of some 1948 war documents 20 more years - Defense establishment asked to lengthen classification period to 90 years, from 70, for material on Deir Yassin massacre, among other events. (Haaretz+)
  • An unusual position: Justice Mazuz opposes charging terrorists with maximum compensation - In a hearing on the appeal of a terrorist who killed an Israeli in a terrorist attack, a High Court judge explained: "When an amount is imposed that the defendant is unable to pay, the victims of the offense do not receive any compensation.” (Maariv)
  • West Bank students indicted for links with Hamas - Shin Bet investigation indicates 2 Birzeit University students were recruited by the terror organization via Facebook; additional West Bank resident suspected of association with Gazan official. (Ynet)
  • Beirut residents received text messages: “Beware, Hezbollah site is near your homes” - Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported that residents of Dahieh suburb received mobile phone notifications in which it was written: “Hezbollah has established a site near your homes, you are asked to proceed with caution.”  The newspaper reported that Israel refused to respond to claims that Israeli Intel is behind the messages. (Ynet Hebrew and Ynet English)
  • Hezbollah's deputy leader says he's 'not threatened' by PM's speech - Naim Qassem claims Lebanon's terror group is prepared to face 'Israeli aggression,' which he adds is unlikely to happen, and labels prime minister's remarks during UN General Assembly as 'unsuccessful show.' (Ynet)
  • Israel to transfer fuel shipments to Gaza power plant as part of Deal With Qatar to Boost Gaza's Power Supply, which May Ease Crisis in Strip - Israel hopes development will reduce risk of war with Hamas ■ Qatari aid aims to raise average from four to eight hours of electricity a day. (Haaretz+ and Maan)
  • Mahmoud Abbas is trying to thwart the transfer of (fuel) aid to Gaza; Israel Energy Minister Steinitz: “He wants to cause a war" - Israel is expected to send three tankers of diesel fuel to produce electricity with Qatari funding, but the Palestinian Authority is trying to prevent this. Energy Minister: "Their (Fatah-Palestinian Authority) goal is clear - to bring about an explosion.” (Maariv)
  • Miri Regev to accompany Israel's delegation to the judo Grand Slam event in Abu Dhabi - Minister of Culture and Sport wants to take advantage of the World Judo Association's directive that Israelis should be allowed to compete in the Arab emirate under the flag and anthem. Her office said: "She is very interested, the matter is being handled by the security.” (Maariv and Ynet)
  • Morocco to introduce Holocaust studies into education system - "The history we teach our children must present humanity's greatest moments as well as its darkest moments," King Mohammed VI says • UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay: To address anti-Semitism is to defend dignity for all human beings. (Israel Hayom)
  • Jewish soldiers who fought the Nazis receive Italy's highest military honor - Surviving members of the Jewish Brigade attend ceremony in Israel, relive their mission liberating Italy in the spring of 1945 and aiding Holocaust survivors. ‘I did not think of what I did as heroic’ says one former soldier. (Haaretz+)
  • Iran: Missile attack in Syria killed 40 ISIS leaders - Tehran says Islamic State group's 'top leaders' were killed during strike it launched on Syria Monday in retaliation for military parade attack last month. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli minister: We can defeat Russian S-300 air shield in Syria - "The operational abilities of the IAF are such that those [S-300] batteries really do not constrain the air force's abilities to act," says Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, referring to Israel's stealth F-35 jets, supplied by the U.S. (Israel Hayom)
  • Putin Says He Wants All Foreign Forces to Eventually Quit Syria - Russia's Putin said that the presence of U.S. forces in Syria violated the UN charter. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Saudi Arabia and Russia Struck Secret Deal to Boost Oil Output, Told U.S. - Sources say both countries do not want to appear to cave to U.S. President Donald Trump's demands. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Assad Says 'Major Understanding' Reached With Arab States After Strife Over Syria War - Syrian president speaks with Kuwaiti newspaper that was shut down for publishing false news. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • ‘Regional arms race’: U.S. congressmen want Trump to report on Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions - Representatives introduce bill calling on White House to reveal how U.S. sale of nuclear reactors to Saudis would affect security interests of regional allies such as Israel. (Haaretz+)
  • Turkey's Inflation Rate Hits Highest Point in 15 Years Amid Deepening Economic Crisis - Concern in Ankara grows over Erdogan's control of central bank as inflation rises to nearly 25 percent. (Agencies, Haaretz)

Features:
The Mystery of the Missing American Colony Photographs
No one knows what happened to the famous photography collection that includes documentation of Jerusalem’s surrender to the British and the German kaiser’s visit. Parts of the collection were discovered in the attic of a London press agent. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
Bulldozers Idling in Israel, but Only Until Merkel Leaves (Haaretz Editorial) Netanyahu government should scrap plans to demolish Bedouin village in West Bank, but brief reprieve to avoid embarrassing German chancellor is most anyone can expect
An opportunity to effect change (Eldad Beck, Israel Hayom) A troubling trend has surfaced in Germany-Israel ties in which Germany sees fit to intervene in Israel's domestic affairs. Berlin must understand that it cannot impose its idea of how Israel should be.
German policy tends to stand in sharp contrast to Israeli interests (Ron Prosor, Maariv) Such a close relationship requires friends to tell each other the truth, however difficult. As a friend of Germany, it is my duty to present the feelings of many Israelis regarding your policy toward Israel.
With exports to Jordan and Egypt, Israel becoming key player in Mideast gas market (Ora Coren, Haaretz) The days of Israel as an isolated energy market will soon be over, but obstacles remain.
Abbas misses a chance to help Palestinians (Diana Buttu, Israel Hayom) The Palestinian leader again missed his chance to effect change at the U.N. General Assembly, as his "historic" speech turned out to be more of the same: a call for the world to salvage a two-state solution that died years ago.
Who’s the Ignorant One? (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) In a competition over the ignorance about what is happening under the occupation, it may be said that Ahed Tamimi’s hosts in Madrid know much more about it than Yair Lapid.
There's something rotten in the IDF (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) It's enough to witness the scheming against IDF Ombudsman Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brik on behalf of the chief of staff to understand that something very wrong is going on in the army.
More and more people are forced to eat their hats and admit that what Trump promised indeed happens (Zalman Shoval, Maariv) The place where Trump's determination has yet to stand the test is the Middle East. The presence of Russia and Iran is a fact, but preventing their further expansion depends on a change of direction in Washington.
An Imaginary Dilemma (Uzi Benziman, Haaretz+) A society that fails to call its leaders to account for their sins weakens the society’s antibodies to other diseases of government.
Under the spell: the self-deception that gripped us before the Yom Kippur War holds us today (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) I repeatedly here the chorus according to which "we are the strongest in the Middle East." (But) I do not know how the state will be able to cope if Hezbollah fires on us only 5,000 rockets a day.
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.

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