News Nosh 02.28.14

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday February 28, 2014

Number of the day:
76.
--Percentage of Hebrew-speaking Israelis likely to support a regional peace agreement.


Front Page News:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Ultra-Orthodox test of wills against the draft law - Thousands of police will secure the ultra-Orthodox protest demonstration Sunday in Jerusalem
  • The outstanding soldier in the combat officer's course: From the ultra-Orthodox Nahal brigade
  • Dead end in negotiations between Shula Zaken and the prosecution
  • Netanyahu travelling to US with oversized delegation
  • Today: Tel-Aviv marathon
Maariv
Israel Hayom
  • The world to Putin: No to a Cold War II
  • Jerusalem under siege: Enormous ultra-Orthodox demonstration (against draft) on Sunday
  • Zaken: "If I open my mouth, Olmert will sit in jail"
  • Flu epidemic: 7-year-old hospitalized in critical condition
  • (Comedian) Berlad expected to remain under house arrest

Peace Talk Highlights:
Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday, polls find that more 'soft right-wing' Israelis support a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says the Palestinians are preparing for the 'Blame Game' after the peace talks fail. US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of extending peace talks, which the top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said no can do. And Jordan said it may review its peace agreement with Israel in light of the Knesset debate about implementing Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount. Meanwhile, Israeli forces made an extra-judicial killing of a young wanted Palestinian and none of the Israeli papers questioned the manner he was killed.
 
**Haaretz reported that according to a poll released Thursday, more right-wing Israelis support a peace agreement with the Palestinians. A survey of Hebrew-speaking Israelis commissioned by the Israeli Peace Initiative Group also found:
- 56% would vote for the prime minister if he were to establish a new party.- 63% are likely to support a regional peace agreement in principle, even without knowing the full details of the agreement.
- 73% would likely support a regional peace agreement if they were briefed on the likely details, based on the assumed components of Kerry's framework document and an interpretation of the Arab League Peace Initiative, which promises Israel “full diplomatic and normal relations” with 57 Arab and Muslim states, in exchange for a “comprehensive peace agreement” with the Palestinians.
- 73% of the respondents said they would support Netanyahu if he were to present the public with an agreement that entailed ending the conflict with the Palestinians on the basis of the details provided.
-  56% of respondents would vote for Netanyahu if he were to establish a new party. 
The latest "Globes" poll shows the public would support Netanyahu if he were to split from Likud hardliners.

Netanyahu will leave Israel for Washington on Sunday and meet Obama at the White House Monday, March 2nd. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet Obama in Washington on March 17 to discuss the deadlocked peace talks with Israel. According to Haaretz's+ Barak Ravid, Obama will tell the two man that they can cooperate with the US initiative and make progress, or go it alone after the talks fail, which will not be pleasant going. Maariv/NRG Hebrew writes that a classified documents prepared by the research department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry - the Ministry's Intel arm - says that the Palestinian Authority is setting the stage to blame the failure of negotiations on Israel. On the other hand, the question of the fate of Gaza, if achieved outlines a framework between the parties, against the backdrop of a slump in the process of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. It also writes that although the Palestinians want to continue the talks until the end of the official date set for the 29th of April, the Palestinian emphasis is placed now on preparation for the Day After, in particular being ready for the "Blame Game" that will take place between the two sides.  

There are numerous issues in the new draft of Kerry's framework agreement that the Palestinians say they won't accept (see yesterday's News Nosh) and it remains to be seen if there will be time left to iron them out. Kerry said peace talks will go beyond April, which is, incidentally, what Israel would like. But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rebuffed the move to extend the April deadline for another nine months of talks with Israel, saying it was useless as long as Israel "continues to disregard international law." Earlier this month, Erekat said that if US-brokered peace talks failed to result in an accord, the Palestinians would call for an economic boycott of Israel.

Jordan warned Israel Thursday that it may review the Jordan-Israel peace treaty over the Knesset debate of sovereignty over the Temple Mount.  “If Israel wants to violate the peace treaty in this issue, the entire treaty, its articles, details and wording will be put on the table,” Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur told Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper in an interview.
 
The extra-judicial killing:
A day after an Amnesty International report slams ‘trigger-happy’ Israeli security forces and accuses Israel of 'callous disregard for human life' in the West Bank, Israeli forces surround the house of a young Palestinian wanted man in the middle of the night between Wednesday and Thursday, bulldozing part it and set it on fire, before entering and shooting dead 24-year-old Muatazz Washaha, who had barricaded himself inside for hours, but never fired a shot. Some of the Israeli articles called him a terrorist, others called him a suspected terrorist, but with the exception of Maariv/NRG Hebrew, there was no information about what "terrorist act" he was suspected of.  Maariv wrote in a short caption that he was wanted for attacks against the IDF." In the online NRG Hebrew, it reported that he was suspected of shooting at Israeli soldiers. Ynet reported that on average 220 Palestinians are detained every month for offenses, which the Shin Bet now calls 'terror,' such as stone-throwing and Molotov cocktail throwing, carrying weapons and placing of explosives. Ynet also revealed that the members of the force that raided Bir Zeit village and killed Washaha, was disguised as Arabs. None of the papers questioned the decision to enter the home and shoot dead a man who did not fire on them, but was suspected of possessing a weapon. Oddly, Israel Hayom wrote there was a "firefight" - and only in its English version, not in the Hebrew paper. The other papers reported that the troops were the ones who used force, opening fire with an M72 LAW and an anti-tank missile setting fire to the home, knocking part of it down with a bulldozer and deciding to enter and shoot the suspect dead, because he was believed to be in possession of a weapon and he refused to leave the home after a standoff of hours. Maan wrote that "an AK47 assault rifle was found in the house, but no shots were fired at any point towards Israeli forces." It also wrote that Israeli forces were reportedly trying to arrest Washaha for being an activist with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). While Maariv ran a large photo of the burned out demolished house on page 2 with a small caption titled, "The raid, the siege and the extermination of the terrorist," Yedioth did not even report on the event. On Thursday, Israeli forces injured three Palestinians in a protest near Hebron of Washaha's killing. The Palestinian Authority condemned the 'assassination' and said the killing was "deliberate," highlighting that Israeli forces had surrounded the house, evacuated residents, and then shelled the house, knowing Washaha was inside. The statement said that such actions "undermine peace efforts" and confirm that "the Israeli government is constantly seeking to foil these efforts." The PFLP vowed revenge.


Quick Hits:
  • State confiscates Bedouin playground equipment donated by Italy - The Civil Administration has issued demolition orders against dozens of structures in the encampment, including the local school, located near Maaleh Adumim. (Haaretz+)
  • Settlers bulldoze Palestinian lands near Nablus to expand outpost - Settlers from the Shvut Rachel outpost bulldozed private Palestinian lands near the northern West Bank village of Jalud south of Nablus in order to expand their outpost. (Maan)
  • Palestinians burn Israeli flag near Temple Mount - Dozens of rioters clashed with police at Lions' Gate Wednesday night, attempt to torch door of abandoned police post after being refused to carry the body of Jihad al-Tawil, a Palestinian from E. Jerusalem who died this week. Tawil's family claimed his death was due to violence while being from prison guards while he was in jail for a driving violation. (Ynet
  • Clashes in Nabi Saleh as Israeli forces detain 54-year-old man - Israeli troops raided the village and ransacked the home of Fadil Tamimi, 54, "brutally assaulting his family members" before detaining him. As a result, fierce clashes broke out between soldiers and angry villagers. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces raid Nablus village after firebomb thrown at bus - Israeli forces broke into several homes Wednesday night and forced at least 20 men outside at gunpoint for questioning in the street which lasted for hours. Clashes broke out following the raid, with Faraj Zeidan Adeli, 19, taken to hospital after being injured by Israeli soldiers. (Maan
  • Tel Aviv landlady rejects Arab tenant, citing 'problems with the neighbors’ - Would-be tenant, a student from Baka al-Garbiyeh (in Israel), writes up experience on Facebook and gets lots of apartment offers. (Haaretz+)
  • The measure for the Muslim calls to prayer - Jerusalem municipality is planning to fight the noise of the Muezzins. Methods: Measuring the decibel level of all the mosques in the city, turning the loudspeakers towards the center of the village and installing of screens to block the sound. (Radical right-wing) city councilman Arieh King is leading the move, which was the main subject of his election campaign. Anger in the Arab villages of Jerusalem: "This is a violation of our religious values." (Yedioth Jerusalem supplement, p. 38)
  • Right-wing group won't run Western Wall area, says cabinet secretary - Statement follows letter by non-Orthodox Jewish leaders 'dismayed' by possibility of 'right-wing Orthodox' Elad organization overseeing the southern part of the Kotel, where an egalitarian prayer section is set to be designated. [Note: Arieh King is an activist in Elad - OH] (Haaretz+)
  • New: (Arab) police volunteers in E. Jerusalem - Police are recruiting a new force: (Palestinian) residents of the Old City, who are acting to prevent crime in their residential areas and helping tourists against pickpockets. Police were surprised by how easy it was to find volunteers. Commander: "They have a very high motivation." (Yedioth Jerusalem supplement, p. 50)
  • Increase in Israeli women faking faith to dodge draft - Law to reduce draft evasion passed two years ago, but committees to approve necessary amendments are dragging their feet. (Haaretz+)
  • Belz Hasidim threaten mass exodus over Israel draft reform - One of the largest ultra-Orthodox communities in Israel says it is considering seeking refugee status in the U.S. if Knesset passes draft bill. (Haaretz)
  • Haaretz poll: Most Israelis believe Lapid failed to fulfill campaign promise - Developments involving the new draft bill have boosted the popularity of Yesh Atid, but not that of its leader. Elsewhere in the corridors of power, the presidential race is heating up. (Haaretz+)
  • Iran and the Palestinians are Netanyahu's hot topics - but not povertyYnet investigation exposes prime minister's top priorities as reflected in openings remarks of weekly cabinet meeting: Security is top concern, social topics infrequently mentioned, poverty never addressed. (Ynet)
  • IAEA nixes report that could've angered Iran - Sources tell Reuters report that might have revealed more of Tehran's suspected atomic research was held off as Iran's relations with the West thawed. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli enemy is not forgotten, says Hezbollah's Lebanese mouthpiece - Editor of Al-Akhbar says Hezbollah's statement on airstrike on its base thwarted Israeli celebration of the attack. (Ynet)
  • World of American donations to the Jewish State revolutionized - New generation of US philanthropists continues to donate some $2 billion a year to Israel, but they are no longer willing to sign a check and leave it at that. How does raising big funds work? Where does the money go? And how does the issue of the settlements affect donations? (Ynet)
  • The Jewish mind in Israeli high-tech - The Israel Tech Challenge will bring young Jewish computer science students to Israel, as well as employees from Facebook, Google and Twitter for an internship at the Startup Nation. (Ynet)
  • Collaborator sentenced to 15 years in Gaza - A Gaza military court on Thursday sentenced a man found guilty of collaboration with Israel to 15 years in jail. (Maan)

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