APN's daily news review from Israel - Wednesday October 14, 2020

VIDEO of the day:
—Masked settlers stone Palestinian families harvesting their olives.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
—Israeli soldiers arrived 20 minutes later and did not detain anyone.*

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Restrictions on ultra-Orthodox cities will be at heart of dispute in discussions over easing the lockdown // Amos Harel
• High Court Chief Justice Hayut rebuked: (Anti-government) demonstrations were restricted without substantiated data about the infection rate at the demos
• Kindergarten teachers fear they won’t have time to prepare if the reopening of the centers is announced at the last minute
• Trump: I recovered from corona, I will kiss everyone of you
• Attorney General Mendelblitt: (Then state prosecutor Shai Nitzan intentionally avoided ruling to close the investigation against me for lack of guilt
• Civil Service Commissioner: It is not possible to appoint a State Prosecutor at this time
• Be like the ultra-Orthodox // Zvi Bar’el
• Investigate the Prime Minister // Haaretz Editorial
• The departure of the senior officials harms the activity in the Finance Ministry and in the world they understood the ramifications on Israel’s economy

Yedioth Ahronoth

• To open or not to open - Experts divided about the fate of the education system (Hebrew)
• Special - School children talk about the price of distance-learning (Hebrew)
• Special - The secrets of recuperating - Prof. Gila Rahav, one of the leading people in the battle against corona, analyzes Trump’s appearance at a public event in Florida (Hebrew)
• “He could hold me by the throat” - Attorney General recorded severely criticizing former State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan, saying he intentionally is not ruling to close case against him
• “Military exercise, even with 1000 infected” - Chief of Staff Kochavi decided IDF annual exercise will take place (Hebrew)

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• The opening on hold - Corona cabinet extended closure till Sunday
• Commercial sector demands to remove the restrictions: “Stop the collective punishment”
• The (Attorney General) Mendelblitt recordings - Mendelblitt is hear attacking then state prosecutor Shai Nitzan: “He is not ruling in my case - he can hold me by the throat”
• Despite the signs of Likud willingness to compromise, Kahol-Lavan insists on passing the budget by the end of December: “It’s impossible to hold the budget hostage”

Israel Hayom

• Shin Bet will probe families of those infected who lied - Netanyahu and Gantz agreed: The lockdown will continue till at least Sunday
• (Attorney General) Mendelblitt on (then state prosecutor) Shai Nitzan: “He is working against me, he could hold me by the throat”
• Shame at midnight // Jacob Bardugo
• Mendelblitt got stressed and broke // Mati Tuchfeld
• Expose - Beilinson and Sheba hospitals present: the battle over the lung implant of a corona patient
• The march of violations continues: Minister of Religion was the rabbi at a mass wedding
• The new UNRWA director: “We will probe the (Palestinian) school books for inciting content”

Top News Summary:
A recording of Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt railing against former state attorney five years ago caused a stir, the corona lockdown was extended to Sunday, but restrictions on protests were removed making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

In recordings from 2015 and 2016, Mendelblitt complained about former state attorney Shai Nitzan’s handling of an open case against Mendelblitt that should have been closed due to lack of guilt. It later was. Mendelblitt was heard saying that Nitzan was keeping the case open intentionally. The fact that it stayed open was used against Mendelblitt in an effort to prevent him from becoming the Attorney General. ‘Israel Hayom’ reported on the recordings as if they were incriminating, just as the Likud said they were. Haaretz+ and Maariv gave full quotes that expressed that Mendelblitt just did not want a police file against him not closed.

The papers shared the concern of businesses, school children, parents of schoolchildren and pre-school and kindergarten teachers about the continued lockdown and when schools will reopen. Interestingly, Maariv quoted business owners complaining that the lockdown is “collective punishment” - a phrase Israelis are familiar with because Palestinians and left-wing Israelis use it to describe the Israeli military’s actions against them.

Interestingly, the cabinet decided not to extend the ‘only one kilometer from home’ emergency restriction on protests. Anti-government protesters are preparing to show up at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s residence Saturday night and to continue protests all over Israel. At the High Court, Chief Justice Esther Hayut demanded an explanation from the state over what authority it had to ban mass protests despite the lack of data on the number of infections that occurred during the widespread outdoor anti-government protests in recent months.

In the city of Holon Tuesday, three supporters of Netanyahu were arrested for spraying anti-Netanyahu protesters with pepper spray and disturbing the peace. Two were released from custody. And in Jerusalem, anti-Netanyahu protesters said they were also attacked Tuesday evening by Netanyahu supporters, who threw eggs and vegetables at them. The demonstrators also accused police of not showing up even after they called and complained about the attack several times. Out of dozens of attacks on participants of anti-Netanyahu demonstrations, only one has resulted in an indictment so far. (Ynet Hebrew+VIDEO)


Corona-related Quickees:

Some interesting items from the papers: There has been a drop in early births since the epidemic began (Maariv), the sale of Ritalin has dropped, the sale of anti-depressants and cigarettes has risen, and 300% more teens have asked for psychological help. Also, Israel is considering keeping seriously ill corona patients at home, as the ultra-Orthodox are doing, and it is also considering using the Shin Bet to track people in families who lied in epidemiological probes. A second Israeli was recorded as getting corona twice.

• Israel again sees drop in coronavirus infection rate - The Health Ministry reports 2,255 tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, after 44,369 tests, putting the contagion rate at 5.4%; death toll continues to increase and currently stands at 2,055. (Ynet)
• Ministers decide to extend lockdown through Sunday - Kindergartens, schools for early grades and small business to remain closed; National Security Council warns targeted number of 2,000 new cases daily would still over burden hospitals and cost the economy 84,000 work days. (Haaretz and Ynet)
• Coronavirus cabinet convenes but no decision on opening schools, businesses - Ministers delay final decision on matter until Thursday; PMO attributes extension to still high morbidity rate despite weeks of closure and lack of data over influence of Jewish High Holy Days on national infection rate. (Ynet)
• Protests Set to Resume at Netanyahu’s Residence – and Continue All Over Israel - 'Now that the defendant Netanyahu has surrendered to our pressure and canceled the ban on demonstrations, we will increase the pressure on him more and more,' one protest group says. (Haaretz+)
• Elderly Israelis Left in Hospitals After COVID Recovery Due to Overburdened Nursing Homes, Report Says - Report from hospital monitoring team says number of patients in serious condition expected to increase, despite declining coronavirus infection rates. (Haaretz+)
• Ultra-Orthodox Extremists Reopen Schools Despite Lockdown - Police issued fines, summoned directors after several schools were found to have reopened their doors in several ultra-Orthodox towns in Israel and the West Bank. (Haaretz+)
• Retail Chains Ready to Defy the Lockdown, but Most Smaller Stores Don’t Dare - A trip down Tel Aviv’s Ibn Gvirol finds that most stores are closed or do business quietly ■ But small businesses are Israel's lifeblood - and they haven't seen much help from the top. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)

Quick Hits:

• Israeli settlers attack olive pickers at Nilin village - and also Israeli journalist - A 75-year-old Palestinian man was hospitalized Tuesday with cracked skull after 10 settlers attacked him and his family with rocks and pepper spray when the family was harvesting their olives in Nilin village (PHOTO) Settlers also destroyed the ladders and blankets which olive pickers place on the ground to catch the olives. (WAFA, Megafon Hebrew and Mossi Raz Facebook Hebrew)
• *Israeli settlers filmed attacking Palestinians  harvesting olives in Burqa village - and an Israeli journalist - Settlers from Givat Asaf outpost attacked Palestinian farmers on their land in Burka village using rocks, clubs and pepper spray. Channel 12 reporter says settlers were warning Palestinian farmers not to start the harvest, even though it was an area they owned. When clashes broke out, settlers directed violence at him as well. Since October 5, there were at least 14 incidents of law breaking by settlers related to the olive harvest: attacking farmers, cutting down trees, stealing olive crop and one incident of burning 50 olive trees. (Haaretz+VIDEO, Photos of injured Palestinians, YouTube)
• Israeli settlers steal Palestinian olive crops, vandalize trees near Bethlehem - Villagers from Al-Jabaa village discovered Tuesday when they reached their land that settlers from the illegal Bat Ayin settlement stole their crops from about 100 dunams of land owned by some 30 people and also chopped branches of the trees. The mayor said the landowners had been trying to reach their lands for a while but that the army prevented them. (WAFA)
• Israeli occupation forces bar West Bank municipality from refurbishing a rural road during olive harvest season - Israeli occupation forces today barred al-Zawiyeh municipality in the north of the West Bank from refurbishing a rural road intended to facilitate movement of farmers during the olive harvest season. The forces briefly detained the town’s mayor Mahmoud Mawqadi, who was supervising the work, and the road grader driver. (WAFA)
• Palestinian, Israeli rights groups fear for life of Palestinian hunger striker - Maher Al-Akhras, 49, is now in an Israeli hospital suffering from heart pain and convulsions and has at times slipped into a coma. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• A new illegal Israeli settlement outpost in the making in the south of the West Bank – official - Settlers fenced off dozens of dunams of Palestinian land, set up caravans and built a road to the usurped land of village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem, to create a new illegal Israeli settlement outpost. (WAFA)
• Thousands of Palestinian 'Collaborators' Asked Israel for Refuge. Less Than One Percent Got It - But even Palestinians who receive residency permit after assisting Israel are not entitled to national health insurance, work permits or other social benefits. Human rights groups await court decision on appeal to grant them social benefits. (Haaretz+)
• PPS: 32 children among 341 Palestinians detained in September - Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) announced that some 4,400 Palestinians, including 39 female detainees, 155 children and 350 others placed under administrative detention, are currently languishing in Israeli detention facilities. (WAFA)
• Spearfishing in Gaza, a living improvised under the sea - With unemployment rate at 50% and tight restrictions imposed by Israel over continued clashes with militant groups, thousands of Palestinians in the coastal enclave find fishing at the only stable work. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Israelis of All Persuasions Feel They Suffer From Incitement, Poll Shows - From left to right, from Arabs to ultra-Orthodox Jews, all feel victimized. Just under half think there is a high probability for a political assassination. (Haaretz+)
• No State Prosecutor Until Justice Ministry Gets a Permanent Director, Civil Service Chief Says - Civil Service Commissioner informs Justice Minister Nissenkorn citing conflict of interest bureaucracy as rationale for keeping the key position in limbo. (Haaretz+)
• A way to make tomatoes cheaper: import from Egypt instead of Turkey - The Ministry of Agriculture will for the first time examine the import of vegetables from Egypt instead of from Turkey. MBikuri Sadeh, the largest importer and marketer of vegetables and fruits in Israel and an IDF supplier, applied to the Ministry of Agriculture for a permit to import vegetables from Egypt instead of Turkey because land imports from Egypt will lower the price of produce compared to imports from Turkey. (Yedioth Hebrew)
• Sara Netanyahu to receive armored car costing over NIS 1M - For first time ever, an Israeli prime minister's spouse is assigned an armored vehicle for her personal use due to security concerns; finance and defense ministers are only cabinet members to be granted reinforced vehicles. (Ynet)
• Virus delays Israel-UAE air link 'to January' - Israel's second lockdown, which now has one of the world's highest infection rates per capita, has put on hold any tourism and business opportunities between Israel and the UAE until January. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Dubai-based company makes bid for Israeli airline - NY Koen says acquisition of Israir Airlines will ‘help cement the peace accord’ between two countries. (Haaretz+)
• 'God help us if Trump wins re-election' - Speaking remotely to European lawmakers, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says the last four years of the Trump administration have greatly harmed the Palestinians. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• Report: Israeli-made kamikaze drone crashes in Iran - The Armenian Unified Infocenter says the IAI Harop kamikaze drone had crossed from Azerbaijan to Iranian territory and was shot down by Iranian forces or crashed in Ardebil, not far from fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• UN space agency to team with Israeli academia on disaster management technology - UNOOSA is tasked with promoting the peaceful use and exploration of space through international cooperation. Ben-Gurion University’s Earth and Planetary Image Facility focuses on the use of remote sensing for a variety of applications and on advancing the development of currently available remote sensing methods. (Israel Hayom)
• First Temple Period Weight Found Next to Western Wall in Jerusalem - The inscribed two-shekel weight was likely used more than 2,600 years ago in a market at the foot of the Temple where pilgrims bought animals for sacrifices and other goods. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
• Iran has highest daily virus death toll, new patient count - As residents defy coronavirus precautions and the government resists a lockdown amid a worsening economic crisis, Iran's caseload is skyrocketing. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Google to provide grants, loans to bring Middle East businesses online - Google will also provide $3 million in loans to thousands of businesses in the region, $2 million of which will go to Egypt, to help them with a digital transformation, $1.1 million to help businesses in the Middle East and North Africa improve their digital skills and get them online. (Israel Hayom)
• Islamic State on fast track to recovery as world grapples with corona pandemic - According to Dr. Galit Truman Zinman, the outbreak of the pandemic altered the trajectory of the Islamic State group's jihadist mission in major two ways. (Israel Hayom)
• Assad made rare visit outside of Damascus to see areas of western Syria hit by wildfires - Syrian President Bashar Assad has made a rare public visit to the coastal province of Latakia where he toured areas that suffered heavy damage in last week's wildfires that killed three people, state media reported Tuesday. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)

Features:

How Evangelicals Working in Settlements Bypassed Israel's COVID-19 Entry Ban
Despite most noncitizens being refused entry due to the coronavirus, a phone call to a former lawmaker and an application glossing over a key fact allowed 70 evangelical volunteers to receive visas in August, Haaretz finds. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Probe Netanyahu’s Involvement in the Submarine Affair (Haaretz Editorial) Maj. Gen. (res.) Dan Harel has submitted a signed affidavit to a court, testifying that during his term as director general of the Defense Ministry he was subjected to intense pressure so as not to invite bids for acquiring naval vessels. A bidding process would have sought an optimal price, the pressure on Harel was designed to ensure the deal went to German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems without a bidding process. Harel also stated that Netanyahu pressured him to try to acquire a seventh submarine for Israel, contrary to the position of the Defense Ministry. Four years ago, Mendelblit made a hasty statement indicating that there were no suspicions of criminality against Netanyahu in the submarine affair. But since then, new information has surfaced to challenge these statements. The issue of shares owned by Netanyahu in the Texas-based company Seadrift Coke raised the possibility that his cousin, Nathan Milikowsky, maintained business relations with ThyssenKrupp. Milikowsky took part in the buying and selling of these shares, and Netanyahu recorded a handsome profit. Also, Netanyahu claimed that he informed Mendelblit of the circumstances in the selling of German submarines to Egypt, but Mendelblit denied this. The criminal investigation in this affair must be reopened…
Commission of Inquiry into the Submarine Affair. Now! (Amos Gilad, Yedioth Hebrew) The combination of foreign considerations, i.e. money and bribery, with considerations of Israel’s national security is a threat to national security. This is the most serious affair since the establishment of the state.
The Left is strumming the chord of racism, again (Karni Eldad, Israel Hayom) The Left has been calling us racists for decades now, comparing us, the ethical Right, to white supremacists in the United States or even Nazis.
'I’m Jewish and Armenian. Israeli Weapons Are Killing My People' (Lara Setrakian, Haaretz+) Amid the Nagorno-Karabakh war, an Armenian Jewish friend came over to my home in Yerevan. She is anguished. 'Armenians are David,’ she says, and asks: Why is Israel arming a genocidal Goliath?
The unbearable ease of 'forgiveness' (Jalal Bana, Israel Hayom) The time has come for the government to outlaw "sulha" committees in Arab society and apply law and governance equally, in all corners of the land.
Thing of the past: The problem with the "I deserve" discourse is that some of the public thinks it is better thanks to its ancestors (Shai Lahav, Maariv) Of the many tumultuous events in recent times,  the classic Israeli discourse over the old rights returned to the headlines: the residents of Kibbutz Nir David and their struggle [they tell the residents of nearby mostly Mizrachi town of Beit Shean that it was their parents and grandparents who dried up the swamp - OH], who demand permission to enter the kibbutz to go to the river - OH] , (anti-government protest leader) Amir Haskel, who is accused of a racist statement [he told an Ethiopian-Israeli Border Policewoman who was detaining him for protesting that she should be ashamed of herself, he was the one that brought her family to Israel - OH] and this prevents true solidarity. [Author is saying that the Ashkenazi Jews act as if they are better and entitled. - OH]
The Arab world and Israel embark on a new mission (Jason Shvili, Israel Hayom) Since the turn of the century, two new competing blocs of nation states have been emerging in the Middle East.
 

Interviews:
Former chairman of the Yesha Settler Council on the storm over the sign against Arabs outside Yitzhar settlement: "It is disturbing that the settlement leadership is silent"
Pinchas Wallerstein and Yitzhar's spokesman, Zvi Sukkot, spoke to Ben Caspit and Yinon Magal on 103FM about the sign posted on the access road to the settlement that read: "Entry for Arabs is dangerous," which caused a stir and was removed. [NOTE: WAFA news service reported that the road is not a 'settler access road' but one that links the cities of Nablus and Qalqilya.] (Maariv/103FM, Israel Hayom and JPost)

Temple Mount activist eyes the presidency
Former MK Yehuda Glick, who spent years as an activist for one of the most politically sensitive sites in the world, says that the presidency should not be political. What Israel needs, he thinks, is a president who can talk to everyone and bring the people together. (Interviewed by Yehuda Shlezinger in Israel Hayom)

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