News Nosh 11.29.20

by APN 11/29/20
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Sunday November 29, 2020

Quote of the day:

"It's a week of achievements, and there will be more."
--Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the end of a video he posted on Twitter Friday, around the time that Iran's chief nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated.*


Front Page:

Haaretz

  • Father of the Iranian nuclear program killed in assassination attributed to Israel
  • Success and danger // Amos Harel
  • Let the world burn // Noa Landau
  • A signal to Biden // Zvi Bar’el
  • A replacement will be found // Yossi Melman
  • Kahol-Lavan members pressuring Gantz to support dispersal of Knesset this week, he is hesitating
  • Government prides itself on new plan to battle violence against women. The previous plan was not implemented
  • Ayalon shopping mall opened this week, those waiting in line wondered for how long
  • European championship in windsurfing: Gold medal to Yoav Cohen and two silver medals
  • By giving the signal // Akiva Novick on new prize for the “new pioneers”
  • Bitter fruit // Amal Assad on Jewish Nation State Law and fall of democracy (Hebrew)
  • The next Attorney General will play a central role in defending Israel’s democracy. The race for the job opens today

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • Father of the Iranian nukes was eliminated
  • Wanted #1 // Ronen Bergman (Hebrew)
  • The red line // Yossi Yehoshua on Israeli policy
  • The assassination of opacity // Alex Fishman on the Israeli hints (Hebrew)
  • Back to the future // Shimrit Meir on the responses in the world
  • Outside of the game // Smadar Perry on the silence of the Arab world
  • The Iranian dilemma // Raz Zimet on the future of the nuclear program (Hebrew)
  • Disgrace at the shopping mall - Decision to open malls led to charge on stores, crowding and long lines
  • Pride: Medals in windsurfing, artistic gymnastics, enormous win in basketball

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom


Top News Summary:
Iran's top nuclear scientist was assassinated and the world and the Israeli analysts are sure it was Israel, shopping malls reopened and chaos was abound, Israeli athletes won medals in European championships and the thousands came again to the weekly anti-Netanyahu Saturday night - making top news in today's Hebrew newspapers.

Reading ‘Israel Hayom,’ you’d think that assassinating the top Iranian nuclear scientist, who reportedly headed the secret weapons program , Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was a great idea and the world is now a safer place. (See Commentary/Analysis below.) Reading ‘Haaretz’ newspaper, you’re sure that it was an irresponsible move made because Israel could while US President Donald Trump was still in power and that it only puts Israel and its officials abroad in danger. Both Maariv and Yedioth noted that Israeli embassies were on high alert for possible revenge attacks, as the Iranians (and most of the world) blamed Israel. Israeli Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said he 'has no clue' who killed Fakhrizadeh. But as one commentator noted, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Friday with a wry smile that Israel had “great achievements" this week, which he could not talk about. (There were also the 19 pro-Iranian militants killed in air strikes Thursday in Syria,and two other strikes in Syria on Wednesday, one which killed eight people and reportedly destroyed a missile depot.) The European Union urged restraint after the ‘criminal’ killing of the scientist. Maariv noted that the CIA chief also called it ‘criminal.’ Hezbollah said it was keeping its nose out of this affair.
 

Quick Hits:

  • Israeli Soldiers Detonated a Palestinian Family's Front Door, Injuring Brothers, for No Apparent Reason - Two brothers were seriously injured when an Israeli force, claiming they were armed, blasted a powerful device in order to enter their home in a refugee camp. One is still hospitalized; the other detained without trial. Neither has been home since September. (Haaretz+)
  • Occupation forces injure a child near Ramallah - A 15-year-old Palestinian child was injured this night after being shot by Israeli occupation soldiers in the village of Silwad, while standing in front of his family’s home in the village. No clashes were taking place at the time. (WAFA)
  • Palestinian Detainee Faces Serious Health Complications - Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Committee stated that Nidal Abu ‘Ahour, 45, from Bethlehem, faces profoundly serious health complications at the Ramla prison clinic, which lacks specialists and adequate machines. Abu ‘Ahour, a married father of seven children, was diagnosed with kidney failure more than ten years ago and last month he was abducted by the soldiers, only a few months after his release from prison. (IMEMC)
  • Palestinian Teen Seriously Wounded in Clashes With Israeli Army in West Bank - Joseph Abd al-Fatah is hospitalized in a Nablus hospital with a fractured skull after being hit by a rubber-tipped bullet at the weekly anti-settlement rally in the Palestinian village of Qaddum. Three others were also injured. (Haaretz+ and IMEMC)
  • Israeli settlers uproot grape saplings near Ramallah - Extremist Israeli settlers uprooted about 400 grape saplings Friday belonging to Palestinians in the village West Bank village of Turmus-Ayya. The attacking settlers also destroyed an irrigation network and cut off seven olive trees belonging to local Palestinian villagers. (WAFA)
  • Safed’s non-Jewish Treasures Face Disrespect and Vandalism - The mausoleum is the city’s welfare department, a courthouse is being built on an ancient cemetery and an ancient mosque was turned into a clubhouse. The obliteration of non-Jewish historic sites in Safed. (Haaretz+)
  • Flanked by new challengers, Israeli left's Meretz party mulls future as Jewish-Arab platform - Party leaders have warned about losing votes to new parties, and Chairman Nitzan Horowitz doesn’t rule out attacks on the Joint List of Arab parties. (Haaretz+)
  • Yair Netanyahu compares Black Flag protestors to ISIS - The son of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu compared the anti-Netanyahu Black Flag protesters to ISIS in a video published on Facebook, borrowing from an old Likud Party election campaign video to illustrate his point. The video was later deleted from his Facebook account. In response, the Black Flag movement responded to the video by referring to Yair as a parasite. (JPost and Maariv)
  • Police Indict Two Suspects for Threatening and Attacking anti-Netanyahu Protesters - One of the men threw a stone and eggs at a group of demonstrators in Jerusalem. He also threatened one of the protesters with violence. In the second case,a man was indicted for assault and causing bodily injury.. (Haaretz+)
  • New bill seeks to bar terror sympathizers from vying for elected municipal roles - The legislative proposal, sponsored by Likud MK Tali Ploskov, wants to prevent individuals who have expressed support for terrorism or an armed struggle against Israel, as well as for acts carried out citing racist, nationalist, ethnic, and sectarian motives, from holding office. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli Soccer Team Says Abu Dhabi Ruling Family Member Looks to Buy Stake - Owner of Beitar Jerusalem, who has a prominent far-right fan club, says he received letter of intent from Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan to buy stake of about 50%. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Thousands of Middle-class Israelis Join the Homeless, and the Soup Kitchens Can't Keep Up - More and more Israelis are, for the first time in their lives, having to seek out free hot meals as the pandemic continues to plague the economy. Organizations that help people in need wonder how long they’ll be able to cope. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel Spending Far Less Than Other Countries to Fight Major Rise in Domestic Violence - New study shows other countries are investing at least 10 times as much relative to their national budget as cases spike during pandemic. (Haaretz+)
  • Number of Gaza Border Residents in Therapy Doubles in Two Years, Report Says - Fighting between Hamas and the Israeli military intensified from 2017 to 2019, causing thousands living in border communities to seek help. (Haaretz+)
  • Palestine registers 16 coronavirus deaths, 1927 new infections - Six deaths were registered in the West Bank, seven others were reported in the Gaza Strip, while three deaths were registered in occupied East Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, a total of 738 new COVID cases were registered, while 232 cases were reported in occupied East Jerusalem. (WAFA)
  • Hamas is developing 'cruise missiles and drones with jet engines,' Israeli lawmaker claims - Former defense minister slams Netanyahu and Gantz over 'irresponsible' handling of Hamas in Gaza. (Haaretz+)
  • Palestinian President Heads to Jordan and Egypt for Meetings With Leaders - Mahmoud Abbas' departure from Ramallah for the first time since May comes a week after the Palestinian Authority said it would resume security coordination with Israel. (Haaretz+ and WAFA)
  • South African man who walked from Cape Town to Jerusalem received by Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh - Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh received received Shaheed Bin Yusuf Stakala, a young South African man, who walked all the way from South Africa to Jerusalem to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in a journey that lasted for 26 months. (WAFA)
  • Mass prayers to be held for Jews buried in Arab countries - (Friday article:) Hundreds of organizations representing Jews of all religious and ethnic streams have signed up for the Kaddish Initiative, to take place on Saturday, Nov. 28. (Israel Hayom)
  • Saudis urged to include Israel on official maps - In meeting with Saudi foreign minister in the kingdom earlier this year, Zionist Organization of America President Mort Klein asked, "How can Saudi Arabia educate Saudi youth and other Saudis of the mutual benefits of promoting relations with Israel, and to end antagonism towards Israel, if Israel is not even shown on the Saudi maps?" Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, who spoke of improving ties with Israel, reportedly told Klein the country would work on the issue. (Israel Hayom)
  • MBS Backtracked on Normalization With Israel After Biden Win, Report Says - In a bid to strengthen ties with the United States, the Saudi crown prince seeks to reach a peace deal with Israel after Biden takes office, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Maariv and Haaretz+)
  • Poll: Only 30% of Saudis in favor of business, sports ties with Israel - The figure, however, is on the rise and has tripled compared to the last survey carried out last June. (Israel Hayom)
  • Freed academic was detained in Iran because she had an Israeli partner, Australian media reports - Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British Australian specialist in Middle East politics who was released after six months of her 10-year term in a prisoner exchange deal, denied any allegations of espionage for Israel. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Turkey does not expect U.S. sanctions over Russian S-400s under Biden - Washington says the S-400 missile defense system poses a threat to the capabilities of its F-35 stealth fighter jets. (Agencies, Haaretz)


Features:

On Wikipedia, Israel is losing the battle against the word 'apartheid'
Trump’s peace plan and Israel’s creeping annexation of the West Bank are undermining one of Israel’s most important public diplomacy points in one of the most important arenas online. (Omer Benjakob, Haaretz+)
(Arab-Israeli) Coexistence activist Khamis Aboulafia dies from COVID
Khamis Abulafia, one of the most well-known and veteran restaurateurs in Israel, who is also considered one of its most famous coexistence ambassadors, died Frida) at Ichilov Hospital after contracting Corona. Abulafia, 60, is one of five brothers who own the old Abulafia bakery. In parallel with his business, Abulafia also worked in the past as a reporter for Egyptian television, working hard to create coexistence between Jews and Arabs. That was also the guideline of the Abulafia Bakery, which over the years also made sure not to operate during Yom Kippur and Passover as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish shoppers. (Yedioth Hebrew, News1 and i24News video)
Trump Heights: What will happen to the settlement after the election loss?
After Trump's loss in the presidential election, the future of the settlement named after him in the Golan Heights is in the fog: Is it a growing settlement or an abandoned outpost? In any case, the head of the regional council is already looking ahead: "The next locality - Neveh Biden” (Biden Oasis).” (Eyal Levy, Maariv)
‘If One Israeli Soldier Dies, Could You Look His Mother in the Eye and Say It Was for Pollard?’
The celebration this week over the end of Pollard’s parole reminded some officials of a less known incident in 1998. (Amos Harel, Haaretz+)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Timing of Iranian Scientist's Killing Is Clear Message for Biden Against Iran Nuclear Deal (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Israel's ability to act against Iran may soon be limited by Biden resuming talks with Tehran – which could condition negotiations on Israel stopping its attacks.
Israel and the Iranian Dilemma: Eliminating Fakhrizadeh changes the rules of the game (Tal Lev Ram, Maariv) Towards the end of the week, the defense establishment believed that Iran would maintain restraint in the coming months, but Friday’s assassination immediately increases the level of tension in the region. This means that the alert will be required to be maintained at the highest levels - over a long period of time.
EU's hypocrisy knows no bounds (Eldad Beck, Israel Hayom) Every day that the European Union chooses to appease the Iranian regime bring us a step closer to a military confrontation between the West and the Islamic republic.
Killing Iran’s Nuke Chief May Hurt Israel More Than He Ever Did in His Life (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) There are two possible explanations to the timing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s killing. Both are tied to Biden’s inauguration on January 20, and both are extremely high-risk.
A generation of fighters who died by the sword (Seth J. Frantzman, JPost)  In some ways it is a tragedy that these men turned their fire and anger against Israel and the US.
Iran’s revenge for slain nuclear scientist could include missiles on Eilat (Ron Ben Yishai, Ynet) Although the regime in Tehran is enraged by the brazen killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, it will most likely not react in a way that would destroy ties with the Biden administration before they even began, opting instead for more 'creative' alternatives.
Iran's tough year makes the world a safer place (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) While the Iranians cannot afford a knee-jerk reaction to the assassination of nuclear program chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, its threats of retribution must be taken seriously.
Fakhrizadeh assassination a huge embarrassment for Iran (Seth J. Frantzman, JPost/Maariv) The killing of Fakhrizadeh is major news globally. As such it is a huge embarrassment for Iran. Despite technological advances in Tehran, which is developing drones and various radars, it seems unable to defend itself when it comes to old-style assassinations.
The man who knew too much (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth Hebrew) In the Western intelligence agencies, the name of Prof. Muhsin Fakhrizadeh was well known. The man behind the secret arm of the Iranian nuclear project, the one who continued to work tirelessly to achieve a bomb, combined vast knowledge of nuclear physics and chemistry with impressive and no less important management ability - and no less important - loyalty to the Iranian revolution. Despite being a secretive and secure man, Fakhrizadeh ran a surprising blog, in which he revealed a personality that combines deep religious belief with modernity and adherence to scientific research…Officials in the local intelligence community used to call nuclear scientist Muhsin Fakhrizadeh, the ‘Iranian Dr. Strangelove,’ after the insane professor in a 1960s American film. Fakhrizadeh was the top scientific and administrative commissioner of the secret arm of the Iranian nuclear project, the one subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and the Revolutionary Guards. He had several hats, but the most important of them was as the head of the SPND, which is the name of the cover that the Iranians gave to the military part of their nuclear project.
The Iranians don't feel safe anywhere (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) It seems that there has never been a time with so much activity on the defensive front, especially vis-à-vis Syria and Iran. The question now is: who's next? What will happen ahead of the transition in Washington? Are the Iranians now saying to themselves: We survived Trump, we'll survive this, too?
Was Iran’s Fakhrizadeh a Robert Oppenheimer or a Soleimani? (Seth J. Frantzman, JPost) It is not clear who killed him, but many US experts, former officials and voices in the European Union feel the attack was unacceptable.
*The Pride of Israel: Assassinations (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Alongside drip irrigation and cherry tomatoes, there are few areas in which Israel takes more pride than what it calls “targeted killings,” which are in fact acts of murder by the state. With the exception of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia, there are few states that murder their adversaries or their enemies, certainly not in the large numbers that Israel does. Since 2000, Israeli forces have murdered about 70 Palestinians, some of whom were clearly political activists and not militants, in planned, targeted killings. The assassination Friday of Prof. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Khomeini Boulevard on the outskirts of Tehran was also not the first assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Before him about a dozen scientists were murdered – most of them, if not all, presumably by Israel. How did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it Friday, with a sly, knowing smile? “It’s been a week of achievements.”
The assassination of Fakhrizadeh put Iran in a dilemma (Dr. Raz Zimet, Maariv) What will be the reaction to the liquidation? The internal controversy ranges from accelerating the nuclear program, even at the cost of a possible escalation with the US, and continuing to wait for the Biden administration that may resume negotiations.
Operation to remove Iran and Hezbollah from the Syrian border is far from achieving its goal; And Gaza’s corona wave is dangerous for Israel (Avi Issacharoff, Maariv) ...1.) In the summer of 2018, it seemed possible to breathe a sigh of relief when it came to Iranian expansion in the region. The Russians, we were told, had managed to reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran, Syria and Israel on distancing Iranian and Hezbollah forces to about 70 kilometers from the border in the Golan Heights. On Wednesday this week, the Air Force reportedly distributed leaflets over Syrian villages near the border in the Golan Heights, warning residents not to approach the Hezbollah and Iran facilities so that they would not be harmed. The presence of the Iranians is no longer a question mark, neither 70 kilometers nor seven miles away. Maybe 70 meters at best. Iran, through Hezbollah, has increased its presence near the border with Israel. Sometimes these are positions that operate out of those of the Syrian army and sometimes independent positions. On Wednesday morning, the IDF attacked such positions in the Quneitra area (and near Damascus), and only about a week ago a much more extensive attack was carried out in Syria on a range of Iranian facilities and positions. On the contrary: the Iranians (Hezbollah) are getting closer and closer to them and trying to build a front other than the Lebanese one. The consequences of building such a front are problematic. It is clear that Hezbollah is not currently interested in escalation in Lebanon and it is careful not to carry out even its famous act of revenge. It is possible that these are the consequences of the negotiations on marking the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, which could lead to gas transactions amounting to billions. Hezbollah does not want to be accused of destroying billions of dollars in future revenue for the Lebanese coffers and leaving it in ruins again. But the front in Syria allows it to operate in a place that is so convenient for it, on the gray fringes of the Syrian army. Laying explosives in Israeli territory and fleeing, or carrying out a "sniping attack" without accepting responsibility, thus leaving Israel in real embarrassment and dilemma if and where to respond, and wondering what the price of such a response would be…It now appears that the decision-makers in the government and Netanyahu's associates, who were quick to condemn Moshe (Boogie) Ya'alon for his statements that the Hezbollah rockets will rust (on the eve of the IDF's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000), have now adopted this statement as a strategy: We all pray that the recent rains will cause great rust in Hezbollah's arsenal of missiles and rockets. Otherwise, G-d help us. 2.) The other threat to Israel is the economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza. Although the situation can always be worse, it seems that Gaza is careful to maintain this principle, and the situation there has indeed become worse. As if the unemployment, poverty, and distress that Gaza had faced in the routine of the years were not enough, especially since Hamas seized power in 2007, and now 2.2 million Palestinians were added to the Corona trouble. "Today we have an average of 650 patients a day," Abu Osama, a resident of Gaza City, told me. "Today alone we have six dead. Until a few weeks ago there were a few dozen patients here, maybe a hundred. Now the feeling is that everything is out of control, and that's not least because of the mentality of the people here. They are not wearing masks. Why? Because there is still thought here that the corona is not real and that it is a conspiracy, that Hamas is lying and exaggerating in numbers to get more money from Qatar. I will give you an example: in Gaza several people travel in one taxi. At least four or five. Each trip costs a shekel. Almost everyone has no mask.”…It must be said - first Hamas managed to deal with the corona successfully. The organization set up isolation centers for all returnees from abroad and left them isolated and closed for almost 21 days. Gaza was free of corona for a long time. But then things started to go wrong, and the numbers only went up and up. The famous traffic light program was implemented and a differential closure was imposed on cities and neighborhoods. Gaza was divided and split between areas (south and north) and between cities and neighborhoods. This move worked for a while, but ultimately failed to stop the flood. Now the epidemic is already raging. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 16,755 cases have been registered in Gaza (up to Wednesday), of which 9,774 have recovered. The coefficient of infection there is 1.4 - a high and worrying figure. And what is even more worrying is the winds that have been blowing recently from the Hamas leadership. For some reason, the organization is bothering to publish false accusations that Israel is preventing the entry of medical equipment into the Gaza Strip, perhaps to find a scapegoat. Or as a source familiar with the details put it: Hamas seeks to abdicate responsibility. If he blames Israel, its public will not be able to come to it with complaints. These allegations have troubled the Israeli defense establishment, and the coordinator of government operations in the territories, Major General Kamil Abu Rokon, released a video on Wednesday morning in which he completely denies the allegations of “people in the Gaza Strip." Abu Rokon provided different data regarding the export of medical equipment from Israel into the Gaza Strip in an attempt to help deal with the epidemic. Among other things, Israel provided Gaza with testing kits, protective equipment, respirators and what not. Israel even helped giving training to doctors from Gaza at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon to help operate the respirators. And yet, Hamas is in a campaign against Israel. Its incendiary kite and balloon units even issued a statement warning Israel that if it prevented the import of medical equipment, the unit would resume operations. Hamas is afraid of an "Arab Spring" in which the public will go on a widespread protest that will undermine the organization's legitimacy in the Gaza Strip, and it is trying to avoid this in any way, even if it means creating some tension with Israel. For now at least such a built-in tension can be discerned between the general public and Hamas. We got an example of this just a few weeks ago. Hamas launched several rockets into the sea as part of experiments it conducted, and the video was even leaked (intentionally or not) to the Internet. But instead of provoking positive reactions, there were mostly critiques like “Why do we need it and how does it help us in a period like this?" Hamas is ultimately faced with the difficult dilemma that is plaguing every government in the world these days: the economy or health, but in its case the economy collapsed even before this. The question is whether at some point, in order to avoid public outrage, Hamas will try to divert the fire towards Israel. The dripping of rockets in recent weeks could be an indication of this. On the other hand, the anniversary of the assassination of Baha Abu al-'Ata two weeks ago passed relatively quietly. Someone in Hamas made sure that quiet was maintained and it demonstrated governance. And what about Hamas rockets fired at Ashdod and Gush Dan? The IDF still insists that the Hamas version, according to which a malfunction resulting from the storm led to the launch, is credible. All indications are that this is strange, strange as it may be…On Wednesday, another rainstorm hit Israel and the Gaza Strip. Until the closing of the issue, it did not lead to any incidents and no rockets were fired at Israel. What is clear is that, as with Iran, Netanyahu, Gantz and the other ministers have adopted the "rusting" strategy: out of a desire to avoid war, the almost only option left is to pray that following the heavy rains Hamas rockets will end up rusty.
They will seek revenge abroad (Alex Fishman, Yedioth Hebrew) The premise is that on the eve of President Biden's entry into the White House, Iran apparently has no interest in leading the region into military chaos through noisy military action. But everything is possible, because the desire to avenge, deter and restore the country’s pride exists. Now it's a matter of opportunity and ability.
Killing of Iranian Scientist Is a Dangerous Provocation (Haaretz Editorial) A moment before the transition of power in Washington, President Donald Trump presumably gave his blessing to the assassination of the father of Iran’s nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in Absard, northeast of Tehran. The goal of the operation, which has the potential to ignite a regional escalation, is to take advantage of the final moments of Trump’s term in order to constrain the President-elect Joe Biden and thwart a U.S. return to the international nuclear agreement with Iran…Iranian threats mean Israel now risks an intensified head-on clash with Tehran at the height of the coronavirus crisis, and at a time when it’s being led by a divided, dysfunctional government in which people around the prime minister even boast of routinely excluding the foreign and defense ministers from diplomatic and military-related developments. This intoxication with power may well lead not only to a dangerous military conflict with Iran, but also to Israel’s first diplomatic crisis with the Biden administration even before it enters office…
Between a rock and a hard place (Oded Granot, Israel Hayom) Iran is both furious and embarrassed by the assassination of its nuclear chief. But retaliation may come with a price it is unwilling to pay.
Despite the blow to morale, Iran will find a nuclear scientist just as talented as the assassinated Fakhrizadeh (Yossi Melman, Haaretz+) Also, the responses from Netanyahu and Trump could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to exacerbate an already tense situation.
A punch in Iran's gut (Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom) The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the nuclear scientist who headed Iran's military nuclear program is a dramatic event, whether Israel's Mossad was involved or not.
Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist a Tactical Success That Risks Strategic Escalation (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's killing will complicate Biden's return to nuclear deal. If Israel is behind it, it may find it has damaged its relationship with the administration more than it damaged Iran.
Why the Nobel Peace Prize Committee snubbed Trump (Adi Arbel, Israel Hayom) The gatekeepers will not allow the conservative ideology touted by the 45th president of the United States to hold any canonical status in the collective memory.
Trump might leave scorched earth on his way out. Netanyahu is happy to lend him a lighter (Noa Landau, Haaretz+) The president's frantic tweets after the news broke of top Iranian nuclear scientist's assassination make it clear his administration gave its blessing to the Tehran attack attributed to Israel. Could this be Trump's final frenzy?
The dying convulsions of the Trump administration are a real danger to the Middle East (Ran Edelist, Maariv) Only a change in policy, alongside defense and intelligence measures, will result in a fundamental change in Israel’s fight against terrorism. As it stands today, a change in policy requires a change in policy leaders, which has failed to happen. In the US it worked.
The Joint List? The Confused List (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) “I want [MK Mansour] Abbas and the entire Islamic [Movement] list in the party,” said Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh to Army Radio on Thursday. “Netanyahu has managed to divide everyone, now it’s the Joint List’s turn.” Odeh is right. Benjamin Netanyahu is an ace when it comes to dividing and ruling. It seems that few things give him more satisfaction than driving a wedge between people, groups, organizations, parties, even between nations and states.
Netanyahu has paved way for new Jewish-Arab alliances (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has long demonized Arab MKs, branding any alliances with them as treason; but his budding ties to Joint List's Mansour Abbas, driven by his own political needs, could lead to closer and improved cooperation.
To Replace Netanyahu, Jewish Israelis Need the Arabs (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) If you desperately try to find some advantage in the left wing’s situation ahead of the coming election, it lies in what there isn’t. With the evaporation of the Labor Party and the split in Kahol Lavan, the field is so ravaged that any new formation can be built on it….the most interesting population, which wields the greatest power to influence is the election results: the Arab community. The cooperation between the Islamic Movement’s chairman Mansour Abbas and Netanyahu has caused turmoil in the Joint List – which is Netanyahu’s intention – and yet, it reflects a certain sentiment within Arab society.
The alliance between Netanyahu and (Islamist Movement MK) Mansour Abbas reveals the pragmatism in Arab society (Ruth Wasserman Lande, Maariv) The political development shows the pragmatism inherent in many corners of Arab society in Israel, along with the strong willingness and desire of the Arab population to integrate into the Israeli mainstream.
Shattered leftist dreams (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) The Left is meeting its end because it lacks vision. The "peace of the brave" has collapsed. You would be hard-pressed to find Israelis willing to return to the days of "Socialism Now." My suggestion to those who seek regime change? Stop sowing the seeds of hate, and put forth a genuine visionary challenge to the Right instead.
Citizenship in East Jerusalem Now (Friday Haaretz Editorial) …The granting of citizenship to East Jerusalem residents is a challenge for anyone believing in a two-state solution. If a significant portion of East Jerusalem residents obtain Israeli citizenship, it will no longer be possible to divide the city, or the country, between two nations. These people will unwillingly become agents of a creeping annexation. But after 54 years of occupation, one can question the expectation that Palestinians born into the occupation and living in Israel must wait to gain their rights until the desired solution arrives. Young Palestinians should not pay the price of waiting for the realization of a two-state solution. They are entitled to full rights and equality here and now…
A window to society's values (Sarah N. Stern, Israel Hayom) While many cling to the view that the Palestinian issue is merely a human-rights struggle, think for a moment of the families of all of those who have had loved ones murdered by terrorists.
Netanyahu-Gantz feud is holding the IDF hostage (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet)  Disobeying orders, breaking the chain of command and unlawful promotions - the unceasing political feud between the prime minister and his defense minister is tarnishing the Israeli military and threatening national security.
If the Knesset dissolves, nothing will stop the deterioration towards a social rift (Haim Misgav, Maariv) …Perhaps, I should have been part of the protesters. I was not born in a development town, and I never suffered from the historic Mapai party; but I am not. I always knew there was something distorted in the condescension of those who defined themselves as holding a gold share in the Zionist enterprise. I know they have first rights, and yet they have always been disgusting to me. I just did not like them. I have known many of those discriminated against by them and more than once I have even represented those who have become entangled in crime among those who have been marginalized; And I always knew that under other circumstances they would not have reached the dock. The corona plague did not hit the fake elite sitting in Greater Tel Aviv. Perhaps, they want chaos and that democracy does not really interest them. They are willing to put their freedom of expression on hold, provided it is deprived from the Prime Minister's supporters. One way or another, in my opinon, the cahos is already here. It can also be found in a "methodical exercise,” as defined by some senior police officers who decide that the prime minister's environment behaves like a criminal organization.
From Mecca to Jerusalem (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) As Israel launches a historic normalization process with Arab countries that could change the face of the Middle East, more and more voices are challenging the identification of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as the Quranic Al-Aqsa and arguing that it is actually located in Saudi Arabia. 
David Friedman Indeed Violated a Glorious Tradition (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) It’s true, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman did not continue the glorious tradition of his predecessors, especially the Jewish ones, of noninterference in Israeli domestic affairs. The main difference is that in the context of their noninterference in our internal affairs, they recruited the media and other centers of power to persuade Israeli governments to adopt their positions, including personal ones, positions that were unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of Israelis – and sometimes also to the very administration they represented. Friedman had no need for such manipulations. The president and his administration, like the government of Israel and the overwhelming majority of the population, supported most of his positions.
The Jewish hive that surrounds the president-elect in the United States (Shlomo Shami, Maariv) The former president of the Reform Movement noted the fact that most of Biden's cabinet appointments are "well known to the Jewish community. Some of them are Jews, but what is important is that they are known as pro-Israel."
Israel, Saudi find themselves facing more than one common foe (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu and bin Salman's covert meeting Monday was a major stepping stone on the path to normalization, with both in trepidation of Joe Biden's incoming administration in addition to their shared fear of a nuclear-armed Iran.
The End of the Age of Politics (Yair Assulin, Haaretz+) Make no mistake: The political situation is not the cause for the end of the age of politics. Just like other political situations in the world, or like the helplessness of central banks, or the public’s deep lack of trust throughout the world, this is just an expression of the end of the age, of the disintegration. Corrupt people and interest groups are exploiting this sorry state of affairs – which persists mainly by virtue of the power of power and of inertia – in order to squeeze as much as they can from it. To hell with whatever comes next.
The Real Task of Benny Gantz’s (Submarine Inquiry) Panel (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz+) The stench of a deal between the prime minister and his alternate, Gantz, arises from this story. This deal overshadows the exchange of the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office for the Finance Ministry’s accountant general…If (anti-Netanyahu protesters) continue to demonstrate after Gantz gives them a panel of inquiry, it will be irrefutable proof of the desire of the Black Flag and Crime Minister movements to overthrow a sitting prime minister…The decision to appoint an inquiry panel will make it harder on the justices to simultaneously order the establishment of a commission of inquiry, all the more so to direct Mendelblit to order the investigation of Netanyahu as a suspect in the affair. A toothless government panel of inquiry is a hundred times more convenient for Netanyahu than a state commission of inquiry that has authority to question witnesses as suspects…
Israel, Palestinian Authority Edge Closer to Restoring Coordination (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israel trying to expedite transfer of medical aid as COVID-19 cases spike ■ How the army plans to tackle dwindling motivation to enlist in combat units.
Israeli Top Brass Worried Over a Parting Gift From Trump: Advanced Weapons to Saudi Arabia (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) It seems the normalization deal with the UAE – and the F-35 stealth jets that came with it – whetted MBS’ appetite.
Mr. Prime Minister, you are failing (Prof. Yoram Yuval, Yedioth Hebrew) Despite some significant achievements during his tenure, Binyamin Netanyahu is primarily responsible for the health catastrophe, economic fiasco and social crisis in Israel. We need new blood. urgently.
In his darkest hour, Netanyahu is on the road to his greatest victory (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) And he’s getting there with the help of Arab politician Mansour Abbas, who with his fondness for religious law has something in common with the Jewish far right.
Mike Pompeo, Messiah of the BDS movement (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) The Israel boycott movement is a dismal failure, but the hard-right in the U.S. and Israel is determined to keep it alive. And Pompeo has excellent reasons to join this illusory crusade.
 

Interviews:
Ex-con speaks out on life and death in Israeli prison
He was shackled, gnawed by rats and had a cellmate commit suicide. After five jail terms, Yoni Yahav is focused on improving prison conditions in Israel. (Interviewed by Ayelett Shani in Haaretz+)

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

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