News Nosh 3.11.21

by APN 03/11/21
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday March 11, 2021
 

You Must Be Kidding: 
A video shows Israeli soldiers pushing and pulling five Palestinian children between the ages of 8 and 12 near the West Bank village of al-Rakiz into jeeps. Then they brought them to an Israeli police station in a settlement after settlers accused the children of trespassing on their outpost settlement. The children and Israeli activists said they were foraging for wild plants, as their pails attested.**


Breaking News:
Netanyahu visit today to UAE cancelled. More in Top News summary.


Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • “If Mohammed was murdered, tomorrow they will murder more school children” - Thousands attended the funeral of 15-year-old Mohammed, who was shot dead in (Arab-Israeli town) Jaljulya
  • Daily neglect // Merav Betito
  • Our lives are no life // Watfa Jabali
  • This is the time to wake-up // Riham Abu al-Asal
  • Spirit of the commander - What is happening in the Education Ministry in the year of corona (under the leadership of Minister Yoav Galant)
  • The kidney donors - 22 people who donated a kidney to someone not from their family

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

  • “Waiting for the next victim” - Hundreds attended the funeral of 15-year-old Mohammed, who was shot dead next to his home in Jaljulya
  • School - even in ‘orange’ cities
  • History in Abu Dhabi: Netanyahu will fly today for his first visit in the UAE
  • Almost a big change: At the end of a close battle, Yahya Sinwar was re-elected the leader of Hamas

Israel Hayom

  • A new era in the Gulf // Amnon Lord
  • Today: Netanyahu leaves for hours-long visit in Abu Dhabi
  • Old Hope: (Gideon) Sa’ar has no “base” // Mati Tuchfeld
  • The media and the catastrophe broadcasts // Akiva Bigman
  • Your vote will decide
  • Exclusive: Soon: The end to Shin Bet phone tracking (of corona infected)
  • Interview: “Bennett will sit with us and so will Sa’ar” - (Shas leader Arieh) Der’i puts together the next government
  • Interview: “Netanyahu is good for the Arabs.” Mayor of Nazareth, Ali Salem, speaks with no holds barred
  • Interview: “Without making provocations you can’t penetrate the consciousness”: A day with Miri Regev


Top News Summary:
Fifteen-year-old Mohammed’s killing sparked shock, fear and calls among Arab-Israelis for civil revolt for the government neglect of the rampant violence in their sector. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin’s visit to Abu Dhabi today was supposed to be ‘historic.’ [UPDATE: It got cancelled. More info below.] And Yahya Sinwar fended off his challenger and was re-elected as head of the Hamas politburo in the Gaza Strip, making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo said that the US and Iran will return to the nuclear deal and - hinting to Netanyahu - that Israel will just have to deal with it and should not be making threats against it or consider bombing a nuclear reactor.

And an interesting sequence of events took place between Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. First, a video of made waves on social media of a former senior Israel Aerospace Industries executive who said he saw a copy of a contract made between Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, in which she gets veto power of the appointment of the Mossad, Shin Bet and IDF chiefs, as well as control of their finances and a clause barring him from traveling without her. According to the alleged contract, if he violates any of it, all of their property and assets go to her. (Ynet Hebrew) Moreover, Channel 13 News reported that according to the 2013 testimony of Israeli tycoon and Netanyahu associate Arnon Milchan, now-Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen promised to show personal loyalty to the Netanyahu couple when he was trying to be appointed chairman of the National Security Council, his previous position. (Maariv) At the same time, the news websites were already reporting yesterday that news was out that Netanyahu was to travel for a few hours to Abu Dhabi to meet with Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed at the airport. But this morning, Sara Netanyahu was hospitalized with appendicitis and, as a result, Netanyahu was considering cancelling his trip. Shortly thereafter, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that the trip was in doubt because Jordanian officials blockedNetanyahu’s flight because Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah's visit to Temple Mount was cancelled over disagreements with Israel about security protocols. TheJordanian government did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.


Elections 2021:

  • As Israel Heads to Fourth Election in Two Years, Poll Predicts Political Deadlock - Channel 12 News poll shows right-wing party Yamina making some gains, four parties teetering on the verge of the electoral threshold. (Haaretz+)
  • Labor Chair on ICC Investigation and on Hamas: 'Israel Doesn't Commit War Crimes’ and if Hamas offers Israel recognition, it’s worth examining - Merav Michaeli also said that if Hamas offers to recognize Israel, that is something that is worth examining. She spoke at a conference on Israeli national security held by Haaretz and Commanders for Israel's Security,  (Haaretz+)
  • Labor Chair: No one thinks half a million settlers will be evacuated - Merav Michaeli clarified that her party believes that Israel should retain the settlement blocs in any final status two-state resolution of the conflict. She spoke Monday at a virtual conference, “The Silent War,” sponsored by the Makor Rishon newspaper. (JPost)
  • Anger in the settlements - Senior leaders against Netanyahu: “He’s ignoring us” - From cancelling the application of sovereignty (over parts of the West Bank), to stopping the legalization of young settlements (outposts) and not giving a settler a reserved place on the Likud list - senior sources in the settlements are angry at the prime minister: “He is ignoring us, we haven’t heard anything from him. He feels that we are already in his pocket.” (Yedioth Hebrew)
  • Clawing at Electoral Threshold, Meretz Makes Desperate Appeals to LGBTQ, Israeli Arab Communities - The left-wing party fears that the controversial remarks by one of its Knesset candidates, an Israeli Arab, on LGBTQ rights will chase away potential voters. (Haaretz+)
  • Shas leader confident Yamina, New Hope will 'return to the fold' - Having seen it all during his 30 years in politics, Aryeh Deri shares his predictions as to what the March 23 election has in store for Israel. (Israel Hayom)
  • Investigation Into Netanyahu’s Arabic Facebook Push Reveals Fake Users - Netanyahu’s official Arabic-language Facebook has accumulated thousands of followers since its launch; an investigation found dozens of suspect accounts, some with profile pictures from porn sites. (Haaretz+)
  • Sa'ar's leadership hopes crushed by internal polls, insiders say - New Hope's leader, who split from Likud with the grand aspiration of premiership must now wage a battle to actually cross the electoral threshold. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israel's elections get underway as polls open for diplomats abroad - Envoys serving in foreign countries traditionally cast ballots two weeks before Election Day so they can be counted with rest of votes; officials abroad include Yonatan Peled, who in last 4 elections has voted in 4 countries on 3 continents. (Yedioth/Ynet)


Corona-related Quickees:

  • IDF is first army in world to achieve herd immunity, top officer says - Some 81% of troops either been fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, with percentage expected to climb to 85% in coming weeks; confirmed cases among soldiers down to 149 from peak of 2,033 last month. (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
  • Three Palestinian prisoners held by Israel test positive for Covid-19, says commission - All three are being held at military detention centers that lack the basic necessities of life. At least 335 Palestinian political prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus. (WAFA)
  • Palestinian PM makes international appeal for coronavirus vaccines - As Mohammad Shtayyeh urges friendly nations, companies and WHO to 'fulfill their obligations to us,' human rights groups call on PA to explain criteria used for distributing its vaccines, which have so far been given to senior officials. (Agencies,Ynet)
  • Palestine to receive 100,000 doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine from China- This came as the Palestinian Health Ministry set up the online platform, http://vaccine.moh.ps, which will allow Palestinians to voluntarily register in order to take the vaccine, which would be offered free of charge. (WAFA)
  • Abbas rival arranges vaccine shipment to Gaza- Exiled Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan struck a deal with the United Arab Emirates to donate 40,000 Russian Sputnik V vaccines to the strip. (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)


Quick Hits:

  • **Israeli Soldiers Detain Palestinian Children for (allegedly) Trespassing at a Settlement Outpost - The five children, aged 8 to 12, from the village Al-Rakiz in the South Hebron Hills, were arrested in the area of Maon Farm (outpost), according to the Palestinians, after picking plants. The army claims that they trespassed in the yard of a house and that they are suspected of attempting to steal parrots. B'Tselem published documentation of them being taken by force, crying, to the military vehicles that took them to a police station in the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba, where one parent said officers wouldn't let him see his son. (Haaretz+ and VIDEO, IMEMC, WAFA and Ynet Hebrew and VIDEO)
  • Settlers storm ancient Islamic shrines in Salfit-district town - Israeli forces closed entrances to Kifl Haris town to provide protection between to the scores of settlers who proceeded to break into and desecrate the Prophet Thu Al-Kifl, Prophet Thu An-Noon and Prophet Yosha shrines from 10:30PM Wednesday till dawn Thursday, causing a state of tension among the town residents. (WAFA)
  • Israeli settlers raid archeological site near Nablus -
  • A group of Israeli settlers Wednesday stormed the archaeological site of Sebastia, north of Nablus. Israeli forces closed off the area and occupied the rooftops of some buildings to provide protection for the settlers, who forced their way into the site in three batches. (WAFA)
  • He played with a gun, fired a bullet, and made it look like a suicide:  indictment against Border Police officer who shot fellow officer - Afik Toibi was charged with manslaughter for shooting Naim Maadi [a Druze-Israeli Border Police officer- OH]. According to the indictment, which was filed in Haifa District Court, Toibi walked into the room that he shared with Maadi, removed the magazine from his pistol, but apparently not a bullet that was already in the chamber, and then pointed the gun at Maadi’s head and said, “Look,” before pulling the trigger and shooting him in the face.  Then, instead of getting medical assistance for Maadi, who was “wheezing to death,” Toibi staged the body and the gun to appear as though he had shot himself and told others that Maadi had committed suicide. In the indictment, prosecutors said Toibi routinely played with his service pistol and had also behaved violently toward his fellow border guards, including “forcefully” sodomizing one of his comrades. Commander of the Border Police appointed an examining officer to probe the conduct of the unit. (Yedioth Hebrew and Times of Israel)
  • Israeli navy targets Palestinian fishing boats off Gaza coast - Navy opened gunfire and water hoses at Palestinian fishing boats sailing within six nautical miles offshore the city, causing damage to at least one boat. (WAFA)
  • Education Minister in petition to Israel Prize Committee: Don’t award the prize to a scientist who supports BDS - Channel 12 News reported that the Yoav Galant claims that Prof. Oded Goldreich, who was selected by the committee to receive the award in the field of mathematics and computer science research, signed a petition to revoke the defining the boycott movement against Israel as an antisemitic movement. (Maariv)
  • BDS advocate Roger Waters pressures Stevie Wonder to decline award from Israel - Former Pink Floyd bassist has a history of similar requests, having previously called on musicians like John Bon Jovi, Lana Del Rey, Robbie Williams, and Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke to not perform in Israel. (Israel Hayom)
  • Complaints over racism rose threefold in Israel in 2020, study finds - Report by National Anti-Racism Coordinator's Office shows that over 54% of all incidents were against Ethiopian Jews and Arabs; reports included Arab family being barred from entering a public park in predominantly-Jewish city of Karmiel. (Haaretz+ and Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Two laborers were killed in work accidents in the Upper Galilee and in Ashdod- A 62-year-old man was killed after being hit in the head by a crane in the locality of Hosen. Earlier, a 43-year-old worker was killed during a truck repair at a work site in Ashdod. (Maariv)
  • Israeli Rangers want authority to wiretap phones of illegal hunters, wildlife traders - Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s legal adviser says organization needs authorization to access online media such as the dark net and use tracking software to catch offenders. (Times of Israel)
  • 11-year-old comes across rare First Temple-era artifact during desert hike - Zvi Ben-David was on a family trip in the northern Negev when he discovered a ceramic figurine that archeologists estimate dates back to the First Temple period. (Israel Hayom)
  • Important antiquities uncovered during renovation work at the Armenian Garden in Jerusalem - A large Armenian cross-stone known as Khatchkar, probably dating back to the 12 century, was uncovered during works at the Armenian Garden in Jerusalem’s Old City. (WAFA)
  • Italy contributes US$9.5 Million to Palestinian Partnership for Infrastructure Development - “Italy is a longstanding supporter of Palestinian people in Gaza...With this project, Italy aims at supporting the modernization of the water sector, as a crucial step towards the provision of primary services and the facilitation of sustainable development within the Strip", said Consul General of Italy in Jerusalem, Giuseppe Fedele. (WAFA)
  • Fatah Central Committee dismisses longstanding member Nasser al-Qudwa - The Fatah Central Committee its decision to oust al-Qudwa, a veteran diplomat, was made prior to allow al-Qudwa 48 hours to backtrack on his position to break away from the movement and contest the upcoming elections in a separate list. (WAFA)
  • Israeli, Egyptian officials attend largest bilateral conference in 20 years - Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen says conference will help countries bring bilateral trade back to previous high of $1b billion annually. With new security system in place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Cohen says Israel looking to exclude resort city from Sinai security alerts. (Israel Hayom)
  • WEF names Dalal Iriqat, daughter of Saeb Erekat, as Young Global Leader - The World Economic Forum today named Dalal Iriqat as one of 112 most promising Young Global Leaders under the age of 40. (WAFA)
  • Israel to demolish house under construction east of Bethlehem - Israeli forces stormed the vicinity of Murad Tourist Resort in Wadi Abu al-Hummus, where they handed Amjad Ja‘abis a notification to tear down his house purportedly for being built without a license. (WAFA)
  • Pope, After Iraq Trip, Seeks Answers Over Weapons Sales to 'Terrorists' - 'And I asked myself (during the trip), 'who sold the weapons to the terrorists?, who sells weapons to terrorists today who are carrying out massacres elsewhere, for example, in Africa?,'' the Pope said. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Bahrain Police Beat, Threaten Detained Children With Rape, Rights Groups Say - Some 13 children were detained as authorities tried to dissuade protesters from gathering to mark the 10th anniversary of a 2011 pro-democracy uprising, according to joint statement. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Jared Kushner Plans Book on Trump White House, Abraham Accords, Source Says - Kushner is 'not looking to - settle scores but rather to provide historical context and help readers understand what it was like to work in the Trump White House,' source adds. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Saudi Court Denies Women's Rights Activist’s Appeal, Upholds Travel Ban - Loujain al-Hathloul, who was released from prison just weeks ago, is unable to leave the Kingdom for the next five years and faces tough limitations of her freedom of speech. (Agencies, Haaretz)


Features:

When Israel supported boycotts against a white supremacist regime
Israel not only boycotted Rhodesia in the 1960s, it fully backed the armed liberation movement that would eventually overthrow its white-led regime. (Eitay Mack, 972mag)
Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Ancient, Indiscriminate Mass Murder
Genetic analysis of skeletons from 6,200 years ago, found in a pit in Croatia, shows the victims were unrelated: Men, women and children appear to have been brutally slaughtered en masse. (Ariel David, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
We Need to Get Rid of Netanyahu and Heal the State (Eran Yashiv, Haaretz+) Israel is caught in the grip of two difficult problems. One problem is the decline of the political system, and at its heart is the phenomenon called Benjamin Netanyahu. The problem manifests in an unstable parliamentary regime, with frequent changes of government (four in the past decade) and short-lived parliaments (six in the past decade). At the same time, strong forces are working to undermine the infrastructure of Israeli democracy. At the heart of the problem is the Netanyahu phenomenon. Israel is in a situation where one person – intelligent and talented but highly problematic – is manipulating the entire political system. He is a populist leader, with no constructive vision, bent on destroying Israel’s social capital and focused exclusively on his own personal gain…
Not everything is Bibi (Sever Plocker, Yedioth Hebrew) It is customary to divide the parties running in the upcoming elections according to Yes-Bibi or No-Bibi, and more precisely according to their likely willingness to join a coalition led by Netanyahu. This is a reasonable division, but not the only one possible. The use of ideological criteria, and especially in the approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leads to a different division of blocs. The first bloc is the diplomatic center, a group of parties that don’t support - or stopped supporting - the idea of a Greater Israel, and instead accepted the idea of “Two States for Two Peoples,” and the borders will be whatever they will be. Yesh Atid, Kahol-Lavan and even the Likud belong to this group. Yes, even the Likud moved itself, under Netanyahu’s leadership, deep into the center, when it gave up on annexation in exchange for peace agreements with far off Arab states, which aren’t even a side in the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian state. Shas also belongs to the center bloc as long as Arieh Der’i is leading it, and also ultra-Orthodox parties that are not partner to the vision of Bezalel Smotrich [leader of “Religious Zionism” party], [Kahanist Arab-hater leader of Otzma Yehudit party) Itamar Ben-Gvir and those types. The right-wing bloc, which rejects the idea of “Two States for Two Peoples”: (Gideon Sa’ar’s) New Hope, (Naftali Bennett’s) Yamina, (Avigdor Lieberman’s) Yisrael Beiteinu and Smotrich’s ‘Religious Zionism’ party. This group has at least 37 MKs. Left of the center bloc are, of course, the two Zionist left-wing parties with 10 mandates, on a good poll day. They recognize Palestinian national rights and accept a compromise of “land for peace,” with much more geographical compromise than the center blocs are willing to give. Unlike the center, the left-wing uses terms such as “occupation” and “Territories.” On the very left - or to be exact - on the nationalist Arab end -are the divided Joint List faction and the Ra’am party, which broke off from the Joint List. Is this division the one that will be used as the key to forming the next government or the one after that? Possibly…It’s possible to conjecture that the forgotten and pushed aside issue of an arrangement with the Palestinians will return to its high place in the Israeli agenda along side social-demographic issues that have turned into economic failure: The continued poverty among the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors and the low employment rate among them both. Also here, it is clear that the left-wing bloc is closer to these issues than the right-wing bloc. The assumption about the return of the issue of the territories and the Palestinians is based on the change in the US administration, on the elections to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that could bring the end of the long career of the elderly Abu Mazen, and on the pressure that the moderate Arab states will put on the new Palestinian leadership to open in a serious dialogue with Israel. From day to day they are increasingly annoyed with the current PA leadership’s refusal (to take part in talks with Israel). It’s possible an unexpected change will take place: The collapse of the Hamas rule in Gaza. It has almost no ability to supply the population there with its basic needs and in many ways it is living on borrowed time and on the tax monies the Arab residents are paying to the PA. It’s not at all certain that this will happen. And yet, I allow myself to assume that the fateful question that the Likud, Yesh Atid, Kahol-Lavan and the Labor party will face won’t be whether to give Bibi a hand, but whether to give a hand to the efforts to advance a compromise arrangement with the Palestinian people. In addition, whether to formulate an economic policy whose priority is not the reduction of the ratio of government debt to domestic product, but rather the rescue  by increased employment and the rising labor productivity of the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors from life at and under the poverty level. Not everything is Bibi; We also have a state to live in in peace and with ourselves and with ourselves and with our neighbors.
Abu Yair, What About Mohammed? (Haaretz Editorial) The murder Tuesday of Mohammed Adas, 15, and critical injury of Mustafa Hamad, 12 – both shot within a few dozen meters from the police station in their hometown of Jaljulya in central Israel – are a chilling reflection of the personal security situation in Israel’s Arab communities. No one is immune, not even teenagers outside their homes, and there is no deterrence to gun violence, not even in the presence of police. The murder Tuesday of Mohammed Adas, 15, and critical injury of Mustafa Hamad, 12 – both shot within a few dozen meters from the police station in their hometown of Jaljulya in central Israel – are a chilling reflection of the personal security situation in Israel’s Arab communities. No one is immune, not even teenagers outside their homes, and there is no deterrence to gun violence, not even in the presence of police. These shocking statistics and the volatile atmosphere in Israel’s Arab communities attest, beyond all doubt, to a deep, protracted systemic and social failure. Nearly every Arab community in the country has been affected by violence, whether as a result of organized crime or internal disputes, often between extended families, or clans….
Between the Jewish rock and Arab hard place (Jalal Bana, Israel Hayom) It's sad that the Left, which espouses pluralism, pushes its Arab partners into an embarrassing corner instead of being sensitive and appreciative of the nuances pertaining to LGBT issues.
Netanyahu, the Great Inciter Against Arabs, Now Wants Their Vote (Uzi Baram,Haaretz+) The opinion polls are not smiling upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They reflect that the public is sick and tired of him. But the outcome of the elections might be otherwise. Even Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who managed to defeat Yitzhak Shamir in 1992, only achieved that because the right-wing party Hatehiya and the party of Rabbi Moshe Levinger caused about 50,000 clearly right-wing votes to be wasted. Netanyahu is counting on Meretz failing to pass the electoral threshold and garner enough votes to make into the next Knesset, but there’s no certainty that this will happen. Now he’s trying to pick up votes in the Arab community. As is his wont, he is pursuing this aim through contradictions: on the one hand he’s been cultivating Itamar Ben-Gvir, the successor to Rabbi Meir Kahane and an openly declared hater of Arabs, and at the same time he’s been telling Arabs, “Likud is your home.”…
NGOs fuel 2021's anti-Israel machinery (David Schiff, Israel Hayom) Funding groups seeking to unilaterally redefine concepts such as "statehood" and "apartheid" will not improve the lot of either Palestinians or Israelis.
On the eve of an election we do not need flattery, but governmental fairness (Orit Lavie-Nashiel, Maariv) Citizens in a democratic society do don’t need idle promises of unity. The formula that elected officials must offer is based on equality, access to health services, education and personal security, regardless of religion, race or gender.
Gaza Elections Give Hamas an Advantage Ahead of Palestinian Vote (Zvi Bar’el,Haaretz+) The Gaza-based movement uses its electoral process to boost its demographics and ideological credentials.
Sinwar received a bright yellow card (Elior Levy, Yedioth Hebrew) The four rounds of voting that the Hamas leader in Gaza was dragged into are considered for him a lesson in the limits of power. The pockets of resistance created against him now present him with two options: softening his method, or a general cleaning of the stables of his opponents.
Time to Throw Avigdor Lieberman in the Dustbin of History, Where He Belongs(Zehava Galon, Haaretz+) Avigdor Lieberman, the man no witness will testify against, had an unfortunate experience on the way to the ballot box. He discovered that his perennial pool of voters would not be sufficient this time around. And then, relying on the public’s short memory, he reinvented himself as a champion of human rights, turning his back on the nation-state law while posing as a hero of the secular.
The Ultra-Orthodox and Netanyahu Backers Deserve More Sympathy (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) There are two groups of people in Israeli society who feel persecuted. Both have great political power, determination to achieve their goals and leadership that is beloved like no other Israeli group loves its leaders. Both these groups crave affection. They have tremendous power, but no recognition or appreciation, and that’s what they yearn for. Members of these groups are strong and at times violent and extortionate, yet they still feel persecuted. They bear no little responsibility for their own image but you can still understand the sense of persecution and discrimination they feel. Sometimes it even pulls at the heartstrings. The Haredim are the first such group. The coronavirus did a number on their already shaky status in their war with the secular community, for which they bear heavy responsibility…The second group is of course the Bibi-ists. Their leader has spent years in power without any restraints. They admire him, in fact they love him truly, yet they feel persecuted. They want something besides power and it’s something they cannot achieve: They want the other elite groups to recognize and admire them.
Israel faces a triple challenge, but it will not be able to face it alone (Yitzhak Levanon,Maariv) The challenges facing Israel require us to squeeze the ranks, unite all forces above the narrow interests and produce coordination on strategic issues with the United States.
How Biden Can Strike at China by ‘Saving’ Iran (Mohamed Zeeshan, Haaretz+) Biden’s re-engagement with Iran will reverberate far beyond the Middle East, encompassing Bitcoin, the Taliban and Beijing’s ambitious regional influence game. The cost of failure would be immense – not just for America.
Iran remains the plague of the Middle East (Danny Danon, Israel Hayom) We must leverage the paradigm shift that Israel and its Arab partners have accomplished and strengthen those who through dialogue and cooperation will promote regional peace and stability.
Biden Is Discovering His Presidential Power by Striking in Syria. How Far Can He Take It? (Ben Samuels, Haaretz+) When can the U.S. strike overseas? How much power does a president have in making these decisions? And how should the U.S. handle Iran’s proxies? Experts explain the early crossroads where Biden finds himself.
In 'Politico,' peace processors offer bad advice (Sean Durns, Israel Hayom) US peace processors like Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky have shown that they are more motivated by moral impulses than reality and history.
The end of US Ambassador David Friedman's tenure made me especially (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Friedman was parachuted into the very sensitive job of the US ambassador to Israel, a blind fan of Trump, and the damage he made seem to me like a grocery list from hell.
Is Russia working to oust Assad? (Neta Bar, Israel Hayom) Media outlets identified with the S yrian opposition report efforts to establish a "military council" that would control Syria until a civilian government could be elected.

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

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