APN's daily news review from Israel

Friday August 01, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Yedioth and Israel Hayom published late enough last night to declare at the top of today's papers that a ceasefire would go into effect at 8AM today. All the papers reported on more casualties from another mortar attack on soldiers who were at an entry point right into the Gaza Strip.

The papers also discussed the challenges Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faced from the more right-wing members of his government, namely Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, particularly because neither Hamas nor Israel would have its 'victory image' from this military campaign. Nevertheless, Maariv reported that a Knesset Channel poll found Likud more popular, a testimony to the public's satisfaction with his running of the military operation.
Likud was up to 30 seats, Habyait Hayehudi was stable at 18, Labor at 15, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid loses power at 10, Meretz rises to 10, Shas goes up one to 9, Lieberman down to 8, Yehadut HaTora at 7, and Tzipi Livni's Hatnua at 4.
 
The papers reported on two commissions that will likely be set up in the wake of this campaign: An Israeli one that will investigate why the Gaza tunnel threat to Israel was not taken care of earlier and a UN one that will examine Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Israel Hayom reported that Israel has already formed a legal defense team to battle the UN investigation.
 
The papers noted that the US blamd Israel for the strike on the UN school Wednesday that killed 19 people taking refuge there and saying it was "totally unacceptable and totally indefensible." The US said that the IDF was failing to "live up to their high standards."
 
The Israeli commentators discussed how relations with the US had reached a real low. The US statement came out just hours after the UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay said that Israel was deliberately defying international law in Gaza and must be held accountable. She also pointed to the US: "Many of my remarks have been directed to the United States since they are a party with influence over Israel to do much more to stop the killing, to bring the parties to the negotiating table. I've called also for an end to the blockade and an end to the occupation...They have not only provided the heavy weaponry which is now being used by Israel in Gaza but they've also provided almost $1 billion in providing the 'Iron Domes' to protect the Israelis from rocket attacks," she said. "But no such protection has been provided to Gazans against the shelling." 
 
Gaza officials say at least 1,372 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed and nearly 7,000 wounded. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza clashes and more than 400 wounded, as of Thursday night. Three civilians have been killed by Palestinian shelling in Israel. 
 
So just a few hours after Pillay's comments, the US made its charges against Israel. And a few hours after that, the US and UN announced that the sides agreed to a 72-hour Gaza humanitarian truce. And for the first time, Egypt invited a Palestinian delegation to Cairo.
 
Nevertheless, Netanyahu had said earlier in the day that Israel would continue to destroy Gaza tunnels, with or without a cease-fire. He also sent a pointed message to Lieberman and Bennett over their voiced criticisms of his Gaza policies. The IDF also called up 16,000 additional reservists Thursday morning. 

**Haaretz's Amos Harel explains part of the reason for the high number of civilian Palestinian casualties [besides the bombing of homes with whole families inside just because one person was tied to Hamas. - OH] "The close hand fighting dictates more aggressive use of firepower. Officers in combat brigades say that they are not taking chances. Any house that looks suspicious is struck from the air or knocked over by a bulldozer. Great care is taken with regard to UNRWA buildings and with verifying targets that were pre-set by the Israel Air Force. When it comes to extricating wounded soldiers or units under attack, restrictions are relaxed and safety margins are minimized. An armored unit was attacked in Shujaiyeh on Thursday and responded by firing tank shells, apparently hitting many civilians. In another incident a power station was inadvertently hit. Had it been intentional the strike would have been more methodical and accurate. These incidents, as well as the mounting numbers of Palestinian casualties, will be the focus of the legal battles that Israel will have to wage in the international arena, long after the fighting in Gaza ends," wrote Harel.

Yoav Limor, who is one of the only reporters of Israel Hayom whose analyses has not been tainted with ideological views throughout the military operation, writes this morning that the 'report' of a Hamas mega-terrorist attack planned for Rosh Hashanah holiday was an 'urban myth.'  Ynet, using Tazpit, a right-wing so-called 'news' agency, quoted a Shin Bet source for the story. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog also heard the 'report' and accepted it as fact. The Hebrew online news website owned by Sheldon Adelson, NRG, also reported on it, but did not quote who said it.

"This story is unfounded. I stake my reputation on it. Hamas' intention was to commit a pinpoint attack, via one of the tunnels, which would have combined a killing spree in one of the civilian communities or army bases near the border fence and an abduction, ideally of a soldier. The rest of the tunnels and weapons deployments were meant to counter the Israeli response to the attack. In other words, this summer Hamas planned to initiate a conflagration to extricate itself from its strategic-diplomatic-economic distress. This transpired unintentionally as a direct result of the abduction of the three teenage boys, of which Hamas was unaware yet still exploited to its benefit to jump-start the escalation it was seeking. In this regard, Israel was saved from being caught off guard, and perhaps from the far-reaching strategic damage Hamas' intended first strike would have caused. In a twist of irony, Hamas saved us from Hamas."
 
As always, Haaretz has an excellent list of the live updates of Day 24 of Operation Protective Edge, no paywall.

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