News Nosh 09.10.14

by APN 09/10/14
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday September 10, 2014

Quote of the day:
"Why bother any more to lie about what's really going on here, what the government and the settlement movement are actually doing, and why?
--Haaretz commentator and senior editor Bradley Burston takes apart Elliot Abrams lies in Foreign Policy about settlements.**

Front Page News:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links)
  • VAT mine: Lapid's associates threaten to dismantle the government if the law (for 0% VAT for first-time homebuyers) is not passed
  • Lapid is unmoved and he knows why // Ben Caspit
  • (Netanyahu's) Split personality // Yehuda Sharoni (says Netanayhu does not support the 0% VAT law)
  • The Doha Report: (Commentator) Lior Dayan in special mission to Qatar - Reports from capital of terror and also infiltrates the luxury hotel and gym of (Hamas politburo chief) Khaled Mashaal - In Friday's newspaper
  • Apple launched two models of iPhone 6 and a smartwatch
  • Wedding of the country: Ninet Tayeb married Yossi Mizrachi in a small wedding before family and friends
  • Arrow 2 missile test: The target missile wasn't intercepted, but the security establishment insists not to call yesterday's launch a failure
Israel Hayom
News Summary:
The US war plan against the Islamic State was the top story in Haaretz and Israel Hayom, while Yedioth and Maariv focused on local politics, but everyone reported on the 'wedding of the country' between famous local musician Ninet Tayeb and her guitarist groom.

Also, Israeli officials confirmed Tuesday that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was right, Hamas did not violate the August 1st 72-hour ceasefire agreement, because it never promised to accept an IDF presence in Gaza during the cease-fire, despite assurances given otherwise to Israel, primarily from the U.S.

And Nabil Shaath said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants the UN, not the US, as the peace broker here, Maariv and Israel Hayom reported. Shaath, a top advisor to Abbas, told Bloomberg News that if Israel does not commit to Abbas' peace plan to withdraw from the West Bank within the next three years, "We are determined to confront Israel politically all over the world... People are totally disillusioned and disappointed about the peace process and the chaperoning by America of this peace process. It has not produced anything."

Quick Hits:
  • Five EU states lodge joint protest with Israel expropriation of West Bank land - Britain, France, Italy, and Spain and deputy ambassador of Germany tell National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen that decision is 'very bad... in a terrible timing and that we hope it will be reversed.' (Haaretz)
  • Hamas calls on Hamdallah to visit Gaza, 'stop making excuses' - Hamas on Sunday called on unity government Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to visit the Gaza Strip and take the responsibility his position requires. "Hamas invites him to come to Gaza, take responsibility for its people, and stop making excuses." Hamadallah said he would face issues if he visited Gaza without first resolving the salary crisis over payment of wages of Hamas employees of the PA. (Maan)
  • High Court orders demolition of 5 structures in Beit El settlement - As with the settlement’s Ulpana neighborhood, the court is preventing construction on private Palestinian land. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel argues officer who beat Palestinian suffered more than victim - State says victim, Naim Shakir, who is suing the army in a civil court after Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner beat him and four other [peaceful bicycle-riding - OH] demonstrators, is  responsible for his own injuries because he was involved in riot, in which Eisner suffered a broken hand [from beating someone - OH] (Haaretz+ + YouTube)
  •  Israeli forces clash with Palestinians near al-Quds University - From Tuesday morning, Israeli forces were deployed near the separation wall opposite the university in E. Jerusalem, stopping students and checking their identity cards as they passed by. Elderly residents demanded the soldiers leave the university surroundings, "but soldiers refused to leave and insisted on provoking students," one witness said. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces close road after clashes in al-Ram - Israeli forces on Tuesday evening closed down the main road at the northern entrance of al-Ram, causing a huge traffic jam, after clashes broke out in the area during which Israeli forces fired live and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians who threw rocks and launched fireworks. (Maan) 
  • Parents concerned by cuts to security at (Jewish) East Jerusalem girls' school - Budgetary dispute leaves Jewish school with no security guards at gates; parents fear 'one of the girls will pay the price.' (Ynet)
  • Public Security Minister vows to protect Jerusalem residents, day after riots - Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch visits French Hill day after violent clashes broke following funeral of Palestinian teen killed in protests week before. (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)  
  • Skepticism greets east Jerusalem Arab housing plan - East Jerusalem residents say housing plan is too little too late; plan to include 2,000 housing units, schools, roads, parks. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Palestinian Authority: Donors wary of funding Hamas-run Gaza - Deputy Palestinian PM says international bodies want Abbas to take central role in rebuilding Gaza. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Lieberman: Each campaign strengthens Hamas - Foreign Minister says Gaza group gains politically from each IDF operation, urges permanent international coalition to fight against terror. (Ynet)
  • Palestinian girl, 5, dies of injuries sustained in Gaza war - Rahfat Abu Jame, 5, from Khan Younis, passed away Tuesday in an Egyptian hospital after being injured in an Israeli airstrike. At least three Palestinians have died this week after being critically injured in the seven-week long military offensive.  (Maan)
  • 45 children critically injured in Gaza to be treated in Germany - Palestinian MP Ashraf Jumaa said 45 children, some of whom underwent amputations in Gaza hospitals, will be treated abroad in Germany. The trip was organized and paid for by the Union of Palestinian Doctors and Pharmacists in Germany after a visit to the besieged enclave on Sunday. (Maan)
  • Poll: Unprecedented low in Germans' view of Israel - In wake of IDF operation, 53% of Germans say both Israel, Hamas to blame for conflict; 18 percent believe Israel intentionally targeted civilians. According to political sources, the poll highlights a worrying problem for Israel among the local population. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • After Gaza war, Turkey snubs possible energy deals with Israel - Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz: For energy projects to proceed, the human tragedy in Gaza will have to be stopped and Israel will have to instate a permanent peace there with all elements. Israeli businessmen still hope deal can be struck. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • IDF seeks to learn lessons from Operation Protective Edge - IDF chief orders reports to be completed in three months. Among the issues being reviewed: use of firepower during the operation; maneuvering of ground forces; readiness to deal with Hamas tunnels; use of obsolete vehicles in fighting. (Israel Hayom) 
  • Israel's tourism sector hit hard by Gaza fighting - 182,000 visitor entries into Israel in August marks lowest total for the month since the summer of 2006, when the Second Lebanon War took place. Israelis took 1.33 million trips abroad in July and August, up 2 percent from same period in 2013. (Israel Hayom)
  • Due to violence: 18 students from a Bedouin community in the north do not attend school - Parents from the violent-stricken village of Tuba-Zangariya enrolled their 12-year-old children in the Rama village school, but the children were sent home because there was no permission given by the Tuba-Zangariya local council. One father: "In the meantime, the children are hanging out in the streets." Also, a child in first grade who is paralyzed, is still waiting for transportation to be arranged to take him from Ashdod to Jerusalem. (Maariv)
  • Israel tests 'Arrow 2' missile defense upgrade, success unclear - Test in central Israel carried out in partnership with American MDA; IAI official: Not known if missile target was intercepted. (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
  • Latin patriarch of Jerusalem laments Christians' uncertain future in Israel - The answer, the patriarch said, is `neither emigration nor withdrawing into ourselves' but `to stay, live and die in the Holy Land.' (Haaretz)
  • Soldier and two Border Police officers were arrested on suspicion of robbery - Military Police probing suspicion that the suspects made ​​use of their uniforms and their professional capacity for several armed robberies of foreign workers from Eritrea and China. (Maariv)
  • Israeli HMOs say method of insuring Palestinians loses them money - The decision to extend health care coverage to thousands of Palestinians living in Israel under family unification arrangements set premiums that are too low, HMOs say. (Haaretz+)
  • Jill Biden tells U.S. Jewish philanthropists she is praying for 'peace in Gaza' - Vice President Joe Biden's wife comments have left some wondering whether she had meant to say 'Israel' rather than 'Gaza.' (JTA, Haaretz) 
  • U.S. professor who lost job over anti-Israel tweets seeks reinstatement - Steven Salaita accuses the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign of terminating him under pressure from wealthy donors who dislike his pro-Palestinian views. (Agencies, Haaretz) 
  • New Zionist leftist movement was born in Tel Aviv. It's target: the periphery - "Left," which will be launched today in Tel Aviv, intends to restore to the battered side of the Israeli political system its ownership of Zionism, settling [inside Israel - OH], values​​, and in the end of the government. Founders include Lin Dror, Yiftah Dabush and Eran Hermoni. (Maariv)
  • For first time, Israelis can listen in on Supreme Court deliberations - The pilot program agreed upon by the Supreme Court and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will not broadcast debates on personal matters or items which may harm someone's privacy, only cases dealing with constitutional issues and items affecting the public. (Israel Hayom) 
  • US to Herzog: No compromise on Iranian nukes - Herzog tells senior White House officials that 'the fight against ISIS, despite its central importance to the international community, doesn't minimize the danger of Iran's nuclear power'. (Ynet) 
  • Eritrean asylum seeker cooks for the IDF - Younis Wolda, 24, is a natural-born chef, who cooked for soldiers in the south during Operation Protective Edge; the Israeli Chefs Association has chosen him as a candidate for an international competition in Romania, but there's a snag: He may not be allowed back into the country. (Ynet) 
  • Islamic State said to form 2 all-women police brigades - Brigades are reportedly tasked with spotting disguised male activists and ensuring that women follow modesty rules. (Haaretz)
  • White House says beheaded US journalist not 'sold' to Islamic State - Steven Sotloff's family believed, following unidentified "sources on the ground", that Islamic State paid 50,000 to rebels who gave the militant group information about the 31-year-old journalist. (Agencies, Ynet) 
  • Obama set to outline plan to defeat Islamic State - U.S. president expected to press forward without formal congressional approval on a broader military and political effort to combat Islamic State group, which could include airstrikes in Syria. Kerry traveling to region for talks in Jordan, Saudi Arabia. (Israel Hayom)
Israeli Arrests and Palestinian detainees:
  • Israeli forces detain 4 Gaza fishermen - Israeli gunboats intercepted a Palestinian fishing boat near Beit Lahiya and detained four fishermen from the al-Sultan family, taking them to an unknown location. This is the third apparent breach of the August 26 ceasefire agreement that stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually. (Maan and Ynet) 
  • Watch: Israeli soldiers arrest 2 young boys in Silwad - Abd al-Fattah Hammad, 7, and Ramzi Ahmad Meri, 8, were detained while they playing in the courtyard of their house in Silwad in the central West Bank. When their mothers went to the military base to check on their children, Israeli troops fired tear gas at them, the relative told Ma'an. (Maan+VIDEO)
  • ICRC: Israel prevents Palestinians in Gaza from visiting jailed relatives - The International Committee of the Red Cross said Israel stopped allowing family visits to take place at the beginning of a seven-week military offensive in Gaza and has continuing to do so. The ICRC is exerting efforts to restart the visits. (Maan)
  • Lawyers: Israeli prison authorities neglecting Palestinian prisoners' health - The Palestinian Department of Prisoner's Affairs accused Israeli prison authorities in a statement on Saturday of widespread "neglect" toward the health needs of ill Palestinian prisoners and gave examples of 18 Palestinian prisoners currently being held in Ramla prison are seriously ill and their conditions are worsening from day to day. (Maan)
  • Israeli courts extend detentions of 74 prisoners - Six different Israeli courts extended on Tuesday the detentions of 74 Palestinian prisoners for “questioning and legal procedures,” a rights group said. (Maan)
  • 127 Palestinians detained in just first week of September - More than 7,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, including around 2,000 detained during Israeli arrest campaigns over the last three months alone, Palestinian Prisoner's Society said. (Maan)
  • Palestinian prisoner released after 10 years in Israeli jails - Adel Omar Din al-Zaatari, 41, from Hebron, Al-Zaatari was detained on Sept. 8, 2004 after being critically injured by shrapnel from missiles and explosives that were fired at his house by Israeli forces. His wife was prevented from visiting him during his detention period. (Detention means he was not charged with any crime for those years.) (Maan)

Features:
No border
From Herzl to Al-Sisi, between the Peel Commission and the Geneva Initiative: In dozens of plans to divide the land between Jews and Arabs, new maps were drawn with the hope that it would bring regional quiet. Except that all of them, just like peace, remained on paper. So where is the border? "Almost all the plans raised before the creation of the state spoke about a triple solution: Jewish area, an Arab area and a joint Jewish-Arab area and sometimes an area that remained under British control," said Gen. (res.) Shaul Arieli. "The British left and we and the Palestinians remained to spar over the land that is the focus of their demands for an agreement based on the '67 borders. (Arik Bender, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)

Commentary/Analysis:
As Gaza rebuilding lags, risk of renewed war grows (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israel's leaders understand that easing the Gaza blockade is necessary, but are concerned Hamas would present such a step as a concession; meanwhile, Abbas is confrontational toward both Israel and Hamas.
Who buys influence in the US? (Richar Baehr, Israel Hayom) A number of countries fund major think tanks in Washington to buy influence on American foreign policy, foreign aid and trade. Israel is not among them.
Despite Arab League backing, Palestinians understand war on Islamic State comes first (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) When the Arab League is busy with the Islamic State, Abbas' diplomatic initiative gets little attention. Arab leaders will do everything to prevent the black and white flags of the extremists from flying over their lands.
The 'leftists are disloyal' canard makes it to the New York Times (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Shmuel Rosner’s sense of Jewish family doesn’t prevent him from reinforcing the 'stab in the back' smear against its members.
Back to the rejectionist bunker (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) Abbas' demand to first determine the future border willfully ignores the fact that this matter, even according to U.N. Resolution 242, must be derived from security arrangements put in place and not vice versa. 
The Germans may no longer be the gift that keeps on giving (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Once again, Berlin will reach for funds and contribute to the rebuilding of Gaza. But it’s getting exhausted - with Israel, too. 
Why as Jews, as Israelis, we must repent for Gaza’s dead (Rabbi Daniel Landes, Haaretz+) We must all question how justified the massive death count was of innocents in Gaza, whatever the extenuating circumstances. We must investigate our actions, not to save face but so we can face ourselves. 
Will anyone care about Israel? (Dr. Harold Goldmeier, Israel Hayom) The hope is that today's Jewish youth will pass a love for Israel on to their children, and not be the last generation of Jews.
**How to lie about settlements, land grabs - and Netanyahu (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) No one believes you, Elliott Abrams. Not the settlers. Not Israelis as a whole. Certainly not Netanyahu. You can fool some of the people some of the time. But only at a distance. 
Let Israel's Arabs and their language be (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) Bill dropping Arabic as one of state's official languages seeks to humiliate Arab minority and perpetuate its inferiority. 
If you don’t want to harm civilians, prove it (Kenneth Mann, Haaretz+) Now that the fighting is over, an opportunity has been created to replace a wrong policy with an intelligent and well-considered one that will allow for the transportation of goods from Gaza to the West Bank and Israel. 
Dismantle from Hamas the desire to fight (The tunnels are not the problem) (Yagil Levy, Haaretz+) Israel’s conduct in Operation Protective Edge grew out of the erroneous assumption that it can remove the military threats by destroying the threatening military means, e.g., the tunnels. Therefore, the investigation of any failures in recognizing the threat of these tunnels should be rerouted into a questioning of what Israel did to weaken Hamas’ resolve to fight. The ability to remove a military threat posed by a state (or a quasi-state such as in Gaza) can only be based on changing its political will to use the military means at its disposal. Such a change cannot be achieved by military means alone. All indications were that in the months preceding the fighting, Israel acted with impressive determination to activate this resolve. According to a report by Haaretz’s Amos Harel, the intelligence community even forecast a date for the outbreak of hostilities. The politicians did nothing to prevent the escalation; just the opposite. 
ISIS battles al-Qaeda for leadership of global jihad (Yoram Schweitzer, Shani Avita, Yedioth/Ynet) As the Islamic State gains prominence through its achievements, international terror groups reconsider their allegiance to al-Qaeda. 
No more money for defense (Haaretz Editorial) The defense budget is already big enough. It’s time to say no to demands for more, and yes to devising a long-term plan to save the economy. 
A modest and wise political move is necessary (Eli Avidar, Maariv) After years of disconnect from the Arab world, Israel has a chance to return to the regional game. With the proper conduct, it can turn into the big achievement of Operation Protective Edge. Yesterday's enemy is today's friend, and the friend of yesterday will be irrelevant tomorrow. The most obvious axis of last year is the strategic alliance between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. For the first time in the history of the Arab world, it is a union that isn't led by a dominant or a charismatic leader, but by the idea. This is a Sunni Muslim alliance that seeks to resist Muslim movements such as Iran, Hezbollah, Assad, Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, as well as the extremist movements such as the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, and the bankers from Qatar. Israel is not part of this country, but common interests and shared rivalries have been created against the Hamas-Qatari-Turkish axis. 
Air strikes won’t defeat Islamic State (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) No foreign force, even a well-equipped one, will be able to replace a strong, determined local power. 
Give Egyptian peace initiative a chance (Yoaz Hendel, Yedioth/Ynet) Proposal for Palestinian state in Sinai is the first time since the Oslo Accords that an original idea for separation is put on the table.
The Lebanese jail that’s a jihad incubator for the Islamic State (Adam Heffez and Noam Raydan, Haaretz+) A prison holding hundreds of mostly foreign jihadists has become a fruitful recruiting ground for the Islamic State. And a possible prisoner swap will mean ex-inmates taking up leadership roles.
 

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

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