APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday November 10, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Cracks in the coalition: Peretz resigned, Netanyahu attacking Lapid
• Waiting for the next explosion // Yossi Verter
• The police officer who shot the young (Israeli) Arab: I didn't intend to kill him - Enormous demonstrations in Kufr Kana; Jew attacked in Taybe and his car was burned
• Unit for Investigating Police (Mahash) closed file on killing of 16-year-old from Tira without questioning the officer who shot him dead
• The ministers approved: New laws will also apply to settlements
• Obama: Gaps in negotiations with Iran are large, it's not certain we will achieve an agreement within the given time
• Iraq confirms: ISIS leader injured in attack
• The appointments diary of the ministers are revealed:
• Masses participated in national referendum on Catalan independence
• Nature reserves expand, but they don't preserve the nature
• Like a sack of onions // Haaretz Editorial on killing and dragging of Arab Israeli young man by police man

• The stones protest - Day after killing of Kheir Al-Din Hamdan in Kfar Kana: Buses and cars stoned in Jerusalem, the 'Triangle' (Arab populated area near Netanya) and in the north; In Taybe, they burned a car driven by a Jew; Angry demonstrations from Acre to Rahat and also at universities; Police preparing for clashes
• Hatred? Not among them: Arabs and Jews in a co-existence dialogue, p. 16
• Now of all times: Salaries of senior officials (and judges) to rise
• Seinfeld: I suffer from autism
• Assessment: Attorney General Weinstein will probe whether (Ehud) Barak took bribes
• Honorless bastards // Nahum Barnea
• Derby - Take 2 - A week after the scandal at Bloomfield soccer stadium, the Tel-Aviv derby goes to basketball this evening
• Take a stick - Trend from Europe: Walking with a pair of sticks
• Couscous on the Hudson - It's no longer just hummous: Israeli food is conquering the discerning palates of New York

• The riots renewed: Car of Jew set on fire at entrance to Taybeh; After end of day where it was quiet in most Arab communities, violent clashes increased; In central region masked people attacked a Jewish driver, set his car on fire and ran away; the driver did not need medical treatment; Molotov cocktails thrown in Jerusalem and stones thrown on light rail; Clashes in Kfar Kana; 
• Policeman who shot Kheir Hamdan: "I was aiming at the hand that held the knife"
• Likud takes revenge: We will postpone the debate on (resigned Minister Amir) Peretz's plastic bags bill
• Death road closed to traffic - After 21 killed and numerous demonstrations and requests, Petah Tikva municipality ordered to close dangerous street
• ISIS spokesperson confirmed on Twitter: Abu Baker al-Baghdadi was injured in an attack - but was not killed

• Almost a lynch in Taybeh - Wave of riots and arsons in Arab sector expands: In north and also in center of country - Moshe Gartan, 41, arrived to visit friends when suddenly he was atacked by masked people, beaten and his car was burned...The attack - at the end of a day of riots after the killing of a youth in Kfar Kana; PM: Riots due to Palestinian incitement
• Tension in Knesset ahead of battle over budget
• Actress Geula Noni - 1942-2014
• Soon in Israel: Medicine for balancing sugar level in blood
• After 5 years and 21 deaths: The 'death road' in Petah Tikva was closed
• ISIS confirms: The 'Caliph' Al-Baghdadi was injured in a bombardment

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News Summary:
The attack of a Jew by Israeli Arab youth at the entrance to Taybeh after the killing of an Arab Israeli citizen by police and the continuing Arab Israeli demonstrations across the country, the passing of a law that requires Israeli laws to apply to Jewish settlements in the Palestinian Territories and the resignation of Environment Minister Amir Peretz were the top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers. 

The Israeli papers presented the rioting by Israeli Arabs in very different ways. Israel Hayom newspaper, the most right-wing of the four reviewed by News Nosh, led with the most sensationalist news regarding the rioting by Israeli Arabs by focusing on the Jewish man who was pulled out of his car, and which was set on fire. Maariv also led with that story but noted that the Jewish man was not hurt. Yedioth explained from the beginning that the stone-throwing was due to the killing of the young Arab man by police. 

Yedioth appeared to be trying to calm the winds between Jews and Arabs in Israel by running two full pages of stories about Jewish-Arab co-existence in Israel under the title: "There is a partner - Relations between Arabs and Jews appear more tense than ever, but there is another way. Even when racism and animosity raise their head there are Jews and Arabs who work successfully together in joint businesses and they prove: co-existence is still alive." 1. An Arab-owned cafe with Jewish waiters in Jaffa called Yaffa, 2. Interviews with Jewish and Arab business owners in Abu Gosh who say that "If politicians were exchanged for businesspeople, there would be quiet here long ago." 3. Adam Ziv and Alaa' Sweitat opened an ice-cream parlor in Tarshiha called 'Bozah' (ice-cream in Arabic), 4. Neta Hanin and Ahmed Gurban established a guest house in the Arab seaside town of Jisr Al-Zarka. Yedioth also ran an Op-Ed by President Reuven Rivlin calling for both sides to listen to each other and take responsibility for their lives. Another article called "Stop before the abyss" interviewed numerous well-known Arab and Israeli citizens giving advice how to stop the rift.

**Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli Arabs protested in their communities around Israel yesterday after police shot dead Kheir Al-din Hamdan, a young Arab man from Kufr Kana, Friday in what appears to be cold blood. At universities, Israeli Arabs held up signs saying: “Prosecute Minister Aharonovitch” and “The charge: being an Arab; the sentence: death,” shouted slogans against the police and the state. Arab Israelis were incensed by the killing by police of someone who did not pose a life-threatening danger and who was afterward dragged 'like a sack of potatoes' to the police van rather than calling for an ambulance. “How could they have shown him such contempt and dragged him like that? You saw the film clip - it was not manslaughter. It was murder, the result of the racist policy of the public security minister and also of Minister Naftali Bennett, who says, ‘He’s no citizen; he’s a terrorist,'" one demonstrator said. Arab MK Ahmed Tibi called Hamdan's shooting an 'execution.' "There's one Jew who shot a prime minister. He was neutralized without being shot to death," said Tibi, contrasting the capture of the murderer of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin with the shooting of Hamdan. Some Arab businesses went on a partial strike. "If we stay quiet, then police might do this again elsewhere, and we don't know who's next," said a business owner who joined the strike. In Taybeh, a Jewish man visiting the Arab town was removed from his car by masked men and possibly beaten and then saved by other locals (full story unclear - OH). His car was set on fire, but he did not require medical attention, wrote Maariv. 

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reacted threatening to severely punish Arab protesters, who 'call for Israel's destruction' or make public disturbances, including by revoking their citizenship. Netanyahu accused Hamas and Israel's (northern branch of the) Islamic Movement of being behind the riots by using the holiness of the Temple Mount to incite. [Netanyahu had no comments for his own MKs and ministers who are pushing to change the status quo on the Temple Mount - OH]

But some ministers and even police blamed right-wing Israelis for the violence. Finance Minister Yair Lapid lashed out at Netanyahu for his comments. "There has to be a limit to irresponsibility," Lapid said. "A man was killed and the police are in trouble. Ministers, members of the government, and members of Knesset must put out the flames, not fan them. We must continue to live here together. The fact that people are using this situation to gain political capital is irresponsible." Yesh Atid colleague, former Shin Bet chief Yaakov Peri, warned that the ongoing clashes could get spiral out of control. "Unfortunately, statements made by government ministers have been inflammatory. They are making it harder to ease the tensions." A top police source said that it was Israeli incitement and provocation feeding the violence. "Repeated attempts by members of Knesset to reach the Temple Mount is a provocation that incites Palestinians' to respond and significantly and unequivocally increases tensions in the Temple Mount and the capital," a senior police official told Ynet. The Justice Ministry has begun a probe into Hamdan's killing.

Quick Hits:

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Commentary/Analysis:

When Israel's police carry out criminal orders (Haaretz Editorial) The killing of Kafr Kana resident Khayr al-Din Hamdan is the direct result of the latest rules of engagement issued by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.
The countdown to the next war has already begun (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Without an Israeli initiative, without pursuing an agreement, our leaders' refusal to look reality in the eye is leading us to another violent conflict with disastrous results.
If you're an Arab, they shoot first (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz+) Just watching the police throwing Khayr al-Din Hamdan onto the floor of the police car after he was mortally wounded says everything about the value of an Arab's life.
Before the Intifada: Easing the lives of the residents of Gaza is an Israeli interest (Avi Benayahu, Maariv) In order to avoid this turning into an all-out battle, the army must demand from the political leadership to please the people of Gaza. And also the most important challenge facing the next chief of staff, on the first impression of the new president and on Rabin's legacy.
How to avert an intifada (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) A confrontation between an armed Palestinian and Israeli police ended peacefully on Sunday, showing that law enforcers don’t have to shoot to kill as they may have done a day earlier in Kafr Kana.
Time for all Israelis to take responsibility (Reuven Rivlin, Yedioth's '24 hours' magazine cover/Ynet) President Reuven Rivlin calls for Jews and Arabs to denounce violence, seek new avenues for respectful dialogue.
When it comes to Arab citizens, the police are quick on the trigger (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) The shooting of Khayr al-Din al-Hamdan emphasizes what many Israeli Arabs have always thought: The police haven’t learned the lessons of the events of October 2000.
Netanyahu’s militarized state of emergency (Omer Benjakob, Yedioth/Ynet) In a state in which Arabs can only ‘riot’ but not protest, and police are mere stand-ins for the army, the execution of civilians can only be expected - and Netanyahu seems to have said as much himself.
Time for American Jews to confront Israel’s demons (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) In last week’s election, American Jews stayed steadfastly loyal to their liberal values, yet they turn a blind eye to their steady erosion in Israel.
When Israeli and Palestinian pyromaniacs meet (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) A group of small Israeli politicians has joined Palestinians who have been dreaming for years of igniting a religious war between Israel and 22 Arab states. They are putting us all in danger.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli tormentor whines (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The question isn’t why firecrackers are being thrown in East Jerusalem, but what are the aims of a government that systematically beats down and harasses a population.
National conflict is alive and kicking (Yoaz Hendel, Yedioth/Ynet) Jews and Arabs are not separated by religion, but by their willingness to accept the State of Israel's existence and live in it as it is.
Iran should surrender, not the West (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) The Iranians are the ones who should be compromising, making concessions, surrendering, begging for a deal.
No one to vote for? British politics’ ‘Israel’ problem’ (Denis MacShane, Haaretz+) The U.K. Labour Party’s hostility towards Israel has triggered a Jewish celebrity’s very public defection. But supporters of Israel won’t find much comfort in other U.K. political parties either.
Arafat -- 10 years later (Elliott Abrams, Israel Hayom) Arafat's leadership was charismatic, to be sure, but also violent, corrupt, and destructive. Palestinians continue to suffer from his years ‎in power.
Fighting the good fight (Avirama Golan, Haaretz+) As the diametric opposite of Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Peretz could be the one to show us the way out of the mess.
Listen to Nasrallah threatening Israel (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) Until the Hezbollah military arm is disbanded and its rocket arsenal dismantled, stability cannot be return to the region.
Israelis yes, Israel no (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) There is a glaring difference between the grateful attitude toward Israelis, as individuals and representatives of IsraAID, and the attitude toward their government.

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