APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday December 4, 2014
Quote of the day:
"You are proof that we can live side by side in peace, and we must not let difficult experiences – such
as what you have been through – harm our belief in our ability to live side by side.”
--Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tells Arab and Jewish first graders who study together at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand bilingual school in Jerusalem, and whose classrooms were set on fire in an arson attack last weekend.**
--Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tells Arab and Jewish first graders who study together at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand bilingual school in Jerusalem, and whose classrooms were set on fire in an arson attack last weekend.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Elections on March 17; Lapid to Netanyahu: "You are out of touch"
- Are Lapid, Kahlon and Lieberman formulating cooperation? Where will Mofaz go? And why is German a Meretz member?
- New low in relations with US: White House examining steps against settlement construction
- Two injured in stabbing attack in Mishor Adumim
- Minimum wage to be raised to 5,000 shekels (a month) within two years - only in the private sector
- Man who ran over Lee Zeituni sentenced to 5 years prison in France
Yedioth Ahronoth
- 17 March - Elections 2015: In another 103 days
- Someone who knows // Sima Kadmon
- Special: The terror attack at the synagogue: The dramatic photos
- The terror attack yesterday at the supermarket: The security guard who prevented a tragedy
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Lapid rises to attack: "Netanyahu will not be prime minister any longer"
- Terror attack at the supermarket
- Drink on the way the polling stations - Herzog opened the Labor Party campaign at a Tel-Aviv pub and declared: "We are the party of the young generation"
- Minimum wage will rise 700 shekels to 5,000 shekels within two years, in three stages
- French court ruled: Five years prison for driver who ran over Lee Zeitouni. Her partner: "End of a long path, justice was served"
Israel Hayom
- 17 March - Elections committee began preparing for elections of 20th Knesset
- Super security guard - Another terror attack in West Bank
- France: Only 5 years prison for driver in hit-and-run of Lee Zeitouni
- Severe indictment: Nursery school teacher and six aides from center of country abused infants
- Arava highway blocked due to leak of thousands of cubes of oil
- National Labor Union (Histadrut) ended its threat of strike; Minimum wage to rise to 5000 shekels
News Summary:
Elections will be held on March 17th, fired finance minister Yair Lapid made a verbal attack on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and a 16-year-old Palestinian boy stabbed two people at an Israeli supermarket in the West Bank making top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that the US is mulling harsher action against Israel for settlement construction and more foreign countries discuss a Palestinian state.
Lapid accused Netanyahu of being 'out of touch' for "dragging Israel to superfluous elections that no one else wants," and he repeated his charge that the Prime Minister damaged the relations between Israel and the US, saying, "Senators call me to find out about your disparaging treatment of our best friend in the world. Go explain to them that you're so disconnected that you think America is stuck in the '80s. At one point you understood America, but America has changed." According to a Channel 10 poll, if elections were held with the same parties that exist now, Likud would strengthen and Lapid's party, Yesh Atid, would significantly weaken. However, the poll does not take into account new parties, such as the one likely to be formed by the popular former Likudnik, Moshe Kahlon, or the formation of party blocs. More interesting poll results here.
Ibrahim Salim Abu Sneineh, 16, stabbed and moderately injured two Israelis Wednesday in a Rami Levy supermarket in the industrial zone of Maale Adumim settlement Wednesday. He was stopped from harming more people when an off-duty security guard shot him in the leg. Israeli forces also arrested two of his friends and went to his home in nearby Azariyeh and detained his father and two brothers, sparking clashes that left five Palestinians injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, including four in the head and one in the foot.
Ahead of looming Israeli elections, the White House is examining whether taking harsher action against settlements would weaken Netanyahu among voters, or have a boomerang effect and strengthen him, writes Barak Ravid in Haaretz+. The White House's desire to take more severe steps follows the failure of the recent Netanyahu-Obama meeting and the understanding that denunciatory statements on settlement construction are ineffective. Ravid noted that the day before Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, settlers moved into seven houses they bought in the Palestinian village of Silwan in East Jerusalem and a few hours before the meeting, Peace Now reported that the Jerusalem municipality had given its final approval to building 2,600 housing units in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
France, Germany and Britain are drafting a UN Security Council resolution on a final-status Israeli-Palestinian deal to be reached within two-year in order to serve as a counterweight to the UN resolution draft presented by the Palestinians, which has the backing of the Arab League. The Palestinian draft calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank within two years and the immediate acceptance of Palestine as a full UN member. The Palestinians want the vote before Christmas. Meanwhile, the Australian parliament began debating recognition of Palestine, much to the dismay of local Jewish leaders and Belgian government parties reportedly agreed to recognize Palestine, as well.
Elections will be held on March 17th, fired finance minister Yair Lapid made a verbal attack on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and a 16-year-old Palestinian boy stabbed two people at an Israeli supermarket in the West Bank making top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that the US is mulling harsher action against Israel for settlement construction and more foreign countries discuss a Palestinian state.
Lapid accused Netanyahu of being 'out of touch' for "dragging Israel to superfluous elections that no one else wants," and he repeated his charge that the Prime Minister damaged the relations between Israel and the US, saying, "Senators call me to find out about your disparaging treatment of our best friend in the world. Go explain to them that you're so disconnected that you think America is stuck in the '80s. At one point you understood America, but America has changed." According to a Channel 10 poll, if elections were held with the same parties that exist now, Likud would strengthen and Lapid's party, Yesh Atid, would significantly weaken. However, the poll does not take into account new parties, such as the one likely to be formed by the popular former Likudnik, Moshe Kahlon, or the formation of party blocs. More interesting poll results here.
Ibrahim Salim Abu Sneineh, 16, stabbed and moderately injured two Israelis Wednesday in a Rami Levy supermarket in the industrial zone of Maale Adumim settlement Wednesday. He was stopped from harming more people when an off-duty security guard shot him in the leg. Israeli forces also arrested two of his friends and went to his home in nearby Azariyeh and detained his father and two brothers, sparking clashes that left five Palestinians injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, including four in the head and one in the foot.
Ahead of looming Israeli elections, the White House is examining whether taking harsher action against settlements would weaken Netanyahu among voters, or have a boomerang effect and strengthen him, writes Barak Ravid in Haaretz+. The White House's desire to take more severe steps follows the failure of the recent Netanyahu-Obama meeting and the understanding that denunciatory statements on settlement construction are ineffective. Ravid noted that the day before Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, settlers moved into seven houses they bought in the Palestinian village of Silwan in East Jerusalem and a few hours before the meeting, Peace Now reported that the Jerusalem municipality had given its final approval to building 2,600 housing units in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
France, Germany and Britain are drafting a UN Security Council resolution on a final-status Israeli-Palestinian deal to be reached within two-year in order to serve as a counterweight to the UN resolution draft presented by the Palestinians, which has the backing of the Arab League. The Palestinian draft calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank within two years and the immediate acceptance of Palestine as a full UN member. The Palestinians want the vote before Christmas. Meanwhile, the Australian parliament began debating recognition of Palestine, much to the dismay of local Jewish leaders and Belgian government parties reportedly agreed to recognize Palestine, as well.
Quick Hits:
- State defends practice of razing homes of Arab terrorists but not Jewish ones - High Court petition says practice violates international law; petitioners argue that Israel did not demolish homes of suspected murderers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir. (Haaretz)
- **Rivlin meets with students from co-existence school set on fire in hate-crime - Israeli president tells children at from the Max Rayne Hand in Hand bilingual Hebrew-Arabic school in Jerusalem not to let arson attack harm belief in ideal of Arabs and Jews living side by side in peace. (Ynet)
- Israeli forces arrest 8-year-old in East Jerusalem - Obeida Ayesh, 8, was detained in Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. According to a 2013 report by the UN children's fund, Israel is the only country in the world where children were systematically tried in military courts, practicing "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment." (Maan)
- Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian teenager near Nablus - Ahmad Mazin, 14, was shot in the foot when Israeli forces stormed Nablus and the nearby Askar refugee camp. (Maan)
- Israeli forces demolish building, 20 stores in Shufat camp, E. Jerusalem - Israeli forces demolished an ancient building known as the Cola building and 20 adjacent stores without notifying the Dajani family who owned the buildings built in 1963. The demolition is likely to pave the way for construction of a section of Israel's separation wall between Shufat and Jerusalem and to expand an Israeli military checkpoint. (Maan)
- Israel pledges millions to East Jerusalem settlement - Jerusalem city council said in a statement it planned to use 50 million shekels ($12.5 million) to fund construction of a park, children's playgrounds, green spaces and new street lighting in Har Homa, as well as football and basketball grounds. (Maan)
- East Jerusalem Palestinian indicted over Facebook posts - In unusual move, state asks to keep Mahmoud Asila, 31, accused of posting inciteful material in remand until end of legal proceedings. (Haaretz+)
- YouTube closes (Israeli-run) Middle East institute's (MEMRI) account after complaints - Middle East Media Research Institute accused of incitement by opponents who claim that it prefers to highlight extremist positions rather than more moderate ones. (Haaretz)
- Ya'alon: Hamas has no interest in escalating the situation - Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon: "Iran is still the primary destabilizing force in the Middle East." Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Moranes in Israel: "You are geniuses in the field of developing military systems and upgrading existing systems." (Israel Hayom)
- 'Our father was murdered only because he was a Jew' - The family of Avi Ben-Tzion (63) who died after being beaten by Palestinian car thieves are certain motive was nationalistic; police say all angles are being investigated. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Project begins to remove 140,000 tons of rubble in Gaza City neighborhood - Sweden is footing the bill for the first initiative to clear away wreckage from the summer war. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- UN begins inquiry into attacks, weapons in Gaza facilities - Investigation will look into attacks that hit UN facilities during summer war, examine how Palestinian militants came to store weapons at UN schools in Strip. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Professor: Israel used Gaza as field experiment and reaped profits from war - Swiss professor speaking at 'Peace Week' says Israel had clear economic motive to kill Palestinian civilians. (Ynet)
- Jews live an average of three years longer than Arab citizens - That is one of the many gaps in health care that the outgoing minister had plans to close. (Haaretz)
- Israel ranks 37th in world corruption index - But country is only 24th among 34 OECD states, tying Spain, Poland and Taiwan, according to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. (Haaretz)
- Poll: Israelis appreciate America, but Obama – not so much - According to a new Begin-Sadat Center survey, support for a military attack on Iran dissipates if Washington does not go along with it. (Haaretz)
- IDF buries soldiers’ complaint of sexual molestation by commander - Investigation only begins now, months later, following Channel 1 report. (Haaretz+)
- Israel calls Iranian bid for post on key UN committee 'absurd' - Iran presents its candidacy for vice chair of the committee that decides accreditation of non-governmental organizations. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor likens the possiblity of Iran's membership to gangster Al Capone running the FBI. (Israel Hayom)
- Iraq official denies woman arrested in Lebanon was ISIS leader's wife - Wednesday's denial comes a day after Lebanese authorities said they are holding a woman believed to be al-Baghdadi's wife. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
The Jewish-American battle for Israeli democracy stops at the Green Line (Peter
Beinart, Haaretz+) Why does the nation-state bill offend America's Jewish establishment more than
the occupation?
Netanyahu is blaming Israeli voters for his inability to rule (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) If the prime minister says he is incapable of controlling a government without a large Likud faction, how will he lead the next government? From Netanyahu's point of view, another government led by him is a chronicle of a foretold failure.
If you haven't evacuated, you've done nothing (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Only an election that yields a coalition committed to resolving the conflict and setting a clear frontier between the two states would be justified.
How did Lapid do as finance minister? (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) Fired by Netanyahu and unlikely to be the same position of power after the next elections, we take a look at the Yesh Atid leader's performance at the helm of one of the most important government ministries in his freshman year in politics.
In the run-up to Israel's election, forget about probing the Gaza war (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Research by Knesset subcommittees probably won’t get written up in reports, while Netanyahu, Bennett and Lieberman might be too busy slinging mud.
What happened in Netanyahu's secret meetings with tycoons? (Rotem Starkman, Haaretz+) The prime minister has held off-the-record meetings with business leaders at critical times - these meetings should be investigated.
Voting on the basic issues (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) In these elections, Israelis will decide on the character of the state, the future of Jerusalem, and the future of Zionism.
Statistics that bypass reality (Dror Etkes, Haaretz+) Millions of people are living at a distance of less than an hour's journey from us, crammed into anonymous enclaves of poverty and weakness, yet their desires don't need to be taken into account.
Netanyahu is promising Israeli public a nightmare (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister is right, Israel's citizens do deserve a better government. But the government he is offering us will be made up of his natural allies – the far right and the ultra-Orthodox.
A very important person (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The darkness has emerged into the light, the margins have become the center and ultranationalism has become politically correct. This is the Israel that Benjamin Netanyahu has fashioned.
More players, shorter terms (Prof. Asher Cohen, Israel Hayom) No Knesset has served out its full four years in office since 1988. This is exactly the kind of thing that shakes the public's faith in democracy.
Jews, white privilege and the fight against racism in America (Benjy Cannon, Haaretz) U.S. Jews took an active part in the struggle against racism in the '60s. The events in Ferguson and Staten Island raise the question: Why isn't that the case anymore?
Election campaigns to focus on security, economy, diplomacy (Shlomo Cesana, Israel Hayom)
Early elections to see public discourse shift focus between parties' political agendas. Economic and social issues expected to take center stage, alongside security and diplomatic issues. Likud, Yesh Atid, likely to trade barbs over burden equality.
Netanyahu is blaming Israeli voters for his inability to rule (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) If the prime minister says he is incapable of controlling a government without a large Likud faction, how will he lead the next government? From Netanyahu's point of view, another government led by him is a chronicle of a foretold failure.
If you haven't evacuated, you've done nothing (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Only an election that yields a coalition committed to resolving the conflict and setting a clear frontier between the two states would be justified.
How did Lapid do as finance minister? (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) Fired by Netanyahu and unlikely to be the same position of power after the next elections, we take a look at the Yesh Atid leader's performance at the helm of one of the most important government ministries in his freshman year in politics.
In the run-up to Israel's election, forget about probing the Gaza war (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Research by Knesset subcommittees probably won’t get written up in reports, while Netanyahu, Bennett and Lieberman might be too busy slinging mud.
What happened in Netanyahu's secret meetings with tycoons? (Rotem Starkman, Haaretz+) The prime minister has held off-the-record meetings with business leaders at critical times - these meetings should be investigated.
Voting on the basic issues (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) In these elections, Israelis will decide on the character of the state, the future of Jerusalem, and the future of Zionism.
Statistics that bypass reality (Dror Etkes, Haaretz+) Millions of people are living at a distance of less than an hour's journey from us, crammed into anonymous enclaves of poverty and weakness, yet their desires don't need to be taken into account.
Netanyahu is promising Israeli public a nightmare (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister is right, Israel's citizens do deserve a better government. But the government he is offering us will be made up of his natural allies – the far right and the ultra-Orthodox.
A very important person (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The darkness has emerged into the light, the margins have become the center and ultranationalism has become politically correct. This is the Israel that Benjamin Netanyahu has fashioned.
More players, shorter terms (Prof. Asher Cohen, Israel Hayom) No Knesset has served out its full four years in office since 1988. This is exactly the kind of thing that shakes the public's faith in democracy.
Jews, white privilege and the fight against racism in America (Benjy Cannon, Haaretz) U.S. Jews took an active part in the struggle against racism in the '60s. The events in Ferguson and Staten Island raise the question: Why isn't that the case anymore?
Election campaigns to focus on security, economy, diplomacy (Shlomo Cesana, Israel Hayom)
Early elections to see public discourse shift focus between parties' political agendas. Economic and social issues expected to take center stage, alongside security and diplomatic issues. Likud, Yesh Atid, likely to trade barbs over burden equality.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.