Israel and Middle East News Update

Friday, February 12

Headlines: ● Netanyahu, Bennett Trade Fire in Battle for Voters ● Ben Gvir Appeals to Disqualify Arabs Running for ● Biden to Speak with Netanyahu 'Soon,' White House Says ● Israeli Commander Says Hamas Has Amassed Vast Arsenal ● Oman Content with Current Relationship, FM Says ● JNF Plans to Pour Millions Into Expanding Settlements ● Israel Carries Out 'Rare' Daylight Strike Against in Syria ● It Works: Only 4 Cases Among 523,000 Vaccinated Israelis

Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “The Pilot has been Replaced’’ - By Nahum Barnea

● Ma’ariv: “Two Years in the Army’’ - By Ben Caspit

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President Editor: Yousef Bashir News Excerpts February 12, 2021 Times of Israel Netanyahu, Bennett Trade Fire in Battle for Voters Prime Minister and his rival , who heads the party, traded barbs as they campaigned for votes on the right ahead of elections next month. Netanyahu released a campaign video accusing Bennett of siding with the left, and Bennett responded by blasting Netanyahu’s handling of the pandemic and challenging him to a debate. The premier posted a video on social media saying Bennett, whose party name means “rightward” and is to the right of Netanyahu’s faction, was siding with the left and opposition leader of the party. Netanyahu was able to direct his fire leftward during the campaigns and position himself as the leader of the right, but Blue and White has since collapsed and the long-serving premier is now contending with challenges from both sides. Bennett has said he is seeking the prime ministership himself but has not ruled out sitting with Netanyahu in this election cycle.

Jerusalem Post Ben Gvir Appeals to Disqualify Arabs Running for Knesset Chairman of the Kahanist Otzma Yehudit Party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, appealed to the Central Elections Committee to disqualify the entire , the Ra'am Party, and the #7 Labor candidate, filmmaker Ibtisam Mara'ana-Menuhin. Among the justifications for the disqualifications, Ben-Gvir cited several statements by the different candidates which he claims indicate that they all sympathize with various terrorist organizations. Ben-Gvir said the evidence he presented was new and has not yet been examined by the Election Commission or the Supreme Court in the past. For example, Ben-Gvir mentions Joint List Chairman 's participation in a terrorist organization conference with Hamas and Fatah. In addition, Odeh's statement regarding terrorists who threw stones at IDF soldiers was presented. In the statement, the stone-throwers are described as "the conscience of the Palestinian people."

Ynet News Biden to Speak with Netanyahu 'Soon,' White House Says President Joe Biden plans to speak with Netanyahu soon, the White House said without providing a date. Biden's failure to include Netanyahu so far in his calls with foreign leaders has raised eyebrows in Israel and among Middle East experts. Former presidents Obama and Trump both spoke to him within days of taking office. Former Military Intelligence chief and expert on US-Israel ties Amos Yadlin told Ynet that Biden has been slow to call Netanyahu since taking office in no small part because of the latter's controversial 2015 speech to Congress slamming the Iranian nuclear deal. But, Yadlin said, it was is to note that the Democrats' aversion to Netanyahu is not the only reason for the current lack of communication. Dig Deeper ‘‘'Biden Slow to Call Netanyahu Over Obama Nuclear Deal Snub'’ (Ynet News) 2 Associated Press Israeli Commander Says Hamas Has Amassed Vast Arsenal The Hamas group ruling Gaza has replenished its arsenal since a 2014 war with Israel and now has a vast collection of rockets, guided missiles and drones, a senior Israeli military commander. According to Israeli military estimates, Hamas has some 7,000 rockets, as well as 300 anti-tank and 100 anti-aircraft missiles. It also has acquired dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles and has an army of some 30,000 militants, including 400 naval commandos who have received sophisticated training and equipment to carry out seaborne operations. The Islamic Jihad group, which often acts independently of Hamas, boasts a similar arsenal, the commander said. That includes 6,000 rockets, dozens of drones and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and some 400 naval forces. Hamas also made use of attack tunnels beneath the Gaza frontier during the 2014 war. Dig Deeper ‘‘From Israeli Prison, Barghouti Mulls Presidency Bid, Turning up Heat on Abbas’’ (Times of Israel)

Reuters Oman Content with Current Israel Relationship, FM Says Oman is satisfied with its current relationship with Israel, the foreign minister said, even after two fellow Gulf Arab states normalized ties with Israel and raised US hopes others would follow suit. “As regards Israel we are content so far with the level of our current relations and dialogue, which involves the appropriate channels of communication,” Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said. Oman, he added, was committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution. Asked at an online event about the chance of Oman mediating in new efforts to restore the deal Iran signed with world powers, Busaidi said Muscat has a very good relationship with both Tehran and Washington and was ready to assist if needed. “I believe the channels are open directly between the foreign policy teams in Washington and Iran. I see no reason why those channels can’t be reactivated,” Busaidi told the Atlantic Council event.

Axios JNF Plans to Pour Millions Into Expanding Settlements The board of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is set to approve a policy that will allow the organization to purchase land in the West Bank for the potential expansion of Israeli settlements there, according to a draft resolution. A non-governmental organization founded in 1901 to purchase land for Jews to settle in Ottoman Palestine, JNF today owns 15% of all the land in Israel. This major policy shift could funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into the expansion of settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. The move comes as the Biden administration begins to roll back Trump’s policies to legitimize settlements. It was driven by pressure from the Israeli settlements lobby, which has set a goal of growing the population of Jewish settlers in "area C" — the 60% of the West Bank that is fully controlled by Israel — to one million, from around 400,000. Due to its political and diplomatic sensitivity, JNF leaders tried to keep this move under the radar. Dig Deeper ‘‘Jewish Settlers Restore Ancient West Bank Site, Reportedly Damaged by Palestinians’’ (I24 News)

3 I24 News Israel Carries Out 'Rare' Daylight Strike in Syria Iraqi media outlets reported that Israel carried out “rare” airstrikes against a military shipment en route to Syria from Iran, KAN reported. The location of the attack was on the Syrian side of the Syria- Iraq border, the report added. Moreover, it said that due to the rare nature of the attack in daylight, a need for urgency was highly likely. Outlets affiliated with Iraqi Shiite militias reported that unidentified aircraft had targeted a vehicle that carried “logistical equipment” of an Iraqi militia group. Iraqi militias, backed by Iran, have been using the passageway between Iraq and Syria near the city of Al Bukamal to deliver arms. A large blast could be heard following the strike but other than damage to equipment, no known casualties or injuries were reported. Dig Deeper ‘‘Minister Says Qatar Working for Return to Iran Nuclear Accord: Report’’ (Reuters)

Times of Israel It Works: Only 4 Cases Among 523,000 Vaccinated Israelis An Israeli healthcare provider that has vaccinated half a million people with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine says that only 544 people — or 0.1% — have been subsequently diagnosed with the coronavirus, there have been four severe cases, and no people have died. That means the effectiveness rate stands at 93 percent, Maccabi Healthcare Services announced, after comparing its immunized members to a “diverse” control group of unvaccinated members. Full protection for people who have been vaccinated is believed to kick in a week after the second shot, so the Maccabi data covers all those of its members who are seven or more days after receiving that second dose. Maccabi’s statistics are being closely monitored around the world, for giving the first major insight into how the vaccine performs outside of clinical trials. And they are being widely hailed for indicating that real-word effectiveness is close to the 95% efficacy cited after Pfizer’s clinical trials. Dig Deeper ‘‘Israel on Track to Reopen Large Swaths of Economy in 11 Days — Virus Czar’’ (Times of Israel)

4 Yedioth Ahronoth – February 12, 2021 The Pilot has been Replaced By Nahum Barnea ● General Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of the United States Central Command, was in Israel last week. He met with several Israelis. To the best of my understanding, he did not say a word about the chief of staff’s belligerent announcement that was directed at the US about the nuclear agreement with Iran. Nobody in Washington uttered a peep either. The Israeli security establishment breathed a sigh of relief. There were no headlines, no damage. Others are not so sure. Friends aren’t silent, friends speak up, it could that the American silence—there are no phone calls from Washington, neither to the Prime Minister’s Bureau nor to the Foreign Minister’s Bureau—shows that they’re not really friends. In the Obama era, they fought with us; in the Trump era, they embraced us, in the Biden era, they are silent. The security establishment can be compared to a passenger who gets a flight in first class. ● A security official poses a third thesis. “Biden is a president who is at the beginning of his term. America is in crisis, and this is having a big effect. He is not a separationist like Trump, but in order to focus on handling domestic problems, he needs quiet on other fronts. “He cannot drop the Iranian nuclear issue from the agenda. What he is trying to do is to leave it for now, in a manner that is less volatile, less dangerous. The question is not whether the US will return to the agreement, it will. The same officials are in office who made the 2015 agreement, with the same approach, namely, to stop the bomb by diplomatic means. The question is when the US will return to the agreement and what its components will be. “The last agreement made no reference to the Iranian missile program and to Iranian support for terrorism. The chief of staff is therefore saying, I am against the agreement. Even an improved agreement is a bad agreement. I completely disagree. I’ll explain: our big problem is the nuclear issue. ● Any Iranian concession on any other matter will mean giving them something on the nuclear issue. We have priorities. We must not pay for improvements in other sections with the nuclear issue. “Trump wanted to sign an agreement with the Iranians. He didn’t manage to do that in time—that was very lucky for us. We must focus on two tasks. The first, to hold a dialogue with the Biden administration. We must rebuild the relationship with the Democrats. That way we will be able to have some influence on the negotiations [with Iran]; secondly, we must persuade Biden that he must strengthen Israel’s security against the Iranians. Trump was unwilling to give us any security armaments. We may find an attentive ear with Biden. “There was tension in the past at the political level, but the security-related talks always went smoothly and were on a professional basis. It’s not good to insert political statements into a security conversation. Yossi Cohen’s behavior is also problematic. He does not report about his meetings. The security establishment does not know about them. Maybe Netanyahu knows, and maybe he doesn’t.”

5 Ma’ariv – February 12, 2021 Two Years in the Army By Ben Caspit ● The In his quest for personal survival, Binyamin Netanyahu has also desecrated the corpse of the religious Zionist movement. No sector in Israel shoulders the burden of security more than these splendid Zionists are doing at the present time. Their founding party, the historic National Religious Party, was here from day one, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the founding fathers of the State of Israel and Zionism. Look at what’s left of all of this today. , who protested against the fact that his Jewish wife was about to give birth in the same hospital as an Arab woman (or, heaven forbid, with an Arab midwife, nurse or doctor), who called that a “pure Jewish moment,” who called the LGBT community beasts—he’s the responsible adult on the slate. I took a moment to examine the military records of the people in the first five slots on this party’s list, which is supposed to represent this sector’s sons and daughters, who bear the burden of service en masse and with dedication. ● Listen up: everything’s already been written about Smotrich. He performed partial service, in the course of which he was put in the ninth spot on the Tkuma list, which allowed him to go on leave for three months (during his reduced service) to volunteer in the election. Itamar Ben Gvir did not serve in the IDF. Neither of the women in the first five, Orit Struck and Michal Valdiger, served in the IDF. Att. Simcha Rothman served for one year. Cumulatively, all five have about two years of military service to their record. What an honor. When the campaign of incitement against the institutions of the rule of law began, from the police to the State Attorney’s Office and the attorney general, I told myself that it wouldn’t work. ● Every trick has its limit. Not even Netanyahu will be able to convince anyone that people like Roni Alsheich, Meni Yitzhaki or Avichai Mandelblit conspired to oust him. Even the most despicable libel needs a foundation, slim as it may be, of an organizing logic. I was wrong. He did it. Now history is repeating itself. No one could have believed, not long ago, that Netanyahu could legitimize Kahanism and it would go by quietly. Well, he did. It went by quietly. By the way, if you check the Likud’s slate, you’ll find another inconceivable poison pill: Boris Aplichuk, for whom the prime minister personally reserved 40 th place. If Netanyahu forms the next government and the Norwegian law is invoked, the aforementioned Aplichuk is liable to take his seat in Israel’s legislature, along with Ben Gvir. What are this man’s fine qualities? He’s depicted as a “Russian Aliyah activist” and an Israeli success story. The brunt of his success, as of now, has involved regularly standing outside the home of the prosecutor in Netanyahu’s trial, Liat Ben-Ari, in Moshav Herut. Aplichuk stands there at night with a megaphone and screams. “You’re not an alleged criminal, you’re a criminal,” he shouts at the prosecutor, “you should face a commission of inquiry for staging a legal coup,” he shouts, adding this and that about the fugitive Ben-Ari’s alleged crimes. Yes, in this case it’s also very hard to fathom this kind of event taking place just a short while ago.

6 ● The prime minister expropriates the Likud slate for the Knesset to give perks to the envoys he sends to incite and attack the leaders of law enforcement agencies in general, and against the prosecutor in his trial in particular. No one complains. No one rises up. The lambs keep bleating, watching what happens without seeing.

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