Israel and the Middle East News Update

Friday, May 8

Headlines: ● Triumph for Netanyahu, 72 MKs Endorse him as PM ● Rivlin Taps Netanyahu to Form Government ● Petition Filed with High Court to Nix Passed Rotation Bill ● Hamas Demands the Release of Barghouti in Prisoner Swap ● Second Trump Term Could Take US- Ties to Next Level ● Settler Leaders Accuse Trump of ‘Scamming’ Israel ● Palestinian Banks Begin Closing Jailed Terrorists' Accounts ● Israeli Billionaire Hopes to Bring Water to Parched Gaza

Commentary: ● : “0:11 For Sanity” − By Yedidia Stern

● Ma’ariv: “The Country’s Face” − By Ben Caspit

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts May 8, 2020 Times of Israel Triumph for Netanyahu, 72 MKs Endorse him as PM Completing a remarkable turnaround that will see him retain the premiership for at least the next 18 months, was endorsed as prime minister by 72 members, paving the way for him to finalize a coalition agreement with Blue and White party leader and swear-in his new government next week. The signatures were delivered to President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday afternoon, hours after constitutional changes underpinning the Likud-Blue and White power-sharing deal were approved by the Knesset and less than a day after the country’s top court rejected eight petitions against the deal and Netanyahu’s right to set up a new government when under indictment. Six lawmakers from the national-religious Yamina party and Labor MK Merav Michaeli were not among the signatories. Michaeli is the lone Labor member to refuse to join a government under Netanyahu, and Yamina has been pressuring Netanyahu for increased influence in the new government. It has indicated it might opt for the opposition.

Ynet News Rivlin Taps Netanyahu to Form Government President Reuven Rivlin said he has tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the next government, after the prime minister won the support of 72 Knesset members to do so. "Having received signatures of 72 members of the Knesset requesting that the task of forming a government should be assigned to MK Netanyahu, Rivlin has assigned him the task," said a statement released by the president's office. Netanyahu formally received the support of the majority of lawmakers earlier in the day, paving the way for his controversial power-sharing deal with rival-turned-partner Gantz. Having received the mandate from Rivlin, Netanyahu now has two weeks to form a government, although the coalition deal with Gantz was signed last month. If Netanyahu cannot put together a government, Israel will once again face unprecedented political territory with its fourth election cycle in a little over a year.

Jerusalem Post Hamas Demands the Release of Barghouti in Prisoner Swap Hamas is demanding the release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Secretary-General Ahmed Sa’adat as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel, a senior Hamas official said. Maher Obeid, member of the Hamas “political bureau,” said that any prisoner swap must include “all the symbols, from Marwan Barghouti to Ahmad Sa’adat to Fouad al-Shobaki to Karim Younes.” He spoke as the Israeli security cabinet was set to convene on Thursday evening, amid speculation that a prisoner swap was in the works. Among those who Hamas wants freed are four Palestinians with blood on their hands.

2 Jerusalem Post Second Trump Term Could Take US-Israel Ties to Next Level If US President Donald Trump is reelected in November, David Friedman knows exactly which job he would like to take in the administration’s second term – the one he has now, ambassador to Israel. After three years in the job, Friedman still feels that there is a lot left to be done to reinforce and strengthen the US-Israel relationship, starting with the Trump peace plan and bringing America’s allies in the region together to be allies with one another. The Post sat down with Friedman for a lengthy interview to mark the second anniversary of the US Embassy’s move to Jerusalem in 2018, which the ambassador said has not only helped make peace possible but also highlighted an American value of making decisions based on what is just. The ambassador is confident that Israel could annex the parts of the West Bank mentioned in Trump’s plan with US approval by July 1, but Israel is the one that has to make it happen, he said.

Times of Israel Settler Leaders Accuse Trump of ‘Scamming’ Israel Two senior settler leaders lashed out at the Trump administration for seeking to “scam” Israel with its peace plan. “Representatives of the US government are [trying to] sell Plan A under the guise of Plan B. There is no greater scam than this,” Yesha settlement umbrella council chairman David Elhayani told the news site, claiming that Washington is trying to use its support for annexation to force Israel to agree to the formation of a Palestinian state. Ultimately, settler leaders will have to reconcile with the recently inked unity deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Gantz, which allows the Likud leader to begin advancing legislation on annexation but within the context of the Trump plan and its envisioning of the establishment of a semi-autonomous Palestinian state starting on July 1.

I24 News Palestinian Banks Begin Closing Jailed Terrorists' Accounts Banks operating in the Palestinian Authority began closing bank accounts of Palestinian terrorist prisoners, Israel National News reported. According to the report, watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) sent a letter to bank officials, warning that failing to close the accounts could result in potential criminal and civil action. The letter refers to an Israeli legislation that comes into effect in two days, under which “the monthly salaries the Palestinian Authority pays to terrorists imprisoned by Israel constitutes a prohibited action with terror assets.” According to PMW, banks operating in the West Bank have already rushed to close accounts of imprisoned terrorists before the Israeli law comes into effect. PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs spokesman Hassan Abd Rabbo confirmed that families of terrorists are already complaining of bank accounts being clamped down as the PA holds discussions over the issue, INN reported.

3 Jerusalem Post Palestinians Turn to UN Security Council to halt Annexation The Palestinians have turned to the UN to halt Israel’s pending plans to annex West Bank settlements, with a Security Council discussion on the matter expected to be held on May 20. Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the Palestinians were seeking a “wide and powerful front in the UN to prevent Israel from annexing parts of the West Bank.” Mansour said the Palestinians sent letters to the UN Security Council and General Assembly regarding Israel’s “illegal plans concerning settlements and annexation.” He said he expected the Security Council members to discuss the Israeli plan during the council’s session on May 20. Earlier this week, the “Arab Troika” in New York, under the chairmanship of Oman, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and warned him about the repercussions of the Israeli plan. In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled to chair a meeting of the PLO Executive Committee on Thursday night to discuss Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. This would be the second meeting of its kind during the past few days to discuss the plan.

Ha’aretz Israeli Billionaire Hopes to Bring Water to Parched Gaza A Georgian-Israeli billionaire believes he has found a solution to the Gaza Strip’s chronic water crisis. Michael Mirilashvili wants to deliver hundreds of generators that produce drinking water out of thin air. His company, Watergen, sent a machine to a Gaza hospital last week in a rare case of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in the Hamas-ruled enclave. Gaza’s water situation is dire. Since the 2007 Hamas takeover of the crowded Palestinian territory, Gaza’s 2 million people have endured a crippling border blockade by Israel and Egypt that froze virtually all trade and most travel. The 13-year-old lockdown, along with three Israel-Hamas wars, has produced chronic power cuts and damaged Gaza’s infrastructure, contributing to water contamination. Electricity shortages prevent proper sewage treatment, forcing the strip to spew over 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) of poorly treated sewage into the Mediterranean each day, according to UN estimates. Gaza relies on an aquifer as its main source of potable water. But over-extraction has allowed sea water to seep in, rendering 97% of the area’s water undrinkable.

4 Yedioth Ahronoth – May 8, 2020 0:11 For Sanity By Yedidia Stern ● Some of the deep right and deep left were disappointed by the court’s unambiguous decision not to disqualify Netanyahu. The ruling pulled the rug out from under the Deep State myth, which the deep right wing has been attempting to sell. When the most liberal and activist judges rule that Netanyahu, the severe charges against him notwithstanding, can serve as prime minister, the conspiracy balloon bursts. The deep left is also incensed: the choir has broken into song, saying that the High Court of Justice’s ruling “made the unkosher, kosher,” that the judges are technocrats who don’t see the full picture. ● The grinder churning out superlatives about the ruin of democracy was working overtime. The Israeli majority, from the right wing and the left wing, should thank the court for doing what it was supposed to do, in keeping with the definition of its role: it examined the relevant law and the relevant rulings and since it did not find sufficient grounds in them to intervene in the voters’ decision, it did not prevent the outcome— problematic in and of itself, to use an understatement—that someone charged with criminal offenses can be the head of state. The extreme left, which has forgotten what the presumption of innocence is, received a vital lesson. The deep right, which forgot that “there are judges in Jerusalem,” received a necessary reminder. ● The two sides that have been boosting the culture war were disappointed by the lean, muscular ruling, which did not talk loftily about values but rather about the extent of the judicial branch’s authority to audit the political discretion of a political body. The High Court of Justice acted wisely: it enabled the general public to observe closely it as it sat in judgment. There is nothing better than the sight of one’s own eyes to refute demonic thoughts. We watched a group of professionals as they displayed curiosity, knowledge, sharp wit, a dollop of humor, and mainly responsible gravitas. That is the correct response to the subversive and groundless attempt to cast the judges in the role of revolutionaries who are undermining the separation of branches. ● The ruling was unanimous. When the explanations are published, we will be given a broad array of arguments that will sketch out the disagreements among the judges. But the consensus of the ruling is almost a miracle, considering such an opinionated group. It shows how superficial it is to a-priori label the judges on the spectrum between “liberal and “conservative.” When the matter at hand is to respect the core of the democratic process, the entire Supreme Court adopted a passive approach, as required. The unanimity of opinions, for now, is fresh water for a thirsty soul. ● This was a moment of grace in Israel’s culture war. The majority must use it to rescue itself from the traps that the fundamentalists have been placing in the public space. They never stop their destructive endeavors: the right wing interprets the ruling as a scheming plot, as a lull before the attack that will soon arrive in the form of a judicial review of the arrangements in the coalition agreement that will be passed into law. The left wing

5 interprets the ruling as the court’s capitulation to the prime minister’s threats and to pressure lest it be accused of dragging us to a fourth election that will end with an override clause. Imagine—just imagine—a different world: a world in which the right wing praises the court for its restraint and in view of the facts, stops inflating the absurd Deep State balloon. A world in which the left wing praises the court for upholding the Deri- Pinhasi precedent, which states that integrity is a criterion for appointing public officials, and which has once again upheld the justiciability of coalition agreements. Imagine that striking a balanced position is not always interpreted as bad for one of the sides, but rather as good for both of them. ● I don’t delude myself that the ruling will dispel the toxic fumes that we’ve become addicted to. Nevertheless, we must capitalize on the opportunity in which sanity won, big time, 11:0, and leverage it. Such a possibility is inherent in the coalition agreement, where it states that “a reconciliation cabinet will be formed that will take steps to heal the rifts in society.” Now is the time to convene a professional, non-political committee that will make use of this time to formulate a proposal to strike a balance again between the “political” and the “judicial.” The deep right wants to carry out a counter-revolution against the rule of the judges. The deep left wants to keep the situation as is in order to “rescue” democracy. We need new thinking that is balanced and sober that will leave the fringes frustrated and keep the state healthy.

6 Ma’ariv– May 8, 2020 The Country’s Face By Ben Caspit ● In their meeting on Wednesday, the two Binyamins crossed the Rubicon. With 24 hours to go until the deadline (Thursday midnight), Netanyahu and Gantz realized that they were dependent on each other and that if anything went wrong, they were liable to find themselves dangling next to one another. Well-informed sources are willing to swear that a delicate fabric of trust and a sense of a shared fate began to be embroidered between them. Their hands trembled, the needle almost broke, but the embroidery took on shape. At least for a temporary sake of appearances. Up until that moment, they had continued to suspect one another. Netanyahu, because that’s what he does. Gantz, because he was dealing with Netanyahu. On Wednesday, when they decided to extend the Knesset’s term (and their own terms), and Gantz instructed Blue and White MKs to append their signatures to the recommendation to assign Netanyahu the task of forming the government, they began to suspect that this would not ultimately happen: Netanyahu, for the first time in his life, would keep a promise, whereas Gantz, for the first time in the country’s history, would replace Netanyahu and remain alive? Now is the moment for the usual warning: it’s not over till it’s over and it is far from being over, because as in anything pertaining to Netanyahu, you never know. ● From a bird’s eye view, something simple happened. Benny Gantz decided to convert the dream of replacing Netanyahu into something more realistic: sharing power with Netanyahu. He reached the conclusion that the chances of beating him were not only slim, but that they were getting slimmer. That being the situation, instead of continuing to bang his head against the wall, better to enter through the door. True, he is providing Netanyahu with a seal of approval. True, he is betraying the promises and the most basic values on which Blue and White was established. But he will replace him in less than two years and this will be the first time, in the modern era, in which someone will have the title “prime minister” who will not be called Netanyahu. Gantz had a difficult choice. He had to choose between the plague and cholera. What wasn’t said about him? That he was a political rookie, half-baked, irresolute. As the bumper stickers on old cars say: a wreck, but in front of you. If Gantz does indeed become prime minister in less than two years and succeed in what Shimon Peres, , Shelly Yachimovich, Yair Lapid, Avi Gabbay, Yitzhak Herzog and others could not, he will be the one to have the last laugh. ● The idea of retracting their earlier intention of shortening the Knesset’s term to three years (and also to extend their terms as prime minister) arose after the High Court of Justice judges criticized this on Monday. The first to come up with the idea was one of Netanyahu’s people. Bibi agreed immediately. Why make do with a year and a half if he can have two years and a half in two rounds? That would extend his life as prime minister deep into his trial and increase his maneuvering room. All that remained was to persuade Gantz and his people. They were easily persuaded, and rightly so: a double alternation is another insurance policy that the agreement will be upheld, at least the first time: if Netanyahu has somewhere to return to (another nine-month term), he will have no

7 reason to break up the party after the first year and a half. In short, this wedding will take place, at our expense. But the main thing is that there is a government. ● And what did the High Court of Justice do? The right thing, as far as it was concerned. Instead of making a decision that would upset everything and perhaps cause an irreparable internal split, the court curled up inside itself like a hedgehog and preferred to be smart, and less in the right. When all 11 justices decided to reject the petitions unanimously, that was a sign that their decision was not based on purely legal considerations. Incidentally, that is a good thing. The court proved that it was not hunkering in an ivory tower, because it is no longer immune. Better to safeguard the tower in order to defend the kingdom rather than wage a lost war. The rationale is simple: the court knew that disqualifying Netanyahu would set the country on fire. Bibi would never consider accepting such a ruling and going home, as his predecessor did. He would fire up the engines of the fleet of bulldozers circling the courthouse in order to overturn the entire system, to change the rules and get rid of the judges, Hungary/Turkey style. ● In that situation, it was better to focus on the main issue and not give Netanyahu the opportunity to evade trial. Let him form a government, let him legislate a cumbersome legal construct, let him bring Blue and White into the tent of rot. Better that Gantz and Ashkenazi’s hands also be at the helm. What is the truly important issue? That he show up, as required of all citizens, for his trial when it opens on May 24 and that he know that cursing and lies won’t help. The evidence will decide. The judges of the High Court of Justice are experienced enough to know that all the cases —1,000, 2,000 and 3,000—are well grounded, that they rely on state’s witnesses and on thousands of primary and supporting evidence. I think that Netanyahu knows this as well. So, the High Court of Justice sacrificed a rook to protect the queen. Better not to go too far, even if there is some legal justification, better to go forward, inch by inch, and execute justice against the person who is rotting the entire country. Even history will not be able to determine whether this was the right choice, because we cannot know “what if.” But for now, there are more and more signs that in another week, will leave the bureau of the justice minister (and take along with him his inanities about the “illuminati” and the “stasi”) and Avi Nissenkorn will move in. That too is a consolation. ● From the legal aspect, the High Court of Justice’s ruling is based on the following foundations: the timing of the petitions made it necessary for the court to examine the discretion of the MKs, and not of the president, when assigning Netanyahu the task of forming the government. That is because the mandate was in the hands of the Knesset and was not at the president’s discretion. Since a decision by the Knesset cannot be defined as an administrative decision, but rather as a political decision, any intervention by the court had to be minor, if at all. The panel decided that the case at hand was not unusual or rare or dramatic enough to justify such intervention, which would also constitute intervening in the will of the voter (since Gantz had joined Netanyahu). If you ask, but what about the Deri-Pinhasi precedent, the answer is simple: in the Deri-Pinhasi precedent, the High Court of Justice intervened in the prime minister’s discretion to dismiss a minister under indictment. In that case, this was an administrative decision and 8 the court’s intervention was justified. In this case, it was far less justified. The truth is this was a reasonable ruling. ● As for the coalition agreement, the High Court of Justice’s ruling was a lot less comprehensive and final. It placed landmines that will explode in Netanyahu and Gantz’s hands down the road. “Sir, the court is not an insurance company,” Mazuz commented to Netanyahu’s counsel, and he knew what he was talking about. Some of the sections were not approved but rather deferred to a later date, when they will become relevant. When attorney Michael Rabello demanded that the court decide, here and now, on the matter of the Judges Selection Committee or on the matter of the switch between Netanyahu and Gantz in less than two years, the judges were not on board. They will get on board when the time comes. In the meantime, there have been new petitions, because the legislation was completed, but it could well be that the court will only intervene when the time comes for their actual implementation. In other words, the switch. This is bad news for Netanyahu. For now, the coalition agreement has been cosmetically revised here and there in wake of the court’s harsh criticism, and that too is something. ● What will happen if the court disqualifies, now, the possibility of Netanyahu’s remaining “alternate prime minister” in another two years? Most likely, based on close associates of both sides, the Binyamins will pass an override clause for this. Yes, what you heard. They reached the conclusion that this government has to be formed, here and now. Any other option is much worse. They’ve crossed the point of no return. Unless, in the next five days, someone persuades Netanyahu that Gantz is the chairman of the “illuminati” branch in Modiin, or something like that. And one final thing. it was nice to see the Bibi- ists facing the court, shamefaced, scratching their pates, ruffling their pages of talking points and not understanding who stole the lynching they had planned. To the same degree, it was funny to see the left wingers storming the court with their fiery tongues. Relax, everyone. These are the rules of the game. Anyone who sanctifies the rules of the game and the rulings of the High Court of Justice, must accept them in any situation and in any weather. We have no other justice system and the one that we have is not all that bad. Perhaps it is even better than the health system, which is also not as terrible as we thought. ● What is the score for the two Binyamins? Netanyahu received a formal seal of approval from the main contender to his title. The man who tried to undermine his fitness for the position of prime minister is now a signatory to his legitimization. That is a considerable achievement. On the other hand, he conceded half of his authorities as prime minister (Gantz has a veto right over everything) and he must vacate his seat in less than two years. On the other hand, he (and she and he) will continue to live at the state’s full expense forever and ever, or until the messiah arrives, whichever comes later. What is Gantz’s situation? He lost his status in the eyes of the people who sent him to the Knesset and is viewed as someone who broke an explicit promise. But this is reversible. He koshered someone whom half of the country considered impure, and that is less reversible. But he will be prime minister (maybe). He realized that Blue and White could never be the ruling party, but that it could share power. So he chose the second option.

9 In business, when both sides are displeased, or pleased to the same degree, that’s a sign that the deal is stable and good. ● Good In our case, the sides are pleased, but the face of the country is less pleased. It looks at itself in the mirror and sees the lowest moral nadir in its history. The State of Israel has come to terms with the fact that it will be headed by someone charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. It agreed to bow its head to petty politics and to let someone continue to serve who considers himself and his family to be more important and exalted than the state. That is terrifying, but that’s what there is for the moment. In the last two years, I often wrote that a situation is unthinkable in which a prime minister will spend his day at a bribery trial in a district court and continue, at night, to run the most complicated country on earth. So I did. It turns out that I was wrong. Netanyahu has done the unbelievable and he will become the first prime minister (let’s hope also the last) who will head the state that is also trying him for severe criminal offenses. This is a slippery slope that is also a slope of moral turpitude and rot. ● What is next? A murder defendant who will serve as prime minister until his guilt is proven? A defendant for armed robbery who will educate our children? Nothing can be taken for granted anymore. Morally, we have reached the absolute bottom of the barrel. The man who believes that he is above the state, was able to persuade half of the public that this is true. He was able to make them forget history, to rewrite it, to link his fate to the fate of the country and to place it on the edge of an abyss. The prediction that said that he would not hesitate to set everything on fire in order to survive, was realized in full. At the very last minute, it was in fact the head of the opposing camp who challenged him, who blinked last. Gantz decided to stop the sprint to hell in a course of action that was a mixture of self-debasement and self-sacrifice. Populism and patriotism melded into one. It’s hard to judge Gantz at this stage. It’s easy to judge us as a collective: awful.

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