November 21 2017

Israel and the Middle East News Update

Tuesday, November 21

Headlines:

• Report: Sub Affair Suspect's Attorney Advising Netanyahu • Is the Prime Minister Next Up in Submarine Investigation? • UN Mideast Envoy: A Palestinian Reconciliation Failure will be ‘Devastating’ • Netanyahu Says Rivlin Criticism Gone Too Far • Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah warns of Saudi-Israel Ties • Saudi Arabia Denies Claims of Israeli Covert Partnership • Mengistu Family Pleads with UN to Help Release Son from Hamas • Despite Promise, Israel Moves to Seize Private Palestinian Land in West Bank

Commentary: • Ma’ariv: “Netanyahu’s Probes: Getting Complicated” - By Ben Caspit, columnist at Ma’ariv • The Progressive Post: “How Europe Can Contribute to the Israel-Palestinian Peace Process” - By Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● Aaron Zucker, Associate Editor

News Excerpts November 21, 2017 Yedioth Ahronoth Report: Sub Affair Suspect's Attorney Advising Netanyahu A top attorney, who has been representing former deputy national security advisor Avriel Bar-Yosef in the submarine corruption investigation, and Shaul Elovitch in an investigation into the communications giant Bezeq, has been providing secret advice to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his various corruption investigations, according to reports broadcast Monday night by Channel 10 News. A law-enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while counsel provided by the attorney, Jacque Chen, may not be illegal, it raises suspicion. “Maybe there is no legal prevention on this but it doesn't smell good,” the official said. Responding to the reports, Chen categorically denied that his joining of Netanyahu’s legal team had anything to do with either case. See also, “Police question Israeli leader over corruption accusations” (AP)

Jerusalem Post Is the Prime Minister Next Up in Submarine Investigation? who, other than Netanyahu, would be so worthwhile to get to that it would be worth giving Shimron a deal to avoid prosecution? At this point, although the prosecution continues to steadfastly maintain that Netanyahu is not a suspect, and although he has not been officially questioned in any manner about Case 3000, the most rational explanation would be that Netanyahu is the big fish the police are after. That he has not been declared a suspect could be explained by a nuanced position by the prosecution in which they are playing two simultaneous hands. See also, ”Ex-PM associates face ouster from civil service posts over submarine affair” (Times of Israel)

Ha’aretz UN Mideast Envoy: a Pal’ Reconciliation Failure ‘Devastating’ The UN's Mideast envoy says reconciliation talks between Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas must succeed, warning that failure "will most likely result in another devastating conflict." Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council Monday that "critical intra-Palestinian talks" are scheduled to open in Cairo on Tuesday. He said the Oct. 12 agreement between the rivals, aimed at restoring the Fatah- led Palestinian Authority's rule in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, started "a long road that could lead to reconciliation." But he said the rival factions must first solve the humanitarian crisis for Gaza's two million residents and return the territory to full civilian and security control by the Palestinian Authority. See also, “Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo for reconciliation talks” (Times of Israel) i24 News Netanyahu Says Rivlin Criticism Gone Too Far Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday said in a statement that the derogatory images circulating social media of a kaffieyeh-wearing President Reuven Rivlin, had crossed the line. “In a democracy, you may criticize everyone," he said at the weekly Likud faction meeting, "not all criticism is incitement — but it should be without keffiyehs, without nooses, and without Nazi uniforms.” Photos circulated across social media of Rivlin in a traditional Arab head garb known as a kaffiyeh after his rejection on Sunday of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Elor Azaria’s pardon request to reduce his sentence. 2

Jerusalem Post Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah warns of Saudi-Israel Ties The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Monday his Iran-backed group had not sent any weapons to Yemen and denied that it was behind the firing of a ballistic missile at Riyadh from Yemeni territory held by Tehran-allied Houthi forces. In a televised address, Nasrallah also urged followers to listen to recent comments by Israeli officials which he said pointed to ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Hezbollah's arch foe. An Israeli cabinet minister said this week that Israel has had covert contacts with Riyadh amid common concerns over Iran, a first disclosure by a senior official from either country of long-rumored secret dealings. See also, “Israeli minister reveals covert contacts with Saudi Arabia” (Israel Hayom) i24 News Saudi Arabia Denies Claims of Israeli Covert Partnership Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir denied claims that there were ties between the Kingdom and Israel following Israel's Energy Minister suggested on Sunday that the two countries had covert contacts. "There are no ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel," Jubeir told Egyptian media, according to Ynet. He said, however, that the Arab Peace Initiative would normalize relations between Israel and Arab states. In an obvious ploy to fan the flames of the Middle East, Leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah in his televised addressed on Monday, urged followers to listen to recent comments made by Israeli officials which indicated an emerging relationship. See also, “Saudi Arabia And Israel — What Is Going On?” (Haffington Post)

Ynet News Mengistu Family Pleads with UN to Help Release Son from Hamas The family of Abera Mengistu—who has remained in Hamas captivity since voluntarily crossing the border into Gaza in 2014—addressed the UN at its headquarters in New York Monday, calling for international pressure to be exerted on the terror group to release their son. “We call upon the international community to use its full weight to help in the release of our son,” the Ethiopian-Israeli family said during a press conference. “We call for a special UN discussion and for a resolute decision that will ensure that international rescue organizations will be allowed to visit Abera,” said Mengistu’s bother, Ilan. Since Abera was captured, Hamas has persistently refused to provide any word on his wellbeing. See also, “Family of Avera Mengistu wants US help to get him back” (TOI)

Ha’aretz Despite Promise, Israel Moves to Seize Private Pal’ Land in WB The state is seeking to retroactively legalize the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land in a West Bank settlement, even though it admits the land was expropriated by mistake. In a brief submitted to the High Court of Justice on Monday in response to a petition against a proposed master plan for the settlement of Ofra, the state asked the court to allow it to include the 45 dunams of land in question in the master plan and legalize construction on them. Hundreds of dunams in the area where Ofra now stands were originally expropriated in 1966 by Jordan. Israel expropriated the land a second time in the 1970s to legalize settlement there. in a brief submitted to the court in August 2016, the state admitted it had not realized that Jordan had expropriated only portions of certain plots, and so Israel seized the entire plots. As a result, it wound up taking 45 dunams and parts of Ofra were later built on this land. See also, “In historic move, Israel AG OKs seizing Palestinian land for public Need” (Jerusalm Post) 3

Ma’ariv – November 21, 2017 Netanyahu’s Probes: Getting Complicated By Ben Caspit, columnist at Ma’ariv

• Prime Minister Netanyahu’s sixth round of questioning, on Sunday evening, was a watershed. For the first time since the start of his questioning by Lahav 433 Unit personnel, Netanyahu was caught unprepared, found himself in distress, lost his self-confidence and at times also his control of the situation. Netanyahu was very worried and anxious prior to the questioning, and spent many hours on the Sabbath in an effort to prepare for it together with Attorney Amit Hadad. But when the questioning started, it became apparent that the preparation had not been relevant. Sources involved in the investigation said that Netanyahu was under stress, sweated, and was panicky at times, occasionally lashing out at the detectives who were questioning him with irrelevant answers that attested to a state of distress. The prime minister was surprised in his sixth round of questioning and will probably be even more surprised in his seventh round of questioning. • And as if the situation was not complicated enough, yesterday they became even more complicated: Channel Ten reported that law enforcement officials recently revealed that Netanyahu had met secretly with another attorney, in addition to his regular team of attorneys (Weinroth and Hadad). This refers to Jack Chen, one of the most senior and well-regarded attorneys in Israel. The fact that Chen is advising Netanyahu was revealed on Friday by Hamodia, while Channel Ten presented yesterday questions raised by senior law enforcement officials given this information. • The questions are justified: Jack Chen represents Avriel Bar-Yosef in the submarines affair (Case 3,000) and Shaul Elovitch in the Bezeq affair (Case 4,000). In addition, he is a close friend and associate of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, and represented him when he was suspected of farfetched charges in the Harpaz affair. Then we have the peculiar statement made by Mandelblit, which was issued in advance, that Netanyahu was not a suspect in the submarines affair. If he is not a suspect in the affair, there is indeed no reason for him not to meet regularly with an attorney who is knowledgeable about the affair, given the fact that he represents one of its highest-ranking suspects (Bar-Yosef). • Incidentally, another senior figure, David Shimron, is represented by Attorney Amit Hadad, who is also part of Netanyahu’s defense team. So the legal circumstances have created a situation in which Netanyahu ostensibly enjoys a free and unclassified flow of materials from these two investigations, in which he is still not a suspect, but there is the potential for him to be a suspect in the future. Such materials could give Netanyahu a great head start in facing the detectives and as the investigation progresses. This state of affairs is apparently legal and this is not meant to cast aspersions on any of the attorneys, who do their work faithfully. • However, it is difficult to demand that a lawyer who is conferring with a client, who also serves as prime minister, not disclose to him what is going on in a particular case, in which he is involved. A fascinating legal dilemma, to which we can add the fact that Attorney Jack Chen is also closely associated with the staff of Uvda and Ilana Dayan, and advised them in the past in various cases. If anyone has forgotten, the famous interview in which Attorney Weinroth got into trouble with the Netanyahu family (and mainly with Ms. Netanyahu) was aired on Uvda, with the same Ilana Dayan. This is all, of course, a coincidence (no cynicism intended). 4

• Furthermore, attorneys Weinroth and Hadad, who have represented Netanyahu on a regular basis since his past affairs, did not even know about the additional lawyer he retained. They learned of this by accident, after a quarrel broke out following the broadcast of Weinroth’s interview, in which Ms. Netanyahu snapped at them that the family could manage without them, and mentioned Attorney Chen’s name as being involved. In any case, at the rate things are going, the attorney dilemma is the last thing that should worry the residents of the Balfour Street residence at the moment. • The state’s witness offer that was given to David Shimron, similar offers that will soon be made to other associates, and other associates who will soon find themselves in trouble—all this marks the fact that the cordon of investigations is tightening around the prime minister. Netanyahu has already been under investigative siege at least twice in the past. On both those occasions, he escaped by the skin of his teeth at the last moment thanks to the compassion shown at the time by the former attorney general, Elyakim Rubinstein. As matters become clearer, it seems that the third time will look different.

SUMMARY: The questions are justified: Jack Chen represents Avriel Bar-Yosef in the submarines affair (Case 3,000) and Shaul Elovitch in the Bezeq affair (Case 4,000). In

addition, he is a close friend and associate of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, and represented him when he was suspected of farfetched charges in the Harpaz affair. Then we have the peculiar statement made by Mandelblit, which was issued in advance, that Netanyahu was not a suspect in the submarines affair. If he is not a suspect in the affair, there is indeed no reason for him not to meet regularly with an attorney who is knowledgeable about the affair, given the fact that he represents one of its highest-ranking suspects (Bar-Yosef).

The Progressive Post– November 17, 2017 How Europe Can Contribute to the Israel-Palestinian Peace Process

By Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt

• Europe has been involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for over four decades. The EU is in the international Quarter along with the US, Russia and the UN, which has sought to implement the 2003 Roadmap for peace. Daniel Kurtzer, who served as US Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt, explains how he thinks that Europe could help in moving the peace process forward. • For more than four decades, Europe has asserted an interest in playing a substantive role in international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EU has issued important declarations • to this effect, most notably the Venice Declaration in 1980, and has engaged in initiatives such as the Euro-Arab dialogue. Furthermore, individual European states have appointed special envoys and the EU has appointed its own envoy and participated in the international Quartet, joining the United States, Russia and the United Nations in the effort to implement the 2003 Roadmap for peace. • European positions on peace process issues have sometimes diverged significantly from those of the United States. One example was the EU’s interest in including the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the peace process at a time when the United States insisted that the PLO first recognise Israel, renounce terrorism and accept United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 242 and 338. Europe’s independent policy positions have sent an important signal to Middle East parties. • That said, the assertion of European interest in playing a more substantial role has not been of much consequence. Europe has rarely been able to present a common position, allowing the parties to advance their particular policy preferences by playing EU member states off against each other. This was evident in the proposal to require labelling of products from the Occupied Territories. Here, Israel applied significant pressure on its friends within the EU to prevent a common EU position from emerging. • A second issue has been the sometimes fraught relations between individual EU member states and Israel. Some Israelis argue that Europe is biased in favour of the Palestinians and thus cannot aspire to play the role of an honest broker. In truth, this Israeli argument mirrors the Palestinian argument against American mediation, namely, that US bias in favour of Israel should disqualify the United States from playing a third party role between the parties. But the fact remains that the Palestinians continue to accept the United States as the third party intermediary, while Israel does not accept Europe in that role. • A third issue has been the ‘deep pockets’ syndrome, that is, the belief on the part of Palestinians, Israelis and even some Americans that Europe should simply pay the bills. Not only do Europeans rightfully chafe at the prospect of continuing to provide assistance while being shut out of the negotiations, there is also the question of the uses to which some European assistance has been put. In relation to projects funded by European countries, tensions have 6

developed between some donors and the Palestinian Authority over the latter’s decision to honour Palestinian terrorists. Three years ago, for example, the Dutch Parliament voted to end support to the Palestinian Authority for the same amount of money that the Palestinian Authority had granted to the families of convicted terrorists. A second frustration relates to the fact that significant projects funded by Europe (and others) have been destroyed in the recurring violence between Israel and Hamas. • The core issue, then, is whether the European Union has not only a strong interest in playing a role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but rather whether the EU has the ability to form a unified policy, the will to unite behind that policy, and the determination to see the policy through, even when it runs up against the inevitable resistance of one or both Middle East parties. These same questions can be posed to the current American administration as well as to its predecessors. I am on record as being quite critical of American diplomacy since the 1991 Madrid peace conference and thus approach the question of European policy with great caution and humility. Three ideas of what Europe could do • What in fact could Europe do to prove its capability and will to help advance the prospects for peace? I suggest at least three actions. My first recommendation is that Europe should encourage and work with the United States to formulate strong parameters to serve as the terms of reference for future negotiations. These parameters would not substitute for the responsibility of the parties to conduct negotiations. However, without parameters and terms of reference, future negotiations will start and wander aimlessly. • My second is to accelerate Palestinian institution-building, a task for which the EU is particularly well-suited and experienced. And my third is to explore ways to bring Israeli and Palestinian citizens together, for example in meetings on economic issues of mutual concern or in public- private business activities. At some point governments may in fact restart negotiations, and at that point popular support, bolstered by frequent contacts, will be important to sustain the peace process.

SUMMARY: What in fact could Europe do to prove its capability and will to help advance the prospects for peace? I suggest at least three actions. My first recommendation is that Europe should encourage and work with the United States to formulate strong parameters to serve as the terms of reference for future negotiations. These parameters would not substitute for the responsibility of the parties to conduct negotiations. However, without parameters and terms of reference, future negotiations will start and wander aimlessly. My second is to accelerate Palestinian institution-building, a task for which the EU is particularly well-suited and experienced. And my third is to explore ways to bring Israeli and Palestinian citizens together, for example in meetings on economic issues of mutual concern or in public-private business activities. At some point governments may in fact restart negotiations, and at that point popular support, bolstered by frequent contacts, will be important to sustain the peace process.