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Israel and Middle East News Update

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Israel and Middle East News Update Israel and Middle East News Update Monday, May 10 Headlines: ● Supreme Court Delays Session on Sheikh Jarrah Evictions ● Clashes and Arrests as Protests Spread to Haifa, Nazareth ● Two Gaza Rockets Fired at Southern Israel, One Intercepted ● IDF Sends Reinforcements to West Bank Amid Violence ● Jordan Summons Israeli Envoy Over Jerusalem Clashes ● In Swipe at Biden, Netanyahu Pledges to ‘Build in Jerusalem’ ● Bennett, Lapid Aim to Swear in Government Thursday ● Likud Hoping Abbas Will Thwart Bennett-Lapid Gov't Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Events on the Ground Will Decide’’ - By Shimrit Meir ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Abbas Wants to Be a Minister’’ - By Yuval Karni S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts May 10, 2021 I24 News Supreme Court Delays Session on Sheikh Jarrah Evictions Israel's Supreme Court postponed its hearing on the contentions Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood evictions, the Court said. The hearing, which had been slated for Monday, was postponed at the request from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. The court was expected to deliver its decisive ruling in the lengthy legal battle between several Palestinian families and Jewish settlers claiming the houses they live in. The group of settlers facing off with the families claims to have acquired the land they reside on legally in the late 19th century. The Palestinians for their part, say that they had been living in the area since 1950s, with a nod from Jordan, after fleeing from the fighting in the War of Independence. The postponement follows fresh overnight clashes in Jerusalem as Palestinian rioters lobbed rocks at the Israeli security forces. Dig Deeper ‘‘Palestinians Fear Loss of Family Homes as Evictions Loom’’ (Associated Press) Ynet News Clashes and Arrests as Protests Spread to Haifa, Nazareth Clashes between Arab protesters and police broke out in several locations across Israel mainly in Jerusalem and Haifa, following days of confrontations between security forces and Palestinians in Jerusalem. Shortly after the end of a mass prayer session at the Western Wall plaza that opened the events of Jerusalem Day (marking the 54th anniversary of Israel capturing Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War) riots erupted in Sheikh Jarrah and at the Damascus Gate. Several clashes were also reported in the northern city of Haifa, where 15 rioters were arrested after attacking officers and trying to break through a police barrier and obstruct traffic. In Nazareth, protesters gathered opposite the police station in a show of solidarity with the Sheikh Jarrah residents. Dig Deeper ‘‘Arab Citizens of Israel Show Unprecedented Involvement in Jerusalem Protests’’ (Ha’aretz) Ha’aretz Two Gaza Rockets Fired at Southern Israel, One Intercepted Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement after sirens sounded in Ashkelon and the area immediately surrounding the Gaza border. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, and the other landed in an open area, the statement added. Israel's Nature and Parks Authority said the fires were detected in fields from Ashdod to Eilat in the south. Trains from Ashkelon to Netivot near the Gaza border were temporarily initially shut. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories announced it is closing off Gaza's fishing zone amid the recent escalation. COGAT said in a statement that the decision would immediately go into effect and remain in place until further notice. It added that Israel views Hamas as solely responsible for the rocket fire and arson explosive-laden balloons. Dig Deeper ‘‘Jerusalem’s on Fire, and It’s Poised to Spread in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank’’ (Times of Israel) 2 Jerusalem Post IDF Sends Reinforcements to West Bank Amid Violence The IDF has sent an additional three battalions to the West Bank to reinforce four already in the area, following violence in Jerusalem and overall heightened tension in the area. The additional forces have been deployed with the aim of strengthening troop readiness, with an emphasis on strengthening defenses over the Seam Line. Israeli security forces on Friday increased their alert level and sent more than two and a half extra battalions to reinforce troops after two Palestinians were killed earlier in the day and a third was seriously wounded after they opened fire toward the Salem base in the northern West Bank. The three gunmen, all armed with knives and improvised Palestinian-made Carlo submachine guns, opened fire on the gate of the Salem base before they were shot by Border Police officers. Dig Deeper ‘‘IDF Launches Largest Military Exercise in Israel's History’’ (I24 News) Ha’aretz Jordan Summons Israeli Envoy Over Jerusalem Clashes The Jordanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli envoy in Jordan to voice its official protest in light of the recent clashes in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. The chargés d'affaires said that Israel protects freedom of expression and religion and that it must prevent harming Jews' right to pray at the Western Wall. Jordanian news outlets reported that King Abdullah II had spoken with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his support for the Palestinian people and condemned the Israeli conduct in East Jerusalem. "What the Israeli police and special forces are doing, from violations against the mosque to attacks on worshippers, is barbaric behavior that is rejected and condemned," Jordan said in a statement. Jordan had provided the Palestinians with land deeds in Sheikh Jarrah it says proves Israeli settler claims to the property were groundless. Several hundred Jordanians protested near the fortified Israeli embassy in Amman as dozens of anti- riot police stood by. Dig Deeper ‘‘Canada, Quartet Slam Jerusalem Violence, International Pressure Grows on Israel’’ (Jerusalem Post) Times of Israel In Swipe at Biden, Netanyahu Pledges to ‘Build in Jerusalem’ Prime Minister Netanyahu weighed in on the recent tensions in Jerusalem at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, emphasizing that Israel retains the right to “build in Jerusalem,” after the Biden administration criticized the impeding evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem and Israeli construction in the West Bank. “We emphatically reject the pressures not to build in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, these pressures have been increasing of late. I say even to our best friends: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Just as every people builds its capital and in its capital, so too do we reserve the right to build and in Jerusalem. This is what we have done and what we will continue to do,” he said, according to a statement from his office. Beyond the Biden administration, the impending eviction has drawn criticism from allies throughout Europe, as well as Israel’s newfound friends in the Persian Gulf, the UAE and Bahrain. Dig Deeper ‘‘UN Security Council to Hold Emergency Meet on Escalating Jerusalem Violence’’ (Times of Israel) 3 Jerusalem Post Bennett, Lapid Aim to Swear in Government Thursday Negotiating teams of Yamina and Yesh Atid met with representatives of their potential coalition partners in an effort to swear in a new government by the end of the week. Yamina Party chairman Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid want the deal done this week and before the Shavuot holiday next Monday, and Bennett is under intense pressure from the Right to not give into Lapid. Bennett made significant progress in a meeting with the Ra’am Party (United Arab List) head Mansour Abbas, and he will meet with him again with Lapid today, as negotiating teams will try to finalize a full coalition agreement with Ra’am. Abbas will not become a minister, but his party will be an official part of the coalition in return for several economic steps that help his Arab constituents. Lapid will also meet on Monday with Joint List leaders Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi in an effort to persuade them to abstain in a vote on the new government. But Abbas wants full credit for whatever he delivers for the Arab sector and does not want to share it with his rivals. Dig Deeper ‘‘Islamist Ra’Am Said Ready to Give Crucial Support for a Lapid-Bennett Government’’ (Times of Israel) Israel Hayom Likud Hoping Abbas Will Thwart Bennett-Lapid Gov't The Likud party has no plans to sit idly by as negotiations between Lapid and Bennett continue apace. Party members are working to thwart the so-called "change" bloc from establishing a coalition government. A close associate of Netanyahu met with Mansour Abbas for three hours in an attempt to convince him to oppose the government in the works. The source walked away from the talks with the impression Abbas was inclined to side with the Right. Likud officials also hope Joint Arab List members will be uncomfortable supporting a Bennett-led government, and as a result, will abstain from voting in favor of such a coalition, torpedoing the move. Dozens of protesters demonstrated outside of senior Yamina official Ayelet Shaked's office. Among those shouting cries of "You promised not to support a left-wing government were Yamina's Binyamin branch chairman Chaim Bar Geva as well as representatives of the Bereaved Families Forum. Protesters called on Shaked to announce she would not join a Bennett-led left-wing government, with some accusing Yamina of fraud for what they said amounted to stealing their votes for the Left. Dig Deeper ‘‘Naftali Bennett Could Be Israel’s Next Prime Minister’’ (Al-Monitor) 4 Yedioth Ahronoth – May 10, 2021 Events on the Ground Will Decide By Shimrit Meir ● Allah says in the Quran: “The night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months,” referring to the night marking the end of Ramadan.
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