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Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Thursday, April 30 Headlines: Likud Inks Coalition Deals with Kulanu, United Torah Judaism Yisrael Beiteinu Insists on Toppling Hamas as Strategic Goal Center-Left Bloc Lambastes Netanyahu Over Emerging Coalition Plan for US-Israel Anti-Tunnel Project Clears First House Hurdle Israel Lets 14,000 Tons of Building Material into Gaza Gazans Warn: “Gaza is About to Collapse” Economically PM Netanyahu Meets with South Korean Deputy PM Young Saudi Royals Rise as Kingdom Tries to Assert Regional Leadership Commentary: Ha’aretz: “Israelis Must Act Now to Prevent a Bloody Awakening” By Aviad Klienberg Jerusalem Post: “Zionist Union’s Ben-Reuven Plans to Fight for Agreement with Palestinians” By Lahav Harkov S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor News Excerpts April 30, 2015 Times of Israel Likud Inks Coalition Deals with Kulanu, UTJ The ruling Likud party signed coalition deals with the Kulanu party and ultra-Orthodox faction United Torah Judaism Wednesday, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his first partners as he races to form a government before a May 7 deadline. Under the deal with UTJ, several major reforms drafted by the previous government, aimed at integrating the ultra-Orthodox community into Israeli society, will apparently be frozen, including aspects of legislation to phase Haredim into mandatory military or national service. The addition of the parties brings Netanyahu’s emerging coalition up to 46 seats, meaning he requires only 15 more to form a government by the May 7 deadline. See also, “Social reforms, ultra-Orthodox benefits in spotlight as Kulanu, UTJ join coalition” (BICOM) Israel Radio News Yisrael Beiteinu Insists on Toppling Hamas as Strategic Goal The Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu agreed that Avigdor Lieberman will have control of all Foreign Ministry affairs, including the dialogue with the United States, the administration of peace process negotiations, and the ties with European countries. A document listing Yisrael Beiteinu’s policy demands states that the party insists on toppling the Hamas regime in Gaza Strip as an Israeli strategic goal. The document further states that any negotiations to reach a peace agreement must be as part of a regional agreement and not be a bilateral agreement between Israel and the PA. Channel 2 News Center-Left Bloc Lambastes Netanyahu over Emerging Coalition As the future coalition begins to take shape, the factions left in the opposition have begun to warn of the repercussions. After an agreement was signed between the Likud and UTJ yesterday evening, Lapid appealed directly to the Likud voters and asked them whether this was the result that they had hoped to achieve when they voted for Netanyahu. Lapid accused the Prime Minister of selling Israel’s national values for the sake of building a coalition. Opposition Chairman Yitzhak Herzog criticized the prime minister’s intention to introduce legislation to weaken the standing of the Supreme Court. “They’re threatening the judges. They’re threatening the journalists. They’re threatening democracy in Israel. We won’t let them!” wrote Herzog on Facebook. Times of Israel Plan for US-Israel anti-tunnel project clears first House hurdle A bipartisan group of Congress members unanimously approved adding an amendment authorizing research and development of an anti-tunneling defense system for Israel’s protection to the year’s most important defense legislation Wednesday. According to its sponsors, the Lamborn-Graham amendment will authorize R&D of an anti-tunneling defense system to protect Israel from terror attacks. See also, “2014 record year for Israeli defense purchases” (Jerusalem Post) 2 Ynet News Israel Lets 14,000 Tons of Building Material into Gaza Israel allowed 14,000 tons of building material into Gaza Wednesday, the defense ministry said. This is the largest single shipment since the July-August conflict ended in the blockaded territory. Under Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza, the entry of cement and iron has mostly been banned, with Israel fearing such materials could be used by Palestinian militants to make weapons and build attack tunnels. The international community has warned that without serious reconstruction of the coastal territory another conflict could be looming soon. See also, “Hamas police beat, arrest protesters at Gaza rally” (Ynet News) Walla News Gazans Warn: “Gaza is About to Collapse” Economically More than seven years have passed since Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the route to economic rehabilitation appears to be longer than ever, according to businessmen in Gaza. “Everyone knows, including the Israeli government and army, that the Gaza is heading for collapse,” said Omar Shaaban, an economist who is the head of a think tank in Gaza. “There are 1.8 million people in Gaza, most of whom are young, and they have nothing to do, and that’s a big problem. If additional relief isn’t given, the situation is going to become far worse.” He said that the situation on the ground is very dire—many people are unemployed and rely on outside aid for basic food supplies. “The level of unemployment in Gaza, according to unofficial numbers, is around 70%. Prime Minister’s Office PM Netanyahu Meets with South Korean Deputy PM “We have a great deal to learn from each other and be inspired by each other, but we also heed the example of the negotiations with North Korea, the nuclear negotiations. It was said then that the inspections would prevent proliferation. It was said then that they would moderate North Korea’s aggressive behavior. It was said that it would integrate North Korea into the family of nations and unfortunately that didn't happen. And I am very concerned that the Lausanne framework would repeat and is repeating these mistakes. I think that freeze and inspect is not an adequate substitute for dismantle and remove. And needless to say, I don't think there's any effective inspection. So I think the repetition of these mistakes is a great historic blunder.” See also, “Obama to veto any bill that would undermine Iran talks” (Associated Press) Wall Street Journal Young Saudi royals rise as Kingdom tries to assert leadership The Saudi monarchy’s overhaul of its aging leadership moves a younger generation of royals into position to reinvigorate the country at a time when it is trying to assert political and military leadership in the Middle East and reshape ties with the West. In a kingdom where elderly and infirm monarchs made all major decisions for decades, the empowerment of younger members of the House of Saud is a significant departure. It has already translated into a surprisingly activist foreign policy that has asserted Saudi leadership of a Sunni Muslim bloc confronting mainly Shiite Iran. And it comes as oil-rich Saudi Arabia faces economic challenges at home brought on by the sharp fall in the price of crude. 3 Ha’aretz – April 30, 2015 Israelis Must Act Now to Prevent a Bloody Wwakening No one knows exactly how the calamity will look, whether a political downfall, a popular uprising or a violent clash. By Ari Shavit The significance of the 2015 election is clear: There will be no change in Israel before a harsh blow of reality hits Israel. The hope of changing direction before the crash is receding. The chance of generating change before calamity strikes is fading. No one knows exactly how the blow will look, whether a political downfall, a popular uprising or a violent clash. No one knows when the blow will fall; maybe in another two or three years, maybe in another two or three months. But it’s perfectly clear that on March 17 the last chance was missed for an awakening that isn’t painful, bloody or life-threatening. Without knowing it, Israelis chose in the last election to bring a deep national crisis upon themselves. The sobering up will only come later. And yet the people who say salvation is concealed in the inevitable crisis are wrong. Beginner’s logic: The fact that there will be no awakening before agony and misery does not mean that an awakening will come after agony and misery. Lacking an ideological alternative, the crash into the wall of external reality could actually intensify the internal disintegration. American back-turning will only increase the sense of Israeli desperation. European hostility will only deepen the sense of a Jewish ghetto. Arab violence will only fan the flames of messianic zealotry. If Israel’s enlightened people don’t know how to propose a comprehensive political, social, economic and identity for the Israeli people, then even when the ship hits the first ice floes, it will sail straight into the iceberg. That’s why the weeks since the election have been no less depressing than Election Day. There has been no deep soul-searching, not even the beginning of new thinking. The air is more toxic than ever. Evil, pettiness, bitterness and acerbity. And to improve the soul, there is the old-new phenomenon of Ashkenazi-Mizrahi racism. Us and them. Brother against brother. A never-ending dance of scratching at sores that spreads hate and despair and ruins everything that is good. Enough. There is no credibility in peace-seeking that indulges in such verbal violence. There is no chance in the struggle against the occupation that goes against everything good and beautiful in this country. There is no moral validity in talking about loving other people and human rights when it goes hand in hand with such ugly hatred for so many people. And it’s not just the right that needs to wake up (from its messianic delusions and hatred of the other).
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