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Israel and the Middle East News Update

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Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Friday, July 31 Headlines: ● Protest Movement to Go Global Over the Weekend ● Thousands Gather for Anti-Netanyahu Protest ● Israel Passes 500 Dead from Coronavirus ● Neo-Liberal Netanyahu Turning Socialist ● EU States Denounce ‘Illegal’ Building Plans in Jerusalem ● In West Bank, Eid Sacrifices Plummet as Virus Cases Soar ● Muslims Begin Downsized Hajj Pilgrimage Amid Pandemic ● Israel to Hold Lebanon Accountable for Hezbollah Attack Commentary: ● Ma’ariv: “The Kingdom is More Important than the King” - By Ben Caspit ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Every Person for Themselves” - By Sima Kadmon S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts July 31, 2020 Jerusalem Post Protest Movement to Go Global Over the Weekend The protest movement against Netanyahu will expand internationally this weekend. A demonstration will be held on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The demonstrators in San Francisco will carry black and Israeli flags and warn about danger to Israeli democracy. A protest is also planned for Washington Square in New York, in London and in Berlin on Sunday. The Bay Area activists are also in touch with people who want to protest in Boston and Seattle and activists who have demonstrated against Netanyahu in Sydney. The Likud is also planning to add a global element to the protests. A group of Likud central committee members are planning a video of US President Donald Trump supporting Netanyahu that will disrupt an anti- Netanyahu protest outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence on Saturday night. See also ‘‘Far- Right Activists Held After Alleged Attacks on Journalists, Arabs in Capital’’ (Times of Israel) Ynet News Thousands Gather for Anti-Netanyahu Protest Around 1,000 protesters against Netanyahu gathered outside his official residence in Jerusalem and more assembled outside the home of Public Security Minister Amir Ohana in Tel Aviv, as police continued to track down those behind violent attacks on protesters. Protesters vowed that they would not be deterred by what they called Netanyahu’s incitement. Police have been deployed in large numbers to the planned sites of the protests, aiming to prevent further violence. But the La Familia gang, whose members were blamed for attacks on protesters, rioted at a location blocks away from the demonstration, chanting death to leftists and assaulting a television crew. At least eight people were arrested. Others vowed they “would not quietly stand by while the state crumbles in front of our eyes.” The group said it has “no interest in politics, only an interest in the extremist anarchists who have crossed the line.” See also ‘‘Some 2,000 Rally Against Netanyahu in Jerusalem; Rival Protests Dispersed’’ (Times of Israel) Jerusalem Post Israel Passes 500 Dead from Coronavirus Despite reports that Israel is gaining control of coronavirus, the number of infected people continues to rise. Israel surpassed 70,000 patients since the start of the pandemic and reported that more than 503 were dead. According to the Health Ministry’s report, there were 1,785 people diagnosed with the virus. The total number of people infected with the virus stands at 70,379, among them 26,080 active patients. There were 321 patients in serious condition on Friday, including 99 who are intubated. The number of new patients in serious condition has gone down by about 1% for the last 2 days. 2 Al-Monitor Neo-Liberal Netanyahu Turning Socialist Starting Aug. 2, almost every Israeli will receive a “coronavirus grant” deposited directly into his/her bank account in several installments. The subsidies, conceived by Netanyahu in complete contradiction to the position of the Finance Ministry and to his own economic worldview, are supposed to boost consumption by those affected by the coronavirus crisis and catalyze economic recovery. Netanyahu announced the measure in typical pompous style at a televised news conference, incurring harsh criticism from almost every direction. Senior Finance Ministry officials reportedly tried to block the move, with arguments escalating to a real clash, according to some media leaks. Critics argued that an expenditure of $1.76b was irresponsible populism at the height of an unprecedented economic and budgetary crisis, but Netanyahu was more concerned about the growing protests against his handling of the crisis, even among his Likud voters. See also ‘‘Netanyahu Blasts TV Station: They Are Covering up Incitement’’ (Arutz Sheva) Times of Israel EU States Denounce ‘Illegal’ Building Plans in Jerusalem The European Union and 15 European countries renewed their opposition to Israeli plans to advance construction plans in areas of Jerusalem beyond the Green Line. The countries expressed their “grave concerns regarding the advancement of settlement construction in Givat Hamatos and potentially in the E1 area” in a so-called démarche filed with the Foreign Ministry. It was their second protest letter on the matter since May. The Foreign Ministry confirmed having received a second letter. The 15 countries that signed the démarche were France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. Many proponents of a two-state solution say Israeli development in E1, an area between East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, and Givat Hamatos would severely undermine the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. See also ‘‘Palestinian Hands Tied as Crime Rises in East Jerusalem’’ (Al-Monitor) Reuters In West Bank, Eid Sacrifices Plummet as Virus Cases Soar Slaughterhouses typically crowded with Palestinian Muslims buying sheep for the annual Eid al-Adha “feast of sacrifice” were nearly empty this week as coronavirus curbs weigh on the economy in the occupied West Bank. The PA has imposed a partial lockdown over areas under its control to battle a surge in new cases, forcing many businesses to close and sending unemployment to an estimated 18%. With many out of work, and public servants on reduced pay as the PA attempts to weather a financial crisis, local officials say sheep sales have plummeted. Palestinians have reported 75 deaths and over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in the occupied West Bank, the majority of them in the last two months. See also ‘‘Cramped Palestinian Refugee Camps Fear Virus Surge’’ (Times of Israel) 3 Times of Israel Muslims Begin Downsized Hajj Pilgrimage Amid Pandemic Muslim pilgrims began the annual hajj, dramatically downsized this year as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage. The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. But this year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in the ritual, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world that attended last year. Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing during a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in the holy city of Mecca and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia. Those selected to take part in the hajj were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine as they began trickling into Mecca at the weekend. Hajj authorities have cordoned off the Kaaba this year, saying pilgrims will not be allowed to touch it, to limit the chances of infection. Israel Hayom Israel to Hold Lebanon Accountable for Hezbollah Attack Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed the IDF to bomb Lebanese infrastructure if Hezbollah harms Israeli soldiers or civilians. A senior defense official told Israel Hayom that Gantz issued the order to prepare such a response during meetings on Thursday with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and other members of the general staff. Kochavi presented the IDF's position on the matter, saying Israel must hold Hezbollah and the Lebanese government responsible for any future attack and its consequences. According to the defense official, Israel didn't kill the Hezbollah terrorists who attempted to carry out an attack in the Har Dov area on Monday, and didn't release footage of the incident, in order to give the Shiite group a chance to save face and de-escalate the situation, but that Hezbollah was not taking the opportunity. See also ‘‘Iran's Khamenei Rejects Talks with U.S. Over Missile, Nuclear Programmes’’ (Reuters) 4 Ma’ariv – July 31, 2020 The Kingdom is More Important than the King By Ben Caspit ● Former chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, met with Yair Lapid for the first time last week. Clearly, they also talked politics. Eisenkot’s calendar of meetings over the past months holds many sensitive names. Almost any name you can think of, among the leading political players, and also various former officials, is there. Everyone wants to sit down with Eisenkot, everyone wants to know where he is going, everyone wants to think he will go to them. Eisenkot, as always, gives everyone a good feeling. He will decide when the time comes to decide, and not a minute sooner. He speaks a great deal with Gabi Ashkenazi (they are comrades in arms from the Golani Brigade), he speaks a fair amount with Benny Gantz, he speaks with Likud figures, he has even been to see Dimona Mayor Benny Biton (Eisenkot is the chairman of the Yad David Ben Gurion Society). He does not rule out anyone or anything, but he is very far from a decision. ● Is Eisenkot the knight on the white (or dark) horse that will save the center-left camp? It is hard to tell. Gabi Ashkenazi was asked this week on Army Radio whether he would support bringing in Eisenkot to the top slot in Blue and White and he gave an interesting answer: I don’t rule out anything, the kingdom is more important than the king.
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