Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, June 10 Headlines: Netanyahu Warns of Iran's Five-Layered Threat Abbas Would Win in WB, Hamas in Gaza, if Voting Today Left-Wing Party Joins Boycott of Settlement Products Housing Finishes in WB Settlements up by 219% in 2015 Herzog Agrees not to use Hazan Scandal to Topple Government Rivlin: We should recognize the Limits of Using Military Force Israel Laments, Palestinians Celebrate US Ruling on Jerusalem Commentary: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “PM Netanyahu addresses the Herzliya Conference” Ynet News: “Settlement Enterprise Based on Illegality and Deception” By Nahum Barnea 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 June 10, 2015 Ynet News Netanyahu Warns of Iran's Five-Layered Threat Iran poses Israel in particular and the world at large a five-layered threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday evening in his speech at the Herzliya Conference. The main threat from Tehran is its nuclear program, a threat which will not be alleviated by the nuclear deal currently being negotiated between the Islamic Republic and world powers, Netanyahu said. Another threat Iran poses is by arming its allies with advanced weapons, "some of which are aimed at us". A third threat is posed by Iran's ally Hezbollah, whose agents operate in over 30 countries around the world. Tehran also poses a cyber-threat to Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia. The fifth threat - Tehran produces advanced weaponry like drones, satellites and submarines. "Their work is impressive," Netanyahu said. "They take a project and finish it in record speed." Times of Israel Abbas Would Win in WB, Hamas in Gaza, if Voting Today Gaza residents are unhappy with the territory’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers and their war with Israel last summer, a new Palestinian poll released Tuesday shows. The poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that half of Gaza residents want to emigrate, compared to 25 percent in the West Bank. The center’s director, Khalil Shikaki, said the 50-percent emigration figure in Gaza is higher than ever before and that among young people it is even higher, about 80 percent. The poll also found that if free elections were held today with just Abbas and Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh competing, Hamas would win in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank, both by slim margins. See also, “Palestinian poll shows discontent with Hamas, Gaza war” (Ynet News) Times of Israel Left-Wing Party Joins Boycott of Settlement Products Afar-left Israeli political party said Tuesday that it would support a boycott of products from West Bank settlements. Hadash’s announcement came a day after Netanyahu demanded that the left-wing Meretz party withdraw a bill calling for products — including those manufactured in settlements — to be labeled with their place of origin. Hadash, part of the Joint (Arab) List, said in statement that boycott is a justifiable form of protest over the plight of the Palestinian people. Jerusalem Post Housing Finishes in WB Settlements up by 219% in 2015 Settlement construction in the West Bank rose sharply in the first quarter of 2015, with a 219 percent spike in completed housing and a 93% rise in starts, according to data released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The increase that occurred just prior to the March 17 election was not reflected in the CBS data on nationwide building, which showed that completed housing went up by 15.5 % and the starts dropped by 2%. The report, which focused mostly on the housing situation across the country, was released in the midst of an increased push by the international community to boycott Israel over the issue of settlement construction. 2 Ha’aretz Herzog Agrees not to use Hazan Scandal to Topple Government Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Tuesday approved a vote-offsetting agreement with Likud for under-fire Knesset member Oren Hazan. Under the agreement, Herzog’s Zionist Union will offset Hazan’s absence from Knesset votes by withholding the vote of one of its own lawmakers. The aim of the agreement is to ensure Knesset Speaker Edelstein can deal with the disgraced MK, without fear of his using his prime position as the 61st lawmaker in a narrow-majority coalition as leverage. Without the offsetting deal, Netanyahu’s government would effectively lose its majority. A Channel 2 report Monday night claimed Hazan used hard drugs and coordinated escort services for clients at the casino he managed in Bulgaria before entering politics, sparking calls for his dismissal from the Knesset. See also, Associate of Hazan: "He is a pathological liar, we did crystal meth together" (Channel 2 News) Israel radio News Rivlin: We should recognize the Limits of Using Military Force President Reuven Rivlin called on the political echelon last night to recognize the limits of military force and to formulate a diplomatic strategy in order to prevent the next war. At a ceremony awarding the Israel Defense Prize, Rivlin said that we must do all we can to have a military solution only after all the diplomatic solutions had failed. Israel Hayom Israel Laments, Palestinians Celebrate US Ruling on Jerusalem The US Supreme Court ruling on Monday that Americans born in Jerusalem could no longer list their country of birth as “Israel” in US passports had the Jewish state fuming, while the Palestinian Authority celebrated the decision as a justification of its narrative regarding the holy city. While the overwhelming majority of Americans and their representatives in Congress are supportive of the Jewish state, the White House and State Department are typically seen as being much less so. Giving full authority over foreign relations to the administrative branch without allowing for checks and balances by the legislative could spell trouble for Israel. Unsurprisingly, the Palestinian Authority was thrilled with the ruling. “The decision sends a clear message that Israel is an occupying power in East al-Quds (East Jerusalem), the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” said Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh. 3 MFA Newsletter – June 10, 2015 PM Netanyahu addresses the Herzliya Conference “I remain committed to a solution of two states for two peoples as I said at Bar-Ilan - a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. These are the foundations of an enduring peace between us and the Palestinians”. On the Leviathan natural gas field: We have received a great gift from nature. The gas must be extracted from the sea and brought to the Israeli economy. I do not intend to give in to populist pressure. Extracting the gas is of great diplomatic, security and economic significance and is very important for the future of the State of Israel. The outline that we are formulating gives a correct balance that also assures the extraction of the gas from the seabed and provides economic incentives to private investors to do this. This is how a healthy economy works. This is how one signals to investors that it is worthwhile to invest here. This is also how we can grow. Both Israel's citizens and the private investors will profit. The alternative is that both sides lose and the gas stays under the seabed. This has happened in several countries. They argued about the perfect model and in the end there was nothing. I will not agree to this happening here. When it comes to long-term economic reforms, there are always arguments. I cannot recall one of the many reforms that I have passed that was not subject to pointed debate and they explained that nothing would happen and that the opposite would occur. But natural gas will flow to the Israeli economy. It will lower electricity costs and create jobs. It will be clear who is right and who shouted needlessly. We will present the outline in a few days and we will allow the public to comment. The outline will not allow the companies to price gouge. It will lead to a competitive price and will lower the cost of living. On Iran: I think there's a belief that if Iran is more prosperous at home, it'll be less aggressive abroad. But 50 billion dollars, 150 billion dollars and more is a lot of money. Well, the idea is that a wealthier Iran will stop funding its terrorism. I think this is wishful thinking because this big money is big money for Iran's worldwide campaigns of terror, big money for Iran's regional aggression, big money for Iran's unprecedented conventional arms buildup, big money for Iran's cyber warfare program and big money for Iran's nuclear program. And according to this deal, Iran gets this big money regardless of its behavior. That isn't even mentioned in the deal. Iran can actually get the best of both worlds - prosperity at home, aggression abroad. That's happened before too. And Iran won't be just a big threat to Israel. It'll be a great threat to its Arab neighbors as well. So how will they respond? How are they responding now? Some of them will pursue nuclear weapons of their own. And there are signs that this is already happening. But all of them, without exception, will seek more advanced conventional weapons too. 4 So the deal that is supposed to address proliferation in one country will spark both a nuclear and a conventional arms race in many countries in the most unstable part of the planet. It won't make Israel safer.