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Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, March 29 Headlines: Netanyahu Orders Ya’alon Not to Return Terrorists’ Bodies to PA IDF Hebron Shooter to be Questioned Amid Major Political Uproar Law to Allow Suspension of Arab MKs Passes First Hurdle After Hebron Shooting, Palestinians Ask UN to Probe ‘Executions’ Ambassador Shapiro: US Vigorously Opposes BDS ISIS Planning Imminent Attack on Schools in Turkey ISIS Cell Planned to Bomb Security Forces in Jerusalem Israel’s Chief Rabbi Denies Urging the Expulsion of Non-Jews Commentary: Project Syndicate: “Jerusalem First” By Laura Wharton, Member of Jerusalem City Council Ha’aretz: “Terror, Lies, and Videotape in Hebron” By Allison Kaplan Sommer, Correspondent, Ha'aretz S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts March 29, 2016 Ha’aretz Netanyahu Orders Ya'alon Not to Return Terrorist Bodies to PA Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon not to return any more terrorists’ bodies held by the army to the Palestinian Authority, according to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office. Netanyahu’s associates refused to say what the reason or background was for these instructions, which were given to Ya’alon on Sunday. The prime minister’s orders contradict the position of Ya’alon, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories. They all believe that retaining the bodies escalates tensions and further inflames the situation on the Palestinian side. Ya’alon also objects to it on moral grounds, arguing that Israel has no need to “trade in bodies." Jerusalem Post IDF Hebron Shooter to Be Questioned Amid Political Uproar The IDF soldier who shot a neutralized Palestinian in the head Thursday will be questioned by a military court at Ground Forces Command near Kiryat Malachi on Tuesday amid a political debate over how the IDF and politicians have handled the incident. The questioning was originally set for a the Jaffa Military Court, but the location was changed, because hundreds of protesters were expected to demand that the soldier be released. See also, “Ya'alon Says Soldier in Hebron Killing Not a Hero” (BICOM) Reuters Law to Allow Suspension of Arab MKs Passes First Hurdle Israel's parliament gave initial approval on Monday to a bill that would allow members to suspend from the legislature colleagues whom they believe have supported Israel's enemies or have acted against the state. The proposal was strongly criticized by opposition members who said it was aimed against Israel's Arab lawmakers. Zouheir Bahloul, an Israel-Arab legislator from the center-left Zionist Union faction, accused the right-wing ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "quietly stealing Arab members' right to a democratic discourse." Times of Israel After Hebron Shooting, Palestinians Ask UN to Probe ‘Executions’ A senior Palestinian official submitted a request to the UN on Monday asking it to formally investigate what he called Israeli extrajudicial “executions” of Palestinian attackers, days after a soldier was filmed shooting to death a wounded assailant in Hebron. Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and senior PLO official, submitted the request during a meeting with the UN special coordinator for the peace process, Nickolay Mladenov. In a statement after the meeting, Erekat said that 207 Palestinians had been “executed” by Israel since last September, which “requires an urgent international investigation.” See also, “Abbas Demands Justice Over Hebron Shooting” (Times of Israel) See also, “Erekat: Palestinians Request UN Probe of Israeli ‘Executions’” (Jerusalem Post) 2 Arutz Sheva ISIS Cell Planned to Bomb Security Forces in Jerusalem Charges were filed today (Monday) at Jerusalem District Court against two residents of Tzur Baher in eastern Jerusalem who planned a terror attack on behalf of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). According to the charges against them, Muasab Alian, 23, and Samir Abed Rabo, 38, had planned to carry out a car bombing attack against security forces in Jerusalem. Both were charged with conspiracy to aid the enemy in wartime. In addition, Alian was indicted on charges of membership in and activity on behalf of an illegal organization, membership in a terrorist organization, providing support to a terrorist organization and attempting to leave the country illegally. i24 News ISIS Planning Imminent Attack on Jewish Schools in Turkey Intelligence officials say that the Islamic State group is planning "imminent" attacks on Jewish schools in Turkey. The information was collected from six IS operatives who were questioned after being arrested in the southern Turkish city of the southern city of Gaziantep the last week. The most likely target is the Synagogue in Istanbul's Beyoglu district. The Synagogue has a school and a community center attached to it. A security source said that "in light of these circumstances, extraordinary security measures are being taken above and beyond the high alert level already in place by the Turkish police, as well as vigilance within the Jewish community." See also, “ISIS Plans Attacks on Jewish Kindergartens in Turkey” (Ynet News) Ynet News Ambassador Shapiro: US Vigorously Opposes BDS US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro rebuked the BDS movement and stated clearly that the U.S. government strongly opposes its activities. "The United States of America vigorously opposes efforts to isolate or boycott Israel. We have demonstrated this commitment for decades and continue to devote substantial resources in our government to this fight. We consider it an extension of our longstanding commitment to fight any effort to delegitimize Israel," he told Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's anti-BDS conference. Ambassador Shapiro claimed that the US is actively undertaking measures to undermine BDS. See also, “Coalition, Opposition Argue on Effective Ways to Fight BDS” (Ynet News) Ha’aretz Israel's Chief Rabbi Denies Urging the Expulsion of Non-Jews Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef on Tuesday denied urging the expulsion of non-Jews from Israel in a weekend sermon in which he was quoted to have said it was "forbidden for a non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel." A statement from Yosef's office said his sermon on Saturday had referred to a theoretical post-Messianic situation and that his comments "have no bearing on current times…What is clear is that there is no law in our time that calls for the expulsion of non Jews from the country, " the statement said. Yosef further denied he had called to kill any Palestinian attackers once they are taken into custody or wounded at the scene. The statement said he "has always acted in the name of reconciliation." 3 Project Syndicate – March 28, 2016 Jerusalem First By Laura Wharton JERUSALEM – Jerusalem is not one city, but two. Nearly 50 years after Israel captured East Jerusalem, the city remains as divided as ever. As its neighborhoods suffer from a new wave of violence, acknowledging this reality is becoming increasingly urgent. Settling the status of Jerusalem – as two cities, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians – must be made a priority if peace between the two sides is ever to be achieved. The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan called for the division of British-controlled Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, but it set aside Jerusalem as an independent enclave under international administration. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, however, the city was divided. West Jerusalem fell under Israeli control, and East Jerusalem – including the ancient Old City – was occupied by the Kingdom of Jordan. The division endured until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel rebuffed an attack by Jordan on the headquarters of the UN observers in West Jerusalem, and then invaded the rest of the city, along with the entire West Bank. After the war, Israel declared united Jerusalem as its capital, annexing more than 30 Arab villages to the municipality. Both halves of the city have since remained under Israeli control, but neither has been internationally recognized as being legally part of the Jewish state. And no country acknowledges Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Not a single embassy sits within the city limits; even the United States maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv. Similarly, no matter how loudly Israel proclaims that the city is united, it is anything but so. With the exception of the Old City, Israelis, even city residents, rarely venture into East Jerusalem, where most of the signs are in Arabic. The Palestinian half of the city suffers from a lack of infrastructure, including roads, sewage, and schools. Nearly 85% of its children live below the poverty line. Fewer than 2% of East Jerusalem’s residents vote in municipal elections, as most believe that participating would lend legitimacy to the Israeli occupation. Thus although Palestinians comprise 37% of Jerusalem’s population, not a single Palestinian sits on the city council. Meanwhile, approximately 3,000 Israeli extremists have bought houses in East Jerusalem, where they are protected by security forces and have their children transported to school in armored vehicles – part of services provided to the settlers that cost the Israeli government more than 100 million shekels ($25 million) in 2014. The settlers’ presence, usually marked by giant Israeli flags, is viewed by most Palestinians as a provocation and is a source of constant tension. The two sides of the city are united only in mutual economic dependence – the result of a policy that encouraged bringing Palestinian workers into Israel in the hope that jobs – and the fear of losing them – would make them reluctant to rebel.
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