Israel Update – Monday, July 3
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Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, January 24 Headlines: Netanyahu Warns: 'Surprises' for Trump Could Harm Israel White House: ‘No Decision’ on US Embassy Move Netanyahu: Trump offers 'Huge Opportunities' Israel’s High Court Freezes Amona Deal MK: If Settlement Bill Doesn’t Pass, No Bill Will Pass France Condemns Israeli Housing Plans for East Jerusalem Milchan Picks a Fight with Lawmaker over Corruption affair Knesset set to release explosive report on 2014 Gaza war Commentary: New York Times: “Trump Presidency Is Already Altering Israeli-Palestinian Politics” By Ian Fisher, deputy executive editor at The New York Times Yedioth Ahronoth: “Which Jerusalem will Trump Recognize?” 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 ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts November 24, 2017 Ha’aretz Netanyahu Warns: 'Surprises' for Trump Could Harm Israel At a closed meeting with members of his Likud party Knesset faction, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that mistakes in handling relations in the near future with the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are liable to inflict diplomatic damage on Israel."The diplomatic issue is a very important subject, presenting opportunities that could easily be squandered by thoughtless actions," the prime minister said. "In this reality, it is easily possible to lose the moment and to turn the relationship in a direction that would not serve Israel's aims." See also, “ISRAELI LEADER URGES NO 'SURPRISES' FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION” (AP) Times of Israel White House: ‘No Decision’ on US Embassy Move White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that “no decision” has yet been made on relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “We’re at the very early stages of that decision-making process,” he told reporters at a press briefing, after being asked about how the administration believed such a move — which President Donald Trump promised to do in his campaign — would serve US strategic interests. Spicer said that if he wanted, the president could move the US embassy by executive order, but he indicated that that was not on his agenda right now. See also,” Notes of caution surround U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem” (Reuters) Ynet News Netanyahu: Trump offers 'Huge Opportunities' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his opposition to members of the right-wing flank of his coalition government, warning against initiating steps to annex Ma’ale Adumim on Monday afternoon. Speaking at a Likud party faction meeting, Netanyahu said: “We have before us massive and significant opportunities for the security and future of the State of Israel. But they require responsibility from us and common sense so that we don’t miss them—neither the hour or the opportunities.” This was not the time, Netanyahu continued, for what he described as “knee-jerk” reactions or “dictating or for surprises. See also, “ FOREIGN LEADERS RESPOND TO TRUMP TAKING OFFICE” (JPost) Jerusalem Post Israel’s High Court Freezes Amona Deal The High Court of Justice on Monday froze the relocation deal for the West Bank Amona outpost, just weeks before the February 8th evacuation date it had set for the 40 families that live in the hilltop community. It issued the temporary injunction in response to a petition against the deal, which the Palestinians had filed earlier in the day against the agreement the government had reached last month with the Amona families to peacefully leave their homes. The Palestinian petition comes on the heels of a declaration by the 40 Amona families that they already consider the deal null and void because the state has not lived up to its end of the agreement. Residents of the Amona outpost plan to hold an emergency meeting on the matter on Tuesday night. See also, High Court delays implementing Amona decision (Ynet News) 2 Jerusalem Post MK: If Settlement Bill Doesn’t Pass, No Bill Will Pass Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich warned on Monday that the government would grind to a halt if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to prevent the passage of a bill to legalize outposts and settlements in the West Bank. With the accession to the White House of President Donald Trump, Bayit Yehudi is now anxious to pass the legislation into law in order to retroactively legalize almost 4,000 settlement homes in Judea and Samaria built on private Palestinian land. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Smotrich said, “The whole coalition is obligated to vote for it, we are determined to pass this law, and it’s going to pass,” insisted Smotrich. “If it gets stuck in violation of the coalition agreements, then we will hold up other laws, if this bill doesn’t pass, no bill will pass.” Ha’aretz France Condemns Israeli Housing Plans for East Jerusalem The French Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned the approval of Israeli construction of 566 new housing units in Jerusalem beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders, in the Ramat Shlomo, Ramot and Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhoods of the city. "UN Security Council resolution 2334 of December 23, 2016, underscores the illegality of settlements under international law and demands an immediate and complete halt to such activity," the French Foreign Ministry statement said. "Settlements represent a serious threat to the two-state solution, to which the international community reiterated its commitment at the international conference in Paris on January 15. The two-state solution remains the only possibility for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement added.See also, “After Trump's Swearing-in, Jerusalem Approves 566 Homes Beyond Green Line” (Ha’aretz) Ynet News Milchan Picks a Fight with Lawmaker over Corruption affair A legal representative of Israeli-American Billionaire Arnon Milchan warned MK David Amsalem (Likud) Monday that unless he apologizes within 48 for allegations of corruption, he will be facing a law suit. Amsalem grabbed Milchan's attention when he questioned his character and suggested that he may have lied about providing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with hundreds of shekels' worth of illicit gifts. "Who's to say (Milchan) isn't lying? He's a 75-year-old billionaire. What, did Netanyahu put a gun to his head? You can see for yourself that something impure is happening here," said Amsalem on Sunday during an interview with Army Radio. Attorney Boaz Ben Zur issued a letter to Amsalem, stating, "You are hereby required to retract your remarks against Mr. Milchan, and publicly apologize”. See also, “Probe of Netanyahu has Israelis worried” (Washington Post) Times of Israel Knesset set to release explosive report on 2014 Gaza war Israelis may get a rare open look at the discussions of one of the most powerful and secretive of state institutions, with the Knesset expected to clear for publication a biting comptroller’s report into how the security cabinet handled itself during the war in Gaza in 2014. The report by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira is said to show bitter infighting among security cabinet members, especially then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and -economy minister Naftali Bennett over the conduct of the war in Gaza, dubbed Operation Protective Edge. See also, “Bennett: Watchdog's 2014 Gaza War Report Is a Security Earthquake” (Ha’aretz) 3 New York Times– January 22, 2017 Trump Presidency Is Already Altering Israeli-Palestinian Politics By Ian Fisher, deputy executive editor at The New York Times Just two days old, the presidency of Donald J. Trump is already reshaping the politics between Israelis and Palestinians, on issues from the location of the American Embassy to possible annexation of a major settlement bloc to whether Palestinians are on the edge of a renewed revolt. Sunday was a day of intense maneuvering on all sides, with an elation among many Israelis that the rancorous relations with the Obama administration were over — but with questions about just how far or how quickly Mr. Trump would go on moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a quandary that has bedeviled American presidents for decades. Palestinian and Arab leaders girded for the changes that the new administration in Washington might bring. On Sunday, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, met in Jordan with King Abdullah II, and both leaders repeated their staunch opposition to the embassy move. The men did not release details of any plans for a coordinated reaction, but both have warned of renewed violence if the move happens. The Palestinian leadership has indicated it would revoke its recognition of Israel, considered the first condition by Israelis for negotiations on a two-state solution — a possibility that seems remote at the moment in any case. “I hope the American administration will act on two levels: one, to not discuss moving the embassy to Jerusalem, and second, for the administration to lead negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis with the aim of achieving a political settlement,” Mr. Abbas said. The Israeli news media was filled with speculation on Sunday that the Trump administration would immediately announce the embassy move — as a de facto recognition of Israel’s annexation of predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, which it captured from Jordan during the 1967 war. On Sunday, Mr. Trump spoke by phone with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. While Mr. Trump called the talk “very nice,” he did not address the embassy move — a promise repeatedly made but left unmet by American presidential candidates since the 1970s. The White House seemed to seek to stifle speculation of any immediate announcement. “We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject,” Sean Spicer, Mr. Trump’s spokesman, said in a statement.