Israel and the Middle East News Update
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Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, July 15 Headlines: ● Jerusalem Rocked by Clashes Between Police, Protesters ● PM ‘Furious’ with Gantz for Blocking New Virus Restrictions ● Barring a Miracle, Israel Heading to a Second Lockdown ● PM to Admit US in No Mood for Annexation, Won’t Go Ahead ● European Ministers Seek Ways to Block Sovereignty ● EU Builds for Palestinians in Area C ● A War with Israel Would Not End Well for Hezbollah Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Lockdown Now” - By Sever Plocker ● Ma’ariv: “You Need to Work to Earn Respect” - By Lilac Sigan 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 15, 2020 Jerusalem Post Jerusalem Rocked by Clashes Between Police, Protesters Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Balfour street in Jerusalem to protest against corruption and Prime Minister Netanyahu's continued governance. After several hours of protest, police forces have cleared out several rioters and opened up the roads in the area. During these riots, 50 suspects have been arrested for alleged property damage, disruption of public order and attacking police and media personnel, according to police's spokesperson. Black Flag protesters have argued in past protests that the coalition does nothing to help improve the lives of citizens during the coronavirus crisis, but rather is only concerned with benefits and passing legislation that allows the government to remain in power. The movement released a statement calling on Netanyahu to show responsibility towards Israel's citizens and resign. See also ‘‘Support for Netanyahu Dropping, Bennett Soaring in New Poll’’ (Jerusalem Post) Times of Israel PM ‘Furious’ with Gantz for Blocking New Virus Restrictions Prime Minister Netanyahu was reportedly “furious” with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz for blocking new restrictions meant to halt the virus surge during a meeting of top officials. Gantz and Blue and White were “undermining the necessary steps to slow down the virus and save lives,” an unnamed senior Likud official quoted Netanyahu as saying, according to multiple Hebrew media reports. Netanyahu and several top ministers met with medical experts and Health Ministry officials earlier to discuss further limiting gatherings from 20 down to 10 people, as well as additional steps. The official called on Gantz to “stop playing political games with corona that endanger the lives of Israeli citizens.” Blue and White responded by accusing Netanyahu of playing politics. See also ‘‘Number of Coronavirus Cases Continues to Rise’’ (Arutz Sheva) Ynet News Barring a Miracle, Israel Heading to a Second Lockdown Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that barring a miracle, Israel would be heading back into full lockdown. The minister said in an interview with Ynet that Israel will soon see 2,000 new cases daily as well as a rise in the number of seriously ill patients and those in need of ventilators, which will require tough decisions. The daily infection rate on Monday reached 1,718 new cases of COVID-19. The minister said he hoped the measures taken to mitigate the spread including limiting congregations in events and restaurants and imposing closures on hard-hit areas, would result in lower infections, "if that happens, we would be able to postpone a decision. We will have to wait three or four days to see, but that would be a miracle." 2 Times of Israel PM to Admit US in No Mood for Annexation, Won’t Go Ahead Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin has acknowledged in private conversations that no attention is currently being given in Washington to Israeli plans to annex up to 30 percent of the West Bank, according to a Tuesday Army Radio report. As a result, Levin reportedly said, the controversial move will likely have to be placed on the back burner as Prime Minister Netanyahu will not move forward without coordinating with the Trump administration. The US administration’s attention is elsewhere, the report claimed Levin had said, and “it is not listening” when it comes to annexation. Levin is one of only a handful of Israeli officials who have been deeply involved in talks with American officials regarding the Trump plan’s implementation and ramifications. See also ‘‘Netanyahu's Annexation Plan Turning into Fiasco’’ (Al-Monitor) Arutz Sheva European Ministers Seek Ways to Block Sovereignty Foreign ministers from eleven European countries demanded the EU quickly provide them with a list of possible actions to "deter" Israel from claiming its sovereignty in parts of Judea and Samaria. In a letter to EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell that was leaked to the Guardian, the politicians asked for the potential “legal consequences” for Israel and its effect on agreements with the EU. The letter was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, Malta, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland. “The possible annexation by Israel of parts of the occupied Palestinian territory remains a matter of grave concern for the EU and its Member States,” said the letter. It added that a list of options would “contribute to our efforts to deter annexation”, suggesting Israel may be dissuaded from acting if confronted with potential concrete steps. See also ‘‘European Ministers Seek Options to Stop West Bank Annexation’’ (The Guardian) Jerusalem Post EU Builds for Palestinians in Area C The European Union, Denmark and the Palestinian Authority (PA) signed an agreement to build 16 infrastructure projects for the Palestinians in Area C. The EU reaffirmed its opposition to Israel extending its sovereignty in that area. Area C is the part of the West Bank under Israeli control, according to the Oslo Accords. Any construction, including structures built for Palestinians, must be approved by the IDF, which governs it. The EU has funded many illegal Palestinian projects in Area C, built without the IDF’s approval, in recent years. The new, €5.8 million EU-Denmark-PA agreement calls for completing 16 “social infrastructure projects,” including schools, roads, multipurpose buildings, reservoirs and others, in 15 localities in Area C to benefit more than 24,000 Palestinians. See also ‘‘Palestinians Said Arrested After Backing Annexation in Israeli TV Report’’ (Times of Israel) 3 Jerusalem Post A War with Israel Would Not End Well for Hezbollah CENTCOM head Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said it would be a great mistake for Hezbollah to try to carry out operations against Israel. “I can’t see that having a good ending,” he said at a briefing during a major trip to the Middle East this week. McKenzie has visited Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait. The US general also acknowledged continuing tensions in Syria and with Iran across the region. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah gave a threatening speech last week, where he encouraged a confrontation with the US. America is also in hot water in Lebanon after airlifting a Lebanese American out of the country on a military helicopter in March. It is in this context that McKenzie sought to both acknowledge that Hezbollah “remains a problem” and to recognize its role in Lebanon. He was tight-lipped on precisely what the US meant when he said, “we recognize that it’s there.” But he went on to warn Hezbollah against attacking Israel. “We’d be – I’d be blind to say we don’t see it [Hezbollah] there. See also ‘‘Iran’s Ghaani Says 'Zionist Regime' Has Difficult Days Ahead’’ (Jerusalem Post) 4 Yedioth Ahronoth – July 15, 2020 Lockdown Now By Sever Plocker ● Prime Minister Netanyahu called ministers and advisers to an urgent meeting about the coronavirus crisis. The meeting ended without achieving any results. The strict recommendations of the Health Ministry, the National Security Council and epidemiologists were put on ice. Faced with a daily new case count approaching 2,000 and nearly 30 new serious cases per day, the Netanyahu-Gantz government preferred to put off making the necessary decisions until the last moment and beyond, no matter the cost of procrastination. And this had a cost in terms of public health and the economy. The delay has left Israel’s citizens with two alternatives: either a catastrophic blow from the coronavirus, or a full lockdown right now, for at least a week. Immediately, because every hour counts. ● The reason why a lockdown is required isn’t because the Israeli public has disobeyed the directives. The percentage of Israelis who wear masks is similar to the rate in the advanced Asian countries and exceeds the rate in most European countries. It wasn’t the masks that halted the pandemic in those countries—mask-wearing was not required by law in most of them—but a total ban on gatherings. A blanket ban with no exceptions. Gatherings were and still are the leading source of the pandemic globally. The failure by the cabinet and the Knesset to limit them to a dozen participants at most is therefore the healthcare and economic fiasco, an ongoing debacle: in early May, the government caved to the demands of public discourse and the Finance Ministry’s demands, and it haphazardly lifted the restrictions on the economy, social events, schools, entertainment and assemblies in general. Two weeks later the morbidity rate took a turn for the worse and has been growing from day to day. ● A second stage of the fiasco was recorded at that point: the government ignored the spike in morbidity, and it capitulated again to myriad spokespersons, protestors and commentators who confidently said that the sharp increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases was merely a marginal incident of morbidity, a slight deviation from the positive trend.