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Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, June 26 Headlines: • Kushner in Bahrain: No Palestinain Prosperity Without Fair Political Solution • U.N. Chief: Important Mideast Peace Efforts Realize Two-State Vision • Trump Warns of 'Overwhelming' US Retaliation to Any Iranian Attack • In Trilateral Summit, Russia Sides with Iran, Against Israel and US • Netanyahu to ‘Consider’ Proposal to Cancel Upcoming Election • Lapid Rejects Netanyahu-Gantz Rotation Offer for PM • Far Right Faction Dismantles Partnership with Right-Wing Parties • In U-turn, SpaceIL Says Another Spacecraft Won’t be Sent to Moon Commentary: • Ma’ariv: “Netanyahu will Balk at Nothing in his Flight from Prosecution” - By Ben Caspit columnist at Ma’ariv • Ha’aretz: “In Bahrain, Air of Israeli-Arab Normalization and a Message to Iran” - By Noa Landau, commentator at Ha’aretz S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat, Associate Editor News Excerpts June 26, 2019 Ynet News Kushner in Bahrain: No Pal’ Prosperity Without Fair Political Solution Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said on Tuesday that prosperity for the Palestinians was not possible without a fair political solution - but that agreement on an economic way forward was a necessary precondition for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Kushner was addressing the opening of a workshop in Bahrain to showcase the economic portion of Washington's long-awaited Arab-Israeli peace plan, dubbed "the deal of the century," a $50 billion development blueprint unveiled this week that has been sharply criticised by Palestinians and Arabs across the region. "What we have developed is the most comprehensive economic plan ever created specifically for the Palestinians and the broader Middle East," he told an audience. See also, “Kushner says peace deal is needed for Palestinian economic plan to succeed” (CNN) Reuters U.N. Chief: Important Mideast Peace Efforts Realize Two-State Vision United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday it was important “to pursue peace efforts to realize the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.” Guterres was speaking at a pledging conference in New York for the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees as President Donald Trump’s administration launched in Bahrain a $50 billion economic formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace. It is not clear whether the Trump administration plans to abandon the “two-state solution,” which involves creation of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel. The Trump administration has consistently refused to commit to it, keeping the political stage a secret. See also, “UN's Guterres seeks funding for agency helping Palestinians” (France 24) i24 News Trump Warns of 'Overwhelming' US Retaliation to Any Iranian Attack President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran that an attack on US interests would trigger an "overwhelming" response and could bring "obliteration." "Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration," Trump tweeted, adding that Iran's leaders only understand "Strength and Power, and the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world." Trump also commented on Iran's statement on Tuesday that it will "resolutely" abandon more nuclear deal commitments on July 7, calling it "very ignorant and insulting." See also, “Trump threatens ‘obliteration’ after Iran suggests he has a ‘mental disorder’” (Guardian) Times of Israel In Trilateral Summit, Russia Sides with Iran, Against Israel and US Russia’s top national security adviser spoke out on behalf of Iran during trilateral meetings with his Israeli and American counterparts in Jerusalem on Tuesday, backing Tehran’s claims against the United States and supporting its ongoing military presence in Syria, which Israel sees as a threat to its security. The trilateral conference of Israeli, Russian, and US national security advisers was the first event of its kind to be held in Jerusalem and, according to Israel, was aimed specifically at countering Iran, including both its nuclear aspirations and its influence throughout the Middle East. See also, “At Jerusalem Summit, Bolton Says Iran Has ‘Open Door’ For Negotiations” (Jewish Journal) 2 Ha’aretz Netanyahu to ‘Consider’ Proposal to Cancel Upcoming Election Netanyahu will consider an initiative to call off the September 17 election after it was proposed by the speaker of the Knesset, the party announced on Tuesday. Speaker Yuli Edelstein, also a member of Likud, believes there is a legal mechanism that would permit calling off the election, but a proposal has not been put before Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon. Sources familiar with the initiative told Haaretz that it is likely to be overturned by the High Court, and a Likud source said Netanyahu would need to work to defend the bill in court if it does get the majority needed. Likud is trying to get 80 of the Knesset’s 120 members to support the bill, even though only 61 are needed. For such a bill to become law, the Basic Law on the Knesset would have to be amended. Kahol Lavan Chairman Benny Gantz, said that Tuesday’s development “makes clear that Netanyahu is afraid of the public’s verdict.” See also, “Netanyahu says he’s considering proposal to cancel September election” (TOI) Jerusalem Post Lapid Rejects Netanyahu-Gantz Rotation Offer for PM Blue and White’s number two candidate, Yair Lapid, turned down an offer from Likud on Wednesday to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz rotate as prime minister. “There is no problem with a unity government,” Lapid wrote on Twitter. “There is only one man, only one, who has to move aside and go deal with his indictments.” Lapid called upon the Likud to replace Netanyahu, suggesting MK Gideon Sa’ar, Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Edelstein himself as possible replacements. “The Likud can appoint whoever they want,” Lapid said. “We would have a unity government of at least 75 MKs that would be stable, functional and fair.” See also, “Opposition seethes as Netanyahu mulls bid to nix September elections” (TOI) Ynet News Far Right Faction Dismantles Partnership with Right-Wing Parties Far-right Otzma Yehudit member Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his party is pulling out of the agreement reached with the United Right Party, before the April 2019 elections, uniting political parties to the right of the ruling Likud in order to present a stronger and more unified bloc to support the Netanyahu government. Ben-Gvir told United Right leaders, that since his faction's demands to seat him in the Knesset were not fulfilled, He is disolving the partnership which was initiated and cheered on by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to maximise right wing votes to support his Likud led government, an effort that failed with Netanyahu unable to form a coalition government. See also, “Israeli far-right party breaks alliance with Jewish Home, endangering right-wing bloc” (JTA) Ha’aretz In U-turn, SpaceIL Says Another Spacecraft Won’t be Sent to Moon Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL on Tuesday announced it will not repeat its attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon, following the crash landing of the Beresheet probe earlier this year. Beresheet, the world’s first privately funded moon lander, collided with the lunar surface in April during an attempted landing due to technical failure. Just days after the failed landing, SpaceIL announced it would launch a second mission named Beresheet 2, with the company’s chairman Morris Kahn vowing to put an Israeli flag on the moon. But after “in-depth discussions on the appropriate nature of Beresheet 2’s mission,” SpaceIL said in a statement, the company “reached the conclusion that the attempt to repeat the moon journey isn’t challenging enough.” 3 Ma’ariv– June 26, 2019 Netanyahu will Balk at Nothing in his Flight from Prosecution By Ben Caspit, columnist at Ma’ariv • The name of Binyamin Netanyahu’s current comedy sketch to call off the elections that he just recently forced on an entire Knesset is the “Yuli Edelstein initiative.” The month of July [Yuli, in Hebrew] truly is nigh upon us, and Edelstein is sure to follow in short order. • It’s hard to believe the depth of ridiculousness to which the prime minister has dragged the last vestiges of Israeli stateliness. Netanyahu will balk at nothing in his flight from prosecution. If he’s so afraid of elections, why did he work with all his might to have them called? How is that night, when Netanyahu forced an entire Knesset to commit suicide on his behalf, different from all the other nights in which he has been using every engine at full blast to move in the opposite direction? The most incredible thing is the group that surrounds him, a group that has obeyed and tweeted [obey and tweet in Hebrew share similar roots] the new spin, without even noticing that the new spin completely contradicts the old spin, which contradicted the one before, and so on and so forth. • The initiative to call off the new elections was first reported on Friday by [Ben Caspit in] Ma’ariv. That article presented details from the quiet negotiations that Netanyahu has been holding with Blue and White in an attempt to pave himself a bypass route that might allow him to avoid the dire decree that Netanyahu issued a minute before. The goal was to enlist 80 MKs who would sign a bill to repeal the law that dissolved the Knesset, and to form instead the Israeli dream government: the Likud along with Blue and White, Netanyahu along with Gantz, Katz along with Lapid, Saar along with Yaalon, Galant along with Ashkenazi (if I could only be a fly on the wall in that case).