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Israel Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, November 2 Headlines: Abbas: ‘Peace, A Strategic Goal’ of Palestinians Transport Minister Planning Trains from Jerusalem to WB Settlements State Comptroller Warns Israel Unprepared for Cyber Attacks Palestinian Forces Raid Home of PA Policeman Before Attack, Brother Says Israeli Settlement Ariel Expands onto Suspected Private Palestinian Land New Amona Law Gains Backing in Coalition Coalition Tensions Increase Over Israel Broadcasting Authority After Aoun Deal, Lebanon’s Two Major Parties Back Hariri for PM Commentary: Ha’aretz: “Obama: Last Chance to Rectify Your Peacemaking Failures” By Dr. Yossi Beilin, Former Israeli Minister of Justice who initiated the Oslo Accords Al-Monitor: “How Netanyahu Is Keeping Secret His Move to Help Palestinians” By Shlomi Eldar, Israel Pulse Columnist, Al-Monitor 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 2, 2016 Times of Israel Abbas: ‘Peace, A Strategic Goal’ of Palestinians Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that peace is a strategic goal of the Palestinians, who are committed to a two-state solution. Abbas was speaking in the West Bank town of Bethlehem where he was meeting visiting Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who has also met with Israeli leaders and paid his respects at the grave of Shimon Peres. “We reiterate here that peace is our strategic goal and is in the interest of all parties,” Abbas said at a joint press conference, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. “The key to peace is in ending the Israeli occupation and in lifting the injustice faced by our people so that the two states, Palestine and Israel, can live in security, stability, peace and good neighborly relations,” he added. Mako Transport Minister Plans Trains from J’lem to WB Settlements Transport Minister Yisrael Katz has approved a plan that will connect Jerusalem to several settlements around the city by means of a light rail network. The new network of light rail lines that Katz approved will complement the one operating within Jerusalem, and will connect several settlements that are beyond the Green Line to the city. See also, “Transport Minister Plans Trains to West Bank Settlements” (Times of Israel) BICOM State Comptroller Warns Israel Unprepared for Cyber Attacks Israel’s State Comptroller yesterday published sections of his annual report that criticises the government and public bodies in a wide range of policy areas. State Comptroller Yosef Shapira said Israel is vulnerable to cyber attacks in the civilian sector, with critical infrastructure at risk. Much of his criticism has focused on the slow pace at which responsibilities for cyber security had been divided between the Shin Bet, the National Cyber Bureau and the National Cyber Security Authority, despite several cabinet decisions delineating their roles. According to Shapira, the National Cyber Bureau and National Cyber Security Authority have been slow to protect factories and key companies under their purview. See also, “Israel Unprepared for 'Dramatic Uptick' in Cyber Attacks” (Jerusalem Post) Jerusalem Post Palestinian Forces Raid Home of PA Policeman Before Attack The PA attempted to arrest the Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack against soldiers near Beit El on Monday, a family member said. “The security forces came to our home about an hour before he carried out the operation and confiscated weapons,” a brother of Muhammad Turkman, 25, who asked to remain unnamed, told The Jerusalem Post. “They then said they would arrest Muhammad, but as you know, they did not reach him in time.” Turkman opened fire on soldiers stationed at the Focus Checkpoint on Monday, wounding three soldiers, one of them seriously. See also, “Fatah Honors PA Policeman for Attack Near Beit El” (Arutz Sheva) 2 Ha’aretz Israeli Settlement Ariel Expands onto Private Palestinian Land Sixteen buildings have gone up recently in the settlement of Ariel on territory not categorized as state land. The Civil Administration deliberately omitted the area from state-owned territory, which means construction is not permitted there. Aerial photographs show that 10 of these buildings are completely beyond the "blue line" designation for state land, and six others are partially beyond the line. The so-called Blue Line team (also called Team for the Demarcation of State Lands) is responsible for outlining the boundaries of state land, which Israel can build on relatively freely, as opposed to private land or land suspected to be privately owned, on which settlements may not be built. BICOM Coalition Tensions Increase Over Israel Broadcasting Authority Tensions between Israel’s Prime Minister and several of his coalition partners are growing over the future of Israel’s public broadcaster ahead of a cabinet vote on Sunday. A bill proposed by Likud MK David Bitan, with the full support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to prevent the launch of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) is set to be discussed today by the Knesset’s Economics Committee. The IBC is a new public broadcasting body, due to launch in January. The bill is opposed by some of Netanyahu’s coalition partners. See also, “Struggle Over Fate of Israeli Public Broadcaster Sparks Uproar” (Bloomberg) Arutz Sheva New Amona Law Gains Backing in Coalition Members of the Likud and Jewish Home parties are pushing for a new piece of legislation crafted to normalize Jewish communities over the Green Line and end the threat of legal claims on their land by non-citizens posing as absentee landowners. Legislators backing the bill hope to bring it to a Knesset vote by next week. The new proposal boasts the support of Jewish Home MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Shuli Mualem, as well as Likud MKs David Bittan and Yoav Kish. Both the Likud and Jewish Home parties are reportedly prepared to back the bill. According to Channel 2, the four sponsors of the bill wrote that the purpose of the law is to allow for the normalization of communities across Judea and Samaria which were built or expanded without a formal planning process, noting that often times the government was involved in such projects. Times of Israel After Aoun Deal, Lebanon’s 2 Major Parties Back Hariri for PM Lebanon’s two major parliamentary blocs on Tuesday named Saad Hariri, a former prime minister and a Sunni leader, as their candidate for premier in the government to be formed after a new president was elected. The widely expected endorsement by the Future bloc, led by Hariri, and the majority Christian bloc comes a day after Michel Aoun was elected president. Hariri was promised the post in exchange for backing Aoun’s presidential bid in parliament, ending a two-and-half-year deadlock that left Lebanon without a president. See also, “Israel Cautious About New Lebanese President” (Jerusalem Post) 3 Ha’aretz – October 30, 2016 Obama: Last Chance to Rectify Your Peacemaking Failures The election-inauguration window only happens once for every president. Reagan used it to recognize the PLO in 1988, and Clinton for his parameters for peace in 2000. Will Obama follow suit? By Yossi Beilin It is no secret that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is seriously concerned that President Obama may make a "bold" step to jumpstart the non-existent Israeli-Palestinian peace process in the twilight of his administration, after the November 8 elections and the January 20 inauguration. This "no strings attached" window of opportunity has been used before: by the Reagan administration to recognize the PLO in 1988, and by the Clinton administration to issue the "Clinton Parameters" for peace in December 2000. Both moves were harshly rejected by the Israeli right. Will Obama follow these precedents? He has given out conflicting signals. If the U.S. were to decide not to veto a UN Security Council resolution against continued settlement building, that may be positive in itself, but it isn’t enough to stop this dangerous process. Another UN resolution initiated by European or Arab states that could refer to an outline permanent solution but does not add new elements would be even more redundant, especially when we know that Netanyahu is not ready to pay the already known price of a permanent agreement. Even a presidential speech that demarcated a similar outline end of conflict settlement would not have the power to not change the situation for the better. It would also not help a potential Clinton administration while its future policy is still being formulated on the Middle East. The best options for a last-minute Obama intervention require a stepping up of the rhetoric and intentions. That would mean a UN resolution directly initiated by the U.S., or a policy speech that packed its punches rather than go over old ground. Either Obama-led initiative, to make a real difference, must include these three critical points: 1. It would call upon both Israel and the Palestinians to immediately begin the negotiation on provisional borders for a sovereign Palestinian state. This would fulfill both parties’ commitment to the 2003 Road Map to Peace (initially a Quartet initiative, later adopted by the UNSC). Negotiation should be capped at a few months. This should lead to a significant expansion of the currently small geographic area controlled by the Palestinian Authority. It should lead to security arrangements between Israel and a Palestinian non-militarized state, which would keep its own domestic security forces to ensure law and order. 2. A general reference to a permanent solution. This would include an update of the Clinton Parameters, and of the informal Israeli-Palestinian "Geneva Initiative" of 2003. Obama should consider a permanent solution that offers new elements in a script that’s already been known for so long.
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