Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, December 2 Headlines: Netanyahu Confirms: Israel Operates in Syria from Time-to-Time Dawabsha Family Hoping for Progress in Arson Case Israel Demolishes East Jerusalem Home of Terrorist Who Killed Two Israeli Government, Military Disagree Over Unrest Riots at Kadoorie University in the West Bank Get Out of Hand With Israeli-EU Relations Strained, Israel Looks Towards India, China Restoring Tourism w/ Egypt; Jordan Labor Program Progresses IDF Holds Surprise Drill in the Gaza Region Commentary: Walla: “The New Situation in Syria that Enables Israel to Target Hizbullah” By Amir Bohbot, Israeli Reporter for Military, Security, and Intelligence Issues, Walla Ha’aretz: “The Illusion of Palestinian Sovereignty” By Amira Haas, Correspondent on the Occupied Territories, 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 December 2, 2015 Ha’aretz Netanyahu Confirms: Israel Operates in Syria from Time-to-Time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday “we operate in Syria from time to time to prevent Syria from becoming a front against us.” He was speaking at the Galilee Conference in Acre, a day after he had met in Paris with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of the climate conference. Netanyahu said he had met with over a hundred world leaders, and based on what he experienced in Paris, nothing could be further from depictions of Israel as a pariah state. "We have a disagreement on the Palestinian issue with some of the countries, especially a number of countries in Western Europe…They think the rift with the Palestinians is a territorial dispute, but it’s not.” See also, “Netanyahu Confirms that Israel Periodically Operates in Syria” (BICOM) Times of Israel Dawabsha Family Hoping for Progress in Arson Case The grandfather of a Palestinian boy whose entire family was killed in an arson attack in the West Bank said he hoped reports of a major breakthrough in a Jewish terrorism case referred to the investigation into that attack. On Monday there was a widely reported “major development” in an ongoing investigation into an incident of Jewish extremist violence, although police and the Shin Bet security service have been reticent as to the case in question. See also, “Duma Arson Gag Order: Covering Up a Failure?” (Arutz Sheva) See also, “Police Chief 'Very Optimistic' About Catching Duma Arsonists” (Arutz Sheva) Ynet News Israel Demolishes Terrorist’s Jerusalem Home Who Killed Two Israeli security forces on Wednesday demolished the East Jerusalem home of Hamas terrorist Ibrahim al-Akari, who killed two Israelis in a vehicular terror attack in November of last year. Some 1,200 Police and Border Police troops were deployed to the Shuafat refugee camp ahead of the planned demolition to maintain order and prevent violent rioting in the flashpoint refugee camp. "The forces were instructed to show zero tolerance for any attempt to harm security forces or disrupt the public order," police stated. The demolition went ahead as planned without any unusual incidents. See also, “Police Demolish Terrorist's East Jerusalem Home” (Times of Israel) Reuters Israeli Government, Military Disagree Over Unrest Two months into a wave of stabbings, shootings, and vehicle attacks by Palestinians targeting Israelis, gaps are emerging between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the military, and intelligence chiefs over what is driving the violence. While there is agreement over broad aspects of the violence, the deeper causes are disputed. Netanyahu has repeatedly accused 80-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of directly inciting the unrest. In contrast, the military and Shin Bet point to a variety of economic and socio-political factors fuelling Palestinian anger and frustration, particularly among young men and women in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 2 Ma’ariv Riots at Kadoorie University in the West Bank Get Out of Hand A crisis broke out at Kadoorie University in Tulkarm, after the university administration asked the students to stop clashing with the IDF near the campus, since this disrupted the studies. The student union, which is controlled by Fatah, was angry at the request and continued to lead the disturbances. In response, the university administration announced the dissolution of the student union and the dismissal of its members. Sources in the Kadoorie University student union accused the university administration of collaboration with Israel. Senior PA officials intervened in the crisis, and a document of understandings is expected to be signed today that will end the crisis. Jerusalem Post With Israeli-EU Relations Strained, Israel Looking at India, China Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, sat kiddy-corner in armchairs at this week’s international climate summit near Paris, talking and laughing. “We have the best of relations, and they can be made even better,” Netanyahu told Modi at the meeting. To which Modi responded, “I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything.” A brief encounter between Netanyahu and European Union foreign policy envoy Federica Mogherini was far frostier. Mogherini approached Netanyahu in the hallway, and they shared little more than a handshake. Jerusalem Post Restoring Tourism w/ Egypt; Jordan Labor Program Progresses Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud) met with an Egyptian diplomat at the Taba border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday in order to discuss ways to restore the strong tourist ties between the two countries. “We will defeat terrorism, which cannot be allowed to interfere with our daily lives,” Kara told The Jerusalem Post. Separately, Kara met with representatives of the Eilat airport, the Wadi Araba border crossing with Jordan, and the manager of the Taba border crossing with Egypt, Yizhak Hai, about progress on the plan to bring Jordanian day workers to work in hotels in Eilat. Under the plan, which began in the past month, there are currently 150 Jordanian workers working in Eilat and by the end of the month, there will be 500. The government target is to eventually reach 1,500 Jordanian workers in Eilat. See also, “Israel’s Plan to Expand Number of Jordanian Day Workers at Eilat Hotels on Course” (Al Bawaba) Arutz Sheva IDF Holds Surprise Drill in the Gaza Region The IDF on Wednesday is holding a surprise general staff drill in the southern region, so as to raise the army's preparedness. In the drill the various Southern Command units will be deployed to practice a variety of potential operations, with a focus on the Gaza region and the western Negev. Throughout the drill residents in the region are likely to feel the heavy presence of military vehicles and planes in the south, as well as in some of the coastal region. In Eilat the IDF Medical Corps are to practice establishing a field hospital. See also, “IDF Southern Command Holds Surprise Drill on Gaza Border” (Ynet News) 3 Walla.co.il – December 2, 2015 New Situation in Syria that Enables Israel to Target Hizbullah By Amir Bohbot What causes Hizbullah to continue to stockpile more and more missiles and rockets? The Shiite terror organization, which is up to its neck in fighting alongside Assad’s army in Syria, has not abandoned its effort to enlarge its rocket reserves, which are intended in due time to be aimed at Israel, in what is dubbed the “Hizbullah war.” Reports say that Hizbullah possesses over 120,000 missiles and rockets, including Scud-D missiles that can reach every point in Israel. Hizbullah has analyzed its challenge vis-à-vis Israel and reached the conclusion that the next war will be shorter than it expected—and judging by the public statements made by high- ranking IDF officers, in the war Israel will respond more aggressively than in the past. For this reason, Hizbullah’s leaders understand that it has to prepare a new doctrine designed to target strategic installations in Israel, IDF bases and government symbols. In order to do so, it has to arm itself with precise rockets and missiles. Syria and Iran have joined Hizbullah’s effort. The Iranian defense industries are in charge of manufacturing the rockets and the missiles, as well as UAVs. The weapons find their way to Syria, and from there on convoys to Hizbullah headquarters in Lebanon. In the past two years, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has said on every possible platform that Israel has red lines, and has emphasized the arms transfers from Syria to Lebanon, warning that Israel would not hesitate to attack. And indeed, according to foreign reports, Israel has acted on its threats. At first the Israeli effort was aimed at moments when the convoys were on the Syrian- Lebanese border, in “buffer” zones, so as not to embarrass any party and not to create a chain reaction. But like in any pursuit of terror organizations, which learn and become more sophisticated, the pace of smuggling has picked up, and at least according to foreign reports, the IAF has been compelled to carry out strikes on the outskirts of Damascus as well. Nasrallah threatened and warned Israel not to continue, but to no avail, since Israel considers precise missile attacks to be a real threat to the State of Israel’s home front. A high-ranking officer in the IDF Intelligence Research Department said recently to Walla News that Hizbullah was a “learning organization, that develops and builds itself—and it has good teachers.” She said that Israel does not make light of Hizbullah, which is the main threat to us at the moment. “We are in a daily war of minds with the organization, and we have to think like it does in order to know the next move and not to find ourselves left behind.