Israel and Middle East News Update Friday, February 19 Headlines: ● Israeli Woman Who Crossed Into Syria Returns to Israel ● Bennett: 'It’s Time to Fire CEO' of Israel ● Gantz: Ground in Lebanon Will Shake in War with Israel ● Biden Repudiates Trump on Iran, Ready for Talks ● US and Israel Announce Work on New Arrow 4 ● Palestinian President's Rival Promises Vaccines for Gaza ● UAE Dismantles Base as It Pulls Back After Yemen War ● US Defense Secretary Calls MBS, Reaffirms Strategic Ties Commentary: ● Ma’ariv: “The Liars’ Club’’ - By Ben Caspit ● Ma’ariv: “Bibi’s Choice’’ - By Alon Ben David S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President Editor: Yousef Bashir News Excerpts February 19, 2021 Times of Israel Israeli Woman Who Crossed Into Syria Returns to Israel An Israeli woman who crossed into Syria and had been held by the Syrian regime landed in Israel after over a week of diplomatic wrangling to secure her return. The woman, who has not been identified, flew from Moscow and landed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. She spoke with her family before takeoff and was expected to be questioned by the Shin Bet internal security service, according to Hebrew media reports. Israel released two Syrian shepherds and reduced the sentence of a Golan Heights resident in what was widely seen as an exchange deal. Accompanying the woman on the flight were Asher Hayun, a staffer for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yaron Bloom, government coordinator for negotiating the return of POWs and MIAs, representatives of the National Security Council and a doctor who checked the woman’s health. I24 News Bennett: 'It’s Time to Fire CEO' of Israel Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing Yamina party, ripped into Israel's unity government in an interview for i24NEWS and Israel Hayom. "It’s time to fire the CEO" of the country, he declared in a jab aimed at Netanyahu, bashing him over his failure to apply Israel's sovereignty to West Bank areas in summer 2020. He did not reject sitting in a government with Netanyahu's Likud, however, saying that he respected the will of Netanyahu's supporters. Bringing sovereignty back on the table in Israeli politics was one of the things Yamina would look to do, Bennett said. Addressing Israel's ties with the US, he touted his understanding of the American mentality and hailed the US as Israel's "biggest ally." Bennett said that, if elected, he was likely to see eye to eye with the administration of President Joe Biden on most things, while disagreeing on some matters -- which is normal in politics. Dig Deeper ‘‘Playing Dirty? New Hope Said to Be Behind Smear Campaign Targeting Yamina's Bennett’’ (Israel Hayom) Jerusalem Post Gantz: Ground in Lebanon Will Shake in War with Israel If Israel has to fight with Hezbollah, “the ground in Lebanon will tremble, and the terrorist organization will be severely hit,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said. Gantz’s comments come as the IDF intelligence assessed in its annual prediction of 2021 that Hezbollah is deterred and will not drag Israel into a war, but it will try to initiate “days of battle” in which the combat is limited. According to this assessment, Hezbollah is exercising its idea of “the equation,” whereby it must avenge the killing of its members even if it takes months or years. Earlier this week, the Israel Air Force conducted a surprise drill in which the entire force practiced a response to an attack on an Israeli fighter jet. Dig Deeper ‘‘Hezbollah Chief Threatens Israel After IDF Drill Directed at Terror Group’’ (Times of Israel) 2 Associated Press Biden Repudiates Trump on Iran, Ready for Talks The Biden administration said it’s ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal. The administration also took two steps at the UN aimed at restoring policy to what it was before Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. The combined actions were immediately criticized by Iran hawks and are likely to draw concern from Israel and Gulf Arab states. In addition to signaling a willingness to talk with Iran, the administration also reversed Trump’s determination that all UN sanctions against Iran had been restored. And, it eased stringent restrictions on the domestic travel of Iranian diplomats posted to the UN. The State Department announced the moves following discussions between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British, French and German counterparts, and as Biden prepares to participate, albeit virtually, in his first major international events with world leaders. Times of Israel US and Israel Announce Work on New Arrow 4 Israel and the US have begun developing the Arrow 4, the latest generation in the family of Israeli anti-ballistic missiles and an essential part of the country’s multi-layered defense system, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced. “The defense establishment is working round the clock to shield Israel’s skies from ballistic threats,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, praising the joint development with US partners. “It will bring a technological and operational leap to the future battlefield,” he added. According to Gantz, the Arrow 4 anti-ballistic missile will include upgraded capabilities and will join the existing Arrow family to “address a wide range of evolving threats in the region” adding that it is expected to replace the Arrow 2 in the coming decades. Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said the Arrow 4 joint development operation “expresses the United States’ commitment to assist the Israel in strengthening its national defense system against the missile threat.” Ynet News Palestinian President's Rival Promises Vaccines for Gaza The UAE is sending 20,000 doses of the Russian coronavirus vaccine to the Gaza Strip, a rival to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced, in a decision that could have repercussions for upcoming elections. The announcement by Mohammed Dahlan came a day after Abbas' government managed to deliver 2,000 vaccines to Gaza and appeared to be aimed in part at embarrassing the Palestinian president. Dahlan called the shipment a "generous grant" from the UAE "at a sensitive time where the pandemic is targeting all our beloved." An aide to Dahlan said the Sputnik V vaccines will be delivered to Gaza through Egypt. Dahlan called the shipment a "generous grant" from the UAE "at a sensitive time where the pandemic is targeting all our beloved." An aide to Dahlan said the Sputnik V vaccines will be delivered to Gaza through Egypt on Sunday. Dahlan, a former member of Abbas' Fatah party, has lived in exile in Abu Dhabi since falling out with Abbas in 2011. Dahlan was subsequently sentenced in absentia to three years in prison over alleged embezzlement. Dig Deeper ‘‘As Palestinians Plan Vote, Jerusalem Looms as Possible Obstacle — or Pretext’’ (Times of Israel) 3 Associated Press UAE Dismantles Base as It Pulls Back After Yemen War The UAE is dismantling parts of a military base it runs in the East African nation of Eritrea after it pulled back from the grinding war in nearby Yemen, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. The UAE built a port and expanded an airstrip in Assab beginning in September 2015, using the facility as a base to ferry heavy weaponry and Sudanese troops into Yemen as it fought alongside a Saudi-led coalition against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels there. The UAE appears to have found the limits of its military expansion in Yemen’s stalemate conflict, experts say. After it withdrew troops from the conflict, the satellite photos show it began shipping off equipment and tearing down even newly built structures. The Emiratis also built barracks, aircraft canopies and fencing across the 3.5-square-mile facility initially built in the 1930s by colonial power Italy. Over time, the UAE stationed Leclerc battle tanks, G6 self-propelled howitzers and BMP-3 amphibious fighting vehicles at the airport, according to UN experts. Those types of heavy weapons have been seen on Yemeni battlefields. Attack helicopters, drones and other aircraft have been seen on its runways. Dig Deeper ‘‘Saudi-Led Coalition in Yemen Moves Troops to Marib to Repel Houthi Assault’’ (Reuters) Reuters US Defense Secretary Calls MBS, Reaffirms Strategic Ties US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state media said, days after the White House said it would deal with the king, not his heir, and US officials would engage their counterparties in the kingdom. Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also Saudi Defense Minister, reviewed bilateral relations with Austin, especially in defense cooperation, state news agency SPA said. Austin reaffirmed the importance of the strategic defense partnership between the two countries, and said the US was committed to helping Riyadh defend itself, condemning attacks launched into the kingdom by the Houthi group in Yemen. Austin said in a statement he had a productive call. President Biden said this week he plans to recalibrate US relations with Saudi Arabia and will conduct diplomacy through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz rather than his powerful son the crown prince, widely referred to as MbS. Biden is returning to “counterpart to counterpart” engagement, the White House said. 4 Ma’ariv – February 19, 2021 The Liars’ Club By Ben Caspit ● The hundreds of thousands of Israelis who watched Binyamin Netanyahu’s lie- a-thon during his interview with Yonit Levi on Channel 12 can be divided into two camps. Half of them believe that they witnessed a performance that was the direct continuation of the giving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai, another episode in a series of divine revelations eliciting a religious ecstasy, a pilot episode of the coming of the Messiah.