Israel and Middle East News Update Wednesday, March 24 Headlines: ● 87.5% of Votes Counted, Netanyahu's Bloc Has 59 Seats ● Gantz Gets Second Chance, Wins 7 or 8 Seats ● IDF Accidentally Reveals Secret Bases in Online Map ● Fatah, Hamas Face Headwinds Ahead of Palestinian Vote ● Quartet Discusses Reviving Israel, Palestinian Peace Talks ● Palestinians Using Postal Bank To Avoid Israeli Law ● IDF Airstrikes Hamas Targets in Retaliation for Rocket ● China Plans To Invite Palestinians and Israelis for Talks Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “The Key Person’’ - By Nadav Eyal ● Ma’ariv: “The Genius’’ - By Ben Caspit S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts March 24, 2021 Ynet News 87.5% of Votes Counted, Netanyahu's Bloc Has 59 Seats After more than 87.5% of the vote has been tallied, the right-wing bloc headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, appears to be on 59 Knesset seats, even with the support of Naftali Bennett's Yamina. Early exit polls following Tuesday's election indicated a virtual deadlock for a fourth time in the past two years, leaving Israel facing the prospect of continued political gridlock and unprecedented fifth consecutive election. The latest tally does not include the double envelopes, which include the votes of coronavirus patients, soldiers and Israelis abroad. According to the latest results, Likud has 30 seats, Yesh Atid 17, Shas 9, Blue & White 8, United Torah Judaism 7, Labor 7, Yamina 7, Yisrael Beiteinu 7, Religious Zionism 6, The Joint List 6, New Hope 6, Meretz 6 and Ra'am with 5. Dig Deeper ‘‘In Referendum Election on Netanyahu’s Achievements, Victory Again Eludes Him’’ (Times of Israel) Jerusalem Post Gantz Gets Second Chance, Wins 7 or 8 Seats Defense Minister Benny Gantz, whose Blue & White Party was expected to be wiped out, ended up with 7-8 seats according to initial exit polls. It is a far cry from the 33 seats his combined Blue & White and Yesh Atid Party received in the last election. He is the politician for whom the results reflected the steepest fall from grace. Expectations had been set so low that the upward surge is seen as a victory. It was thought that Gantz no longer had any political clout. He has already said that he would not join a Netanyahu-led government as he did after the last election, and so he is now counted in the anti-Netanyahu bloc headed by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. Dig Deeper ‘‘Far-Right Party Set To Gain New Influence After Israeli Vote’’ (Associated Press) Ha’aretz IDF Accidentally Reveals Secret Bases in Online Map An Israeli military unit posted on its website recently a map with the precise locations of most of the country’s bases, including ones about which the army is usually silent. The Home Front Command of the IDF removed the classified information from the map after Haaretz asked about it. The map was posted to the National Emergency Portal site as part of the command’s involvement in the state’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The map showed not only COVID-19 testing centers in residential communities across the country, but also, until the additional information was removed, IDF facilities including bases of the Israel Air Force and of Military Intelligence. The level of detail on the map made it possible not only to identify the location of these military bases, but also their exact boundaries. The names of the bases also appeared on the map. Dig Deeper ‘‘IDF Accidentally Reveals Location of Secret Bases Online’’ (Jerusalem Post) 2 Ynet News Fatah, Hamas Face Headwinds Ahead of Palestinian Vote Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and his militant Hamas rivals would each fall well short of a parliamentary majority if elections are held in May, forcing them to partner with each other or smaller parties to form a government, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. If elections were held today a single Fatah list would win 43% of the vote and Hamas would win 30%, with 18% of voters undecided. But a faction led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah leader who had a falling out with Abbas would win 10%. Nasser al-Kidwa, who was kicked out of Fatah after forming his own list, would win 7%. PCPSR director Khalil Shikaki said Fatah is seen as best able to address most of voters' top concerns, including restoring national unity, improving the economy and lifting the Israeli- Egyptian blockade of Gaza that was imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007. But Fatah's internal rivalries could weaken it vis-Ã -vis the more disciplined and unified Hamas. Dig Deeper ‘‘As Israelis Vote, Palestinians Skeptical About Own Elections’’ (Jerusalem Post) Reuters Quartet Discusses Reviving Israel, Palestinian Peace Talks The Middle East quartet of mediators - the US, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - discussed reviving “meaningful negotiations” between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of a two-state solution. In a statement following their meeting, the quartet said that both Israel and the Palestinians need “to refrain from unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve.” It appeared to be the first time since September 2018 that envoys from the four mediators have met. Last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped there would be a quartet meeting in coming weeks, now that there was a new president in the White House. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital - all territory captured by Israel in 1967. Under a failed peace proposal by former President Trump, Washington would have recognized Jewish settlements in occupied territory as part of Israel. Dig Deeper ‘‘UN Adopts Resolution Condemning Israel Over 'Human Rights Situation'’ (I24 News) Jerusalem Post Palestinians Using Postal Bank To Avoid Israeli Law The Palestinian Authority (PA) will use the government's postal bank to distribute "pay-for-slay" payments to Palestinian terrorists to avoid penalties by Israeli law that could be imposed on Palestinian banks that distribute the payments, Qadri Abu Bakr, the PLO's Director for Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, told the Turkish Anadolu Agency. An Israeli law last year set a deadline of December 31, 2020, for banks to stop handling the payments and to permanently close the relevant accounts. The accounts were closed by the end of the year to avoid possible penalties. The PA paid terrorists three months worth of the monthly payments near the end of last year in preparation for the move. The decision to distribute the payments through the postal bank was made due to the fact that the postal bank is for mail transactions and is not a banking institution and is therefore not subject to the law. Eventually, ATMs will be installed and cards will be issued to distribute the payments. 3 I24 News IDF Airstrikes Hamas Targets in Retaliation for Rocket The IDF struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after a rocket landed in Israeli territory earlier on Tuesday, according to a statement by the military. "Earlier today, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory," the IDF said. Earlier reports said the rocket landed near the city of Beersheba, where Netanyahu was campaigning at the time. "In response, a short while ago, IDF fighter jets and attack helicopters struck a rocket manufacturing site and a military post belonging to the Hamas terror organization." It was unclear who perpetrated the attack, although Israel maintains Hamas "is responsible for all events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it, and will bear the consequences for terror activity against Israeli civilians." The rocket caused no reported casualties, although it came on a sensitive day as Israelis vote in their fourth elections in two years. Israel closed border crossings with the West Bank and Gaza for election day, amid an uptick in cross-border activity in recent days. Dig Deeper ‘‘Palestinians in Hebron’s Old City Build Fence To Prevent Settlers’ Attacks’’ (Al-Monitor) Reuters China Plans To Invite Palestinians and Israelis for Talks The Chinese government plans to invite Israelis and Palestinians to hold talks in China, Al-Arabiya TV channel quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying in an interview. Wang, who started a Middle East tour this week, also voiced support for a Saudi initiative to end the war in Yemen, according to the Saudi-owned, Dubai-based channel. China has offered itself several times in the past as an alternative to the United States when it comes to mediating between Israelis and Palestinians, coming up with proposals to end their decades-old conflict. He did not elaborate, and it was not immediately clear whether he had government representatives in mind. On Yemen, Wang said: “We call for implementing the Saudi initiative for a settlement in Yemen as soon as possible.” The Saudi peace initiative includes a nationwide ceasefire and the reopening of air and sea links with the territories held by the Houthi group in Yemen. However, the Iran-aligned Houthis has said the offer falls short of their demands. Dig Deeper ‘‘Saudi Envoy Urges Lebanon Politicians To Form New Government Quickly’’ (Reuters) 4 Yedioth Ahronoth – March 24, 2021 The Key Person By Nadav Eyal ● Let’s get right to the bottom line: there isn’t one, yet. Some of the exit polls from the last election projected 60-seat parity; it ended up giving 62 seats to the bloc of Netanyahu’s opponents.