Israel and Middle East News Update Monday, July 26 Headlines: ● Herzog Meets Opposition Leader Netanyahu ● Israeli Airlines Launch First Direct Flights to Morocco ● Gov’t Approves 85% Reduction of Carbon Emissions by 2050 ● Israel Partially Freezes UAE Oil Pipeline Deal ● IDF Attacks Gazan Targets After Incendiary Balloons ● King Abdullah II Confirms He Met With Gantz, Bennett ● Russia Intends to Arm Syria Against Israeli Strikes ● Lapid and Gantz Said to Warn US on Iran Commentary: ● Ma’ariv: “The Ball is in Our Court’’ - By Nadav Tamir ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “The TikTok Government’’ - By Nahum Barnea S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts July 26, 2021 I24 News Herzog Meets Opposition Leader Netanyahu The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog held his first working meeting with Opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the meeting, the two men discussed the topics on the agenda, including the rise in coronavirus cases. Herzog noted the great importance he placed on the role of the opposition in the Knesset, a position he once held as Labor party leader, and made it clear that "there is no democracy without opposition," according to a statement from the president's office. Earlier this month, Herzog was sworn in as Israel's 11th president before the Knesset in Jerusalem. He replaced former president Reuven Rivlin, who completed his seven-year tenure as the official head of state. With his left hand on the Torah, he vowed before the deputies to "faithfully fulfil his role as president." Dig Deeper ‘‘Rotation, Cannabis Bills to Highlight This Week’s Knesset Battles’’ (Jerusalem Post) Associated Press Israeli Airlines Launch First Direct Flights to Morocco Two Israeli airlines launched their first commercial flights between Israel and Morocco, less than a year after the countries officially normalized relations. Israir’s flight departed Tel Aviv for Marrakech with around 100 Israeli tourists, the company said, hours before Israeli national carrier El Al dispatched its first direct flight to the same destination. Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said the new direct flights would “help advance fruitful tourism, trade and economic cooperation and diplomatic agreements between the two countries.” Israel and Morocco agreed to normalize relations in late 2020 as part of the US-brokered “Abraham Accords.” Morocco was among four Arab nations, including the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. As part of the deal, the US agreed to recognize Morocco’s claim to the long-disputed Western Sahara region, however the Biden administration said it will review this decision. Jerusalem Post Gov’t Approves 85% Reduction of Carbon Emissions by 2050 Israel said that by mid-century it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 2015 levels, as part of an international push to limit global warming. The government approved the 2050 target and set an interim target of 2030 to reduce emissions by 27% from levels in 2015, the year when global climate accords were agreed in Paris. The Paris deal aims to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably by 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial levels. srael's Foreign Ministry said national targets included a 96% reduction in carbon emissions from transport, an 85% reduction from the electricity sector and a 92% reduction in the municipal waste sector. However, others in the Knesset are saying the plan doesn't go far enough, instead hoping Israel would meet the significantly higher goals outlined by the United Nations, similar to those seen in the US' proposed 'Green New Deal.' 2 Times of Israel Israel Partially Freezes UAE Oil Pipeline Deal Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry said that it was delaying implementation of a proposed oil transport deal with the UAE, freezing a project that has angered environmentalists. The agreement, which followed the UAE and Israel establishing diplomatic ties last year, would see Gulf oil brought to the Red Sea port of Eilat by tanker, then moved by pipeline through mainland Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, from where it would be shipped to Europe. The ministry informed Israel’s state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Company on Sunday that it rejected an environmental risk survey that was carried out in connection with the deal. The ministry also said it would delay work to assess the EAPC’s readiness to receive greater numbers of Gulf oil tankers at Eilat. This, said the ministry, is until the government has discussed and reached a decision on the controversial memorandum of understanding the company signed with the UAE in October. I24 News IDF Attacks Gazan Targets After Incendiary Balloons Israel's air force struck targets in the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary balloons, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF spokesperson's unit said fighter jets hit a Hamas military base and infrastructure used for terrorism. The base is located near a school, the statement said. Gazan residents posted footage on social media of the strikes on several points in the coastal enclave. Terrorists firing machine guns at Israeli planes in response, Arabic media sources said. The IDF earlier announced a reduction in the Gazan fishing zone in response to incendiary balloons, which started fires in southern Israel, in farming communities near Gaza. Israel's stated policy is to not tolerate any attacks emanating from Gaza and holds the Hamas terrorist organization that holds power there responsible for hostilities originating in the territory. Dig Deeper ‘‘Palestinians Accuse Hamas of Storing Weapons in Residential Areas’’ (Jerusalem Post) Jerusalem Post King Abdullah II Confirms He Met With Gantz, Bennett King Abdullah II revealed in an interview with CNN for the first time that he had indeed secretly met with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett earlier this month, as was reported in the Israeli media. The king also confirmed in the interview that he met with Defense Minister Benny Gantz in the weeks after the formation of Israel's new government. The secret meeting with Bennett was reported a little over two weeks ago, as the two countries were finalizing a major water deal. Such meetings between former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah were rare and had not happened for a number of years due to rising tensions between the two countries and more specifically, between the two leaders. At the meeting, Bennett and Abdullah reportedly agreed that the two countries must heal that rift, using the water deal as a first step in the right direction. According to Israeli reports, a secret meeting between Abdullah and Gantz happened in late February, as an attempt to boost the latter's chances of besting Netanyahu in the election — which was set to take place later that month — echoing the reasons for his 2018 meeting with then-Labor Party chairman, Avi Gabbay. Dig Deeper ‘‘How Water Has Become a Flashpoint in the Middle East’’ (Al-Monitor) 3 Ynet News Russia Intends to Arm Syria Against Israeli Strikes Russia intends to curtail Israel's military operations in Syria by supplying the regime of President Bashar al-Assad with stronger air defenses, a report claimed. The anonymously sourced report by the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat cited a “well-informed” Russian official as saying that the Kremlin has “run out of patience” with Israeli air raids in Syria. Moreover, Moscow believes this move wouldn't encounter stiff opposition from the administration of President Joe Biden, as Russian officials have been given the impression that Washington doesn't approve of Israeli strikes either. Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting government positions and allied Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces and weapons convoys. Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, however, the IDF has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-ravaged country last year, without providing details. Israel has said it is trying to prevent its arch-foe Iran from entrenching in Syria, and thus gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep. While Russian President Vladimir Putin had a close personal relationship with former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, Russia has routinely criticized Israeli strikes in Syria. Russia, a key supporter of the Assad regime, has built a strong military presence in the country. Dig Deeper ‘‘Israeli Government Faces Major Diplomatic Tests From Russia’’ (Jerusalem Post) Times of Israel Lapid and Gantz Said to Warn US on Iran Israeli authorities have warned US officials in recent days that Iran is closer than ever to attaining nuclear weapons, according to Kan. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Gantz and other Israeli officials have addressed the issue with their American counterparts recently, issuing an “unusual warning,” according to the report. Nuclear talks between world powers and Iran — attended indirectly by the US — have been ongoing for months in Vienna, but have stalled in recent weeks. “Something has to happen with the negotiations with Iran,” a senior diplomat told Kan. “This ‘limbo’ cannot be a time when Iran is quickly advancing toward becoming a nuclear threshold state.” Prime Minister Bennett is working to schedule a meeting in Washington with President Biden next month, though he is hampered by his wafer-thin majority in the Knesset, requiring his presence for every