Israel and Middle East News Update Wednesday, February 17 Headlines: ● Poll: Public Less Critical of Govt Response to COVID ● Joint Arab List Head Received Money From PLO ● Committee Advances Major US-Israel Aircraft Deal ● Ministers Convene Over Syria-Linked 'Humanitarian Issue' ● Iran and Russia Begin Joint Naval Drill ● Turkey Increases Investments in PA ● Israel Excluded From Who's Middle East Vaccination Report ● US Approves $197m Sale to Egypt, but Notes Human Rights Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Message to Nasrallah’’ - By Yossi Yehoshua ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Bennett Holds the Keys’’ - By Sima Kadmon 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 17, 2021 Times of Israel Poll: Public Less Critical of Govt Response to COVID The public view of the government’s handling of the pandemic is improving slightly, according to a Channel 12 poll. The poll also showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party making small gains at the expense of its rival Yamina ahead of the March election. Asked what they thought of the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, 50% of respondents had a negative view while 47% had a positive view. Meanwhile, Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party, which repeatedly criticized the government on its response to the virus, appeared to be weakening, and is on the verge of dropping down to single digits. The survey showed Likud winning 29 seats; Yesh Atid, 18; New Hope, 13; Yamina, 10; the Joint List, 9; Shas, 8; United Torah Judaism, 7; Yisrael Betyenu, 7; Labor, 6; Religious Zionism, 5; Meretz, 4; and Blue & White, 4. Dig Deeper ‘‘Pandemic-Battered Israeli Economy Contracts 2.4% in 2020’’ (Times of Israel) Jerusalem Post White House: Biden’s First Call in Region Will Be Netanyahu White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that a conversation between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu is imminent. “[President Biden’s] first call with a leader in the region will be with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Psaki said, “It will be soon; I don’t have an exact day, but it is soon.” She added that “Israel is, of course, an ally; Israel is a country where we have an important strategic security relationship, and our team is fully engaged – not at the head of state level quite yet – but our teams are fully engaged, having constant conversations at many levels with the Israelis.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke twice with his Israel counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi. In their recent call last week, Ashkenazi thanked Blinken for the administration’s position against the ICC decision to investigate Israel. Dig Deeper ‘‘Political Sources: Biden Avoids Giving Netanyahu Election Boost with Call’’ (Jerusalem Post) Jerusalem Post Committee Advances Major US-Israel Aircraft Deal As tensions in the region peak and an Israeli attack on Iran remains a possibility, the ministerial procurement committee approved a deal worth billions of dollars between the Defense Ministry and the US for new fighter jets and tankers. The approval included the procurement of four Boeing KC-46a aerial refueling tankers that are intended to replace Israel’s aging Re’em fleet, converted Boeing 707s. Sources said that a deal regarding the tankers is expected to be signed by the end of the month. Last March, the State Department approved a possible sale of up to eight KC-46 aircraft and related equipment to Israel for an estimated cost of $2.4 billion, marking the first time that Washington has allowed Jerusalem to buy new tankers. The committee also approved exercising the option to procure another squadron of the advanced F- 35 fighter jet and the purchase of new ammunition. 2 I24 News Ministers Convene Over Syria-Linked 'Humanitarian Issue' Israeli ministers convened for an urgent meeting focused on a "humanitarian issue" linked with Syria. The details of the discussion are largely kept in secrecy but according Walla!, Russia, a key ally of Damascus, is involved in the matter. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gantz and Foreign Minister Ashkenazi all recently spoke with their respective Russian counterparts on the issue. Russia, which holds much sway in Syria after backing its President Bashar Assad, has frequently worked as a mediator in secretive contacts between Jerusalem and Damascus. In 2019, Moscow helped Israel secure the remains of Sgt. Zachary Baumel, an American-Israeli soldier who went missing during the First Lebanon War in 1982. Shortly after that, Israel released two prisoners with ties to Syria, with another two freed in January 2020, referring to the move as a "goodwill gesture." Dig Deeper ‘‘Popular Syrian Actor Says Normalization with Israel ‘Is Coming’’ (Times of Israel) Associated Press Iran and Russia Begin Joint Naval Drill The Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region, Iran’s state TV reported. The TV said units from Iran’s Navy and the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s naval forces will take part in the exercise dubbed “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” in the northern part of Indian Ocean, spanning a stretch of about 10,600 miles. According to Iranian Adm. Gholamreza Tahani, the drill spokesman, a Russian destroyer, logistics ship and a helicopter were to participate in the drill. This is the second such joint Russia-Iran exercise since 2019, when the two nations plus China held a four-day exercise. Tehran has been seeking to step up military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid regional tensions with the US. Visits to Iran by Russian and Chinese naval representatives have also increased in recent years. Dig Deeper ‘‘Iran Tells IAEA It Plans to Scale Back Cooperation in a Week’’ (Reuters) Israel Hayom Turkey Increases Investments in PA The Palestinian Authority said that Israel was preventing it from sending coronavirus vaccines to the Gaza Strip that are intended for frontline medical workers in the territory controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said in a statement that Israel bore “full responsibility” for blocking the shipment of 2,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine that were acquired by the PA, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The PA has said it will share its vaccine supply with Gaza, where the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power from its forces in 2007. The territory, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, has yet to receive any vaccines. Authorities there have reported more than 53,000 cases and at least 537 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza since the Hamas takeover. Israeli lawmakers have said Israel should only allow in vaccines in return for progress on the release of two captive Israelis and the remains of two Israeli soldiers being held by Hamas. 3 Jerusalem Post Israel Excluded From Who's Middle East Vaccination Report The World Health Organization declared that only 1% of the Middle East population has received the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine, but the report did not include Israel, currently considered to be the vaccination world's leader. The UN’s body that released the data, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), comprises 21 member states and about 600m people. The region is defined as covering from Morocco to Pakistan. However, according to the body, Israel is not part of the Middle East region, while the West Bank and Gaza are. Israel is so far the leading the world in terms of vaccinations per capita, with four millionth citizen who have received a first dose, of whom 2.6m have received a second shot. Israel allowed 1,000 of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines to be transferred to the Gaza Strip through the Erez border crossing, following approval from the Defense Ministry. Israel controls two of the three main crossings into Gaza, the commercial one at Kerem Shalom and the pedestrian one at Erez. All vaccines slated for Gaza, would need approval from Israel to enter through either of those crossings. The vaccines transferred to Gaza on Wednesday came from a donation of 10,000 Sputnik vaccine doses from Russia. The vaccines for the Palestinians are not the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines which Israel purchased for its citizens. They are fragile and require special refrigeration. Conditions in Gaza, where the electricity supply is limited and unstable, means that those vaccines are unsuitable for use there. Times of Israel US Approves $197m Sale to Egypt, but Notes Human Rights President Biden’s administration approved a nearly $200m arms sale to Egypt but vowed to press human rights issues after a US activist reported harassment of his family. The Biden administration — which has vowed to end support for Saudi Arabia’s offensive operations in Yemen’s devastating war and is reviewing a major jet sale to the UAE — said it approved the sale of 168 tactical missiles to Egypt. The $197m sale of the Raytheon-made Rolling Airframe Missiles was requested by the Egyptian navy to improve defense in coastal areas and around the Red Sea, the State Department said. The State Department said in a statement that it approved the sale, subject to congressional review, as Egypt “continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East.” Biden has vowed a tougher stance on human rights after his predecessor Trump courted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, whom he reportedly called “my favorite dictator” in part for his cooperation with Israel. A lawyer for Mohamed Soltan, a US citizen who has filed a lawsuit alleging torture in Egyptian custody, said that plainclothes officers raided the homes of six family members, detaining two cousins.