Israel and Middle East News Update Friday, July 2 Headlines: ● Meretz Won’t Back Law Against Family Reunification ● Israel Urging US to Delay Plans to Reopen Consulate ● Hamas Official: 'Significant Progress' in Ceasefire Talks ● IAF Strike in Gaza in Response to Incendiary Balloons ● Palestinians Riot Outside Outpost on Eve of Evacuation ● UN Official Urges Palestinian Security to Allow Protests ● Jordan's King Abdullah Heads to US to Meet Biden ● Iran Restricts UN Inspectors' Access to Nuclear Site Commentary: ● Ma’ariv: “On a High Flame’’ - By Alon Ben David ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Own Goal’’ - By Amit Segal 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 2, 2021 Times of Israel Meretz Won’t Back Law Against Family Reunification Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz told close confidants that his left-wing Meretz party will not back the government in extending the Palestinian family reunification law, legislation that the coalition has struggled to pass even though it is supported in principle by most lawmakers in the Knesset. Meretz is considering a plan in which some of its six lawmakers would support the law’s renewal and others would skip the vote. The law, which blocks the automatic granting of citizenship to Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens, expires on July 6. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked of Yamina reportedly intends to bring the troubled legislation for a Knesset vote on Monday in order to beat the deadline. The government wants to extend the law by another year. That legislation aims to limit and restrict immigration to Israel, and provide the state with greater capabilities in deporting those residing in Israel illegally. Arutz Sheva Crime Leaders in Arab Sector Are Shabak Collaborators' In a recent police hearing, in preparation for a meeting between Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Minister of Internal Security Omer Bar-Lev, a senior police official said that the criminals who are currently leading the serious crime in the Arab sector "are mostly Shabak collaborators," Channel 12 reported. According to the source, "in this situation the hands of police are bound, because it is not possible to touch those collaborators, who enjoy immunity." The Shabak rejected the allegations made by the senior police official, saying, "The police's allegation of the involvement of Shabak collaborators is false and baseless. There is no connection between this allegation and the factual data that emerges from the investigation of the attacks and indictments." Dig Deeper ‘‘Bedouin MK Seeks Change for Community Through ‘Experiment’ of Joining Government’’ (Times of Israel) Israel Hayom Hamas Official: 'Significant Progress' in Ceasefire Talks A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip told Israel Hayom the arrival of high-level delegations from both the coastal enclave and Israel at the same time in Egypt was an indication dramatic progress was being made in efforts to reach a long-term ceasefire. Nevertheless, the official said Hamas would insist on keeping efforts to rehabilitate Gaza and reach a long-term ceasefire separate from any prisoner exchange deal. Alluded to Arab Israeli politicians working to promote understandings toward a deal, the official said: "The political reality created in Israel makes such involvement possible." In a recent interview with the London-based pan-Arab Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, Ra'am party leader Mansour Abbas insinuated he was working to advance dialogue between Israel and Palestinian organizations active in Gaza and the West Bank. Dig Deeper ‘‘What's Driving Israeli Islamist Leader Mansour Abbas?’’ (Ha’aretz) 2 Ynet News IAF Strike in Gaza in Response to Incendiary Balloons Incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip sparked four minor fires near the border region, Fire and Rescue Services said, in the latest spate of attacks since a fragile ceasefire came into effect following last month's 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups. Eleven days of deadly fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers, as well as other Palestinian terror groups based in the enclave, ended on May 21 with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. There was no immediate indication as to which Gaza-based group was responsible for the balloon launches. There have been multiple flare-ups since the ceasefire, including a series of balloon launches last month, to which Israel has responded with airstrikes. Following an exchange of fire on June 18, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi ordered forces to be ready "for a variety of scenarios, including a resumption of hostilities." Dig Deeper ‘‘Gazans Rebuild With Rubble as Reconstruction Delayed’’ (Al- Monitor) Times of Israel Palestinians Riot Outside Outpost on Eve of Evacuation Hundreds of Palestinians gathered outside the illegal Evyatar outpost in the West Bank, throwing rocks, firebombs and shooting fireworks at IDF troops at the scene, the army said. The violent protest came on the eve of a partial evacuation of the wildcat settlement set for Friday under an agreement reached between the government at the settlers. IDF troops responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported it treated 61 people, including six hit by rubber bullets. The rest suffered from tear gas inhalation. The international community regards all Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal but Israeli law differentiates between settlements permitted by the Defense Ministry and outposts established without permission, often by ideologically motivated youths. Many settlements started life as illegal outposts and only gained retroactive government approval after reaching a critical mass of residents. Dig Deeper ‘‘The Compromise That Keeps This Illegal Outpost Intact’’ (Ha’aretz) Associated Press UN Official Urges Palestinian Security to Allow Protests The UN human rights chief urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) to ensure the safety of protesters after security forces and supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas attacked demonstrators over the weekend. The protests erupted after an outspoken critic of the PA died shortly after his family says he was severely beaten by security forces who arrested him. The PA, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular in recent years. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Palestinian security forces had used force against initially peaceful protesters, “including beating them with batons and firing teargas and stun grenades.” The statement said she was concerned about “the presence of large numbers of non-uniformed people acting in a seemingly organized and coordinated manner” with the Palestinian forces. There was no immediate comment from the PA. More protests are expected this weekend. 3 Reuters Jordan's King Abdullah Heads to US to Meet Biden Jordan's King Abdullah left for the United States for a three-week visit that includes the first meeting by an Arab leader with President Joe Biden at the White House since he took office, a palace statement said. The statement said the monarch, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania, would attend an investors meeting followed by a private itinerary ahead of a working visit to Washington for talks with congressional leaders and administration officials. An official said the king's talks with Biden were expected sometime after mid-July. The staunch US ally will lobby senior officials for an extension of a five-year $6.4b aid package that ends next year to help shore up Jordan's struggling economy, the official added. Washington is Jordan's single largest source of bilateral assistance, providing more than $1.5b every year, and the kingdom ranks among the top recipients of US foreign aid, US diplomats say. Biden reaffirmed strong US support for the monarch shortly after the kingdom announced it had quashed a rift within the royal family that shook Jordan's image as a beacon of stability in the region. Dig Deeper ‘‘Jordan Court Rejects Defence Bid to Have Prince Hamza Testify - Lawyer’’ (Reuters) I24 News Iran Restricts UN Inspectors' Access to Nuclear Site Iran has been restricting UN nuclear inspectors’ access to its main uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, citing security concerns after what it says was an attack on the site by Israel in April, according to diplomats. The standoff is taking place as the indirect talks between the Islamic Republic and the US on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal have adjourned without a date set for their resumption. It follows various moves by Iran that breach the 2015 nuclear deal or have angered Washington and its allies, ranging from enriching uranium to close to weapons-grade to failing to explain the origin of uranium particles that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors found at several undeclared sites. “They are provoking us,” said one Western diplomat. The trend, however, is anything but new, with Iran in recent years having repeatedly denied the IAEA access to locations for snap inspections. An explosion and power cut in April at Natanz, the heart of Iran’s nuclear program, damaged centrifuges at the underground plant. The last quarterly IAEA report on Iran in May showed its enrichment output had slowed. Dig Deeper ‘‘Iran Conditions Return to Nuclear Deal on Us Commitment to Never Withdraw Again’’ (Times of Israel) 4 Ma’ariv – June 2, 2021 On a High Flame By Alon Ben David ● Five years ago, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate issued an unusual “strategic warning” about an anticipated eruption in the Palestinian arena. Like the other prophecies of a “third Intifada” that have been floated at times, this warning also seemed to be disconnected from reality at the time: the Palestinian population of Judea and Samaria was projecting fatigue and disinterest in fighting. But something has been changing in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) in recent months, and the signs that that prophecy is likely to come true are multiplying.