Israel and the Middle East News Update Thursday, January 28 Headlines: UN’s Ban Rejects Netanyahu’s Criticism: Count On Me to Speak Abbas: Israeli Policies Will Lead ISIS into the Heart of Israel Israel Reluctant to Accuse ISIS Over Bar Shootings Despite Hallmarks Netanyahu’s Race Baiting Was Planned, Not a ‘Lapse in Judgment’ Israeli MK: The Knesset Is Abandoning Israeli Lives Fatal Tunnel Collapse Indicates Hamas Preparing Offensive Capabilities Russian Special Forces, Hezbollah Helping Assad Reclaim Land Gas Pipeline Focus of ‘Historic’ Talks Between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus Commentary: Ha’aretz: “Leftists Crushed, Israel’s Right-Wing Starts Gnawing on Itself” By Asher Schechter, Author and Journalist, Ha’aretz Al-Monitor: “Why IDF Favors Carrots, Not Sticks for West Bank Palestinians” By Ben Caspit, Israel Pulse Columnist, Al-Monitor S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts January 28, 2016 Ha’aretz UN's Ban Rejects Netanyahu's Criticism: Count On Me to Speak The United Nations says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stands by every word of his criticism of Israeli settlement-building this week and rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comment that the remarks justify terrorism. The UN chief on Tuesday told the Security Council that settlement activities are "an affront to the Palestinian people," and he called for Israel to freeze them. He also said "it is human nature to react to occupation." See also, “Israel Feels the Heat of the US, EU, and UN Criticism” (Reuters) See also, "UN Chief Redoubles Criticism of Israel’s 'Stifling’ Occupation" (Times of Israel) Jerusalem Post Abbas: Israeli Policies Will Lead ISIS into the Heart of Israel Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution that condemns West Bank settlements and provides Palestinians with international protection from Israel. “The current Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes seven settlers, does not want peace or the implementation of signed agreements with the Palestinians,” Abbas charged. “There is a conviction that the Israeli government won’t halt settlement construction. They have more than half a million settlers in the Palestinian territories.” Abbas reiterated his support for countries that fight terrorism. He expressed fear that the policies of the Israeli government “would lead to the entry of Daesh [ISIS] into the heart of Israel.” Reuters Israel Reluctant to Accuse ISIS Over Shooting Despite Hallmarks It appeared to have hallmarks of the first Islamic State attack in Israel: A Muslim citizen opened fire on a Tel Aviv bar days after the militant group threatened the country, and left behind a black ISIS banner. But security officials, given pause by the erratic conduct of the slain gunman and wary of aggravating strains with Israel's largely quiescent Arab minority, are steering clear of definitively linking him with Islamic State. "This really was not a classic ISIS terrorist attack," a security official told Reuters on Thursday after the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency and Justice Ministry issued their findings on the Jan. 1 shooting rampage by Nashat Melhem. +972 Magazine Netanyahu's Race Baiting Long Planned, Not Lapse in Judgment Controversial comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about heavy voter turnout in Israel’s Arab sector were not one-time mistakes but part of a broader strategy executed by the Likud campaign, a report broadcast Monday by Israel’s Channel 2 News demonstrated. Netanyahu was heavily criticized, at home and abroad, for his last-minute plea for right-wing voters to support him at the polls in order to block Arab electoral strength. “Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls,” Netanyahu declared in a video message broadcast on Facebook. “Left-wing organizations are busing them out.” 2 Arutz Sheva Israeli MK: The Knesset Is Abandoning Israeli Lives MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli (Habayit Hayehudi) spoke about the pain she and the rest of Israel feel regarding the current security crisis. She particularly noted the lack of security felt throughout the country. "We cannot continue to present all of these terrorists as individual operators. The feeling has become that terrorists are taking their attacks to a new level, and we are not rising to the occasions. Two innocent women were murdered in their own homes within a week…It is not conceivable that there is widespread continuous incitement and constant murders, and then people come and try to explain to us that we are flattening the terrorists. Currently the only thing being flattened out are the lives of Israeli citizens. We are the lowest on the food chain. Having the lives of even some of the citizens of Israel being abandoned is something that we cannot allow to pass." Ha’aretz Fatal Tunnel Collapse Indicates Hamas Preparing Offensive Eight Hamas militants were missing after a tunnel collapse in the northern Gaza Strip. The reports, indicating the group is working on rehabilitating its array of tunnels reaching into Israeli territory, were confirmed by Hamas' military wing, which said that it has lost contact with a unit of tunnel fighters after a collapse caused by inclement weather. Hamas is still searching for survivors. Israel estimates that Hamas is investing efforts in restoring its military capability by building tunnels leading into Israeli territory and renewing its inventory of rockets, among other things. See also, “At Least Seven Hamas Activists Killed Digging Gaza Tunnel” (BICOM) Algemeiner Russian Special Forces, Hezbollah Helping Assad Reclaim Land Russian special forces backed by Hezbollah have been helping Syrian President Bashar Assad’s troops reclaim territory in the mountains and towns of coastal Latakia in Syria, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported on Wednesday. According to sources in a “joint operations room” in Damascus, coordinating between Russia, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, Russian artillery — “through intensive use of batteries and howitzers” — backed by elite Hezbollah forces and the Russian air force, have been fighting some of the fiercest battles in Latakia. The Russian artillery has allowed Assad’s troops and Hezbollah to advance through various towns, villages and areas “without confrontation.” Jerusalem Post Gas Pipeline Focus of ‘Historic’ Talks for Israel, Greece, Cyprus Israel, Cyprus and Greece decided at their first ever tripartite meeting to set up a steering committee to look into laying a gas pipeline from Israel to Cyprus, and then to Greece for further export to Europe. The decision was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing next to Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Each leader delivered a statement noting the historic nature of the meeting, and highlighting the possibilities this emerging alliance has for the region. They did not answer any questions from the press. See also, “Israel, Cyprus, and Greece Forge Ahead with European Gas Pipeline” (Arutz Sheva) 3 Ha’aretz – January 28, 2016 Leftist Crushed, Israel’s Right-Wing Starts Gnawing on Itself Israel's right wing is safe in power, so why are its members savaging each other - and democracy - in a mad race to the bottom? By Asher Schechter Israel’s right wing should be riding high right now. Its grip on power is safer than ever. Following weeks of terror attacks and radical incitement, and in the midst of a crackdown on human rights organizations like B'Tselem, whatever support remained for the dwindling Israeli left has been all but extinguished. Even former self- proclaimed leaders of the liberal camp, like Isaac Herzog, are doing all they can to distance themselves from association with the word “left.” With the left delegitimized, the right is finally free to do whatever it wishes: to rewrite school books in order to inject them with “Jewish identity,” ban works of fiction that “promote miscegenation,” or simply mark human rights activists with “leftie badges.” They know that the opposition won't squeak, the U.S. will not punish them (worst case scenario, those “Jew boys” will say something kind-of-harsh, and Europeans will condemn but remain ineffectual. So why, oh why, are right-wing politicians fighting amongst themselves? It started with Naftali Bennett, minister of education and leader of Habayit Hayehudi, who last week accused Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon of being shortsighted. Addressing the Institute for National Security Studies, Bennett launched a biting attack on Netanyahu’s and Ya’alon’s leadership qualities, describing the two as soft on terror. “The main threat to Israel’s security isn't coming from the north or the south, not from Hamas or Hezbollah rockets, or even Iran," Bennett said. "The main threat we have to face is not diplomatic stagnation, but stagnated thinking.” Ever the alphas, Netanyahu and Ya’alon mocked Bennett’s attack. The prime minister's cronies reportedly disparaged Bennett as an “internet commenter.” Ya’alon called him “childish” and implied that Bennett plagiarized his points of criticism from other cabinet members: Netanyahu and himself. But Bennett wasn’t the only one attacking the government from the right. Gideon Sa'ar, a former high-ranking Likud minister and potential Netanyahu rival, also used the INSS event to attack the government, accusing Netanyahu of “losing Jerusalem.” Earlier this week, right- wing coalition MKs rebelled threatened to boycott the vote on the NGO "transparency law" (which would impose new regulations on NGOs funded mainly by foreign governments) to protest the eviction of settler homes in Hebron. (The vote was ultimately postponed for unrelated reasons). It is true that infighting on the right is nothing new. Right-wing ministers like Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked have been accusing their own government of being too soft on terror for years, reflecting the right wing’s apparent uneasiness with its status as undisputed ruler.