EDITOR: Surprise, surprise…
For years now, the settlers are making the life of Palestinians utter hell. They murder people, terrorise them, attack little children on the way to school, stone Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere, block roads at will, burn mosques and desecrate them – the list goes on (though mosques are burnt now regularly all inside Israel… see item below). All this was more or less disregarded by the IDF and the legal system in Israel – after all, the criminals are Jewish, aren’t they? They only attack Arabs, so what the problem?
As Gideon Levy notes below, it all changed when they managed to take over an army base and hurt a high ranking officer. They have been attacking army units for some time, but again their actions, until now, were treated as ‘in the family’ – everyone knows the husband beats his wife, but it stays in the family.
Now, it seems this all different. The attacks of army units, were they carried out by Palestinians, would carry a prison sentence of few decades. The settlers until now got no punishment, not even a court invite. This is how racism operates. The law is directed at one group, disregarding the larger crimes of another group, because they are part of the ‘self’ the entity for the protection of which laws are enacted and enforced. There is no citizenship – there are only tribes – ours and theirs.
Israel, wake up and smell the coffee: Haaretz
Years of rioting against Palestinians, uprooting of trees, vandalism, arson, destruction, dispossession, theft, rocks and axes didn’t cause a ripple, but one rock to the head of a deputy brigade commander made all the difference.
By Gideon Levy
If I could, I’d send a modest bouquet of flowers as a gesture of thanks for the work of the rioters – the ones who infiltrated the Ephraim Brigade base in the West Bank last week. They achieved, at least for a moment, what others had failed to do: stir Israeli public opinion and maybe even the army and government against the West Bank settlers.
Good morning, Israel. You’ve woken up? Years of rioting against Palestinians, uprooting of trees, vandalism, arson, destruction, dispossession, theft, rocks and axes didn’t cause a ripple here. But one rock to the head of a deputy brigade commander, Lt. Col. Tzur Harpaz, made all the difference.
An all-out riot. Jewish terrorism. There are militias in the West Bank, settler-terrorists in a no-man’s-land. And all this due to a rock that drew a few drops of sacred Jewish blood.
Here they are again: arrogance and nationalist ideology. How is it possible that terrorism has arisen from the Chosen People? How could a few drops of blood from one person shock more than streams of other people’s blood? How did the rock that scratched Harpaz’s forehead reverberate immeasurably more than the teargas canister that ripped through the forehead of Palestinian Mustafa Tamimi, killed four days earlier by soldiers from the army Harpaz serves in?
No, the right wing’s hilltop youth haven’t endangered the State of Israel. They haven’t even distorted its image, as it’s now popular to proclaim. What do you want from them? They’ve been made accustomed to think that anything goes. Enough with the self-righteous clucking of tongues. Enough with the “condemnations” and expressions of bogus and belated shock. There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to the settlers. It’s not a “new level” of activity, and it doesn’t involve the crossing of “red lines.” The only line that has been crossed, perhaps, is the line of apathy.
We’ve been reporting for years about the settlers’ misdeeds, week after week. We’ve recounted how they have threatened Palestinians, hit their children on their way to school, thrown garbage at their mothers, turned dogs on elderly Palestinians, abducted shepherds, stolen livestock, embittered their lives day and night, hill and vale, invading and taking over. And it never touched a soul.
Now all of a sudden there is shock. Good morning, Israel. Why? What happened? You can’t chastise those young people after years of not only apathy toward their parents’ misdeeds but also the warm embrace of most of society and sweeping support from the IDF and every Israeli government. You can’t speak about them as brother-pioneers, give them huge budget allocations, promise they’ll be allowed to remain where they are forever, view them as a legitimate, not to say principled, segment of society, and then suddenly turn your back on them, condemning and attacking them. And all due to a rock.
You can’t change the rules that way, one fine day. And the rules were set long ago: It’s their land, the land of the settlers; they’re the masters of it and can do anything there. Only a distorted double standard would permit a change in the rules due to a minor injury to the Israel Defense Forces. Only in the name of a distorted double standard could you be shocked about the recent acts, which were by no means the most serious or cruel.
Of course Israel has the right (and duty ) to change the rules, but such a change must be revolutionary and be carried out across the settlement enterprise, halting it entirely and changing the illegal, unethical and intolerable reality that exists in our backyard. The government isn’t interested in such a change. The IDF isn’t either, and it’s doubtful most Israelis want such a change. But anything less than that is hollow lip service, nothing more than a small wave on the hull of this decades-long enterprise.
Until that happens, let’s leave them alone. There’s no point evacuating a chicken coop at the Mitzpeh Yitzhar outpost while the settlement of Efrat is lapping at the edge of Bethlehem. There’s no point waging war against the “illegal” outposts while the “legal” settlement of Ofra has been built on stolen land. And there’s no point issuing restraining orders to keep out a clutch of rioters while it never occurs to Israel to issue similar orders against all their brethren.
The violent demonstrators at the Ephraim Brigade base are the opposite of anarchists, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called them. They just want to preserve the existing order, just as most Israelis, led by the prime minister, do. Flowers for the rioters? On second thought, they haven’t done a thing.
Netanyahu’s crackdown on Jewish extremists unlikely to change West Bank status quo, IDF officials say: Haaretz
Prime minister approved measures including issuing administrative detention orders for Jewish extremists responsible for recent attacks on IDF soldiers, other targets.
IDF officials said Wednesday that there is only a small chance that the steps taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to crack down on Jewish extremists responsible for recent violent attacks on IDF soldiers and other targets would change law enforcement in the West Bank.
Netanyahu approved measures on Wednesday including issuing administrative detention orders for the Jewish extremists, as is usually done with Palestinians suspected of being a security risk.
Moreover, the prime minister approved trying the Jewish activists in military courts, which would effectively expedite their sentencing and make their punishment more severe.
Public opinion has had its effect. Netanyahu appears to have acted following the extensive media coverage of violence and inaction by the army and police.
To some extent, the public reaction is also linked to the atmosphere created by right-wing MKs’ legislative rampage over the past two months. Netanyahu also acted against the backdrop of what was perceived as a problem of governance. When soldiers are attacked and don’t respond, the government looks bad, too. Neither the prime minister nor the press acted when those same right-wingers threw stones at Palestinian cars and burned homes and vehicles.
But there were still major skeptics in the army and police on Wednesday over the effectiveness of the steps approved by an impressive margin. Officers said there is only a small chance the latest steps will fundamentally change the state of law enforcement in the territories.
A system established over decades in the West Bank and the mutual dependence between the settlers, the politicians and the security forces is too strong to be reversed in one fell swoop. The measures approved yesterday include steps in the right direction, but it appears they don’t amount to more than a band-aid.
It was announced that soldiers would be given arrest authority – this power has existed in practice for some time. Arrest and exclusion orders also existed in the past, albeit on a smaller scale, while the addition of personnel will be examined over time.
The truth is, the Israeli government missed plenty of chances to deal with this problem in the past – after the massacre at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in 1994, after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and amid acts by the Jewish terrorist organization that operated in the territories at the beginning of the last decade. Its members have never been prosecuted.
Even if these steps bear fruit, there are many other obstacles. Netanyahu, for example, approved the decision to have the rioters stand trial in military courts, but it’s by no means clear that these courts can handle the cases. It’s not clear whether they will be stricter than civilian courts, which have displayed a frightening leniency against ideologically motivated right-wingers.
The Israel Police’s West Bank district has been suffering from inadequate staffing, and it’s no secret that it can’t handle all its tasks. Meanwhile, the Shin Bet security service division in charge of investigating Jews frequently can’t meet the burden of proof required in court when it comes to Jewish defendants.
There is no choice but to ask Netanyahu and his cabinet colleagues why it only occurred to them to act now after “price tag” hooligans have run wild in the territories for nearly two years. It will also be hard for the army to switch gears regarding the right wing, because it has gotten used to viewing the Israeli citizen, any Israeli citizen, as an ally who has to be protected. It’s hard to explain that at a given moment, a small percentage of those citizens have become the enemy.
Significant results in the battle against extreme right-wing lawbreakers will only be achieved if the approach is changed from the top down. The police have chalked up successes in fighting organized crime. But crime families, unlike right-wing rioters, lack a support base in the Knesset.
It could be that a better comparison to Netanyahu’s steps on Wednesday is the Trajtenberg report on social issues that was issued after the summer of social protest. It involved public pressure, a lot of good intentions and a few cosmetic changes, but no major transformation as of yet.
The media’s agenda is liable to change soon. It’s hard to imagine that the latest measures, justified as they may be, will reverse a major trend that has been in place for many years.
Mosque set alight in suspected ‘price tag’ attack in Upper Galilee: Haaretz
Graffiti with the words ‘price tag’ found on wall of the mosque in northern Israel; Northern District Police Commander describe incident as ‘very serious.’
One of three mosques in the village of Tuba-Zangariyye in the Upper Galilee was set on fire overnight Sunday in a suspected “price tag” attack.
It is thought that the attackers arrived at the mosque at approximately 1.30 A.M. and set it alight.
The entire interior of the mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage. Holy books inside the mosque were burned.
Graffiti with the words “price tag” was found on the wall of the mosque.
Northern District Police Commander Major-General Roni Atia who was on the scene described the incident as “very serious in the context of ‘price tag’ attacks.” Atia has set up a special team to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Residents of the village also described the attack as “very serious.”
“It is obvious that Jewish extremists did this; despite the internal divisions we have, no one here would dare harm the mosque,” one of the residents said.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni commented on the incident, saying that if it was indeed a “price tag” act, then it must be condemned.
“Burning mosques contradicts Israel’s values as a Jewish state,” she said. “Such serious incidents obligate us to conduct a national self-examination.”
Hezbollah accuses ‘Zionist settlers’ of attack on Israel mosque: Haaretz
Lebanese militant group claim ‘Zionists expanding their attacks on Christian and Islamic shrines in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Hezbollah on Monday slammed the torching of a mosque in northern Israel and accused “Zionist settlers of attacking religious shrines.”
“The Zionists are expanding their attacks on Christian and Islamic shrines in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the Lebanese Shiite movement said in a statement.
Hezbollah also warned that the incident “is a danger that targets religious shrines.”
Vandals torched a mosque in northern Israel in a suspected revenge attack by right-wing extremists.
The mosque, located in the Bedouin village of Tuba-Zanghariyya in the northern Galilee region, sustained heavy damage in the overnight attack.
The assailants entered the village overnight, lit fires in the mosque, took copies of the Koran and burnt them outside and spray-painted Hebrew slogans on the walls, with the words “Price Tag” and “Revenge.”
EDITOR: From the horse’s mouth…
Peres, hypocrite number ONE in the middle East, long time supporter of crimes against Palestine and other Arab countries, as well as supporter of the settlements, most of which were emerging under his regime or while serving in governments he was a senior minister in, is speaking in his ‘voice of peace’ imitation, supposedly shocked by the deeds of those snakes he has nurtured when they were much smaller.
Peres: Galilee mosque arson shameful for the State of Israel: Haaretz
The President stresses the importance of the time in which mosque attack took place – the Ten Days of Atonement.
President Shimon Peres on Monday condemned an arson attack on a mosque in the Upper Galilee village of Tuba the night before, branding it an immoral and illegal act that contradicts Jewish values and is a source of shame for the State of Israel.
“This is a difficult day for the entire Israeli society, not only the Arab sector,” Peres said.
The president noted the importance of the time in which the attack took place, the Ten Days of Atonement between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
“This is a time for reflection, in which we should condemn such acts among us,” Peres said. “Acts that sabotage our relationship between us and our neighbors and between the different religions living in Israel.”
Peres warned that Israel would not allow extremists and lawbreakers to undermine the need to live together and with mutual respect.
“I am convinced that the police and security forces will apprehend the criminals and bring them to justice, but it is up to all of us to uphold the law and stand against those who break it,” Peres said.
The mosque in the Bedouin village of Tuba-Zangariyya was set on fire in a suspected “price tag” attack by settlers angry at Israeli policy. The entire interior of the mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage, and holy books inside the mosque were burned. Graffiti with the words “price tag” was found on the wall of the mosque.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed outrage over the arson, instructing the head of the Shin Bet security service to quickly locate those responsible, his office said in a statement.
“The prime minister was furious when he saw the pictures, and said that the incident contradicts the values of the State of Israel – such as freedom of religion and freedom of worship,” the statement said. “The pictures are horrifying and have no place in Israel,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
EDITOR: Teheran is here! But much worse, of course…
While Israel is gearing up to attack the Islamic Republic, the Jewish Republic is doing very well! The place of women in Israeli society was never so secure – behind, below or hidden altogether!
Ultra Orthodox terrorise the whole society, forcing women off public platforms, banning female voice from public appearances, and now banning women from the fronts of buses, like in good old Alabama, before the days of the Civil Rights marches. And this, remember, is what they do to Jewish women… Arab women is another matter altogether. Welcome to the Mediterranean Tehran! The difference is, women in Tehran can travel in the front of the bus…
Netanyahu: Exclusion of women in public spaces threatens fabric of Israeli society: Haaretz
After female passenger refuses to sit in back of bus, prime minister calls for protection of Israel’s public spaces in order to ‘maintain openness and safety for all citizens.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the forced removal of a female passenger from her bus seat by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man on a public bus during a cabinet meeting on Monday, stating that Israel “must protect its public space, and maintain its openness and safety for all citizens.”
Netanyahu openly denounced the exclusion of women from the public space, adding that the country must not allow fringe groups to break up “all that we have in common.”
Netanyahu’s condemnation came one day after Tanya Rosenblit was told by an ultra-Orthodox male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes.
When other passengers began to complain about the delay, the driver called the police. The policeman who arrived on the scene spoke with the man and then also asked the woman, Tanya Rosenblit, to move to the back of the bus. When she refused, the man who had been holding the door alighted and the bus continued on its way.
Rosenblit, who said she was dressed modestly, was traveling on Egged bus 451 to get to work in Jerusalem. She said a Haredi man, who boarded two stops after she did, refused to allow the driver to close the door after he saw Rosenblit. Rosenblit said the man called her a derogatory word for a non-Jewish woman, and told the driver it was his right to have her sit in the back and that he had paid to be able to do so.
At that point, Rosenblit said other passengers called on the driver to intervene because they were late. Some wanted to get off the bus and have their money refunded. At that point, Rosenblit said, the driver called the police.
The policeman who arrived on the scene took the man aside for “a pleasant conversation,” Rosenblit said, after which the policeman asked her if she would move to the back of the bus.
After Rosenblit refused, the man who had held the door got off and Rosenblit continued on her way. “The reason I am posting this story is not to declare that Orthodox Jews as pure evil … I want to point out that this is a social and educational problem,” Rosenblit wrote on her Facebook page.
Egged spokesman Ron Ratner condemned the incident, but said such incidents were increasing and that Egged’s directives clearly prohibit the driver from “permitting or creating any separation on the bus unless it is voluntary,” and instructing to call the police in such cases. Ratner advised Rosenblit to submit a complaint to Egged’s ombudsman so the incident could be scrutinized more closely.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) phoned Rosenblit in wake of the incident, praising her action for the sending a strong message that “respects Judaism, yet is not willing to accept the anti-democratic radicalization which excludes women.”
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger also condemned the incident, saying that there is no way to force ultra-Orthodox bus lines to remain segregated, and that if the ultra-Orthodox community wants segregation, it is entirely legitimate that they establish their own public transportation company.
Israeli woman refuses ultra-Orthodox dictate to move to back of bus: Haaretz
When the passenger refused to move to the designated back seats, even when police arrived, the bus continued on its way, despite her refusal.
By Revital Blumenfeld
A woman passenger on a public bus from Ashdod to Jerusalem Friday was told by an ultra-Orthodox male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes.
When other passengers began to complain about the delay, the driver called the police. The policeman who arrived on the scene spoke with the man and then also asked the woman, Tanya Rosenblit, to move to the back of the bus. When she refused, the man who had been holding the door alighted and the bus continued on its way.
Rosenblit, who said she was dressed modestly, was traveling on Egged bus 451 to get to work in Jerusalem. She said a Haredi man, who boarded two stops after she did, refused to allow the driver to close the door after he saw Rosenblit. Rosenblit said the man called her a derogatory word for a non-Jewish woman, and told the driver it was his right to have her sit in the back and that he had paid to be able to do so.
At that point, Rosenblit said other passengers called on the driver to intervene because they were late. Some wanted to get off the bus and have their money refunded. At that point, Rosenblit said, the driver called the police.
The policeman who arrived on the scene took the man aside for “a pleasant conversation,” Rosenblit said, after which the policeman asked her if she would move to the back of the bus.
After Rosenblit refused, the man who had held the door got off and Rosenblit continued on her way. “The reason I am posting this story is not to declare that Orthodox Jews as pure evil … I want to point out that this is a social and educational problem,” Rosenblit wrote on her Facebook page.
Egged spokesman Ron Ratner condemned the incident, but said such incidents were increasing and that Egged’s directives clearly prohibit the driver from “permitting or creating any separation on the bus unless it is voluntary,” and instructing to call the police in such cases. Ratner advised Rosenblit to submit a complaint to Egged’s ombudsman so the incident could be scrutinized more closely.
EDITOR: More surprises…
That is the way to treat whistle-blowers to arrest and charge them, then they change their tune…
IDF officer retracted allegations of torture upon facing criminal charges, Haaretz learns: Haaretz
Reserve army colonel in Unit 504 provided information about interrogation methods and torture allegations against an interrogator known as Captain George.
New revelations have come to light on the methods of Unit 504, the Intelligence Corps unit in charge of interrogating prisoners. The methods became public following claims of torture by Iraqi refugees questioned in Israel and by Mustafa Dirani – a captor of Israeli airman Ron Arad.
Arad went missing during a mission over Lebanon in 1986, while Dirani was affiliated with a Lebanese Shi’ite militia and was captured by Israel in 1994.
A reserve army colonel in Unit 504 who is only identified by the Hebrew letter Het provided information about the interrogation methods in general, and about torture allegations against an interrogator known as Captain George, who was at the center Dirani’s complaint.
On Thursday, an associate of Captain George denied all of Het’s allegations against him. The complainants were represented by attorney Zvi Rish.
Het alleged that he was present at an interrogation in which Captain George inserted a baton up a suspect’s rectum. After Het spoke with Rish, Het was apparently questioned under caution by the Israel Police, meaning the police were considering criminal charges against Het.
Captain George, who has never been questioned, now works as Arab affairs adviser to the head of the Jerusalem district police. George is expected to file a lawsuit against the army, which chose not to renew a contract with him due to the complaints against him.
Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan opened the investigation against Het following a complaint against Captain George in 2007.
The investigation was conducted that year and was closed in 2008 for several reasons. Het, who was surprised to learn that he had become a criminal suspect, retracted the most important allegation of his account. Prosecution was also barred for not having been pursued in time, and friction between Het and Captain George cast doubt on the reliability of the complaint.
An associate of Captain George told Haaretz on Thursday that allegations of improper interrogation methods against Dirani or Iraqi refugees would not be successful and were an effort by senior officers who were aware of the unit’s interrogation methods and approved them.
George, the source said, never used violent methods against interrogation subjects and is still employed by the state. The source added that Het retracted an accusation regarding the use of the baton.
In 1999, Het contacted Rish and allegedly told him that he was seriously ill and wished to discuss his unit’s interrogation methods to “clear his conscience.” Het also allegedly insisted that their conversation be taped in case efforts were underway to have him recant his account.
Het said Captain George played a role in every interrogation. “He would just come in, burst into the room, grab the suspect, shake him, get him onto the floor, punch him in the chest, yell and threaten,” Het said. Het added that George would enter with a baton, hit the suspect and threaten to insert it into his rectum if he “continued to lie or not talk.”
Het also recounted an interrogation in which George allegedly stripped a suspect naked and forced him to drink tea or coffee from an ashtray full of cigarette ashes and then forced shaving cream or toothpaste into the suspect’s mouth. “I simply walked out,” Het said.
Het said George dealt with almost every case involving an infiltrator into Israel from a neighboring country, including Iran, Iraq and Syria, but also in special circumstances such as the interrogation of Dirani. Het recalled an instance in which he inserted a baton into a suspect’s rectum and asked him to sit on the baton unless the suspect was willing to speak.
Het said George’s interrogation methods were never stopped because they extracted information. But, Het added, “it could be that that same simple [suspect] was clean and had no connection with what they were casting suspicions about.”
The Arab Spring turned Netanyahu into the national fearmonger: Haaretz
In the last year, Middle Eastern leaders have been ousted and denounced, have been slaughtered or have engaged in slaughter. The response of Israel’s premier has been to become more entrenched in his own views – and in passivity, as Tzipi Livni puts it.
By Yossi Verter
In February, just after the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement before the Knesset. The images from Tahrir Square enabled him to slide effortlessly into the role he likes best: that of the national fearmonger.
“We are in an unstable situation,” he told the parliament. “In a situation like this, we need to look around with open and realistic eyes. We remember what things were like here when there was no peace; how we fought on the banks of the Suez Canal, and in Jordan. Since the advent of peace we have enjoyed the fact that we have not needed to defend those borders, with all that this entails … Now we have to understand that the basis for every future agreement involves the entrenchment of Israel’s strength. Security arrangements are needed on the ground in the event that the agreements are violated or there is a regime change on the other side.”
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who spoke after the prime minister, could only present the other side of the coin: “I knew that when the prime minister would take the podium today,” she said in something of a resigned tone, “he would talk about uncertainty and instability and fear. The fear that will freeze every initiative, that will drive us into insularity and will prompt the public to seek a strong leadership.”
Livni went on to scold the prime minister: “You will not be able to go on using the uncertainty, and the true and legitimate fears of the country’s citizens, in order to continue entrenching not security, but your own status.”
Almost a year later, Middle Eastern leaders have been ousted and denounced, have been slaughtered or have engaged in slaughter. Netanyahu and Livni, though, have only become more sure of their opinions.
Two weeks ago, Livni was a guest of the annual Saban Forum in Washington, D.C., where the keynote speaker was U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Panetta devoted much of his remarks to the Arab Spring and to Israel’s growing isolation. While acknowledging that a campaign was afoot to augment that isolation, Panetta noted, “I have never known an Israeli government – or an Israeli, for that matter – to be passive about anything, let alone this troubling trend.” He recommended that Israel try to “mend fences” with countries that have a shared interest in regional stability: Egypt, Turkey, Jordan. “This is not impossible,” he said. “If gestures are rebuked, the world will see those rebukes for what they are.”
Livni couldn’t agree more. “Throughout its history, the Zionist movement always took the initiative in the face of difficult situations,” she said this week. “The concept of not doing anything because the situation is tough and uncertain – that is Netanyahu’s worldview. His passivity is hurtling us rapidly into a situation of no return. There is ‘no partner’ among the Palestinians, the events all around are creating uncertainty – so we don’t have to do anything. He is isolating Israel out of existence.
“Bibi is not working with the world. He is not deciding, not initiating. But this also serves him politically. If there are no decisions, there are no aftershocks. The coalition is stable and all’s well. Now the word is that he wants to move up the elections so that Israel will not get a thrashing from [U.S. President Barack] Obama in a second term. He is not worried about the thrashing Israel will get, only about being elected before it happens.”
The failure to make decisions, Livni added, is also creating the violent phenomenon of Jewish terrorism that is spreading here.
“Many people here talk arrogantly about how Israel is ‘the only democracy in the region,’ a ‘villa in the jungle,’ and all that,” she said. “They should take a close look at what’s been happening here lately. The neighbors are at least trying to achieve democracy, even if in the end Islamists seize positions of power and exploit the democratic process. Whereas we, as a democracy, are undergoing processes that are no less serious and disturbing. Where is the difference?”
Vanishing protest
A senior Likud figure who wishes to remain unnamed said this week in a private conversation that the so-called Arab Spring is the No. 1 reason for the disappearance of the social protest from the national agenda and for the rise of interest in the security issue – with the attendant strengthening of Likud and the right-wing bloc.
“The near-lynching of the embassy staff in Cairo; the victory of the Islamist parties in the parliamentary elections in Egypt; the evaporating peace with Egypt; the fact that Sinai is becoming a vast hornets’ nest of terrorism; … the frequent security alerts around Eilat; the reconciliation between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas; the diplomatic war being waged by the Palestinian Authority against us; the bloodbath in Syria; the verbal aggression of the Turks; and the open discourse about a regional war that is liable to break out here in the spring – all those developments are factors that stir fear in the average Israeli. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t want to take unnecessary risks. After all, he doesn’t believe the Palestinians anyway.
“I am not saying that the social-welfare issue will disappear completely in the [next] elections. It will have an effect, but I have no doubt that what will determine the outcome is what happens around us. And the Israelis do not see an Arab spring around us. They see an Islamic winter.
“I can imagine Likud’s major campaign clip in the next elections,” the senior figure continued. “It’s an image of that night in the Israeli embassy in Cairo. Of Mubarak in a cage. Tahrir. Massacres in Syria. Mahmoud Abbas and [Hamas chief Khaled] Meshal together. Gadhafi led to slaughter. The U.S. armed forces leaving Iraq. And the announcer asks: What kind of Israel do we want? A strong, entrenched, aggressive Israel? Or a conciliatory, forgiving and conceding Israel? It’s a short, sharp clip. Terrifying music. Every night, over and over.
“Let’s think: Why is the public moving to the right, according to all the polls? After all, there have hardly been any missiles in the past three years. There’s been very little terrorism. On the face of it, there are all the reasons for moderation. But the opposite is happening, because the problems in the region are a tremendous engine for extremism on the Israeli street. Likud will have an easy job in the elections. We will ask: Do you want us to hand over the space above Ben-Gurion airport? To whom, exactly?”
Playing with fire
A week ago, this column reported that the political universe was rife with rumors that Netanyahu intends to move up the Knesset elections to next May or June. This week, a Likud cabinet minister who is close to Netanyahu was heard telling people that election day will be Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Another minister related that Netanyahu’s staff is reexamining the possibility of passing legislation that will allow Israelis who are abroad for study or work to vote. The Prime Minister’s Bureau stated in response that this particular subject has not been examined recently. A senior Likud figure who is knowledgeable about such matters noted that the idea was examined last September, after Netanyahu returned from a visit to the United States, but has been shelved in the meantime.
A minister who asked the premier this week about his intentions with respect to moving up the elections heard a totally sweeping denial.
In any event, first of all, Netanyahu has to be elected leader in the Likud primary on January 31. In the meantime, he is trying to maintain contact with what’s going on in the field. On Wednesday, he adopted most of the recommendations made by the justice and public security ministers concerning the Jewish pogromists – apart from one: to declare them a terrorist organization. There is a limit, he declared.
Netanyahu’s goal in the primary is to win 75 percent of the votes, versus 25 percent for Moshe Feiglin. Officially declaring the lawbreakers from the hilltops to be terrorists could have generated a tailwind for the extreme-right Feiglin, leaving Netanyahu with 65 percent to his 35 percent. That’s why, together with the sharp measures the prime minister took against the hooligans in the territories, he also likened them to the left-wingers who demonstrate against the separation fence every week in Bil’in. But is Bil’in a military base? Did any of those demonstrators throw a brick at an Israel Defense Forces officer from zero range?
Netanyahu is playing with the height of the flames. He never goes all the way unless it’s to shut down a television station and news company that made his family and friends angry.
Amira Haas speaking at University of Toronto, Canada: Vimeo
Amira Hass: Israel & Palestine-Fear of the Future on Vimeo.
Second stage of Shalit swap underway; Palestinian prisoners transferred to crossing points: haaretz
Hundreds of Palestinians clash with IDF soldiers at Beitunia checkpoint in West Bank ahead of prisoner release; several injured after inhaling tear gas.
The second stage of an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap got underway Sunday evening, as 550 Palestinian prisoners slated to be released were taken in buses from a jail in central Israel to crossing points into Palestinian territory and Jordan.
The prisoners are scheduled to begin crossing over at 2000 GMT.
Modest preparations were underway in Ramallah in the central West Bank, where the vast majority of the prisoners were to be dropped off, and in Gaza, the home of 41 of the 550.
Two others, from Jordan, were to cross the border with Israel’s eastern neighbor via the Allenby Bridge over the River Jordan. Two others were from East Jerusalem.
Hours before the release got underway, hundreds of Palestinian clashed with Israeli soldiers at a central West Bank checkpoint. They were among the crowd gathered at Beitunia, southwest of Ramallah, anxiously awaiting their relatives who are being freed.
Tempers ran high and, when youths began pushing the nearby security fence and throwing rocks, soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades, witnesses said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said some of the protesters also threw firebombs.
Several were injured after inhaling tear gas.
Israel Prison Service (IPS) spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said that 55 of those to be freed Sunday were minors, aged between 14 and 17, having apparently been held for up to 18 months for throwing stones and firebombs.
The prisoners included six women, the IPS said.
In the first stage, carried out on October 18, Israel released 477 Palestinian militants, many serving multiple life sentences, in return for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held hostage for more than five years by the Islamist movement, which rules Gaza.
None of the prisoners scheduled to be released is serving a life term. Most are members of the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement.
Many were sentenced for attacks that caused no major casualties.
Under the Egyptian-mediated deal, Hamas hand-picked many of the names freed in the first stage, while Israel decided who to release in the second wave. Ahead of the exchange, all 550 prisoners had already been moved to two central facilities on Thursday, one near Tel Aviv and another at a military base outside Ramallah.
Because of the late hour of the release, no immediate mass celebrations were planned in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas had welcomed the first wave with a huge reception in a Gaza City park. However, the second wave includes no members of the Islamist
movement, residents said.
Families had driven to Ramallah from other cities across the West Bank, waiting anxiously for the arrival of their relatives.
Israel’s High Court of Justice late Saturday rejected petitions against the release, filed by relatives of Israelis killed in attacks by Palestinian militants, Israel Radio reported.
The court ruled that the issue had political and security ramifications and therefore was a government decision in which it would not intervene.
A military spokeswoman, asked by dpa, said 330 Palestinians had been arrested on security-related charges since October 18, but roughly as many had gone free.
Some 4,250 Palestinians will remain in Israeli prisons for security-related offences, the IPS said. That is down from almost 5,300 before the Shalit deal.