Today’s Top Stories
1. President Donald Trump’s concluded his visit to the Holy Land, meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance center, and giving a keynote address (see video or transcript) at the Israel Museum before a red carpet send-off at Ben Gurion Airport.
Shortly before this roundup was published, Air Force One departed for Rome, for the the European leg of the first foreign trip of Trump’s presidency.
The Times of Israel and Haaretz live-blogged it all. Details below.
Trump ends speech with no mention of embassy, Palestinian state, 2-State solution, or settlements. #trumpinisrael
— Herb Keinon (@HerbKeinon) May 23, 2017
2. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden suggested that information Trump divulged to Russian diplomats may have come from both Israeli and Jordanian intelligence.
Such a theory could explain why there are reports of anger about the leak emanating from both Israel and Jordan.
By the way, Trump raised eyebrows at the end of his joint press conference with Netanyahu, when — apparently unprompted — he blurted out to reporters, “I never mentioned the word ‘Israel’” to the Russians.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last night. Most recent updates reported 22 killed 22 and 59 injured with many of the victims being children making this Britain’s deadliest terror attack since the 7/7 London bombings of 2005.
British police say they know the identity of the bomber and have also made an arrest. Many of the victims were children. The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and CNN update what’s known so far.
4. HonestReporting’s 2017 mission kicked off yesterday. Find out more about next year’s HR mission honoring Israel’s 70th birthday.
Welcoming 45 people from all over the world 2 Jerusalem 4 #HRMission. Israeli sunset by the Old City walls. pic.twitter.com/tTlvLUsPcf
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 22, 2017
Israel and the Palestinians
• Iran was a big part of the president’s talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More at the Daily Telegraph and Wall St. Journal (click via Twitter).
Meanwhile, the Associated Press examines just what the Trump administration’s policy on the Islamic Republic is.
• During a joint press conference in Bethlehem, Trump told Abbas that “peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded.” Later at the Israel Museum, Netanyahu said:
“Abbas condemned the horrific attack in Manchester, but if the attacker had been Palestinian, the bomber’s family would have received a stipend from the Palestinian Authority – that’s law and that must change.”
• The White House put ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ on its website, but the reference disappeared later in the day. Avi Mayer tweeted this.
For those keeping track, after the @WhiteHouse referred to "Jerusalem, Israel" yesterday, we're back to just "Jerusalem." #POTUSinIsrael pic.twitter.com/H7aAgGzNGR
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) May 23, 2017
• The Washington Post expands on the significance of Trump’s direct flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. It’s not exactly the first:
Other high-level U.S. political flights have also been made from Saudi Arabia to Israel. In 1998, Vice President Al Gore flew from Israel to a Saudi air base near Jiddah during a trip to the region, while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew from Saudi Arabia to Israel in 2007. In neither case was the route taken noted widely by officials or reporters.
This time, Trump’s route has been loudly promoted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among those who praised Trump’s journey. “I hope one day an Israeli prime minister will be able to fly from Tel Aviv to Riyadh,” he wrote on Twitter.
• A Palestinian stabbed a Border Police officer in Netanya this morning. And yesterday, Israeli Border Police officers shot and killed a Palestinian trying to stab them in eastern Jerusalem yesterday afternoon.
• Details are scarce, but a rocket fired from the Sinai this morning landed in an undisclosed open area in southern Israel.
• The IDF confirmed that one of its aerial drones, a Skylark UAV, crashed in Southern Lebanon yesterday and is investigating:
There did not appear to be a risk that classified information could be retrieved from the device, the army said.
It was the fourth time this year that an Israel Defense Forces Skylark drone crashed. Earlier this month, a senior IDF official told The Times of Israel that the incidents were not the result of a shared problem, but were caused by a mix of human and technical error.
Commentary/Analysis
• Plenty of spilled ink and burnt pixels on the Trump Mideast Tour 2017 . . .
– Spengler: The Manchester Arena and the Western Wall
– Barak Ravid: In Israel, Trump makes the word ‘peace’ great again
– David Horovitz: Trump at the Western Wall, a carefully calibrated act of respect
– Yaakov Katz: Making history is a good start but not enough to make peace
– Prof. Eyal Zisser: Abbas’ moment of truth
– Moshe Dann: The two-state tango is over
– Raphael Ahren: Bereft of meat, Trump declarations leave Israel with much to chew on
– David Brinn: All pomp and no substance in Trump’s Israel visit
– Benny Avni: Trump & the promise (and pitfalls) of Mideast peace
– Rosie Gray: Trump goes after ‘the ultimate deal’
– Dr. Gabi Avital: Charting a new course
– Gregg Carlstrom: Stage one of Trump’s visit: Get Israeli and Palestinian leaders talking
– Dov Lipman: From one American to another: Tell it like it is, Mr. President
– Dr. Col. (res.) Moshe Elad: Bracing for the Trump years
– Daily Telegraph (staff-ed) Donald Trump is right to be sceptical of Iran’s capacity for reform
– Christian Science Monitor (staff-ed) Trump’s fresh approach to the Middle East
– New York Post (staff-ed): Trump’s inspiring Middle East firsts
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Eli Lake: Iranians re-elect a fake reformer in a fake election
– Meron Medzini: The international media and the Six-Day War
• Last but not least, Fisk’s being Fisk again.
Featured image: via Israel Government Press Office; Air Force One screen grab via Washington Post; speech screen grab from Channel 10;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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