Today’s Top Stories
1. The leadership council of FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, delayed a discussion on Israeli settlement soccer clubs ahead of its upcoming annual congress, saying, “it is premature for the FIFA Congress to take any decision.” Times of Israel and Haaretz coverage.
A senior official from Israel’s Foreign Ministry noted that despite the FIFA council’s decision, the Palestinians could still request during the Congress – on Wednesday and Thursday – that the member states vote to reject the position of the FIFA council and in favor of their proposal against the settlement teams.
The controversy surrounds six low-level league teams: Ariel, Givat Ze’ev, Jordan Valley, Kiryat Arba, Ma’aleh Adumim and Oranit.
2. Turkey still allows Hamas activity on its territory. Ynet explains:
The main activities of the organization in Turkey is coordinating terror cells in the West Bank and according to the defense establishment, the relationship with Hamas leadership in Gaza is administered directly by the Turkish government in Ankara . . . .
The reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey was supposed to make it more difficult for Hamas to operate in Turkish territory, but Monday’s verbal assault by Erdogan has demonstrated otherwise.
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3. It’s official: Foreign Ministry workers call strike aimed at disrupting Trump visit over wage dispute. The Times of Israel explains:
In a memo to all ministry employees in Israel and abroad, head of the workers union head Hanan Goder said diplomats should desist from participating in any preparations for Trump’s visit. . .
It’s not clear what effect the strike will have on preparations for the visit, but Goder said workers would be prohibited from processing paperwork, attending planning meetings, placing orders with vendors or any other activities related to the high-level trip.
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5. HR Prompts Yet Another Tel Aviv Capital Correction at The Guardian: How many times can one paper keep getting it wrong?
Israel and the Palestinians
• Hamas released the names of several of its new politburo members, which Asharq al-Awsat says “highlights an increase in the presence of figures from its military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades.” Doesn’t sound like any new warm and fuzzy moderates are going to run the terror group along the lines of its new warm and fuzzy “charter.”
The list comprises four senior members of Al-Qassam Brigades, known as the “Hawks”, including al-Sanwar, who is a Hamas leader in Gaza; al-Arouri, who is accused by Israel of executing attacks; Hamad, a Hamas former interior minister who is known for his fundamentalism; and Obeid, a military leader in the West Bank who was at one point jailed by Israel.
Well-informed sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the new political bureau also includes Rouhi Moushtaha, another leader of Al-Qassam Brigades, who is on the US terror list . . .
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, political writer Akram Attallah said that the election of military officials in the Movement’s political bureau was due to declining confidence in the political leaders.
• President Reuven Rivlin issued another invitation for the British royal family to visit Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, the invite was conveyed to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is currently visiting the Holy Land.
Deferring to the presence of British Ambassador David Quarrey, Welby said that he was sure that the ambassador had conveyed an invitation, but he added that the queen, who recently celebrated her 91st birthday, has cut back on overseas travel. Undeterred, Rivlin replied: “It’s only a fivehour flight. It’s not like going to Australia.”
Noemi Toledano, the president’s spokeswoman, later clarified that any member of the royal family would be welcome.
Earlier this week, The Sun reported that the UK Foreign Office nixed a royal visit to Israel.
• Border Police foiled an attempted bombing at a military court near Jenin today.
• Unable to secure permission to fly over a number of Arab countries, Air India is scrapping planned Tel Aviv-New Delhi flights. More on the story at the Hindu BusinessLine and Globes.
Multiple officials confirmed to BusinessLine that the launch of the direct service has been delayed as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others, have declined permission for the state-owned carrier to overfly their air space en route to Israel.
• The contentious Nationality Bill passed a preliminary Knesset reading, but still has more legislative hurdles to clear. Meanwhile, MK Avi Dichter — who drafted the legislation which would define Israel as a Jewish state and cement this status in the state’s Basic Laws — discussed the issue with the Times of Israel.
Around the World
• A Labour student leader who introduced Jeremy Corbyn at a party event quit over a series of anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic tweets, reports the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail.
• Law enforcement officials in Las Vegas are investigating two fires at a Chabad building as a hate crime. A suspect has already been arrested.
• London police arrested a man brandishing knives and a meat cleaver threatening Jews.
Commentary/Analysis
• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) is up in arms over the release of video footage showing hunger strike leader Marwan Barghouti snacking on the sly. Bassam Tawil unpacks why it matters:
Strikingly, the worst threats against Israeli media came from none other than the body representing hundreds of Palestinian journalists — the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Equally disturbing, the PJS is headed by Nasser Abu Bakr, a highly partisan political activist — and veteran journalist with the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A statement issued by Abu Bakr’s PJS, shortly after the Barghouti video was broadcast on Israeli television and radio stations, accused Israeli journalists of “collusion with the Israeli occupation authorities.”
The statement warned Palestinian, Arab and Western media outlets against dealing with Israeli journalists, whom it accused of “broadcasting poison” by exposing that Barghouti was eating while claiming to be on hunger strike . . .
Instead of reporting objectively about the controversy surrounding Barghouti’s “hunger strike” and the fact that the jailed Fatah leader was caught cheating, Abu Bakr and his PJS chose to wage a vicious campaign of incitement against Israeli media organizations and journalists for simply reporting the truth.
One can understand why Abu Bakr is so furious about the scandal surrounding Barghouti’s “hunger strike”: he belongs to the same Fatah faction whose members are purportedly fasting in Israeli prisons.
Related reading: When Palestinian Journalists Protest Normalization.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Gil Troy: How Trump should tour Jerusalem
– Nahum Barnea: Give Trump a chance
– Prof. Eyal Zisser: Erdogan’s uncontrollable urges
– Lyn Julius: Whom do you think you are kidding, Hamas?
– Clifford May: Hamas: Playing the world for a fool
– Avi Issacharoff: Video of Barghouti eating hasn’t taken a bite out of his popularity
– Michael Rubin: The end of Turkey’s Jews?
– Max Singer: The world didn’t agree to a nuclear-armed Iran, even in 10 years (click via Twitter)
– Dennis Ross: Qatar needs to stop funding Islamists
– Andrew Silow-Carroll: Jewish life, like college campuses, could use a little more free speech
• For a sense of what the critics are saying, see Richard Falk.
Featured image: CC0 Pexels; soccer CC0 Pixabay; Trump via The White House; Queen Elizabeth CC BY-NC-ND mrschnips; Nasser Abu Baker via Facebook/Maher Namoura; writer CC BY-NC Appalachian dreamer;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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