Today’s Top Stories
1. Six years after the Mavi Marmara crisis, Israeli and Turkish Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Binali Yildirim announced that they reached an agreement in Rome to re-normalize ties. The agreement will be signed tomorrow and then go to the Israeli cabinet and Turkish parliament for confirmation. See Times of Israel and Hurriyet coverage, and Haaretz‘s good backgrounder.
Israel will pay $20 million to a fund to the families of Turks injured and killed during the raid. The two countries will exchange ambassadors. Ankara will not allow Hamas to plan terror attacks from Turkish soil, but will allow it to maintain a diplomatic presence. Both countries will also resume cooperation in defense and intelligence-sharing, and invest in various energy and defense projects.
And most notably, Turkey will step up its role in rebuilding Gaza, but aid to the Strip will be channeled through the Israeli port of Ashdod.
The first ship carrying over 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid from Turkey to Gaza, part of the deal between Turkey and Israel, will set out for Ashdod Port next Friday, Yildirim added.
Tweet of the day goes to Dan Williams:
Israel offered apologies/cash for Marmara casualties years ago. Odd to hear Turkey, whose bid to end Gaza blockade failed, claiming victory.
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) June 27, 2016
2. YNet: Interior Minister seeks to revoke citizenship, residency of two ISIS operatives.
Since the beginning of the current wave in terrorism in Israel in the fall of 2015, the rate has increased. Since the wave’s commencement, four persons have had their permanent residency permits revoked for having been involved in terrorist activities. A further eight persons are currently in similar proceedings. Two requests have been filed with courts to revoke citizenships. According to the Population and Immigration Authority, this is the first time that such proceedings have been employed against ISIS operatives.
Deri based his request on a professional assessment provided by the Shin Bet.
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3. It took the Water Authority long enough to speak out, but Israel blames the Palestinians for the West Bank water shortage. An authority spokesman told the Jerusalem Post:
The infrastructure is inadequate to meet the increasing demand, the Israeli Water Authority said, explaining that it is difficult to upgrade the infrastructure without convening the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee, that was established under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The Palestinian refusal to sit down with Israelis, means that the committee has not met for over five years.
On top of that, broken water pipes and Palestinian water theft have made the situation worse, a spokesman for the Water Authority said.
Reporter Josh Mitnick of the Los Angeles Times also picked up on the story, quoting Palestinians accusing PA municipalities of water mismanagement and hoarding, adding that Israeli settlements are also struggling with shortages
Qarawat Bani Hassan Mayor Aziz Assi said criticism of the municipality is pointed on social networks and there’s growing unrest among villagers. Water shortages last year led to street protests in Nablus and forced the resignation of the mayor.
Meanwhile, Haaretz reports the overall water shortage is the country’s worst in a century.
4. Israel-Hater Spews Anti-Semitic, Vicious Op-Ed: An anti-Semitic op/ed spews lies and half truths, but South Africa’s The Mail and Guardian published the false article completely unchallenged.
5. Playing the Jewish Card to Promote BDS: Rebecca Vilkomerson’s arguments for supporting BDS are so weak, her religion might be the only card she has left to play.
Israel and the Palestinians
• East Jerusalem dentists arrested for a bombing attack that wounded an IDF officer in May.
• Arab assailants attack police, visitors for second day on Temple Mount.
• Zionist perfidies know no boundaries.
Around the World
• JTA: Religion-related terrorism and harassment of Jews increasing worldwide, a Pew study finds.
• Brexit fallout: Israel sets up 24-hour situation room to monitor Brexit’s economic effects. The Finance Ministry suggested Brexit may be good for Israel from an economic point of view. But it also gives hope to the continent’s radical and Anti-Semitic parties, a leading EU rabbi warns.
And then there’s the Labour Party’s implosion. Of the (last I looked) 32 MPs who resigned from Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, two — Margaret Hodge and Jess Phillips– are getting nasty emails, many of which accuse them of being part of a Zionist plot. Hodge — who submitted the no-confidence motion against Corbyn — is also be a member of Labour Friends of Israel. I’m not clear of Phillips’ connection to the Zionist conspiracy, but in her resignation letter, Phillips wrote:
Turns out when you stand up for what you believe you are principled when I do it I am an opportunist, careerist, Blairite or even a Zionist plotter.
Dear people sending me emails saying I am part of a Zionist plot. Stop it.
— Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) June 26, 2016
• Presbyterians voted to continue pressure on Israel.
• Hmmmm. The Democratic Party platform will oppose BDS, according to the Jerusalem Post.
• The National Post reports that members of Canada’s Green Party are considering adding BDS to its list of policies and seeking to revoke JNF-Canada’s charitable status.
• South African organization pulls out of Hebrew U. conference following BDS pressure
Commentary/Analysis
• Eugene Kontorovich makes me go hmmmm.
Turkish request to ICC to stop "flotilla" case wld have no legal weight & little political. ICC has been asked to stop before to no avail
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) June 27, 2016
• Plenty of commentary on the Jerusalem-Ankara rapprochement.
– Amir Rapaport: Turkey will mediate next round of Israel-Hamas fighting
– Ariel Ben Solomon: The winner from the Israel-Turkey detente – Hamas
– Yoni Ben Menachem: Turkey and Hamas will still collaborate
– Zvi Barel: Israeli-Turkish reconciliation deal offers lifeline to both sides
– Dan Margalit: Mutually beneficial deal
– Gilad Sharon: Terms of surrender
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Robert Fulford: Modern-day blood libel on Palestinian TV
– Avi Issacharoff: Race to succeed Abbas stalled by politics, Fatah infighting
– Elliott Abrams: Note to the West: Abbas will never sign a peace deal
Featured image: CC BY Pete with additions by HonestReporting;
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