Everything you need to know about today’s coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. Egypt’s moving to revoke the citizenship of 13,000 Gazans who obtained the status during Morsi’s regime.
2. The NY Times lays out the US approach to peacemaking as an Obama/Kerry good cop-bad cop routine towards Bibi. Jonathan Tobin and Richard Baehr react.
3. I’m pleased to see Time pick up on an important, under-reported story: the integration of Arab-Christians into Israeli society. It’s not just about the rising number of Christian-Arabs serving in the IDF — or Hanan Ashrawi’s angry fulminations:
“Enough of the lies regarding Christian identity and the nationality of the Christians in Israel,” Naddaf tells TIME. “We want to integrate into Israeli society. We want to contribute to the society we live in. And we want to represent ourselves. No one else will.”
4. Guardian Headline Screams Bias: Only Israel warrants a sensationalized headline and a photo that bears very little relevance to the non-story at hand.
Iranian Arms Intercepted
• Israel began the process of unloading 150 containers seized from the Klos-C. According to YNet, the M-302 rockets would have been able to evade Iron Dome.
• Who is the elite Iranian force behind the weapons transfer?
• The Times of Israel reports that the Klos-C weapons boat may have been meant to strengthen Islamic Jihad at the expense of Hamas:
The implications are far-reaching. Had the missiles on the Panama-flagged ship reached the Gaza Strip and fallen into the hands of the Islamic Jihad, the organization would have had new game-changing weaponry, not only against Israel, but also against Hamas . . .
Had it arrived, the terror cell could have launched rockets at Tel Aviv whenever it wish to, in effect drawing Israel and Hamas into a war on Iran’s command.
• A Wall St. Journal staff-ed (click via Google News) on what the affair says about the Rouhani government:
The seizure of the ship is a reminder that the aims and methods of Iranian foreign policy remain unchanged despite the alleged moderation of President Hasan Rouhani.
• Aaron David Miller on what this means for the international nuclear talks:
Finally, it should be obvious to the Obama administration by now that while the Iran may be sending signals that it’s ready for some kind of negotiated solution on the nuclear issue, that hardly means it has changed its spots on other issues. And that compartmentalizing the two is only going to get harder. It boggles the mind to believe that the administration would be in a position to lift comprehensive sanctions if Iran is still backing the murderous Assad and supplying Hamas with weapons that can target Israeli population centers.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Mordechai Kedar, Amos Harel, and Jonathan Tobin.
Israel and the Palestinians
• YNet: Avigdor Lieberman took some steam out of an EU/PA plan to embarrass Israel:
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Elmar Brok turned to Israeli Ambassador to the European Union David Walzer last week, and asked for a special European Parliament delegation to examine the prison conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Lieberman instructed the ambassador to respond to the request by saying that only if an Israeli delegation will be allowed to visit their prisoners, then the Europeans would be permitted to visit Israeli ones.
A source within the foreign minister’s office said the request is a scheme that was pre-coordinated with Palestinian sources, who seek to lead an anti-Israel campaign on the matter of Palestinian prisoners.
• An explosion termed as a “work accident” killed a Hamas commander (aptly named Ghoul). Nine other Hamasniks learning how (not) to produce explosives were injured.
• The legal battle over the Mavi Marmara continues. Turkish media updates:
The Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH) announced on Friday that it has appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be part of a lawsuit opened in 2013 into Israel’s 2010 raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Yoram Ettinger (Obama’s “if not now, when?”), Cal Thomas (Obama pressuring Israel), andCarol Giacomo (what the framework agreement might look like).
Rest O’ the Roundup
• The Vatican denied media reports that Pope Francis cancelled his Israel trip after employees of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs went on strike. And the Daily Telegraph reports that UK Prime Minister may be forced to cancel. The Telegraph adds:
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut a lonesome figure as he descended from his plane in LA airport with no one from the Israeli Consulate to greet him. His large entourage of staff was left stranded on the runway for some time due to lack of transport provided by the Israeli diplomats.
Cameron is scheduled to visit Israel next week, and the Pope in May.
• Emmanuel Navon slams Israel’s response to the Ukraine crisis.
• Hmmmmm.
Hezbollah families: Our sons are cannon fodder for Assad
• The Bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, describes Syrian Christians living in fear.
• Women lashed for breaking dress code in Syrian city run by Islamists.
• A panel of experts reviewing the BBC’s future recommended ditching the license fee and shifting to a subscription model by 2020. According to the Times of London:
If introduced, it would be the greatest change to the BBC since its creation in 1922.
(Image of rosary via Flickr/Brian Jeffrey Beggerly, Navy YouTube/idfnadesk, Pope via YouTube/The Telegraph)
For more, see Thursday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
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