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. Haaretz describes how Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem are increasingly “Israelizing” themselves by applying for Israeli ID cards, taking Israeli matriculation exams, enrolling in Israel’s higher education system, requesting Israeli building permits, even volunteering for Israeli national service, and indicating a preference to remain under Israeli rule after a peace settlement.
Eid Abu Ramila, who teaches civics, explains, “If you go to school in Bethlehem or to Al-Quds University, the only place you’ll be able to find work after you graduate is at the PA, for NIS 2,000 ($525) a month. So everyone is now flocking to Israel.”
2. Israel allowed construction materials into Gaza for the first time in five years. The NY Times quoted a Hamas spokesman who didn’t sound concerned about boycotting Israeli business:
“Israel is aware now that it will lose a lot financially if it doesn’t sell its goods to the consumers in Gaza,” Mr. Nounou added.
3. President Shimon Peres raised a political ruckus with some pro-Abbas remarks. He later addressed the issue of engaging Hamas.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Worth reading: An officer at the IDF’s “UAV School” discussed with Fox News how drones minimized civilian casualties during the Gaza war:
A single Syrian missile strike on a bakery near Hama killed more than 60 innocent civilians last week, so how did Israel manage to fire more than 1,500 high powered missiles into densely-populated Gaza in November, with the total loss of 161 lives, of which 90 have been acknowledged by Hamas itself as active combatants?
The numbers speak for themselves, but very little credit has so far been given by foreign governments, NGOs, and the international media for the care taken by the Israeli military to avoid collateral damage during its recent vicious engagement with Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters.
See also the National Post, where Matt Gurney talked to an Iron Dome engineer about how the system “learned” during the war.
• Michael Oren denied media reports that he’s stepping down as Israel’s ambassador to the US.
• Is Israeli “racism” niggling away at Deborah Orr, now that Al Qaida has offered a new bounty?
• A CBC list of “12 news events we didn’t see coming” includes rockets targeting Tel Aviv. Nor could the Ceeb have foreseen this headline in today’s Times of Israel:
