Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Thursday, Jun. 23 '16, Sivan 17, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. ABBAS: ISRAEL IS COMMITTING MASS-MURDER
2. CONCERN IN GAZA REGION: PERIOD OF CALM MAY BE NEARING END
3. DO ISRAELIS PREFER TRUMP OR CLINTON?
4. 'BREXIT' REFERENDUM BEGINS, POLLS SUGGEST UK TO REMAIN IN EU
5. 72% BELIEVE GOVERNMENT FAILED AGAINST TERROR WAVE
6. MAN STABBED TO DEATH NEXT TO SYNAGOGUE
7. ABBAS REFUSES TO MEET RIVLIN
8. WATCH: JUSTICE MINISTER SHAKED BLESSES IN...ARABIC
1. ABBAS: ISRAEL IS COMMITTING MASS-MURDER
by David Rosenberg
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas railed against Israel during an address to the European Union parliament in Brussels on Thursday, slamming the Jewish state for committing "mass-murder".
The comments came hours after Abbas rebuffed efforts by EU President Martin Schultz to arrange a meeting between Abbas and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. While Rivlin accepted the offer, after having received authorization from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Abbas refused even a "brief meeting" with the Israeli leader.
Abbas said that the Palestinians were suffering mass-murder on a scale never seen before in history.
"Palestine and the Palestinian people are experience mass-murder of historic proportions and attacks the likes of which have never been seen or heard of ever by the international community."
"The Israeli settlers and army have a continuing tendency towards violence and extremism that's growing worse, both in what they do that is sanctioned by [Israeli] law and what is not sanctioned by [Israeli] law."
The Palestinian Authority leader called upon the European Union to take action against Israel, saying it had turned the PA into an "open-air prison".
"You are our friends, help us. Israel has turned our country into an open-air prison."
Abbas claimed these were "black days" for the Palestinians, saying that the "tyranny and racism of the occupation" had worsened. He also demanded the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state with permanent borders, and threatened to continue efforts to "liberate Palestine".
"Our right to self-determination is not up for negotiation," said Abbas.
"We are working to free ourselves from the occupation politically and diplomatically".
2. CONCERN IN GAZA REGION: PERIOD OF CALM MAY BE NEARING END
by Shai Landesman
Kibbutz Nahal Oz spokeswoman Yael Paz-Lahiany spoke on Arutz 7 about the new decision to sound the "Tzeva Adom" siren in cases of terrorists penetrating Israeli territory through tunnels, as well as rockets fired from the Gaza strip.
"Operation Protective Edge was the first time there was a fear of tunnel attacks here, though in the end there weren't any. Now that the siren will sound for this kind of attack, residents will be able to become alert and be responsive to further instructions."
Lehyani says the Kibbutz residents are constantly drilling for the event of a terrorist penetration into kibbutz territory. "Unfortunately we have to practice this a lot. Everyone knows the protocol, which includes going into the houses and everyone reporting their whereabouts. When the siren goes off our cellphones automatically connect to the kibbutz security headquarters, from which we receive instructions."
The spokeswoman expressed hope that the summer vacation will pass by safely. "We are making sure to run the Kibbutz summer vacation programs for the children completely normally. These include summer camps, communal swimming pools, and other diverse activities. The children are having a great time. We know our routine can be disrupted at any moment so it's very important to us to give the children everything now. Of course we do still hope and believe that the entire summer will be a quiet one."
3. DO ISRAELIS PREFER TRUMP OR CLINTON?
by David Rosenberg
With the Republican and Democratic national conventions just weeks away, the US presidential general election season has begun in earnest, with the first attack ads playing in battleground states across the country.
Now that both parties have effectively determined their respective candidates, what do Israelis think of the election? Who do they believe would be better for Israel, and who would they vote for if they had American citizenship?
According to a poll conducted by Midgam and publicized on Channel 2 Wednesday evening, Israelis have mixed feelings about both candidates, believing that Trump would generally be more receptive to Israel's needs – but that Clinton is more qualified to govern.
By a fairly wide margin, Israelis believe Trump would have a better relationship with incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu than would Clinton, with 43% saying Trump would get along better with the Israeli leader, versus 34% who said Clinton would have a better relationship.
Regarding who would be more likely to pressure Israel into accepting a final status agreement, the results were even more lopsided, with 57% of respondents saying Clinton was more likely to force Israel into an agreement, compared to 13% who said Trump was more likely to do so.
When asked which candidate, as a whole, would be better for Israel, Trump won, but only by a single point, 37% to 36%.
Despite the perception that Trump would be more amicable to Israel and its leadership, when asked whom they would vote for if they were able to participate in the election, Israelis favored the former Secretary of State by 7 points, 42% to 35%.
Overwhelmingly Israelis believe that Clinton is more suited to govern as president by a margin of 47% to 31%.
4. 'BREXIT' REFERENDUM BEGINS, POLLS SUGGEST UK TO REMAIN IN EU
by David Rosenberg
As Britons began voting Thursday morning on the historic referendum, polls show a strong decline in support for a "Brexit", or British exit from the European Union, and a marked shift towards 'remain'.
Since the announcement of the EU referendum in September, 2015, polls showed the 'remain' camp maintaining a small but consistent lead over those favoring Britain's departure from the 28-member union.
A week ahead of the vote, however, polls showed 'leave' taking a substantial lead over 'remain'.
That lead evaporated, however, following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox last Thursday.
Cox's killer, Thomas Mair, shot, then stabbed the MP while reportedly shouting "Britain first". Mair had a history of ties to the National Alliance, a white supremacist organization operating out of Virginia.
In the wake of Cox's murder, 'remain' has regained the lead. An average of polls showed 'remain' with a two point lead over 'leave', 47% to 45%. The most recent poll showed 'remain' with an absolute majority, 51% to 49%.
Another polling aggregate, maintained by NC Politics UK, showed 'remain' also leading by two points, 46% to 44%. While the two remain in a statistical dead heat, NC Politics UK analyst Matt Singh suggests that polls tend to underestimate support for 'remain, with undecided voters tending towards 'remain'.
NC Politics UK now places the likelihood of a Brexit at 26%, down for a peak of 42% last week.
The question has divided Britain's two largest parties, with UK Prime Minister David Cameron (Conservative) staunchly opposing the Brexit, while, a number of high-profile members, including former London Mayor Boris Johnson, have campaigned in favor of 'leave'.
Labour Party chairman Jeremy Corbyn recently astonished long-time allies, abandoning four decades of opposition to the UK's membership in the EU and coming out in favor of 'remain'. Many trade unionists oppose Britain's membership in the union, arguing that open-border policy within the EU and lack of trade restrictions harm British workers.
If the legally non-binding referendum passes on Thursday with a majority favoring 'leave', Britain's parliament will hold a vote on the issue.
A coalition of Liberal Democrats and pro-EU MPs from both the Conservatives and Labour could block the Brexit even if it were to win Thursday's referendum – though observers are quick to note that such a move could do considerable political damage to MPs who appear to be negating the will of the people.
Preliminary results of Thursday's historic vote will be available early Friday morning.
5. 72% BELIEVE GOVERNMENT FAILED AGAINST TERROR WAVE
by David Rosenberg
Israelis are fed up with the country's political leadership and would dramatically change the composition of the Knesset if elections were held today, says a new Teleseker TNS poll.
While roughly half of the public felt incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was best suited for the position ahead of the 2015 election, only 23% gave that response in this week's poll. Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid came in second with 15%, compared to 9% for former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon but only 5% for Zionist Union chairman Isaac Herzog. A full third of respondents did not know who was best suited for to be Prime Minister.
Israelis gave the government poor marks on both the economy and its handling of the recent terror wave. Only 19% said they were satisfied with the government's economic policy, while 78% said they were dissatisfied.
Respondents were only slightly more positive on the government's attempts to rein in terrorism, with 23% saying they were satisfied by the government's handling of terror, compared to 72% who were not.
If elections were held today, the study revealed, Israel's two largest parties would suffer significant losses.
The Likud, which won 30 seats in 2015, would drop to 22 seats. But Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union would suffer catastrophic losses, falling to just 9 seats from 24.
The primary beneficiary of the decline of Israel's major parties is Yesh Atid, which would surge to 20 mandates from the 11 it currently holds, exceeding the 19 it won in 2013.
The Jewish Home would rise from 8 to 13 seats, while Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu would grow from 6 mandates to 9.
A new centrist party headed by former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak would win 10 seats.
Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu party continues to decline, falling in this latest poll from 10 seats won in 2015 to just 6.
Shas would drop one seat, from 7 to 6. The other haredi party, United Torah Judaism, would rise by one, winning 7 seats.
Meretz and the Joint List party would both remain stable, with 5 and 13 seats respectively.
6. MAN STABBED TO DEATH NEXT TO SYNAGOGUE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Worshippers at a Kiryat Malachi synagogue were stunned Thursday morning to discover that a severely wounded man in the synagogue courtyard.
The 28-year old man had apparently been stabbed just outside of the synagogue during morning prayers.
The MDA and United Hatzalah were called to the synagogue, but the stabbing victim was soon declared dead on the scene.
Police tracked down the killer, a 43-year old man, who barricaded himself in a nearby apartment. Fire and Rescue services broke into the unit, and police arrested the man, who suffered light injuries during the incident.
Kiryat Malachi police said the killing appeared to have been the result of a scuffle between the two men. The victim, police said, appeared to have been homeless, and been living in on a compound near the synagogue. Police said the incident does not appear to be terror-related.
7. ABBAS REFUSES TO MEET RIVLIN
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas turned down offers to meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, rebuffing attempts by European Union leaders to bring the two together.
On Wednesday, EU President Martin Schultz urged the Abbas and Rivlin to meet, even briefly, while the two visited the European Parliament in Brussels.
While the Israeli President accepted the offer, on Thursday Abbas said he would not meet with Rivlin.
Both presidents are visiting the European Union capital to meet with the EU's Foreign Affairs Representative Federica Mogherini and address the EU parliament.
Rivlin spoke before the EU legislature on Wednesday, and is scheduled to meet with Mogherini on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu green-lighted Rivlin's meeting with Abbas, in keeping with his pledge in April to conduct talks with the Palestinian Authority leader "at any time".
Israeli leaders have long sought direct bilateral negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, however, has called upon Israel to accept pre-conditions to talks and has favored multi-party talks over one-on-one negotiations.
Abbas has endorsed the French intiative, which calls for a regional peace summit later this year. Earlier this month a preliminary meeting organized by France adopted a Joint Communique, which lays out the framework for high level negotiations aimed at achieving a final status agreement by year's end.
On Wednesday, Rivlin decried the French initiative, calling it a "flawed" proposal that consituted "negotiations for the sake of negotiations".
8. WATCH: JUSTICE MINISTER SHAKED BLESSES IN...ARABIC
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2016453]
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home party on Wednesday evening participated in a Ramadan fast-breaking event in the village of Ara in northern Israel.
During the event, Shaked stood up and blessed the participants in the Arabic language.
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