News Roundup for February 14, 2022

February 14, 2022
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J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.

Top News and Analysis

Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian in West Bank Clashes, AP
Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during clashes in the occupied West Bank late Sunday, hours after police fanned out in a tense east Jerusalem neighborhood trying to contain violence between ultranationalist Jewish activists and Palestinian residents. Early Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Akram Abu Salah, 17, died from a gunshot to his head. The clashes erupted after Israeli forces rolled into Silat al-Harithiya village near Jenin to destroy homes of two Palestinian detainees accused of opening fire at a car traveling near a West Bank settlement outpost and killing a settler in December.

Nuclear Talks ‘Not at a Dead End’, Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesman Says, Reuters
Talks to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal are not at a dead end but key outstanding issues require political decisions by the West, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. Iran has already taken its political decision by staying in the deal after Washington abandoned it in 2018, spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also told reporters in Tehran.

News

Far-right MK Faints in Clash With Cops After Planning All-nighter in Sheikh Jarrah, Times of Israel
Far-right Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir fainted during a clash with police officers Sunday night, after vowing to stay in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah through the night.

Israeli Inquiry Checking NSO Database Over Police Wiretap Allegations, Reuters
A high-level Israeli inquiry into alleged warrantless wiretaps by police is examining a database provided by NSO Group, the manufacturer of the powerful hacking tool Pegasus, the Justice Ministry said on Sunday.

Israel and Aid Groups Ready to Aid Ukrainian Jewish Community if War Comes, The Washington Post
Israeli officials and relief groups are readying plans to help Ukraine’s Jewish community in the event of an all-out war between Ukraine and Russia, according to individuals familiar with the process.

Sheikh Jarrah Clashes: ‘Israel Playing With Fire,’ Hamas Warns, Jerusalem Post
Palestinian factions warned that the violence would cause the situation to explode and called on Palestinians and Arabs to come to the neighborhood to clash with Jews. The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV reported that Hamas had told Egyptian mediators that the situation was a “dangerous escalation that cannot be tolerated,” saying that Israel is “playing with fire again.”

Israel Evacuates Diplomats’ Families From Ukraine as Russia Tensions Escalate, Axios
Israel on Friday said it has started to evacuate non-essential staff and the families of its diplomats from Kyiv and published a travel warning for Israelis traveling to Ukraine.

Israeli Leader to Make Historic Visit to Bahrain, Deepening New Ties, The New York Times
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday was to become the first Israeli leader to embark on an official visit to the small Gulf state of Bahrain, a historic trip that highlighted the strengthening ties between Israel and some Arab governments.

Opinion and Analysis

As Violence Rises in the West Bank, Settler Attacks Raise Alarm, The New York Times
Patrick Kingsley reports, “Settlers injured at least 170 Palestinians last year and killed five, U.N. monitors reported. During the same period, Palestinians injured at least 110 settlers and killed two, U.N. records show. The Israeli Army said that Palestinians had injured 137 Israeli civilians in the West Bank last year. But if the numbers are roughly comparable, the power dynamic is different. The settlers benefit from a two-tier legal system in which settlers who commit violence are rarely punished, while Palestinian suspects are frequently arrested and prosecuted by military courts. Of the 111 police investigations into settler attacks monitored by the Israeli rights group Yesh Din in the past five years, only three led to indictments. Settlers, unlike Palestinians, have the protection of the military and are rarely in danger of losing the land they live on. And it is the settler violence that is now attracting most alarm — not only among Palestinians, but also from the Israeli security establishment.”

Israel’s Airport Is ‘Hell’s Gate’ for Arabs, Haaretz
Sheren Falah Saab writes, “While participating earlier this week in a conference organized by French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseilles for countries along the Mediterranean, attended by young people from the Arab world and North Africa, I learned that there is no need to “explain”: Israel. The embarrassing and shameful security-related hysteria prevailing at Ben-Gurion Airport is more powerful than any dissemination of information.”