“Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis tells Kan the exact date is set to be determined in the next 24 hours as Israeli officials prepare to travel to the Gulf state accompanied by a U.S. delegation”

“Top aides to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a historic first flight from Tel Aviv to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to finalize a pact marking open relations between the Gulf power and Israel…Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien head the U.S. delegation. The Israeli team is led by O’Brien’s counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat. Officials will explore bilateral cooperation in areas such as commerce and tourism, and Israeli defense envoys are due to visit the UAE separately.” Also See – “First commercial flight from Israel to UAE follows historic deal” (Al-Monitor); “Israeli, U.S. Delegations Land in UAE After Historic Flight” (Haaretz); “Palestinians ‘pained’ by momentous Israeli-UAE flight” (The Times of Israel)

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting with the Trump administration officials, told the media in a statement that ‘For far too long Palestinians had veto on peace between Israel and the Arab world. If we have to wait for them we will wait forever.’ Kushner said at the press conference that ‘When [the Palestinians] are ready to make peace, they now have the opportunity to do so.’ He said of the Trump administration’s Middle East Plan that ‘The offer that’s been made to the Palestinians is a very gracious, realistic offer… that offer showed other people in the region that Israel was serious and that led to the breakthrough that we’ve had here today’.”

“United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan officially scrapped an economic boycott against Israel, allowing trade and financial agreements between the countries in another key step towards normal ties, the UAE’s state news agency reported on Saturday. The president issued a decree abolishing a boycott law as part of ‘the UAE’s efforts to expand diplomatic and commercial cooperation with Israel, leading to bilateral relations by stimulating economic growth and promoting technological innovation,’ the WAM news agency said.” Also See – “UAE Issues Decree Ending Israel Boycott After U.S-brokered Deal to Normalize Ties” (Haaretz)

“Several European foreign ministers are seeking to reinstate the annual high-profile meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council, after Israel suspended its plans to annex parts of the West Bank as part of its agreement to normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates announced two weeks ago. The proposal to renew the meetings, which stopped in 2013 due to political tensions over European policy concerning Israeli settlements and pressure from pro-Palestinian groups, was presented this week during Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi’s visit to Germany, where he participated in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers.”

“Normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could have significant impacts on the sensitive status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, a report by Israeli NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem has warned. The report challenged the wording in reference to Al-Aqsa in a joint statement by US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, on 13 August. The statement, which has been condemned by Palestinians across the political spectrum, says that “all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths”.”

…”the non-Bibi-ist right wasn’t that excited about having to give up annexation for normalization. The left, which was actually pleased about that part, wasn’t thrilled with the ramifications of normalization for relations with those Israel really should be negotiating with – the Palestinians. And instead of formulating a message that could have perhaps united larger groups around the move, Netanyahu, as usual, exploited the opportunity to attack the left aggressively and claim that he had shattered the fundamental argument of the peace camp – that peace with the Arab world is linked to making concessions to the Palestinians. That’s a claim that the yielding on annexation somewhat contradicts, although there’s a further discussion to be had on this more complex issue.”

“Ashkenazi may be the minister of foreign affairs, but Cohen is the uncontested architect of the regional peace initiative that was revealed this week. The prime minister consults with him on a regular basis and relies on him to get things done. Over the last few years, Cohen made numerous clandestine visits to the Gulf states and worked with Netanyahu on the tangle of relationships being woven together with pragmatic Arab states. It’s all part of a larger effort to forge an alliance against Iran, especially a nuclear Iran. Cohen accompanied Netanyahu on his historic visit to Oman in November 2018 and came under considerable criticism for it from the staff of the Foreign Ministry, who complained he was encroaching on their territory. Cohen is not the first Mossad chief to conduct secret missions on behalf of the prime minister. However, his clandestine and public diplomatic activity has been by far the farthest-reaching and most important. Cohen is also open about his ambition to get to the prime minister’s office after Netanyahu. He plans to do so from within the Likud as leader of the right.”

“The Emirati attempt to spin its appeasement as a strategic calculation to stop Israel’s illegal annexation of Palestinian lands and promote Middle East peace was laughed at in Palestine and throughout the region.”

“As few as they are, the damage claims against the state for harm to unarmed civilians by soldiers are also a kind of demonstration: one of hope that someone outside the military will move outside the box and listen – listen to the legitimacy and fairness of the demand to open that road and see that the Palestinians are human beings. But the hope ends in disappointment.”

“The security barrier between Israel and the West Bank constitutes one of the most prolonged and expensive projects Israel has ever carried out, and its adverse implications for Israel’s future borders are of profound significance. The massive crossing of the barrier in recent weeks by West Bank Palestinians offers an opportunity to open the eyes of the public to its real function as a dangerous political ruse in the guise of security.”

“The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday denounced the apparent inaction of a group of soldiers who were captured on video not responding as a Palestinian teenager threw rocks at them in the West Bank city of Hebron over the weekend…’On first glance and without seeing the entire video — the conduct that is seen in the video is not the conduct expected of IDF soldiers. IDF soldiers are required to prevent such incidents and to use force with discretion and in accordance with the rules of engagement,’ the IDF said in response to the footage.”

“Al Ayyam newspaper reports that Israel is willing to allow fuel into the coastal enclave and transfer $30 million in financial aid from Qatar if the terror group agrees to halt the incendiary balloon attacks, which cause dozens of fires daily”

“Despite the hardships, Palestinian leaders say they will not resume the cooperative programs because annexation is still a threat. Despite assurances from President Trump that the annexation plan is ‘off the table’ and insistence by the UAE that reviving annexation would kill the diplomatic deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told his right-wing supporters that he could still bring it back. Many analysts say the prime minister is only appeasing his base with those assertions, but Palestinian leaders say they take Netanyahu at his word. ‘He has not said he is giving it up; he says he is delaying it,’ said Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official and former chief negotiator.”

“The protesters are calling for Netanyahu’s resignation over his handling of the coronavirus crisis and the resultant economic crisis, as well as due to his corruption trial. While police put the number of protesters at 20,000, organizers told Israeli media that the number was more than 30,000, citing the number of bracelets handed out to protesters.” Also See – “At biggest anti-Netanyahu rally yet, police are restrained and Hasidim join in” (The Times of Israel)

“Residents of Mitzpeh Kramim view the decision, which has outraged Israel’s right wing, as a result of a clear political bias. “In the end the tables wll turn on the high court,” Leshem says. “They are living on another planet and isolated from the people. When we ask how you redress an injustice with another injustice, they tell us that the Palestinian is the native. But where are we in the picture? Are we robbers? Do we not deserve any justice?””

“A former employee of the Israeli private intel company Psy-Group, who was cited by the US Senate Intelligence Committee in a report this month as a planner of a covert influence pitch by the firm to help Donald Trump win the 2016 elections, simultaneously headed iVote Israel, a purportedly nonpartisan group that aims to boost absentee voting in the US elections from Israel.”

“Public records obtained by The Forward show that the Israeli government approved a grant of more than $100,000 to the Israel Allies Foundation in 2019. The IAF has not disclosed this or any previous Israeli grants to the United States government, in possible violation of laws requiring American political advocacy groups to disclose foreign-government contributions. It is one of 11 American groups that received Israeli government funds, according to the documents, which show that the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and a quasi-governmental organization it created have given at least $6.6 million to U.S. organizations since 2018. These grants, along with millions more that went to groups in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Israel itself, were to further the country’s public diplomacy efforts, particularly against BDS. The Israeli government’s gifts to pro-Israel American entities — including more than $1 million each to Christians United for Israel and Aish Hatorah’s Hasbara Fellowships — were publicly unknown until the last few weeks, after a politician not from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party took over the ministry and dropped its longstanding stance against releasing its public records.”