“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the United States for his failure to annex West Bank settlements during an interview Monday with Channel 20. ‘It was clear from the start that the application of sovereignty would be done only with agreement from the United States. Otherwise, I would have already done it a while ago,’ Netanyahu said. Similarly, ‘other prime ministers would also have done it,” he added. US President Donald “Trump is now busy with other things, and this [sovereignty] is not on the top of his mind,’ Netanyahu said. ‘“I hope that in the near future we will be able to advance recognition of the application of sovereignty as well as other diplomatic issues of importance to Israel’.”

“The Israeli cabinet and high-level security cabinet never discussed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank, Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed Monday. ‘I had discussions about it with the defense establishment, but according to the coalition agreement, which we remain committed to, it is not we who should bring it up for discussion in the [security] cabinet and the government. No such discussion has taken place so far,’ he told lawmakers during a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.”

“Seven months have elapsed, and the annexation hype has gone silent. Netanyahu is trying to absolve himself of responsibility for the collapse of his pledge to the right-wing electorate, a tale of greed, policy and the vagaries of Middle Eastern reality. The annexation plan was last seen on the final weekend of June, when presidential envoy for the Middle East Avi Berkowitz, who replaced Trump’s previous appointee Jason Greenblatt, visited Israel for talks with Netanyahu and other top leaders. Despite his promise that the administration would conduct follow-up discussions on annexation after his return to Washington, the issue has fizzled. ‘The only way this could happen before elections in Israel,’ a senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, ‘would be for someone to convince President Trump that annexation could boost his prospects for a November victory.’ The source went on to assess the chances of such a thing as very low. ‘Even evangelical voters are no longer what they once were. They are now focused on the corona crisis and the economic situation in the US more than on issues related to the Holy Land,’ he said.”

“Israel announced late Monday it would shut the Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip, in response to the resumption in recent days of cross-border attacks. After a lull of several months amid the outbreak of the coronavirus in the region, Palestinians in Gaza have resumed launching incendiary balloons across the border fence, leading Israelis living near the border to fear a new security flare-up. The Defense Ministry said that as of Tuesday morning, only ‘vital humanitarian aid” and fuel would be allowed through the Kerem Shalom crossing, “following recurring acts of terrorism… which violate Israel’s sovereignty’.”

Also see: “Israel closes crucial Gaza border crossing” (Middle East Eye); “Israel closes Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing, except for humanitarian aid” (Jerusalem Post)

“Israeli leaders threatened Gaza’s Hamas rulers that Israel would take “forceful” action if a rash of airborne arson attacks is not brought until control Tuesday, as incendiary balloons continued to fly following Israel’s shuttering of a key crossing into the Palestinian territory. Tensions on the Gaza border have intensified in recent days, with balloon-borne incendiary devices igniting a number of fires across southern Israel. The Hamas terror group, which rules the Strip, has also threatened to renew rocket fire and there have been a number of small fire exchanges. No injuries have been reported.”

“The High Court of Justice revoked a demolition order for the family home of a Palestinian charged with murdering Israeli soldier Amit Ben Ygal in the West Bank in May, drawing harsh criticism from several right-wing politicians. Supreme Court Justices Menachem Mazuz and George Karra granted the petition filed by Nizmi Abu Bakr’s family that challenged the order. The two justices wrote that the demolition of the family home would “involve serious damage to a number of basic rights, including property rights and human dignity, and a number of rights derived from human dignity.” Justice Yael Willner, in a minority opinion, said the demolition order should stand.”

“Siham’s account is one of a thousand such stories of Palestinians, adults and children alike, who were allowed to cross the separation barrier and go to beaches in Israel over the past week. Anyone coming to the beach over the weekend couldn’t miss the Palestinian families, especially in Jaffa but in Herzliya, Haifa and other beaches as well.”

“Members of Knesset are calling for the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs to be designated a terrorist organization by the Israeli government. The Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs holds a “central role” in disseminating the salaries to the families of terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons.”

“…due to a myriad of factors, including Covid-19 related closures and a halt in security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), patients from these areas who normally need an Israeli army-issued medical permit to access Jerusalem have been unable to reach the hospital. Izz al-Din Hussein, the head of the hospital and the department of internal medicine and cardiology told Middle East Eye that the hospital’s debts amount to some 160 million shekels ($47m).  About 60 million shekels ($18m) of these debts are owed to the hospital by the Palestinian health ministry, which covers patient referrals from the West Bank and Gaza. The hospital also owes some $20m to medical supply companies, and about $9m in taxes, Israeli health insurance and bank loans.”

“Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party announced Tuesday that they would not take part in Wednesday’s preliminary vote on a bill that would ban a criminal defendant from forming a government. The bill, brought forward by Kahol Lavan’s former political allies Yesh Atid, is aimed at preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from running for office in the next election. Netanyahu currently stands trial for suspected bribery, fraud and breach of trust.”

Also See: “Seeking to preserve gov’t, Blue and White to sit out vote to bar Netanyahu as PM” (The Times of Israel); “Blue & White to skip vote on bill that stops Netanyahu becoming PM again” (Ynet)

“President Reuven Rivlin said on Monday that a fourth cycle of election within less than two years is ‘inconceivable’ as Israel grapples with a political turmoil and an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Further elections are not possible. We cannot continue to deal with this as a logical possibility while we are counting our dead’.”

“After a day of mutual accusations and verbal clashes between legislators from Likud and Kahol Lavan, and with two weeks to go before the current deadline to pass the 2020 state budget, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to move forward toward elections. Over the weekend, Likud planned to attribute the cancellation of the weekly cabinet meeting to “a dispute with Kahol Lavan,” in an effort to paint Benny Gantz’s party as the one that is not addressing the coronavirus crisis properly. It’s too early to say whether Sunday’s announcement that Likud will support a bill extending the deadline to pass the 2020 budget will stabilize the situation.”

“New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, and Ohio Senator Rob Portman, a Republican, unveiled a bill Thursday that would require the State Department to publish an annual report on the mistreatment of Arab citizens who violate their county’s anti-normalization laws regarding Israel.  The measure — called the Strengthening Reporting of Actions Taken Against the Normalization of Relations with Israel Act of 2020 — follows a set of recommendations from the Arab Council for Regional Integration. The pan-Arab body, established in 2019, opposes Arab boycotts against Israel, arguing that such tactics hurt, rather than help, Arab interests.”

“Omar’s challenger, 47-year-old lawyer and mediator Antone Melton-Meaux, has harshly attacked Omar for her record on Israel during the congressional race. His stances have earned him the support of Israel lobby groups, which have raised over $500,000 for his candidacy, making up 20 percent of Melton-Meaux’s total campaign haul. With hawkish Israel advocates lining up behind Melton-Meaux and the Palestinian rights movement going all in to support Omar, the race for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District has turned into a proxy war over the battle to shape U.S. policy toward Israel.”

“Israeli officials, wealthy megadonors, and Zionist activists increasingly speak of an “online battle for Israel,” and this language of war is not merely a figure of speech.  As it has moved online, hasbara—the Hebrew term for Israeli propaganda pitched to foreign audiences, a key part of Zionist advocacy for decades—has come to include cyber initiatives that work closely in concert with Israel’s military. Perhaps the most ambitious of these initiatives is Act.IL, an app that has adapted IDF communications strategy into something like a massively multiplayer online game.”