“The Knesset on Wednesday passed a bill to dissolve, setting the stage for the fourth round of national elections in two years as Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Blue and White party broke from the coalition and voted in favor of the measure. The bill passed with 61 MKs voting in favor and 54 against. Gantz’s support for the opposition bill will likely spell the end of his ill-fated power-sharing partnership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some six months after agreeing to join a unity government in order to deal with the coronavirus crisis. The measure must still go through committee and pass three more readings in the Knesset before new elections are called, likely for sometime in the spring or summer.”

Also See

• “Israeli Coalition Crisis Heralds Yet Another Election” (New York Times)
• “Israel may be headed for new elections — again” (Washington Post)
• “Israel’s Blue and White party plans vote to dissolve Knesset” (Al-Monitor)

“Senior officials from Israel’s left-wing Meretz party have rejected an initiative to merge with Arab parties ahead of a potential election, after a public opinion poll commissioned by the party showed the move could alienate voters…Meretz secretary-general Tomer Reznik also spoke out against the merge, saying “the significance of creating a Jewish-Arab political movement involves the connection of movements and organizations, not just the creation of a joint party.””

Also See

• “Left-wing Meretz said to reject becoming Jewish-Arab party” (The Times of Israel)

“Netanyahu wants to delay the 4th ballot in two years, the opposition wants to expedite it; the fight over timing is just beginning, and the pro-Netanyahu UTJ controls the clock.”

“In August 2019, people close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heard him utter a startling sentence. “There are two people I consider fit to lead Israel — Yossi Cohen and Ron Dermer,” he was quoted by unnamed associates as saying, referring to the head of the Mossad and to Israel’s ambassador to Washington, respectively…Netanyahu sees in Cohen not merely a protégé, but the daring strategist Israel will need to safely weather the coming crisis. His patronage is as much a statement about where Netanyahu believes the Middle East is headed as it is about whom he deems a worthy successor to himself.”

“Israel transferred over $1 billion in taxes and customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday after a six-month hiatus in which the Palestinians had severed ties with Israel over its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians resumed contacts with Israel last month following President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. election. Biden is opposed to annexation and has promised a more evenhanded approach to the conflict. The taxes are a key source of revenue for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It was forced to cut the salaries it pays to tens of thousands of civil servants, worsening an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Also See

• “Israel gives Palestinians tax funds, despite terrorist payments” (Jerusalem Post)
• “Israel releases over $1bn of withheld tax funds to Palestinians” (Al Jazeera)
• “Israel hands over $1 bln in Palestinian tax backlog in sign of warming ties” (Ynet)

“Over the last six years, 128 Palestinian minors were summoned for questioning under the pilot, according to data given by the Israel Defense Forces to Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual in response to freedom of information requests. By comparison, in 2019 alone, 235 Palestinian minors were arrested at home with no warning in the wee hours of the morning.”

“The Naveh Midbar Regional Council funded her rides to school for two years, adding her to a vehicle that drove another child from the same community to a kindergarten for visually-impaired children. But they stopped the funding a year ago, when Abu Afash was in the second grade, claiming they had asked the Education Ministry why the money was halted and discovered that the ministry feels she should attend a school that is closer, in the Segev Shalom area. However, Abu Afash was learning how to read Hebrew Braille at the Degania school, and she does not read Arabic, which is the language taught at the school in Segev Shalom where the ministry wants to place her.”

“The main provision of this law is very simple: A Palestinian who by chance was not present within Israel’s borders on November 29, 1947, or who was there but left by September 1, 1948 (in other words, during all the months of the war and the Nakba), will be considered “absentee” and can forget about all of his or her property. To put it more simply: Did we expel you? Did we kill you? Did you flee from the war? Great. All your property – is ours. That’s what the law says. And as everyone knows, we are law-abiding people. This useful principle of “absenteeism” applies only to Palestinians, of course. Jews are exempt from it. A Jew is never an “absentee.” Even if he was absent for 2,000 years.”

“Coronavirus lockdowns have made it difficult for the Zeina Cooperative Association to export its hand-crafted Christmas gifts from Gaza to Europe and to the Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. About 24 Palestinian Muslim women, many of them veiled, work at the facility, making miniature Christmas trees, red-and-white puppets and Santa Claus marionettes. But sales are down by half after a holiday boom a year ago, scuppering expansion plans and changing business strategy.”

“The PMA’s Spokesperson’s Office told The Media Line the fundamental reasons behind the findings were the limited and uncertain political and economic horizon. “In addition to that, the Palestinian economy suffers from a set of obstacles, mainly stemming from the Israeli occupation, and in particular the issue of the areas classified as C according to the Oslo agreement, which constitute more than 60% of the area of the West Bank, as Palestinian natural resources are concentrated there and they are a vital area for Palestinian investment, but they are subject to Israeli control in all respects, where Palestinians are not allowed to invest there,” the Spokesperson’s Office said.”

“Gaza’s red gold season is in full swing, with strawberries being picked and prepared for export and sale, however farmers are still waiting for the necessary approvals to allow the fruit to be sent to Europe. The fruits are undergoing laboratory tests to ensure quality and require Israeli approval for export.”

“A landmark agreement between Sudan and Israel to begin normalizing relations is at risk of unraveling just over a month after it was announced by President Trump, revealing a crack in Middle East peace accords that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have sought to cement as foreign policy legacies…Sudan reluctantly agreed to open relations with Israel — but only as part of a deal to be taken off a State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism — and wants Congress to approve legislation by year’s end that would protect it from terror-related lawsuits.”

Also See

• “Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report” (Middle East Eye)
• “Sudan puts Israel ties on hold until US grants immunity” (Jerusalem Post)
• “Israel-Sudan normalization at risk over US terror lawsuits law — report” (The Times of Israel)

“A 40-strong Bahraini delegation arrived in Israel Tuesday for two days of talks on boosting economic cooperation and tourism after the two countries normalized relations in September.”

Also See

• “Bahraini minister: We will make peace with Israel a success story” (Jerusalem Post)

“The United Arab Emirates values the warm peace that is emerging with Israel. It also expects to see progress in negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. “While US involvement remains and international processes continue, if both sides do not sit down and talk about this, then we will have a long period of regional uncertainty,” said Jamal Al-Musharakh, director of the UAE Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry’s Policy Planning Department in an interview.”

“Al-Monitor, however, learned from sources in the Fatah movement that President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed officials not to address the normalization ties between Arab countries and Israel in the media. “There is a decision not to talk about this in the media because the PA does not want in any way to send the wrong message to Saudi Arabia or lose its support. Riyadh is of major importance to us. But there is some news that it is best for us, as Palestinians, not to comment on,” a source in Fatah told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.”

“The United States should halt proposed weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Human Rights Watch said today. It should suspend all future sales until the UAE curtails unlawful airstrikes in Yemen and Libya, halts support and weapons transfers to abusive local forces, and credibly investigates previous alleged violations in both countries.”

“Senator Roy Blunt, a top Trump ally, predicts Congress will not block F-35 sale to Gulf state in a vote this month.”

“According to observers, Kushner, who reportedly arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, is likely attempting late-stage achievements in the administration’s Middle East policy, which has been defined by advancing Israeli interests and applying maximum pressure against Iran…Lawrence noted that that the team accompanying Kushner to the region – which reportedly includes Middle East envoys Avi Berkowitz and Brian Hook as well as Adam Boehler, chief executive of the US International Development Finance Corporation – have been working primarily on Israeli normalisation agreements and isolating Iran. They are not “people who’ve been working on the Gulf crisis”, Lawrence said.”

“Friedman, who spoke during a Zoom call with Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, said that the Trump administration’s Mideast peace team is committed — “whether inside office or outside of office” — to continue working “to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but not as a gating issue that prevents all other aspects of the region moving forward.””