Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to release at least 200 million shekels ($54 million) to Arab towns after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's decision to withhold them drew accusations of racism.

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Netanyahu said the money would be transferred after a review but gave no details on what that would entail or how long it would take. His spokesperson declined further comment.

"Israel's Arab citizens deserve what all citizens do and I'm committed to this. I demand this of all government ministries and it will be carried out following an evaluation to ensure that funds are transferred for their designated purpose – Israel's Arab citizens," Netanyahu said in a statement.

At the same time, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich doubled down on the fund freeze at a press briefing.

Echoing his earlier announcement, Smotrich, a member of Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, told reporters on Wednesday that he was withholding budget funds marked for Arab local councils out of fear that the money would end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists.

Arab community leaders said the minister was guided by racism.

"The finance minister is continuing his campaign of incitement against Arab society and its elected leaders," the National Committee of Arab Local Councils said.

Arab citizens make up about a fifth of Israel's population.

The funding, earmarked for basic services and development in 67 Arab local councils, is an effort to correct years of insufficient budget allocations and to narrow the gaps between Jewish Israeli and Palestinian communities,  Ameer Bisharat, CEO of the National Committee of Arab Local Councils in Israel, said.

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A new survey conducted among young Israelis shows that 42% believe their generation is "unlucky" and that their future is less bright than their parents. The survey also shows that 52@ believe there is discrimination in Israel based on ethnicity and place of residence. Another statistic shows that 54% say they would emigrate if they could, while 62% feel alone in dealing with their future. 

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The survey, conducted by ERI and carried out by the Rashi Foundation and Gandyr Foundation using a representative sample of Israelis between ages 18-34, tried to gauge sentiment among young Israelis amid what is considered to be a period of heightened political polarization over the proposed judicial reform. 

Video: Israelis protest judicial reform (Credit: Barak Brinker)

The report asked them about their approach to various life decisions, what motivates them, and their overall views on various issues as well as the trust they have in the state institutions and their degree of social involvement. 

The most troubling issue involves the erosion in the sense of belonging to the state in recent months: While the 2022 Democracy Index showed that 66% of Israelis between 18-24 (as well as 65% of those between 25-44) would prefer to stay in Israel even if they had the opportunity to move to a different country, in the new survey this figure stood only at 54%. 

Among Haredim, 91% say they would prefer to stay in Israel, while among non-Haredi Jews, that figure drops to 44%. Among Israeli Arabs, that figure stands at 32%. 

When asked to say what their three overarching objectives are among 12 that were presented to them, some 47% said "economic well-being and a high lifestyle", some 45% said chose "building a family" and 40% said "economic security that will grant me livelihood and enough money for old age." Only 5.8% chose "working toward political and social change." 

Some 42% of young Israelis believe they are part of an "unlucky" generation and think their lives will not be as good as their parents' future was. Among non-Haredi Jews, 47% say their generation is unlucky, with only 33% saying they believe their future is brighter than their parents. Among young Arab respondents, some 34% said they are part of an unlucky generation, but 52% said their future is brighter than their parents'. 

Some 52% of Israelis believe that their chances of realizing their professional goals are determined firstly by their place of residence, their ethnic background and their family's financial means. Only 48% say that their personal aptitude, knowledge and skills are the most important. 

Some 62% said that the state has not provided them with a safety net and has left them to their own devices in pursuing their future goals. This stood at 69% for women, 55% of men, 49% of Arabs, and 43% of Haredim. Almost half of respondents said they felt they could not trust the state to give them what they need to meet the challenges of the future, and women and non-Haredi Jews comprise more than half of this group. 

According to Rashi Foundation, the "results of the survey show that the disparity between the haves and have-nots has only increased and that if we are to grant a real equal opportunity to everyone, we must have widespread engagement to effect real change when it comes to trust in institutions and we must bolster infrastructure and incentivize various remedies, such as professional training for the job market and more." 

According to The Gandyr Foundation, the survey shows that "most young Israelis think they are alone in facing the big challenges in the greater complex reality; more than 60% of them feel the state does not provide them with a safety net and that they have to take care of themselves by themselves. The study is a wake-up call for all those who engage in youth outreach." 

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The government authorized on Sunday a national guard sought by far-right security chief Itamar Ben-Gvir to focus on Arab unrest, but held off on giving him direct command after political rivals voiced concern the force could become a sectarian "militia."

The previous government began setting up an auxiliary police force to tackle internal violence following pro-Palestinian protests in mixed Jewish-Arab areas during the Gaza war of May 2021. That government fell before the new force was finalized.

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Having recanted some of his views, he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition with an expanded law-and-order portfolio that he pledged would include a beefed-up national guard for use mainly in crime- and rioting-hit Arab communities.

"It will deal with this exclusively. The police does not deal exclusively with this. It's busy with a thousand and one things," he told Army Radio.

The initiative was jump-started last week when Netanyahu agreed to bring Ben-Gvir's national guard for cabinet approval after the security minister backed his pause of a judicial overhaul proposal that had triggered nationwide street protests.

But having voted in favor on Sunday, the cabinet said in a statement that the question of whom the national guard would be subordinate to remained open. It appointed a multi-agency panel to submit recommendations on this and other issues in 90 days.

That appeared to be in response to criticism by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that the cabinet decision was made without first establishing the parameters of the national guard.

Israel's police chief, Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai, has expressed misgivings that the national guard, if not under his own force's control, "could prove most costly and even harm the security of the citizenry," according to the Ynet news site.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid last week scorned the proposed national guard as "a private militia for a dangerous Tik-Tok clown" – a reference to Ben-Gvir's volubility on social media.

"Why does the State of Israel - which has an army, police, military intelligence, the Shin Bet, Mossad, National Security Council, Prisons Service, riot police, a SWAT team – need another national guard?" tweeted Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh.

Ben-Gvir said he wants control of the national guard because, in his view, it had been neglected by police chiefs. But he told Army Radio he was willing to consider letting them stay in charge "if they're serious and really want it."

The national guard will take months to get off the ground, he said, with an initial intake of 1,850 personnel that could include seconded or reservist police officers and volunteers, from both Arab and Jewish sectors.

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A star-studded list of over 200 Hollywood notables signed a letter in support of the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival (TLVFest), opposing a cultural boycott of the state.

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The letter was published by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace.

Neil Patrick Harris, Mayim Bialik, Mila Kunis, Zachary Quinto, Dame Helen Mirren and Lance Bass are among the many celebrities who signed their names to the letter.

The open letter came in response to attempts by anti-Israel activists to boycott the film festival that celebrates international voices from the LGBTQ+ community, including the Middle East. TLVFest says it represents the epitome of coexistence and regularly features Palestinian films, including two this year.

"In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories and building bridges of compassion and understanding," the letter said.

The letter's signatories said they believe strongly in the power of film to bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, and affect positive societal change. They also called on their friends and colleagues to join in expressing support for a successful TLVFest 2021.

"We stand united with all the participating filmmakers against the divisive rhetoric espoused by boycott activists who seek to misinform, bully and intimidate artists into removing their films from the festival or shame them for participating in the festival," the letter continued.

"Anti-Israel boycott activists intentionally use inflammatory language and make provocative statements to try and bully filmmakers into backing out. Their messages intentionally involve an element of dishonesty and misinformation that only furthers hostility and dampens hope for peace, which all of us so urgently desire," stated Creative Community for Director Peace Ari Ingel.

Ingel added that "support of the boycott movement is also counterproductive and instead of amplifying the voices of coexistence trying to effect real change on the ground, those who support the calls for a boycott are only creating more hostility and division."

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TLVFest 2021 is scheduled to start on November 11 and will run until November 20.

The event will be held at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Other signatories include: Emmanuelle Chriqui (actress); Aaron Bay-Schuck (CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Record); Jeremy Piven (actor, comedian); Marty Adelstein (CEO Tomorrow Studios); Jonathan Tucker (actor); Billy Porter (actor); Gene Simmons (artist, KISS); Greg Berlanti (producer, director); Haim Saban (Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group); Robbie Rogers (athlete); Dana Goldberg (Chief Creative Officer of Skydance); Simon Callow (actor); Tracy Ann Oberman (actress); David Burtka (actor); John Benjamin Hickey (actor); Rick Rosen (Co-Founder of Endeavor); Ben Silverman (Chairman & Co-CEO, Propagate Content); Melissa Rivers (actress, TV Host); Paul Feig (actor/director); Michael Rotenberg (Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment); Eric Balfour (actor); Rachel Riley (TV Host); Richard Benjamin (actor/director); Diane Warren (songwriter); and Sherry Lansing (former CEO of Paramount Pictures) among many others.

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If the Palestinians living in the Jewish homes in the Shimon HaTzadik/Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem weren't facing political pressure, at least some of them might be willing to accept the generous compensation package judges from the High Court of Justice presented to them last week. 

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After two previous legal processes ended in rulings that they had to leave the homes, the High Court last week proposed that the Ja'uni, al-Kurd, Skafi and Abu Hasna families (who appealed the previous rulings) recognize that the compound belonged to Jews, in exchange for being awarded protected residency status in the Jewish area of Shimon HaTzadik that would apply to themselves, their children, and their grandchildren. Moreover, they would have to pay only a symbolic "rent" of 1,500 shekels ($465) per year. 

The three justices who presided, Yitzhak Amit, Dafna Erez-Barak, and Noam Solberg, did everything they could to safely dismantle the land mine that had landed in their laps. The discussion of the case took place during riots and attacks on Jewish homes in Shimon HaTzadik, and the events that followed – rocket attacks on Israel, Operation Guardian of the Walls, and rioting in mixed Jewish-Arab cities -- and it appeared as if the judges were going out of their way to avoid making a decision that could force Arab families to be evicted from accommodations where they have lived for decades, even if they weren't the owners. 

But the four families who petitioned the High Court of Justice haven't been acting solely on their own behalf for some time. They have become a leading symbol of the Palestinian narrative about the battle for Jerusalem, cultural heroes in the story that puts both sides back where they were in 1948. From this perspective, Sheikh Jarrah, like Palestine as a whole, is forever the property of the Muslim Waqf and must be liberated. But from the Jewish perspective, this is where the grave of High Priest Simeon the Just– which was legally purchased from Arab owners 145 years ago – lies, and the place from which Jews were expelled by bloody rioting before the state was founded. 

Last week, the judges tried, in vain, to gloss over this aspect of the dispute, but found it difficult. The Palestinian side repeatedly rejected their proposed compromise. 

Behind the scenes of the High Court's show of mediation, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement are pressuring the Arab residents of the compound not to accept any compromise that includes recognizing the Jewish ownership of the 17 dunams (4.2 acres) surrounding the grave of Shimon HaTzadik. On the Jewish side, the Nahalat Shimon International company, which in 2007 purchased the land from the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesset Israel Committee (who bought it in 1876), is inclined to look favorably on the compromise and supposedly has good reason to do so. According to the judges' proposal, the families' "protected residency" status would last for three generations, but if and when the Jewish owners receive a building permit, they will apparently be able to evict the people living there, meaning the compromise won't hold water. 

To offer the Palestinians a way out of the corner into which they backed themselves, and let the families keep living in the compound for at least a few more years, last week Israeli diplomats in Washington enlisted their US counterparts to push the Palestinians to adopt the High Court judges' compromise. 

The Foreign Ministry took this step after the US State Department made it clear to Israel that the US opposed evicting the Arab families from the disputed compound, even though it is owned by Jews and courts have ruled to that effect, because the residents are families who have lived there for decades. Israel at first informed the US that the matter was solely in the hands of the court, but the Americans continued to press. 

In response, Israel presented the High Court judges' proposal for a compromise as the lesser evil and a fair offer that could calm the neighborhood. Israel also hinted that there was a good chance that the Jewish side in this so-called "real estate" dispute would accept the deal, and therefore pressure should be applied to the Palestinians by removing the threat from the PA and Hamas, allowing them to make a decision freely. 

There's not much chance this joint Israeli-American move will succeed, but for now it's the only game in town, or more precisely, this small and volatile corner of Jerusalem that lies on the way to Mount Scopus. 

Jordan is involved, as well. The Hashemite Kingdom sent the Palestinians in Jerusalem documents supposedly showing that prior to the 1967 Six-Day War, a process had begun to transfer ownership to the Arab residents, that the residents had been housed in the Jewish-owned homes by Jordan and UNRWA after the Jews fled from them in the 1948 War of Independence. The Jordanian documents were submitted to the High Court of Justice and it's not clear whether or not they will affect the judges' final decision. The people from Nahalat Shimon International say that the Jordanians' claim is fictitious and there is no document that connects the petitioners to the property. 

Either way, Israel and the US are trying to bring Jordan into the affair, hoping that Amman will pressure the Palestinians to accept the compromise. Meanwhile, the whole matter appears to be at an impasse, but the Biden administration isn't giving up. Washington is very active in the Sheikh Jarrah dispute, trying to stop Jewish settlement there, just like it is trying to stop other Jewish settlement activity in Jerusalem. 

The US administration has informed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz that it opposes not only evicting the Arab families living in Shimon HaTzadik, but also the construction of another neighborhood on Har Homa, construction in E1 between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem, construction in Atarot, and the implementation of an already approved plan to build a new Jewish neighborhood on Givat Hamatos. President Joe Biden spoke with Bennett about Har Homa and mentioned the US objection to similar initiatives, which he said he saw as "establishing facts on the ground that could torpedo any future peace deal." 

We don't know how Bennett responded, but one thing is clear – just like under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel still isn't building the final stage of the Har Homa neighborhood, or in Atarot, or in E1 or Givat Hamatos, and is not evacuating any more Arab families from Shimon HaTzadik, which is already home to 22 Jewish families. 

But now, the diplomatic dispute has been transferred to the courtroom. In one recent discussion, Erez-Barak almost begged the representatives of the Arab families not to turn the legal discussion into a "history lesson." 

Justice Amit suggested the families adopt what he called an approach of "constructive diplomacy." 

"We will write," he said, "That the petitioners declare that they are the protected residents and that the defendant [Nahalat Shimon] is the registered owner, and thus we will solve the problem. That will give us a few more good years. By that time, either peace will break out, or an agreement will be reached about the land," he offered. 

"People need to keep living there. Forget about declarations. We are looking for a practical solution," he continued. 

But thus far, the Palestinians are refusing. Last week, they were supposed to submit to the court a list of the names of the residents of the compound and their legal statuses. They might ask for another hearing about the compromise, and try to improve it. 

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The Palestinians see the battle for the Sheikh Jarrah compound as not only about the specific properties, but against the continuity Israel wants to create between west Jerusalem and Mount Scopus, which was cut off from Israel for 19 years until it was liberated in 1967. That was when the Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus resumed operations. 

This continuity, as well as the nearby grave of Shimon HaTzadik around which a small Jewish neighborhood was established that existed until the War of Independence – and the adjacent Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah – are hardly at the far edge of east Jerusalem. This is a populated area that straddles the seam line in the city, and are located near the national headquarters of the Israel Police, several hotels, a large Clalit Health Services community clinic, and 3,345 dunams (826 acres) of land that the government confiscated from local Jews and Arabs after the Six Day War. 

For years, Israeli city planners and Jerusalem city officials saw this area as a vital part of the urban continuity that connected the western half of the city to Mount Scopus. This swathe includes Ramat Eshkol, Sanhedria, French Hill, and Maalot Dafna. Tens of thousands of Israelis currently live there. The Palestinians, on the other hand, who never stop talking about the eastern half of the city as their future capital, want to strike a blow to that continuity. The Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah have become part of these "war games," and just like the Jews vow that "Shimon HaTzadik will not all again," they swear that "Sheikh Jarrah will not fall again." 

Until 1929, Jews and Arabs living in the area enjoyed tolerably good relations. Then the 1929 riots broke out, and Muslims burst out of Damascus Gate and attacked the homes in the small Jewish neighborhoods across the street from it, not far from Shimon HaTzadik – in particular, the Nissan Beck home. They murdered 19 Jews, including the mother of then-infant Shmuel Tzefania, who was found next to his mother's body. Years later, Tzefania would lead the renewed settlement in Shimon HaTzadik. He died a few years ago. 

The Arabs tried to force the Jews out of Shimon HaTzadik itself, first in 1929 and again in the riots of 1936. Just before the state was established, they succeeded. The British forced the Jews to leave Shimon HaTzadik after Arab rioters murdered three residents. A month after that eviction, an Arab mob slaughtered a group of 78 doctors and nurses who were on their way to the besieged Mount Scopus hospital. The Hadassah Convoy massacre took place near the abandoned Jewish neighborhood, not far from the home of Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, who would become Hitler's partner in the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people. 

Unfortunately for the High Court judges, the discussions in their air-conditioned courtroom are not only legal. Even if the two historical narratives, one Jewish and one Palestinian, serve as set dressing – they are what makes this issue so volatile. 

Hamas, incidentally, has already renewed its threats to launch a new wave of violence on Israel's southern border and in Sheikh Jarrah if the justices do not rule in favor of the Palestinians. At the same time, the JNF-KKL is moving ahead with the registration of dozens of properties currently managed by the Israeli Custodian General as owned by Jews. Like the property in Shimon HaTzadik, they were transferred to the custodian general by the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property. Things certainly won't be dull here in the next few months. 

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On Feb. 15, 2017, then-US President Donald Trump hosted then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time at the White House. They had known each other for years, but now they were both heads of state.

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Two years earlier, at the height of the Obama years, Netanyahu and his advisers had reached the conclusion that the Middle East was ripe for the establishment of peace between Israel and the Gulf States. In direct contrast to what had been the prevailing thesis for decades both in Israel and the West, they believed that this could happen prior to an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Following the upheavals of the "Arab Spring;" the rise of Islamic State, the United States' withdrawal from the Middle East; the reduction of global dependence on oil; Iran's growing power on the one hand, and Israel's on the other; and Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress, Jerusalem had received clear messages from the Gulf States regarding their desire for closer ties.  Cooperation under the table also increased.

But the Americans rejected Netanyahu's thesis. Obama and his Secretary of State, John Kerry, actively worked to prevent a breakthrough, inter alia, because they didn't want Israel to receive any remuneration from the Arab states without first paying in hard currency to the Palestinians.

Trump and his advisers, even though they were very pro Israel were also sceptical initially. During that first White House meeting with Trump, Netanyahu brought up the secret meeting that had taken place on board the USS Quincy on the Great Bitter Lake along the Suez Canal between President Theodore Roosevelt and Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. It was at that meeting that the alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States was born (although Ibn Saud rejected Roosevelt's request that the king acquiesce to 10,000 permits for Jews to enter Palestine). Netanyahu told his hosts "Take us (meaning him, to Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, and Mohammed Bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates) to a ship on the Red Sea and let's sit together. You will make history."

Trump and his entourage were sceptical. They lacked diplomatic experience and what they were familiar with was the prevailing opinion that there can be no deal without the Palestinians. There were also good souls such as the president's friend Ronald Lauder, who visited the White House several times and repeated the message that an agreement with the Palestinians could be achieved, and that Netanyahu was simply stalling.

Trump, as he indeed stated publicly, very much wanted to achieve what he labelled the "deal of the century" – a deal he had begun working on with his peace team headed by Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt. Over the course of two years of work on the plan, they met with many regional leaders. Over the course of those talks, as trust grew and masks were unveiled, Kushner and Greenblatt began to see what the Gulf states were really seeking.

A senior Israeli official involved in the contacts said that "it took two whole years for the Americans to be persuaded that the Arab rhetoric on the Palestinian issue was mostly just lip service."  The Palestinian refusal to talk with the Trump administration contributed to the sobering of American opinion. "Unlike Obama's people, who were very set in their ways, Kushner and his team had an open mind. They were willing to listen and then check out the direction we had suggested," says the Israeli official.

Setting a high bar

But Trump was determined to push forward a move vis-a-vis the Palestinians, and it was clear to the Israeli side as well that in order to make it easier for the Gulf states to make their ties with Israel public, they too had to do something on the Palestinian front – even if an agreement could not be reached.

Israel's then-ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, the person closest to Netanyahu on the issue, presented Israel's position several times during the period from 2018-2019. At the American Jewish Committee convention in June 2019, Dermer said:

Incidentally, Dermer was first seen in public with UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef al Otaiba at an event held by the Odaiba Jewish Institute for National Security of America in November 2018. It was the first public sign, and it was one of many, that Israel and the UAE were moving closer.

The messages coming from Arab states led Netanyahu and his advisers to the conclusion that in order to make things easier for the Arabs, any peace plan with the Palestinians had to include three elements: The words "Palestinian state" – even if the term "state" was emptied of any meaning; Israeli concessions in Jerusalem as part of a permanent status agreement – which was how the idea of handing over to the Palestinians the two and a half Arab neighborhoods within the city, but beyond the security fence, and even then under strict conditions, came about; and the third component, maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount.

The Israeli side was certain beyond doubt that the Palestinians would reject the plan, and that its main advantage would be in the following stage: Normalization with Arab countries. Early contacts by the Americans with the Arab side indicated that a breakthrough was possible.

The Israeli's didn't know which country would be the first to jump on the bandwagon. "The assumption was that the UAE was the most likely candidate, but there was no secret agreement with MBZ (Mohammed Bin Zayed) or any other leader," says the former Israeli official.

The Americans saw things differently. For them the Palestinians were the goal, not the means. A former senior White House official, who played a major role in the normalization process, tells Israel Hayom that the US intention when it published the peace plan in January 2020 was to reach an agreement that included the Palestinians, which was what they were focused on. "Nobody thought and nobody knew that things would work out as they did eventually," he says.

"Even the issue of sovereignty wasn't included so that we could get something for that later. At the time we were already working on normalization between Israel and the Arab state, but there was no connection between things, and the Emirates weren't the first candidate. If you would have asked me in January 2020, I would have said Morocco."

The American administration had intended to present the "Deal of the Century" at the beginning of 2019. According to the original timetable, from the Israeli perspective at least, the Arab countries would give the Palestinians a few months to digest the plan. If by chance the Palestinians came to the negotiation table – all the better. If not, the Gulf countries would say something along the lines of "we've waited for the Palestinians long enough; they have a reasonable American offer on the table. We are progressing to normalization with Israel."

An election minefield

There was another thing. Following the presentation of the plan and normalization, a third stage was planned – sovereignty. The understanding between the Israelis and the Americans was that after the plan had been presented, and after the hoped-for breakthrough with the Gulf states, the administration would let Israel extend Israeli law to parts of Judea and Samaria in line with the Trump map.

"Such a step taken at the right time would in no way have led to the collapse of agreements with the Gulf states," says a senior Israeli official who was in the loop on the contact. "They did want to see progress on the Palestinian issue, but they were not willing to give [Abbas] veto power over their progress on ties with Israel. That was the core of the matter. We understood that from talks with them. Especially from 2015 onwards, we knew it was possible and that contrary to what others thought and said, a breakthrough with the Gulf states was not dependent on an agreement with the Palestinians."

Israel's slide into an election campaign at the beginning of 2019 played havoc with the timetable. The administration didn't want to be seen as interfering with internal Israeli political affairs and therefore decided to postpone the launch of the "Deal of the Century."

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But then came a second election campaign, and the administration again decided to wait. However, in order to get the process in motion, Kushner convened an "economic workshop" in Bahrain in the summer of 2019. Israelis. Arabs, and international representatives publicly discussed massive plans for the development of the Palestinian economy. Abu Mazen and his people boycotted the event, which was a milestone in the emerging process.

At the end of 2019, when it transpired that Israel was sliding toward a third election, and with the US presidential elections also approaching, the Trump team came to the realization that it was now or never. They decided to present the plan they had been working on, but the implication was that a process that had been planned to take place over a period of at least two years now had to be compressed into a few months.

The more dramatic development was bringing forward the sovereignty move and normalization of ties with the Arab countries. The Americans and Israelis agreed that immediately after the presentation of the peace plan, Israel would apply sovereignty to some 30% of the territory of the West Bank designated to it under the Trump plan. On the flip side, Israel would not apply sovereignty to any additional territories (some 70% of the West Bank designated for the Palestinians under the Trump plan) for a period of at least four years, in order to enable negotiations. This dramatic event was not supposed to prevent the UAE or any other country from making peace with Israel.

"Their interest in peace with Israel doesn't change because of the application of sovereignty," says an Israeli source. "It's true that the political process in Israel and in the United States changed the original timetable. But as long as there was a political program for the Palestinians supported by the United States and other elements in the international community, and that the Arab states did not reject it, and that Prime Minister Netanyahu was talking publicly about his willingness to give them a state as part of a true peace agreement – they could have lived with it."

On Jan. 28, 2020, a ceremony was held in the White House to present the peace plan. Three Arab ambassadors, from Oman, Bahrain, and Yousef al-Otaiba from the UAE, honored the ceremony with their presence. Two hours after the ceremony, a member of Netanyahu's close circle called a senior official from one of the Gulf countries and made it clear what Israel planned to do. "We plan to pass a resolution on sovereignty. The quicker we do it, the less pressure there will be on you. After that you do what you need to," he said to the Gulf official who replied, "that sounds reasonable." The tacit understanding between the two was that a while after the application of sovereignty, but before the elections in the US his country and perhaps others would declare their desire for reconciliation with Israel.

Sunday never came  

Application of sovereignty ran into trouble for a variety of reasons. We can now reveal that one factor that contributed to the misunderstandings between the government in Jerusalem and the administration in Washington was a snowstorm in Switzerland. Jared Kushner was in Davos with Trump at the World Economic Forum and had planned to fly from there to Israel to coordinate the final details with Netanyahu. The weather prevented him from doing so.

Cancelation of the meeting, along with the fact that no final coordination meeting was convened at the White House on the eve of the ceremony, as well as other factors, led to serious differences in understanding between Netanyahu and Kushner. The prime minister had received an explicit promise from Kushner and others that sovereignty could be applied immediately. Kushner on the other hand claimed that he had spoken of a slower process, and had even made his position clear in the American media. While Netanyahu was briefing the Israeli media about "sovereignty on Sunday," Kushner was speaking about "sovereignty after the elections."

The differences in their positions were clear for all to see and caused Netanyahu enormous embarrassment. He operated according to the understandings that had been made. But a communications short circuit inside the administration led to him being presented again and again as someone who was making false promises.

The anger within Netanyahu's entourage was palpable. One of his close advisors held a tough conversation with a senior Trump team official and demanded that he take responsibility and go to the president to clarify that the misunderstanding had been on the American side, and that it was thus incumbent on the White House to rectify the situation and enable Israel to apply sovereignty as had been agreed. However, the senior American official declined to do so. Despite the severe blow, the Israeli side hid its criticism from the media which was covering events closely.

Netanyahu returned to Israel, stopping on the way to pick up a young Israeli woman, Naama Issachar, who had spent several months in a Russian jail and was being freed after a pardon given by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a complex diplomatic exchange . Over the coming months, the Americans and Israelis tried to reach new understandings over application of sovereignty. Meanwhile, in Israel, the coalition agreement with Benny Gantz stipulated that as of July 1, Netanyahu could present to the Cabinet the annexation framework he had agreed upon with the American administration. It was the only issue that had been exempted from the coalition protocol that all issues on the unity government's agenda must be agreed on. Various propositions were raised, among them two-stage application of sovereignty, and partial and symbolic application in Maale Adumim, a city east of Jerusalem.

Three weeks prior to that date, on June 12, 2020, Al-Otaiba surprised everyone by publishing an extraordinary op-ed in Yedioth Aharonoth in which he warned that application of sovereignty would threaten the possibility of closer ties between his country and Israel. However, the threat did not achieve its purpose. Despite Otaiba's warnings, the American's decided to progress with sovereignty and in late June, Trump's special envoy Avi Berkowitz travelled to Israel. In meetings with Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, he was told they opposed sovereignty. Netanyahu, on the other hand, was demanding that the administration keep its word.

The meetings with Netanyahu weren't leading to progress, says the senior American official. He wanted sovereignty but wasn't willing to make any counter gestures to the Palestinians that Berkowitz wanted in exchange, he adds.

After each meeting with Netanyahu  , Berkowitz updated Kushner on developments. During one of their meetings the idea of Israel giving up on application of sovereignty in exchange for normalization of relations with the UAE came up for the first time. Kushner authorized Berkowitz to pursue the idea with Netanyahu, although he too brought it up during the discussions.

At that stage, at the end of June, the whole thing was completely speculative, says the former senior American official. At that stage, he adds, there had been no concrete offer from the Emiratis.

Suspension, not cancellation

Berkowitz returned to the United States, and on his way from the airport to the White House, he received a call from Otaiba with a concrete proposal of normalization for annexation – the Emirates would normalize ties with Israel if it gave up on annexation. It wasn't clear from the conversation what exactly normalization would include and what exactly Israel would have to drop in regards to sovereignty. But the call led to a marathon of meetings throughout July and the beginning of August in which the details were hammered out.

The talks were led by Berkowitz on the American side, Dermer for the Israelis, and Otaiba on the part of the Emiratis. In Israel, only two people were in the loop: Netanyahu and his national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat.

The Emiratis were demanding that the idea of sovereignty be called off once and for all, but the Americans and Israelis rejected their position. After some back and forth, the term "suspension" was adopted. In exchange, the Emiratis at first wanted to make do with just partial normalization. Here as well the Americans and Israelis put up a united front, demanding full normalization.

One thing that wasn't discussed with the Israelis during those intense days at the White House was the UAE's expectation that it receive advanced American weaponry, including the F-35 stealth fighter jet. The Israelis were aware however of the issue. "The Emiratis had been asking for those kinds of systems for years. We knew that as soon as we normalized relations, they would bring it up again and try to get what they had tried to in the past. For that reason, we didn't agree to discuss it prior to the signing of the peace accords," says a senior Israeli official.

To make its message clear, Netanyahu, prior to the White House talks, sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating categorically that Israel continued to oppose the sale of arms that would counter the American obligation to maintain its qualitative edge vis-a-vis the rest of the region, a statement whose significance was a clear objection to sale of the fighter jets. Israel refused to even discuss ways to maintain its qualitative edge  until the official White House ceremony was over.

Toward mid-August conditions had matured for an agreement. Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to Ambassador Friedman, says that the title given to the agreements, "Abraham Accords," only came up an hour before the three-way call between Trump, Netanyahu and MBZ on Aug. 13, 2020. All the rest is history.

We wanted this to be a peace agreement between peoples, one that would lead to business ties and entrepreneurial connections – not just an agreement between ministers or leaders, recalls the American official.

In that spirit, Berkowitz insisted that the agreement include direct flights between the two countries. "That proved itself. Over 200,000 Israelis flew to the Emirates that year.  Despite COVID, there are agreements and collaborations between the countries and between individuals in a wide range of fields. That is something we are going to be proud of all our lives."

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"Homosexuals are my brothers, but I'm against walking around in the streets in underwear," MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, said in an interview on the Ofira and Berkovic talk show on Channel 12 that was broadcast Friday evening.

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Tens of thousands of people participated in the Gay Pride march in Tel Aviv on Friday.

When co-host Ofira Asayag took out a rainbow pride flag during the interview and asked Ben-Gvir if he would wish the marchers a happy holiday, he responded: "I won't say happy holiday."

"Today is not a holiday. But I'll surprise you," Ben-Gvir added. "The homosexuals are my brothers and the lesbians are my sisters. I've always said that but I'm against walking around in the streets in underwear and I'm against being coerced."

Pressed on by Asayag, who asked what he would do if his son came out of the closet, Ben-Gvir said: "I'll give him a hug. He's my son. After telling [him] that, I'll ask him not to march in pride parades and be provocative."

"I'm extreme in my love for Israel," Ben-Gvir replied after Asayag accused him of being a racist provocateur and agitator. "I'm an elected official. My job is not to sit in the Knesset and eat [snacks]."

"You are a member of Knesset. You're not a hilltop youth anymore," co-host Eyal Berkovic said, using a term used to describe extreme right-wing settlers who are teenagers. "You can't behave like a punk," he added.

"This is a Jewish state. I'm against coercion. I fight enemies. Our country is ending," Ben-Gvir answered.

He went on to say: "I don't incite against Arabs. I have no problem with Arabs. Anyone who lives with us in peace, ahlan wa sahlan ("welcome" in Arabic). Whoever is loyal [to the country], I'm with him. Anyone who isn't loyal should get out of here. Anyone who comes out against the State of Israel needs to leave. I'd also put [Meretz MK] Ofer Cassif on a plane out of here."

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Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas on Thursday defended the right of Arab Israelis to protest Israel's "provocations" on the Temple Mount and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem.

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"In light of the events of the past month, many thousands of Arabs protested, which is a legitimate form of dissent that seeks to express solidarity and objection to the provocational use of force inside the al-Aqsa mosque and against the family evictions in Sheikh Jarrah," said Abbas.

The Ra'am party leader was chairing a Special Knesset Committee on Arab Society Affairs meeting about the wave of arrests following the recent riots in mixed cities.

"For two weeks, hundreds of thousands of citizens went out to protest and marched in every Arab town, even in areas we weren't used to seeing demonstrations. One of the consequences is that there were events that deviated from the norm and the law. There's no question that we all agree that protest is legitimate in a democracy and it's the right of the citizens to express political positions," he continued. "On the other hand, we all called for the preservation of law and order and to demonstrate in a legal manner."

"I personally acted on this front," Abbas stressed. "The position is clear – we are for legitimate protest and reject any act that damages private property. To contend with the consequences of the events, we want to ask the law enforcement authorities about the situation as it appears today, what their policies are, how they plan on handling the fallout from the events, and how we can advance an approach of abiding the law on one hand, and allowing all citizens, Jews and Arabs, to express dissent on the other hand and to preserve the fabric of relations between Jews and Arabs. We want to solve problems and not use this committee as a stage for more incitement, more exclusion and more violent discourse."

Israel Police Commander Yigal Ezra also addressed the committee to discuss efforts to collect illegal firearms in the Arab sector.

"It's not like we go around with a cart collecting these guns; the work is extremely difficult. You also need to establish a foundation of evidence. What we want is for the criminal to be behind bars. Since the beginning of the year, 1,670 firearms have been confiscated. I know the numbers being mentioned are tens of thousands in the Arab sector; there are thousands of firearms, not tens of thousands, more in the range between 8,000-10,000 firearms," Ezra told the committee.

He also said that adding between 2,000 and 3,000 police officers would shift the balance in terms of fighting crime.

"The units have launched a significant wave of arrests. Thus far, 1,590 people have been arrested, of which 1,093 have been released.  There are 1,299 adults, 291 minors, and 165 indictments have been served."

According to Ezra, 183 Jews have been arrested thus far in the wake of the riots, and that 8% of the overall indictments issued to this point have been against Jewish suspects.

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Many Israeli Arabs shut their businesses on Tuesday or chose not to show up for work to protest the ongoing Israeli operation in Gaza, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls, prompting some Jewish employers to warn their employees they could be fired.

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"Nobody goes on strike. I'm telling you, anyone who doesn't come to work will no longer have a job, and don't say after that you weren't warned," one Jewish employer reportedly said.

Appeals have also gone out on social media for health professionals from hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to join the action.

Meanwhile, one of Israel's largest media companies, Cellcom, was criticized after it held a "Day of Coexistence" that coincided with the strike. This led to a backlash among many on the Right, and many reported that they would not longer use the company's services.

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 This article was first published by i24NEWS

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President of Tel Aviv University, Ariel Porat, has angered students with recorded remarks in which he asserted that Arabs in Israel were suffering more than Jews during the current wave of violence that has engulfed the country.

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In a video he shared, Porat said, "Minds cannot tolerate a situation in which Jews in the State of Israel are scared to leave their homes … out of fear for their well-being and property, but the attack on Arab citizens is an attack on those who are a minority among us, and is, therefore, seven times as severe."

Porat said, "More than any other people, we Jews need to understand the significance of attacking a person solely for their ethnicity or nationality."

He said he was particularly shocked to see that the crowd of Israelis that had gathered to watch the brutal beating of an Arab driver in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam last week did nothing to stop the attack.

"What a terrible sight," he said.

Following criticism of Porat's remarks, the university edited out the words "seven times as bad." It claimed Porat had not meant to say that attacks on Arabs were worse than attacks on Jews.

In a statement, the Tel Aviv University said: "The university president issued an important public call for an immediate end to the violence and racism spreading among us, among both Arabs and Jews, which could lead to a civil war. As for the expression 'seven times as bad,' the aim was to sharpen the message that as the Jewish people, we must be particularly sensitive to attacks on a minority. Unfortunately, this expression was misconstrued and taken out of context, and as a result, half an hour later, was removed from the video to prevent misunderstandings."

In a similar incident last week, lecturers at Jerusalem's Bezalel Academy of Art and Design angered students when they expressed support for the ongoing Palestinian struggle against Israel in the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

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