Yair Lapid First Speech as Prime Minister: Interim PM Lapid delivered his first televised speech to the nation on Saturday night, July 2nd. Lapid spoke of the toxicity of the political discourse, that has become “violent and vicious”, trickling down from politicians to the broader public, thus hinting that former PM Netanyahu was responsible for this. He also called for unity and set his vision for Israel as a liberal democracy. Lapid also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stated Israel’s commitment to resolve it, while also stating that Israel will take firm actions against those who seek its demise, referring also to Iran and the nuclear deal. Political opponents and supporters both commented on the speech; Netanyahu supporters claimed that Lapid himself was the one responsible for the inciteful discourse. Left wing and Arab activists commented that Lapid failed to acknowledge the Arab community, which comprise more than 20% of Israel’s population.
Yair Lapid Visit to Paris: Prime Minister Lapid, who also serves as Foreign Minister visited Paris earlier this week, to meet with President Macron at the Elysée Palace. He received a warm welcome, and the media in Israel featured the photo of the friendly embrace between the two leaders, and Macron’s statement that “Israeli citizens are lucky to have you as their PM”. However, the public statements made by Lapid, and Macron also revealed the differences in their positions, specifically around the Iran nuclear deal. Lapid made it clear prior to his departure that the main goal of his visit is to call for a firm response to Iran’s violations of the 2015 deal. In his speech, Lapid also referred to Hizballah’s attempted attack on gas rigs off the shores of Israeli and stated that such attacks will not go unanswered. Macron, in his speech, said the nuclear deal with Iran was “a good agreement” that should be defended. He also spoke of the need to resume dialogue and negotiations with the Palestinians, taking into account their legitimate national aspirations.
Netanyahu’s Trial: A Key Witness Exposed the Decadent Lifestyle of Netanyahu and His Wife Sara: Hadas Klein, personal assistant for Hollywood mogul, Arnon Milchan, and Australian Billionaire James Packer, told the panel of three justices how she was responsible for the routine supply of pink champagne for Ms. Netanyahu and Cuban cigars for Netanyhau himself. Her testimony is related to the charges of breach of trust. While PM, Netanyahu and his wife demanded a continuous flow of supplies, many times on weekends, nights and holidays. Klein told how she purchased expensive Dom Perignon, that each bottle costs 1,200 NIS ($340), how she managed to find it cheaper, and how she looked for the specific Cuban cigars that Netanyahu demanded, and how he was angry when she got the wrong ones. She also described how Netanyahu demanded that Milchan buy an expensive jewelry set, a matching necklace and ring, as a gift for Ms. Netanyahu. The total cost of these supplies are estimated to be around 800,000 NIS ($229,000). According to Israeli law, a person in office is not allowed to receive any gifts from anybody so as to avoid any bribery. Netanyahu claimed that Milchan was a close friend, and that Netanyahu received legal advice that this was allowed.
The assumption is that Milchan used Netanyahu’s help in extending his American visa.
The Forensic Analysis of the Bullet that Killed Al-Jazeera Palestinian-American Journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh Was Inconclusive: After a long debate between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, about the responsibility for the death of Abu-Akleh, who was killed during an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp last month, the Palestinians agreed to give the bullet to an American official to conduct the investigation. It was performed in Israel, but at the end the experts said that the bullet was too damaged and the analysis could not positively conclude if it was shot from Israeli or Palestinian arms. Different independent investigations by international media outlets found that it was an Israeli bullet, based on analyzing the scene from different CCTV recordings and other means on the ground.
Tension Escalates Between Israel and Iran Over an Alleged Iranian Attempt to Damage an Israeli Gas Rig in the Mediterranean: Iran claimed to have attacked the site, but analysis of the footage that was released by the Iranians showed that no harm was done to the site and that the Iranians used old footage of the area. The tension between Israel and Iran is escalating over a cyber war where each side tries to strike the other. Israel usually does not take any responsibility for such actions.
For further reading:
Lapid first Speech: Here, here, here,
Netanyahu’s Trial: Here, here, here