“The Iran-phobia Netanyahu has been riding in recent years is a fig leaf designed to ignore the occupation policy of his government,” concludes Eldar. “This week, as mentioned, his policy took the lives of two more Israelis. Sadly, they do not appear to be the final victims. Facing this real threat, we are sure to see Netanyahu pursuing his Iran-phobia strategy. Let's prepare for another PowerPoint presentation, depicting a 'nuclear facility' in the heart of Tehran and the exposure of missile launchers on the outskirts of Beirut.”

“Netanyahu certainly knows there is no ‘joint life’ in Barkan, only the type of coexistence one finds between a rider and his horse,” adds Eldar. “The Palestinians employed as laborers at the Barkan plants are banned from entering nearby Israeli settlements and are forced to lead their lives under military rule. As with other industrial parks Israel has established in the West Bank, Barkan was built on land considered by the international community (including the United States) and international law as occupied territory. A promise to develop Barkan, located in the heart of the West Bank, is tantamount to a commitment to perpetuate and deepen the Israeli occupation there. Occupation with no hope or end in sight is a surefire recipe for violence. During Netanyahu’s nine years in power, 144 Israelis have been killed and hundreds injured in terror attacks, the vast majority of which occurred in territories under Israeli occupation.”

“The explanation for the gap between Netanyahu’s presentations and press briefings regarding the Iranian nuclear threat and the assessments by Israeli and international experts should be sought in the Palestinian arena,” Eldar explains. “In fact, it can be found in the prime minister’s own comments regarding the murder of Levengrond-Yehezkel and Hajbi. ‘This despicable terrorist, this evil man, wished to kill Jews and at the same time destroy the fabric of joint [Palestinian-Israeli] life in Barkan,’ Netanyahu wrote on Facebook, pledging to remember the two victims forever and to keep developing the Barkan zone.”

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned Sept. 27 to the UN General Assembly hall in New York to send what he termed 'a message to the tyrants in Tehran,'” writes Akiva Eldar . “Netanyahu’s tough stance on Iran evidently did not impress the young Palestinian who killed Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi on Oct. 7 at the West Bank’s Barkan industrial area where they worked. The Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip who launch incendiary kites and balloons into Israel to burn the fields of the neighboring Israeli communities were not impressed, either. Netanyahu is unable to defend his people in those places, at this point in time.”

“There will be nothing because there is nothing”

“People close to Netanyahu will swear that he is completely convinced that despite the investigations, the testimonies and the leaks, despite all the recordings and the (three) state witnesses, in the end, 'There will be nothing because there is nothing,'” reports Ben Caspit. “Yet if that really is the situation, Netanyahu would not be getting closer to deciding to advance the election to March 2019.”

“Although he denied it on Tuesday, no one in Israeli politics doubts that Netanyahu’s main motive in advancing the election is the impending indictments,” Caspit writes. “This comes in addition to all the polls that show his popularity soaring and that he would defeat his opponents easily. This is the real fuel that he needs to speed up the election, and the engine is already running. Netanyahu will make his final decision next week when the Knesset returns for its winter session Oct. 15, or he may make it a week later. Regardless, the time for decisions has come. … Ignoring for a moment the security situation, the drama that Israel can expect next year will have no precedent.”

“One thing is certain,” Caspit concludes. “Netanyahu must arrive at the position of candidate for indictment as a popular, serving prime minister. Another prime minister, Ehud Olmert, resigned before the investigation against him was completed. He was then indicted, convicted and sent to prison. Netanyahu has certainly learned his lesson after what ultimately happened to him.”

Gazans blame PA for hardship

“The already poor living conditions in the Gaza Strip have been steadily deteriorating in recent months. Sanctions by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and its failure to achieve reconciliation with Hamas and lift the Israeli siege, have significantly worsened the situation,” reports Adnan Abu Amer.

“Palestinians know that if they take to the streets and protest against Hamas, the movement could impose harsh security measures, fearing that local and regional forces would seize the moment and take what's left of its authority in the Gaza Strip,” writes Abu Amer. “At the same time, the movement allows popular protests in Gaza against the Israeli siege and the PA's sanctions.”

“Perhaps another reason why Palestinians aren't so quick to demonstrate against Hamas is because they understand that the alternative might not be better,” Abu Amer concludes. “Gazans do not want the PA to take over, given its tight security control over citizens in the West Bank and how it allows Israel to violate its sovereignty there. Without Hamas, Gazans fear, they would lose all sense of safety. No matter how much they might criticize it, they accept Hamas’ control of the Gaza Strip.”

The Israel-Qatar paradox

“Israel and Qatar have been growing closer over the last few months as a result of their joint efforts to save Gaza from collapse and prevent another war between Hamas and Israel,” reports Shlomi Eldar.

“The relationship is something of a paradox,” writes Eldar. “While Qatar is continuing its tradition of aiding the Hamas regime, it is also helping Israel avoid another war. In that way, everyone benefits from the wealth and munificence of the tiny emirate.”

“The two countries' increasing closeness has been kept discreet, largely out of fear that Egypt might see it as a way of subverting the boycott it imposed on Qatar in 2017,” adds Eldar. “This discretion explains why a meeting that took place in Larnaca last June between the Qatari emissary to Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi, and Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was not covered by the press. News of the meeting was only revealed by Israel’s Channel 10 some two months later. According to the report, Qatar committed to investing $350 million to advance certain projects in the Gaza Strip and to pay the salaries of government employees there.”

“Israel once accused Qatar of aiding a terrorist group,” continues Eldar. “However, with the United States interested in keeping Qatar out of Iran’s grasp and with the Jewish lobby working on the Emirate’s behalf, Israel has grown supportive of the Qatari emissary’s activities.”

Israel blocks Palestinian olive farmers

“Dozens of farmers and other residents of West Bank villages rallied Sept. 22 in front of the Israeli gate by the separation wall near Araqah, seeking access to their lands on the Israeli side of the barrier that have been under Israeli sovereignty since the wall was built in 2003,” reports Entsar Abu Jahal.

“The protesters came from towns in southwest Jenin province including Araqah, Nazlet Zeid, Tawra and at-Tarem,” Abu Jahal writes. “They demanded unrestricted access to their land and denounced what they called the arbitrary measures Israel enacted Sept. 22 to stop farmers from harvesting their olives. Israel has been denying farmers permits, citing supposed security concerns and saying some parcels are too small to qualify for access.”

“The new measures come atop other conditions that Israel has imposed for years, such as age restrictions and limited hours of access,” Abu Jahal continues. “Now, any farmer seeking a land-access permit must produce a land title issued in 2018 and a new deed from the Beit Salem camp or, if the owner has died, a deed transfer to determine the heirs’ shares of the land. No permit is issued if the land or share of land is less than 380 square meters (454 square yards). In those cases, Israel seizes the parcels.”