Hamas attacks southern Israel

[Jozam]

There are some regional and ethnoreligious pockets of support for Jewish political parties which are all Zionist.

These are Arab votes from the March 2021 election for example:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

For contrast, this is the Arab vote in the area that is particularly pro-Palestinian:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Source

Voting for Jewish parties doesn't necessarily mean they would consider themselves to be Zionists, but it arguably reflects a degree of comfort with it.

In any case, people outside of Israel tend to significantly overestimate the degree to which the conflict plays a role in internal politics. In November of 2023, 54.4% percent of Arabs considered crime and violence to be the most important issue, which is presumably about the rise of gang violence in Arab communities, whereas only 14.7% considered solving the Palestinian problem to be the most important issue (source).

Less than ideal, sure, but since 59% of them say they would rather stay in Israel than be granted citizenship in the US or a similar country, it can't be that bad. I occasionally hear some complaining, and polls certainly indicate that to varying degrees they have concerns and/or grievances, but I doubt many of them would want to trade their standard of living for what is common in any of the neighboring Arab countries.

That's not a reasonable inference to draw considering Gazans wouldn't take that offer either, and I doubt anyone would describe the situation in Gaza as "not that bad." Although this survey from last year found only 32% of young Arabs would prefer to stay in Israel, and Haaretz published an article this year about the phenomenon of Arab emigration.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of young Palestinian-Israeli men and women, and even families who are considering emigrating for various reasons – financial, political, and social," says presenter Majd Daniel in the episode's opening. Meanwhile, there is no accurate data on the situation and several experts are interviewed in an attempt to overcome the gap.

Adv. Khaled Aun, a specialist in commercial and real estate law, says, "It begins with what everyone is talking about – the violence, killing, and crime – but it is also related to something else – education, the prevalent racism in the county, the feeling that the country treats us as enemies."

The example of Kian Basul encapsulates the whole story. "She didn't want to be in a place where she is not a citizen with equal rights, a place where there is violence around, and she cannot advance professionally despite her achievements, just because she is an Arab woman."

As for the overall phenomenon, Asa says, "It's terribly sad, because it is expressed in a great mass of people who want to leave – researchers, scientists, educated people who are seeking their future abroad. Why should they be in a place that is so hard, when they can be their best somewhere else? It's sad because these people have ties to the country. They were born here, they have family and roots, and they have to give up a lot of aspects of life because the daily struggle of Arab society is very difficult."

If it were up to its Arab citizens, Israel as we know it — a Jewish state where Jews enjoy political and demographic supremacy — would cease to exist. But true, most Arabs will stay on their land and endure the occupation and its abuses in the meantime.

[Paul Atreides]

The Israelis don't want an Arab majority in their country? Who would've thought?

Probably the same reason why France, Germany and Denmark don't want a an Arab majority in their countries.

The Finns also don't want russian majority in Finland.

[mishkin]

The Israelis don't want an Arab majority in their country? Who would've thought?

Probably the same reason why France, Germany and Denmark don't want a an Arab majority in their countries.

I would like to see those surveys.

Edit: Or are you talking about far-right mobilizations/protests and electoral results of xenophobic parties?

[sumskilz]

You said, "I posted several polls indicating that a relatively small minority of Israeli Arabs identify as Palestinian", and I replied it was never a small minority.
How could you be right, if a few months ago, only 48% "felt" part of the State of Israel?

Because those are two separate issues, obviously. Most identify simply as Arabs.

That's not a reasonable inference to draw considering Gazans wouldn't take that offer either, and I doubt anyone would describe the situation in Gaza as "not that bad."

If it were just that Arab Israelis are willing to suffer living in Israel because they prefer to stay in their ancestral homes, it seems like they wouldn't object so vehemently to the suggestion that Israel's borders be redrawn so that they could be part of a Palestinian state.

However, going back to 2020...

The Trump administration’s massively detailed “Peace to Prosperity” vision contains many specifics, some of which are currently reverberating in Israel and among the Palestinians.

One of the most surprising of these is regarding an area known as the Galilee Triangle (or just “the Triangle”), a region of Israel bordering on the West Bank and predominantly inhabited by some 300,000 Arabs. The Trump plan “contemplates the possibility, subject to agreement of the parties, that the borders of Israel will be redrawn such that the Triangle Communities become part of the State of Palestine.”

In other words, no one will be evicted but Israel’s border will be moved so as to exclude the Triangle, transferring it to become part of today’s Palestinian Authority and (maybe) tomorrow’s State of Palestine.

Moving the border is hardly a new suggestion, for several Israeli prime ministers have raised it, including Ariel Sharon in February 2004, Ehud Olmert in October 2007, and Benjamin Netanyahu in January 2014. In addition, Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman raised it in September 2016.

While attractive as an elegant and simple win-win solution to a mutual irritant – Israelis want fewer Palestinians in their country, Palestinians want to live in Palestine – it is in fact fraught with complications. Two stand out:

First, an overwhelming majority of Triangle residents prefer to stay in Israel, as shown by massive anecdotal evidence, politicians’ statements, and survey research over 15 years. Some of them emphasize that Israel is their home, others focus on Israel’s superior living conditions over that of the poorer, authoritarian PA.

For example, the Islamist mayor of Umm el-Fahm, the largest predominantly Muslim town in Israel, responded negatively to Sharon’s proposal: “the democracy and justice in Israel is better than the democracy and justice in Arab and Islamic countries.” Ahmad Tibi, a viciously anti-Zionist member of Israel’s parliament, called PA control “a dangerous, antidemocratic suggestion.”

In February 2004, an Arab research center found that Arab respondents preferred by a 10-to-1 ratio to remain Israeli citizens. Two polls in December 2007 agreed on a 4.5-to-1 ratio. A June 2008 poll found that Israeli Arabs preferred Israel to “any other country in the world” by a 3.5-to-1 ratio. A June 2012 poll found a similar ratio to this same question. A January 2015 poll found pride in being Israeli by a 2-to-1 ratio.

No poll has been taken since the Trump plan’s release, but Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List Party, defiantly announced that “no one will deprive us of citizenship in the homeland where we were born.” Mayors of three towns mentioned by name in the plan slammed the idea of being included in a future Palestine, and demonstrations erupted in Arab towns. Israeli Arab media reactions were “without exception” opposed to the idea. Israeli Arab views are as unequivocal as they are paradoxical.

[Ludicus]

... Most identify simply as Arabs.

If it were just that Arab Israelis are willing to suffer living in Israel because they prefer to stay in their ancestral homes, it seems like they wouldn't object so vehemently to the suggestion that Israel's borders be redrawn so that they could be part of a Palestinian state...

Right on target, Israelis Are Comfortable With 'Israeli Arabs', but I'm a Palestinian Citizen of Israel.

In fact, there are many Jews who like to deny the existence of the Palestinian citizens of Israel.

I'm an Israeli, but I believe inflicting more harm on Gaza will ...

The Arab-Palestinian minority within Israel is at the same time part of the Palestinian people as well as citizens of Israel…they have since been classified by the political establishment as suspected “terrorists”, persecuted, discriminated against and disproportionately arrested (…)

To Israel's Shame…

Some Israelis, most of them Jewish, have been praising the Arab citizens of Israel for their relative silence since Hamas perpetrated massacres in border communities on October 7 and the onset of the war. But it isn't a choice to be silent. It's fear.

-----
@ Coughdrop addict ,
Since you (incorrectly) mentioned “The White Man's Burden" , the racist poem that exhort the US to assume colonial control of the Filipino people (which, btw, resulted in the Philippine genocide), I have to say that Netanyahu, in the best style of the white racist colonizer, went to the UN General Assembly two or three weeks before the Hamas attack on Israel to present a new map of the Middle East without Palestine, on which only Israel can be seen from the river to the sea.
The terrorist attack by the Hamas arrived just as Netanyahu was about to complete his colonial masterpiece: a peace between apartheid Israel and Arab dictatorships, completely ignoring the Palestinians.

---

Why hasn't the US called for an investigation into mass-graves -The Guardian

(…) I was supposed to write this column a couple of days ago but every time I sat down at my desk and tried to write about the horrors in Gaza, I felt physically sick and had to stop. How can anyone be OK with our tax dollars funding this, I keep asking myself? How can anyone be OK with the fact that innocent children are suffering unimaginable horrors and Americans are helping to pay for it? How can anyone be OK with the fact that Gaza has basically been rendered uninhabitable? How can any journalist be OK with the fact that nearly 75% of journalists killed in 2023 died in Israel’s war on Gaza?

(…) The answer to those questions is and always has been: Palestinians simply don’t count. They certainly didn’t seem to count to the attendees of the glitzy White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday. The annual event has long been criticized for making the press look too chummy with the politicians they are supposed to be holding to account and Saturday’s event certainly seemed to reinforce that idea. In the middle of what many people argue is a US-funded genocide in Gaza – one in which Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed zero empathy for Palestinians – comedian Colin Jost stood up and told the room what a decent guy the president is.
“[My grandfather] voted for you,” Jost told Biden. “And the reason that he voted for you is because you’re a decent man. My grandpa voted for decency, and decency is why we’re all here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to be here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to make jokes about each other, and one of us doesn’t go to prison after – we go to the Newsmax after-party.”

A child is killed on average every 10 minutes in Gaza. By the time that Jost had finished his speech, finished waxing lyrical about decency, there were a couple more dead kids killed by Biden administration bombs. By the time they’d finished their little after-party, another dozen kids would be dead. This, people like Jost want us to think, is what decency looks like. And he’s not the only one: American elites are obsessed with toxic notions of decency and civility. All of which tends to be code for: keep quiet and accept the status quo. We must reject this idea. There is nothing more indecent than staying silent in the face of injustice.

ICC warns against retaliation threats.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Australian government weighs supporting Palestine to to become full UN member

A copy of the draft resolution, seen by Guardian Australia, expresses “deep regret and concern” that the US used its veto power to block the proposal at the UN security council last month.
…the draft resolution “reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine”.
The text outlines “unwavering support for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders, based on the pre-1967 borders”.

The Israelis don't want an Arab majority in their country? Who would've thought?

The US will become 'minority white' in 2045, Census projects

The US, like it or not, is a true multicultural and multi-ethnic society. Do you have a problem with that?

And read... Far-right minister Eliyahu: 'Even in the Hague they know my position
Herzl to Heritage Minister Eliyahu: Have you actually read my books?..

[Jozam]

If it were just that Arab Israelis are willing to suffer living in Israel because they prefer to stay in their ancestral homes, it seems like they wouldn't object so vehemently to the suggestion that Israel's borders be redrawn so that they could be part of a Palestinian state.

However, going back to 2020...

Taking into account the sorry state of Palestine's economy (thanks in no small part to the Israeli occupation) and the fact it's ruled by a corrupt autocracy propped up by the West and Israel, it wouldn't be surprising if most Arabs in Israel would rather stick with the devil they know. But why is this the only alternative to the status quo? An obvious other alternative would be a non-Zionist state of Israel with equal treatment under the law irrespective of religion or ethnicity, which the Arab citizens of Israel overwhelmingly prefer. The main obstacle to this seems to be the Israeli Jewish majority which is bent on maintaining its ethnoreligious supremacy.

According to polls conducted in the last few years... 58% of Israeli Jews believe Arabs who reject Israel as a Jewish state should be stripped of their citizenship — that's 58% of Israeli Jews who support denaturalizing 75% of the Arab population. Two-thirds of Jews believe Arab citizens should not be permitted to buy land either outside of Arab areas (41%) or anywhere in Israel (~25%), while 66% oppose the appointment of Arab ministers and only a quarter are willing to include Arabs in decision-making relating to governance or the economy. These numbers drop further when relating to matters of peace and security, with just 16% of Jews in favor of letting Arab citizens have a say.

[sumskilz]

But why is this the only alternative to the status quo? An obvious other alternative would be a non-Zionist state of Israel with equal treatment under the law irrespective of religion or ethnicity, which the Arab citizens of Israel overwhelmingly prefer.

Non-Jewish citizens do have equal rights under the law, which includes an equal opportunity to determine policy, but they are a minority constituency, so Israel maintaining its status as both a Jewish and democratic state requires a Jewish demographic majority. In terms of policy, this manifests in a strong preference for Jewish immigration. Israeli Jews don’t want to live in a predominately Arab state because they’re not suicidal. The events of October 7th and the world’s reaction have only increased the perceived need for a Jewish state, both among Jewish Israelis and it appears even more so among diaspora Jews, at least that’s the sense I get from Jewish media. I don’t know if there has been any polls addressing the issue, however...

Immigration to Israel has increased from several countries in response to a wave of antisemitism and the October 7 massacre, according to a Sunday Immigration Ministry report and a Wednesday interview with Ofek Israeli CEO Arie Abitbol.

Abitbol told The Jerusalem Post at the Yael Foundation Conference in Paphos that since October 7 aliyah from France had increased by 237% and 85% from the United States of America. The Aliyah and Integration Ministry said on Sunday that Jewish Agency data showed that since the beginning of the war, there had been a 300% increase in the opening of immigration case files in France, over 100% in the US, 150% in Canada, and 40% in the United Kingdom.

[Paul Atreides]

The US will become 'minority white' in 2045, Census projects

The US, like it or not, is a true multicultural and multi-ethnic society. Do you have a problem with that?

And read... Far-right minister Eliyahu: 'Even in the Hague they know my position
Herzl to Heritage Minister Eliyahu: Have you actually read my books?..

[/quote]

...a master of Chewbacca Defense AND Pigeon Chess! I bow before your greatness!

Let's just leave it at that.

[PointOfViewGun]

Non-Jewish citizens do have equal rights under the law, which includes an equal opportunity to determine policy, but they are a minority constituency, so Israel maintaining its status as both a Jewish and democratic state requires a Jewish demographic majority. In terms of policy, this manifests in a strong preference for Jewish immigration.

Other examples:
Israel adopts divisive law that declares only Jews have the right of self-determination

Israel passed a law on Thursday to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, something members of the Arab minority called racist and verging on apartheid.
The "nation-state" law, backed by the right-wing government, passed by a vote of 62-55 and two abstentions in the 120-member parliament after months of political argument. Some Arab lawmakers shouted and ripped up papers after the vote.
"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset after the vote.

Israel: New Laws Marginalize Palestinian Arab Citizens

Two new Israeli laws affecting Israel's Palestinian Arab residents would promote discrimination and stifle free expression, Human Rights Watch said today. One would authorize rural, Jewish-majority communities to reject Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel and other "unsuitable" applicants for residency, and the other would chill expression regarding a key moment in the history of Palestinian citizens, Human Rights Watch said.

The Knesset passed both laws on March 23, 2011. One officially authorizes "admissions committees" in about 300 Jewish-majority communities to reject applicants for residency who do not meet vague "social suitability" criteria. The measure anchors in law a practice that has been the basis for unjustly rejecting applications by Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel as well as members of socially marginalized groups such as Jews of non-European ancestry and single-parent families.

The second law would heavily fine any government-funded institution, including municipalities that provide health and education, for commemorating the "Nakba" - the Arabic term to describe the destruction of Palestinian villages and expulsion of their residents after Israel's declaration of independence - and for expression deemed to "negate the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."

[sumskilz]

Other examples

The nation-state law is pointlessly divisive, but that was its goal. Netanyahu's coalition pushed it through knowing that opposition Jewish parties would vote against it, so that his coalition could paint the opposition as not really Zionist. However, in practice, it has no real effect on anyone's rights. It's entirely symbolic.

Admissions committees have always existed in Israel. They are for small communal or semi-communal settlements (kibbutzim and moshavim). They often have shared living areas, own businesses collectively, or even pool their incomes. For that reason, having admissions committees is perfectly reasonable. In the US, there are admission committees for condominium associations that are much less integrated. In 2000, the Israeli high court ruled that applicants couldn't be rejected based on their ethnicity, but of course the committee could just give some other reason, even if that was their real reason. The same problem exists with college admissions in the US. I'm fairly certain though, that very few Arabs want to live in a kibbutz or a moshav, so most people rejected are Jews.

Unsurprisingly, considering it's about Israel, Human Rights Watch mischaracterized the other law. In actuality:

The law affects organizations which are funded, in whole or in part, by the Israeli government.[1]

It declares that the Minister of Finance is authorized to withhold transfer of state funds, if the primary goal of the funds spent was to do one of the following:

-Denying the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State[1]
-Incitement of racism, violence, or terrorism[1]
-Supporting armed conflict or acts of terror, of an enemy state or a terror organization, against the State of Israel[1]
-Referring to the Israeli Independence Day or the founding day of the country as a day of mourning[1]
-An act of vandalism or physical debasement of the flag or symbols of the state[1]

So it's not actually a fine. The majority of Israeli taxpayers just don't want to fund such activities.

These laws have already been discussed here ad nauseum.

EDIT: To avoid confusion, when I used the word "settlements", I was using it in the dictionary sense of the word. I wasn't specifically referring to settlements across the Green Line.

[PointOfViewGun]

The nation-state law is pointlessly divisive, but that was its goal. Netanyahu's coalition pushed it through knowing that opposition Jewish parties would vote against it, so that his coalition could paint the opposition as not really Zionist. However, in practice, it has no real effect on anyone's rights. It's entirely symbolic.
Admissions committees have always existed in Israel. They are for small communal or semi-communal settlements (kibbutzim and moshavim). They often have shared living areas, own businesses collectively, or even pool their incomes. For that reason, having admissions committees is perfectly reasonable. In the US, there are admission committees for condominium associations that are much less integrated. In 2000, the Israeli high court ruled that applicants couldn't be rejected based on their ethnicity, but of course the committee could just give some other reason, even if that was their real reason. The same problem exists with college admissions in the US. I'm fairly certain though, that very few Arabs want to live in a kibbutz or a moshav, so most people rejected are Jews.
Unsurprisingly, considering it's about Israel, Human Rights Watch mischaracterized the other law. In actuality:
So it's not actually a fine. The majority of Israeli taxpayers just don't want to fund such activities.
These laws have already been discussed here ad nauseum.
EDIT: To avoid confusion, when I used the word "settlements", I was using it in the dictionary sense of the word. I wasn't specifically referring to settlements across the Green Line.

So, yes, there are laws in Israel that discriminate between different communities. Thanks for confirming that. As much as we may want to belly dance around these realities in an attempt to trivialize them reality is reality.

[sumskilz]

So, yes, there are laws in Israel that discriminate between different communities.

No, these laws apply equally to all citizens and permanent residents regardless of their ethnoreligious affiliation. They simply reflect the values and priorities of the majority, which is the case in every democracy.

[PointOfViewGun]

No, these laws apply equally to all citizens and permanent residents regardless of their ethnoreligious affiliation. They simply reflect the values and priorities of the majority, which is the case in every democracy.

That's one way to trivialize institutional discrimination. Discriminatory laws seldom provide their targets by name.

[AqD]

That's one way to trivialize institutional discrimination. Discriminatory laws seldom provide their targets by name.

So you don't believe the majority have the the right to influene politics? Or perhaps only when they follow your ideals? Why not just abandon democracy?

[PointOfViewGun]

So you don't believe the majority have the the right to influence politics? Or perhaps only when they follow your ideals? Why not just abandon democracy?

Influence? Sure. Dictate? No. What you're defending there is exactly a group of people dictating politics only when it follows their ideals. That's what's abandonment of democracy is.

[Kyriakos]

So what exactly happened here?
I am not a practicing christian, but surely arresting (looks more like abduction by thugs) the consul's bodyguard (who should also have diplomatic immunity?) inside the church during a holy day for orthodox christians (resurrection of Christ) is about the stupidest thing Israel can do.
What's the excuse for arresting him, then?

[mishkin]

Double post

[mishkin]

So what exactly happened here?
I am not a practicing christian, but surely arresting (looks more like abduction by thugs) the consul's bodyguard (who should also have diplomatic immunity?) inside the church during a holy day for orthodox christians (resurrection of Christ) is about the stupidest thing Israel can do.
What's the excuse for arresting him, then?

I can't find any news about it (beyond some Greek site that doesn't seem very serious). Either it is a hoax, or a response from the Israeli government to Greece (I thought they were friendly states) or the Israeli security forces really dont give af. Beyond diplomatic immunity, I cant think of absolutely nothing that justifies that action. Incredible in my opinion, let's not rule out that it is some hoax.

[sumskilz]

So what exactly happened here?
I am not a practicing christian, but surely arresting (looks more like abduction by thugs) the consul's bodyguard (who should also have diplomatic immunity?) inside the church during a holy day for orthodox christians (resurrection of Christ) is about the stupidest thing Israel can do.
What's the excuse for arresting him, then?

It's been 22 hours since Quds News reported this, but it still appears nowhere in mainstream Western or Israeli media, as far as I can tell, which is odd considering how much the international media loves this stuff. The video is obviously of some real event, but Quds News isn't exactly a reliable source. They've also recently reported the absurd claim that Starbucks Coffee is a major financial backer of the IDF. The Quds News website was blocked in the West Bank by the Palestinian Authority for its alleged association with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Has the Greek government confirmed the incident?

There’s an Arab-Israeli Orthodox Christian journalist who has been there. This post seems to be indirectly addressing the claim: https://twitter.com/YosephHaddad/sta...32710025040016

Although, he's obviously quite pro-Israel.

[PointOfViewGun]

So what exactly happened here?
I am not a practicing christian, but surely arresting (looks more like abduction by thugs) the consul's bodyguard (who should also have diplomatic immunity?) inside the church during a holy day for orthodox christians (resurrection of Christ) is about the stupidest thing Israel can do.
What's the excuse for arresting him, then?

There have been more serious cases against Christians in Jerusalem that went largely unnoticed or people just don't care if its Israel's doing.

Jerusalem Christians rally round Armenian Church over land deal

The heads of the Christian Churches in Jerusalem issued a rare joint appeal at the weekend, warning that a contested land deal could erase the centuries-old presence of the Armenian community within the Old City.

However Armenians say they risk being uprooted by a deal to lease about 25% of their area to developers who want to build a luxury hotel on the site.
The deal was signed by the head of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem in July 2021, but members of his community said the first they heard of it was when surveyors started work in the area this year.
He has told his congregation that he was misled and has started legal action to get the contract annulled. The priest who brokered the accord on his behalf was defrocked by the Church Synod in May and he has left Jerusalem.

Despite the legal challenge, bulldozers arrived last week and started tearing up a carpark, which covers some of the contested land. When protesters blocked the work, armed Israeli Jewish settlers turned up in a failed effort to disperse the demonstration.

Jerusalem: Armenian Christians fight controversial land deal

When Israeli bulldozers arrived at the contested site to try to begin demolition, Armenians rushed to block it. The next month, there were claims of intimidation as the developer arrived with several armed men.
Further attempted incursions came after the protest tent was set up. The most violent was last month when masked men came to the car park beating people with sticks and using tear gas. A priest, Father Diran Hagopian, broadcast events on Facebook Live.
"They were shouting, 'you should go out from this land'," he later told the BBC. "One of their leaders was shouting: 'You can break their legs, you can even kill them, but they should leave.'"
The apparent involvement of known Jewish settlers in attacks alongside other evidence has increased long-held suspicions that a powerful settler organisation is involved in the attempted land takeover.

Jerusalem ‘land grab’: Armenian community fear eviction after contentious deal

Last autumn, Xana sent bull*dozers, flanked by armed settlers, into the plot they say was signed over. The pile of *rubble on which priests said new year prayers was created on one of these incursions.
Armenian activists have so far managed to hold them at bay. Young Armenians raced to the site to serve as human shields; they have since set up a permanent camp, with security guards and a tent offering warmth, food and tea.

Many Armenians see echoes of the controversial sale by the Greek patriarchate of two large hotels in the Old City to Ateret Cohanim, which promotes and funds Jewish settlements in and around the Old City. The church challenged the deal, saying it involved bribery and *conspiracy, but lost its case.

Many in the Armenian community think it is no coincidence that an issue that had been brewing for years erupted when world attention was focused on the Israel-Gaza war.

There were an average 10 demolitions of housing units a month in the first nine months of 2023, but after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, the average monthly rate of demolitions increased to 17, Haaretz reported.