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Media Summary

14/04/2015

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There is widespread coverage this morning of Russia’s decision to unfreeze a deal to sell advanced S-300 air defence missile systems to Iran. The agreement had been put on hold due to international concerns over Iran. However, in light of the nascent nuclear accord with Tehran, Russian officials said that they see no reason to further delay the deal, which will likely see Russia receive benefits on oil imports. The S-300 sale is covered in the Guardian, Times, Independent, Financial Times and Independent i. Both the Independent and Financial Times quote Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz who said that the Russian sale is a direct result of the nuclear talks, handing Iran dangerous legitimacy.

The Telegraph covers a Human Rights Watch report which alleges that Palestinian child labourers have been used by Israeli agricultural businesses in the Jordan Valley. However, the online version of the article quotes the head of the regional council who vigorously denies the allegation.

Independent i includes a brief item on an Israeli soldier accused in court of having relayed classified information to West Bank settlers in order to help them avoid arrest in connection with attacks on Palestinian property.

Meanwhile, in Syria, the Times claims that new tests show the Assad regime continues to use chlorine gas and almost certainly cyanide against its own people. The Telegraph online covers an assessment by a European Union official, who said that up to 6,000 Europeans have joined jihadist groups in Syria. The Independent online includes a report from inside the Yarmouk camp near Damascus, home to many Palestinian refugees, claiming that an ISIS sniper shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian girl.

In the Israeli media, the top story in all dailies is the Russian decision to sell an advanced anti-missile system to Iran. Yediot Ahronot says that the deal has the IDF worried, while Israel Hayom warns of a “domino effect.” Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman says that the Russian sale constitutes the collapse of the sanctions regime against Iran, while Yossi Melman in Maariv says that despite the best efforts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to influence Moscow over recent years, “it turns out that when it comes to its vital interests, Russia disregards Israel.”

Another significant story, reported prominently in Maariv and Haaretz, is the charges of espionage being brought against an IDF soldier on suspicion of having leaked classified information to extremist settlers. According to Israel Radio news, the 25-year-old soldier, from the settlement of Bat Ayin in the West Bank, admits to having removed secret documents and sharing them with local settler activists.

Israel Radio news says that officials in both Likud and Zionist Union have denied a Channel One report that Likud leader Netanyahu and Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog secretly met to discuss the possibility of a national unity government. Meanwhile, it is thought that progress has been made in coalition talks between Likud and Kulanu in recent days.