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Media Summary

17/04/2015

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The Daily Star reports that Israel yesterday commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day with a nationwide two-minute silence and ceremonies across the country. The Independent online covers comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the central state ceremony, in which he warned that just as the Nazis sought to destroy the Jewish people, Iran wishes to eliminate the Jewish state and assert its hegemony over the region.

The Guardian online reports that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin yesterday defended Moscow’s decision to sell an advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Tehran. He told a televised call-in show that the S-300 system is purely defensive and claimed that “Iran has shown a great degree of flexibility” in nuclear talks.

In Iran itself, the Times says that 43 prisoners have been hanged during the last three days in order to help clear Iran’s crowded prisons. There are more hangings in Iran each year than in any other country apart from China.

The Guardian covers a letter sent by 16 European Foreign Ministers, including Phillip Hammond, to European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, in which they ask that she issue guidelines on the separate labelling of West Bank goods, distinguishing them from those produced in the pre-1967 borders.

The Times says that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced into sudden withdrawal from a popular opiate called Tramadol, as Egypt’s destruction of thousands of smuggling tunnels has stemmed the flow of pills into the Gaza Strip.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom both lead with the assessment by the police that an incident late Wednesday night in which a car being driven by a Palestinian ploughed into a crowd of waiting bus passengers in Jerusalem, was a terror attack. One man was killed and a woman seriously injured in the incident. Following questioning, police determined that it was a nationalistically motivated terror incident. There have been several similar deadly attacks targeting commuters in Jerusalem during the past several months.

The top story in Haaretz is a letter signed by 16 European foreign ministers, which calls on the European Union’s foreign policy chief to issue guidelines for labelling West Bank goods as distinct from those produced elsewhere in Israel. Israel Hayom says that the call is a “stain on Europe” while Israel Radio news says that Israeli diplomats believe the letter is intended to send a message to Jerusalem prior to the establishment of a new government.

Meanwhile, Maariv says that coalition negotiations will continue today with Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting with Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman. It is understood that Lieberman wishes to remain in his role as Foreign Minister or become Defence Minister. However, Yisrael Beitenu’s faction chairman told the media that the party is prepared to sit in opposition if its demands are not met.