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Media Summary

11/06/2015

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The Telegraph, Times and Guardian all cover claims by a cyber-security firm that a state, which they heavily imply is Israel, hacked the systems of three luxury hotels hosting negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in order to spy on the talks. The malware was described as more sophisticated than anything previously found. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely denied the reports calling them baseless.

The Independent and Independent i include an interview with former-Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, who says that the time has come for Israel to consider direct talks with Hamas, as both have an interest in maintaining a semblance of calm in the Gaza Strip and to therefore reach a “mutual existence situation.”

The Guardian online reports on tensions in Gaza between the de facto rulers of Hamas and Salafist groups aligned to ISIS, who have recently carried out bombings against Hamas institutions and fired three rockets into Israel. Hamas has been seen to crack down on the groups. The article examines the ideological, political differences and personal rivalries which are fuelling the tension.

The Independent online reports that Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has suggested that ISIS has acquired enough material to have the capacity for building a ‘dirty bomb’ in the region.

In Egypt, the online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times online all report that Egyptian security forces foiled a terror attack, likely to have been an attempted suicide bombing, at an ancient temple in Luxor, a major destination for foreign tourists. In a separate piece, the Financial Times online also says that there is internal discord within Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, where a younger generation is calling for greater confrontation with the authorities, while older leaders are urging non-violence.

In the Israeli media, the ongoing allegations surrounding new Likud MK Oren Hazan’s behaviour remain the top item in Yediot Ahronot and Maariv. Hazan virulently denies claims made in a Channel Two expose earlier this week that prior to running for office, he operated a casino in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas and pimped women for clients and used hard drugs. Hazan was yesterday greeted enthusiastically at a meeting of the Likud Central Committee, claiming that he is the victim of a media campaign. Yifat Erlich in Yediot Ahronot provides scathing commentary, saying “The embrace that has been given to Hazan by the Likud Central Committee is severe, and the silence of the MKs is even more severe, but far more severe is the reverberating silence of the prime minister of Israel.”

Another major item is the claims by a cyber-security company that Israel spied on nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1. It is the top story in Israel Hayom and a major focus in Yediot Ahronot and Maariv. Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that the US State Department has refused to comment directly on the allegations. Analysing the claims in Yediot Ahronot, Ronen Bergman concludes that any information gained in such an espionage operation would have been “very partial.”

Haaretz prominently reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to send a delegation to Israel towards the end of the month in order to begin to examine Palestinian complaints of war crimes violations.