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Media Summary

21/10/2015

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The Guardian and Independent i both focus on a surprise visit to Israel yesterday by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who called for calm and warned of a “dangerous abyss” should the current wave of violence continue. Ben met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin and is set to meet Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas today. Both reports also cover four attacks on Israelis yesterday, all in the West Bank near Hebron, which saw one killed and three wounded. The Telegraph online highlights one of these incidents, in which an Israeli man was run over and killed by a truck driven by a Palestinian.

The Independent reports that Israeli forces arrested senior Hamas leader Hassan Yousef yesterday morning near Ramallah. The IDF said that Yousef has incited and encouraged violence. The Guardian online says that Israeli forces yesterday morning destroyed the Hebron home of a terrorist who killed 26-year-old Daliah Lemkus by ploughing his car into a bus stop in the West Bank last year. It follows a security cabinet decision to speed up such demolitions as a deterrent to future would-be attackers.

Writing in the Daily Express, Douglas Murray analyses the nature of so-called ‘lone wolf’ attacks which are striking Israelis on an almost daily basis. He says that they can only be suppressed by stopping incitement and that “Israel’s difficulty is that the incitement comes from its partners,” in the form of the PA and especially President Abbas. Murray calls for the world to recognise this.

The Telegraph online reports on an Israeli hummus bar, which is offering a 50 per cent discount to tables of Jews and Arabs sitting together, in light of the current violence.

The Telegraph online says that Russia has suffered its first casualties since its military engagement in Syria began. Three Russian troops were apparently killed when their position was shelled in Latakia. The Guardian online quotes a UN official, who said that around 35,000 Syrians have fled from the outskirts of Aleppo following an offensive by President Assad’s troops supported by Russian air strikes.

In the Israeli media, Maariv and Haaretz both lead with coverage of four terror attacks yesterday targeting Israelis in the West Bank. They include a hit and run incident near Hebron in which the car of an Israeli man was pelted with stones. The driver was then run over and killed having exited the vehicle. Maariv leads with the headline “Terrorism doesn’t stop.” Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that an attempted stabbing was foiled this morning at the West Bank community of Yizhar. Yediot Ahronot’s top story is a warning that preparations are being made for a protracted wave of terrorism. Channel Ten reported last night that should the current violence prolong, then the IDF will consider calling up reservists.

Meanwhile, the top story in Israel Hayom is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments yesterday to Ban Ki-moon, in which he said that PA President Abbas is fanning the flames of violence and has thus aligned himself with the likes of ISIS and Hamas.

Yediot Ahronot claims that Netanyahu yesterday contradicted himself, saying that under his administration settlement construction has been reduced. The article says that Netanyahu had recently indicated the opposite when speaking to pro-settlement supporters, claiming that construction in settlements had increased during his time in office.

Israel Radio news reports that IDF forces yesterday carried out an operation against a sniper cell on the Gaza Strip border, which had been targeting Israeli forces.