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Media Summary

05/02/2016

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The Times says that three Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip have collapsed in recent days, killing Hamas activists. The incidents have stoked Israeli fears that Hamas is rebuilding its complex network of underground tunnels with which to launch attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. The tunnels were a major feature of Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014.

The Telegraph, Independent, Independent i and the online edition of the Guardian all report that two young Israelis, who were minors at the time of the crime, were sentenced yesterday to life and 21 years imprisonment respectively, having been found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Palestinian boy Mohammed Abu Khadir in summer 2014. The murder outraged Israeli society and has been classified as a terror incident by Israeli authorities.

The Independent, Telegraph, Independent i and the online edition of the Guardian all cover speculation that Israel’s former-Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, was not permitted to extend his posting by an additional year over repeated breaches of security protocol. Reports claim that Taub entertained late-night visits at his official residence, without informing security teams in advance, which Israeli authorities feared could leave him open to blackmail. Israel’s Foreign Ministry was quick to clarify that there was no “criminal or disciplinary” wrongdoing on Taub’s part.

The Independent and Independent i report that an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi from the United States has set up practice in Israel for so-called “reparative” therapy, which claims to “cure” men of homosexual feelings. His practice was banned in New Jersey as fraudulent but he is now working with mainly Orthodox men in Israel, where the practice has also been discredited.

The Guardian reports that Turkey’s Prime Minister Davutoglu said that Russia’s increasingly intensive air strikes in Syria are pushing tens of thousands from the city of Aleppo towards the Turkish border. The online editions of the Independent and Financial Times also report that Russia has increased its air activity in the Aleppo region.

The Financial Times online says that Iranian hardliners within the country’s leadership and media are looking to discredit the recent international trade deals concluded by President Rouhani, following the lifting of nuclear sanctions. They are warning that the agreements will see Iran’s natural resources looted by Western companies.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Maariv is a stabbing yesterday in the central city of Ramle, which saw a security guard lightly wounded by two local 13-year-old girls from the city’s Arab community. Under questioning, the girls are reported to have said that they intended to “kill Jews.” Reports focus on the young age of the attackers, emphasising that alongside knives, their school bags contained textbooks and a pocket calculator.

The lead story in Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom is a meeting which took place yesterday between three Arab MKs and the families of terrorists who were killed recently while attacking Israelis. Jamal Zahalka, Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas from the Balad faction said that they met with families whose relatives’ bodies have not yet been released for burial. However, Yediot Ahronot calls the meeting an “embrace for terror” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a complaint with the Knesset ethics committee.

Another prominent story in Haaretz, Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom is a State Comptroller’s report which has sharply criticised the military and political leadership for its failure to prepare for and effectively deal with the threat of Hamas’s Gaza tunnels both prior to and during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Israel Radio news says that a security official has criticised the report as populist and incomplete, as it was based on just a draft.