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Media Summary

Naz Shah resigns as Shadow Chancellor aide in anti-semitism storm

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The Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Metro, Mirror and Sun all report that Labour MP Naz Shah has resigned as an official aide to the Shadow Chancellor, following revelations that she made comments via social media which suggested that Israel “relocate to the United States.” Shah subsequently apologised for her comments, which she said were made months before she was elected to parliament as a representative for Bradford. It is the latest in a number of recent incidents in which Labour Party members have been found to have made anti-Semitic remarks. An editorial in the Telegraph not only describes Shah’s comments as “shocking” but condemns the response of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to such incidents as “disgustingly inadequate.”

Also in the Telegraph, Simon Mayall, former Middle East advisor at the Ministry of Defence, writes saying that Gulf states feel let down by the UK and the United States, given the chaos in the Middle East. Part of their disappointment, says Mayall is rooted in the growing acceptance of Iran, which he says “continues to manipulate proxies that sustain discord” across the region.

In the Israeli media, Maariv follows up on a story yesterday in Haaretz, which claimed that there are numerous defects in the nuclear reactor at Dimona, which Israel does not officially recognise in order to maintain an official stance of nuclear ambiguity. Knesset members are reported to be calling for a debate on the issue. Meanwhile, commentator Yossi Melman says in Maariv that “The moment of truth for Israel’s nuclear policy is approaching,” as the building of a new reactor would compel Israel to forgo its ambiguity over nuclear activity.

Meanwhile, the top story in Yediot Ahronot comprises interviews with the six IDF brigade commanders in the West Bank. They outlined the efforts which have been made to curb the wave of terror which began in October, killing at least 31 Israelis. However, they emphasise that the current relative calm is “only a temporary respite” and that when violence returns it will in the words of one of the commanders “jump by several levels.  It will no longer go back to 13 year-olds with knives.”

The top item in Maariv and Israel Hayom, also covered in detail in Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot, is the revelation that a man from Haifa is what Yediot Ahronot describes as the “most dangerous serial killer in Israel,” suspected of having raped and murdered four women across the country.

Israel Radio news reports that a military vehicle with two soldiers inside accidentally entered the Palestinian town of Beit Fajar, in the southern West Bank. They were attacked by rocks and the vehicle’s windows were broken, but the soldiers managed to find their way out before further damage was caused.