fbpx

Media Summary

Arab leaders oppose US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

[ssba]

The Guardian reports that US President Donald Trump has missed a second deadline to sign a waiver on a US law to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. The original deadline of midnight on Friday was pushed to Monday. However, the deadline passed without an announcement after a White House official said that no action would be taken on Monday.

BBC News Online, the Times, the FT and the Telegraph both report on the growing opposition among Arab and Turkish leaders to a possible US announcement recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatend to cut diplomatic ties with Israel if Jerusalem is recongised as the capital.

The Independent reports that residents of the Palestinian village of  Susiya have accused Israel of being about to “commit a war crime”. The villagers claim that the demolition of 20 buildings will “violate the fundamental human rights” of 100 people, half of them children, and leave them “exposed to freezing rain and harsh winds”.

BBC News Online, the Telegraph, and the Times report that Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former President, was killed fighting with his former Houthi allies in Sanaa yesterday. The Guardian reports that his death removes the country’s most important political figure and marks a dramatic shift after three years of stalemate.

The Times reports that hundreds of ISIS fighters have exploited a deal struck with American-backed Kurdish soldiers to escape from Syria, using smuggling routes to enter mainland Europe.

This morning Kan Radio News reports that five sirens went off last night in the Eshkol Regional Council and rocket launches from Sinai were identified. No one was injured and no damage was caused.

All the Israeli papers continue to follow the latest political developments within the governing coalition. Yediot Ahronot focuses on a reconciliatory meeting between the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kahlon. Yesterday they agreed to work together to promote the 2019 budget. They also discussed the recommendations bill that even in its more limited version (provisions that it would not apply to existing investigations) may still, in the end, be dropped.  Maariv reports that Defence Minster Avidgdor Lieberman announced that his party, Israel Beteinu would not support the minimarkets bill being led by the ultra-Orthodox parties, which would allow the Interior Ministry to cancel municipal by-laws over which shops can open on Shabbat.

Maariv has an update from the Supreme Court regarding the implementation of the Regulation Law that retroactively legalises around 4,000 homes in settlements. President of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut ruled yesterday that the petitions would be heard by an expanded panel of nine judges. She also issued an interim injunction suspending the implementation of the law until the court ruled. The President said that the sides must submit their answers to the petition by 25 February 2018.

Yediot Ahronot reports the investigation of coalition chairman MK David  Bitan. The paper reports that his wife has been questioned about money paid into a joint account. She is now under house arrest, not allowed to talk to her husband and coordinate their stories. Bitan is suspected of taking money from contractors and businessmen, both when he was deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion and when he was an MK, who helped him repay his debts. In return, he allegedly helped them win tenders for various city projects.