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Media Summary

BBC News reports on Kahn Al Ahmar

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The BBC, Express and the Daily Mail report that Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to root out antisemitism in a speech at the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) dinner. The BBC reports that May said some Jews are “fearful of the future” but that antisemites do not speak for the “overwhelming majority of people in our country”. The Prime Minister said criticising Israel could never be an excuse for questioning its right to exist or for “hatred against the Jewish people”. The Express reports that May said that she was “sickened” that Jewish people in Britain feared for their futures and she did not underestimate the threat posed by those who promoted antisemitism. She also said young Jews must be given the confidence to be proud of their identities as British, Jewish and Zionist. The Daily Mail reports that May’s Government was the first in the world to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The Prime Minister added that “because of this definition, no-one can plead ignorance or hide behind any kind of excuse”. May also rejected the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which has campaigned for bans on the sale of Israeli goods and the withdrawal of funding from firms based there in protest at the treatment of Palestinians. May’s full speech at the UJIA dinner can be read on GOV.UK.

The BBC, Sky News, Guardian and the Telegraph report that a Russian military plane vanished from radar screens overnight. The BBC reports that the aircraft carrying 14 people disappeared after flying over the Mediterranean. “Connection has been lost with the crew of a Russian Il-20 plane over the Mediterranean Sea,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said. The incident on Monday reportedly occurred about 35km (22 miles) from the Syrian coast, as the Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft was returning to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase near the north-western city of Latakia. “The trace of the Il-20 on flight control radars disappeared during an attack by four Israeli F-16 jets on Syrian facilities in Latakia province,” Russia’s TASS news agency reported. Sky News reports that an unnamed US government official told Reuters it is believed the plane was accidentally shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles. “The missiles were not fired by the US military and we have nothing further at this time,” added a Pentagon spokesman. The Guardian reports that Israel and France both denied involvement after the Russian Ministry of Defence said radar contact was lost at the same time that Israeli and French forces were mounting aerial attacks on targets in Syria. The Telegraph reports that a search-and-rescue source told the Interfax news agency that the Russian warplane could have sunk in the Mediterranean Sea as a result of an “unforeseen critical incident” in the air. An Israeli military spokeswoman, when asked about both the reported Israeli strike and the Russian plane, said: “We don’t comment on foreign reports.” “The French army denies any involvement in this attack,” a French army spokesman said.

The BBC News at Ten included a package from Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen reporting on the planned Israeli demolition of the West Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar. Supporters of Israel’s settlement of the occupied territories applaud what they say is Israel’s right to build on its own land. But many, including the UN and the European Parliament, have been highly critical, saying the move jeopardises any chance of a two-state solution being found in the region. In an interview with the BBC, Israeli cabinet minister Naftali Bennet said it’s no one else’s business where housing is built in Israel and that ‘it’s all about poking Israel in the eye politically’.

Reuters and the Daily Mail report that two Palestinians were killed by an Israeli missile strike. Reuters reports that an Israeli military spokesman said in a statement late on Monday an aircraft fired at “terrorists (who) suspiciously approached the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip and placed an object adjacent to the fence”. The identities of those killed in the missile strike east of Qarara village have not been confirmed. The Daily Mail reports that the Israeli army said in a statement the men were targeted after planting a device. “Terrorists suspiciously approached the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip and placed an object adjacent to the fence. In response, an (Israeli) aircraft fired towards them,” the statement said.

The Daily Mail reports that Israel is to approve immigration for 1,000 Ethiopians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a special committee had agreed to allow community members who already have children in Israel to immigrate. However, it was not clear what will happen to the remaining 7,000 people. Alisa Bodner, a spokeswoman for Struggle for Ethiopian Aliyah, said the group is calling on the Prime Minister to provide a path to citizenship for the remaining 7,000 members of the Jewish Ethiopian community. Last year Israel approved immigration for 1,300 Ethiopians with relatives who had already immigrated.

Reuters reports that the Palestinian Health Ministry retracted a statement that an 11-year-old boy was killed by Israeli soldiers on Friday. The source said that “the boy died of a head injury,” asked not be identified, declining to give specifics and stopping short of attributing the death to Israeli gunfire. On Friday, Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza, said the youth, Shadi Abdel-Al, had been shot dead by Israeli troops.

Reuters reports that Switzerland has asked Israel to open its markets so Swiss banks can trade funds there. “We need market access and access to each other’s markets unfettered and as free as possible,” Joerg Gasser, head of the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters said during a visit to Israel with Finance Minister Ueli Maurer to discuss financial cooperation.

The Israel media reports the 45th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war. Yediot Ahronot reflects on the theme of military preparedness, “Forty-five years since that war, all Israelis ask themselves whether the IDF is ready for war. The public has reason to be confused: is the army fit, as stated in a document authored by the top IDF leadership and signed by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, or is the situation terrible and worrying as stated in a counter-document issued by IDF Ombudsman Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Barik, who was awarded the Medal of Courage (Israel’s second-highest honour) in the Yom Kippur War and who is calling for an external commission of inquiry to examine the IDF’s readiness for war?”  The paper goes on to reveal details of recent shortcomings, previously under military censorship, for example, in Operation Pillar of Defence (summer 2014) where “several dozen heavy vehicles capable of carrying tanks became stuck on their way to Gaza … it was clear that the situation was catastrophic and that it would be impossible to move tanks in the next war.”  Another example, in 2012, was when “training was stopped twice because of budget constraints, including training flights by the Israel Air Force… Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, who was then IAF commander, warned that this would affect the pilots’ fitness. Battalion and brigade commanders in the standing army warned that the units were not sufficiently trained. The emergency warehouses were neglected, NCOs were retired because of budget cuts”.

Maariv reports on the resumption of flying firebombs from Gaza. Yesterday, volunteers noticed a balloon with a suspicious object from the Gaza Strip, which turned out to be a grenade. The balloon landed in a peanut field near Kibbutz Reim and Kibbutz Urim and was defused by police sappers who were rushed to the scene. The police have called on the public “to exercise extra caution with suspicious objects such as these, which are liable to contain explosives and pose a danger to public safety”.

Kan radio news adds that two Palestinians were killed last night when IDF aircraft attacked several suspects who had approached the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip and had planted a suspicious object nearby. Dozens of young Palestinians rioted and burned tires near Khan Yunis. Demonstrators also assembled in the northern Gaza Strip, waving Palestinian flags and burning tyres. Gazan sources reported that the IDF dispersed them with tear gas and shot and injured some of them.

There is continued coverage of Sunday’s terror attack in Gush Etzion. Israel Hayom reflects on the funeral of the victim and the widow left with their four children. Channel 2 news reveals the 17-year-old Palestinian had attempted to carry out a similar attack just days earlier. On Friday, Khalil Jabarin arrived at one of the entrance points to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron with a knife under his clothes. An increased military presence at the time caused him to turn back. Two days later, he chose a new location. He arrived Sunday morning, hid a knife in the bathroom on the second floor of the commercial centre, and began to stake out the area. He was stopped twice by Israeli security guards after arousing their suspicion. However, since he was not armed, he was released. He then retrieved the knife and went on to stab Ari Fuld.

There is also continued coverage of the proposal to lower the electoral threshold in the next Knesset elections. Israel Hayom reports that Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein supports the Prime Minister’s initiative. Maariv quotes Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid: “The electoral threshold should not be lowered, rather it should be raised to at least five per cent. The Knesset should not be split into more and more small parties just because it’s convenient for Netanyahu to divide us even more.” Similarly, Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay said that “lowering the electoral threshold is due to petty political considerations. We need large parties in Israel, not small ones. We must raise the electoral threshold, not lower it … Italy has reached the point where there are lots of small parties and the coalition is based on the extreme left-wing and on the extreme right-wing. Instead of the moderate majority governing, we’ve reached the point where the extremists are governing. We must raise the electoral threshold so that governability is ultimately strengthened, not the opposite”.

Israel Hayom reports a parole board has granted early release to a second driver who transported a group of Palestinian terrorists to Damascus Gate where they carried out a June 2017 attack that killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka. The driver, who was released yesterday, is a resident of East Jerusalem and had been sentenced to 14 months in prison. His punishment was cut by a third. The move followed the release of a second driver, a Palestinian from the West Bank, who similarly had his sentence shortened by a third. He was due to serve 16 months in prison. Members of the victim’s family are furious at the decision and were not been updated on the decision.

Maariv reports a stormy special Knesset session yesterday to discuss Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s statements against the High Court of Justice. The paper quotes Meretz Chairwoman Tamar Zandberg: “The atmosphere under Shaked is the most dangerous that Israeli democracy has ever faced, and it is bringing us closer to the illiberal democracies of Eastern Europe and dictatorships around the world.” MK Shelly Yechimovich from the Zionist Union, said: “I suspect that your slanderous and incitement-filled speech against the Supreme Court was not only intended to intimidate the justices and compel them to make decisions to appease you, but even worse: that you are knowingly planting the seeds that are meant to clear the path to ousting the Supreme Court justices and sacking the president of the Supreme Court.” Minister Shaked retorted: “You don’t really want an independent, strong and upright court. You would rather have it housebroken. Whenever it takes your side, it’s the source of justice; the second it proposes a slightly different way, you’re ready to burn it down.”