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Media Summary

France demands access to academic arrested in Iran

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BBC News reports that the EU foreign policy chief has stated that Iran’s breaches of the JCPOA are not significant and can be reversed. “We invite Iran to reverse the steps and go back to full compliance,” Federica Mogherini said. Reuters reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the EU response, saying it recalled failed diplomacy with Nazi Germany ahead of the Second World War. “(It) reminds me of the European appeasement of the 1930s,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “Then, too, there were those who stuck their head in the sand and did not see the approaching danger”.

BBC News, the Guardian, Financial Times and Reuters report that France has demanded immediate consular access to a senior French-Iranian academic who has been arrested in Iran. Fariba Adelkhah, a prominent researcher in anthropology and social sciences based at the Paris political institute Sciences Po, is believed to have been arrested in June. The detention risks increasing tension between Paris and Tehran at a critical moment in the crisis over the JCPOA. The French Foreign Ministry said it had not yet been given “satisfactory” information on the status of Adelkhah, who is seen as one of France’s leading academics on Iran.

Reuters reports that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Russian S-400 missile defence system, parts of which were delivered to Turkey on Monday, will be fully deployed in April 2020. Speaking on the third anniversary of the 2016 attempted coup, Erdogan said eight planes had already brought parts of the Russian system. “With God’s permission, they will have been installed in their sites by April 2020,” he told the crowd. “The S-400s are the strongest defence system against those who want to attack our country. God willing, we are doing this as a joint investment with Russia, and will continue to do so”.

The Guardian reports that demonstrators have called on Israeli Education Minister Rafi Peretz to resign after he said he supported gay conversion “therapy”. Ministers and other politicians also condemned Rafi Peretz who was asked by Channel 12 News whether he believed he could convert gay people to heterosexuality. “I think you can,” he said. “I can tell you that I have a deep knowledge of education, and I have done it too.” He said he had once worked with a student who had told him he was gay, whom he had tried to help “understand himself well and then decide on his own”.

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia is preparing to provide economic support to Lebanon, three Lebanese ex-premiers indicated after meeting Saudi King Salman. Former Lebanese premier Fouad Siniora said Monday’s talks centered on resuming Saudi backing. A second ex-PM, Najib Mikati, said Riyadh would “extend a hand of support” and the two countries were preparing to sign 20 deals. The third, Tammam Salam, said Riyadh showed “a desire to support Lebanon in this phase” through agreements. Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari said the talks pointed to “a promising future” with stronger ties between the two sides.

Reuters reports that Kuwait has handed eight Egyptians to Egypt who had been convicted of terror-related offences in their home country. Kuwait’s interior ministry said that the men belonged to a militant cell linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, and had fled to Kuwait after being sentenced at home to up to 15 years in prison. Kuwait has not specified the circumstances of their sentencing, and there has been no official comment from Egyptian authorities.

Reuters reports that Yemen’s warring parties have agreed new measures to enforce a ceasefire and facilitate a troop pullback from the flashpoint port of Hodeidah, the UN said on Monday. Representatives of the Iran-aligned Houthi movement and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government met on a UN ship in the Red Sea for talks on Sunday and Monday, a UN statement said. The UN is trying to broker a withdrawal from Hodeidah – the main entry point for food and humanitarian aid – so UN-supervised management can take over.

The Times reports that an Israeli activist organisation with links to Mossad is seeking to block the return of an Iranian oil tanker seized by Royal Marines off Gibraltar, threatening British diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions in the Gulf. Lawyers for Shurat HaDin will file a petition in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar seeking an injunction to seize the vessel and its cargo. They want them to be used to pay damages for the victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorist acts. The organisation has won a series of legal judgments in US courts holding Iran responsible for the murder of Israeli-Americans by Islamist groups (Hamas and Hezbollah included).

In the Guardian, Shaun Walker examines the Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). Critics describe it as a shadowy outfit with little support inside Iran and many cult-like attributes but supporters including members of the Trump administration, the MEK are ‘tireless fighters for a free and democratic Iran who could potentially become the country’s next government’.

In the Israeli media Maariv  and Israel Hayom report Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the EU response to Iran was like appeasement of Germany in the 1930s, he said: “Apparently, there are some people in Europe who aren’t going to wake up until Iranian nuclear missiles fall on European soil.” His comments followed the UK, France and Germany’s decision not to sanction Iran, despite breaking their commitments in the nuclear deal. Maariv also notes Bherouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, who said that European countries needed to do more to deliver the economic benefits that were promised to Iran in exchange for the restrictions that it accepted in the nuclear agreement.

Israel Hayom notes that the United Nations told the United States it is concerned by tight travel restrictions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during his visit to New York this week. Zarif arrived in New York on Sunday after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on the visit amid heightened tensions between the two countries. But Zarif is only allowed to travel between the United Nations, the Iranian UN mission, the Iranian UN ambassador’s residence and New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, a US State Department official said.  Last month the US had threatened to not let Zarif travel at all.

Maariv reports the emotional special session of the Knesset convened during parliamentary recess to discuss “the ongoing national failure in the absorption of the Ethiopian Jews.” The meeting was initiated by MKs Gadi Yevarkan and Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White), with the support of 25 MKs who signed the motion to convene the plenary meeting. The sponsors called for a government commission of inquiry to examine the circumstances that led to Solomon Tekah’s killing. MK Pnina Tamano-Shata burst into tears on the platform. “These last two weeks have been hell for me. The wound is so deep and painful,” she said. “Children grow up in a reality of fear and struggle. The struggle is also yours, about Israel’s image. Despair isn’t an option, I’m also crying here. We are fighting out of love. We have one home, one people. Solomon Tekah, Yosef Salamsa, and Yehuda Bayada deserve justice. I demand that the Prime Minister form an external commission of inquiry headed by a judge because of the crisis of confidence.” When Absorption Minister Yoav Galant spoke on behalf of the government, a commotion erupted in the plenum. When he started to talk about “integration of Ethiopian immigrants,” there were calls of protest from the audience. “Stop speaking of integration, shame on you,” yelled one woman. She was soon joined by calls from angry Ethiopian youths. Ushers and guards moved quickly to eject them, and in their wake followed the families. One woman felt unwell, and required medical assistance.  Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said at the opening of the meeting, “It is important to remind ourselves that we’re talking about Zionist immigrants who made a lot of sacrifices on their way here. I’ve also heard stories of heroism, of prisoners of Zion among the Ethiopians. After coming to Israel, they’ve broke through a lot of glass ceilings with every passing. We need to say honestly that as a country and a society we haven’t done everything necessary to help them integrate, in the broadest sense of the term.” Tekah’s family left the Knesset and joined the demonstration taking place near the Knesset building in protest of the court decision to release the police officer who shot Tekah.

Yediot Ahronot reports that Labour Party leader Amir Peretz and Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz recently commissioned polls to examine the impact of a possible merger between the two parties. Both polls indicated that running together on a joint list would result in more MKs from both parties being elected to Knesset than would be the case if the two parties ran independently of one another. According to the poll that was commissioned by Horowitz from Professor Camil Fuchs, Meretz would win seven seats and the Labour Party would win five seats if the two parties ran separately, whereas a joint list comprised of the two parties would win 14 seats. The poll also found that a merger between the two parties would be well-received by left-wing voters. Senior sources in both parties said they believed that the polls make a merger more likely, adding that they were closer to reaching a merger agreement between them than they were to a merger with the Israel Democratic Party. Peretz is scheduled to meet this week with Barak to discuss the possibility of running jointly in the elections. Yesterday Peretz met with former Labour Party officials, some of the retired Labour Party officials warned him against a merger with the Israel Democratic Party. “If you serve as Barak’s second-in-command you’ll be finished,” one of them said to Peretz. “And if you stay number one, he’ll find a way to finish you off.” Meanwhile, officials with the Israel Democratic Party were pleased by a poll by Professor Camil Fuchs that was published last night and which indicated that the party would win six seats, overtaking the Labour Party and Meretz.

Yediot Ahronot report a meeting yesterday between Netanyahu and members of the Likud’s Russian campaign team, which included 25 immigrants from the former Soviet Union who, according to the Likud’s statement, “worked in the past with Yisrael Beiteinu and have shifted their support to the Likud.” It subsequently became evident that some of the activists in question joined the Likud more than two years ago, and other activists joined the Likud before the recent tensions between Netanyahu and Lieberman. Speaking at the meeting, Netanyahu addressed a series of key issues in Yisrael Beiteinu’s platform. “There are pensions that need to be taken care of, there are problems that need to be solved,” said Netanyahu. “For years we turned over responsibility for dealing with the Russian sector’s problems to Lieberman. Lieberman did nothing; he only knows how to air slogans.” Lieberman said in response: “It’s a good thing that Netanyahu has remembered the existence of the new immigrants from the Soviet Union, three months before the elections, and has deluged refugees from Yisrael Beiteinu with a variety of job offers.”

Haaretz reports that Israel’s Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz recently ordered members of his staff to develop a new policy that would require Israeli diplomats to focus on promoting Israel’s economic ties around the world. Katz’s move follows ongoing cuts to the ministry’s budget and to its authority. Under his plan, diplomats’ performance would be evaluated mainly on how successful they are at promoting economic relationships. The Foreign Minister also wants to attract more recruits to the foreign service course who have an economic background. The stated responsibilities of members of the foreign service already include promoting trade, but the ties are mainly handled by economic attachés affiliated with the Economy Ministry, while other diplomats focus primarily on diplomatic issues.