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Media Summary

Israel aware of additional Syrian nuclear facilities

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In the UK and international media today, several papers note that Saudi King Abdullah announced new welfare benefits for his country and a reshuffling of his cabinet in an effort to calm popular unrest. The Independent carries a piece on what would happen if the Saudi Arabian government would fall due to anti-government protests. The Daily Telegraph and BBC Online note that Israel aircrafts struck at Hamas sites in Gaza last night in retaliation to a Grad-type rocket fired into the Israeli city of Beer Sheva on Wednesday. BBC Online and Reuters note that the Egyptian public prosecutor referred two ministers and several businessmen to a criminal court as part of an anti-corruption probe following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. Sky News Online runs an interactive map covering all the protests and unrest currently taking place against governments in the Middle East and North Africa.

In the Israeli press, all papers note that the Israeli Air Force struck at Hamas targets in Gaza last night as a response to a rocket fired into Beer Sheva on Wednesday. In other news, the Jerusalem Post reports that Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that Israeli intelligence and the United Nations are aware of a Syrian nuclear facility 15 kilometres east of Damascus. The paper notes that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday and said that his country fully supports Israel and will stand by Israel when it takes on the rotating presidency of the European Union later this year. The paper also reports that the Quartet representatives plan to meet next week in Brussels with Israeli and Palestinian leaders separately in order to revive the peace talks. Haaretz notes that PM Netanyahu spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the phone and assured the German leader that he will launch a new peace plan with a speech he plans to deliver in two weeks.