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Media Summary

Lorde considering cancelling Tel Aviv concert

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The Guardian, BBC News Online, Mirror, Mail Online and Independent all report that the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution criticising attempts to change the status quo in Jerusalem and declaring that any decisions regarding the status of the city are “null and void” and must be cancelled.  The vote followed US President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of the city as the capital of the State of Israel.

BBC News Online, the Guardian, Independent, Times, ITV News and the Telegraph all report that British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been told she is eligible for early release, according to her husband Richard Ratcliffe.

BBC News Online reports that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have said that the number of Cholera cases in Yemen has reached 1m.

The Guardian and Evening Standard report that New Zealand singer Lorde is considering cancelling a concert in Tel Aviv, following criticism from some fans.

All the Israeli newspapers focus on the vote at the UNGA on a resolution that condemned the US President’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.  Both Yediot Ahronot, whose head line is “We Lost,” and Maariv, “In the Minority,” focus on the defeat.  Israel Hayom reports that 35 states abstained and a further 21 states were absent from the vote, calling this an “achievement for Israel”.

Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Shimon Shiffer says “this vote has only weakened Jerusalem’s status, and the walls around the city only became higher yesterday”. He continued: “So is our situation better than it was prior to Trump’s declaration? Netanyahu likes to say that there has been a turnabout in Israel’s international standing, but judging by the outcome of the UN vote that turnabout is fairly limited.”

Yediot Ahronot also includes an opposing view, calling last night’s win for the Palestinians as a “Pyrrhic victory”. “Declarations of victory will not help the non-state of Palestine and its leader — Abu Mazen also knows full well that they took a severe blow yesterday, and if he wants Palestine ever to be a sovereign state he will have no choice but to accept Israel’s terms,” the article continued.

In Maariv, Michael Kleiner argues that the “non-recognition of Jerusalem illustrates the fact that the world is incapable of accepting Israel as a fellow nation, even at the age of 70. It reflects the denial of the historical connection of the people of Israel to the Land of Israel… The European countries’ crusade against Trump after his declaration, together with their vote in favour of the resolution denying the Jewish people’s connection to the Western Wall, can stem from only one source.”

Ron Prosor, writing in Israel Hayom, credits Trump’s recent statement as having “forced many countries to rethink the route, and as part of this route, 21 Ambassadors apparently lost their way to the UN building in New York and did not vote.”

Kan Radio News reports that Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, who called for a day of rage in the territories today against US President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem announcement. Sinwar said at a meeting with young people in Gaza that they must make Friday turn bloody and go to points of friction with the forces of the occupation and the settlers.

All the Israeli papers cover the latest attack on the government by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He is quoted as saying that “the government’s policy will lead senior military officials to refuse to obey orders”.  Maariv further notes that the government’s policy of creating a bi-national and undemocratic state “will precipitate an uprising by civil society, which will bring hundreds of thousands into the streets to physically obstruct it.

Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom both report on the Israeli Air Force fighter pilot graduation ceremony which included one female graduate amongst the class of 36.  She used the opportunity to encourage more women to join the course, considered one of the most competitive and demanding in military service.  Only 9 per cent of the cadets that started the course completed it.

Yediot Ahronot records the first public debate between Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and the new Supreme Court president, Esther Hayut.   Speaking at a legal conference last night, Shaked attacked the Supreme Court judges, who are opposed to her proposed Basic Law bill that restricts the ability of the Supreme Court to disqualify laws passed by the Knesset, and enables the Knesset to re-enact a disqualified law by an absolute majority of 61 MKs.