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Media Summary

Luxembourg says EU should recognise Palestinian state

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Reuters reports that Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn has claimed that the EU should recognise a Palestinian state after the US expressed support for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

BBC News, the Guardian, Times, Independent, FT, Sky News and Reuters report that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said he cannot form a coalition government, making an unprecedented third election in a year more likely. Gantz was given a mandate by President Rivlin last month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to secure a majority in parliament. Lawmakers now have 21 days to nominate a candidate with majority support.

BBC News, the Times, Independent, ITV News and Reuters report that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has claimed victory against an “enemy” plot, following a deadly crackdown by security forces on protests over petrol price rises. “Subversive elements” backed by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia were behind the unrest, Rouhani alleged. As many as 200 people are feared to have been killed, according to Amnesty International.

Reuters reports that Iraq’s Khor al-Zubair commodities port near Basra has reopened and operations resumed normally. On Tuesday protesters blocked the entrance to the Gulf port.

The Guardian reports that human rights monitors have reported that bombing by Syrian government and Russian forces of the last opposition-held pockets of Syria has killed 1,300 people and displaced almost 1 million more since April 2019.

Reuters reports that an attack by Syrian government forces on Idlib killed at least 15 and wounded several at a displaced persons camp on Wednesday.

BBC News examines who currently controls Syria’s oil production and who benefits from it.

The Guardian reports that Mohamed Ali, the whistleblower who sparked rare street protests in Egypt two months ago with his revelations about corruption in his country, has launched a plan to coordinate a new opposition movement dedicated to economic and democratic reform. Ali is interviewed by Sky News where he claims to fear for his life.

Reuters reports that Turkey’s Interior Minister has claimed that 100,000 Syrians living without approval in Istanbul have left since early July 2019, when the government set a deadline for Syrians not registered in the city to leave for other provinces.

Reuters reports that the South Korean Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the Houthi movement has released three vessels and 16 people it had seized on Sunday.

The Independent reports that police are assessing allegations that staff at the Bahrain embassy in London attempted to kill protester Moosa Mohammed.

The Times reports that two thirds of America’s high-altitude Global Hawk drones may be scrapped after one was shot down by Iran in June 2019.

Reuters reports that King Salman has stated that missile and drone strikes it blames on Iran had not halted development and reiterating that Riyadh will not hesitate to defend itself. In an annual address to the appointed Shura Council, he called again on the international community to stop Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and halt regional intervention, saying it was time to stop the “chaos and destruction” generated by Iran.

Reuters reports that Lebanon’s caretaker information minister and two former telecoms ministers could face trial on charges of wasting public funds after their cases were referred to a special judicial panel set up to try top officials.

Reuters reports that a late-year rush of giant global share sales led by Alibaba’s $13bn Hong Kong listing and Aramco’s $26 billion initial public offering is failing to deliver an equivalent payday for equities bankers.

BBC News reports that a court in Iran has sentenced six wildlife conservationists accused of espionage to between six and 10 years in prison. They were among a group detained in early 2018 while using cameras to track endangered species.

The Times reports that the Church of England has said that christians are to blame for centuries of antisemitism which led to the Holocaust and prejudice in modern politics, offering its “repentance”.

Reuters examines Tuktuk newspaper, produced, printed and distributed by Iraqi anti-government activists: “The newspaper, named after the three-wheeled motorcycles that have become a symbol of Iraq’s protests for ferrying wounded demonstrators to makeshift medical tents, is less than a month old”.

Reuters reports that Emirates has agreed to buy its first Boeing (BA.N) 787 Dreamliners in a last-minute, $9bn deal at the Dubai Airshow, while reducing its order for the delayed 777X model.

In the Independent, an undercover reporter exposes “Iraq’s secret sex trade”: “what I discovered shocked me to my core”.

IDF preparing for Iranian retaliation: Channel 12 news reported yesterday that the Israel Defence Forces are preparing for a significant Iranian retaliatory attack, perhaps as early as this weekend, after widespread Israeli air strikes in Syria early on Wednesday. Israeli jets hit more than 20 Iranian and Syrian military targets, reportedly killing between 10 to 23 personnel, the majority Iranian. The Israeli commander for the Golan Heights told local residents to continue with their daily routines but added that the IDF had augmented air defence systems in the region and would remain on alert ahead of any scenario. The Russian Foreign Ministry, according to Yediot Ahronot, issued a statement yesterday saying that Israel had struck inside Syria four times since November 12. The Russian government also stated that Israeli jets had flown through Jordan and Iraq during one of the sorties, and had deployed cruise missiles as well. Ynet reports that a third of Israeli citizens living within 9 kilometres of the Lebanon and Syria borders – roughly 67,000 people – do not have adequate bomb shelters available in their homes.

Israeli media react to prospect of third election: Israeli commentators criticised political leaders as a third election looked likely. An article in Israel Hayom said: “It’s official: the political establishment in Israel has reached rock bottom; it has reached the point of being delusional. A banana republic. From being an island of stability in the region, it has become unstable on a global level.” An article in Yediot Ahronot directed its ire at Avigdor Liberman for his comments yesterday and playing a false game of equivalence between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, saying: “Liberman delivered a speech yesterday that was rife with hostility towards minorities —the Haredim and the Arabs. Brimming with populism, he went on to accuse “both sides” for the failure….Liberman knows that most of the blame for the failure to form a unity government lies with Netanyahu, but he has continued to play the role of the UN secretary general.” Another article in Haaretz put it thus: “Only holders of an iron stomach did not feel intense nausea, triggering their gag reflex, as they watched the political system’s leaders launch the first campaigns of the 2020 election. Clowns of hypocrisy, cynicism and righteousness flooded the background.”