US and Russian leaders 'stand together' against Iranian nuclear threat

In the UK and international media today, most papers report that the spokesperson of the group that kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been detained by Hamas security forces yesterday in Gaza. In other news, several papers report that nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was yesterday jailed by a Jerusalem court for six months for breaching his parole conditions. Meanwhile, a number of papers also note that Iran has launched an English television station yesterday, which is designed to broadcast Tehran's message to a Western audience. Reuters reports that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's emergency Palestinian government will pay full wages, for the first time in 17 months, to civil and security sector employees. In the Israeli press, all papers note that a state memorial ceremony was held yesterday marking a year since 155 soldiers and civilians were killed in the Second Lebanon War. Haaretz notes that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence committee yesterday and said that Israel intends to remove a number of roadblocks in the West Bank and release 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. In addition, the paper notes that US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met yesterday and announced that ‘stand together' against the Iranian nuclear threat. The paper also notes that the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Services) arrested 11 Hamas members in East Jerusalem who were recruiting youths to carry out terror attacks. Haaretz and Ynetnews note that a delegation of US university chancellors are on a visit to Israel aimed at strengthening cooperation between academic institutions. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post notes that the construction plans for a bridge to lead up to the Mughrabi Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem have been abandoned for the time being. The paper also notes that the High Court of Justice yesterday gave the state three more days to respond to five petitions demanding that Attorney General Menahem Mazuz cancel the plea bargain reached with former president Moshe Katsav.

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