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Media Summary

UK, US condemn attacks against Israeli diplomats

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All UK broadsheets cover the two car bombs targeting the Israeli embassies in New Dehli and Tiblisi.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported as denouncing the Iranian regime as the “largest exporter of terrorism in the world.” Syria continues to feature prominently, with the Independent reporting that Russia will not support an international peacekeeping force. The paper also reports on wounded Syrian soldiers who blame outside forces including MI6 and Mossad, but not Assad, for the violence in Syria. The Financial Times details Lebanon’s predicament of how to respond to the conflict over its border. BBC reports comments by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, who said that the failure of the UN Security Council to take action against Syria has emboldened the regime to mount an “all out assault” on opponents. The Daily Telegraph covers Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo’s recent trip to the US where he is said to have been assessing US reactions if Israel were to act independently against Iran. The Financial Times also looks into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dilemmas regarding Iran. The Independent also updates its readers on the fate of the Islamic Jihad prisoner on hunger strike.  The Times has a spread looking back 40 years to the Palestinian terror attack at the 1972 Olympics. The Evening Standard has an interview with philanthropist Trevor Pears where he reveals 20% of his philanthropy goes to Israel, but not necessarily to Jewish recipients

The Israeli news is dominated by the two terror attacks, with extensive coverage of the injuries to Tal Yehoshua-Koren, the wife of an official at the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, and the likely political and diplomatic responses. Haaretz reports that Yehoshua-Koren has been released from hospital. Maariv notes that Israeli embassies have been placed on highest alert, and that there could be a wave of attacks planned to coincide with the anniversary of the assassination of senior Hezbollah figure Imad Mughniye. According to Alex Fishman in Yediot Ahronot, Israel is already in the midst of a wave of terror, with embassies were already on high alert, and attacks in Azerbaijan and Thailand successfully foiled in recent weeks. In Maariv, Ofer Shelah notes that Hezbollah has tried to avenge the death of Mughniye for four years, without success. He attributes this to far greater international cooperation amongst intelligence agencies since 9/11. The Jerusalem Post reports on the proposed allocations for Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority in the US budget. In other news, the Jerusalem Post notes that Jordanian forces peacefully controlled a crowd demonstrating outside the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Haaretz notes comments by US Vice Admiral Mark Fox that Iran has built up its naval forces in the Straits of Hormuz and may be preparing ‘suicide boats’, and Ynetnews reports that three temporary structures were demolished overnight in an unauthorised settlement outpost.