BBC News and The Guardian report on the decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to extradite Malka Leifer to Australia. Leifer is a former principal accused of sexually abusing girls at a Melbourne school and is wanted on 74 sexual assault charges. She fled to Israel in 2008 after allegations against her surfaced. Australia formally requested her extradition six years ago, but the case dragged on for several years, leading to straining relations between Israel and Australia. Israel’s Justice Minister, Avi Nissenkorn, welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court and wrote on twitter “After long and torturous years, the time has come to do justice to Leifer’s victims. I intend to sign the extradition order without delay.” Reuters notes that Australia welcomed the decision this morning. Australia’s attorney general said “the decision of the Israel Supreme Court, dismissing Leifer’s appeal, is welcome news, particularly for alleged victims in Australia.”

BBC News reports on the uncertain fate many jailed duel Iranian nationals face and highlights the names of some of the most prominent jailed dual nationals. Jailed British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has focused attention many others like her. The paper notes that “Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and there are no exact figures on the number of such detainees given the sensitive nature of the information.”

The Guardian covers a report from the all-party Foreign Affairs Select Committee that claims the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) approach to jailed dual Iranian-British citizens is not working. Chair of the Select Committee, Tom Tugendhat said: “The UK government must call the arbitrary detention of foreign nationals what it is: hostage taking… the FCDO has faced criticism for its apparent inertia and lacklustre response to state-sponsored hostage taking, and it is clear that a more decisive, coordinated approach is needed.” The report also said that the UK should do more to constrain Iran by formally proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.

Reuters reports that an independent Canadian probe into Iran’s investigation of the downing of a civilian airliner in January has been conducted improperly and leaves many questions unanswered. Former cabinet minister Ralph Goodale, tasked with overseeing the report, noted that “Iran… has not conducted its investigations (safety, criminal or otherwise) in a truly independent, objective and transparent manner, and answers to critical questions”.

BBC News and The Guardian report that a lost artifact from the Great Pyramid of Giza was found by chance in a cigar box in at the University of Aberdeen. This is one of only three objects ever recovered from the pyramid. The items were originally discovered by engineer Waynam Dixon inside the pyramid’s Queen Chamber in 1872. The re-discovery of the item is said to be “hugely significant”.

BBC News reports that Tunisia has ruled out normalising relations with Israel. The country’s Prime Minister, Hichem Mechichi said on an official visit to France that Algeria does not intend to follow Morocco, adding that “every country is free to make the choice it makes. It is not the choice Tunisia has made… I have not heard anything about the Trump administration pressuring us to follow in the footsteps of Morocco and the Emirates”.

The Telegraph reports on a Norwegian newspaper investigation that unveiled Saudi Arabia’s request for diplomatic immunity for a 10-man security team in the summer of 2018. The team was reportedly sent to target a prominent critic of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. While Norwegian authorities denied the unusual request, the potential target of the operation, Iyad el-Baghdadi was warned about the Saudi request. El-Baghdadi has also reportedly been warned by the CIA about a potential threat from Saudi Arabia. That same year, Saudi agents murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, another prominent critic of the Crown Prince.

The Times reports that the US has sanctioned Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system. The sanctions ban all US exports to Turkey’s Defense Industries Directorate, which is responsible for procuring military equipment. The US also placed an asset freeze and visa restrictions on four of the directorate’s personnel.

Reuters reports that the US has designated the Bahrain-based Saraya al-Mukhtar group as a terrorist organisation. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the group was designated for “posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the national security and foreign policy of the United States. The group has plotted attacks against US personnel in Bahrain and has offered cash rewards for the assassination of Bahraini officials.”

All the Israeli media cover the latest Health Ministry figures that 2,862 new coronavirus cases were confirmed yesterday. This is the highest daily rise since Israel began exiting its second nationwide lockdown in October. The total death toll now stands at 3,022. Out of the 19,887 patients currently ill with the virus, 381 are in serious condition, with 138 on ventilators. Yesterday saw a record 83,277 tests conducted, the positivity rate is at 3.5 per cent. According to Kan News, Health Ministry officials are soon expected to demand another strict lockdown for at least five weeks, beginning next Wednesday. During the lockdown, commerce will be completely suspended and school will be open only in green and yellow cities and towns. Work will be permitted in situations where there is a single worker only, such as beauty parlours and hairdressers. Toward the end of the lockdown period, the Health Ministry will permit the holding of events [such as weddings and family celebrations], provided that participants have health passports showing that either they have had Covid-19 and recovered or that they have been vaccinated. Ministry officials predict that Israel will attain herd immunity against Covid-19 by June, after 5.5 million Israelis are vaccinated, about 60 percent of the population. At that point, it will be possible to completely restart the economy.

All the Israeli media report that Israel has successfully completed an air defence exercise showing the Iron Dome missile defence system was able to intercept cruise missiles for the first time. The Defence Ministry made the announcement yesterday confirming they tested four Israeli-made air defence systems against a range of threats from land and sea, including cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. According to the Ministry of Defence statement, “The success of this series of trials is an important milestone for Israel’s defence capabilities against existing and future threats in the region.” As part of this unique exercise, the different defence systems were required to communicate with one another and intercept several types of targets, including rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles simultaneously. According to Haaretz, “The operation was aimed at testing the interoperability of the two interceptor systems, allowing with the sensors of other Israeli missile defence systems including the high-altitude Arrow2 and Arrow3.”

Channel 12 News last night published a dramatic new poll, whereby, if elections were held today the Likud would receive 27 seats, Gideon Saar along with Yifat Shasha-Biton: 21, Yesh Atid-Telem: 14, Yamina: 13, Joint List: 11, Shas: 8, United Torah Judaism: 8, Yisrael Beiteinu: 6, Blue and White: 6, Meretz: 6. According to the channel’s chief political correspondent Amit Segal, “Just a week after Gideon Saar’s dramatic announcement about his intention to leave the Likud and to form a new political party with the goal of ending Netanyahu’s hold on power, that development appears to be a real game-changer that has the capacity to put an end to Netanyahu’s 12 consecutive years as prime minister. The poll… indicates that Saar will be able to form a coalition government without the Likud and Netanyahu.”

In Maariv, Ben Caspit comments on the poll, suggesting, “that poll ought to be enough to keep Binyamin Netanyahu, not to mention Benny Gantz, unable to sleep at night. Both of them are liable to become history if the trend currently reflected by the recent polls proves to be real.” However he adds, “there is always the other possibility that the prime minister knows something that we don’t. That Netanyahu is hiding another ace somewhere deep up his sleeve, an unanticipated trump card of the kind that Netanyahu has played so many times in the past. A card that might explain his self-confidence ahead of the next election and his certainty that he will be better off after the election, and not worse off.”

Yediot Ahronot reports that Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman has called for the establishment of a Zionist and liberal right-wing bloc without the Likud, a bloc that would run as a single list in the next elections. Lieberman has already reached out to the leaders of the right wing and centre parties—Gideon Saar, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid—with his proposal to form a single joint list that might run in the upcoming elections against the Likud-Haredi bloc. 

All the Israeli media report Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to appoint the Mossad’s current deputy chief as the organisations next leader to replace Yossi Cohen in June 2021. The new appointee cannot be named, is only referred to by his initial D. According to Yediot Ahronot, “D. is considered a protégé of current Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and has spent his entire military career in the intelligence agency as part of the army’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit. During his time with the Mossad, he worked in the organisation’s operations division and in the Tzomet division, which deals with recruiting and operating agents out on the field.” According to the coalition agreement senior appointments like this should be coordinated between the Likud and Blue and White, however this decision was made by Netanyahu alone. According to Channel 12 News Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gantz was not notified about the prime minister’s decision, and only found out through media reports, he was apparently furious and held an angry phone conversation with the prime minister.

All the papers also cover Public Security Minister Amir Ohana’s announcement yesterday that he is recommending that Border Police commander, Maj. Gen. Kobi Shabtai, be appointed the next police commissioner. According to Haaretz, “Shabtai, 56, was not considered a frontrunner for the position in past weeks, and the recommendation comes as a surprise… Shabtai has commanded the Border Police for the past four years, and it is his first role as major general.”