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Media Summary

Israel says flotilla carrying chemicals to harm soldiers

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The flotilla to Gaza dominates Israel-related coverage in the UK media today. The Guardian notes that Israel is reviewing an earlier declaration that would have barred foreign journalists from entering the country for 10 years if they boarded the new flotilla. The Independent reports that Greece is delaying the departure of a number of ships intending to participate in the flotilla. The Times also has a piece on Israeli preparations regarding the flotilla. Reuters, the Financial Times, the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, BBC Online and the Scotsman note a meeting of Syrian opposition activists in Damascus yesterday. Reuters also has a piece on the troubled efforts to complete Palestinian reconciliation. The Daily Mail has an article on cyber warfare, which includes a discussion of Israel and the Stuxnet virus that targeted Iran. The paper also notes the imminent arrival to Britain of Israeli Arab Islamist activist Raed Salah. The Independent runs a piece on corruption claims surrounding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In the Israeli media all papers have pieces on the flotilla. All papers note claims by Israeli officials that some flotilla participants are planning to use violence against IDF troops. Haaretz notes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to rescind an earlier declaration regarding plans to impose penalties on journalists boarding the flotilla. The paper also reports on claims of the imminent indictment of five Hezbollah members for the murder in 2005 of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The Jerusalem Post has an additional piece on the Iranian revealing of a number of underground missile silos as part of an exercise now under way. Ynetnews, meanwhile, notes that Germany has confirmed Netanyahu’s statement that Israel accepted a proposed deal to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, but that the deal was turned down by Hamas. The Israeli media widely covers yesterday’s arrest of Rabbi Dov Lior, the rabbi of a prominent settler community, on suspicion of inciting racism, after he endorsed a book that reportedly justifies Jews killing non-Jews if they feel threatened by them.