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Media Summary

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Egypt today

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Reuters reports Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told a televised news conference said this morning it is ready to reach a “good deal” with world powers, before blaming the US for stalling talks to revive the 2015 JCPOA nuclear pact. “Even today, we are ready to return to Vienna to reach a good deal if Washington fulfils its commitments,” Khatibzadeh said.

The Guardian reports that there are 77 Israeli farms and shepherding outposts across the West Bank, which is part of an explosion in settlement growth in recent years. The emergence of Israeli settlers using shepherding is seen as a tool for seizing the most land with the least effort. Israeli settler shepherds now control 7 per cent of Area C in the West Bank.

The Independent publishes a long read on how life is slowing returning to normal in northern Syria. Having visited parts of northern Syria since 2018, Borzou Daragahi has witnessed a growth in activity, population, and serenity for a people who have suffered one of the most brutal wars in recent history

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Egypt today as part of a regional tour that includes stops in Jordan and Turkey, according to Reuters.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot writes: “The coalition’s fate might be sealed in the course of this week in the Knesset. For the time being though, coalition members said they were not going to oust Yamina MK Nir Orbach as chairman of the Knesset House Committee — unless he formally announces a decision to quit the coalition. On the other side of the divide, the opposition will wait for the last moment on Wednesday before deciding whether to introduce a bill to dissolve the Knesset and will do so only if it is guaranteed a majority.” The report add that the opposition also faces a second problem: “Even if the bill to dissolve the Knesset does pass its preliminary reading in the plenum, it will then come before the House Committee for review. The coalition has a majority in the House Committee, which means that the bill to dissolve the Knesset might get stopped by the committee before it can be put to a final vote in the Knesset plenum.”

Makor Rishon adds that Last week Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Orbach held a tense meeting, after which Orbach announced that he was no longer a member of the coalition. According to the report, the prime minister asked Orbach to resign from the Knesset and to take a job outside of politics. Orbach was incensed by that request, and that is the reason he stormed out of the room. Orbach was angry to be treated that way after so many years of partnership with Bennett. The prime minister subsequently asked Orbach to wait with a vote on a bill to dissolve the Knesset until after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel in mid-July. Orbach said that he would consider the prime minister’s request. Meanwhile, Channel 12 News reports that several members of the coalition have demanded that Prime Minister Bennett allow them to introduce a bill that would bar anyone who is charged with a criminal offense from serving as prime minister. Prime Minister Bennett isn’t categorically opposed to the proposed legislation, but he is concerned that introducing that bill would result in the fall of the current government and early elections, arguing that doing so would push MK Nir Orbach into the right-wing parties’ arms.

Maariv follows the reaction from Hamas after the IDF struck an observation post on Saturday. “After it was attacked by the IDF and completely repaired, a Hamas military position near the border became a platform yesterday for incitement and threatening messages against the residents of the communities around the Gaza Strip.” At the beginning of the cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commented on the tense weekend in the south and said, “Friday night we attacked and destroyed workshops for making weapons, as well as a number of Hamas targets in Gaza. This was in reaction to the firing of a single rocket out of the Gaza Strip that was shot down by our Iron Dome defences. Unlike in the past we no longer make excuses for the terrorists, and nor do we describe them as rogue factions or [the rocket fire as the result of] electrical malfunctions. For us, Hamas is responsible. The past year has been the quietest year in a decade for the residents of the south — from an average of hundreds of rockets a year to seven, with no injury to lives,” he added.

Security officials suspect that rocket sirens heard in Jerusalem and Eilat on Sunday were the result of a cyberattack, according to Walla. The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) suspects that hackers were behind the incident due to the fact that the sirens activated were civilian rather than part of the Home Front Command network, according to a statement issued Monday by the IDF. Local authorities have been instructed to take preventative measures against the threat, the statement said. The Cyber Directorate is examining whether Iranian hackers were behind the alleged attack.

Israel Hayom follows reports by the Qatar-aligned Middle East Eye in which Iran has announced its willingness to relinquish its demand the IRGC be removed from Washington’s terrorism blacklist. An Iranian source told the London-based site that Iran was demanding the US rescind sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards’ economic arm, Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters. Washington has yet to issue an official statement on the report. Despite the waning prospects of reviving the Iranian nuclear deal, a US official told Saudi media on Sunday that there was still potential to bring Washington and Tehran back into full compliance with the agreement.

Kan Radio says Russia’s delegation to the UN is reportedly preparing a draft UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel, which it blames for the bombing of the international airport in Damascus last week. Israeli officials believe the council is unlikely to enact the draft resolution, which claims the alleged Israeli strike violated international law, undermined regional stability, and violated the sovereignty of Syria. The Russians further accused Israel of hampering humanitarian efforts in Syria.