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Media Summary

Turkish warship docks at Haifa for NATO training

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Reuters reports that a Turkish warship has docked in Israel for the first such visit in more than a decade. The frigate Kemalreis docked in Haifa on Saturday as part of NATO manoeuvres in the Mediterranean Sea. An Israeli official said Ankara had submitted a preliminary request for the crew to disembark on shore leave.

The BBC and Telegraph reports that foreigners must tell the Israeli defence ministry if they fall in love with a Palestinian in the West Bank, according to new rules. If they marry, they will be required to leave after 27 months for a cooling-off period of at least half a year. It is part of a tightening of rules on foreigners living in, or wanting to visit, the West Bank. Palestinians and Israeli NGOs have accused Israel of “taking restrictions to a new level”.

Reuters also notes that Israel will ban Boeing 747 and similar aircraft with four engines from March 2023 to reduce noise and air pollution, its airports authority said on Sunday. As part of a broader plan under development to improve the surrounding environment, the authority said that it has already told airlines they would not be able to land large airplanes at Ben Gurion Airport for the summer season next year.

Two Palestinian men accused of collaborating with Israel have been executed in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run interior ministry says in a report by the BBC. The two men accused of spying for Israel were arrested in 2009 and 2015 and “convicted by a court of treason and conspiring with foreign parties”, the interior ministry statement said.

The Daily Mail writes that the British Labour Party is at the centre of a new antisemitism storm after a Jeremy Corbyn ally who accused Israel of exploiting the Holocaust was elected to its governing body last week. In a move condemned by Jewish organisations, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi – a founder of fringe group Jewish Voice For Labour – took a seat on the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) on Thursday.

‘I am not afraid to die’, says Munich survivor, who recalls the terror attack at the 1972 Olympics in the Independent. Following in Reuters is also a wider story remembering those who died 50 years ago in the attack on the Israeli team by gunmen associated with the Palestinian militant group Black September.

In the Israeli media, Israel Hayom follows President Isaac Herzog’s three-day state visit to Germany to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympic attacks which led to the death of 11 Israelis, one German police officer after Palestinian terrorists took the Israeli squad was taken hostage at their residences at the Olympic village. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday described the 50 years it took to reach a compensation agreement with the Israeli families as “shameful.” Steinmeier regretted that “too long, we did not want to accept that we also share responsibility: It was our task to ensure the safety of the Israeli athletes,” he said. According to Germany’s news agency DPA, the compensation of €28m (£24.2) had been discussed, of which the federal government would cover €22.5m. The German government did not confirm the amounts, saying the talks with the victims’ representatives were confidential. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also meet Herzog during his visit. Herzog’s late father, Chaim Herzog, was the first president of Israel to officially visit Germany in 1987.

Maariv reports that Israeli officials have changed the upcoming Defence Ministry guidelines for foreign nationals wanting to enter the West Bank, reversing clauses requiring visitors to notify Israel if any of them start a relationship with a Palestinian. The new draft also allows for the extension of foreigners’ visas from 90 days to 180 days. In addition, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) removed quotas on visiting lecturers and students at Palestinian universities, originally set at 100 teachers and 150 students. Israel has further agreed, under pressure from US officials, that there would be a two-year trial period in which further adjustments can be made to the regulations. The rules were set to take effect in July but were delayed by petitions to the Supreme Court. The revised document will go into effect on October 20.

Yediot Ahronot and Walla report that a 44-year-old journalist was shot dead in his car on Sunday in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel. The Israel Police have launched an investigation into the death of Nidal Agbaria, an independent journalist. Eyewitnesses said that at least two masked men shot Agbaria at close range, with one bullet hitting his head, before fleeing the scene. Umm el-Fahm Mayor Samir Mahameed said, “This is a terrible catastrophe. This past year the sense of security in Umm el-Fahm rose significantly with the improved communication and coordination among all of the authorities that are responsible for security in the city. We won’t regress. We won’t allow criminality to rear its head and we will continue to act together to eradicate violence and criminality in the city tomorrow morning as well.” It is believed the motive for the attack is related to Agbaria’s brother’s financial dealings. Shots have been fired at the family home several times in the last two years, in one of these cases a bullet penetrated the living room window of Agbaria’s home. Agbaria left behind a wife and a daughter.

Maariv writes that Mossad Director David Barnea is scheduled to leave today for Washington on an official visit, in which he will hold meetings with senior officials at the White House, the CIA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, the State Department and more. The visit’s focus will be on strengthening the security and intelligence cooperation with the Americans on the Iranian nuclear issue. Meanwhile, Iranian hackers have claimed to have hacked Barnea’s phone and accessed his personal medical information. The hackers posted on their Telegram channel the results of a medical examination Barnea allegedly went through, and a selfie from a Judo tournament. In the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid addressed the Iran nuclear deal, saying: “The right policy is the one we’ve been enacting this past year: Continuing to apply pressure, but not over-doing it. presenting credible intelligence, being part of the process without ruining the special relationship with the US.”

Writing in Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer argues a potential split in United Torah Judaism could endanger the entire bloc of parties loyal to Netanyahu. “But the rift within the ultra-Orthodox leadership is about far more than whether the two Ashkenazi parties will run together or whether has enough voters to cross the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold alone,” writes Anshel.

Israel Hayom notes that former Yamina MK Abir Kara has formed a new party named Economic Freedom. Kara said: “We’ve taken upon ourselves a tremendous task. A battle of titans against huge, powerful bodies in Israel, lobbyists [in favour of a high] cost of living. I am not heading into this fight alone. I’ve armed myself with the best armour to be found in Israel.” Kara has been joined by Gilad Alpher, an economist who ran for Knesset previously with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut Party. Dr. Idit Raz-Kalisher, an economic policy expert has joined, as has Suzy Bar from the Shulmanim and Professor Omer Moav, but his role remains unclear for the time being. Kara has also been holding talks with Yoseph Haddad, a public information activist from the Arab sector. That party’s chances of crossing the electoral threshold are believed to be quite low. Sources close to Kara said they would not rule out working with either Netanyahu’s supporters or his opponents.