fbpx

Media Summary

08/08/2014

[ssba]

The Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Sun, Metro and i Independent report that the police have opened an investigation into Bradford MP George Galloway. The Independent reports that Mr Galloway told a pro-Palestine Rally “We have declared Bradford an Israel-free zone … We don’t want any Israeli academics coming to the university or college. We don’t even want any Israeli tourists coming to Bradford.” The Telegraph quotes a spokesman for West Yorkshire police as confirming that they are investigating the comments.

The Times quotes Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg saying an announcement on arms export licenses to Israel is due soon. The Evening Standard notes Mr Clegg promised that arms licenses would be suspended if the current ceasefire were to come to an end. The Guardian quotes former Middle East Minister Alistair Burt, who points out that Lib Dem Minister Vince Cable has approved export licenses to Israel in his four-year tenure.

The Times carries a letter from senior Conservatives, including former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Baroness Neville-Jones and Lord Trimble, praising the Government’s policy on Israel.

The Times, Telegraph, i and Express report on the end of the 72-hour ceasefire. The Express reports that Hamas has refused to extent the ceasefire.  The Times notes Hamas’s promise to shower Tel Aviv with rockets. The Telegraph covers a Hamas rally in Gaza, where a Hamas official told the crowd that “the war is not over yet” to chants of “bomb Tel Aviv”.

Don Macintyre in The Independent interviews Palestinian casualties of the conflict in Shifa Hospital, while the Guardian looks at some of the damage left by the Israeli incursion into Gaza. The FT looks at Israeli attitudes towards the conflict and public opinion in Israel generally

The Guardian carries a long report on the spike in antisemitism in Europe following the conflict between Hamas and Israel, including firebombing attacks against Jewish synagogues and shops in France and Germany, chants calling for Jews to be killed and the beating of a Rabbi in Amsterdam.

The Metro reports that the Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal for Gaza, which will be broadcast on TV tonight. It notes that a 2009 Gaza appeal was rejected by the BBC and Sky because it was felt to compromise their neutrality.

The Telegraph has a comment piece by Con Coughlin, claiming that Israel has lost the ‘propaganda war’ but that Israel has won the battle on the ground against forces trying to destroy it. Michael Burleigh in the Daily Mail contrasts the media and public reaction to the conflict in Gaza to the silence over the slaughter in Libya, Iraq and Syria. It includes a feature graphic of the conflicts in the Middle East. Fredrick Forsyth in the Express challenges the official casualty figures in Gaza, noting that Hamas fighters are terrorists and terrorists, with no uniforms or insignia, are classed as civilians.

The Guardian carries a short editorial piece praising Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Israeli papers lead on the end of the 72-hour ceasefire, speculating whether rocket fire would begin this morning. Israel Hayom’s front-page carries the headline “Ceasefire: Today – the test”.

Yediot Ahronot reports on the negotiating positions of Israel and Hamas, and those areas where progress had been made.

Maariv carries a poll by Panels which shows that 47 per cent of Israelis consider Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a partner in reaching a deal in Gaza, versus 40 per cent who don’t. 72 per cent believe Israel’s goal in Gaza should be to seek demilitarisation under an international force. A large majority (92 per cent) supports targeting Hamas leaders. A poll in Israel Hayom shows 53 per cent of Israelis felt that the operation against Hamas ended prematurely. 68 per cent believe that the Cairo talks won’t result in a lasting agreement, and  89 per cent believe a future conflict with Hamas is inevitable.

In Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman predicts that a technological solution to detecting and destroying tunnels is on its way.