Media Summary
20/08/2014
There is widespread coverage of the rocket fire launched yesterday from Gaza towards the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, which brought an end to the truce between Israel and Hamas and the cessation of ceasefire talks between the two sides in Cairo. The Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Times, Daily Mirror and Independent i all cover yesterday’s events. The rocket fire prompted Israeli air strikes before a heavy barrage of around 50 rockets was launched from Gaza at Israel overnight.
The Guardian and Daily Mirror both report that police have questioned Bradford MP and virulent Israel critic George Galloway following complaints over public comments he made in which he declared Bradford an “Israel-free zone.” Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports that UK Jewish community leaders have criticised Labour frontbencher Shabana Mahmood MP of “rabble rousing” after she appeared to encourage pro-Palestinian activists to target supermarkets stocking Israeli goods during a recent rally. The Daily Express and Daily Star also cover the concerns expressed by UK Jewish leaders over a sharp spike in anti-Semitic attacks since the Gaza conflict erupted in July, noting attacks on synagogues and a Jewish charity shop. An editorial in the Daily Express sharply condemns the attacks and says that “all decent British people deplore anti-Semitism.”
Meanwhile, the Telegraph includes an interview with Israeli conductor and peace activist Daniel Barenboim, whose “Orchestra for Peace,” comprised of young Israelis and Palestinians will perform at the BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall this evening.
In other regional news, the online editions of the Times and Independent both report that the Syrian Air Force has recently launched strikes on the Syrian headquarters of Sunni Jihadist group ISIS in Raqqa. The articles suggest that the strikes bring to an end a de-facto truce between ISIS and the Assad regime. In the Telegraph online, the former-Deputy Head of MI6 warns that the UK is a target for ISIS. And in the Times, Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, warns Prime Minister David Cameron not to ally with Iran in an effort to combat ISIS. Kemp suggests that Iran’s leaders provide a degree of support to Sunni groups in order to maintain a regional balance of power and would use an anti-ISIS alliance with the West to strengthen its position in nuclear talks with the international community.
The renewal of rocket attacks on Israel and the collapse of the truce and ceasefire negotiations in Cairo dominate the Israeli media this morning. It is the top item in Haaretz, Makor Rishon and Maariv, which leads with the simple headline “Back to the shelters.” Yesterday’s developments are also the lead item in Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom; both their headlines suggest that Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif was targeted in an Israeli air force strike in response to yesterday’s rocket fire.
Israel Radio news suggests that the ceasefire collapsed because Hamas’s political leader Khaled Mashaal was dissatisfied with the deal being discussed in Cairo and even suggests that Qatar had threatened Mashaal with expulsion if the Egyptian initiative were accepted. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman says that the Cairo talks were akin to trying to “revive a dead corpse” with neither side keen on the agreement being discussed. However, he suggests that the current state of play offers an “opportunity to bring a plan to the security cabinet that is a bit more original, a bit bolder, that can really affect Hamas’s behaviour.”
Israel Radio news says that the Home Front Command has ordered public bomb shelters to be opened within a radius of 50 miles of the Gaza Strip. It has also placed restrictions on the numbers permitted for public gatherings and various municipal activities in Ashdod and Ashkelon have been cancelled in the wake of the renewed rocket fire.