Media Summary
Five Palestinians arrested on suspicion of planning Temple Mount attack
The Telegraph discusses the experiences of Israelis and Palestinians living as “unhappy neighbours” in Hebron in the West Bank, and reviews Israeli settlement policy in general.
The Telegraph reports on the ongoing dispute between Israeli mining company Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) and the Government of Guinea, after a two week hearing at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. BSGR argues it was wrongfully stripped of mining rights to a large untapped iron deposit in 2014, whilst the Guinean Government claims it acquired access through bribery.
An article in the Times explores the effect of terrorism on general elections and notes Israeli studies that have shown immediate but limited surges in support for the Likud Party after incidences of Palestinian violence.
All the Israeli media cover the terror attack in London and a wave of arrests that have subsequently taken place.
The Times of Israel reports that the Shin Bet and Jerusalem Police arrested five Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem on suspicion of planning to attack security forces and visitors at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Yediot Ahronoth report on statements made by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke against moves by the boycott movement to convince the group not to perform in Israel. Yorke said criticism of the group is “patronising in the extreme” and called moves to boycott Israel “divisive” and unhelpful.
Maariv reports that settler leaders have expressed anger at Prime Minister Netanyahu over the expected approval of approximately 2,000 housing units in the West Bank. Among the units are 102 new housing units that will be built for the evacuees from Amona but Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan described the move as a “freeze” in construction and suggested that if the policy continues Likud should seek to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister.
Yediot Ahronoth, Haaretz and the Times of Israel report on an article in the New York Times that claims Israel considered detonating a nuclear device in Sinai during the Six-Day War to serve as a warning to the Arab armies if the war was going against Israel, MK and historian Michael Oren and Professor Avner Cohen argued that the scenario was unlikely.
Channel 10 reports that the Tel Aviv municipality joined other cities in colouring its buildings in green in protest against the US withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords.
Israel Radio cited reports on Palestinian websites indicating that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has begun to withhold payments to some former prisoners who served terms in Israeli prisons, although the PA has yet to comment publicly on these reports.
Senior Fatah leader Jibril Rajoub was interviewed by Israeli Channel 2 and said that Palestinians recognised that the Western Wall would remain under “Jewish sovereignty” in a future deal. A Hamas spokesman described Rajoub’s statements as a “national crime”.
Israel Hayom report that the PA’s s Education Ministry has been continuing to commemorate terrorists by naming dozens of schools after them.
Yediot Ahronoth report on a demonstration in Tel Aviv marking 1000 days that Avera Mengistu has been in captivity in Gaza.