Media Summary
Saudi prince dies in helicopter crash
BBC News Online reports that a Saudi prince has been killed in a helicopter crash near the Saudi-Yemen border. Prince Mansour bin Muqrin’s death was first reported by the Saudi news channel Al-Ikhbariya. The cause of the crash is so far unknown.
The Mail Online reports that Israeli officials said on Sunday that they have recovered the bodies of five Palestinians who were killed when it blew up a tunnel last week that was dug by militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
The Mail Online reports that on several nights last week the IDF rescued and treated a number of wounded refugees from the Syrian war. The refugees were picked up by IDF forces in the Israeli Golan Heights and subsequently taken to hospital.
The Guardian, BBC News Online and the Times report the anti-corruption purge that has taken place in Saudi Arabia. At least 20 senior figures, among them several princes, have been sidelined. The move is widely believed to be an attempt to cement the power of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Telegraph reports that Bahrain has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon after the surprise resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. The paper reports that the move may have wider implications as Bahrain is “often seen as a bellwether for the Saudi Arabia-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council” and that this could mark an escalation in the tensions between Sunni powers and Iran in the region.
All the Israeli media report that police have questioned the Prime Minister’s lawyer, David Shimron, and another unnamed confidant of the Prime Minister in connection to case 3000, the submarine and naval vessels affair. Yediot Ahronot describes the unnamed figure: “the suspect is considered to be one of the few people in the political landscape whom the Prime Minister trusts implicitly. Netanyahu repeatedly sent him on sensitive diplomatic missions, some of which were secret. Often those missions were carried out behind the backs of official bodies, such as the Foreign Ministry, the diplomatic corps and, in some cases, even the Mossad—which often created friction and clashes.” Both men were reportedly surprised by police at 6:30AM and taken for more than 15 hours of questioning. Channel Two News reveals they will also be questioned again today.
Maariv and Israel Hayom report that the IDF revealed they have the bodies of five operatives from the blown-up tunnel on the Gaza border last week. The bodies were found inside Israeli territory. This is in addition to the nine killed on the Palestinian side. Maariv reports a letter to the courts from the Shaul family, whose son Oren’s body has been held by Hamas since summer 2014: “It is inconceivable that the enemy be allowed to receive the bodies of its activists, who were engaged in building a tunnel that was designed to harm Israel, without the return to Israel of Oron and the IDF officer Hadar Goldin and the other Israeli civilians who are being held by Hamas in Gaza”.
Haaretz reports comments by Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of Government activities in the territories, he has called for the implementation of a Gazan version of the Marshall Plan through which the international community would direct large amounts of assistance to improve the economy in the Gaza Strip.
Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom report President Rivlin’s state visit to Spain, he will meet King Felipe VI later today. Yesterday he met with leaders of the Spanish Jewish community, telling them: “We must not surrender to antisemitism. We have to fight it. I am glad that the Spanish government itself has taken measures in legislation and enforcement against that ugly phenomenon. We mustn’t be ashamed of, or conceal, our identity. Nor should we be ashamed of the connection between the State of Israel and the Jewish people. I know that there are concerns and fears of terrorism against Jews and of antisemitism that disguises itself as criticism of the State of Israel. We will fight against all of those challenges together.”