Media Summary
UN peacekeepers return to Syrian side of Golan Heights
The Financial Times and the Times reports on President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors, his potential foreign policy and how his views on Russia, NATO, the nuclear deal with Iran will conflict with British interests.
The Financial Times also focuses on Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s comments that Trump’s election provides an “opportunity to reset and rethink everything,” in terms of settlement building. The article outlines the current stand-off between the High Court and the government over the Amona outpost.
The Times and the I report on the Knesset Ministerial Committee’s vote on a bill to limit the noise of muezzin’s in Israel’s mosques, also mentioning the committee approved a legalisation bill which would allow settlers to remain on private Palestinian land.
The Guardian reports on the legalisation bill, highlighting how it conflicts with both Israeli law and Israel’s commitments under international law.
Yediot Ahronot, The Times of Israel, Ma’ariv, Yisrael Hayom, Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post all have a number of articles on the issue of the Amona demolition order. They examine the issue from the perspective of the residents who settled there with the permission and financial support of the government at that time; from the Palestinian landowners who hope to have their land returned; from the United States and Israeli Attorney General who oppose the Knesset bill to legalise Amona and offer compensation; and from the High Court which has rejected government requests to postpone the evacuation.
Ma’ariv reports on the clash between Netanyahu and Herzog over the latter’s use of the term “virus” to describe the legalisation bill. The paper also focuses on Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s political manoeuvring to strain the Netanyahu coalition’s right-wing credentials.
The Times of Israel reports the return of UN peacekeepers to camp Faouar on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, two years after they withdrew amid clashes with Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels. The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitors the 1974 ceasefire between Syria and Israel. It was forced to withdraw in August 2014 when more than 40 Fijian UNDOF troops were kidnapped and released two weeks later.
The Jerusalem Post reports on Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel sharing sensitive technologies with Russia. Ariel hosted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Agriculture Ministry’s Volcani Center in Rishon Lezion, where he admired a small drone worth about $200,000. Ariel disregarded clear instructions from the Defence Ministry that any transfer of unmanned vehicles to foreign countries requires an export license, and offered Medvedev the drone as a gift.
Israel Hayom and The Times of Israel report on a security incident surrounding Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara, the details of which have been kept secret. He allegedly published sensitive information on Facebook about the work of Israeli officials helping Jews from Muslim countries immigrate to Israel. It has been suggested that the information he published has damaged the work being done and potentially put lives in danger and undermined Israel’s foreign relations.
Yediot Ahronot comment on the arrival of President Rivlin in India for a state visit. Before leaving, Rivlin described India as “an important ally and close friend of Israel”.
The Times of Israel notes sentencing of two Israeli Arab cousins from Nazareth who are convicted of supporting Islamic state and planning attacks in Israel. The paper also includes the passing of the first reading of a bill to bar activists from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering Israel. The bill would extend the existing situation in which the Interior Minister has the right of refusal, to the creation of a list of individuals and organizations deemed anti-Israeli.
Yediot Ahronot comments on the sharp decline in French immigration to Israel, down to 4500 so far in 2016, compared with 8000 last year.