Angst over Iran, Sinai and the West Bank

The impending referendum in Greece on its possible exit from the European Union and the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers are the main stories in Sunday’s front pages. Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth run evergreen headlines about diplomats getting close to a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Tehran, and Israel Hayom runs a frantic headline “Tehran and world powers agreed to lifting sanctions.”

The paper quotes foreign news reports saying that the sides reached an understanding on a timetable for lifting sanctions, but later acknowledges that it’s not clear what was agreed. Haaretz says there was a breakthrough in the talks after the sides agreed that a special committee would be established to monitor Iran’s compliance with the prospective deal, not the UN Security Council. It says that step was “a sign that both sides believe they’ll succeed in signing the deal before the new target date — Tuesday evening.”

“Optimism in Vienna, angst in Israel,” says Yedioth Ahronoth, quoting an anonymous source in Netanyahu’s office saying that the world powers’ concessions to Iran “grow larger each passing day” and are in violation of red lines delineated by the P5+1.

But going beyond the main stories in world news, the Hebrew press digs up some gems.

Friday’s rocket attack from the Sinai Peninsula gets media attention after a weekend hiatus. Yedioth Ahronoth reports on the “double threat” facing residents of southern Israel following the launching of three rockets from the Sinai Peninsula at Israeli towns on Friday.

Islamic State affiliates claimed responsibility for the attacks. Haaretz reports that Israeli officials believe the Islamic State affiliated-group in the Sinai was behind the attack and that their messages are “trustworthy.”

“It’s very stressful, and essentially the threat from Sinai and the Islamic State is even more stressful that the threat from Gaza,” Leah-Shira Weisner, 18, of Bnei Netzarim, tells Yedioth Ahronoth. “I can only hope that this summer will be quiet.”

Israel Hayom reports that because of the fighting in the Sinai, the IDF closed Route 12, the highway running along the border. It cites Egyptian media reports on ongoing fighting between Islamic State fighters and Egyptian security forces.

Yedioth Ahronoth says that residents of the Israel-Egypt border are concerned that fighting between the Egyptian military and Islamist radicals in the Sinai will spill over into Israel.

“When the chaos began there they told us to keep on our toes, follow developments and be aware of new instructions,” Shiran Moskowitz of Kadesh Barnea tells the paper. “After the [rocket] fire on Friday nothing exceptional happened on Saturday, and we hope that it will continue to be alright.”

Haaretz headlines a report which finds that West Bank settlements have started appropriating land surrounding them which were allocated for the purpose of “special security zones” and in recent years using them for building houses and agriculture.

The paper explains that the lands in question were meant to be buffer zones between the new security fences erected during the Second Intifada and the homes inside the settlements in question. Haaretz says that with the Civil Administration turning a blind eye, in most settlements there’s been an expansion into these security zones.

The paper calls the move a “land grab” of thousands of dunams of arable land in pockets designated for helping thwart terrorist attacks.

In nine of the 12 settlements with official “special security zones,” lands have been re-appropriated for Israeli settlement or agricultural purposes by residents, the paper says. It quotes the Civil Administration saying in response it issues demolition orders where illegal construction is conducted, including in several of the settlements listed in the report.

Friday’s incident involving a Palestinian teen who reportedly threw stones at Israeli forces and the senior Israeli officer who shot and killed him only gets mention deep in Sunday’s coverage. Yedioth Ahronoth reports that the Military Police are investigating the incident, and that the head of Central Command says he’s giving his full backing to the officer, brigade commander Colonel Yisrael Shomer, who fired the shot which killed Mohammad Hani al-Qusbeh.

The Military Police was investigating whether the soldiers complied with regulations when they opened fire. The IDF said the soldiers felt their lives were at risk when barraged by the rocks, and therefore left the vehicle and attempted arrest of the three Palestinian suspects, Israel Hayom reports.