Egypt's arrest of an Israeli spy, Palestinian recognition and Gazan gas topped Israeli news today. Israeli Public Radio Netanyahu claims to offer "painful" concessions for peace. Israel's Public Radio said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet on Monday with Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi in an attempt to convince Italy to oppose Palestinian steps to gain U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Netanyahu arrived in Rome on Sunday night, heading a high-profile delegation composed of nine ministers of his government, it added. Netanyahu's visit will witness a common session between the Italian and Israeli governments in addition to signing a number of bilateral economic agreements. The Israeli radio reported Netanyahu's declarations in which he claimed Israel's readiness to offer "painful" concessions to achieve peace with the Palestinians, raising the necessity of the Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. He also demanded the Palestinian government to abandon the Hamas movement and consequently the reconciliation deal signed between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo on May 4. Yediot Ahronot Tel-Aviv hopes to turn a new page with Ankara after Erdogan's party win in the Turkish parliamentary elections. The Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Dani Ayalon, said "the results of the Turkish elections could open the door for turning a new page in the relations between Tel-Aviv and Ankara if Turkey pursued more balanced policies toward Israel." Ayalon said friendship and common interest controlled the policies of Israel and Turkey until recently, adding that these interests haven't changed. Ayalon expects Netanyahu will congratulate his Turkish counterpart, Ragab Tayeb Erdoghan, on his re-election. Ayalon also expressed his hope that the next Turkish government will prevent the Freedom Flotilla 2 from leaving to the Gaza Strip after the Justice and Development Party managed to win the majority in the Turkish Parliament. He added, "We don't want to see Turkish support for the provoking flotilla. We hope an official government will not violate international law." The organizers of the flotilla confirmed their intentions to challenge the Israeli blockade against the Gaza Strip in June despite Egypt's decision to permanently open the Rafah border. The first flotilla was attacked by the Israeli army in May 2010. Nine Turkish citizens were killed, which led to international condemnation and a notable change in the Turkish-Israeli relations. An Israeli study: Tel-Aviv is the most expensive city in the Middle East An Israeli economic study said Tel-Aviv is among 400 cities that are considered the most expensive cities of the world. The study included most European capitals and many American cities. Tel-Aviv is the most expensive city in the Middle East. Yediot Ahronont confirmed that an average lunch costs $24, while it costs only $20 in Tokyo. Marriv The Israeli ‘spy' is a mystery and should be clarified by Cairo Marriv newspaper described Egypt's news about arresting a Mossad agent in Egypt as a mystery which should be clarified by Cairo. The newspaper mocked the arresting process, saying "Cairo announced arresting an Israeli spy while publishing his photo in which he was wearing the military uniform from when he was on tour in Egypt." Marriv said the Israeli government has no information about the imprisonment of any Israeli citizen in Egypt, adding that the Egyptian authorities claim the imprisonment of an Israeli officer who had a laptop and three mobiles which include sensitive information. The Hebrew newspaper said the Egyptian Public Prosecution accused the Israeli soldier of recruiting Egyptian citizens to work against the interests of their country, fueling sectarian strife and collecting information about the situation in Egypt. Haaretz Israel seized Palestinian gas from Gaza's coast to avoid the repercussions of the suspension of Egyptian gas supplies. The Israeli Infrastructure Ministry ordered the "Noble Energy" company to develop fields of natural gas to avoid any potential gas shortage in the next year in case Egypt re-suspends the flow of gas to Israel. Israel obtains Egyptian gas at price far below international market value. The newspaper expressed Israeli fears that the upcoming Egyptian government could suspend Egyptian gas supplies to Israel or destroy the pipelines. The Israeli newspaper said a natural gas reserve has been discovered off the coast of the Gaza Strip. British Gas Group and another company, located in Athens, have been granted exploration rights, according to an agreement concluded between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1999. Haarrtez added that the British company drilled two wells in 2000 and estimated the gas reserve to be 1.4 trillion cubic feet, worth $4 billion. An Israeli economic expert clarified that the gas reserves off Gaza's coast could be larger, adding that "Gaza's gas will turn Palestine into a rich country in the future, like Kuwait, especially with the low numbers of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." In the first Palestinian comment on the matter, Fatah member Dimitri Delyani said, "Issuing licenses to steal Gaza's gas is a continuation of the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people." Noble Energy is an American Company which works in different areas of the world in gas exploration. It is headquartered in New York.
