IZRAELI PRESS REVIEW OF 29.01.2013

Israel cut its ties with the UNHRC in March after the council approved a fact-finding mission to investigate Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

“For the time being, there is no change in our policy to withhold all contacts and cooperation with the UNHRC,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. “As the UPR is an UNHRC activity, we are not planning on taking part in it.”

Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win
US President Barack Obama has congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his recent election win, Yediot Aharonot reports.

In a telephone call on Monday, Obama said he looked forward to working with the new government while stressing the strong ties between the US and Israel.

Lapid wants to be PM – next time
Yair Lapid, whose party swept to second place in the general election last week, said he will run for prime minister in the next elections, the Times of Israel reports.

Speaking on Channel 2′s documentary show “Uvda,” in his first interview since last week’s elections, when his centrist party won 19 Knesset seats, Lapid said that in the next elections he will run for prime ministership. Asked if he would win, he responded, “I expect to.”