Netanyahu says Israel should invest in influence operations to counteract isolation

Israel needs to invest heavily in "influence operations" in traditional and social media to counteract economic isolation arising from negative publicity abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. Speaking at a Finance Ministry conference, Netanyahu said foreign investment into Israel had held up in the wake of a 12-day war against Iran in June, which he said removed an immediate threat of a nuclear-armed foe. But in a rare acknowledgment of the isolation arising from international criticism of Israel's war in Gaza, he said Israel faced an economic threat of sanctions and other measures. He blamed isolation on minorities in Europe pushing "anti-Zionist and extreme Islamist ideology", and on countries such as Qatar, backer of Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera,...