In what may turn out to be a game changing development in the regional energy market, the Financial Times (FT) is reporting the Italian energy company ENI has discovered a “supergiant” gas field of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. The finding sent Israeli gas stocks plunging in Monday trading in what the Times dubbed an Israeli “panic”. The further development of Israel’s Mediterranean gas fields and its intended export to neighbouring countries have now been called into question and Prime Minister Netanyahu has cancelled a vote in the Knesset to push through Israel’s gas plans.

The Times and the Telegraph are reporting on how hardliners in both Israel and Iran have banded together to prevent the Berlin Staatskapelle and its musical director, Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim, from performing in Tehran. Israeli minister of culture, Miri Regev, claimed that Barenboim was “using culture as a platform for his political views against the state of Israel.” On the other hand, Iranian opponents of the concert claimed that the musical director and other Israeli who play in the orchestra are “illegitimate artists.”

The Financial Times (FT) reports that Egypt will hold parliamentary elections in October, putting an end to a three-year period in which the country has had no legislative body. This announcement comes as Egypt sentences three journalists to prison for working for Al Jazeera without a license, according to the Guardian. Meanwhile, the Telegraph says that women will be able to stand in Saudi Arabia’s local elections, which will take place on 12 December. Some 200 female candidates have expressed interest in running to be elected.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, the FT also reported that Transdev, a French company involved in Jerusalem’s light rail, has pulled out of the project. While the company insists that its decision was made for “strategic” reasons, the BDS movement is claiming this as a victory in the fight against Israel. Also in the FT, a London-based NGO, Privacy International, has released a report about surveillance in Columbia that cites the involvement of Israeli companies Verint Systems and NICE Systems in the selling of espionage technology that has been used to violate human rights in that country.

According to the Independent, Telegraph, and the Guardian, UN satellite imagery has confirmed that ISIS has in fact destroyed the Temple of Bal in Palmyra. This issue was the subject of debate in recent days but “before” and “after” images taken by UNITAR (UN Institute for Training and Research) confirm that the temple was razed to the grown. Last week ISIS destroyed the Baalshamin temple, another ancient sanctuary in Palmyra.

Finally, the Sun reports that a decade-long Israeli study showed babies who were given skin-on-skin contact when they were born continued to feel the benefits in later life. At age ten, the children who had what’s known as “kangaroo care” showed better hormonal responses to stress, slept better, had a more mature nervous system and had better thinking skills.

Another morning of sirens throughout southern Israel as Gaza militants fired a rocket in the direction of the city of Ashkelon, triggering alarms throughout the area, the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel report. The ISIS offshoot Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took responsibility for the failed launch. Meantime, IDF soldiers were met with gunfire overnight in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp. Haaretz wrote that one soldier was wounded, as were five Palestinians. The IDF entered the camp in order to arrest senior members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In other news, this morning more than 2 million Israeli students will begin the school year as the prospect of a strike by the high school teachers union was averted yesterday, according to Ynet.

Gal Hirsch, the highly controversial nominee to become the next Israeli Police Commissioner, will appear today before the Turkel Advisory Committee on Senior Appointments in the Civil Service. While the Prime Minister gave Hirsch his support at the Government’s weekly meeting on Monday, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has said that the investigation process into allegations about Hirsch’s business dealings as a private citizen would take time. This comes as Interior Minister Gilad Erdan has asked Acting Commissioner Benzi Sau to remain in this role for another 45 days, according to Haaretz and Ynet. In the first statement by a Government official on the subject, Yediot Ahronot reports that Culture Minister Miri Regev voiced her opposition to the appointment at yesterday’s Government meeting. Regev publicly broke ranks with her colleagues asserting that Hirsch is tainted and should not be appointed.

Maariv is reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed yesterday in a meeting with the members of the Arab “Joint List” party to devote some NIS 900 million (approx. £160 million) to a multi-year investment plan focused on Israel’s Arab population. The scheme will spur growth within the Israeli Arab community and further close the gaps between Israel’s Arab and the general population. Additional one-time transfers of funds will be made during 2015 to strengthen Arab regional and local councils.

Finally, over the weekend, the Israeli media also had extensive coverage of the ENI gas field discovery off Egypt’s coast. As mentioned, the finding has put a halt on the Israeli government’s plans to push through the natural gas plan it had agreed to with American Noble Energy and Israeli Delek. It is possible that Israel’s agreements to export gas to some of its neighbours are now in jeopardy as a result of this geopolitical development.