The Independent and Independent i both include a feature on the last 74 Palestinian workers at Israeli company SodaStream who have been laid off, after their work permits were not secured. The company, whose factory used to be situated in the West Bank, moved their operation within Israel’s pre-1967 borders following pressure from pro-boycott campaigners. However, the result has been the loss of Palestinian jobs, as movement between the two areas is restricted. The articles describe SodaStream as “a rare place of peaceful coexistence.” However, the company’s CEO also suggests that the Palestinians who have not had their work permits renewed, are in part “being sacrificed” to enable the Israeli government to make a political claim over boycotts.

The Guardian and Independent i both report that Egypt’s government has announced that Hamas “trained, prepared and oversaw the implementation” of an attack last year which killed the country’s chief prosecutor. He is the most senior official to have been killed since Islamist terror groups began launching attacks against the al-Sisi regime. The country’s interior ministry said yesterday that the assassination was ordered by Muslim Brotherhood officials in Turkey, but that Hamas helped carry it out. Hamas has recently claimed that there is an improvement in relations with Egypt, which has cracked down hard on smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip. A Hamas official called the accusation “baseless.”

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz lead with a confrontation yesterday between Culture Minister Miri Regev and an audience of artists at a conference. Regev was predictably booed by many in the audience, over her attempts to pass a bill which would deny state funding to cultural initiatives which violate certain conditions, such as refusal to recognise Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Opponents have claimed that the bill would stifle free speech. Regev responded by telling the audience in crude terms to end their claims, saying that the draft legislation was simply a question of where to allocate funds and would not prevent anyone from performing.

The top story in Israel Hayom is the news that senior IDF officer Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris will today take a polygraph test over claims that he raped women under his command. Buchris is a former-commander of the Golani infantry brigade and is thought to have been slated to become the head of the IDF Operations Division. Maariv suggests that the complainants against Buchris have coordinated their stories.

Meanwhile, Maariv also previews tomorrow’s visit by US Vice President Joe Biden to Israel, with speculation that his trip will help speed up an agreement to renew the United States’ 10-year military aid package to Israel. At yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “every week there is a president or a minister, a prime minister or a foreign minister, or other ministers here … and that, of course, demonstrates how much Israel is an asset today.”

Israel Radio news says that Likud MK Yoav Kisch is spearheading a bill which would see fundraising restrictions placed on organisations which aim to influence the country’s elections. The move in particular is thought to target the V15 movement, which campaigned to remove Prime Minister Netanyahu from office prior to last year’s general election.