The Independent, The Times and the Daily Mail report on accusations of Israeli involvement in the killing of Syrian rocket scientist Aziz Asbar. The Independent reports that Aziz Asbar was one of Syria’s most important rocket scientists who led a top-secret weapons-development unit called Sector Four. Asbar was working on building an underground weapons factory to replace the one destroyed by Israel in 2017. The Times reports that according to informed Middle East intelligence sources, Asbar was assassinated by Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, by a car bomb on Saturday. Sector Four, the Scientific Studies and Research Centre Asbar led, is the main agency for developing chemical weapons and new missiles for the Assad regime. The Daily Mail reports that Asbar was working to update Syria’s missile stockpile and make it more accurate. Despite accusations of Israeli involvement Israel has denied any involvement in Asbar’s death, though Intelligence and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said he ‘welcomed’ the news. Speaking to Israeli Army Radio, Katz said: “I can say that assuming the details of this man’s activities are correct and he was engaged in developing chemical weapons and longer-range missiles capable of hitting Israel, I certainly welcome his demise.”

The BBC and Reuters report that two Hamas militants were killed by Israeli tank fire. The BBC reports that the Israeli military struck a Hamas border post in northern Gaza with a tank shell, killing two members of the group’s military wing. The Israeli military said the tank responded to shots fired at soldiers from the post. Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, confirmed two of its members were killed, but said the border post was hit during an “exhibition” by a naval commando unit that was being watched by several Hamas leaders. A Hamas statement said: “The resistance cannot allow the occupation to impose a policy of bombing sites and targeting fighters without paying the price.” Reuters reports that the two men were killed in northern Beit Lahiya. Hamas’s armed wing said that it deemed Israel’s shelling of them a “criminal act”. There was no word of Israeli casualties.

The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Express, Sky News, BBC and FT report on US President Donald Trump’s Iran sanctions. The Telegraph reports that American sanctions against Iran threaten havoc for the world’s oil market, cutting spare capacity to dangerous levels and risking a major economic shock. Analysts warn that the sanctions will halve Iran’s oil exports by November, reducing global oil supply by up to 1.5 million barrels a day. This would leave the world with safety buffers estimated to be near zero for the first time. The Daily Mail reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he would comply with renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran. Al-Abadi said: “We don’t support the sanctions because they are a strategic error, but we will comply with them.” Iraq is the second-largest importer of Iranian non-hydrocarbon products, buying some $6 bn (5bn euros) worth of goods from its eastern neighbour in 2017. The Express also reports on the Iraqi response to American sanctions. Al-Abadi said in press conference that “as a matter of principle, we are against sanctions in the region…“Blockade and sanctions destroy societies and do not weaken regimes”.

Sky News reports that Trump has rejected a bid by the EU to shield European businesses from the impact of new US sanctions against Iran. Trump tweeted: “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!” The BBC reports that the EU, which remains committed to the original agreement, has spoken out against the sanctions, vowing to protect firms doing “legitimate business” with Iran. The FT reports that Russia has also hit out over the reintroduction of sanctions on Iran saying it would seek to work with other countries to preserve and expand economic exchanges with Iran. The Russian foreign ministry said: “We are taking appropriate measures on a national level to protect [our] trade and economic co-operation with Iran…“We believe that this work is in line with the interests of the international community.”

The Times, Express, the Sun, Daily Mail, Spectator, and Telegraph report on comments that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made on Iranian Press TV questioning the right of Israel to exist. In a 2011 documentary on Press TV entitled ‘Bias at the BBC’, Corbyn said Israel exerted undue influence over the BBC’s news coverage and suggested that its Director-General at the time had a pro-Israeli agenda. Corbyn said: “I think there is a bias towards saying that Israel is a democracy in the Middle East, that Israel has a right to exist, that Israel has its security concerns.” Simon Johnson, Chief Executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, tweeted: “Sorry Mr Corbyn. Do you think that Israel is not a democracy, does not have a right to exist and does not have security concerns? Wow.” The Express reports that in the interview Corbyn said: “There seems to be a great deal of pressure on the BBC from the Israeli government and the Israeli embassy and they are very assertive towards all journalists and the BBC itself.” The Sun reports a Labour spokesman said the remarks were taken out of context and that “Israeli concerns and perspectives are more likely to appear prominently in news reporting than Palestinian ones” and that “the Israeli government is well known to run an effective and highly professional media operation.”

The Daily Mail reports that Labour Friends of Israel condemned the remark, which appears to contravene the international definition of antisemitism which states it is antisemitic to “deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination”.  Jennifer Gerber, Director of Labour Friends of Israel, said: “The Labour Party is now defending Jeremy Corbyn peddling wild conspiracy theories and questioning Israel’s right to exist on Iranian state TV. For a party which aspires to be in government, this is not normal behaviour.” Writing in the Spectator, Steerpike comments that “reports that Mr Corbyn does not make clear why he considers Israel’s right to exist evidence of BBC bias”. The Telegraph reports that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance has warned Labour is “undermining” the fight against anti-Semitism following the emergence of the claims made by Corbyn.

In the Israeli media, both Yediot Ahronot and Maariv report that the Air Force has appointed its first woman to command an IAF squadron. For security reasons she is named as ‘G’ and the reports say: “During her 15 years in the Air Force, there seems to be no obstacle that she has not been able to overcome very successfully. She completed an aviation course in a transport squadron, flew intelligence aircraft on operational activity in the skies of enemy states, and received a medal of distinction from the Minister of Defence. Yesterday marked another milestone in the women’s revolution in the IDF when she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed commander of the 122th Squadron.”

Maariv reports that two Hamas terrorists were killed yesterday by tank fire in the northern Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Zikim, after shots were fired at an IDF patrol from a position near the border.  The paper quotes a Palestinian commentator, Dr Adnan Abu Amar, who said that the incident was designed to serve as a warning to Hamas’s senior officials: “The IDF’s proactive shelling of a Hamas outpost in the presence of senior officials from the movement is a weighty Israeli message to the organisations in Gaza that its senior officials are being monitored and are in the crosshairs.” However, Channel 2 News suggested the incident could have been a misunderstanding.  The IDF observation troops identified shots that were fired yesterday from a Hamas position, but it became evident after the incident that Hamas had been carrying out a training exercise.  Israeli officials conveyed to Hamas via various channels that the lethal strike was the result of a misunderstanding, but added if Hamas were to choose to retaliate for the mistake, it would pay an exceedingly high price for so doing.

Yediot Ahronot reports the High Court of Justice decision to give the government a three month extension to pass a new military conscription law to include ultra-orthodox men.  The Cabinet Secretary asked the court for an extension of seven months to pass the law, i.e. until mid-April 2019. The court’s announcement last night gave the state a shorter extension that it had asked for and stated that the new law must be ready by early December 2018.  The paper speculates this ruling will have the effect of accelerating the countdown to early election, as the ultra-Orthodox parties have threatened to leave the coalition if the bill is passed in its current format.   The paper quotes Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid, who said: “The High Court of Justice is right, there is no reason to let Netanyahu waste more time. Netanyahu does not need an extension, he needs courage. A military conscription law must be passed now so that more ultra-orthodox enlist, serve and are integrated into the workforce.”

Haaretz includes further speculation of the US administration’s peace plan.  The paper suggests the plan “will cause discomfort both in Israel and on the Palestinian side” according to an unnamed US official. “When reading through the plan, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) will be unhappy on some pages and happy on others just as Israelis will be pleased with some pages and uncomfortable on others,” one senior administration official explained.   The official added that the plan will “go beyond broad parameters that in the past didn’t actually solve the problem,” hinting at peace plans offered by previous administrations that mostly focused on formulas for resolving the “core issues” of the conflict, such as borders, Jerusalem and security.  US President Donal Trump’s peace team wants the plan to deal with those issues, but also to offer a wide range of pragmatic ideas that will, in the words of the senior official,” make lives better on both sides.”A large part of the plan will focus on strengthening the Palestinian economy and its ties to Israel.”

Maariv reports on comments made by Israeli Ambassador to Russia Gary Goren who briefed local journalists yesterday and told them: “We have a coordinated agreement in which Russia has undertaken that the Syrian army will not cross the 1974 armistice line.” The Ambassador’s statement was unusual since Israeli and Russian officials have made sure in the past two months to say that Russia and Israel are engaged in dialogue about Syria and the threats posed to Israel, as well as about the presence of Iranian troops on the ground. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that no agreement has been signed between the sides and that the quote stemmed from a Russian-to-English translation error, adding that the word used by the Israeli ambassador was the equivalent of “understandings.”

Haaretz reports that the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the European Union would stop funding the Freedom Protection Council, a consortium of civil society organisations.  The Freedom Protection Council, which was founded last year by Ilam – the Arab Center for Media Freedom Development and Research – consists of some 20 Jewish and Arab NGOs, including B’Tselem, Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Mossawa Center. The paper quotes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, the council “undermines Israel’s right to existence and acts to defame it internationally…. This is just the beginning. We will continue to act with determination against organisations that work to delegitimise the State of Israel and seek to defame it and the Israel Defence Forces internationally.”

Kan radio news reveal that in a meeting of a subcommittee of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Knesset members said the European Union is subverting Israel’s responsibility and authority in Judea, Samaria and Gaza in an almost unprecedented manner. It was revealed in the meeting that the EU has drafted a transportation infrastructure master plan for those areas that includes the construction of airports, seaports, and a network of railway lines and roads that would connect Judea and Samaria to the Gaza Strip.  Defence Ministry sources said that the European Union did not inform or involve the Civil Administration or others in Israel, even though the plan pertains to areas under Israeli responsibility, including East Jerusalem.