The Financial Times and the Times report that a French judge has ordered the arrest of the half-sister of Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, over allegations that she ordered a bodyguard to beat and humiliate a workman in the royal family’s Paris residence. The warrant was issued after Princess Hassa, 43, repeatedly failed to obey a summons for questioning in an investigation into the alleged assault of a plumber in the apartments near the Arc de Triomphe in September 2016. The princess, who is King Salman’s only daughter, left Paris for London the day after she was released from police custody on the orders of the Paris chief prosecutor. The Paris appeal court last year severely criticised the prosecutor’s intervention, which it said had placed the princess above French law.

The Independent reports that the White House has hosted a multilateral summit on the future of the Gaza Strip as planned despite a Palestinian refusal to attend over US President Donald Trump’s stance on Jerusalem. A total of 20 countries as well as the EU and UN attended the Wednesday meeting to discuss the humanitarian crisis engulfing Gaza’s two million residents after more than a decade of Hamas rule and crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), however, refused to send a delegation, in a display of continued anger over Trump’s decision last December to recognise the contested city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Daily Mail, the Guardian, BBC News Online, the Times, and the Independent report that Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince has threatened a new Middle East arms race. Crown Prince Mohammed said that if Iran developed a nuclear weapon he would also seek to obtain one. Mohammed bin Salman has already joined forces with President Trump to argue for a stronger stance against Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival in the region. In an interview to be broadcast on the US network CBS this weekend he goes further, replying aggressively to a question about the Iranian nuclear programme. “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb we will follow suit as soon as possible,” he says. A clip of the interview was released by CBS yesterday.

The Independent reports that the documentary, “The Lobby” by Al Jazeera’s Clayton Swisher is still no nearer to being broadcast – and Swisher himself has taken a paid leave of absence. In an article for the progressive American Jewish magazine Forward. Swisher claims that if his documentary on the American Israel lobby doesn’t air soon, “it might prove to be ammunition sought by a group of zealous US politicians who wish to declare Al Jazeera a foreign entity, and label us journalists as ‘spies’”.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that an activist group says the reunification of hundreds of families split between Israel and Ethiopia is on hold after Israel failed to set aside funding for the Ethiopians’ immigration in next year’s budget. Alisa Bodner, a spokeswoman for the Struggle for Ethiopian Aliyah, called on Israel to resolve the issue without further delay. Nearly 8,000 Ethiopians want Israel to approve their immigration, allowing them to join their families in Israel. Although many are practicing Jews, Israel doesn’t consider them Jewish, meaning their immigration requires special approval.

Newsweek has published a profile on Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. The article describes Lapid as “a centrist Israeli politician” and “a key witness in the corruption probe dogging [Netanyahu]”. The article states that “he’s also Netanyahu’s chief rival in the 2019 elections. If they were held tomorrow, pollsters say, Lapid’s centrist party, Yesh Atid—which translates from Hebrew as “There is a future”—could win several more seats than Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party, though Lapid would have to form a coalition from within a weak and crowded opposition.”

The Daily Mail via AFP reports that Israel has closed a desert detention centre for migrants as part of a controversial plan for the mass expulsion of thousands of Eritreans and Sudanese who entered the country illegally, officials said Thursday. Immigration authority spokeswoman Sabine Haddad told AFP that the Holot facility closed the previous afternoon, ahead of a midnight deadline.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that the United Nations received pledges Thursday of nearly $100m (£71m) in new funding for the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians after the U.S. slashed its aid, but it is still facing a nearly $350m (£250m) shortfall this year. UN officials said the countries providing the new financing included Qatar, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, India and France.

The Independent reports that the frontrunner to become Labour’s next General Secretary was involved in giving work to someone who had previously been suspended by the party for antisemitism. Jennie Formby, a senior figure in Britain’s biggest trade union Unite, was a line manager of Vicki Kirby, who was taken on by the union last year. Kirby was suspended by Labour in 2014 over a series of Twitter posts in which she claimed Jews have “big noses”, are responsible for “slaughtering people”, and called Adolf Hitler a “Zionist God”.

The Daily Mail via AFP reports that Lebanon received increased military support from the international community Thursday with France opening a €400m (£352m) line of credit to the country’s army. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri thanked Paris at an international conference held in Rome to drum up money to bolster the armed forces of the country, long a proxy battleground for its bigger neighbours.

Metro published an article by Siam Goorwich that argues that after another revelation about Jeremy Corbyn’s links with anti-Semites and Holocaust denier, there is more silence from Labour leaders, party members and Corbyn’s usually highly-vocal supporters. She writes: “Then there are the people who tell me that Corbyn and his pals aren’t antisemitic – they’re just anti-Israel. Aside from the fact that this simply isn’t true (which I think is now proven by the outright Jew-hate shown in that Facebook group), the sad truth is, the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 created a handy smokescreen for antisemites to hide behind. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli sentiments are now widely conflated (e.g. all Jews, regardless of their politics or feelings towards Israel, are now referred to as ‘Zios’).”

BBC News Online and the Daily Mail via AFP report that Israel’s supreme court has suspended a controversial government plan to deport tens of thousands of African migrants who entered the country illegally. It gave the state until 26 March to provide more information on the plan.

The Daily Mail reports that a top Israeli football star has been filmed performing sex acts on a woman who appears to be unconscious, it is reported. The athlete, who is well-known but has not been named, is shown alongside three former teammates performing sex acts on a naked woman who is lying on the floor and not moving, Israeli media says. The video is believed to have been taken several years ago while the player was at a different team but began circulating on social media on Thursday.

In the Israeli media, Haaretz reports that the IDF conducted a drill simulating a multi-front war in which Russia intervened over Syria. An IDF officer said the scenario simulated a moment when ‘Russia made trouble,’ a massive cyber warfare attack, enemy missile strikes and hundreds of Israelis killed.

In Maariv, Tal Lev-Ram argues that security officials consider the next two months to have the potential for a significant escalation in the West Bank and Gaza. This is due to the forthcoming  Prisoners’ Day, Nakba Day and the start of Ramadan, along with the scheduled move of the US embassy. According to Lev-Ram, this is compounded by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s precarious state of health, the difficult situation in the Gaza Strip and the foreseeable collapse of the Palestinian reconciliation process. “In addition to the regular threats of rocket fire and roadside bombs, the security establishment is perturbed by the March of Return, which is planned for the end of the month…The march’s objective is to attract international attention to the matter of return… The plan is for tens or hundreds of thousands of Gazan residents to assemble, with an emphasis on women, children and families, in tents 700 meters from the border, where they go on with normal life for some time—without stone-throwing, destruction or any violent activity whatsoever.

Ma’ariv claims that Netanyahu may be questioned early next week by police in the Bezeq investigation (Case 4000). It also writes that Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon announced that if Netanyahu is indicted – he will not be able to continue to serve as prime minister.

Maariv and Israel Hayom report that the High Court of Justice has prohibited the deportation of asylum seekers. Due to the injunction, it will not be possible to forcibly expel anyone who does not want to leave voluntarily to a third country in Africa. The state will be able to submit its response by 26 March, and shortly afterwards it will be decided whether to extend the injunction.

The Times of Israel reports that prominent Israel advocates have urged Netanyahu to reverse course on deportations of asylum seekers.

Yediot Ahronoth and Israel Hayom report that education advocate Miriam Peretz and veteran Likud politican David Levy won the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

Yediot Ahronot has run an interview with the first female Air Force squadron commander, Maj. “Tet”.

Yediot Ahronot features extracts from the forthcoming autobiography of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Israel Hayom publish an opinion piece by Haim Shine entitled “Olmert’s Chutzpa”.

Haaretz also claims that Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is appointing people affiliated with the Jewish Home party to senior positions in Justice Ministry.