The BBC and Telegraph report that Facebook has removed hundreds of social media accounts and banned an Israeli firm due to “co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour” mainly targeting Africa. The BBC reports that the fake accounts often posted on political news, including on elections in various countries, the firm said. Facebook has faced rising criticism for failing to stamp out misinformation on its platform. In a blog post, Facebook said it had removed 265 social media accounts that originated in Israel and focused on Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Angola, Niger and Tunisia, along with “some activity” in Latin America and South East Asia.”The people behind this network used fake accounts to run pages, disseminate their content and artificially increase engagement. They also represented themselves as locals, including local news organisations, and published allegedly leaked information about politicians,” Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook, wrote in the post. An investigation found that some of the activity was linked to Israeli company Archimedes Group, Gleicher said.

In the Telegraph, Robin Pagnamenta writes: “Israel’s cybersecurity industry is now a powerful force – its biggest challenge may be its own success”.

The Times reports that German MPs are set to condemn as antisemitic, the campaign to boycott Israeli goods in a symbolic vote today. The proposed resolution is backed by the governing Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union and Social Democrats, as well as the opposition Free Democrats and Greens — every political party except the far-right Alternative for Germany, whose members have been criticised for antisemitic and xenophobic statements. “The arguments and methods of the BDS movement are antisemitic,” the resolution says. It criticises “Do not buy” labels affixed to Israeli merchandise as akin to the Nazi-era slogan “Do not buy from Jews”, which was painted on Jewish-owned shops.

The Independent reports that Hamas has “saluted” Jeremy Corbyn and thanked him for his message of support to Palestinians. The Labour leader sent a message to a march in support of Palestinians in London over the weekend, which the group said it had received with “great respect and appreciation”. “We have received with great respect and appreciation the solidarity message sent by the British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to the participants in the mass rally,” Hamas said in a statement. “We also salute Mr Jeremy Corbyn for his principled position in rejecting the so-called Trump plan for the Middle East.”

In the Telegraph, Tanya Gold writes: “Madonna, Israel, and Eurovision: why does she play at being Jewish?” Madonna is due to perform at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel on Saturday night; she will preview a song from her new album for £1 million, paid for by an Israeli billionaire.

The Financial Times and the Times report that on Thursday, President Donald Trump said that he hoped the US would not go to war with Iran, as tensions between the US and Islamic republic significantly escalate. The Financial Times reports that as he stood outside the West Wing waiting to meet Swiss President Ueli Maurer, Trump was asked by a reporter whether the US was going to war with Iran. He replied: “I hope not.” The Times reports that Trump summoned the Swiss President to the White House yesterday to ask him to open a communications channel with Iran amid fears that hawkish senior advisers were leading the United States into an unwanted war.

Reuters reports that officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will conduct classified briefings on the situation with Iran next week, congressional sources said on Thursday, after both Democratic and Republican lawmakers asked for more information. Congressional aides said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan would hold a session on Tuesday afternoon for all members of the Senate.

The Guardian reports that Iran’s most prominent military leader has recently met Iraqi militias in Baghdad and told them to “prepare for proxy war”. Two senior intelligence sources said that Qassem Suleimani, leader of Iran’s powerful Quds force, summoned the militias under Tehran’s influence three weeks ago, amid a heightened state of tension in the region. The move to mobilise Iran’s regional allies is understood to have triggered fears in the US that Washington’s interests in the Middle East are facing a pressing threat. The UK raised its threat levels for British troops in Iraq on Thursday. While Suleimani has met regularly with leaders of Iraq’s myriad Shia groups over the past five years, the nature and tone of this gathering was different. “It wasn’t quite a call to arms, but it wasn’t far off,” one source said.

The Times reports that Jeremy Hunt declared yesterday that Britain and the US share “the same assessment of the heightened threat posed by Iran” following a public rift over the issue. The Foreign Secretary said London and Washington always “work closely” as he sought to smoothe relations after the Pentagon issued a rare rebuke of a British military officer this week. There are no plans to suspend military training or withdraw British officials from Baghdad or Erbil, however. American officials have been ordered to return from Iraq.

The Guardian reports that on Thursday, Britain raised the threat level for its forces in Iraq and the Gulf. The heightened state of alert covers 400 forces personnel in Iraq, who provide training and support in the country, as well as soldiers and their families based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

In the Independent, Kim Sengupta writes: “US-Iran tensions are escalating at an alarming rate, thanks to well-rehearsed gun diplomacy”. The actions of the Trump administration, he argues, may turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, provoking Iran into doing something which will justify war.

The BBC reports that four people have been killed after a small plane crashed three miles to the south of Dubai International Airport. Three Britons and a South African were aboard the UK-registered DA42 plane, UAE authorities said. The four-seat plane was owned by Flight Calibration Services which is based at Shoreham Airport, in West Sussex. The firm flies staff around the world to inspect and calibrate navigation aids – which include radars and landing systems for airports and airfields. The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says an investigation is under way. According to local media reports, the plane came down at approximately 19:30 local time, killing a pilot, a co-pilot and two passengers.

The Guardian reports that Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist killed at a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey last year, has said she could not believe that no one had yet faced serious consequences for the crime. “I cannot understand that the world still has not done anything about this,” she said in emotional testimony to a US Congress hearing on press freedom and the dangers of reporting on human rights. “I still cannot make human sense of it. I still cannot understand. I still feel that I’ll wake up.

The Financial Times reports that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it conducted a series of air strikes on Houthi rebels in retaliation for the attacks on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure. The Houthi-run al-Masirah television channel said six people were killed and dozens injured from the air strikes in the capital Sana’a on Thursday. The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Saudi targets earlier this week. The air strikes followed a warning from the United Arab Emirates, an important member of the coalition, that there would be retaliation for any Houthi attacks on coalition targets. Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday night that the coalition would hit back “hard” after the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Houthis’ decision to withdraw from Hodeidah, the main port city in Yemen, while launching missile attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure was a “strange way” to advance the peace process, Gargash said at a briefing in Dubai late on Wednesday.

All the Israeli media continue to focus on what Yediot Ahronot describes as “the battle over immunity”. The paper notes, “contrary to his promise before the elections, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to promote the immunity bill. MKs from the Likud have already been briefed on how to present the controversial initiative, and yesterday some of them presented the same messages to the media.”

They quote new Likud MK Osnat Mark saying: “The immunity bill is vital in order to preserve proper governance, to prevent a shake up in the governmental system by going to elections and to prevent the takeover of the state leadership by a legal junta. The left wing’s claims that this is an ad hominem bill or a criminal refuge are groundless. There is nothing preventing a [legal] proceeding from being held at the end of the term.”

Opposition figures expressed shock at the initiative, MK Yair Lapid said: “If the immunity bills pass, we will have our own sultan”. Controversially, in an interview with Channel 12 News, Gideon Saar from Likud said: “Ad hominem legislation could undermine the public’s confidence. This is of zero benefit and maximum damage. Netanyahu was given bad advice. The bill will not benefit the prime minister, and I will do everything so that this doesn’t happen….In my view, saying what needs to be said and doing the right thing is much more important than considerations of ‘what I will get.’ That is what I was sent by the public to do.” Maariv notes that the other future coalition parties have been maintaining their silence. United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas have said they will support any law that the Likud wants to pass with regard to the courts. One senior figure in the Union of Right Wing Parties, MK Bezalel Smotrich, is one of the people spearheading the amendment to the immunity law. Kulanu Chairman Moshe Kahlon has been silent so far. The opposition is planning to fight with all its might against changing the immunity law and against other initiatives to erode the authority of the justice system, particularly the High Court of Justice. The opposition parties are planning a huge demonstration at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, May 25^th headlined “In favour of democracy—safeguarding the home.”

The papers speculate about coalition negotiations. Israel Hayom quotes a Likud official saying there is a possibility that they won’t be able to form a government. Yediot Ahronot suggests with just eleven days to go, “time is running out for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his way to forming his fifth government”. They quote a senior Likud source saying that there was an atmosphere of despair among the negotiating teams, and that this was an unprecedented situation that could not be recollected from previous elections. “As of now, not a single party is close to signing an agreement with us,” said the senior source. The source continued, saying “The negotiations are deadlocked; the situation is very difficult and I don’t know whether we’ll work it out it. Unfortunately, the partners are not displaying any willingness to resolve the problems.” Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman also sounded pessimistic yesterday, although in the morning he had actually attempted to create a positive atmosphere. “We are making every effort to form a true right-wing government, and we are willing to meet the potential partners halfway on all issues, with the exception of the five items presented by the party chairman at the faction meeting,” Yisrael Beiteinu said: “Regrettably, there has not yet been any progress on two critical issues: formulating a joint security policy and reaching an accord on the draft law. Until we receive a positive answer on these two items, we see no point in having the negotiating teams meet.” Additionally, Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon is not presently conducting coalition negotiations, and Kulanu does not even have a negotiating team. Kahlon has announced that he would sign a coalition agreement last so that he would be able to examine Netanyahu’s budgetary promises to the other partners and see whether he, as finance minister, would be able to meet the commitments without raising taxes. No dramatic progress has been recorded in the negotiations between the Likud and the ultra-Orthodox parties either. A senior Shas source said yesterday that contrary to previous assessments that they were close to an agreement, there were still significant differences of opinion between the sides. UTJ is continuing to send to the Likud proposals and wordings regarding the conscription law. “They submitted interminably long proposals,” a Likud source complained yesterday, “it will take us two weeks just to discuss it.”

Kan news reveals that the US decision to beef up its troops in the Persian Gulf because of the Iranian threat was partially based on intelligence from Israel, according to a New York Times report. The report cited a high-ranking official in one of the intelligence organisations in the region who said that in meetings over the past few weeks in Washington and in Tel Aviv, Israeli officials had warned their American counterparts that Iran or its proxies were planning to attack American targets in Iraq. Israel also warned of Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Israeli warning and other intelligence prompted the US to send an aircraft carrier, B52 bombers and Patriot interception batteries to the Persian Gulf.

Both Haaretz and Israel Hayom report that Germany’s parliament is expected to adopt a motion today on “resisting the BDS movement,” defining the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement as antisemitic. If approved, it will mark the first time a major European parliament defines the movement as anti-Semitic. The proposed motion, backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, as well as social-democrat SPD, the Green Party and FPD, also calls on the German government to refrain from funding or supporting any groups that “question Israel’s right to exist.” However, it is not binding. It stipulates that in light of the Bundestag’s recognition of the importance of combatting antisemitism, Germany must resolutely condemn calls to boycott Israel.