The Guardian, BBC News, Telegraph, Independent and Reuters report that Israelis are voting in the second general election in six months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the snap election after failing to form a governing coalition with a viable majority after April’s vote. The final opinion polls put the Likud neck and neck with Blue and White, meaning smaller parties could have a big say in the final outcome. Negotiations on the formation of a new coalition are expected to start as soon as voting ends at 22:00 (19:00 GMT) and exit polls published. The Times reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu has launched a last-minute effort to drive supporters to polls in Israel by claiming that “due to deep polling” indicating that he faced defeat, he was holding an emergency meeting at his residence.

BBC Radio 4’s Today programme included a package from Barbara Plett-Usher in Jerusalem and Hebron talking to Israeli voters and Palestinians about the Israeli election today. BICOM’s Senior Research Fellow Neri Zilber spoke to the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme early this morning about the main issues in today’s election.

In the Guardian, Raja Shehadeh maintains that the Israeli elections promise “nothing but defeat” for Palestinians: “After 50 years of occupation, our freedom is shrinking every day. But even if Netanyahu loses, little will change”.

Reuters reports that a Dutch court will consider on Tuesday a request to hear a civil suit seeking damages from Benny Gantz. The hearing on admissibility will be held in a Dutch district court as voting gets underway in Israel. The case has been brought by a Dutch national of Palestinian descent using Dutch “universal jurisdiction” laws. Ismail Ziada is seeking compensation for the death of six family members in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.

BBC News presents a profile Blue and White Chair Benny Gantz: “a former Israeli military chief who believes he can unseat long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the general election on 17 September”.

In the Independent, Bel Trew argues that Prime Minister Netanyahu is fighting for survival as the polls predict another stalemate: “Israelis head to polling stations on Tuesday for second time in just six months with many fearing no obvious outcome will lead to third election”.

In Reuters, Maayan Lubell examines whether Prime Minister Netanyahu can win: “Israelis vote on Tuesday for the second time in less than six months in an election that could see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu win a record fifth term – or end his decade-long dominance of Israeli politics”.

BBC News presents the “most important things to know” ahead of today’s election.

The Guardian, Times, Independent, Financial Times and Reuters report that US President Donald Trump has said the US response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities will depend on the assessment in Riyadh, but added that Iran appeared culpable. The US secretaries of state and energy both explicitly blamed Iran for the attack. Unnamed US officials were also quoted in US media outlets as saying Iranian cruise missiles were used in Saturday’s attack on an oil field and processing plant. But Trump suggested on Monday the US did not have definitive evidence, adding that he would send Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh. “We’re going to find out,” Trump said. “There are lots of different pieces to look at.” Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia said on Monday that the attack on its oil facilities was carried out with Iranian weapons, according to a preliminary investigation.

The Telegraph reports that Saudi Arabia and the US claim they had evidence Iran was behind Saturday’s attack on the kingdom’s oil facilities. Col Turki al-Malki, Saudi’s military spokesman, said Iranian weapons were used in Saturday’s strikes on the Khurais oilfield and the Abqaiq refinery, the world’s largest petroleum processing plant. Reuters reports that Iraq said on Monday that it had been told by the US  that Washington did not suspect an attack on Saudi Arabia had been launched from Iraqi territory. Reuters reports that China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday it was irresponsible to blame anyone for an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities without conclusive facts.

Reuters reports that US lawmakers have blasted Iran after the attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but expressed wariness about US military action. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it “a brazen attack” with significant implications for the global energy market and said he welcomed President Trump’s preparation to potentially release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stabilise markets if necessary.

BBC News reports that the head NATO Jens Stoltenberg has said he is extremely concerned that tensions will escalate two attacks on the Abqaiq facility, the world’s largest petroleum processing plant. Stoltenberg also claimed that Iran was “destabilising the whole region”. Earlier on Monday, the US released satellite images showing damage from the weekend’s “unprecedented” strikes, which it has pinned on Iran. Iran denies involvement, with President Hassan Rouhani calling the attack a reciprocal act by the “Yemeni people”.

The Guardian, BBC News, Financial Times and Reuters report that oil prices ended nearly 15 per cent higher on Monday, with the Brent benchmark seeing its biggest jump in about 30 years. The rise came after two attacks on the Abqaiq facility, the world’s largest petroleum processing plant, that knocked out about 5 per cent of global supply. Brent crude initially surged 20 per cent at the start of trading, but eased back to end at $69 a barrel, up 14.6 per cent. US oil prices finished up 14.7 per cent, the biggest jump since 2008. Prices fell back after US President Donald Trump vowed to release US reserves. Reuters reports that the spike in global oil prices on Monday was expected as prices need to reflect risks, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Monday.

Reuters reports that the US is considering increasing its intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia after Saturday’s attack on Saudi oil facilities, US officials claimed. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how broad any increase in intelligence sharing might be or discuss other options being weighed by the administration.

Reuters reports that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a vessel in the Gulf for allegedly smuggling diesel fuel to the UAE, Iran’s semi-official ISNA reported on Monday. “It was detained near Iran’s Greater Tunb island in the Persian Gulf…the crew have been handed over to legal authorities in the southern Hormozgan province,” ISNA said.

Reuters reports that Saudi Aramco’s trading arm is looking for oil products for prompt delivery after Saturday’s attacks, several trade sources said this week. Saudi Arabia is set to become a significant buyer of refined products after the attacks forced it to shut down more than half of its crude oil output and some of its gas. Reuters reports that at least 11 super tankers are waiting to load oil cargoes from Saudi Arabian ports, ship tracking data showed on Monday.

Reuters reports that oil refiners in Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest importer of crude oil, are gathering information on supplies from Saudi Arabia following Saturday’s attacks. Officials from Japan’s JXTG Holdings (5020.T), Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd (5019.T) and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co Ltd (5021.T) said they were collecting information but declined to comment further on Saudi Arabian oil or alternative supplies.

Reuters reports that OPEC is assessing the impact on the oil market from Saturday’s attacks and says it is too early for members to take any action on raising output or holding a meeting, the UAE energy minister and other sources said.

In the Guardian, Julian Borger maintains that Saturday’s oil attacks signals an escalating crisis: “Trump is letting Riyadh decide about whether to retaliate against Iran – and if that happens, Iranians would likely raise the stakes”.

The Financial Times states that Iran has embarked on a “dangerous provocation”: “Heavy-handed US reprisals would risk all-out war in the Middle East”.

In the Telegraph, Raf Sanchez maintains that Saudi Arabia “knows its defences are not up to [a] war with Iran”: “the smoke rising above above Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq oil field might seem at first like the justification Riyadh has been waiting for”.

In the Financial Times, Michael Peel and Demetri Sevastopulo state that western powers have been thrusted into a dilemma: “whether and how to retaliate against Iran”.

In the Times, David Charter maintains that the Saudi strikes give President Trump room for manoeuvre: “He prefers to use a military threat while employing economic sanctions to encourage diplomatic solutions”.

In the Times, Richard Spencer claims that the sophistication, co-ordination and accuracy of Saturday’s attacks point to Iranian responsibility.

In the Independent, Negar Mortazavi claims that Trump has dug himself into a hole with his Iran policy: “The sudden departure of John Bolton from Trump’s inner circle may have signalled a change in policy – but it may merely have been a cosmetic fix”.

In the Telegraph, Lord Hague avers that the West must “unite to keep Iran under control”: “As economists calculate the impact on the world economy, and arguments rage over who was responsible, it is worth making sure we understand what this reckless assault is telling us”.

Reuters reports that Iran has confirmed that President Hassan Rouhani will not meet with President Trump at the UN, a day after the White House left open the possibility of talks between them. “Neither is such an event on our agenda, nor will it happen. Such a meeting will not take place,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried by state TV.

Reuters reports that China and the US are deadlocked over a UN Security Council resolution to extend the world body’s political mission in Afghanistan, with Beijing signalling it will cast a veto because there is no reference to its global Belt and Road infrastructure project.

BBC News and Reuters report that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that up to three million Syrian refugees could return to their country to live in the northern “safe zone”. Erdogan said the zone – which is already being set up in co-operation with the US – needed to be extended for the goal to be met. US-backed Kurdish fighters earlier moved back from a strip of Syrian territory along the Turkish border. Erdogan’s comments came after talks in Ankara with the presidents of Russia and Iran, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani.

BBC News and the Financial Times report that UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has apologised to a court for two breaches of a pledge not to licence exports to Saudi Arabia. Ministers promised to stop approving shipments in June after a challenge by campaigners at the Court of Appeal. Truss said the granting of licences for £435,000 of radio spares and a £200 air cooler for the Royal Saudi Land Forces had been “inadvertent”. An internal inquiry is taking place.

The Guardian reports that the UN special envoy has stated that Yemen faces an existential threat as he prepares to brief the UN Security Council on the conflict. In recent months a secessionist movement in the south has emerged that is taking territory from the Saudi-backed government, complicating the battlefield situation. Griffiths told the BBC that Yemen faced “the risk of fragmenting and threatening its own existence, which is a massive threat to stability in the region”.

Reuters reports that UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said Saudi Arabia plans to pay $500 million (402.4 million pounds) next week of a pledge it made in February to help fund the humanitarian response in Yemen.

The Guardian and Independent report that the Metropolitan police and US justice department have been asked to launch a war crimes investigation into Saudi and Yemeni officials over an October 2016 air attack that killed 137 civilians attending a funeral. Under the powers of universal jurisdiction, states can undertake inquiries and prosecutions for serious offences even if were carried out by foreign nationals abroad. A complaint was submitted on Monday to SO15, the Met’s counter-terrorism command by lawyers acting on behalf of UK national, Nabeel Gubari, whose uncle, Muhammad Ali al-Rowaishan was among those who died.

The Guardian reports that friends and colleagues of Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert – the Australian woman sentenced to a decade in prison in Iran on suspected espionage charges – have praised her as a “thoughtful and passionate academic”.

Reuters reports that a US service member was killed in Afghanistan on Monday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said. It said the service member was killed in action but did not provide further details. This brings the number of US service members killed in combat in Afghanistan to 17 this year.

The Financial Times inspects Now Money, a Dubai-based financial technology group that aims to open up financial services for the low-income workers in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council: labourers, taxi drivers, cleaners and hotel staff who arrive largely from south Asia and Africa.

In the Guardian, Simon Tisdall argues that the “world ignored the warning signs – and now the Middle East is on the brink”: “Donald Trump’s hostility towards Iran and support for Saudi Arabia has made a delicate situation explosive”.

In the Guardian, Martin Chulov maintains that the increasing usage of drones in Middle Eastern warfare signals an “end to [the] era of fast jet air supremacy”.

In the Independent, Patrick Cockburn argues that the Yemen conflict is the Middle East’s arms bazaar – and Saudi Arabia would be unwise to underestimate the Houthi rebels.

The Financial Times has published a number of articles related to its special report entitled FT Future 25: Middle East: “From Tehran to Cairo, businesses are tapping into the region’s youthful, tech-savvy population. The inaugural FT Future 25 list has sought to identify companies that are disrupting their sectors and succeeding in a tumultuous region”.

Elections almost postponed

All the Israeli media report that Israel was close to a major military strike on Gaza last week that would have led to the election being postponed. Haaretz reports that Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat met with the head of the Central Elections Committee to discuss postponing the election in the event of a military operation. Maariv says that after he was attacked by rockets in Ashdod, “Netanyahu almost succeeded in forcing the IDF and the security establishment to go to war in Gaza—without the security cabinet’s approval….the person who saved the day was Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.” Maariv reports that Mandelblit realised the Prime Minister was about to order a major military operation without a security cabinet meeting so he warned Netanyahu that was illegal. The Attorney General told him that a ‘seated’ security cabinet meeting had to be held. The Attorney General said the security cabinet ministers had to be given a security briefing, and only then could a vote be held. At that point, towards the end of the week the plan was shelved.

Referendum on Netanyahu

Israeli commentator Nahum Barnea writes in Yediot Ahronot that today’s election is a simple question of whether Benjamin Netanyahu should have another term in office, he argues: “The answer to that question is far less simple than it sounds. It takes us inwards, into the heart of the Israeli soul, into the public’s fears, hopes, needs and aspirations….Netanyahu was the focus on the parties’ campaigns, but the indictments pending against him were barely discussed. Anyone who thought that disgust with what the cases against Netanyahu has brought to light would prompt huge numbers of voters to cross the lines was mistaken… But the indictments will be the most urgent issue on the day after, once the Central Elections Committee has completed its tally of the vote. Netanyahu is going to need two coalitions: a narrow coalition that will free him from the legal proceedings against him; and a broader coalition that will allow him to govern. The immediate choice isn’t between left and right, but between indictments and immunity. That might be one of the reasons for the voters’ alienation.”

No cheap beer

The Israeli media report that the Central Elections Committee has ordered the Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion and Shoham municipalities to take down adverts offering benefits to anyone who voted in today’s election. Ron Huldai the Mayor of Tel Aviv had wanted to incentivise people to vote by offering voters subsidised beer for £2.20. The committee ruled that there was nothing wrong with encouraging citizens to vote, but promising remuneration for voting was problematic.

Palestinian polling  

Kan radio news reports on a poll of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza that found 61 per cent want Mahmoud Abbas to resign and 80 per cent are upset by Palestinian Authority corruption. If elections were held now, Abbas would win 48 per cent of the vote and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya would win 46 per cent. If Marwan Barghouti, who is currently in an Israeli prison, were to run, he would win a majority of the vote. 50 per cent of the Palestinian respondents said that they support a return to armed resistance and conflict with Israel in the absence of negotiations.