The Times, the Telegraph, Yahoo News UK and the Daily Mail report that the Israel Defence Force (IDF) has revealed border fortifications designed to detect tunnels emanating from the Gaza Strip, which militants have used to attack security forces. The £630m defence scheme includes a deep underground barrier as well as sensors that can detect digging well before a tunnel reaches the border. There will also be a higher fence and patrol roads. The details were unveiled days after the army destroyed what it described as a tunnel intended for attacks stretching from the blockaded Palestinian enclave into Israel and eventually Egypt, at least the third uncovered and demolished in less than three months. The more than 40 miles of fortifications around Gaza are due to be completed in mid-2019, at a cost of 3bn shekels (£630m).The network of sensors has been placed close to an existing three-metre high barbed-wire fence. Behind the sensors are further layers of defences including a seven-metre reinforced steel fence and an underground barrier made of concrete and metal netting that is said to be “tens of metres” deep.

BBC News Online has published a story on Jewish Indian immigrants to Israel, now living in Beersheba. They are part of the Bene Israeli community – thought to number around 80,000 – who came from the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a $500m Spike anti-tank missile deal that India shelved with Israel is back on the table. Netanyahu tweeted late Wednesday that following his talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian government informed the Israeli side that it’s putting the deal with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. back on track. “This is very important for us and there will be many more deals,” Netanyahu said, without giving details.

The Telegraph reports on the Trump administration decision to withhold funds to the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). The Palestinians accused US President Donald Trump of “targeting the innocent” yesterday after the US announced it was withholding the funds. Chris Guinness, UNRWA spokesman, said the shortfall plunged the agency into “the most severe financial crisis” in its 70-year history and warned that it could cause instability in the occupied West Bank and Gaza but also in Lebanon and Jordan.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that Jordan and Israel appeared on Thursday to be putting a diplomatic crisis triggered by the killing last summer of two Jordanians by an Israeli Embassy guard behind them. A report by Jordan’s state news agency Petra said Israel sent an official memorandum, expressing “deep regret” over the July shooting at Israel’s Embassy in Amman, offered compensation to the families of the victims and agreed to “follow up” with legal measures. A statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Israel’s Embassy would resume full operations immediately. The statement said the shooting incident is being examined and that a conclusion is set to be reached in the coming weeks.

The Independent reports that Belgium has reacted to Trump’s decision to cut aid destined for Palestinians by pledging to donate an extra €19m (£17m) to help make up the shortfall. Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and international aid minister, said UNRWA was “the last lifebuoy” for many Palestinians.

The Financial Times reports on the current state of relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and the US. Palestinian officials will not meet US Vice-President Mike Pence, who is due in Israel on Monday as part of a Middle East tour. Instead, while Pence is in Jerusalem, Abbas will be lunching with European ministers in Brussels in an effort to convince the EU to play a greater role in a moribund peace process led historically by Washington. Relations between the PA and the Trump administration are at their lowest point in years as the US has cut millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinians who in turn accuse Trump of dashing their hopes of a two-state solution.

The Daily Mail reports that a Muslim beauty blogger is turning down a top award from Revlon because Israeli actress Gal Gadot is the brand’s ambassador. Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, known by her blogging name of MuslimGirl, was recently announced as the winner of Revlon’s Changemaker Award in honour of her advocacy for Muslim women. Shortly after the announcement, she took to her social media to turn down the award, saying that the appointment of Gal Gadot as the face of the brand’s Live Boldly campaign does not align with her values. “Her vocal support of the Israeli Defence Forces’ actions in Palestine goes against MuslimGirl.com’s morals and values. I can’t, in good conscience, accept this award from the brand and celebrate Gal’s ambassadorship after the IDF imprisoned a 16-year-old girl named Ahed Tamimi last month, an activist who is currently still incarcerated,” read a post on her blog.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom lead with an emotional meeting in the hospital between the mother of Rabbi Raziel Shaevah, killed in a recent shooting attack, and one of the injured Counter-Terrorist combat soldiers injured in an assault on the terrorists in Jenin.  Yediot Ahronot’s headline was “Thank You, hero”. Israel Hayom also quotes the mother, “We’re proud of our troops”.

All the papers reveal further details of the raid inside Jenin that lasted 15 hours through to early afternoon yesterday.  Yediot Ahronot reveals the raid followed a ten-day manhunt, and that the breakthrough in the investigation came after the terrorists’ burnt vehicle was found, and helped reveal their identity.  “The security forces reached Jenin with the aim of arresting the wanted men… Two were arrested, but a third terrorist suddenly opened fire at short range with a handgun. He was killed, but managed to injure two soldiers, one seriously and the other lightly”.  According to Maariv, it now appears the cell commander, Ahmed Nasser Jarrar, the son of Nasser Jarrar, was not killed but managed to escape and is still at large.  It was his cousin, Ahmed Ismail Jarrar, who was apparently also a member of the cell that was killed.  Yediot Ahronot also notes that Hamas officials accused the Palestinian security services of delivering the information that led to the capture of the terrorists. In addition, they alleged that Abu Mazen’s force “fled” the scene instead of protecting the residents. Due to the harsh criticism, the PA was compelled to issue a blanket denial and asserted that the security coordination with Israel had not existed for some time.

Kan Radio News relays a New York Times report that the Trump administration is taking action to relocate the American Embassy to Jerusalem next year and not to wait for a new Embassy compound to be built. According to the report, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has been pressuring the administration to move the Embassy as soon as possible, whereas US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson objected and said that a properly secured Embassy had to be built and that the process should not be rushed.

Maariv includes an assessment from a senior military official from Southern Command that Hamas did not want to clash with Israel, that it was taking steps to stop rocket fire, and that it would not go to war over the loss of its asset, the tunnels.  “Hamas is watching in anguish as it loses its tunnels, but I don’t think that that in and of itself will lead to war. It realizes that it is losing one of its main capabilities and is diverting its energy elsewhere.” Furthermore, when the barrier on the border is completed in mid-2019, all of the offensive tunnels would be destroyed and it would be very difficult for Hamas to dig additional tunnels.  “I won’t say how many tunnels we know about, but we know much more than Hamas thinks. Every day, we reduce its ability. If we get into a clash soon, we have ways to handle the threat right now.”

All the papers report the latest developments in Case 2,000, the alleged collusion between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the publisher of Yediot Ahronot Arnon Mozes.  Both Mozes and Zionist Union MK Eitan Cabel were questioned under caution yesterday in the offices of the police Fraud Squad.  The two were questioned for about three hours in the effort to gather extra material in the case, which deals with the conversations between Netanyahu and Mozes. Cabel, who was questioned on suspicion of breach of trust, was asked in his questioning about the Israel Hayom bill that he sponsored in the Knesset.According to Channel Two News, the suspicion is being investigated that a deal was reached between Cabel and Mozes that the MK would promote the bill designed to restrict the free newspaper’s circulation, and in return, he would receive increased coverage in Yediot Ahronot.  Afterwards, Cabel tweeted, “I was questioned briefly today on the Bibi-Mozes affair known as Case 2,000. I replied to everything I was asked and I have confidence in the law enforcement agencies. As always, I acted lawfully, and I propose that people be patient until the investigation is completed.”

Following harsh statements by certain prominent Rabbis against women soldiers in the IDF and mixed units, Yediot Ahronot reveals a letter signed by hundreds of Orthodox students, boys and girls, declaring: “We will not compromise on the unity of the army and the people; we expect that our day will come to close ranks and fulfil the imperative of defending the country… We want to perform meaningful military service and ask you not to restrict the places where Orthodox people will serve, but on the contrary: let us take part in sharing the burden, shoulder to shoulder with all the sectors in Israeli society. Trust us. We know how to cope with the challenges of a mixed and integrated society that includes boys and girls, secular and Orthodox. Our kitbag is filled with values for our first, significant journey in adult life.”