BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme reported that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet with EU colleagues and the Iranian Foreign Minister in Brussels today to discuss the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran Nuclear deal. It comes in light of an imminent decision by US President Donald Trump regarding certification of the nuclear deal and waiving sanctions. Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was interviewed and described the mood in Tehran as he  has just returned from a visit there. He described US sanctions on Iran as “economic imperialism”.

The Daily Mail via AFP reports on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to India next week. Netanyahu will take 130 businessmen with him for trade talks which will also cover defence sales. Foreign ministry Deputy Director General for Asia, Gilad Cohen said the six-day trip starting Sunday was intended to further deepen political, trade and cultural ties.

BBC News Online and the Daily Mail via AP  report on the current security crackdown in the West Bank after the drive-by shooting by a suspected Palestinian gunmen. Raziel Shevach, a 35-year-old rabbi and father of six, was attacked as he drove near the settlement of Havat Gilad, west of the city of Nablus. His car was reportedly hit by dozens of rounds fired from a passing vehicle. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) sent reinforcements to the area on Wednesday and set up roadblocks near Palestinian villages. “Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks,” a military statement said. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot told reporters: “Our main focus at the moment is on locating and arresting the terror cell, and preventing additional attacks”. Palestinian security sources said they were so far not aware of any arrests. The Daily Mail via AFP  reports that Shevach, who was laid to rest at the settlement on Wednesday, was the first person to be buried there at the wish of his family. Hundreds of people attended the funeral, which included cries for “revenge” from youths in the crowd during a speech by Education Minister Naftali Bennett from the Jewish Home party. Bennett responded by saying the only revenge should be in building more settlements in the West Bank.

The Times reports that one person has been killed and dozens injured in Tunisia as anti-austerity protests across the country turned violent. Police and military forces have been deployed to several cities after rallies organised to protest against price and tax increases in a tough budget. A synagogue and a Jewish school on the island of Djerba were also attacked with petrol bombs. The head of the local Jewish community said that attackers had exploited the breakdown in security to set the buildings on fire.

The Times also reports that hundreds of people have protested outside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison over the fate of relatives arrested in Iran’s recent anti-regime rallies. An Iranian reformist MP claims that 3,700 people were arrested during the rallies, far higher than numbers first given out.

The Independent, ITV News Online and the Belfast Newsletter report on the case of Ollie McAfee, the Northern Irishman who went missing near Mitzpe Ramon while cycling the Israel Trail. The gardener, from County Down, quit his job in April last year to set off on a cycling trip across Europe. He was due to return home in early December but family and friends grew concerned when he missed his flight home. His wallet, keys and a tablet computer were found on the trail and handed in to police, prompting the search.

The Indpendent reports on the recording of the Israeli Prime Minister’s son Yair Netanyahu and the response by the Prime Minister himeslf. Columnist Ishaan Tharoor compares Netanyahu’s handling of the release of the  tape and the revelation of Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with Russian operatives and PresidentTrump’s response.

All the Israeli media report on the funeral of Rabbi Raziel Shevah.  He was the first person to be buried in a cemetery at the outpost which was prepared the night before.  The funeral was attended by hundreds of people, including public figures, rabbis, ministers, and MKs.  Maariv quotes Eduction Minister Naftali Bennett who gave a eulogy, who said: “I hear your pain and I understand your pain and you have the right to be hurting. I will just say in the name of the State of Israel and the Israeli government that I love you and salute you.”  Bennett’s speech was interrupted again and again with calls for “revenge” and “enough with the talk” that could be heard from among the large crowd. Bennett said in response to the cries: “We do not use weapons on our own behalf, we have a state. The true response is by building our land. Our revenge is only in building.”

Maariv carries an exclusive report, quoting extensively Palestinian Authority (PA) officials from a meeting with two Israeli legislators in Ramallah organised by the Geneva Initiative: “Trump’s Jerusalem declaration was the excuse that we used to stop the peace process. After we received information about it, we understood that the peace plan that was being formulated by President Trump isn’t good for the Palestinians.”

The officials also said: “We will no longer agree to the United States’ being the sole mediator in negotiations. When the president acts insanely, the mechanism needs to be changed. The era in which the United States mediated between us and you is over.”

The Palestinians also proposed a new mechanism: “Just as the negotiations over the nuclear agreement with Iran were conducted between a joint team of the superpowers (P5+1), the same needs to be done in our case. There is no reason for the international community not to join the negotiations. Afterall, your relations with the Russians are at an all-time peak. The Russians have entered the region and their influence over the Middle East is greater than the Americans’. The United States has become weaker, and there’s no reason for it to have exclusivity in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Russians, the Chinese, the Europeans—all of them are parties that need to join the effort.”  According to the report, Ramallah views the Egyptian involvement in a positive light, although the same cannot be said about the Saudi involvement. One person who attended the meeting said: “They are obviously very suspicious of the special close [relationship] between the Saudis and Israel.”

Channel Two News reports that the half billion dollar deal for anti-tank rockets between Israel and India is back on and it could be signed as a government–to-government agreement, instead of the original deal, which was signed between the Indian army and the Israeli company, Rafael.  The Indian defence industry had demanded that they be given the opportunity to develop the technology on their own but now think it would take too long for them to develop a comparable technology.  The deal may be signed when prime minister Netanyahu travels to India next week.

According to Haaretz,  Netanyahu asked the Obama administration in late 2014 to consider a plan in which Israel would annex large parts of the West Bank, and the Palestinians would in return receive land from Egypt in the northern part of Sinai, according to four former senior U.S. officials. The Prime Minister’s Office denied the account, stating that “this story is not true.”

Israel Hayom reports that Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed officials in the security establishment to impose restrictions on the members of the Tamimi family. Lieberman instructed the officials to bar 20 members of Tamimi’s close family from entering Israel in light of what was defined as the entire family’s involvement in violence and incitement to terrorism.  Lieberman also signed an order preventing Tamimi’s father from traveling overseas. According to the security establishment’s database, Tamimi’s father has a rich history of convictions for involvement in violent riots.

In a surprise announcement, Yediot Ahronot quotes Interior Minister Deri saying, “I cannot and do not intend to enforce the minimarket bill.” The bill gave the minister jurisdiction to override municipal by-laws concerning the opening of minimarkets and convenience stores on the Sabbath.