The Financial Times reports that Egypt’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of constitutional amendments that could extend the rule of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi until 2034 and enshrine in law a political role for the country’s military. More than 80 per cent of MPs in the 596 seat-assembly on Thursday approved the proposed changes, which will now be reviewed by a special committee before being put to a final vote and a popular referendum. The amendments would extend presidential terms from four to six years and allow Sisi, as an exception, to run again after his current term expires in 2022. A “transitional article” that would give the “current president” the right to two new terms totalling 12 years, would also be inserted into the constitution. The president would be allowed to pick the heads of judicial bodies and to oversee a new council charged with looking after the affairs of judges. Critics fear this move may prove a blow to the notion of an independent judiciary. No date has been set for the referendum but it is expected in the first half of the year. With no organised opposition and a tightly controlled press, it is expected the changes will be approved.

The BBC reports that military officials have said US-backed Syrian fighters are clearing ISIS militants from the last two villages the jihadist group controls. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an assault at the weekend on Shajalah and Baghuz, near Syria’s border with Iraq. The last militants remaining there are reportedly retreating and hiding among the local population. Some have sought to escape among the hundreds of civilians fleeing on foot.

In the Financial Times, General Sir Mike Jackson writes that: “Yemen’s forgotten conflict will leave a deadly legacy”, as Houthi rebels are believed to have laid hundreds of thousands of landmines that will prove a long-term blight.

The Financial Times says Iraq has been caught in the crossfire from President Donald Trump upending US policy in the Middle East. Since the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and brought Iran-linked Shia politicians to power, Iraqis have blamed interference by Washington for exacerbating their country’s woes. Now, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Madhi must deal with the consequences of an American retreat from the Middle East. In the wake of Trump’s sudden decision to pull US troops out of Syria, his Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan flew to Baghdad this week to reassure uneasy allies in the region. His visit, however, emphasised how fraught US-Iraq relations have become.

The BBC reports that Iran’s President has warned its neighbours not to let “terrorists abuse their territory” after a suicide car bombing killed 27 Islamic Revolutionary Guards soldiers. Hassan Rouhani blamed the US and Israel for Wednesday’s attack in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, near the Pakistan border. But he said Iran reserved the right to take action if other countries in the region failed to prevent terrorism. A group thought to operate from western Pakistan said it was behind the attack. Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) has declared it is fighting for the rights of Iran’s Sunni Muslims, who complain of discrimination by the Shia establishment.

The Times have published an editorial this morning, entitled: “The Times view on Isis: Failed State”, arguing that ISIS may have been defeated in Iraq and Syria but it remains a threat and the West cannot afford to declare victory yet.

The BBC, Times and Guardian report on Shamima Begum, the British woman who went to Syria in 2015. The BBC reports that a British woman who ran away to Syria as a schoolgirl to join ISIS has been told she could face prosecution if she returns home. Begum, now 19 and pregnant, told the Times she had no regrets about joining ISIS but wanted to have her baby in the UK. She said she had heard that Amira Abase, one of the two girls she fled to Syria with, might still be alive. Security minister Ben Wallace told the BBC he would not risk any British officials’ safety trying to bring back Begum, who is currently held in a refugee camp in northern Syria. Wallace said any Britons who had gone to Syria to engage or support terrorist activities should be prepared to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted if they eventually come back to the UK. He said there was no consular assistance in Syria and insisted he would not attempt to rescue Begum. “I’m not putting at risk British people’s lives to go and look for terrorists or former terrorists in a failed state,” he told the BBC. The Guardian published an editorial on Thursday evening, writing that Begum should “return and face the consequences”. The editorial concludes that: “If and when Ms Begum is returned to the UK, her activities must be thoroughly investigated – and every possible lesson learned in order that the risks of radicalisation are minimised in future.” Also in the Guardian, former MI6 Director, Richard Barrett argues that “Shamima Begum is just a teenager. Britain should be strong enough to take her back”. The Times reports that relatives of Begum have made a plea for mercy, pointing to her youthful innocence at the time when she was groomed online to join ISIS in February 2015. “She was so young — I don’t think she had the life experience to make those decisions,” said Mohammed Rahman, 36, a family member. “I think the hope would be that she would be allowed to return home, as long as the government is satisfied she has turned her back on their ideology.” Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared, however, that he would use all available powers to prevent Begum coming back to Britain and would seek to try her for terrorism offences if she did return. “We must remember that those who left Britain to join Daesh were full of hate for our country,” the Home Secretary told the Times. “My message is clear — if you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return. If you do manage to return you should be ready to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted.”

In the Telegraph, Director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Raffaello Pantucci, writes that we should not “underestimate the role of female jihadis like Shamina Begum”.

In the Guardian, Bethan McKernan and Peter Beaumont ask, “After ISIS: What happens to foreign nationals who went to Syria?”

In the Guardian, Oliver Holmes asks: “Does Netanyahu’s smiles with Arab leaders (at this week’s Warsaw conference) signal a new era?”

In the Times, Anshel Pfeffer writes that: “In the era of Trump, Israel has shunted the Palestinians off the agenda”.

The Times reports that Sunni Arabs and Israel are closing ranks against Iran. Mike Pence, the US vice-president, hailed a new era for the Middle East yesterday as Israeli and Arab leaders found common cause at landmark talks staged to counter Iran. Pence said that “a brighter future” awaited the region after he saw representatives of Gulf states that refuse to recognise Israel sitting down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “all breaking bread together” in Warsaw. Netanyahu was the only head of government to attend but representatives from the governments of ten Arab states and more than 50 other nations travelled to the talks, which were co-hosted by Poland and the US. It was the first time that Israeli and Arab leaders had gathered together since the Madrid peace conference of 1991. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a “new era of co-operation” in the region before the leaders posed for a family photo. Netanyahu tweeted that his meetings with Arab leaders represented “a revolution in Israel’s foreign relations”.

The Financial Times and Telegraph report that Pence launched a scathing attack on European efforts to defy US sanctions on Iran, saying a scheme to keep trade links with the Islamic republic open was an “ill-advised step” that would strengthen Tehran and add to transatlantic tensions. Speaking during Thursday’s US-led conference on the Middle East in Warsaw, Pence called on Europe to follow America in abandoning a landmark deal struck three years ago to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. In a speech that laid bare the gulf between Washington and Europe on how to deal with Tehran, Pence reserved particular criticism for Germany, France and the UK, which two weeks ago set up a mechanism to help maintain trade links with Iran. The US sees the move as an attempt to circumvent sanctions Washington imposed last year. “[This is] an ill-advised step that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU and create still more distance between Europe and the US,” Pence said. “The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure necessary to give the Iranian people, the region and the world the peace, security and freedom they deserve.”

In the Independent, Borzou Daragahi and Oliver Carroll write that: “Duelling Middle East conferences unfolded in Poland and Russia on Thursday, highlighting the competition for influence and the hardening of geopolitical blocs confronting each other over the volatile region.” In Warsaw, they write, Pompeo, Pence, and president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner headlined what was billed as a “peace” conference, but amounted to an attempt to pressure sceptical allies into joining a gelling anti-Iran alliance that includes Israel and the Arabian Peninsula monarchies. Daragahi and Caroll add that meanwhile, leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, accompanied by senior military officials, gathered at the Black Sea resort town of Sochi as part of a Kremlin effort to manage the fallout of the eight-year conflict in Syria, which has become a key regional battleground.

The Times  and Reuters  report on a meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi between Russia, Turkey and Iran. The Times reports that the Turkish President clashed with President Putin and President Rouhani of Iran during a summit on Syria over his plans to attack Kurdish forces in the north of the country. After the meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, President Erdogan said that Turkey would push ahead with its plan to establish a “safe zone”, despite Russia insisting that he needed the consent of President Assad to do so. Reuters reports that President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia, Turkey and Iran had agreed to take unspecified extra steps to clear Syria’s Idlib region of what he called “a hotbed of terrorists,” but the Kremlin said there would be no military operation there.

The Israeli media report from the Warsaw Conference where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said several foreign ministers from Arab countries told him that Iran was a threat to the region. The Prime Minister’s Office posted, and then deleted, a video from a closed session about Iran in which the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain can be heard excoriating Iran. Bahraini Foreign Minister Al Khalifa even called the Iranian regime “neo-fascist”.

Al Khalifa said: “We got used to treating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the most important thing. But we saw that there is a greater challenge, a more toxic one, the most toxic in modern history — Iran. If it were not for Iran’s toxic money, its weapons and troops on the ground, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could have been solved already.” Hatnua Chairwoman Tzipi Livni criticised the release of these statements, saying that doing so for campaign purposes was “unacceptable”.

Kan Radio News reports that a crisis in Polish-Israeli relations erupted after Prime Minister Netanyahu said Poles had collaborated with the Nazis during the Holocaust. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki considered cancelling his participation in the Visegrád Group conference, which Israel is scheduled to host next week. Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted that the conference in Israel should be cancelled and held in Poland instead.

Haaretz reports that there are six days left for parties to finalise their Knesset lists. In an opinion piece, Yossi Verter argues that the Israeli Resilience Party, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, “saw its momentum blocked this week, as its support among potential voters, according to three recent polls, dropped by the equivalent of two Knesset seats. But the party also has some successes this week. Its copyrighters uploaded a few clips aimed at Likud’s soft belly. They dealt with the Gaza Strip pullout – which Netanyahu voted for at every stage of the legislative process until a week before its implementation, in August 2005 – and with the monthly transfer of funds to the Hamas government in Gaza. The clips spoke unadorned, crass Likud-ese. They attacked Netanyahu from the right, which is an unusual experience for him, and on security issues. They even forced him to go on the defensive, which he doesn’t like to do. Gantz is the only person in the political arena capable of waging an unapologetic, head-on fight against Netanyahu.”

Yediot Ahronot reports that Meretz conducted a primary for its Knesset list for the first time in its history. The contender who won first place, after Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg, was MK Ilan Gilon, followed by MKs Michal Rozin and Issawi Frej. A new representative came in fourth — Ali Salalha, a high school principal from Beit Jann. Mehereta Baruch-Ron, former deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, was chosen for the fifth slot. About 21,000 people (83 per cent of registered party members) voted. Zandberg said: “The government is busy attacking the law enforcement system and the gatekeepers. The right wing is trying to turn us into an indifferent and obtuse society, but we have hope. We are the people who will lead Israel in a new and different direction.”

Kan Radio News reports that the Jewish Home and the National Union have agreed to a merger. Jewish Home Chairman Rafi Peretz will be ranked first on the joint list, but the National Union will serve first in the government. National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich and Peretz will serve in rotation should the party receive one ministerial portfolio.

Yediot Ahronoth, Haaretz, and Maariv report that UTJ leader, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, was questioned yesterday on suspicion of breach of trust and obstruction of justice. Litzman is suspected of having intervened in the case of a school principal, who allegedly committed sexual offenses against her students in Australia, by attempting to secure a psychiatric opinion that would declare her unfit to stand trial. Litzman’s associates denied the allegations against him, saying that he had asked for an update about the request for a medical opinion but had not intervened in the affair.

Yediot Ahronoth reports that following a petition filed by the Movement for Quality Government, the state informed the High Court of Justice that Netanyahu would appoint a new foreign minister on Sunday, and would bring the appointment before the cabinet for approval. It is believed that Transport Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) is expected to be appointed to the post. The Movement for Quality Government said: “We welcome the expected appointment, which came only under the brandished sword of the legal proceedings in the Supreme Court, and we hope that it will indeed come to fruition. In our opinion, the prime minister should not have reached a situation in which he holds such a large number of important portfolios — including the foreign affairs and defence portfolios — simultaneously, and we hope that this improper norm, in which the prime minister engaged at the start of the term too, will not recur.”