Several dailies cover Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the annual policy conference of American pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC yesterday. The Guardian and Independent focus on Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) recognise Israel as a characteristically Jewish state as a basic foundation for mutual recognition and his insistence that Iran must remove its means of uranium enrichment. The Times and Financial Times emphasise Netanyahu’s condemnation of attempts to encourage boycotts of Israel, calling it immoral, anti-peace and the latest manifestation of anti-Semitism. An editorial in the Independent says that despite the best efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry, the chances of peace deal between Israel and the PA are slim.

The Telegraph notes figures released this week by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics which detailed that construction began on 2,534 new housing units in the West Bank in 2013, compared to 1,133 during 2012. The article suggests the increase may be due to a backlog of planned housing hanging over from an Israeli construction freeze in the West Bank in 2009. The report also includes condemnation of the increased West Bank building by Israeli opposition leaders.

The Guardian covers an Israeli Air Force strike on Monday evening on a suspected Islamic Jihad rocket launching cell in the northern Gaza Strip, which killed two suspected cell members. The Israeli army said that the strike prevented an imminent rocket attack on Israelis. The Financial Times includes a feature on apparent efforts by the Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip to stop rocket attacks being launched by other Islamist militant groups for fear of sparking a wider conflict with Israel.

Meanwhile, the Guardian and the Times both report that a Cairo court has banned Hamas from operating in Egypt and ordered the seizure of its assets and closure of its offices. Egypt’s military rulers have accused the Muslim Brotherhood and in particular former leader Mohammed Morsi of plotting with Hamas against the interests of the Egyptian people. Also in Egypt, the Telegraph and online edition of the Guardian report that de facto ruler, General al-Sisi has given his clearest indication yet that he will run for president.

The Times includes an obituary of Israel’s former-Education Minister Shulamit Aloni, who died in January. She was the leader of Meretz and is described as the “mother of Israel’s civil rights movement.”

In the Israeli media, there is widespread coverage of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the AIPAC annual policy conference. Haaretz and Makor Rishon highlight Netanyahu’s declaration that he is ready to make an historic peace, but that the Palestinians must recognise Israel as a characteristically Jewish state in order to make this happen. Israel Hayom focuses on Netanyahu’s condemnation of those who encourage boycotts against Israel. Israel Radio news includes a response to Netanyahu’s speech by opposition and Labour party leader Isaac Herzog, who said he doubts whether Netanyahu is capable of bringing about peace.

Maariv suggests the US State Department and the White House are at odds over an interview given by President Obama to Bloomberg, which the State Department apparently knew nothing about and considers to have been “belligerent” towards Israel, undermining John Kerry’s efforts to reach agreement on a framework plan for final status talks.

Israel Radio news reports this morning that an elite Israeli army unit yesterday arrested a senior Hamas figure in Hebron, who had been wanted by Israeli authorities for the past 10 years.