The Telegraph, Independent i and the online edition of the Guardian all report that former-US President Bill Clinton was recorded off-record at a Democratic fundraiser seemingly criticising Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting that Netanyahu is “not the guy” to make peace with the Palestinians at this point in time. All reports say that the comments could prove embarrassing for Clinton’s wife Hillary who is expected to launch a Presidential bid and has been broadly supportive of Israeli government policy, especially over the recent Gaza conflict.

The Guardian online covers a World Bank report which predicts that the Palestinian economy is expected to shrink by four per cent this year, largely due to the effects of Operation Protective Edge. However, the same assessment says that with international support, the Palestinian economy could bounce back. The Independent online says that the housing rental market in Gaza has skyrocketed following Operation Protective Edge, with extensive damage further narrowing already limited availability.

Writing in the Telegraph, former British Consul-General in Jerusalem Sir Vincent Fean argues that the UK should recognise Palestine with the prospects for a two-state solution diminishing. He comments that if the UK takes such action, then others including many European countries will follow suit.

The online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph include a feature from AFP on a bagpipe band in a Palestinian scout troop in the largely Christian town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem. The article uses the symbol of the bagpipes to illustrate an apparent Palestinian sympathy towards Scottish independence. One of the band members featured is quoted describing the bagpipes as an “instrument of war.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian, Times and Financial Times all cover comments made yesterday by Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey at a Senate committee hearing, who said that it is possible he could recommend to President Obama that US troops should be embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS. However, the Telegraph online says that the White House referred to the comments as a “purely hypothetical scenario.”

In the Israeli media, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon both lead with the firing of a mortar from the Gaza Strip yesterday at Israel in the first such attack since an Egyptian-brokered truce was agreed between Israel and Hamas, ending Operation Protective Edge. No injuries or damage was caused by the mortar, which is also a major item in Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz. However, Israel Radio news reports that although the IDF has so far taken no action in response, Hamas has itself arrested those responsible for firing the mortar.

The other major story this morning is a dispute between Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett over the latter’s conduct during Operation Protective Edge. Yediot Ahronot and Maariv lead with allegations from Ya’alon that Bennett made demands during the conflict, particularly regarding Hamas’s use of tunnels, based on independent reports which he received from officers in the field. Such reports apparently differed from briefings Bennett received as a member of the security cabinet. Ya’alon accused Bennett of bypassing the chain of command, while according to Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz, Bennett claims that his independent actions were responsible for drawing attention to the tunnels.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that the Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Hamas of operating a profitable network to smuggle Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip into Egypt and on to Europe.