Arabs are losing faith in democracy to deliver economic stability across the Middle East and North Africa, according to a major new survey by BBC News Arabic. Nearly 23,000 people were interviewed across nine countries and the West Bank by the Arab Barometer network. Most agreed with the statement that an economy is weak under a democracy. The findings come just over a decade after the so-called Arab Spring protests called for democratic change.

Egypt is being urged to end its widespread use of travel bans on activists and writers as a form of censorship, particularly against those with international links, according to The Times. British citizen Jess Kelly has called upon Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to take up the case of her husband, Karim Ennarah, who cannot leave Egypt, with the country’s foreign secretary, who began a visit to London yesterday. Karim was one of three employees of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the country’s best-known human rights organisation, who were arrested in 2020 on “terrorism charges”.

The BBC reports that Shireen Abu Aqla’s brother has heavily criticised a US report which concluded the bullet that killed the journalist was too damaged to tell where it had been fired from. The US also said unintentional Israeli gunfire was likely to have been responsible for the Palestinian-American’s death. Tony Abu Aqla said the findings were “unacceptable” and insisted his sister was targeted by Israeli troops. A top official in the Palestinian Authority accused the US of trying to protect Israel. Israel’s prime minister expressed sorrow over Abu Aqla’s “tragic” death and said an investigation by its own military had determined “conclusively that there was no intention to harm her”.

The Financial Times’s editorial board writes that Israel needs to break the cycle of elections, arguing that the failure of Bennett’s coalition could pave the way for the return of Netanyahu.

The Times reports on Hadas Klein’s damaging testimony yesterday in the Netanyahu trial, saying that the former prime minister demanded Cuban cigars as gifts from billionaires and bottles of Cointreau in which to dip them.

British human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy says Turkey should face charges in front of the international court of justice for being complicit in acts of genocide against the Yazidi people, writes the Guardian. A new report, compiled by a group of prominent human rights lawyers, is seeking to highlight the binding responsibility states must prevent genocide on their territories, even if they are carried out by a third party such as ISIS.

The Telegraph reports from a Yemeni maternity hospital where incubators sit idle as newborns die. The article says that after eight years of a brutal civil war, the country’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, where mothers and babies have become the biggest victims. According to Unicef, one mother and six babies die across the country every two hours, while one in 37 newborns do not survive beyond their first month of life. In the UK, 95 per cent of babies in intensive care units recover – in Yemen that figure is just 20 per cent.

Russia’s war helps Qatar boost its influence over global energy flows, says the Financial Times.

In the Israeli media, all papers refer to the latest developments in the Netanyahu trial. Hadas Klein, the personal assistant of Arnon Milchan and James Packer, testified in the Jerusalem District Court yesterday for seven straight hours about her bosses’ relationship with the Netanyahus. Klein recounted how for years the former prime minister and his wife demanded and received a steady supply of gifts that, by the State Attorney’s Office estimates, came to an overall value of several hundreds of thousands of shekels. She said that she would receive demands from the Netanyahus either directly or via Milchan, would buy what had been demanded after receiving approval from the businessmen and would then make sure they were delivered to the Netanyahus. Klein is a key witness in Case 1,000, in which Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust.

Yediot Ahronot quotes Klein as saying: “Arnon explained to James that that’s the way things work here. That they love gifts, and they love pink champagne and cigars for Bibi. You can’t come empty-handed, because if you come empty-handed you won’t be invited again.” According to the report, when asked who initiated the gift-giving, Klein said: “They did … of course they did. We used to divide it up between James and Arnon and that was that.” She recounted another instance in which Milchan asked her to buy cigars and champagne at the duty-free shop at the airport, “so that we have them in stock.” The prosecutor asked Klein: Who received them? She answered: “Mr. Netanyahu [received] the cigars, and Ms. Netanyahu the champagne.” Klein recounted another instance: “At Beit Yanai, Netanyahu came up to me with a cigar ring and said to me, ‘This is the kind I want.’ I looked for them when I went to Cuba.” Klein also testified: “One day Arnon called me from Balfour and said: ‘You screwed up awfully. You didn’t give me the right cigar. Netanyahu is angry.”

Maariv follows Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s trip to France yesterday. At a press conference before their private meeting, French President Macron said: “We will continue to fight our shared enemy—terrorism. We agree with the Israeli position vis-à-vis Iran. We must get to a situation in which Iran does not become a nuclear state.” Macron did not skip over the Palestinian issue. “You’ve come at a critical time. You could be the person who makes progress on several fronts; there is no time better than now to get back to talks with the Palestinians. I know, based on my own experience, that you could be that person.” Lapid told reporters after his meeting that he did not rule out a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but said it was unlikely in the coming four months, a reference to the Nov. 1 election.

Kan Radio reports that Minister Esawi Frej has resigned from Meretz, saying he needs a break from the Knesset. He clarified, however, that he would not be leaving public life and would spend the next several months working to ensure that the left-wing wins the upcoming general election. Meanwhile, Likud MK Yuval Steinitz announced yesterday his decision to retire from politics. Steinitz deliberated for nearly a year whether to stay in politics or not, and he has mostly refrained from attending functions held by party members for some time now. The prevailing assessment among his closer associates is that he realised that he was not likely to serve in any high-ranking capacity in the near future and, given that, he opted not to run.

Israel Hayom reports that Israel is reopening its economic and trade office in Turkey, as the countries work to restore diplomatic ties that have been strained for more than a decade. Economy Minister Orna Barbivai said: “The reopening of the economic attaché reflects Israel’s commitment to deepening economic ties with Turkey. We intend to soon promote a joint economic conference between the countries, after more than a decade.” The move will help more than 1,500 Israeli companies that are currently exporting to Turkey, the ministry added. Despite the years of acrimony, the countries have maintained trade and Turkey remains one of Israel’s most important partners. Bilateral trade was up 30 per cent in 2021, reaching $7.7bn.

Haaretz notes that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas met with the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Algeria, the first such meeting between the two in 15 years. PA sources said that preparations were being made for the meeting, adding that promoting a unified Palestinian government that includes both Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas is on the agenda. The effort is being made in the hopes that it would pave the way for general elections in the PA, which were postponed last year. Other senior officials from the two sides, including the PA’s intelligence chief, Majed Faraj, and the PA’s deputy prime minister, Ziad Abu Amr, were also in Algeria.

Despite the Russian government reportedly ordering The Jewish Agency to cease all operations inside the country, Kan Radio says this morning that The Jewish Agency’s operations in Russia are continuing as usual. The order was given in a letter received from the Russian Justice Ministry earlier this week. Officials in the Jewish Agency confirmed that the letter was received. They would not comment, however, on the response that is currently under consideration in the organisation’s offices in Jerusalem in consultation with the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office.