The Times reports that child labour in Lebanon has doubled in a year as families become more likely to be living in poverty. The article notes that “the minimum wage, unchanged at 675,000 Lebanese pounds, has fallen in real value from $450 a month to $25. It is hardly surprising that not only Syrian refugees, but the Lebanese themselves are putting children into paid employment.”
 
Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami has told Reuters that Lebanese officials have agreed that losses in the country’s financial sector amount to between $68bn and $69bn, but cautioned that the figure was based on some assumptions that could change.
 
The Financial Times notes the UAE has suspended talks with the US over its $23bn deal to buy up to 50 F-35 fighter jets and other weapons. An Emirati official said Abu Dhabi had informed the US that “technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions and cost-benefit analysis led to the reassessment” – referring to the risk that the UAE’s use of Huawei 5G could mean sensitive information being leaked to Beijing.
 
A Gaza woman has given birth to twins using sperm smuggled from husband’s jail, says The Telegraph. Palestinian Rasmeya Hmeid came up with an elaborate scheme when she and her husband decided to have children. Her husband, Nahed Hmeid, has been in an Israeli jail since 2007. Although she can normally see him there, coronavirus restrictions have put a stop to visits since 2020.
 
The Guardian writes that Tehran’s approach to talks on its nuclear programme in Vienna has become so uncompromising according to Israel’s lead diplomat on Iran, Joshua Zarka, that they “have reached the last stretch of diplomacy”.
 
The Independent reports that there has been a notable rise in HIV/Aids infections during the last three years in Jordan, with the coronavirus pandemic apparently contributing to the trend, owing to the lack of healthcare provisions available throughout lockdown.
 
The Guardian also reports that Gulf leaders arrived in Saudi Arabia this week but Saudi King Salman’s absence looms large. “With the king barely seen for 20 months, the crown prince is holding the reins of power – and unbothered by who knows it.”
 
In the Israeli media, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz decided yesterday to apply the Green Certificate Programme to indoor malls that are larger than 10,000 square metres as of this Friday. The decision will require approved by the cabinet and the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, but it has already been met with opposition from within the cabinet and mall-owners. Minister Eli Avidar described the decision as “hasty” and “devoid of any epidemiological logic,” warning that it would undermine public confidence. Maariv quotes the CEO of Melisron, which has partial ownership of the 17 Ofer Malls across Israel, as saying: “There’s zero logic to this new ordinance.” CEO Ofer Sharir said that Melisron would petition the High Court of Justice against the decision. Kan Radio reported that unnamed mall-owners said they would not comply with the new ordinance.
 
Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev gave an interview to Yediot Ahronot in response to the comments he made about settler violence against Palestinians. Bar-Lev stood by his original statements and denied that he had accused all the settlers of being violent. Bar-Lev said: “I certainly didn’t smear an entire sector. They prefer for people to say ‘hilltop youth,’ because when you say hilltop youth then everyone feels better because that isn’t them. Yes, the truth is that hilltop youth are taking the lead in many of these incidents … I was very surprised by the reaction, as if I had accused all the settlers. Not in the least.”
 
Maariv notes that following the comments by Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev, Prime Minister Bennett came out in defence of residents of the settlements. He said: “The settlers in Judea and Samaria have suffered from daily violence and terrorism for decades. They are the protective wall for all of us and we must strengthen them and support them with words and actions. Every community has fringe elements and they must be dealt with using all means, but we must not generalise about an entire sector.” Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked also criticised Bar-Lev, saying: “You’re confused; the settlers are salt of the earth. They are continuing the pioneering spirit from the valleys and mountains [i.e. pre-state settlers]. The violence that ought to shock us all is the dozens of rock throwing incidents and Molotov cocktails incidents on Jews that occur every day – only because they are Jews and all of which is with the support and encouragement of the Palestinian Authority.” However, MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) said Bar-Lev should be supported for doing his job properly and for acting against violence. It is clear that most settlers are not violent, he said, but the violence originating in the settler community is not a fringe phenomenon.
 
Walla reports that a Jordanian soldier fired upon IDF soldiers who were patrolling the Jordanian border yesterday afternoon. No one was injured in the unusual incident. The Jordanian soldier, who was patrolling the border, spotted a group of ten armed IDF soldiers, who were also patrolling near the three-way border among Israel, Jordan and Syria. According to military officials, the Jordanian soldier fired two rounds of bullets at the Israeli soldiers, who were standing with their backs to the border. The IDF soldiers did not return fire for reasons that are still the subject of an ongoing inquiry. The IDF Spokesperson’s Office issued the following statement: “Earlier today a Jordanian military force fired in the air into Syria near the area of the three-way border between Israel, Jordan and Syria, where IDF troops were on a routine patrol. No one was injured and no shots were fired by IDF troops into Jordan.”
 
On Channel 12 News, Ehud Yaari argues that following the UAE decision to suspend talks with the US over the potential F-35 sale, it is now clear the weapons pact is not the reason for the Abraham Accords. Yaari writes: “The Americans are unhappy about the UAE’s openness towards China. They blocked what is described as a Chinese attempt to gain a sort of naval base at the Khalifa Port and they are not happy about the Emiratis’ romance with China’s Huawei G5. That’s why they wanted to impose restrictions on the Emiratis’ future use of the F-35s they are scheduled to buy, just like they did once before ahead of the sale of F-16s to them. Crown Prince Bin Zayed is trying to break free from these restrictions. But he has made one thing clear to everyone: he did not sign the agreement with Israel because Netanyahu got him F-35 planes.”
 
Haaretz reports that a group of US lawmakers, including the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and 16 other Democrats, is asking the Biden administration to sanction Israeli cyber-firm NSO Group and three other foreign surveillance companies they say helped authoritarian governments commit human rights abuses. In a letter to the Treasury Department, the lawmakers asked for Global Magnitsky sanctions, which punishes those who are accused of enabling human rights abuses by freezing bank accounts and banning travel to the US.