The Daily Mail via AP reports that the Israeli military says it has reopened a key border crossing with the Gaza Strip after destroying a tunnel built under it by the Hamas militant group. Tuesday’s opening restores Gaza’s main point of entry of humanitarian aid. Israel temporarily closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing after it demolished the 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) long tunnel that ran past Israeli military posts as well as gas and fuel pipelines.

The Independent has published an interview with London-born Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum. The article reports that Hassan-Nahoum is the first British citizen to hold a senior political role in Israel. The Deputy Mayor, who the media have dubbed an “Orthodox Feminist” states in the interview that when it comes to the conflict “the world shouldn’t take this totally one-sided narrative of the poor Palestinian and this brutal, apartheid Israeli rule. I can only conclude that the oldest hatred in the world, antisemitism, is just at play here”. Ms Hassan-Nahoum was born in London but spent her childhood in Gibraltar where her father, Sir Joshua Hassan, was the Chief Minister for over 20 years.

The Independent reports that the disabled Palestinian activist, Ibraheem Abu Thuraya, was shot dead by Israeli security forces as he protested. The Israeli military said it had opened fire on the “main instigators” of violent protests at the Gaza border, who it said were throwing firebombs and rocks. On Sunday, the Palestinian Justice Ministry in Gaza said his body had been exhumed and a Hamas-affiliated commission said he had been shot by Israeli security forces. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has launched a criminal investigation into Mr Thurayeh’s death.

The Telegraph has published an article by Tom Gross examining the events in 2001 when a French ambassador to London called Israel by the same term US President Donald Trump used to describe African countries and Haiti late last week. He states that when the ambassador made the pronouncement, many in “polite society” rushed to the Ambassador’s defence “with an article in the Independent by one of the paper’s most prominent columnists at the time, Deborah Orr, described Israel as ‘sh—y’ and ‘little’ no fewer than four times”.

Metro reports on an Israeli court decision to extend the detention of a Palestinian teenager who was filmed slapping armed Israeli soldiers. Ahed al-Tamimi was charged with 12 offences, including aggravated assault and throwing stones, and could now face up to 14 years in prison.

The Evening Standard, the Independent, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian and BBC News Online report on the Trump administration’s decision to withhold $65m worth of aid from the Palestinians. The Trump administration was expected to approve its annual contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of $125m, but officials have said the US will provide just under half of that, withholding the rest “for future consideration”. President Donald Trump had previously threatened to cut aid to the Palestinians if they failed to engage in peace talks with Israel. The US funds almost 30 per cent of the UN agency’s work overall and gave $370m last year. The money withheld is part of this year’s first instalment.

The Guardian has reported on the ongoing story of the British cyclist missing in the Negev desert amid fears that he could be suffering from Jerusalem syndrome, a psychiatric condition whose sufferers believe they are prophets or other biblical figures. Oliver McAfee, 29, a devout Christian, was last seen on 21 November while cycling near the southern Israeli town of Mitzpe Ramon. The Guardian has also ran a story explaining Jerusalem syndrome.

The Guardian has published an article by former Middle East editor Ian Black examining the speech by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas last week. He concludes his column by stating that “if there is light in this darkness it is that Abbas also repeatedly stressed his continuing commitment to a two-state solution, based on international law and the 1967 borders. That remains an enduring point of both principle and political realism – even in the topsy-turvy days of the Trump era. Yet how it is to be achieved looks harder than ever before”.

The Daily Mail via AFP reports that a cinema in northern Israel is to be named after Israeli-born actress Gal Gadot, star of the movie “Wonder Woman”. The Gal Cinema, which will have two screens, will open officially on Wednesday in Nazareth Illit.

The Financial Times has published an article by David Gardner examining how Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has compromised the security of its ally Jordan. According to the article, “by tradition as well as by Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel, the Hashemites are the guardians of Jerusalem’s Islamic (and Christian) holy places. Any change in the city’s status strikes at their legitimacy”.

The Financial Times reports that European countries have stepped up the pressure over Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its role in regional conflicts as they struggle to respond to President Trump’s threat to walk away from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran. The German, French and British foreign ministers — together with Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief — agreed with Iran to hold an “intensive and very serious dialogue” on Tehran’s missile programme and regional influence.

BBC News Online, Yahoo News UK and The Daily Express report that German special police teams have searched flats linked to 10 suspected Iranian state spies. The searches were triggered by German counter-intelligence. The Iranians, still at large, are suspected of spying on Israeli and/or Jewish targets. The raids took place in Berlin, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg. The government said “elaborate observations” by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic German intelligence agency, led to Tuesday’s swoops.

All the Israeli media report that for the first time in the history of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), a female pilot has been made a commander of a flight squadron.  Yediot Ahronot leads with “Touching the Sky” while Maariv declares “The Sky is hers”.  All reports note that Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin promoted her to the rank of Lt.-Colonel. Her name cannot be published, she is referred to just by the initial T, but she is 35 years old, lives in central Israel with her partner and two children. She formerly served in a transport squadron as well as reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare and photography.  Haaretz also notes that Norkin appointed Maj. M, a female flight supervisor by training, as chief of a command and control unit at the air forces operations headquarters. She will be promoted to Lt.-Colonel.

All the media continue to report Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to India and his speech at the Raisina Conference in New Delhi. Most include the photo of the Prime Minister and his wife at the Taj Mahal. Maariv quotes the Prime Minister: “The quest for innovation is being challenged by radical Islam and its terrorist offshoots from a variety of corners, and this can upset the international system. I think that one of the ways to overcome such a challenge is to strengthen the relationship between our two great democracies. The alliance of democracies I think is important to secure our common future. I believe that the possibilities are endless.” He praised the special relationship between the two countries, which he says stems from the fact that the two cultures combine ancient tradition with democratic values. Haaretz reveals that Prime Minister Netanyahu shook the hand of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai before his speech at the conference. Israel and Afghanistan have no diplomatic relations.

Israel Hayom analyses PA President Abbas’s speech and suggests it was in response to the American peace plan that was leaked by the Saudis. The plan is based on three principles that he refuses to accept: Jerusalem will remain united, no settlements will be removed and no refugees will return to Israel. The Israeli political official said that Jason Greenblatt, the special representative for international negotiations to US President Donald Trump, is expected to arrive in Israel this week to hold a series of meetings and consultations in light of the recent developments.

Kan Radio News report on comments made by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot last night, that the Iranian threat was not a theoretical threat. He said that Israel was also contending with an ongoing threat on five fronts: Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Sinai. In the past years we have coped with terrorism from Sinai and with thousands of infiltrators; in the past year not a single infiltrator penetrated into Israel, Eisenkot announced.

Haaretz reveals Israel Police is currently examining the possibility of transferring military responsibility to the IDF for areas beyond the separation barrier in East Jerusalem, including the Shu’afat refugee camp and Kafr Aqeb. The defence establishment is careful to clarify that the purpose of the staff work is not to change the status of those neighbourhoods or their residents. When the work is completed, it will be presented to Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot.

Maariv leads with secretly recorded comments by ultra-Orthodox MK Moshe Gafni of the United Torah Judaism party (UTJ). He spoke about a secret agreement with the Prime Minister according to which hundreds of non-Jewish inspectors would be hired within about two months to enforce the minimarket law, which would prevent convenience stores opening on Sabbath. In reponse, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid said: “Gafni admitted in his own voice that he had reached a quiet agreement with Netanyahu to send non-Jewish inspectors to secular neighbourhoods in order to close shops on the Sabbath. They’ve lost their brakes. They are trampling the secular public and telling us how to behave in our homes.”

Yediot Ahronot also prominently covers another issue of the relationship between religion and state with a report that Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a prominent leader in national-religious circles, has called on his followers not to enlist in the IDF unless they could be assured that they would not serve in mixed-gender units. He is quoted as saying: “Until there is complete separation between men and women in the IDF, it is forbidden to enlist.”