BBC News reports the UN has adopted a resolution that defines Holocaust denial. The resolution was put forward by Israel and Germany. The UN said the passage of the resolution sends “a strong message against the denial or the distortion of these historical facts”. The resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly without a vote. Iran said it was disassociating itself from the text.

David Gardner writes in The Financial Times about the drone and missile attack earlier this week in the UAE, saying that it “shows how Yemen is starting to resemble Syria as a conflict able to radiate mayhem beyond its borders”.

John Jenkins writes for The Spectator about Iran’s involvement in the Houthi strikes against Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He writes: “Demonstrating a rapidly developing and semi-deniable ability to hit targets at will in the territories of the West’s allies in the region – and get away with it – sends a message that Iran and its pals think they’re winning. The UAE and Saudi Arabia probably agree.”

The Associated Press reports on a joint naval drill between Iran, Russia and China, which began in the Indian Ocean this morning. This marks the third naval drill between the countries since 2019. According to Iranian state TV, 11 of its vessels were joined by three Russian ships and two Chinese ships. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will also participate in the exercise with smaller ships and helicopters.

Owen Jones writes for The Guardian about the UK’s involvement in the Yemen war. He says: “For seven years, a Saudi-led coalition has been pummelling the impoverished country with bombs, many of them supplied by Britain. Through our staunch military alliance with the Saudi dictatorship, our government is directly complicit with these atrocities.”

The Economist reports on how victims of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria are seeking justice abroad, since “despots won’t prosecute their own henchmen”. Citing the recent trial and conviction of Anwar Raslan in Germany, the paper notes how “Middle Eastern legal dramas” are playing out in European courts.

Reuters reports on the status of the Vienna negotiations over the JCPOA nuclear agreement. Following a meeting with British, French and German minister, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We are indeed at a decisive moment. There is real urgency and it’s really now a matter of weeks, where we determine whether or not we can return to mutual compliance with the agreement.” Sources have said there has been no progress on the core issues and that the Vienna track would not continue beyond the month of February.

The Associated Press profiles Yair Golan, a retired general now serving as an MK in Israel’s Meretz party. The profile notes that Golan “spent a significant part of his military career serving in the occupied West Bank, protecting Jewish settlements. Today, he is one of their most vocal critics”. He recently came under scrutiny for calling violent settlers ‘subhuman.’ In an interview with The Associated Press, Golan said: “You can’t have a free and democratic state so long as we are controlling people who don’t want to be controlled by us. What kind of democracy are we building here long term?”

Kan Radio News reports on the current wave of COVID in Israel and how researchers from Hebrew University estimate that it will peak in the next four days, with approximately 200,000 new cases diagnosed each day. The rate of infection will likely peak in about a weak, during which time the number of people in serious condition will rise by 200 a day. The number of patients currently in serious condition rose to 593, with 112 on ventilators.

Yediot Ahronot reports that quarantine restrictions for school children who have been exposed to COVID have been rescinded. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz agreed to the new regulations, which will come into force next Thursday. Following the announcement, Bennett said: “The children of Israel are going back to school in an ongoing fashion.” The decision was praised by Israel’s Paediatric Association, which said: “The government has made a measured, correct decision that will protect the mental and physical health of the children while also carefully allowing the day-to-day [functioning of the education system] to continue.”

Sima Kadmon writes in Yediot Ahronot about how the change in rules for school children was almost single handily accomplished by Education Minister Shasha-Biton. She argues: “After fighting the Health Ministry for weeks, Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton finally accomplished her goal of having quarantine requirements lifted for children who aren’t sick. Don’t let anyone take this victory away from her. It belongs to her, 100 percent. Of the three people standing on the podium yesterday, she was the first to have identified what quarantines were doing.”

Kadmon goes on to comment on the plea bargain concerning Benjamin Netanyahu. She writes: “People opposed to this accursed plea bargain come from both sides of the political spectrum, right and left alike. Some people feel that the man who said ‘nothing is going to come of all this because nothing happened’ has lied to them, while others feel it is wrong to close the cases against a person who stands accused of committing very serious crimes while serving as prime minister. There is one fact, however, that everyone cannot help but agree on: Netanyahu has done it once again. Fought to the very last drop of his supporters’ blood, and then cast them aside.”

Kan Radio News reports that Prime Minister Bennett spoke with UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed yesterday and reiterated his condemnation of the drone attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Moreover, Yousef Al Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the US, said that the UAE would bolster security ties with Israel and the US following the attack.

Kan Radio News also reports that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu last night. This market the first time in 13 years that the foreign ministers of both countries had spoken and acknowledged the call. Çavuşoğlu called Lapid after it was reported the Israeli foreign minister had tested positive for COVID.