BBC News Online reports that Iraqi forces have launched an offensive to recapture the last bastion of ISIS in the country. Soldiers, Police, Sunni tribesmen and Shi’a militia are taking part in an assault on al-Qaim and Rawa in the Euphrates river valley close to the Syrian border.

The Independent reports that Colombian pop star Maluma has sparked controversy after posting a photo of himself and a female Israeli police officer. Maluma is in Israel after recently performing a gig in Tel Aviv.

The Mail Online  reports that senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi has said that Israel plans to incorporate West Bank settlement blocs around Jerusalem into the city could end hopes for an independent Palestinian state.

Michael Segalov has published a op-ed in the Independent arguing that Jeremy Corbyn is right not to celebrate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration as “this celebratory dinner will no doubt see nostalgic celebrations of imperialism that ignore Britain’s role in fuelling an international conflict that has cost so many lives”.

Jake Wallis Simons has published an article in the Spectator which highlights that despite the current anti-Zionist stance of the British left, in the past it was strongly committed to Zionism and is “betraying” it’s origins.

The Mail Online reports  statements made by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan that all boycotts against Israel are illegitimate, including those that solely target Jewish West Bank settlements.

The Guardian and BBC Online News reports that UN investigators have concluded that Bashar al-Assad’s forces were responsible for a sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun that killed dozens of people. In response, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded by warning that the Syrian president has no role in the country’s future.

The Times reports that Israeli Intelligence Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz has threatened that Israel will attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons capability if the international deal designed to contain Tehran’s atomic ambitions fails.

BBC News Online reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has rejected an offer from the Kurdistan Region to “freeze” the result of last month’s independence referendum and hold talks.

The Times reports that Iraqi forces have launched an assault on a Kurdish-held area close to the Turkish and Syrian borders, deepening the long-feared rift between the two sides as the war against ISIS draws to a close.

All the Israeli media report the swearing in of the new President of the Supreme Court.  Yediot Ahronot quotes outgoing President Mirium Naor in a tearful speech, “Israel can be proud of the independence of its judiciary, which fears nothing but the law.  Judicial independence, however, should not be taken for granted. We must protect it.”  The paper also reports on Naor’s final ruling, that minimarkets that could legally open on the Sabbath in Tel Aviv.  Ultra-orthodox MK Yisrael Eichler is quoted as saying, “You will be remembered in disgrace forever as tyrants who tried to abolish the Torah of Israel. You will vanish into the oblivion of Judaism’s enemies throughout the generations.”

Maariv reports comments by former director of the CIA, Michael Hayden, in which he approves selling bunker busting bombs to Israel.  These “game changing weapons” he argues could be part of deterrence to Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.  However, the weapons should remain in the US, so as to ensure the US can check Israeli usage.

Yediot Ahronot reports details of a cleaner formally employed in the Prime Minister’s residence who is suing for £50,000 damages for abuse and humiliation by the Prime Minister’s wife.

Haaretz and Israel Hayom report the success of Israeli Judoka Tal Flicker who won gold at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam tournament.  At the awards ceremony the organisers refused to play the Israeli national anthem or raise the Israeli flag. Instead they raised the flag of the International Judo Federation and played the anthem of the Federation while Flicker sang the Israeli national anthem.

Israel Hayom reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu will undergo a routine gastroscopy this morning.  In his place, Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev will be Acting Prime Minister for 30 minutes.  Channel Two News  confirmed the Prime Minister has already completed the procedure.

Haaretz report the protests of ultra-Orthodox youths against the military draft.  The paper suggests that violent protests and bad language towards police and commuters is creating a rift and their approach is rejected by the mainstream ultra-Orthodox community.