The BBC, FT, Guardian and The Times report the decision by Netflix to remove an episode of the satirical comedy, the Patriot Act, from its streaming service in Saudi Arabia following an official complaint by the Communications and Information Technology Commission that it had violated Saudi anti-cybercrime law. In the deleted episode, US comedian Hasan Minhaj criticises Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi law has been previously criticised by human rights groups as a tool to suppress free speech and has been used to convict activists using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to criticise the government in recent years. Netflix said it strongly supported artistic freedom but had to comply with local law. The FT note that Saudi Arabia has become an influential player in the technology and entertainment sectors through big investments by its sovereign wealth fund, which directly owns stakes in companies such as Uber and many other groups indirectly through its backing of Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund.

The Times report on the inauguration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The article says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, were in attendance. President Bolsonaro, a nationalist who rails against globalisation, has pledged to follow the lead of the Trump administration by moving Brazil’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Telegraph and The Guardian report on the dramatic split of the Zionist Union in Israel, which leaves the centre-left without its most prominent politician just four months out from an election. Avi Gabbay, Labour’s leader, announced on Tuesday that the party would run independently without the smaller Hatnua movement of Tzipi Livni. At a news conference later in the day, Livni said she would continue to lead Hatnua into the election, although the party has just five MPs in the 120-member parliament, compared with Labour’s 19 and Likud’s 30. Opinion polls predict Likud will win the election Prime Minister Netanyahu called for 9 April, taking between 27 to 31 seats – enough to lead a right-wing coalition, despite three corruption investigations against him. The article also notes that Israel’s Attorney General is expected to announce his decision on whether to charge Netanyahu in the coming months. The premier would not be required to step down if indicted, although could face political pressure to do so.

The Independent report on the sentencing of a Palestinian man to 18 years in prison by an Israeli court for fatally stabbing a British woman in Jerusalem last year, under a plea bargain acknowledging he is mentally ill. Jamil Tamimi, aged 59, killed 21-year-old exchange student Hannah Bladon on a tram as she was going to the church where she volunteered, the court heard. He targeted her at random when she came within his reach after offering her seat to an older woman, stabbing her at least seven times. Bladon’s relatives said the sentence was too lenient.

The Guardian’s Oliver Holmes writes that despite the anticipation surrounding President Donald Trump’s “ultimate deal” for Israelis and Palestinians, which is about to enter what its architects claim is the pre-launch phase: “A more crucial plan for the region is already being implemented on the ground: an attempt to strengthen Israel’s hand while weakening that of the Palestinians.” He argues that Trump’s plan will likely be a series of suggestions that detractors say will be heavily focused on Israeli demands based on the political views of its authors. He notes that Netanyahu has said he does not see “any urgency” for Trump to publish his plan.

The Times reports on a newly released video by pro-government Turkish media that purports to show Jamal Khashoggi’s body being carried in bags by his attackers on the day he was murdered. The scenes, from CCTV cameras outside the home of Saudi Arabia’s consul-general in Istanbul, show several men going in through the front door with small wheeled suitcases and plastic bags on the afternoon of 2 October. The article notes that the release of the latest video suggests that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has no intention of reducing pressure on the Saudi Crown Prince, who has won conditional backing from the Trump administration. If the video shows what it is said to show, it would imply that another claim by Saudi authorities — that Khashoggi’s body was given to a “local contact” to dispose of — was also a lie.

The Independent claims that the UK continued seeking arms deals with Saudi Arabia in the weeks after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered. A delegation from the Defence and Security Organisation – an office within the Department for International Trade that promotes arms exports for UK companies – travelled to Riyadh on 14 and 22 October, according to a Freedom of Information request obtained by the Mirror newspaper. The latter of those meetings came on the same day that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemned Khashoggi’s killing “in the strongest possible terms” in a speech to parliament. Since 2015, the UK has licensed £4.7bn worth of weapon sales to Saudi forces, making it by far the largest buyer of UK arms. The article says this is not the first time UK trade policy has been criticised for putting deals ahead of human rights.

The Israeli media focus on the Zionist Union meeting yesterday where Labor Party Chairman Avi Gabbay told Tzipi Livni, without any warning, that he was dissolving Zionist Union – the merger between the Labour Party and Hatnua. Maariv writes that Zionist Union MKs said they felt as if they had witnessed “an execution live on the air”. Gabbay later appointed MK Shelly Yachimovich opposition chairwoman, replacing Tzipi Livni . Yachimovich was reportedly in on Gabbay’s plan and even endorsed it. Her office said that Gabbay had consulted her a week ago earlier and she had not taken a position. The Knesset House Committee authorised the split in the Zionist Union yesterday and declared the Labour Party and Hatnua two separate parties.

In Maariv, Ben Caspit writes: “As in any ugly and fraught divorce battle, neither side came away looking good. Avi Gabbay came across yesterday looking aggressive, vindictive and opportunistic. He let the last remaining genie out of the bottle yesterday that had yet to rise up against him — and overnight became a chauvinist as well. Tzipi Livni quickly used that against him—and justifiably so. But she came away from this affair severely hobbled as well. She was kicked out of her fourth party and found herself landing squarely in the rubric of the treacherous arch-saboteur.”

In Haaretz, Chemi Shalev writes that it’s too early to fully assess the shock waves that will reverberate as a result of the implosion in the Zionist Union. He adds that “Drawing from his own biography as an underprivileged child who scaled the walls of Israel’s entrenched Ashkenazi establishment, Gabbay emphasised social gaps and equality rather than the usual left-right focus on peace and democracy. Together with the vocal support he received from his Labour Party predecessor Shelly Yachimovich, who is identified with such issues more than anyone, Gabbay’s message paves the way, theoretically at least, for Labour to resume its role as the standard bearer of Israel’s social-democratic wing. At a time of increasing social ferment, which is only partially linked to Netanyahu’s personal fate, such a shift could galvanize Labor’s currently demoralised electorate.”

Also in Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer writes that: “For the last year Livni has been promoting in nearly every interview the idea of “the bloc” of centrist parties, and of holding an open primary for its leadership. Hardly an expression of confidence in Gabbay. But none of the leaders of the center-left have any confidence in each other, which is why now – assuming Livni’s party will run again on its own – there are at least six parties occupying the center-ground.” He concludes that “Livni will be remembered ultimately as one of the best prime ministers Israel never had. But she obviously never had what it takes.”

The Israeli media also focus on a report in Hahadashot by Guy Peleg that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit met last week with retired attorneys general and state attorneys to discuss his decision on the corruption cases surrounding Prime Minister Netanyahu and that he will make a decision before the elections.  Labour MK Revital Sweid said: “The Sayeret Matkal [elite force] of the Israeli justice system, including three Supreme Court presidents, unanimously believes: [the attorney general] must not wait with the decision on the Netanyahu cases. The citizens of Israel are entitled to know before April 9 whether Netanyahu is being charged with serious bribery offences. Mandelblit must not succumb to the prime minister’s threats. He has to make a decision with the utmost speed.”

Kan Radio reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is currently in Brazil for the inauguration ceremony for Brazilian President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro, has met with the presidents of Chile, Serbia and Honduras, among others. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also attended the meeting with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, during which they discussed opening a Honduran embassy in Jerusalem.

The Times of Israel reports claims by Palestinian officials that Avigdor Lieberman has revealed details of Trump’s peace plan. Sources quoted by London-based paper Al-Hayat say the ex-defence minister said the plan will include a Palestinian state in Gaza and limited autonomy in the West Bank. Lieberman denied the report, with his office saying he “has never seen the plan, and to the best of his knowledge the Americans haven’t revealed the details of the plan to any Israeli.”