Sky News, The Guardian and Reuters all report on Itamar Ben-Gvir saying that waving the Palestinian flag is an act in support of terrorism. Under Israeli law, flying the Palestinian flag is not a crime but police and soldiers have the right to remove them in cases where they deem there is a threat to public order. Mr Ben-Gvir tweeted on Sunday: “It cannot be that lawbreakers wave terrorist flags, incite and encourage terrorism, so I ordered the removal of flags supporting terrorism from the public space and to stop the incitement against Israel.”

The Guardian publishes a piece by Kenneth Roth, who claims that because he “once ran Human Rights Watch… Harvard blocked my fellowship over Israel”. He further claims: “The issue at Harvard is far more than my own academic fellowship. I recognised that, as an established figure in the human rights movement, I am in a privileged position. Being denied this fellowship will not significantly impede my future. But I worry about younger academics who are less known. If I can be cancelled because of my criticism of Israel, will they risk taking the issue on?”

The Spectator publishes a piece on Israel and Russia, saying: “at a time when the West’s nuclear deal with Iran hangs in the balance, this new strategic relationship between Russia and Iran is a major concern for Israel. Bibi, who has long been accused of having an obsession with Iran, is fearful that Russia’s support will make it possible for Iran to achieve nuclear capabilities. In a call with Putin in December, Bibi expressed apprehension about the alliance between Russia and Iran”.

Reuters reports that a consortium led by India’s Adani Group has completed the purchase of Haifa Port in northern Israel for 4 billion shekels ($1.15 billion), Israel’s Finance Ministry said. The sale of one Israel’s main seaports has taken five years and marks the culmination of a nearly two-decade reform of an underperforming sector plagued for years by labour strikes.

Reuters also reports that President Isaac Herzog appealed to Israeli politicians on Tuesday to “lower the temperature” amid confrontational exchanges between the new nationalist coalition government and the opposition..

The BBC reports that a court in Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes. Olivier Vandecasteele was convicted of espionage against Iran, collaborating with the US government, smuggling foreign currency and money laundering. He denied any wrongdoing and Belgium condemned the charges as “fabricated”. The BBC further reports that one of Iran’s most prominent female activists has described, in a letter written inside a notorious jail, how confessions are forced out of prisoners. Sepideh Qolian has been serving a five-year sentence since 2018 after being convicted of acting “against national security” for supporting a strike. Writing from Evin prison, she describes the brutal treatment of her and other detainees by interrogators. Their forced confessions are later broadcast on state-run television.

In an interview with Kan TV, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides says that Netanyahu has given him assurances that he understands that expanding West Bank settlements would be damaging to the prospects for a two-state solution. While stressing that the US’s primary diplomatic relationship would be with Netanyahu as Prime Minister, Nides also clarified that there was and would be no US boycott of Ben Gvir. On Iran, the ambassador confirmed that all options, including military, remained on the table to prevent its successful development of a nuclear weapon.

Israel Hayom covers Netanyahu’s video address to the recent AIPAC conference in the US, its first since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The time has come”, said the Prime Minister, “for Israel and the United States, along with other countries, to stand together… now, because of the brave men and women of Iran, the entire world sees what we’ve been talking about, that this is a terrible, repressive, terrorist regime.” The paper also reports US national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s remarks, whilst on a visit to Mexico City, to the effect that the current focusses of US Iran policy are ending Iranian military support for Russia and its brutal crackdown on domestic protest, and not on talks to resurrect the JCPOA. In separate comments, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price echoed Sullivan saying, “Even if the Iranians did come back tomorrow, we have a track record here, unfortunately… We…have been have been down this road with them… We want to see this resolved diplomatically… But we’re going to, in the absence of any real interest in diplomacy on the part of the Iranians, continue to keep our focus on supporting the Iranian people, keep our focus on countering…Iran security assistance to Russia.”

Maariv’s Anna Barsky discusses Sullivan’s expected arrival in Israel next week and anticipates the discussion of several points of concern for Biden Administration regarding the new Israeli government. Jewish settlement in the West Bank, legalising illegal outposts, amending the disengagement law, and wider deterioration of relations with the Palestinians are expected to be discussed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to visit, after Sullivan, and both trips will also include discussions on Iran.

Barsky also details the third meeting of the Negev Forum’s steering committee which concluded yesterday in Abu Dhabi. Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Alon Ushpiz and other Israeli officials joined counterparts from the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, and the United States for what were said to be fruitful discussions on issues including energy, regional security, tourism, food and water security, education and tolerance and healthcare. An Israeli official commented that “all of the parties came to work with the goal of concluding the meeting with real results… The bottom line is that the outcome was very good. This is the beginning of a process, but it is also a basis for work with a view to a summit meeting of the forum’s ministers… The fact that six countries convened under the title of the Negev Forum and that they all embraced its Hebrew name is very important. This is the gradual construction of a meaningful regional forum among countries that understand that the regional challenges oblige us to rise above our differences and to cooperate for the benefit of everyone.”

Haaretz details IDF head of Central Command Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs’ plans for the eviction of “hundreds” of Palestinians from the area of Masafer Yatta in the southern Hebron Hills. The paper alleges that despite being in the works for two months, the plans were only disclosed to elected officials last week, when new Defence Minister Yoav Gallant made his first visit to Central Command Headquarters. In May last year, the High Court upheld the military’s two-decade long view that Masafer Yatta is a designated “firing zone”, while local Palestinians claim that their residence predates this designation and that they should therefore be allowed to remain.

Army Radio reports on the death of Rabbi Shimon Baadani, president of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages, at the age of 94. Baadani was the headmaster of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem, one Israel’s first Sephardi yeshivas. He will be laid to rest this afternoon in Bnei Brak.

Walla explores Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s participation in a recent Finance Committee discussion on the Israeli tax authority’s demand that self-employed Israelis who have been retrospectively discovered not to meet the criteria return COVID-19 grants awarded during the pandemic. Representatives of the self-employed – one of whom was removed during the fiery meeting – claim that the authority’s foreclosure of their bank accounts will threaten their professional survival. Those whom the authority claims owe money will have until the end of February to submit appeals and will then be allowed to spread their repayments over six instalments if unsuccessful.