The BBC reports that the husband of the detained British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is beginning a hunger strike in Whitehall, demanding the government does more to secure her release. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in Iran for five years on spying charges, recently lost her appeal against a second prison sentence. Richard Ratcliffe said his wife was “increasingly distraught”. The Foreign Office says it will “continue to press Iran” on the issue.

The Telegraph, BBC and the Guardian follow live reports that Sudanese Interim Prime Minister Hamdok is under house arrest and being forced to issue a message in support of a military coup, according to officials. Unidentified armed men arrested a number of Sudanese officials in dawn raids on Monday, a government source said, after weeks of tensions between the military and civilian transitional authorities.

Reuters reports on the difference of opinion between Israel and the US over the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem. Israel’s deputy foreign minister said on Sunday that the Biden administration may shelve its plan to reopen a US diplomatic mission for Palestinians in Jerusalem after Israel voiced opposition to such a move. “I believe that I have good reason to think this will not happen,” Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll told Israel’s Ynet. “The Americans understand the political complexity. We have very good relations … we don’t believe in surprising them. I don’t think they will try to surprise us,” Roll said.

The Times and Reuters follow news that Turkish President Erdogan is expelling ten Western ambassadors who released a joint-statement last week calling for the release of Osman Kavala, a Turkish civil society activist and philanthropist who has been imprisoned for four years. Erdogan said he had instructed the foreign ministry to make the ambassadors of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the US persona non grata, which means they will have to leave the country. The US said it was seeking clarification from Turkey while Norway and Denmark said they had not received any official notification of expulsion.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2060, according to reports in The Times and the BBC. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the Gulf state would invest more than $180bn (£130bn) to reach the goal. But he said the kingdom, the world’s biggest oil exporter, would continue to produce oil for decades to come. The announcement comes days before the COP26 climate change summit, at which world leaders will be pressed on their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and thereby reduce global warming.

Arab nations are re-establishing ties with neighbouring Syria, writes the Financial Times, as concerns about Iranian and Turkish influence, coupled with economic and security fears, spur a tentative regional re-engagement with the pariah state.

In the Israeli media, Maariv reports on the decision by Housing and Construction Minister Zeev Elkin to give final approval for 1,355 new homes in a range of West Bank settlements. According to a statement that was issued by the Housing and Construction Ministry, 729 new homes will be built in Ariel, 346 in Beit El, 102 in Elkana, 96 in Geva Binyamin, 57 in Emmanuel, 22 in Karnei Shomron and 3 in Beitar Illit. Minister Elkin said: “Just as we promised, we are now also keeping [that promise]. Strengthening and expanding the Jewish settlement in the West Bank is an essential and very important part of the Zionist enterprise’s vision. After a lengthy period of a freeze in construction in Judea and Samaria, we welcome the sale of more than 1,000 housing units.” However, the decision to market the new homes has complicated relations within the government, drawing angry reactions from Meretz, which is a partner to the coalition, the Joint List and several left-wing organisations. These homes were planned under the previous government but were never brought to market for tender, and have nothing to do with the anticipated approval of new housing units by the Planning and Construction Committee.

Kan Radio reports that the government’s economic plan for closing the gaps in Arab society was passed during a cabinet vote yesterday. It will cost NIS 30 billion (£6.79bn) over the course of five years, beginning next year, and will run through 2026. The plan will focus on developing employment, including raising the percentage of Arab women in the workforce, investment in technological innovation and high-tech, developing health services and housing. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry closed a programme for bolstering Hebrew language studies in Arab high schools. The 45 teachers in the programme who taught Hebrew to Arab high school students in the last two years received a notice that the program might not continue this year. An Education Ministry official explained that the reason was not budgetary, but bureaucratic.

Makor Rishon reports this morning about Palestinian plans to build a new city in the Jordan Valley — a decision that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced during his visit to Jericho on Saturday. The city is to be built by the Amaar Group, an executive branch of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) that specialises in the construction of urban residential neighbourhoods. Amaar Group CEO Jamal Barahmeh told Wafa that the detailed planning of the new city has been completed and said that it would include 10 neighbourhoods, 600,000 square meters of green public areas and 130,000 square meters of commercial areas. The report quotes PIF Chairman Mohammad Mustafa as saying: “Developing the Jordan Valley is one of the group’s primary objectives because it is a Palestinian area that is in contention and, therefore, the Palestinian population in the area of the Jordan Valley, which accounts for 30 per cent of the West Bank’s territory,  needs to be increased and the current residents need to be strengthened … building the city will improve the quality of life and will protect the area from the Israeli occupation. The city will prevent the expansion of the Israeli settlements that surround Jericho from the north and east.”

Writing in Israel Hayom about the fate of the coalition government, Matti Tuchfeld argues that while the coalition is expected to traverse the vote on the budget bill “easily,” the ideological tensions within it have inspired hope among opposition members that they might nevertheless be able to take it apart. Tuchfeld writes: “The opposition’s goal is to create the sense that the government is teetering on the verge of collapse. That all the bills and other votes are being won by the slimmest of margins. The opposition has reached the conclusion that the coalition’s disintegration will come from within; that when the government appears to be stumbling, and when all its members, mainly the right-wing parties, see that they have no political future — it will collapse.”

Ynet follows news from Syrian media about a reported Israeli airstrike at forces belonging to the Assad government and its allies in the area of Quneitra near the border on the Golan. No casualties were reported, but some property damage was caused. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, among these targets were reportedly missile batteries near al-Ba’ath and al-Krum. Earlier this month, there were reports of Israeli strikes on the T4 airfield east of Homs, which houses Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops and UAVs.

Walla reports that the coronavirus infection rate has continued to fall and the health-care establishment is waiting for the FDA’s decision on whether to vaccinate children between the ages of five and 11. The FDA is expected to approve children’s vaccinations tomorrow. The Israeli vaccination committee will be convened immediately thereafter. Medical experts are divided over whether children should be vaccinated. Some believe doing so can wait as long as infection is low, whereas others argue that there will be no need to wait once the FDA has granted its approval. According to the report, the Health Ministry has said there is a shortage of vaccines for children and that new purchase must be made to replenish stocks. Due to the different dosage for children, there is a need for special vials. However, government sources tell Kan Radio that Israel has a sufficient stock of vaccines to vaccinate children as early as in the coming few weeks.