BBC News reports that the Syrian regime said it executed 24 people for deliberately starting wildfires in 2020, while 11 additional people were sentenced to life in prison and five minors were sentenced to 10-12 years in prison. The wildfires impacted the coastal region of the country, destroying 13,000 hectares of agricultural land and killing three people between September and October 2020.

The Guardian reports that the Syrian regime siphoned millions of dollars of foreign aid by pocketing $0.51 of every dollar in aid sent to the Central Bank of Syria. The bank is sanctioned by the UK, US and EU, but UN aid money kept flowing into the bank. New research from US-based think-tank CSIS uncovered this effort by President Bashar al-Assad. The money was either pocketed by senior officials for their own personal wealth or went to support the regime’s war efforts. This comes as nearly 90 per cent of the Syrian population continues to live in poverty.

David Gardner writes for The Financial Times about how the recent fighting in Beirut has accelerated Lebanon’s decent into a failed state. He notes that the deadly street fighting seen last week “is part of a battle waged by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed politico-military force, and its allies to ensure the judicial investigation into the August 2020 explosion in Beirut goes nowhere. If they get their way and extinguish this last flicker of the rule of law, Lebanon will be well on the way to becoming an Iranian protectorate on the Mediterranean”.

The Economist reports on how the investigation into the Beirut port blast led to a deadly gun battle in the streets of Beirut, the worst since 2008. The paper notes: “The shoot-out on October 14th was centred on a protest against Tarek al-Bitar, the judge investigating the massive explosion at Beirut’s port just over a year ago …  Hezbullah and Amal have spent months using legal and political pressure to stall the port investigation.”

Reuters reports that Samir Geagea, the leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, has dismissed accusations by Hezbollah that his party has a militia seeking to start a civil war in the country. Hezbollah blamed Geagea’s party for the deadly street violence in Beirut. Violence erupted when Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally Amal demonstrated against the ongoing probe into the Beirut port blast and called for the lead investigator to step down. Seven Shi’ite Muslims were killed during the demonstration.

The Economist reports on the reopening of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, which is home to an impressive collection of Western art. The paper notes the strange juxtaposition of the museum’s reopening days before the presidential election of hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who has celebrated the decline of American influence. The museum and its impressive art collection was opened by the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1977.

All the Israeli media cover Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to Sochi today to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Upon departure Bennett said that bilateral ties were an important tier of Israel’s foreign policy due to Moscow’s status in the international community and in the region. Ahead of the meeting with the Russian president, Bennett spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Kan Radio News, Bennett has asked to postpone the decision to admit tourists who have received the Sputnik vaccine, most of whom come from Russia, by a few days against the backdrop of the discovery of the new sub-strain of the coronavirus. The possibility of postponing the admission of tourists who have been vaccinated with Sputnik until early December has been discussed. Haaretz quotes a senior official saying: “The trip’s main purpose is to establish a close relationship between Bennett and Putin and to show that the change of government in Israel hasn’t caused any damage to the ties and cooperation between the countries.”

Yediot Ahronot follows the report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah in which 15 “Mossad agents,” all of them Arab, were arrested in a secret operation by the Turkish espionage agency. According to the report, the suspects were secretly followed for a year and arrested in October.  The reports from Ankara, which have not been confirmed officially outside of Turkey, said that the suspects operated in five cells over the course of several years. They allegedly met Mossad handlers in Romania, Kenya and other European countries and were paid through coded bank accounts. The Turks said the cell members tracked “marked” Turkish citizens and Palestinian students in Turkey who maintained close contact with Hamas leaders. Three of them, who suspected they were being followed, were reported as “missing” so that they could continue their espionage. Turkish officials said none of the agents were Jewish or Israeli, which made it easier for them to forge connections in Arabic. The officials said the suspects had used a sophisticated email programme that made it possible to encrypt files, and an app that creates fictitious phone numbers to relay information. According to Palestinian media, seven of the agents are Palestinians and are suspected of spying for Israel. Maariv reports, relying on Turkish sources, suggest that those arrested have confessed to spying for Israel.

Channel 12 News reports that IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi has instructed the Israeli Air Force to carry out training exercises in preparation for a potential strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. According to the report, it will be the first time in two years that the air force has trained for this scenario. Walla News interviewed Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman who said: “A confrontation with Iran is only a matter of time, and not a lot of time.  No diplomatic move or agreement will stop the Iranian nuclear programme. This is a problem of the international community but first of all ours because they have stated that their policy is the destruction of Israel, and they do mean it.” The finance minister also highlighted the government’s decision to approve a $1.5 billion budget to prepare the military for a strike against Iran.

Kan Radio News report on the latest announcement from the housing ministry authorising the construction of over 3,100 housing units in the settlements and approximately 1,300 housing units for Palestinians in Area C. If approved, it will be the first time that the Bennett government gives authorisation for construction on this scale during the Biden administration.

Israel Hayom and Yediot Ahronot report on comments by US mediator Amos Hochstein while visiting Lebanon, who called for indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel over the disputed maritime border. Hochstein, an Israeli born US State Department official, gave an interview to Al Hadath TV saying: “Perhaps there should be some shuttle diplomacy first, in order to assess the positions of the parties to identify where there is room for negotiation and then ultimately, to go back to Naqoura and complete the negotiations … I think that in these kinds of efforts what we’ve learned is that if you take a lot of time, it doesn’t happen, so we need to be focused, and we need to move quickly.” He was also asked about a deal to export Egyptian gas through a pipeline via Jordan and Syria into Lebanon. Hochstein said the US had been working to make that happen and sanctions against Syria would not have to be waived to make the deal go through as they don’t apply in this case.