The BBC profiles the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), trailed by US President Biden at the recent G20. “The IMEC,” it writes, “is being seen by many as a US counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)… a global infrastructure-building project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.” “The project launched to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks, while beneficial for the region,” it explains, “was also telling of American foreign policy, ‘which, to put it simply, is anything that would further US interests against China,’ Ravi Agarwal, editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine told the BBC.”

The Telegraph reports former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sir John Jenkins warning that the US acquiescing to Saudi nuclear ambitions as part of the process to normalise its relations with Israel caused an “acute” risk of a regional nuclear arms race. If the Saudis acquired the capability, he said, “the Egyptians would do the same. I’m absolutely sure. And what about Turkey? The ramifications for nuclear proliferation in the Middle East are huge.” And given the tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, “it’s very hard to predict what the Iranian response would be… The Saudis are saying: ‘If you want normalisation, this is the price’ … And the price is extremely high. So how much do you want it?” The article also quotes Emmanuel Navon, the Israeli CEO of the European Leadership Network, saying that the US is “being blackmailed by Mohammed bin Salman… The Biden administration is willing to pay any price to move China away from the Gulf.” Navon also told the paper that nine “disastrous” months of government by Prime Minister Netanyahu mean he “is willing to pay any price for a deal to be signed. He’s desperate for some type of achievement.” (For more of Sir John Jenkins’ regional assessments, listen to his 2023 BICOM podcast.)

The Telegraph also features the news that female security officers are to be stopped from working in high-security Israeli prisons in the wake of revelations about instances of inappropriate relationships between officers and prisoners.

Yesterday’s Observer includes two features on the 1973 Yom Kippur war, whose 50^th anniversary was marked recently. The first looks at the war’s legacy for the region and its effect on soldiers, while the second explores the subsequent “new order”, both in Israel and the wider Middle East.

Israel Hayom’s Ariel Kahana reports that senior Israeli and Saudi officials are frustrated by the Biden Administration’s focus on the Palestinian issue in the ongoing US-led talks over normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia. “Informed officials told Israel Hayom,” he writes, “that the Biden administration officials’ excessive focus on the Palestinian issue has impeded progress on the normalisation process itself and has delayed a breakthrough. One official said that the central issues that are currently on the agenda, including a defence pact between the United States and Saudi Arabia, as well as the nature of the Saudi nuclear program, the gaps between the sides are not large and are bridgeable. Conversely, the official said that the Americans’ emphasis on the Palestinian issue has been so excessive that it was liable to induce the collapse of the entire process.”

Walla News covers the Military Intelligence Directorate, the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, the Planning Directorate, the Air Force, and a range of Defence Ministry officials beginning their own assessments on the security implications of deal with Saudi Arabia – especially one which, as mooted, involves the Saudis gaining a purportedly civilian nuclear programme. The site also reports that “Israeli political officials have criticised the IDF General Staff’s slow pace of action in all that pertains to strategic developments, including in the sphere of proactively launching operations. The political officials said they believe that behaviour stems from the generals’ concerns about a major conflagration that would oblige them to call up a large number of reservist pilots, potentially bringing to a head the conflict between the protesters against proposed judicial reform and the government.”

Maariv includes the Prime Minister’s Bureau’s denial that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s exclusion from yesterday’s security meeting is in any way a sign of a growing rift between the two. A statement read: “Any attempt to sow conflict between the prime minister and the national security minister and to ascribe that [information] to officials on behalf of the prime minister is false, and deliberately so. The prime minister and Minister Ben Gvir will continue to work in full cooperation for the benefit of all Israeli citizens.” Other reports have suggested that Ben Gvir was excluded because he is suspected of leaking the details of previous security meetings. Contrary to the official explanation – that Ben Gvir did not attend because the meeting pertained only to Iran, a front outside his purview – Channel 12 claims that the discussion included questions – such as the Temple Mount and developments in Judea and Samaria – that properly fall within Ben Gvir’s brief. The channel also suggests that the prime minister’s associates have informed Ben Gvir’s staff that Netanyahu has had enough of him taking constantly “contrarian” positions. Netanyahu has also frustrated Ben Gvir’s attempts to curtail Palestinian security prisoners’ visitation rights. Army Radio quotes sources close to Ben Gvir blaming Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzahi Braverman, for his exclusion. The station also features Likud minister Miki Zohar saying that the future of the coalition depends on good relations with the Jewish Power leader. “We all understand that the future of this coalition depends on the relationship…”, he said.

In the wake of recent clashes between religious and secular Israelis – especially notable in Tel Aviv – Kan Radio and Haaretz quote the Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s remarks in an address yesterday. “[Members of] The secular public are wretched,” he said. “They have no satisfaction in their lives. When a person eats non-kosher food, his mind becomes stupid. It’s hard to understand things; they don’t get it.” Ynet reports opposition chair Yair Lapid criticising Yosef for insulting millions of Israelis on whose service and dedication the country depends. “In his words this evening, Rabbi Yosef changed the definition of his position,” Lapid said. “He is not the chief rabbi of Israel, but the rabbi of a loud minority who curses from the podium millions of Jews who serve in the army, risk and sacrifice their lives, work and keep this country alive. He was right about one thing – they felt a little stupid tonight when they remembered that they were the ones paying his salary.” Maariv also quotes chairman of the Degel Hatorah faction, MK Moshe Gafni, saying at the party’s municipal election conference that “we are in a religious war – and what we saw on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv is the proof.”

Haaretz includes reports of Israel increasing its foreign arms sales over the last year. Citing Defence Ministry data, the paper says the number of states to which Israel exports weapons has “skyrocketed” in recent years. The news follows last week’s announcement of the sale of the Israeli Arrow 3 missile defence system to Germany for about $3.5 billion, with the paper attributing the wider rise to “an increase in arms deals with signatories of the Abraham Accords, and the war in Ukraine, which led to increased security expenditures in Europe and NATO countries.” The sale of drones grew by 40 percent in three years: from 40 to 56 countries in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of countries to which munitions were exported grew by 45 percent, from 42 to 61; and training programs – which were sold to only two countries three years ago – are now being supplied to 17; and the sale of cyber and intelligence systems grew from 67 to 83 countries in 2022. The potential for further extraordinary growth is significant, with Israel granting a marketing licence for weapons sales to over 100 countries in all export fields, with the sale of drones licenced to a huge 145 states.