The BBC, The Financial Times, and Reuters report that Israel’s parliament has voted to allow Israeli citizens back into the sites of four settlements in the West Bank which were evacuated at the time of the disengagement from Gaza in 2005. There has been international criticism of the bill, as the settlements were built on what the High Court of Justice ruled was private Palestinian land. It still has to be signed by an Israeli military commander to be enforced. The vote in the early hours of Tuesday fulfils a long-held goal of the lawmakers who dominate Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government and want to re-establish the settlements, which most of the international community considers illegal.

The Guardian reports that the UK and Israel have signed a long-term agreement strengthening ties in the fields of defence, security and technology following plans announced last year to put relations between the two countries on an elevated footing. The timing of Tuesday’s agreement is controversial since it will be seen as a mark of approval for Israel’s far-right government, which has put settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank at the top of its agenda and faces a massive backlash over plans to neuter the role of the judiciary. The agreement was signed by the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and the Israeli foreign minister, Eli Cohen, in London. It forms part of the UK’s efforts to forge strategic partnerships with so-called middle countries.

Reuters, The Guardian and The Financial Times reports that Jordan’s foreign minister on Tuesday decried a comment from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as “racist” after the latter spoke from a podium adorned with a map depicting Israel as including all of Jordan and the Palestinian territories. An official source told Reuters on Tuesday that Amman had received assurances from Israel that his statements did not represent Israel’s position.

Yediot Ahranot reports that yesterday Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog was summoned to meet Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, in what is described by the news station as highly unusual in American-Israeli relations. According to a State Department statement, Sherman shared the United States’ “concern regarding legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset rescinding important aspects of the 2005 Disengagement Law, including the prohibition on establishing settlements in the northern West Bank.”  Sherman and Herzog also reportedly discussed the “importance of all parties refraining from actions or rhetoric that could further inflame tensions leading into the Ramadan, Passover, and Easter holidays.” US Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the United States was urging Israel to refrain from allowing settlers to return to the area covered by the legislation, given the commitment that was made by the former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and by the current Israeli government to the United States. “We have been clear that advancing settlements is an obstacle to peace and the achievement of a two-state solution. This certainly includes creating new settlements, building or legalizing outposts, or allowing building of any kind on private Palestinian land located deep in the West Bank or adjacent to Palestinian communities—all of which would be facilitated by this legal change,” said Patel.

Maariv reports that senior Finance Ministry officials submitted a document on Monday night to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich projecting dire economic repercussions should the government’s proposed judicial reform be passed into legislation. According to the document that was submitted by the senior Finance Ministry officials in a meeting with Finance Minister Smotrich, the Israeli economy is projected to lose between NIS 15 billion and NIS 30 billion every year if Israel’s credit rating is lowered because of the proposed judicial reform’s legislation. Kan News reports that Smotrich said: “this reform is good for the economy. We know how to explain it to our partners in the credit rating agencies”. Opposition Chairman Yair Lapid said: Smotrich and Rothman are pushing ahead with the legislation, are continuing to destroy the Israeli economy and its democracy, to dismantle the IDF and to tear the public apart but refuse to take responsibility for their actions and only blame others.

Kan News reports that Israeli security officials are concerned about possible damage to Israel’s security relations with Egypt and Jordan because of Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent statements, including his remarks as if there was “no such thing as a Palestinian people”. Officials are concerned that the remarks made by Smotrich might undermine the understandings that were reached in the meetings that were held in Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba ahead of the sensitive month of Ramadan.

Maariv also reports that the leaders of the reservists protest movement, Brothers in Arms, announced yesterday that they were escalating their fight against the judicial reforms. Lt. Col. (res.) Ron Sharaf, one of the leaders of the protest said at a press conference: “The government is continuing to march, the defence minister is remaining silent, and the government is violating the contract between the state and us. An executive branch with unfettered power is a dictatorship. If the dictatorship laws are enacted—the ‘people’s army’ will not be able to exist”.

Israel Hayom reports tensions within the Likud after Economy Minister Nir Barkat said yesterday he would honour any High Court of Justice ruling to strike down legislation that changes the composition of the Judges Selection Committee. Barkat made his statements after Justice Minister Yariv Levin told Channel 14 News that the court had no authority to strike down the legislation and that he would not “accept” a decision to do so, which he said would cross a “red line.” According to the report, unnamed senior Likud officials were “furious” with Barkat and accused him of having “played into the hands of the justices and the government’s opponents twice,” first by misrepresenting Levin’s intentions and then by conferring to the court “legitimacy to consider ruling against these laws.” 

Channel 12 News reports that according to Syrian media outlets, Israel attacked the airport in Aleppo in northern Syria. Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were fired, and explosions were heard in the area. According to the reports, four missiles that were fired from the west struck the international airport in Aleppo. The precise targets or the attack remain unknown, and no reports about casualties or damage have been published yet.

Ynet reports that six Palestinian terror inmates have announced they are beginning a hunger strike, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) said on Tuesday. The prisoners at the Nafha, Ketziot, Ramon and Gilboa prisons “will be dealt with disciplinarily in accordance with the IPS orders,” a statement said. On this coming Thursday, which is the first day of the month of Ramadan, all security prisoners in Israeli prisons are expected to participate in a hunger strike to protest against the conditions they claim have worsened after an order from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.”

Ynet also reports that The Shin Bet, IDF, and Israel Police uncovered the infrastructure of terror operatives from the Gaza Strip, and consequently thwarted a shooting attack in Jerusalem planned for the upcoming few days. Two Palestinians from the West Bank were arrested after suspicions that they were acting from this infrastructure, and a gun was found in their custody during the investigation, which they were planning to use in the attack. According to the Shin Bet, the suspects were drafting young Palestinians, giving them instructions, and providing them with weapons.