Israeli intelligence believes the attacker was seeking to avenge a clash on Thursday in which ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in an operation against Islamic militants. The shooter was not known to be affiliated with any militant organisation and may have been acting as a “lone wolf”, though police have highlighted his clearly substantial gun training. Police have detained for questioning 42 of his relatives and neighbours. Sky News added that Netanyahu promised a ‘strong, swift and precise’ response. On Saturday morning, two Israelis were also wounded in a further shooting at the City of David archaeological site by the Old City.

The Guardian added that, “while it is impossible to predict what will happen next, a recently released joint Palestinian-Israeli survey said 61% of Palestinians and 65% of Israeli Jews said they now think a third intifada is on the horizon.” However, The Times said that “the two previous Palestinian Intifadas were much wider events, taking place simultaneously in hundreds of locations and involving many thousands of people. The First Intifada, which began in 1987, was largely a popular revolt of civilians using stones and Molotov cocktails. The Second Intifada, began in 2000, was carried out mainly by armed groups affiliated with the main militant organisations and included dozens of suicide bombings of Israelis buses and restaurants”. Sky News reports that Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus said: “I think that there is an intifada coming. There is not any hope among my people. The Palestinian people need hope, small hope for their freedom.”

The Financial Times, Reuters, The Guardian, The I and The BBC report that Israel’s new government has said it will “explore additional deterrent measures regarding the families of terrorists that express support for terrorism, including the revocation of Jerusalem residency rights and Israeli citizenship, and legislation allowing employers to dismiss workers who have supported terrorism without the need for a hearing”. The government also announced it would make it easier for civilians to carry guns and strengthen settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s security cabinet said that in response to the attacks, Israel would expand and accelerate firearms licensing, which it said would “enable thousands of additional citizens to carry weapons”.

The Guardian reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Egypt to begin a three-day visit to the Middle East where he will look to ease Israeli-Palestinian tensions after an eruption of violence.

The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent report on our top story, that Israel is thought to have carried out its first military strike on Iran since Netanyahu returned as prime minister last month, using drones to attack a factory. Officials in Tehran said its air defences fended off the attack but video on social media clearly shows a large explosion at what is believed to be a site in Isfahan belonging to Iran’s Space Research Centre. The centre has been sanctioned by the US over its work on Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

The Independent and Reuters report that on Idit Silman’s first day as Israel’s new environmental protection minister, she handed out soft drinks in disposable plastic cups to hospital patients. The gesture held deep symbolic meaning in Israel, where soft drinks and single-use cups, plates and cutlery have become weapons in a culture war between the country’s secular Jewish majority and the smaller but politically powerful religious minority. For much of the public, a tax imposed last year on plastic goods seemed like a straightforward way to cut down on the use of items that are major sources of pollution. But many ultra-Orthodox Jews saw the extra cost as an assault on a way of life that relies on the convenience of disposable goods to ease the challenges of managing their large families.

The Israeli media is dominated by Friday’s deadly terror attack which claimed the lives of seven Israelis (and a further attack on Saturday morning which injured two) and by government responses and security proposals. Maariv covers yesterday’s cabinet meeting, in which Prime Minister Netanyahu reinforced his pledge to “strengthen” settlements in reaction to the attacks, but was “vague on both the specifics and the timetable”. Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed that the cabinet legalise seven illegal settlements in honour of the seven victims of the terror attacks, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued for immediate approval of new settlement construction in the West Bank E1 zone between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. Army Radio reports that a small team of ministers will now assume responsibility for implementing development and legalisation of settlements, but that nothing would begin until after the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, which starts today.

Maariv also reports a cabinet dispute on what should be done with the home of the 13-year-old terrorist responsible for Saturday morning’s terror attack. In response to Ben Gvir’s demand that the home be sealed immediately, legal officials countered that this would break precedent, since the attack was non-lethal. The cabinet voted with Ben Gvir. Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar proposed a bill which would allow: “that land and property owned by the terrorist and his/her family could be confiscated and turned over to the families of the victims in the acts of terrorism; stripping terrorists and their family members of budgets and stipends; and deporting terrorists and their immediate family members and stripping them of their residency status.” In Israel Hayom, Ariel Kahana is deeply critical of the security cabinet’s decision to make firearms more readily available to civilians, purportedly to deter and prevent terrorist attacks. Kahana calls such moves “defeatist” and likely to make Israel a “wild west”.

Kan Radio also details Sunday’s cabinet meeting, and reports that ministers Struck, Chikli and Distal Atbaryan demanded the arrest of Palestinian Religious Affairs Minister Hatem al-Bakri on a charge of incitement to murder Jews. Al-Bakri publishes a weekly briefing for preachers in the mosques of the West Bank and East Jerusalem for use in Friday prayers, and the ministers allege that the last iteration implicitly called for the murder of Jews. In response, Netanyahu promised to deal with the matter but did not offer specifics.

Kan Radio also reveals that Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has held a second meeting of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership within 24 hours to discuss the recent escalation on violence and the range of Israeli responses. Of most concern to the leadership is the Israeli plan to expedite settlement construction in the E1 zone. Abbas met yesterday in Ramallah with CIA Director William Burns and requested that the US intervene to halt the plans.

Haaretz reports on “price tag” revenge attacks against Palestinian property on Sunday evening in response to Friday and Saturday’s terror attacks in Jerusalem. A house and car were torched in Turmussya, north east of Ramallah, while six cars were set alight in the nearby village of Majdal Bani. In Turmussya, graffiti reading “Death to Arabs” was also sprayed on a wall. Ynet profiles Arab-Israeli paramedic and twenty-year Maged David veteran Fadi Dekidek, who was one of the first medics to arrive at the scene of both attacks. Asked about anti-Arab rhetoric at the scenes, he said “I’m a professional who is entrusted with taking care of those wounded. I can hear it, but I ignore it and do my job. The only thing that matters is saving lives. I arrived first at both scenes and the only thing I place any importance on is saving lives.”

Following on from the weekend’s attacks in Jerusalem, there is wide coverage of an incident on Sunday in which two men were shot after crossing the Syrian border line in the Golan Heights. Maariv reports that while the Syrian Centre for Human Rights had alleged that the two were members of Hezbollah, the IDF has revealed that its preliminary investigation does not indicate a terrorist motive.

Yediot Ahronot discusses Blinken’s visit and suggests that he “will express his concerns about the planned judicial reform and the fear that it might undermine Israeli democracy.” It quotes a high-ranking US official as saying “We won’t be shy about that. Our position is that Israel is a healthy democracy, the only democracy in the Middle East, and this is our number one argument when defending Israel in the UN. These are values that we share and it is important that this continue. We want strong checks and balances, a strong democracy—that is very important to us and important to more than half of Israelis.” The paper also quotes Likud sources as saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu is “very worried about the American position” on judicial reform and that “if faced with a choice between the US and the judicial reform, his base will break and prefer continued American support over judicial reform.”

Haaretz covers Saturday’s latest anti-government protests, conducted in a muted tone following the terror attacks. 60,000 turned out in Tel Aviv and held a moment’s silence accompanied by memorial candles placed at Kaplan Street in honour of the victims. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid attended the Jerusalem protest, while in Tel Aviv former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon demanded that the government “stop trying to sabotage Israeli democracy and turn it into a criminal and failed dictatorship.” Maariv reports that Ya’alon also appeared on Israeli radio on Sunday morning and repeated his criticisms of the government, earning a fierce, and personally targeted, rebuke from Likud MK Hanoch Milbitsky.

Haaretz also observes that this week’s protest was notable for being the first time that a large organised orthodox contingent was present. “It’s not political, it’s about supporting our country and our ability to raise our children. We all share the values of the Torah, and we’re here to show that there are also religious people” opposed to government reforms, said Idit Schafran Gittelmam, one of the religious group’s organisers.

Channel 12 reports on the latest warning of the economic effect of judicial reform, this time from a letter signed by dozens of former director generals of government ministries, while Sever Plocker uses a column in Yediot Ahronot for the same theme. Maariv cites senior (though non-cabinet) Likud MK David Bitan as saying that reform proposals both must and will be eventually “softened”.