The Guardian features UK Labour Friends of Israel’s new publication setting out the party’s prospective approach to Israel should the party form the next UK government. The publication includes a section from BICOM, entitled “A Golden Age: Strengthening the UK-Israel Bilateral Relationship”, and can be read here.

The BBC reports that five Israeli men have gone on trial in Cyprus, charged with the gang rape of a 20-year-old British woman last month. The defendants, who all deny the charges, are all aged 19 or 20 and from the Israeli Arab town of Majd al-Krum. The trial will resume on 16 October.

The Telegraph covers the apparent delay of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman’s (MBS) visit to the UK. Initially set to visit on October 16^th, he now appears likely to come in December instead. The trip will be MBS’s first to the UK since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi five years ago, and news of its delay follows reports that Germany’s Green Party is looking to block the UK from sealing a £5 billion arms deal to sell typhoon fighter jets to Riyadh. A senior UK military chief told the paper that: “Saudi is geostrategically becoming more and more significant. It is not just a regional player, it’s global and it bridges the north to south and east to west… It clearly leads the Islamic world which delivers a huge chunk of influence… Under MBS, Saudi has changed beyond recognition with the liberalisation, the opportunities and quality of life… They are an important partner to work with and defence should have a relationship with them. There’s a lot of jobs that rely on our relationship with Saudi and if we want to restore our own economy and productivity then working with a country like Saudi is important.”

All the Israeli media covers the IDF raid against terrorist infrastructure that took place on Wednesday night in Tulkarem in the West Bank. The aim of the operation was to arrest a known terrorist planning an attack. Channel 12 News described the clash as a “fierce exchange of fire” which included explosive devices thrown at the security forces. Five troops from the Border Police were injured in the clashes, including two who suffered serious injuries. Israel Hayom reports that the injuries were caused by terrorists throwing a grenade that had originally been used by the security forces in the operation.

In a separate incident terrorists targeted a civilian vehicle driven near the settlement of Aveni Hefetz. Channel 12 News reported that IDF forces in the area were able to chase down the attackers and killed the two assailants. An M-16 rifle was found in the vehicle. In a third incident, an Israeli family, parents and their young daughter, where shot at while driving through Huwara in the West Bank. They were not injured, but there were several bullet holes in the vehicle and the back windscreen was shattered. The gunman fled the scene, but was later shot dead by troops.

Yediot Ahronot warns that without a change in policy, more terror attacks will prevail. The paper cites the outgoing commander of the Judea and Samaria division suggesting that a strong Palestinian economy, the closing of the border with Jordan, and the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority would all contribute to improving security. The Jordanian border has become a source of weapons smuggling, while a senior IDF commander approved of a limited supply of weapons from the US to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, noting, “you can’t fight Hamas with batons.”

Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot monitor the latest building provocatively assembled structure inside Israeli territory on the Lebanon border. Haaretz notes that the IDF “had identified a “concrete structure” on Wednesday night which had been built inside Israeli territory along the border with Lebanon, near the northern moshav of Shtula… the structure exceeded the borderline by two to four meters, and was apparently intended for use by Hezbollah.” Yediot Ahronot add that yesterday the Lebanese army destroyed the foundations of the structure built by Hezbollah in coordination with UNIFIL after Israel complained it was built on its territory.

Israel Hayom features commentary by former National Security Adviser Yaakov Nagel, who writes, “there is no doubt that signing an agreement with Saudi Arabia that will include normalisation is a task of the highest priority, which justifies taking many risks, so as not to miss the opportunity; but not all risks and not at any price… The Saudi demands that Israel can accept on the assumption that it will maintain its qualitative military edge are as follows: a defence treaty, mainly against Iran; expansion of arms deals; and a free-trade zone. The problematic Saudi demand is the wish for a complete nuclear fuel cycle on its own soil…The Saudi demands stem from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2015, which granted independent enrichment and advanced centrifuge R&D to the Iranians, on their own soil. One can understand where the Saudis are coming from without agreeing with them. The cheating Iranians received this, so why not also them? This argument will, of course, also be used by other countries such as Egypt, the UAE, Turkey, and Algeria and will start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Raising the faulty and misleading argument that if the Saudis do not receive these capabilities from the US under a controlled mechanism, they will receive them from other countries such as China, is not legitimate, as China has offered the Saudis only a controlled power reactor and not an enrichment program. The main argument for allowing the enrichment on Saudi soil is based on Saudi Arabia’s agreeing to any oversight and management requested by the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which will prevent a future conversion of these capabilities to military purposes. But that is false. Teams of American and Israeli experts have reportedly found technical ways to ‘square the circle’ but this does not change the basic cornerstone that a country cannot roll the dice when it comes to nuclear capabilities.”

Maariv covers comments by President Herzog condemning the events from Yom Kippur in Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, noting that, “preventing prayer is unthinkable.” The President was speaking ahead of events tomorrow on the festival of Simchat Torah and the court decision on whether to accept gender segregation. Herzog noted, “even as children in a non-religious Tel Aviv neighbourhood we celebrated the joyous and unifying custom with mutual love and respect, and so did thousands more like us all over the country. These are real, honest and intimate events of the love of Israel, which have become the property of all sections of the people. I have always felt that it is a deep and compelling part of our personal and national identity. This year, during the holidays, we experienced with great pain a number of incidents of prayer being prevented; events that burned the heart and were unimaginable and unacceptable.”

Ynet reports on the latest senior Israeli official to condemning spitting on Christians. “Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Israel is committed to preserving religious freedom and freedom to worship, for all faiths, in a phone call with his Vatican counterpart Paul Richard Gallagher, The Foreign Ministry said. The two men agreed that Gallagher would visit Jerusalem next month. The call was made after attacks on Christians increased over the past year, making headlines across the world. In an interview, Vatican Custodian of Christian holy sites in Israel Father Francesco Patton warned that attacks that included stone-throwing on churches and clergy, vandalism and spitting, could result in a surge of antisemitism.” Cohen is quoted saying, “I made it clear to Minister Gallagher that I condemn the reprehensible act of spitting on Christians and any harm to anyone on the basis of their faith. This behaviour does not represent Jewish values, and the widespread condemnation of this disgraceful act reflects that. Freedom of religion and worship are fundamental values in Israel, and the hundreds of thousands of Christian tourists who visit the Holy Land every year are welcome and will be received with respect and blessings.”