The Independent and The Guardian report on yesterday’s incident in Jerusalem in which a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews spat at the ground near a passing party of Christians. For more on this story, see the Israeli media summary below.

The Times’ Roger Boyes writes on US calculations regarding Saudi Arabia. Despite previous suspicion of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, he writes, “it might be smarter to hug Mohammed than shun him. That is the hard-nosed premise of President Biden’s putative ‘grand bargain’ master plan. It runs like this. The window for a diplomatic solution to seriously restrain Iran’s progress towards a nuclear bomb is narrowing. The unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian assets has brought little in return — the release of a handful of prisoners, a de facto ransom payment, and a bit more transparency on the nuclear programme. The Biden administration seems at best to have bought some time. In the meantime Iran’s prestige grows — membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, promotion to the status of major arms supplier to Russia. The structural problems remain: how to deter Iran from using near-nuclear status to become a disruptive hub, how to prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Israel’s imaginative Abraham Accords go some way towards building bridges between Israel and Arab states, bonded by their suspicion of Iran. But it will only shift the ground if Saudi Arabia joins in. When Riyadh signs up, other sceptical Arab states could relent.”

Also in The Times, Josh Kaplan defends the casting of Dame Helen Mirren in the recent film biopic of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The casting of a non-Jewish Brit has been subject to some recent criticism.

Israel Hayom’s military affairs correspondent, Lilach Shoval, reports unease among Israeli security officials that their professional opinion concerning the possible security implications of a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia might be ignored. Concern is particularly acute regarding Riyadh’s desire for a (purportedly civilian) nuclear programme. “We can only hope,” Shoval writes, “that Netanyahu gives the security establishment’s position its due weight and that he makes decisions based exclusively on germane considerations. An agreement with Saudi Arabia also has security ramifications that could dramatically affect the future and even the very existence of Israel in the Middle East.”

Haaretz writes that Qatar remains “undecided” on whether to increase its aid to Gaza, in the wake of a boost to its aid being cited as a crucial factor in the recent reestablishing of calm on the Gazan border, following two weeks of unrest. “At the moment there’s still no decision by Qatar about the possibility of increasing its financial aid,” it quotes a source knowledgeable about the relationship; “I can only confirm that matters are still being discussed.” The report also claims that Israel is set to “significantly increase” the number of Gazan workers allowed entry to Israel for work, currently set at over 17,000. The paper also cites an Israeli source telling it that “the violent demonstrations along the border fence with Israel in recent weeks were a bid by Hamas to win greater economic assistance rather than a desire to enter into a conflict. Israeli sources said they didn’t believe that the recent exacerbation in Gaza signalled a decrease in deterrence against the organisation, rather a dramatic signal of how much distress Gazans are coping with.”

Yediot Ahronot covers yesterday’s incident, captured on film by a Haaretz reporter, in which a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis was seen to spit at passing Christian pilgrims. It quotes a senior figure in the Christian leadership in Israel saying “beyond the serious offence to the Christian community and to Christian tourists, every such incident hurts the State of Israel and its citizens… Every instance of spitting, every [graffiti] spray-painted against Christians, every incident of violence receives exposure in hundreds of articles that appear within hours across all of Europe and the United States. Hundreds of millions of Christian believers see these articles, and Israel’s image becomes more and more tarnished. This also affects tourism and investments in Israel.” The incident sparked condemnation from across the Israeli political spectrum, Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that “Israel is totally committed to safeguard the sacred right of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all faiths. I strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate worshippers, and I am committed to taking immediate and decisive action against it. Derogatory conduct towards worshipers is sacrilege and is simply unacceptable. Any form of hostility towards individuals engaged in worship will not be tolerated.” Other denunciations were also released from the Chief Rabbi, Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas), and Housing and Construction Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism), and MK Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism). Army Radio reports that two young Jerusalem men have been today been arrested for separate recent spitting incidents.

Ynet reports the second visit in a week of an Israeli government minister to Saudi Arabia. Following last week’s trip by Tourism Minister Haim Katz – the first official visit by a minister to the Gulf state – a delegation led by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi arrived in Riyadh on Monday to take part in a special conference of the Universal Postal Union. Karhi is expected to deliver a speech at the conference today and is likely to hold meetings with counterparts from other countries, with US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney, and with Turkey’s communications minister.

Maariv features remarks from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Speaking at a meeting of the National Forum held in the Red Crescent Society’s headquarters in Al-Bireh, Abbas attacked the US, saying: “When Israel says that it is celebrating its Independence Day, whom did it receive it from? That is one big lie… The United States is the one that is occupying Palestine.” He went on to say, “the Palestinian people is fighting, will stand firm in its country and in the land of its forefathers and will continue to act to achieve its liberty and independence.”

Maariv also reports that anti-judicial reform protests continued during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and MKs Yuli Edelstein, Danny Danon, and Simcha Rothman were all targeted with demonstrations.

Yediot Ahronot features projected cuts to the state budget following a significant drop in revenues from taxes and a larger than projected rise in government expenditure.