The Times quotes Saudi Arabia’s ambassador the US Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud’s recent comments regarding the potential for the country’s normalisation with Israel. “We don’t say normalisation,” she said. “We talk about an integrated Middle East, unified [as] a bloc like Europe, where we all have sovereign rights and sovereign states, but we have a shared and common interest. Normalisation is you’re sitting there, and I’m sitting here, and we kind of coexist, but separately. Integration means our people collaborate, our businesses collaborate and our youth thrive.” For more on the prospects of a Saudi-Israel deal, see our recent BICOM Briefing.

Reuters reports that the Israeli shekel was down 0.6% on Thursday at a three-week low of 3.70 per dollar, while Tel Aviv’s main share index (.TA125) dropped by 0.4%. Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital in London, said the low came after the Netanyahu’s confirmation that the judicial reforms were ongoing. “So, not quite as radical as the contentious reforms originally planned, but still it seems changes are coming,” he said. The BBC features Netanyahu’s Wall Street Journal interview and explores the next stages of the judicial reforms.

Reuters and The Independent detail Israeli President Herzog’s invitation to address a joint meeting of the US Congress on July 19^th in recognition of Israel’s 75^th anniversary. Herzog will be the first Israeli president to makes such an address since his father, Chaim Herzog, did so over thirty-five years ago.

The Guardian reports the Biden Administration warning US companies that any takeover of Israel’s NSO Group could prompt investigation over whether it poses a counterintelligence threat to the US. Hollywood financier Robert Simonds is said to be considering a bid for the company, including its Pegasus spyware arm. A US government spokesperson told the paper that “Any US company should be aware that a transaction with a foreign entity on the entity list will not automatically remove the designated entity from the entity list. It may also prompt a review of whether the acquisition gives rise to a counterintelligence threat to the US government and its systems and information, whether other US equities may be at risk, and to what extent a foreign entity or government retains a degree of access or control.”

All the Israeli media include sensational update [from our main item on Monday] with the Mossad releasing a taped confession of the Iranian, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander sent to Cyprus to target Israelis. Yousef Shahbazi Abbasalilo was interrogated on Iranian soil by the Mossad. Yediot Ahronot quotes a Mossad official saying, “We will reach anyone planning terror attacks against Jews, wherever they are, including in Iran.” Israeli agents located Abbasalilo, interrogated him and recorded him providing details about the planned attack, the officials from the IRGC who were behind the plot, his handler’s methods of operation, the weapons he was provided and the means of communications used. Kan News highlights that the interrogation was conducted remotely from Israel and that the Mossad has used this technique previously.

Israel Hayom features an interview with outgoing US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides. He told the paper that the Biden administration does not object to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s expected visit to China. When asked about a meeting with Biden, Nides answered, “President Biden has probably met with Bibi Netanyahu about 30 times. So I’m not worried about their relationship. I’m really not. I mean, there will be a meeting, they will meet in the White House. There’ll be a beautiful meeting. It’d be a beautiful conversation. I’m not worried about that. But listen, as you all know, Israel is going through a lot of consternation right now. Judicial reform, and other things. Ultimately, I think everyone wants things to settle down a little bit so the visit doesn’t turn into a big, you know, rap about the current events, and we can focus on the big things. One thing that Netanyahu has said over and over again, he wants to focus on the big things. Iran, normalisation with Saudi Arabia. That’s what he wants to do. All this other stuff is, in my humble view, a distraction. He has his hands on the wheel, as he’s told me millions of times, and he wants to focus on big things, and that’s what he should be focused on. And that’s what we want to focus on.” On Iran he said, “There are no understandings. This is completely blown out of proportion. We’ve said this over and over again, there is no deal on the table. There is no less-for-less deal. It doesn’t exist. I mean, would there be at some point, something that we can grab onto? Who knows? But there’s nothing. You’re not going to wake up tomorrow and read about it. By the way, Israel knows everything we have done and said, if you ask the Israelis, they know exactly what conversations we’ve had. But there is no deal. We’ve said this 100 times, there’s no deal. Ultimately, the president has made it very clear that he would love a diplomatic solution, or at least to slow the programme down. That’s true. But there is no deal.”

Yediot Ahronot reports that former US ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro has been appointed by Secretary of State Blinken as the US envoy for the Abraham Accords.  Blinken tweeted, “Dan will support US efforts to advance a more peaceful and interconnected region, deepen and broaden the Abraham Accords, and build the Negev Forum.”

Haaretz reports that that the judges trying Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption case confirmed that they had suggested the prosecution consider dropping the bribery charge against him, releasing a summary of a conversation with the prosecution and defence lawyers. This supports the report last week on Channel 13 News that the judges presiding over Netanyahu’s trial had conveyed to representatives from the prosecution that they anticipated difficulties in proving the bribery charge in Case 4000.

Channel 12 News continues to follow the testimony of Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan giving evidence in the corruption trial against Prime Minister Netanyahu, remotely from a hotel in Brighton.  At the start of the fifth day, the judges made a point to clarify, “Mr. Milchan cannot talk to people involved in the trial, and those sitting in the trial cannot speak to Mr. Milchan, neither in the courtroom nor outside the courtroom.” This was in response to the prosecutor’s complaint that the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, had tried to exchange words with Milchan outside the courtroom the day before. Netanyahu’s lawyers continued their cross-examination, asking Milchan to confirm, “that you never brought cigars and champagne in connection with a visa or anything else.” Milchan responded saying the gifts had nothing to do with his visa request, adding that in the end he received the US visa regardless of Netanyahu.

Maariv includes its weekly opinion poll, asking if elections were held today, for whom would you vote? Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party receives 28 seats, Likud: 27, Yesh Atid: 19, Shas: 9, United Torah Judaism: 7, Hadash-Ta’al: 6, Yisrael Beiteinu: 5, Religious Zionist Party: 5, United Arab List: 5, Jewish Power: 5, Meretz: 4.  Both  the Labour Party and Balad continue to poll les than 2% (under the 3.25 threshold). In terms of the division into blocs, the current coalition has 53 seats, the opposition: 56 with Hadash-Ta’al and UAL combined 11 seats. The paper also asks: In light of the latest developments in the Netanyahu trials, do you support or oppose the state making a plea bargain with Netanyahu? Support: 38% Oppose: 41% No opinion: 21%.