In the Times, Anshel Pfeffer writes on: “Moshe Feiglin: the far-right libertarian who could decide Israel’s general election”. He is not a new face on the political scene, writes Pfeffer, but his ideas are proving attractive to many young voters. Feiglin, says Pfeffer, was shunned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he was a Likud backbencher. Now he has the prime minister’s attention. His sudden popularity has caused Netanyahu to abandon his previous anti-drugs position and say that he would consider legalisation. A reversal of policy is not the kind of thing Netanyahu relishes, but if that is the price of a fifth term, he will gladly pay it.

The BBC include a profile of Benny Gantz, Israel’s ex-military chief challenging Netanyahu in next week’s elections.

Reuters reports that some of Israel’s young Arab citizens are calling for a boycott of Tuesday’s parliamentary election, dismayed by a recent law which they say reduces them to second-class citizens. The pro-boycott activists, many of whom identify as Palestinian, have tried in the past to persuade others among Israel’s Arab minority not to vote. But this time, they say, they are tapping into anger over the 2018 law that declares only Jews have a right to self-determination in the “nation-state” of the Jewish people. Leaders of Israel’s main Arab parties are pushing for their voters to turn out, fearing a boycott would weaken the 21-percent Arab minority’s representation in parliament, and boost Netanyahu’s election chances. Ignoring the party leaders, dozens of activists from the “Popular Campaign to Boycott the Zionist Knesset Elections” have been handing out leaflets in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, which has a mixed Jewish and Arab population, and in smaller Arab towns and villages.

The BBC, Guardian and Financial Times report that the US House of Representatives have voted to end US involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The BBC  reports that lawmakers voted 247 to 175 in favour of the bipartisan resolution, which was passed by the Senate last month. The text will now head to President Trump, who is expected to veto it. Opposition in Congress to his policy on Yemen grew last year after Saudi agents killed the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Times and Independent report that Saudi Arabia has almost completed its first nuclear reactor despite not having secured UN agreements to install nuclear fuel, raising fears of a new Middle Eastern arms race. The Times reports that Satellite pictures of the site at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology near Riyadh suggest that work is within a year of completion, according to Robert Kelley, a former director of inspections for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The plant is being built by the Argentine state-owned company Invap and is further advanced than many analysts expected. Kelley told news agencies that it appeared to be a small research and training reactor, with a ten-metre tube to hold nuclear fuel at its centre.

The Financial Times and Independent report that Saudi Arabia is intensifying diplomatic efforts to boost ties with Iraq, as the kingdom aims to strengthen its influence on regional rival Iran’s doorstep. The Financial Times reports that Majid al-Qasabi, the Saudi trade minister, hailed the “beginning of a new phase in the relations” between Riyadh and Baghdad as a delegation of more than 100 Saudi officials arrived in the Iraqi capital this week, wielding a $1bn grant for a sports stadium. Saudi Arabia opened a consulate in Baghdad on Thursday and pledged to open three more across the country. Adil Abdul Mahdi, Iraq’s prime minister, met Mr Qasabi and other Saudi officials on Wednesday, while a Saudi-Iraq co-operation council, led by Iraq’s oil minister, convened for only the second time. Saudi officials also announced their land border would reopen this year, which they said was a “major step” to promoting trade ties. The Independent reports that the opening of a consulate in Baghdad by Saudi Arabia came for the first time in nearly 30 years. The consulate, which will issue visas to Iraqis, was opened at a ceremony in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, during which Iraq’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim raised a green Saudi flag over the building.

The BBC, Telegraph, the Times, the Guardian and Financial Times report that the leader of forces in eastern Libya has ordered them to march on the capital Tripoli, the base of the internationally recognised government. The BBC reports that Khalifa Haftar’s order to the self-styled Libyan National Army came as UN chief Antonio Guterres was in Tripoli. Armed groups from the western city of Misrata, which back the government, have vowed to stop any advance. Libya has been riven by violence and division since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

The Guardian reports that Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed the government is working with the Red Cross in response to Australian family members of ISIS fighters stuck in Syrian displacement camps, as NGOs warn children face “extremely grave” conditions. There are an estimated 70 children born to Australian nationals in the displacement camps, which are holding tens of thousands of wives and children of ISIS fighters. Scott Morrison stood by previous comments that he was “not going to put any Australian life at risk to extract people from these conflict zones” but said the government would “cooperate” with an extraction process if those affected could get to a place where they could return to Australia. The government is working with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Reuters reports that Turkey’s main opposition candidate in Sunday’s Istanbul local elections said on Friday he remained ahead by 18,742 votes after a recount of invalid votes in 17 of the city’s 39 districts. Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayoral candidate Ekrem Imamoglu told Turkey’s Fox TV he did not expect the gap between his party and the AKP to change substantially when the recount in the country’s largest city was completed.

Reuters reports that according to the country’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday, Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, which has raised tensions with Washington, is a “done deal” and cannot be cancelled. The United States and Turkey have been at loggerheads over Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400s, which are not compatible with NATO systems. Washington has warned that going forward with the deal could result in US sanctions.

The Telegraph includes an obituary for Michael Axworthy, a career diplomat who became one of the world’s leading authorities on Iran. Axworthy, who has died of cancer aged 56, was a former career diplomat who became a leading authority on Iran and the author of several nuanced accounts of Iranian history, academic and popular.

The Israeli media report the latest election polls. Israel Hayom’s poll predicts that the Blue and White party have a five seat lead over Likud (32 vs 27), both Yediot and Channel 12 News predict that the Blue and White party will win four more seats than Likud  (30 vs 26), and Maariv a one seat lead (28 vs 27).

Yuval Karni in Yediot Ahronoth writes that: “Assuming that Gantz will not form a government with the Arab parties, his option is to attempt to form a government with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party. Feiglin declared in the past that he has no predilection for either Netanyahu or Gantz. Gantz could also bring in Moshe Kahlon and perhaps one of the Haredi parties.” Karni adds that: “Netanyahu still appears to have the best chance of forming the government, but for him as well, this will be very difficult. He can form a narrow government of 63 seats with no fewer than seven small parties, each of which could be the lynchpin. For the prime minister, this is big trouble: in such an eventuality, it would be very easy to pressure and to extort such a government.”

Maariv reports that the last poll before the elections found that if elections were held today, the right wing-Haredi bloc would have a considerable lead over the center-left bloc. However, it adds that: “Any slight change in percentages and voting patterns could cause the parties that receive four seats, to find themselves either outside the Knesset, or having grown larger. The voter turnout on election day of various population groups, particularly the Russians and the Arabs, will have a decisive impact on the final outcome and on the size of the blocs. Past polls have shown that nearly one out of every six-seven voters makes a decision only in the last two days before the elections, and it isn’t clear what will be the dynamic of the coming few days.”

Israel Hayom writes that the final poll: “Illustrates why Prime Minister Netanyahu has been working in the past few days to encourage Likud voters not to be complacent. It found that if elections were held today, Blue and White headed by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid would be the largest party with 32 seats, followed by the Likud with 27 seats.”

A Haaretz editorial believes Gantz is the best candidate for Prime Minister: “Gantz isn’t a dream candidate for people who want a liberal, egalitarian, peace-seeking Israel that treats minorities with respect and preserves economic responsibility. He has boasted of killing Palestinians in Gaza, refrained from endorsing the two-state solution, equivocated about the nation-state law, ruled out the Arab parties as coalition partners and presented an economic plan that involves running up the deficit. He hasn’t spent a single day as a Knesset member, his diplomatic experience is limited, he’s no expert in economics and he has minimal understanding of social issues. Even his promises not to sit in a government with Netanyahu aren’t perceived as credible. But despite his weaknesses, and the learning curve he’d have to undergo if elected, Gantz is the best candidate for prime minister. He is preferable because he represents the statesmanlike behavior that Netanyahu destroyed, and he promised to fix the nation-state law. He is preferable because he respects the rule of law, which Netanyahu, with his natural partners, trampled into the dust during his last term, and if reelected, will finish the job by passing a law to give sitting prime ministers immunity from prosecution, and carry out Ayelet Shaked and Itamar Ben Gvir’s plans.”

Yossi Verter in Haaretz writes that: “With five days to go before Israelis head to the polls, Benjamin Netanyahu appears assured for victory. Netanyahu’s Likud may be stable in the polls, but his right-wing allies are gaining ground while its main rival, Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan, is slowly weakening. The recent Haaretz poll, which gives the right-wing bloc a commanding 67-53 majority, indicates that, barring last minute dramas, the force and the momentum are with Netanyahu and his triumph seems assured. Verter argues that If Netanyahu indeed wins, he will be indebted to Vladimir Putin no less, and perhaps even more than to Donald Trump. Netanyahu’s visit to Washington last month, in which Trump bequeathed him with a presidential deed to the Golan Heights, was supposed to be the clincher that would swing the electorate Netanyahu’s way; It was marred, however, by a solitary Hamas missile that hit a home in central Israel, sparking a week-long security crisis that effectively erased Trump’s gesture from the public’s mind. Putin’s sense of timing, on the other hand, was nothing less than perfect.”

Kan Radio reports comments by Labour Party Chairman Avi Gabbay that the assertion of the leaders of the Blue and White party that the president would assign the task of forming the government to the leader of the list that receives the most votes was groundless, and called this deceiving the electorate. Gabbay called upon the leaders of Blue and White to present their positions and their party platform to the public.

Yediot Ahronoth, Maariv and Israel Hayom report on the funeral of Zachary Baumel.

Maariv reports that: “The gesture that Russia made, in its efforts to return the body of the missing soldier, the late Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel, will not involve a ‘payment’ on Israel’s part, a senior political official stated. The official said: “There will not be a political quid pro quo. This is an expression of our relationship.” The senior political official added: “In fact, this was an operation by Russia and its army, at our request. The issue arose two years ago in a meeting with Putin, and afterwards we obtained intelligence and asked [Putin] to focus on it. He agreed, and we communicated on this issue at least four or five times. The relationship that has been established is an asset for the State of Israel. There has never been anything like it. It serves us in meetings on the question of what is being done in Syria, and how we can operate with maximum coordination. What Putin did cannot be taken for granted. It’s very exciting that it succeeded, and we will continue. This operation is a result of the special personal relationship between the leaders, and Putin himself said this.”

Yediot Ahronoth reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz last night after the latter criticised him for the timing of the return of Zachary Baumel’s body, less than a week before the elections. Netanyahu tweeted: “Benny Gantz, shame on you for accusing the IDF and me of political considerations in returning our soldier Zachary Baumel for burial in Israel. Don’t apologise to me, apologise to the people of Israel.” This was in response to what Gantz had said in the morning in an interview to Army Radio. Asked whether the timing of the report on the body’s return a few days before the elections was intended to help Netanyahu, Gantz replied: “Sadly, yes. But I’m happier that Zacahary Baumel has returned to his family. You phrased it better than I did.”

Kan Radio reports that the Prisons Service is preparing for the hunger strike of Hamas prisoners that is scheduled to start on Sunday. In a situation assessment meeting held by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, it was decided to take punitive measures against hunger strikers, including separation between prisoners, transfers to different wings and preventing prisoners from meeting with attorneys.

Yediot Ahronoth writes that the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan are likely to instruct the police to launch a criminal investigation after the elections against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the affair of the shares he bought and sold to his cousin, Nathan Milikowsky. This was assessed by a senior legal source. Amnon Abramovitch reported last night on Channel 12 News about the problems in the Prime Minister’s reports. He reported that the State Comptroller’s Office had conducted a thorough examination of all of Netanyahu’s reports from the past decade and discovered findings that give rise to criminal suspicions, regarding offences such as false reports. The state comptroller turned over the findings to the attorney general at the beginning of the week, along with a request to launch an investigation. In response to the report, the Likud stated: “This is more groundless nonsense designed to obscure the real question that faces Israel’s citizens next Tuesday—choosing a strong right wing government headed by Netanyahu or a weak left wing government consisting of Yair Lapid, Gantz, the Labour Party and Meretz.”