BBC News reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised to Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar, who was unable to access the climate change conference, as it was not wheelchair accessible. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called it a “learning opportunity for all of us in the importance of accessibility for all”. Elharrar was able to access the conference easily on Tuesday as part of Bennett’s entourage and called it “a different experience” from the ordeal she endured the previous day.

The Financial Times reports that Gulf states have pledged to cut greenhouse gasses but have at the same time warned they cannot “just switch off the tap”. The UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment said last week that just as they “ramp up clean and renewable energy, we will also be ramping down oil and gas production — but at the moment there is still a global need, so we will still be supplying”.

The Times reports on Egypt’s plans to build a state-of-the art prison, which will have “light and clean cells with beds, sheets and blankets, a farm, library and education centre and when complete will feature an array of workshops, according to its publicity material”. This comes as a stark contrast to the “notorious jails” across the country, in which many prisoners have died in recent years. Some have gone so far to claim that plans for the new prison have put Egyptian housing “to shame”.

Reuters reports that pro-government forces in Yemen are bracing themselves for an assault of Houthi forces as the rebels advance towards Marib. The city, in the country’s north, is the government’s last stronghold in the key energy producing region. The all but certain battle will put nearly three million people at risk, and threatens another million people who fled to other areas in the region.

In the Israeli media, Maariv follows Knesset proceedings on the budget vote expected later this week. Talks began on the Knesset floor over the budget and the arrangements bill yesterday and continued throughout the night. Likud MK Shlomo Karai spoke for four hours continuously until dawn. The plenum debate is scheduled to conclude tonight with speeches by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee MK Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beiteinu). That will be followed by the beginning of a marathon session of 600 votes concerning amendments to the 2021 budget, which were introduced by members of the opposition. The vote is expected to last until Friday. Coalition Chairwoman MK Idit Silman (Yamina) said yesterday she was confident the budget would pass and that there would be no defectors. “The state budget is not a game and it [should not be treated like a] political tool. Another round of elections at this time, as the opposition would like to see, would be the dictionary definition of insanity,” she added. By the time voting begins this evening the Knesset will be full. Both the governing coalition and parliamentary opposition have instructed all members to attend the vote, and coalition MKs will [not be allowed to leave] the plenum until the vote has been completed. The coalition is concerned mainly about human errors on the hundreds of votes. To prevent this they are considering appointing a “traffic cop” to oversee coalition members on the Knesset floor.

Yediot Ahronot publishes a commentary by Gad Lior who writes: “After the scandalous way the state operated for close to two years under successive Netanyahu governments without an approved budget, and given the fact that that course of action taken in response to the economic crisis that stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic, members of the opposition [privately] admit that the State of Israel cannot operate without an approved state budget. Nevertheless, given the demands of the current [political] circumstances, the 59 members of the opposition are certain to try to prevent the budget from being passed. As a result, the coalition will try to complete the process by tomorrow so that it will have 10 days of wiggle room if something goes wrong during the voting.”

Israel Hayom follows reports from Syria that Israel carried out an air raid on a military post on the outskirts of the capital of Damascus early Wednesday, causing material damage. A Syrian military statement on state media said the aerial attack early Wednesday came from northern Israel and targeted a military post in the town of Zakia, in the western Damascus countryside. It offered no further details.

Haaretz writes that the group of residents of the East Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood rejected a compromise yesterday that had been proposed by Israel’s Supreme Court. The plan would have allowed them to remain in their homes for at least 15 years, in exchange for recognising the ownership interests of a settler group to which they would have paid nominal rent. Due to their rejection of the offer, the justices will have to reconsider the Palestinian residents’ appeal of the original eviction order. The Palestinians lost their case before the magistrate and district courts and their appeal to the Supreme Court requires the high court to grant them permission for a second appeal.

Walla News reports on an interview between UTJ Chairman MK Moshe Gafni and Haredi website Kikar Hashabbat, in which Gafni accused Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of “betraying the State of Israel” and calling him “a man of the most inferior kind. An opportunist who wants it to go down in history that he served as prime minister. The fact [is] that he betrayed his voters and he betrayed [or “committed treason” against] the State of Israel”. Writing on Twitter, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called on Gafni to “retract” his statements “immediately”. Lapid wrote: “Statements like that will lead Israel to its demise. We live here together. We share the same fate. We don’t have to agree [on everything], but talk like that will lead to dangerous violence.”

All the papers describe the contrasting scenes in Tel Aviv last night between a right-wing demonstration in Habima Square and a memorial for former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin close by. Demonstrators included Likud MKs Tzahi Hanegbi and Miri Regev, Yamina MK Amichai Chikli, and MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir (Religious Zionist Party). Protesters held signs calling for the state officials who “framed” Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu by alleging improprieties between Netanyahu and Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of telecommunications conglomerate Bezeq, the former owner of the Walla News website. Meanwhile, Transportation Minister and current Labour Party Chairwoman Merav Michaeli and Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai attended the memorial gathering, as did current and former Labour Party MKs and government ministers. Michaeli said: “From our perspective, one of the main things we’re doing in this government is to get back to the days when concern for and commitment to the state was the highest priority. Rabin’s path was to understand that our security can always be obtained via political agreements. That is true for parties that are far away from us, and certainly true for the people who are located closer to us than anyone. Rabin’s path is to understand that standing strong vis-à-vis Iran requires an agreement with the Palestinians.”