The BBC, Business Insider and Reuters reports that an Israeli civilian was stabbed to death in the West Bank. The BBC reports that the attack occurred in the community of Adam, near Ramallah. The attack carried out by a 17-year-old Palestinian also wounded two others. One, aged 50 is in a critical condition and the other suffered minor injuries. Business Insider reports that the assailant was shot by another resident of the Adam settlement. In response to the attack, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum praised the “heroic and brave operation that came in response to the daily, ugly crimes conducted by the Israeli occupation against our people”. A statement from the IDF said: “A terrorist infiltrated into the community and stabbed three civilians. The terrorist was shot and killed.”

The Daily Mail and Reuters report that Syrian government forces have raised the national flag on the border of the Golan Heights. The Daily Mail reports that Assad forces hoisted the flag at the main border point with Israel, four years after losing control of the area to rebels and IS militants. A Palestinian militia flag was also raised. Reuters reports that uniformed men raised the Syrian national flag and the black, white, green and red flag of President Bashar al-Assad’s Baath Party however, no weapons were immediately visible.

The BBC, Business Insider and FT report on Iran’s warning to Trump that if the US attacks Iran, it “will destroy all that you possess”. The BBC reports that the warning came from Maj Gen Soleimani – who leads the Quds Force of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. Business Insider reports that experts believe Soleimani, also known as “the shadow commander,” of the IRGC is operating in dozens of countries. The FT reports that the comments made by Soleimani imply that Iran is prepared to use its troops and proxies outside the Islamic republic to fight the US. In a speech made yesterday, Soleimani called out Trump stating: “Mr Trump, the gambler! I tell you that we are close to you in places you cannot think of. We are a nation of martyrdom… Come on! We are waiting for you. We are the men of this field… You may start this war but it will be us who decide how to end it.” Tensions between the two countries have intensified since Trump warned Iran last Sunday that it faced severe “consequences” if it threatened America.

The Daily Mail and the Independent report on an Israeli newspaper firing a cartoonist over a cartoon criticising the new Nation-State law. The Daily Mail reports that cartoonist Avi Katz was fired from the Jerusalem Post over his take on a selfie taken with Netanyahu by triumphant members of his right-wing Likud party following the passage of the vote. Katz sketched them with pigs’ heads, and also depicted Netanyahu as one of the pigs. To make it clear the cartoon was in reference to Orwell’s satirical “Animal Farm”, Katz captioned his drawing “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. Speaking to the Independent, Katz said: “I thought my cartoon was relatively mild, and that firing me over it was idiotic.” Katz also posted his work to his personal Facebook page, describing the new Nation State law as “shameful”.

All the Israeli media lead on last night’s stabbing attack that killed one man and injured a second. This morning Kan Radio news reveals the initial inquiry found that the terrorist infiltrated the settlement by jumping over the fence, which did not have electric warning sensors. As a response to the attack, the IDF reinforced the Central Command by two battalions.

All the papers reflect on the ongoing tension on the Gaza border.  Maariv focus on Hamas threats to escalate the situation.  Yediot Ahronot assess that both Israel and Hamas have identified the coming 48 hours as crucial: Hamas has placed its forces on the highest alert—and the Southern Command has been reinforced and on a high state of alert ahead of the possibility of a security deterioration.  Today, the IDF are anticipating demonstrations along the fence, not by tens of thousands of people as in the past, but that the demonstrators’ level of violence will be higher.  It could include throwing grenades and bombs, more attempts to carry out terror attacks against the new barrier that the IDF has been building near the fence, as well as sniper fire.

Yediot Ahronot discuss the political dimension of the Gaza tension. Behind the scenes, talks are being held, mainly in Cairo, in an attempt to revive the understandings between the PA and Hamas and to promote possible arrangements with Israel that will lead to a prolonged cease-fire. In the paper’s view: “Israel signalled this week that it is still not interested in breaking the rules of the game. When an officer from the Givati Brigade was shot this week by a sniper, the IAF was not deployed at all, and the response was limited to tank fire at seven Hamas posts. From Israel’s standpoint, this was a very moderate response. Hamas, for its part, also chose not to respond for the four fatalities that it suffered from this brief burst of fire. Both sides are telling us, in effect, by calculated use of fire, that they do not want an all-out war.”  The paper concludes: “The war is not yet on auto-pilot, but the finger is already on the trigger and any violent excess by Hamas over the coming weekend will be measured by a strict military and political standard.” Similarly in Maariv: “Given the latest sequence of events and the close proximity between one escalation and the next, it is clear from this point onward that we face two possibilities: either the situation will quickly devolve into a large-scale confrontation, or a route will be found to return, at the very least, to the understandings that were in place between the sides after Operation Protective Edge.”

All the papers also continue to discuss the controversy over the Nation-State Law. Maariv looks at an initiative to replace the law with another basic law on the Declaration of Independence. That declaration speaks about the characteristics of a Jewish State but also enshrines the principle of equality among all the citizens. Yediot Ahronot suggests one possibility being considered is to pass a “Druze law,” that would define the special status of the Druze citizens. The idea is for the Druze law to be appended to the nation-state law so as not to have to change the nation-state law, as the Druze are demanding.

Haaretz reports that the IDF investigation into the deaths of 153 Palestinians during protests along the Gaza-Israel border is expected to find that none of the incidents involved violations of open-fire orders and therefore there are no grounds for referring any of the cases to the Military Police for further investigation. According to the paper’s report, “Demonstrators killed by the army were not intentionally targeted, but died as a result of “operational mishaps,” according to the team of investigators, headed by Israel Defence Forces Brig. Gen. Moti Baruch.”  The conclusions will soon be passed onto Military Advocate General Maj. Gen Sharon Afek.  He can choose to review the material himself and order an investigation into any case of suspected wrongdoing.