Writing in the Times, former Israel Ambassador to the UK and United Nations (UN) Ron Prosor comments on last week’s reports that a royal visit to Israel is set to take place for the first time. He says that the fact that there has never been such a visit is likely down to “the Arabist tendency within the Foreign Office, known as the “camel corps”. However, “today good relations with Arab states no longer require a vindictive approach to Israel” as “the interests of Israel and pragmatic Arab states have never been closer. We all face threats from Iran and Islamic State”.

The Telegraph and i both report that a former Jordanian soldier, who 20 years ago shot dead seven Israeli schoolgirls visiting the “Island of Peace” border crossing between the two countries, has been released from prison. The Telegraph says that he “was welcomed by chanting crowds in his home village,” while the i notes that he has been “unrepentant” over his crimes.

The i also notes that the Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who is in Jerusalem for a local premiere of his latest film, has described Israeli settlements in the West Bank as an “absurd provocation”.

The i also covers the surprise success of Israel’s baseball team at the World Baseball Classic. Considered very much a minority sport in Israel, the national team is the lowest ranked in the competition, but has reached the quarter-finals. The article notes that “back home, no one seems to notice”.

The Times says that Iran is sending 500 Revolutionary Guards to Mosul in Iraq to fight ISIS. The article notes that Iran is seeking “to establish a zone of influence stretching through Iraq and Syria to the Mediterranean – a prospect that dismays Israel… and Sunni Arab Gulf states”.

The Financial Times online reports that two Iranians, including one US dual citizen, have been arrested for encouraging moral corruption and establishing a “cult”. The report says that two reformist journalists were also recently arrested and that the arrests could be posturing by hardliners ahead of May’s presidential election.

The Guardian online covers a UNICEF report on Syria, which says that grave violations against children are at their highest levels since the Syrian Civil War began.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Maariv, which is also covered prominently by Israel Hayom, is the release of a Jordanian who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997. The reports focus on the families of the victims, who have expressed dismay and hurt at the killer’s release.

Maariv also reports that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Jason Greenblatt will arrive in the region today for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The article says that he will “put out feelers” to assess the possibility of a three-way summit involving Trump, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. The Nana news website says that Netanyahu is taking steps to ensure that a draft bill to annex the West Bank city of Ma’aleh Adumim is not advanced during Greenblatt’s visit.

Israel Radio news and the Walla news site both report that Hugh Lanning, a leading figure in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, has been denied entry into Israel from the UK, in accordance with a new law passed last week, which allows individuals to be barred entry if they publicly promote boycotting Israel. Walla quotes a statement by authorities, saying that Lanning heads “the largest and leading delegitimisation organisation in Britain and one of the largest in Europe as a whole”. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is quoted saying: “No sane country is going to permit entry to major boycott activists who want to damage it and bring about its isolation.”