Reuters reports that the first commercial flight between Israel and Qatar flew on Sunday, permitted by Doha for World Cup fans despite a lack of formal bilateral relations. While the excitement was mainly at being able to attend the tournament, for which Israel did not qualify, with such surprising ease several passengers voiced hope that “the non-stop flights would clear the way to fuller detente with Qatar”.

Reuters also reports that Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to swiftly form a government faltered on Sunday as a “prospective far-right coalition partner demanded the cabinet role of defence minister”. Fissures have emerged between Likud and the Religious Zionism party whose hard-line settler leaders oppose Palestinian statehood and want the occupied West Bank annexed.

The BBC reports on a young, autistic Palestinian killed by the IDF in the West Bank. Fulla Masalmeh, 16, was killed when the vehicle, driven by a 26-year-old Palestinian man, did not heed calls to stop and sped towards them, the army said. Though this account was later rejected by eyewitnesses and Fulla’s family. The army later said the driver was found to be drunk.

The BBC also reports that a deal between Israel’s prime minister-elect and his far-right partner reveals the likely next government’s highly controversial plans for settlements. It includes moves to legalise dozens of outposts in the occupied West Bank. If the plan becomes policy, it will set Israel on collision course with the Palestinians and its foreign allies. Jewish settlements are widely seen by the international community as illegal, but Israel disagrees. Outposts though are illegal even under Israeli law.

On Iran, the Financial Times reports that “strikes were instrumental in the overthrow of the monarchy during the 1979 Islamic revolution”. This time around protesters have urged all groups — including merchants in the bazaars, teachers and workers in the oil sector — to stage strikes in the hope that this would turn the latest unrest into a revolution and lead to the replacement of the theocracy with a modern, secular government. But workers have responded cautiously. While there is broad sympathy for the protests and questions about whether it is possible to overthrow the Islamic republic, “many people fear losing their jobs amid uncertainty over the direction of the protests, which are largely leaderless and unorganised”. Some eye nearby Syria and Afghanistan and worry that Iran could “become engulfed in chaos”.

The BBC reports that the foreign secretary has accused Iran of spreading “bloodshed and destruction” around the world – amid reports of Iranian-made drones being used in Russian attacks on Ukraine. Speaking at a security conference in Bahrain, James Cleverly also warned that Tehran’s nuclear programme was “more advanced than ever before”. His speech came ahead of England’s opening World Cup game against Iran.

Army Radio reports the breaking news that the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court has ruled in favour of Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu in one of two counts in his defamation case against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Finding that Olmert’s words implying mental illness on the part of Netanyahu and his family constituted slander, the ruling ordered that Olmert pay NIS 62,500 (£15,200) considerably less than the NIS 900,000 (£219,000) requested by Netanyahu. Olmert’s lawyer said that an appeal would be considered.

Elsewhere, Israeli media focusses on the ongoing tensions in coalition negotiations between Netanyahu’s Likud and his bloc allies.

Kan Radio reports that Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich is indicating flexibility in his previous demands to be given the role of Defence Minister. He would be willing to consider taking the Finance Ministry instead, provided its portfolio was increased to include key areas of West Bank policy, including oversight of the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Civil Administration. Such an expansion of the Finance brief would come largely at the expense of the Defence Ministry.

Likud MK Shlomo Karhi is reported to be predicting that successful coalition negotiations could take as long as two weeks, while Jewish Power last night left talks frustrated that the Likud was retracting its offer to award leader Itamar Ben Gvir the Ministry for the Negev, Galilee and Periphery. With negotiations being conducted as much through the media as behind closed doors, Channel 12 News quotes Jewish Power MK Zvika Fogel as threatening that the issue could cause the party to withdraw from the coalition: “Read my lips—the Negev and Galilee Ministry is ours. If we can’t keep our promises to the voters, we’ll stand down.”

Maariv’s Anna Barsky writes that Netanyahu’s plan is to successfully conclude negotiations with all other parties first, leaving Smotrich and Religious Zionism until last in the hope that this will pressure the party to show greater flexibility. Religious Zionist Party MK Orit Struck, meanwhile, said in an interview yesterday that: “If Netanyahu thinks he’ll be able to win elections again after disrespecting his partners like that, he shouldn’t bet on it. The public won’t forget and won’t forgive.

Barsky also reports on possible tensions with the Biden Administration over the potential appointment of former Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer to the post of Foreign Minister. US reluctance notwithstanding, a senior Likud official is quoted saying of Dermer that “Netanyahu will want him by his side, in the most closed and prestigious forum, the place where the most far-reaching decisions are made.”

Israel Hayom reports on the problems associated with the appointment of Shas leader Aryeh Deri to a ministerial position in the next government. “Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara is reportedly blocking prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to appoint…  Deri as a minister in the expected coalition due to Deri’s criminal record. Deri resigned from the last Knesset as part of a plea deal that saw Deri admit to minor tax offenses and pay a fine in exchange for a suspended sentence of one year. Then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit did not seek a finding of moral turpitude that would’ve prevented Deri from running in the next election. Additionally, Deri previously served 22 months in prison in 2000 after being convicted of bribery while serving as interior minister. Article 6 of Israel’s Basic Law prevents individuals sentenced to prison from serving as ministers for seven years. While seven years have passed since his 2000 sentences, his 12-month suspended sentence from earlier this year might bar him from receiving a cabinet post.”

On the same topic, Yedioth Ahronot’s Nahum Barnea writes that: “Anyone who voted for Shas assumed, with certainty, that Deri would serve as a senior minister in the government. It could be that Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Yitzhak Amit should have made it clear to Deri, and through Deri to his voters, that there was a problem; it could be that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara should have done this. The jurists have a ready answer to this: we do not relate to hypothetical questions. That is their way of evading decisions and missing the boat. That is how the previous attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, missed the chance to end the Netanyahu affair with a reasonable plea bargain agreement. What will Justice Amit do now? If he upholds Deri’s appointment, he will make a mockery of the intent of the lawmakers; if he disqualifies him, he will force the Knesset to change a basic law by means of scandalous ad hominem legislation that will pave the way to a wave of corrupt legislation.”

i24 News reports on international pressure being brought to bear on Israel to re-open the Quneitra border crossing with Syria to allow students from villages in the Golan Heights to attend Syrian universities.