Reuters reports that the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Israel ratified their comprehensive economic partnership agreement. UAE minister of state for foreign trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi, said on Twitter on Sunday that the free trade agreement, which was first signed in May, “will remove, or reduce tariffs on 96% of goods traded between the nations”.

Reuters also reports that Israeli forces killed a 16 year-old Palestinian girl during a raid in the volatile city of Jenin on Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the wave of violence in the occupied West Bank this year continued. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of the girl’s death and the incident was under review.

The Financial Times publishes on the new government being formed, saying “The outline of the new government has been hailed by supporters, who see it as a once-in-a-generation chance to remake Israel in their own deeply conservative and religious image. But the anti-Arab, homophobic and sexist rhetoric of some of its potential key figures, along with plans to dismantle judicial checks and balances, have sparked a backlash from liberal opponents and growing unease among Israel’s allies”.

The Telegraph also publishes a piece on the new government, focusing on Smotrich: “Israel’s new government has vowed to crack down on human rights groups, calling them a ‘swarm of mosquitoes’ that pose an existential threat to the Jewish state.  “Today we understand the magnitude of the threat, just like the nationalist extremism of the Arabs of the state of Israel, who also started small, but the threat has evolved,” said Bezalel Smotrich, who along with extremist ally Itamar Ben-Gvir is due to be a minister in the new coalition”.

The Express publishes a piece calling for Britain to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying “while one can understand why passions run high at the mention of Jerusalem, it would be to betray the spirit and letter of the law to allow religious sentiments and ethnocentrism to muddy the waters, and demand of a nation-state, such as that of Israel, to give up parts of its sovereignty to accommodate ideologues”.

The BBC, The Guardian and the Independent reports that Iran says it has carried out a second execution linked to the anti-government protests engulfing the country. Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged “in public” early on Thursday in the city of Mashhad, the judiciary announced. A court convicted him of the charge of “enmity against God” after finding he had stabbed to death two members of the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force.

Channel 12 reports on further clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Jenin overnight, including the death of 16-year-old Palestinian Jana Majdi Assam Zakarna. According to reports, Zakarna was hit by bullets while on the roof of a building during exchanges of fire. Army Radio reports an Israeli official acknowledged that while she may have been hit by Israeli fire, it was too soon to know definitively.

Kan Radio reports on internal developments in the West Bank, revealing that the Palestinian Authority has, in the past few days, carried out an operation against the local Hamas leadership. The station reports dozens of operatives were arrested and made to give assurances they would not participate in public events to mark the anniversary of the founding of Hamas this week.

Kan Radio also report that Gazan forces have increased their state of alert in the wake of Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz’s announcement that he had prepared the IDF for an escalation, and of the military’s announcement of an exercise – Warm Winter II – designed to increase its preparedness for escalation on Israel’s Northern front.

I24 News carries a story alleging that some Palestinian factions, especially in Gaza, are suffering from a reduction in funding from Iran and that the situation could become so acute as to result in the closure of some institutions.

Gideon Kouts and Tal Lev Ram in Maariv report on the fate of a shipment of enriched uranium sent by Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen. According to the paper’s sources, part of the shipment ended up in the hands of al-Qaida in the area of Al Bayda. The paper also reports on an Israeli attack on Hezbollah facilities near As-Suwayda in Syria, close to the Israeli border. Leaflets were also dropped warning Syrian troops of the consequences of allowing the Lebanese group to operate in its territory. They read “You bear responsibility for any damage caused by your decisions. Hezbollah’s continued entrenchment in the area won’t give you quiet. Hezbollah’s presence is damaging to you and humiliates you, and you are paying the price.”

Israel Hayom reports the Israeli Police are investigating the possibility of a terrorist motive behind this week’s traffic incident in Tel Aviv in which a motorbike rider sustained moderate injuries following a collision with a car whose driver was resident in Israel illegally.

Ynet reports that demand from Ukraine for medical supplies from the European market is leading to a shortage of equipment in some IDF units. The shortages, including anaesthesia, is especially acute in reserve units, with some running at 50-60% of the necessary capacity. A spokesman sought to reassure Israelis: “It is a very complex market. We’ve instituted reforms that would extend expiration time, and while there are still significant gaps, the regular brigades are operational and fully equipped with medical supplies, even if a war breaks tomorrow.”

Israel Hayom explores recent projections showing that if current demographic trends continue, by 2050 only 41% of the country’s draft-age youth will enlist in the IDF. In comparison, in 2020 46.6% of 18-year-olds were defined as the “enlisting population”. The projection forecasts that by 2050, of those not serving 57% will be Haredim, 35% will be minorities and 8% will be non-Haredi Jews. By comparison, of those who did not enlist in 2020, 36% were Haredim, 54% were minorities and 10% were non-Haredi Jews.

I24 News reports Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with 13 UN Ambassadors on a joint visit to Israel and the UAE. Netanyahu championed the Abraham Accords and warned of “the ongoing struggle against Iran’s attempts to arm itself with nuclear weapons”. The meeting followed Hadash-Ta’al leader Ayman Odeh’s sit-down with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday, in which he warned of Arab-Israeli fears over Netanyahu’s incoming government.

In Haaretz, Zvi Bar’el speculates on the chances of a Turkish invasion of Northern Syria, in the wake of mid-November’s terror attack in Istanbul which killed 6 and injured over 80. Although noting that Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan has been discouraged from taking action by both Washington and Moscow, Bar’el argues that the temptation to be seen as decisive, with an impeding election coinciding with domestic economic difficulties, may prove too great. Russia, he says, has been trying to facilitate talks between Erdogan and Syrian President Basher Assad, following 11 years with without diplomatic relations. Bar’el also notes that “Erdogan is willing to refrain from invading Syria if Syrian forces take the place of Kurdish forces in northern Syria and operate there as border guards to ward off any Kurdish activity directed against Turkey.”