The Independent reports on yesterday’s terrorist shooting of an IDF soldier near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, while The BBC details Israel responding to the launching of an anti-tank missile from Lebanon.

The Times reports UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s announcement yesterday of plans for a new, tougher package of British sanctions against Iran. Confirming that the move was a response to attempted Iranian attacks on UK soil, Cleverly said: “We are not going to witness this level of attempted aggression against the UK without taking action. This is the UK’s response to this significant level of Iranian action against us.” The proposed sanctions package will move closer to that imposed by the UK on Russia, and will add to the 350 Iranian officials or entities already under British sanction.

In a related leader, The Times discusses “Iran’s threat to the UK: Enemy Within”. “Iran,” it writes, “has proved to be an excellent example of how the need to maintain dialogue with strategic adversaries can blind the West to harsher realities… Even today, representative offices of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, operate freely on British soil. No one likes to see barriers to dialogue raised. But the reality of the threat from Iran and others requires a robust response.”

The Times, The Daily Mail, The Express, The Metro, and The Evening Standard report The BBC apologising over the line of questioning taken by one of its presenters during an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet this week. In a discussion on Operation House and Garden, Anjana Gadgil asked Bennett: “Is that really what the military set out to do? To kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?” In response, Bennett said that all those killed in the operation were terrorists. “Jenin has become an epicentre of terror,” he said; “so we unfortunately had to enter this hornets’ nest of terror and neutralise the terror, otherwise they are going to continue killing us. So in fact all the Palestinians that were killed are terrorists, in this case.” Gadgil said: “Terrorists, but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children,” to which Bennett replied: “You know, it’s quite remarkable that you’d say that. They’re killing us. Now if there’s a 17-year-old Palestinian that’s shooting at your family, Anjana, what are you calling him?” Following multiple complaints, including from the Board of Deputies, the BBC stated that “While this was a legitimate subject to examine in the interview, we apologise that the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate.”

The BBC reports yesterday’s acquittal of an Israeli border police officer charged with recklessly killing an autistic Palestinian man in East Jerusalem in 2020. The Jerusalem district court found that the officer “made an honest mistake” in shooting Iyad Halaq, 32, as he walked to his special needs school. Halaq’s mother condemned the verdict as “a particular injustice”. Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai called the court’s decision “correct”, while the Palestinian foreign ministry said it was “further evidence that the Israeli judicial system is part of the occupation system”.

The BBC, The Independent, and The Times detail yesterday’s announcement that Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov has been held captive in Iraq since March. Tsurkov, a PhD student at Princeton University, was conducting research in Baghdad when she was kidnapped by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah Shia militia. An Israeli statement said that the matter was being handled by “relevant parties… out of concern” for Tsurkov’s “security and well-being”.

The Independent reports the UAE pledging $15 million to help repair damaged incurred by the Jenin refugee camp during this week’s Operation House and Garden. The state-run WAM news agency revealed that the funds would be granted to UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees, to rebuild damaged homes and businesses and for the agency’s services.

The Independent carries an opinion piece by Israeli activist Alon-lee Green. Writing critically of Operation House and Garden, he says: “The government’s fear-driven strategy’s goal is to normalize the current situation in which the Israeli military controls millions of Palestinians, and detach that from Palestinian actions towards Israeli soldiers, settlers and less often ordinary citizens within the Green Line.”

Haaretz and Maariv report the breaking news this morning that two Palestinian gunmen have been killed in an exchange of fire with the IDF in the old city of Nablus in the West Bank. The dead have been named as Hamza Maqbool, 32, and Khairi Shaheen, 34, both suspected of shooting at a police car at the Har Bracha settlement on Thursday.

All Israeli media reports that the Israel killed in a terrorist shooting near the settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank yesterday is IDF Sgt. Major Shilo Amir, from Kibbutz Meirav. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a 19-year-old Palestinian gunman from a village near Ramallah arrived at Amir’s position by car. Ynet provides details that he was questioned by Amir and his Sayeret Givati colleagues, at which point he opened fire, hitting Amir, before driving off. Troops pursued the assailant, shooting and killing him. IDF and Magen David Adom medics treated Amir at the scene but were unable to save him. He will be interred in Jerusalem today. When claiming responsibility, Hamas said that the murder was a response to this week’s Operation House and Garden in Jenin.

Haaretz details a rocket launched from southern Lebanon into Israeli territory yesterday. The rocket exploded near the border and Israeli forces returned fire to its source. The incident comes amid public threats against Israel by Hezbollah and with one of the tents, staffed by armed men, that the organisation has installed on the Israeli side of the Blue Line still to be dismantled.

Of the rocket attack, Israel Hayom’s Yoav Limor writes that “The IDF did not know whether to hold Hezbollah or a Palestinian organisation responsible for that missile, or whether it was related to this week’s events in the West Bank. On the face of things, the poor results of the missile attack supposedly indicate that it was not Hezbollah. The Shiite organisation has lots of lethal experience firing antitank missiles, and this time it seems that a much more amateurish figure was responsible. Still, Israel should be less concerned with this, for Hezbollah is responsible for the territory from which the missile was fired (and holds it as territory that is disputed with Israel), which is why Hezbollah bears full responsibility.”

Analysing the “Five theatres… active this week: Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and terror attacks inside the Green Line,” Yediot Ahronot’s Yossi Yehoshua writes: “Gaza is deterred and is not dangerous. The terror attacks in Judea and Samaria are very challenging and severe, and yet—despite everything we’ve seen—the biggest challenge, by a huge margin, is Hezbollah and [its leader Sheikh] Nasrallah, which have begun to challenge Israel recently, taking more and more risks that are liable to precipitate days of battle and perhaps even devolve into war. Even if many in the IDF think that Nasrallah does not want war, it’s clear to everyone that this is the likeliest it has been since the Second Lebanon War, which broke out 17 years ago this week.”

Yediot Ahronot also discusses a supposed US-Israeli plan to build a road linking the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel that will go from the Persian Gulf straight to Israel’s seaports. It will enable the Gulf states and Jordan to export goods to Europe via Israel, perhaps also ultimately connecting Gulf tourists more readily with Israel. The paper cites US-Israeli officials’ assessment that the road would cut delivery times from weeks to two or three days, and save as much as 20 percent in shipping costs. Having apparently received an optimistic response from American counterparts, Israeli officials are said to be optimistic that the project can be initiated reasonably quickly, and without being dependent on full normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

In Haaretz, former Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ehud Barak writes in support of the protest movement. “If Netanyahu insists on passing the reasonableness law within two weeks, we face a constitutional crisis,” he says. “The military reservists will carry through on their plan to stop volunteering, the protest will surge, the High Court will overturn the law and the case will be put to the gatekeepers, who will stand the test. The defeated Netanyahu will be forced to face the ferocious appetite of his partners and the frustrations of his supporters – under the shadow of his trial. This will be an important step on the road to victory, and even if it is delayed, it will surely come. This is the fight of our lives. In the future, we will be asked: Did you stand at the side of democracy and the law? We must all make sure we can say that we did.”

Maariv reports the latest Panels Politics polling showing significant gains in approval made by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the expense of National Unity leader Benny Gantz. In a reverse of polling as recently as three weeks ago, the projected Knesset breakdown is now as follows: Likud 29; National Unity Party 26; Yesh Atid 20; Shas 9; United Torah Judaism 7; Hadash-Ta’al 5; Yisrael Beiteinu 5; Religious Zionist Party 5; United Arab List 5; Jewish Power 5; Meretz 4. These numbers result in a Knesset divided exactly equally between the current coalition and the opposition, both on 55 seats, with the unaffiliated Hadash-Ta’al and the United Arab List totalling a combined 10.