BBC News Online reports that the Kurdistan Regional Government has offered to freeze the results of a recent disputed independence referendum and enter dialogue with Baghdad.

The Guardian reports that the US may intervene in the Qatar crisis in order to avoid forcing Qatar into closer relations with Iran. Washington is expected to give the regional mediator, Kuwait’s Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah,  another chance to try to persuade the warring parties to meet at a long-scheduled Gulf Cooperation Council summit in December, but may intervene soon afterwards.

BBC News Online and the Guardian both report that Russia has vetoed an investigation into chemical attacks in Syria.

BBC News Online reports that a court in Iran is believed to have sentenced to death an Iranian doctor who is a resident of Sweden after convicting him of spying for Israel.

The Guardian and the Times both report that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared yesterday that the Kingdom was “returning to what we were before, a country of moderate Islam that is open to the world and open to all religions” as he vowed to push ahead with sweeping social and economic reforms.

In the Israeli media, Israel Hayom and Yediot Ahronot reveal that Haj Hashem is the new commander of Hezbollah in southern Syria. Israel Hayom refer to him as the IDF’s number one target in Syria and note that his two predecessors, Jihad Mughniyah and Samir Kuntar, were both assassinated.  The paper also suggests that more significantly it is proof that Hezbollah continues to invest not only in propping up the Syrian regime but also in military operations close to the Israeli border. Yediot Ahronot reveals he is 50 years old and a Hezbollah veteran responsible, among other things, for the shooting attack in Kibbutz Matzuva in 2002. During the Second Lebanon War he commanded one of the fronts against the IDF and has since developed extensive operational experience.

Maariv reports that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s has severely criticised a new law proposed by Likud MKs which would prevent the police from investigating a sitting prime minister. Mandelblit is quoted as saying: “The post of prime minister, the most important post in the country, would become a city of refuge for such a criminal. The bill lacks all balance. Its harm to the rule of law and to the public’s confidence is severe and unequivocal”.  Yedioth Ahronot commissioned a poll to measure opinion on what it calls the “Bibi bill” and a significant majority, 63%, oppose it.

Kan radio news reports that PA Chairman Abbas told senior PLO officials in closed-door meetings that he wanted to collect the weapons of the Hamas military wing, but realised that this would take time.

According to Haaretz, the Israeli government has been secretly using a US law firm to help it combat the delegitimisation of Israel abroad.  The Government has hired the Chicago-based firm Sidley Austin to prepare legal opinions and handle court proceedings, described as “diplomatically extremely sensitive”.