Coverage continues this morning of the simmering violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, which exploded during the past several days into several deadly incidents. The Metro says that the IDF is responding to attacks, which included Thursday’s shooting dead of two parents in the West Bank in front of their children and the stabbing to death of two Israelis by a Palestinian in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The Independent, Independent i and the online edition of the Telegraph all report that Israel yesterday demolished the homes of two terrorists as a deterrent to future would-be attackers. The Independent quotes Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg who opposes the policy of house demolitions, saying that it will not reduce terror. Meanwhile, the Guardian covers the arrest of five Hamas members suspected of carrying out last week’s deadly shooting, following an undercover operation in Nablus.

Meanwhile, the Guardian covers what it calls “contradictory comments” made by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in response to the violence. On the one hand, Abbas has said that he does not want an escalation, but on the other a statement by the Palestinian leadership saluted “the masses … confronting the occupation.”

The Times online says that Russia has denied that it is building up ground troops in Syria, following the launching of Russian air strikes against rebel groups opposing the Assad regime during the past few days. The Times online suggests that sophisticated Russian jamming equipment could help Syrian forces “blind” NATO planes, adding a further point of discord between Moscow and the West. Writing in the Financial Times, David Gardner says that although Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is trying to rub “America’s nose in its failures” by intervening in Syria, Moscow could end up uniting Sunnis in the region against it, including those in Chechnya and other former-Soviet republics.

The Israeli media is fully focused on the continuing tension centred on the West Bank and Jerusalem. However, the top story in Yediot Ahronot and Maariv is a demonstration which turned violent yesterday evening in Jaffa, which lies adjacent to Tel Aviv, as local Arabs protested in solidarity with Palestinians. Israeli officials said that the protest was organised by the Islamic Movement and quickly turned violent. Several police officers were lightly injured and a major road was temporarily closed. Israel Radio news reports that rocks were hurled at busses and other vehicles.

Maariv and Israel Hayom focus on some of the political tensions to have been emerged since the violence intensified. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon are said to have warned Jewish Home ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked against criticising the government’s handling of the situation from within the cabinet. Jewish Home leaders have argued that the government must be more resolute to tackle terror. However, writing in Maariv, Ben Caspit says that “Netanyahu and Ya’alon are right on issues of substance. There truly is no reason to launch an Operation Defensive Shield II at this point.”

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that Netanyahu and Ya’alon met last night with settler leaders for three and a half hours, but would not agree to their demand that construction in settlements be resumed. Apparently, Netanyahu and Ya’alon argued that such action would hurt Israel diplomatically at a point when there was broad international support for its actions so far against terror attacks.