The online editions of the Guardian and Independent both focus on comments made by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in the House of Commons yesterday regarding the conflict in Syria. He estimated that 75 per cent of Russian air strikes are targeting rebel forces, in support of President Assad, rather than ISIS. Hammond charged that this in fact was handing ISIS an advantage on the ground. Meanwhile, the Financial Times online highlights Hammond’s comment that the UK is not “rushing to strike” ISIS in its Raqaa stronghold. The Times online reports that Assad’s forces are in their strongest position for more than two years and that with Russian air support, they have captured key areas in the north of the country.

The Guardian online says that Australia’s Industry Minister Christopher Payne has been accused by the Palestinian Authority (PA) Education Minister of having asked “rude and blunt” questions during a meeting this week, in which members of the Australia-Israel-UK Leadership Dialogue delegation were hosted in Ramallah. The delegation included British and Australian politicians, who met both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

The Independent includes an obituary of former-Israeli minister and iconic left-wing leader Yossi Sarid, who headed the Meretz Party. Sarid died suddenly earlier this month and was eulogized by all sides of Israel’s political spectrum for his integrity and devotion towards Israel and his beliefs.

The Guardian includes a feature on how works of art stolen by the Nazis ended up in Israel, with many pieces eventually being housed at the Ein Harod artists’ quarter in northern Israel.

The Financial Times online includes a report which focuses on 43-year-old Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomenei, who is standing for election to the country’s Experts Assembly in February. Hassan Khomenei is apparently regarded as a relative moderate in the context of the conservative Experts Assembly, which is tasked with helping select the country’s next Supreme Leader.

In the Israeli media, both Haaretz and Israel Hayom focus on a spat between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog during a Knesset debate yesterday over incitement. Herzog called on Netanyahu to explicitly condemn veiled threats made towards President Reuven Rivlin following his appearance at a conference organised by Haaretz in New York, which also featured controversial pressure group Breaking the Silence (BtS). BtS provides a platform for former-Israeli soldiers to anonymously provide testimony critical of IDF behaviour, which is widely published not only in Israel but also abroad. Netanyahu responded by telling Herzog to explicitly condemn BtS. Commenting in Yediot Ahronot, Ben-Dror Yemini warns that, “Something bad is happening to us. The extremes are taking over the public discourse, and it is turning into the discourse of hate.”

Meanwhile, Maariv leads with the expectation that Netanyahu will today finally approve the deal with leading investors to regulate Israel’s nascent natural gas industry. Critics have said that the arrangement gives the corporations too much of a share in profits generated from a national resource and that more should go into the state coffers. Although Netanyahu’s decision goes against the advice of the Antitrust Authority, he says that the deal is vital for Israel’s economic, security and diplomatic interests.

The top story in Haaretz, also covered by Israel Radio news is the claims by two women that Minister Silvan Shalom forced sexual contact on them. Shalom has previously faced similar allegations, but charges have never been brought against him. He denies all of the allegations against him.