The Telegraph online says that Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has come under fire, after she appeared to threaten the High Court if it failed to approve a law allowing the detention of illegal migrants, mainly from Africa. The law had already been rejected twice by the court, but was this week approved in principle, although the court’s ruling demands that the length of detention be reduced. Around 50,000 African migrants, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan are thought to be living in Israel.

The Financial Times includes a feature on the imminent construction of a light railway system in Tel Aviv. Although most residents are in favour of the overall project, the article says that many fear huge disruption to traffic and travel during the projected six-year construction process. The feature adds there are also claims that the massive underground work will force the city’s rat population overground into residential buildings.

The Times says that more than 500 French police officers will be on duty for the opening of the “Tel Aviv Sur Seine” festival, during which a model of the Tel Aviv beach and associated cultural activities will be opened on the banks of the River Seine. Some members of the Paris city council have objected to the attraction, calling the partnership project “indecent” and there are fears of protests by anti-Israel groups.

The Independent and Independent i both include an interview with a 34-year-old Israeli lawyer who is looking to ‘expose’ what he believes are secretive Israeli arms sales to South Sudan, helping fuel the conflict there.

The Independent i reports Palestinian public anger towards local officials after leaked documents exposed corruption and questionable behaviour among bureaucrats.

The Daily Mirror includes pictures of young children, some armed, participating in a rally in Gaza of Hamas’s military wing.

The online editions of the Guardian and Independent both report that an Egyptian ISIS affiliate, Sinai Province, claims to have beheaded a Croatian contract worker. Sinai Province is responsible for large-scale attacks on Egyptian forces near Israel’s border and has on occasion fired rockets into Israel.

In Syria, the Times online says that President Assad has ordered his troops to adopt a defensive line near his Alawite heartland, in a sign that his power is waning. The Guardian online says that opposition groups claim Assad’s forces have used napalm on a civilian area near Damascus. Meanwhile, the Independent and Independent i both report that Turkey and Iran have helped broker a 48-hour ceasefire in Zabadani and two nearby Shia villages in northern Syria. The Guardian online says that for the first time, US aircraft have left a Turkish base to bomb ISIS targets in Syria.

In the Israeli media, Maariv and Israel Hayom both lead with the news that the government and the leading investors in Israel’s natural gas industry have reached agreement over terms for its production. Negotiations have been protracted and the major American developer Noble Energy has threatened to walk away. Opponents of the agreement say that it hands over Israel’s natural resources to private developers, when Israel’s citizens should enjoy greater benefit. The cabinet will vote on the agreement next week and an impassioned Knesset debate is expected next month.

Maariv also prominently reports that Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will close the case against former-IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who was suspected of wrongdoing in what is known as the “Harpaz Affair.” A document forged by Lt. Col. Boaz Harpaz, which first came to light in August 2010, exacerbated serious tensions between then Defence Minister Ehud Barak and then Chief of Staff Ashkenazi and formed part of a bitter battle between their two offices. Ashkenazi is thought to have ambitions to enter politics with rumours that he could take a prominent role in Zionist Union or Yesh Atid.

Yediot Ahronot leads with news that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Hasrallah in Beirut, underscoring Tehran’s support for the terror group, despite the recent nuclear deal.