The Independent i reports that Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of two Palestinian terrorists who killed five Israelis in recent attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank. The demolitions are thought to act as a possible deterrent to future would-be attackers. In total, at least 31 Israelis have died in near-daily attacks during the current wave of violence since the start of October.

The Independent covers a new report by Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem and Hamoked, which claims that Palestinian suspects questioned by the Shin Bet over security-related offences in the Shikma Prison in southern Israel, often face “hellish” conditions. The report documents evidence from the sworn affidavits of 116 former-detainees at the prison between 2013 and 2014. Israel’s Justice Ministry is quoted calling the report “tendentious,” saying that conditions at Shikma “do not resemble” those portrayed in the report.

Writing in the Telegraph online, Eylon Aslan-Levy accuses editors of major Western media titles of producing too many “grossly misleading headlines” during the past several months of violence, which often portray Palestinians attacker as victims. He says that for many Israelis, such problematic reporting is further “twisting the knife” of the current violence.

In Syria, the Times online says that ISIS has attacked a key supply route for Syrian army troops south of the major city Aleppo. Meanwhile, the Guardian online covers comments made by US Secretary of State John Kerry to the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday. Kerry said that if the partial ceasefire, scheduled for implementation on Saturday fails, then the potential partition of Syria will need to be considered as a ‘plan B.’

The Independent and Independent i preview Friday’s parliamentary and religious council elections in Iran, explaining that conservative elements headed by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei have prevented many reform-minded candidates from standing. However, important establishment figures such as parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani have aligned themselves more with a reformist than a conservative agenda. As a result, an Independent editorial urges young, liberal Iranians to vote in numbers, despite the “compromised system,” saying that they “still hold great sway.”

In the Times, Roger Boyes says that the “reformer vs traditionalist” divide is not a useful paradigm, but that the international community should take more note of those preparing for the next war, including Khamenai and Revolutionary Guards commander General Soleimani, who he says will continue fighting in Syria and that “Israel could be the next in their sights.”

In the Israeli media, a major item in both Maariv and Haaretz is a briefing given by the head of IDF intelligence to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. Gen. Herzl Halevi reportedly said that the deteriorating economic conditions in the Gaza Strip are increasing the likelihood of a conflict with Israel. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Yossi Yehoshua argued that there appears to be an increasing divide between Israel’s political leadership and the military echelon over core strategic issues. As an example, he says that the government opposes military recommendations in the West Bank, “against a closure, in favour of economic relief measures and increasing the quota of labourers who work in Israel in order to reduce the motivation to enter the circle of terrorism.” On a similar note, Haaretz also says that the IDF leadership supports the establishment of a port in Gaza, but this is opposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Israel Radio news covers comments made yesterday by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, who reflected on the multiple security challenges facing Israel, pledging “we fought against murderous terror a decade ago and defeated it and that will be the case now as well. We have a professional, determined, and profoundly committed army.”

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom says that Prime Minister Netanyahu will later this year visit Uganda to mark the 40th anniversary of the daring Entebbe raid, in which Israeli commandos rescued dozens of hostages from an airport in Uganda, after their plane had been hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Netanyahu’s brother Yoni was the only Israeli casualty in the operation.