The Guardian online says that Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, is to examine a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the legality of a suggestion to expel the families of terrorists to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Near-daily attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 31 Israelis since the start of October, with the vast majority of attackers from Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled West Bank areas.

Writing in the Independent, Donald Macintyre says that although Israel’s Knesset is the sole democratic parliament in the Middle East, the so-called ‘suspension bill,’ which is currently under discussion would undermine it. The draft legislation, spearheaded by Netanyahu, would allow the Knesset to suspend members in special circumstances, with a special majority. The bill comes in the wake of outrage across the Israeli political spectrum, after three Balad MKs visited the families of Palestinian terrorists who were killed while attacking Israelis.

Both the Times and Independent i report that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have officially categorised Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. The Gulf Co-operation Council said that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, carries out terrorist acts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. The Independent says that Saudi Arabia is withdrawing its huge aid from Lebanon, due to the growing and seemingly unstoppable influence of Hezbollah in the country.

The Telegraph online reports that the bloc of candidates aligned to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, has won at least 90 seats in the country’s 290-member parliament, effectively preventing a majority for the hardline conservative bloc affiliated to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Rouhani claimed that the results show Iranians have rejected “confrontation” and “extremism.” However, writing in the Financial Times, David Gardner points out that in the overall picture, “The Islamic institutions … still far outweigh the democratically elected republican institutions” in Iran.

The Times reports that a rare breed of sheep, thought to have been specified in the Bible as the type herded by Jacob, is set to make a return to Israel at the initiative of two breeders.

In the Israeli media, both Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom lead with another complaint by a female soldier against senior IDF officer Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris, who has been accused of several incidents of rape. Buchris is a former-commander of the Golani infantry brigade and is thought to have been slated to become the head of the IDF Operations Division. However, Yossi Yehoshua says in Yediot Ahronot that the army has already begun to consider alternative candidates for the role due to the severity of the allegations. The story is also prominently covered by Haaretz and Maariv.

The top story in Maariv is the actions of Roi Harrel, who early yesterday morning fought off two Palestinian attackers in his home in the West Bank community of Eli. The assailants attacked him with knives and metal bars, but he successfully prevented them from entering his house, where his wife and children were still asleep. The terrorists then attempted to stab soldiers searching for their whereabouts and were shot dead. The front page headline declares “A Father’s Heroism,” while in Yediot Ahronot Harrel writes a piece recounting his experience.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news reports that two soldiers were stabbed yesterday evening while guarding the entrance to the West Bank community of Har Bracha. One was taken to hospital with moderate injuries. The two assailants escaped and a manhunt was launched. Israel Radio news also says that a policeman was stabbed this morning by a Palestinian woman while directing traffic near Jericho and in another incident, a police vehicle came under fire near Nablus.

A prominent item in Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom and Maariv is a road accident in northern Israel, in which a bus overturned, killing one person and injuring eighteen.