The Independent online reports that Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from two petitioners to force the state to disclose documents thought to detail weapons sales to Rwanda during the 1990s, covering the period of the country’s genocide. The Supreme Court ruled that the threat to national security and diplomacy outweighed that of the public interest and declined the request to compel the documentation to be revealed.

The BBC online covers the appointment of the Israel police force’s first ever Muslim Arab Deputy Commissioner. Jamal Hakrush took up his new post yesterday and will head a new division tasked with reducing crime in Arab communities and building police relations within them. Israel’s government earlier this week announced a new five-year scheme to improve policing in Arab communities, which it hopes will include the recruitment of more than one thousand Arab police officers.

The Times online says that around one thousand Iranian troops have amassed near the opposition-held Syrian city of Aleppo and are poised to join President Assad’s forces in a major assault on the city. Turkey has expressed concern at an impending refugee exodus from Aleppo as military action unfolds. Meanwhile, the online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph report that although the recent truce appears under threat, another round of Syrian peace talks are underway in Geneva. The reports also note that parliamentary elections were held yesterday in regime-held areas of Syria.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Maariv, also covered prominently in Yediot Ahronot, is the warnings by Israel’s security establishment of a potential increase in violence during the coming weeks, with major holidays in both the Jewish and Muslim calendars approaching. Haaretz also reports that the IDF has beefed up its presence in the West Bank and Jerusalem in preparation for possible tensions. However, writing in Yediot Ahronot, Yossi Yehoshua says “today all eyes are on the Gaza Strip.” He cites comments made at a conference by Amos Gilad, director of the Defence Ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau, who warned that despite the current quiet, Hamas remains ideologically committed to conflict with Israel.

Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom all prominently report that the brother of Interior Minister and Shas leader Aryeh Deri has been questioned under caution at length by the police investigating allegations of corruption against Deri. The allegations are thought to surround a number of properties owned by Deri and his family, although the details are subject to a gag order. Deri, who has previously been imprisoned for corruption, is himself set to be questioned under caution during the coming days, according to Israel Radio news.

Israel Radio news also reports that talks are taking place between Israeli and Turkish industrialists over the possibility of creating a free trade zone in southern Turkey within the framework of a three-way agreement with the United States. A similar arrangement already exists with Egypt. The idea is being discussed as Israeli and Turkish officials continue to hold talks over the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries after a six-year hiatus.