The Telegraph, the Daily Mail via AFP, the Times and the Financial Times report the recent controversy surrounding comments made by Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich and the response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu lashed out at Alsheich amid reports that detectives will soon recommend that he face charges for corruption. Two Israeli television channels claimed that police will next week recommend that Netanyahu should be prosecuted for allegedly accepting illegal lavish gifts like champagne and cigars from two wealthy businessmen. Alseich went on television and said “very powerful forces” had sent private investigators to “sniff around” in the private lives of detectives investigating the corruption cases. He did not directly accuse Netanyahu, nor did he give details of the claim. Netanyahu posted a response on Facebook late Wednesday, in which he lashed out at the police commissioner, calling suggestions that he sent private investigators on such a mission “ridiculous”. “It is shocking to discover that the commissioner has repeated the mistaken and ridiculous suggestion that Prime Minister Netanyahu sent private investigators after the police who are investigating him,” the post said.

The Times, Independent, Financial Times, and BBC News Online report that American warplanes and coalition ground forces have opened fire on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s soldiers, killing more than a hundred in defence of a secret base occupied by US and British troops that they believed was about to come under attack. The incident is the most serious confrontation yet pitting Kurdish and American soldiers against those of the Assad regime.

The Guardian, the Telegraph, the BBC News Online, the Indepedent, the Times and the Daily Mail report the remaining two members of the notorious British Islamic State cell dubbed “the Beatles” have been captured in Syria. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who became ISIS hostage-takers alongside Mohammed Emwazi, the group’s ringleader who was known as Jihadi John, were detained by Kurdish forces last month. British officials last night described their capture as a potential “treasure trove” of intelligence that they hope will lead to information on the fate of John Cantlie, the British journalist who has been in ISIS captivity since 2012.

The Independent has published an article by Mary Dejevsky about her visit to Israel last week. She discusses Israel’s current security situation surrounding the north of the country and the threat of Iran moving closer to its borders.

The Daily Mail reports that Israeli archaeologists on Thursday unveiled what they called a “rare and beautiful” Roman mosaic floor excavated in the ancient Mediterranean port city of Caesarea. The Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) said in a statement that the piece dates back to the 2nd and 3rd century AD, making it about 1,800 years old. The “large, opulent building” was likely a part of an “agora,” which is the ancient Greek term for an open-air market or town square.

Yahoo News via AFP and Daily Mail via AP reports that Israel named a new Ambassador to Jordan on Thursday, bringing to an end a months-long spat sparked by a deadly shooting. The foreign ministry named Amir Weissbrod as the new ambassador, the first since the incident at the Israeli Embassy in Amman led the Jewish state to withdraw its staff.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that diplomatic contacts are underway between Beirut and “friendly countries” to ease tensions with Israel over a cement wall it is building along the border which Lebanon says would encroach on its territory, the government said Thursday.

The Daily Mail via AP reports that Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected appeals filed by three Israelis convicted in a high-profile murder of a Palestinian teenager in 2014. Yosef Haim Ben David and two underage accomplices were convicted in 2016 of abducting 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir and burning him to death. The court on Thursday upheld Ben David’s sentence of life plus 20 years. His two accomplices, both minors at the time, also appealed and their sentences, one to life in prison and the other to 21 years, were upheld.

The Daily Mail reports that Holocaust denier, antisemite and former member of the American National Socialist Workers Party, Arthur J. Jones, appeared on CNN on Thursday where he was questioned about his extremist views. His campaign website features images of him speaking at KKK and neo-Nazi events, giving a Nazi salute and shredding a flag of Israel.

The Israeli media continues to focus on the comments made in the interview given by Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. Roni Alsheich to the Uvda program on Wednesday in which he said private investigators had been gathering information on the police officers working on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cases.

Yediot Ahronoth headlines with “Head-On Confrontation” referring to the spat between Netanyahu and Alsheich, while Maariv leads with Netanyahu’s comments that the “Commissioner’s allegations are serious;” and Alsheich’s response that he won’t retract them. It also runs a statement from Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked who reportedly told the Police Commissioner that “you can’t hurl accusations at Netanyahu without substantiating them”. Haaretz chooses the headline “Netanyahu associates attack Alsheich: he is trying to execute a coup” while Israel Hayom’s front page quotes former Police Commissioners, who say: “Alsheich made a mistake, big time.” Channel Two News reported last night that the Commissioner had told his associates that he “was not sorry for the interview and would not take back one word of it”.

Kan Radio News reports that Alsheich presented Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan with intelligence information that raised suspicions of attempts to place senior officers under surveillance  several months ago, but when Mandelblit and Nitzan asked the Commissioner to send them more information or evidence to decide how to handle the matter; Alsheich did not send additional material.

Maariv reports that Netanyahu reacted fiercely to Alsheich’s interview yesterday and called for an investigation into the allegations that he had raised. He said: “Imagine how you would feel if the police detectives who were investigating you alleged that you had employed private investigators against them and their families. Can detectives who think that the subject of the investigation has been surveilling them, or that he has sent a complainant about sexual harassment against the director of their department, do their job objectively?”

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that a “European figure who is close to the Prime Minister” was responsible for the surveillance work, adding that it is important to note that at this stage that there is no information or suspicion that links his activity to the Prime Minister.

Also in Yedioth Ahronoth, Ben-Dror Yemini comments that Netanyahu is right to demand an investigation into the allegations raised by Alsheich, saying: “If the Police Commissioner insinuates that ‘powerful figures’ sent private investigators after senior police officials then there is need for an investigation.”

In other news, MKs Yoav Kisch (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) have sponsored a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank. While the bill was due to come before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, reports say that Prime Minister Netanyahu fears a backlash from the US administration and is taking steps to postpone the vote.

Israel Hayom reports comments to the paper by US President Donald Trump, who said that the Jerusalem declaration was the high point of his first year as President.

Kan Radio News reports that the Palestinians have proposed advancing the peace process by means of the UN Security Council, an expanded Quartet that would include China and Arab states, or an international conference.

Maariv reports quotes from a political official about Gaza: “The government’s handling of the crisis is incompetent and populist. Senior cabinet members say one thing in discussions and then step out to the media and say something completely different.”