The Daily Mail report on increasing competition between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the business of the hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims who visit Jerusalem every year. Most of the pilgrims stay in Israel, and the PA is fearful that it is losing out on lucrative business. As such, the PA has launched a campaign in Turkey aimed at raising awareness of hotels in the West Bank.

The Daily Mail also covers the warning issued by the Israeli Supreme Court that it could push for the government to implement the stalled deal allowing men and women to pray together at the Western Wall. In January last year Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the creation of a mixed worship area at the site. However, after pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties Netanyahu froze the implementation of the scheme.

PinkNews reports on the ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court that gay marriage is not a right. The case was brought by the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association. In his summing-up Justice Elyakim Rubinstein ruled said that “In essence, the petitioners are asking the court to recognise same-sex marriage via court ruling, despite the fact that Israeli law does not recognise it”.

Yahoo News UK reports on the installation outside the Israeli Supreme Court of a golden statue of the Court’s president. The statue was installed by Derech Chaim, a group that wants to impose Jewish religious law in Israel, in protest to what it claimed was a “dictatorship” by the court over elected officials. The statue was removed by police on Thursday morning after being raised on Wednesday night.

All the Israeli media focus on the beginning of the school year with 2.2m children due to return to school today. They also report that Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed the number of times he spoke to Israel Hayom owner Sheldon Adelson and editor Amos Regev between 2012-15.

Israel Hayom reports that Iranian weapons factories in Lebanon will soon be operational and that in closed-door meetings, senior Israeli officials have made it clear that the establishment of weapons factories, as well as Iranian entrenchment in Syria, constitute the crossing of a red line. In related news, Maariv reports that Israel is continuing to pressure the US to formulate an agreement to prevent Iranian forces or their proxies from deploying close to the Israeli-Syrian border and Yediot Ahronot reports that a veteran officer in the Lebanese army with the rank of Major, who is deployed in a command position in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, has been exploiting his position and working for Hezbollah.

Haaretz and Maariv report comments made by Prime Minister Netanyahu on a tour of a south Tel Aviv neighbourhood that houses many African migrants who are claiming asylum or refugee status in Israel. Netanyahu told the residents: “What I hear is pain and terrible distress. People are afraid to leave their homes, they can’t get out of the house. I intend to deal with this problem.”

The Times of Israel reports on comments by Likud MK Benny Begin to Army Radio. When asked why he was absent from Likud rallies on 9 August and on Wednesday evening, Begin replied that “I recently heard that among the Likud values there is a new value called ‘loyalty to the leader’. I think it is a very grave development, and utterly ridiculous nonsense.”

Maariv and the Jerusalem Post report that the Supreme Court has called on the Government to rethink its postion on the Western Wall arrangement.