The Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Sun, Evening Standard, i and Metro all cover yesterday’s verdict in a military court, which found an Israeli soldier guilty of manslaughter after killing a Palestinian assailant, who was already wounded having been shot after attacking Israeli soldiers. The Times calls it “one of the most divisive cases in recent Israeli history”.

The Times, Daily Mail and Independent all include separate items highlighting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the verdict. He called it a “hard and painful” day and called on “all citizens to act responsibly toward the IDF, the officers, and the IDF chief”. However, Netanyahu made clear “I support pardoning Elor Azaria”.

In the Guardian, Peter Beaumont says that the case “exposed multiple fault lines in a country that itself seemed at times on trial,” with both the military top brass and right-wing political leadership particularly under the spotlight.

An editorial in the Times notes that “this verdict would have been unthinkable in any other state of the Middle East” and “shows the vibrancy of Israel’s democracy”. Although “Israel faces threats to its right to exist like no other democracy… it must not stop questioning itself” and concludes by saying “Israel’s democracy is admirable and unique in the region, but it cannot be complacent”.

The Independent covers a report by Defence for Children International (DCI), which says that 32 children have been killed by the IDF in the last year as a result of violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The article notes that there has been an “upswing in violence” since October 2015, during which time 42 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks, many carried out by teenagers.

The Independent reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to face a second round of questioning by police as part of a criminal investigation into suspected receipt of illegal gifts.

The Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column says that “speculation is rife in Israel” over a possible visit by a senior member of the Royal Family, to mark Field Marshal Allenby’s defeat of the Ottomans in Jerusalem in 1917.

The Telegraph and Times both report that Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmitz has been released from house arrest without charge over suspicions of bribing government officials in Guinea over mining rights in the country.

The Israeli media is dominated by coverage of Sgt Elor Azaria’s conviction yesterday. It fills the first pages of Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, which leads with a poll it conducted, indicating that 70 per cent of Hebrew speakers are in favour of pardoning Azaria. Israel Radio news this morning notes that it is a position supported by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett.

Israel Radio reports that the IDF has assigned a security detail to the three military judges who convicted Azaria, after they were threatened on social media.

Writing in Maariv, Ben Caspit comments on the verdict and its aftermath, warning that those who are “turning Elor Azaria into a hero” are doing “exactly what our enemies do, indiscriminately, contrary to universal values and ethics”.

In Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea argues that the politicians who “jumped in”, specifically naming Netanyahu, Bennett and Likud’s Culture Minister Miri Regev, have done Azaria no favours. Their intervention, says Barnea, has effectively ensured that what would have likely resulted in a commuted sentence for Azaria, will no longer be anywhere near as straightforward.

In other news, YNet reports that police have growing suspicions that two shootings which took place in Haifa earlier this week were nationalistically motivated. Two people were killed in what initially appeared to be unrelated incidents.