The Guardian online reports serious fires in the Jerusalem area, which saw homes evacuated from the nearby areas of Ramot and Mevaseret Zion. Eleven fire service planes were required to quell the blazes, which are thought to have started through a combination of heatwave temperatures and festive bonfires from the Lag B’Omer holiday which were not extinguished properly.

The Telegraph online covers comments made by US State Department spokesman Mark Toner, in response to the appointment of Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman as Israel’s Defence Minister. Toner commented: “Reports from Israel describing it as the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history… raises legitimate questions about the direction it may be headed in.” Lieberman is considered by many to hold a hardline position on a variety of issues. However, Lieberman emphasised at a press conference this week, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is committed to “peace and a final status agreement” with the Palestinians.

An editorial in the Financial Times also questions Lieberman’s appointment to senior office. It says that the new-look coalition “will put fresh strain” on Israel’s relations with regional powers and the United States. In addition, the editorial suggests that Netanyahu’s choices “do not serve Israel’s long-term interest”.

Meanwhile, the online editions of the Guardian and Times both report that six people have been arrested in Egypt, after a mob dragged a 70-year-old Christian woman naked through the streets of a rural town. Her son is suspected of having had an extra-marital affair with a Muslim woman.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Yediot Ahronot and Maariv is a reported meeting between incoming Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and top security officials and generals, at which Lieberman apparently reassured them that “I am going to be a responsible and non-partisan minister.  I’m not going to impose my opinion and I won’t replace any of the position holders in the ministry”. Writing in Walla news, Amir Bohbot contends that Lieberman could soon have his resolve challenged over rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, with a Salafist group taking responsibility for a missile fired into southern Israel on Wednesday night.

The top story in Israel Hayom, is a follow-up to the State Comptroller’s report that suggested  Prime Minister Netanyahu had allowed groups and individuals to cover his overseas travel expenses. The report said this happened during his time as Finance Minister and a MK ten years ago, and that the payments were not declared to the relevant parliamentary body. Israel Hayom counters this morning that other leading Israeli politicians, especially senior Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni, have also regularly flown abroad at the expense of others.

Yediot Ahronot reports comments made by Netanyahu yesterday over the news that police arrested two Palestinians on suspicion of raping a vulnerable Israeli woman in Tel Aviv two weeks ago, in what appeared to be a nationalistically motivated attack. Netanyahu called it an “appalling crime that requires wall-to-wall condemnation,” and wondered why the media had not provided stronger coverage. However, Israel Radio news says that Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich noted that Netanyahu had never previously condemned a rape incident, and accused him of exploiting the crime to make a political point.