The Independent and i report on comments made by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein on the dress code in Israel’s parliament, which has been the subject of controversy this week. Knesset workers have held a solidarity protest after two female aides to members of the Knesset were denied entry to the parliament building for wearing what officials regarded as “short” dresses. Edelstein said in a radio interview that the dress code will be discussed in a special committee comprising Knesset members, plus female and male aides.

The online editions of the Guardian and Times report that US President-elect Donald Trump has named former bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman as his pick to become US Ambassador to Israel. In a statement, Friedman said that he looks forward to working from America’s Embassy in Jerusalem, indicating the Trump transition team’s determination to move the mission from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a development which would anger Palestinians. The Guardian online describes Friedman as a “fervent critic” of the two-state solution.

In the Times, former Justice Secretary Michael Gove writes an op-ed titled “Left’s hatred of Israel is racism in disguise”. He argues that “antisemitism has moved from hatred Jews on religious or racial grounds to hostility… towards the Jewish state”. He adds: “Anti-Zionism is not a brave anti-colonial and anti-racist stance, it is simply antisemitism minding its manners so it can sit in a seminar room”. Gove suggests that Britain should mark the upcoming centenary of the Balfour Declaration by “moving our embassy to Jerusalem next year and inviting Her Majesty to open it”.

The Evening Standard magazine includes a review of where to visit in Jerusalem. It highlights the city’s culture, weather, “4,000 years of living history,” and its “trendy fusion cuisine”.

In a report on the fall of Aleppo to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, the Guardian notes that “the most significant gain in the regime’s victory might be for Iran,” which it says operated a missile factory in Aleppo to supply Hezbollah prior to the civil war.

The Financial Times online reports that European leaders have “rounded on Russia and Iran,” blaming the two countries for the situation in Aleppo. The Daily Mirror says that a Hezbollah unit in Aleppo has denied that an agreement was reached to evacuate the last of Aleppo’s stricken residents.

The Times online reports that senior Taliban officials attended an Islamic Unity Conference in Iran yesterday, in a rare public admission of links between the two. The report says the visit was a demonstration that “Iran can influence events on several fronts beyond the Middle East”.

In the Israeli media, Israel Hayom and Maariv lead with the preparations by residents in the West Bank outpost of Amona and Israeli security forces, for what appears to be an inevitable, impending evacuation. A High Court order mandates the eviction of residents by 25 December, after ruling that the outpost was constructed illegally on private Palestinian land. Earlier this week, Amona residents rejected a government plan to re-house them on absentee land close by and to leave the current site peacefully. Yediot Ahronot reports that the IDF has completed its preparations for an evacuation, while hundreds of protestors, mainly teenagers, are already camped in Amona in solidarity.

Yediot Ahronot and Israel Radio news report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday issued instructions to move forward with the demolition of houses that were built illegally in Arab communities. Netanyahu said that there could be no double standard on illegal construction, while Yediot Ahronot suggests that the timing of the announcement “raises the suspicion that this is a media spin by Netanyahu designed to tone down the anger against him in the right-wing” over Amona.

The top item in Yediot Ahronot, which is also covered prominently in Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, is the police examination into testimony against Jewish Home MK Nissan Slomiansky, who is accused of sexual harassment. Slomiansky has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that his genial behaviour had no alternative motive. Israel Radio news says that no criminal investigation has been launched yet as no formal complaint has yet been made.