The i reports that Minister for the Middle East and Africa Tobias Ellwood said that the British government condemns Israeli plans to construct around 300 housing units in the West Bank. Following criticism yesterday from the US government over the plans for building in Shiloh, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that the potential construction does not constitute a new settlement, but rather an expansion of an existing community.

The Independent covers the death of an Israeli pilot as he returned from a mission over Gaza on Wednesday, in response to missiles fired at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Deputy squadron leader, Maj. Ohad Cohen Nov, 34, ejected from his F-16 jet as it landed at the Ramon Air Base. It is unknown what malfunction caused him to abandon the aircraft, which burst into flames.

The Sun says that International Development Secretary Priti Patel has ordered a freeze on £25m in aid to the Palestinians, over allegations that payments end up in the hands of terrorists. The article says that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), affiliated with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, transferred £100,000 to a “Hamas master bomber”.

The online editions of the Guardian, Independent and Telegraph all report that Abbas underwent heart tests yesterday after feeling tired, but that they produced “normal” results.

The Independent includes a feature on elderly Gazans granted entry into Israel in order to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, with many having not visited Israel for a number of decades.

The Guardian online includes an op-ed by Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, who says that the upcoming 80th anniversary of the “Battle of Cable Street” is a reminder of a time “when the labour movement and Zionists were allies”. He laments that “today, left wing antisemitism often conceals itself behind the mask of anti-Zionism”.

The online editions of the Guardian and Independent both report that the United Nations’ (UN) special envoy for Syria has warned that rebel-held eastern Aleppo could be destroyed by Christmas if “cruel, constant” bombing backed by Russia is not halted.

The online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph both report that a writer in Iran, who wrote an unpublished story about public stoning in the country, has been sentenced to six years in prison. The i reports that a Dutch MEP has criticised a European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs report on relations with Iran, for giving Tehran a “free pass” on human rights abuses.

In the Israeli media, Maariv leads with comments made yesterday by Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman over two incidents of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel over the last 48 hours. Yesterday, a rocket landed in open space in southern Israel without causing injury or damage. Lieberman said that Israel is not looking for an “adventure” in Gaza, but will respond powerfully to fire. His comments are also prominently reported in Israel Hayom and Israel Radio news.

The top story in Yediot Ahronot is the burial today of Israeli pilot Maj. Ohad Cohen Nov, who was killed when his jet exploded on landing from a mission in Gaza on Wednesday. Israel Hayom highlights determined comments from the commander of Israel’s Air Force, who said that everything will be done to discover why the crash occurred.

Haaretz and Israel Radio news prominently report comments made by Education Minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett last night at a commemoration event for settler leader Hanan Porat. Bennett said that everything must be done to defend and perpetuate West Bank settlements and the dream of the West Bank as part of sovereign Israel. Israel Radio news says that senior Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni called Bennett’s dream a “nightmare”.