Today’s top story in the Friday Hebrew newspapers continued to be over the two investigations into Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which Haaretz reported that Attorney General was speeding up. Sara Netanyahu told investigators that the presents from Arnon Milchan were “given as friends” and in depositions, Likud and Labor MKs reportedly backed Netanyahu's claim that he did not try to help Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes push through the anti-Israel Hayom bill. [That said, they had yet to agree to the deal because the government fell and new elections were called – OH.] Yet, a former state prosecutor and former High Court justice said the deal negotiated between Netanyahu and Mozes was bribery regardless if it went through or not, the Israel Press Council has called for a full release of the transcripts of the recorded conversations between them and even politicians in Likud are talking about Netanyahu’s replacement, Maariv reported. Likud MK Oren Hazan said, “Not a few are already building camps and turning to activists in the field.” Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri told close associates that elections would be held if Netanyahu were forced to resign, because there was no point in attempting to form a new government.
 
Meanwhile, Netanyahu said the upcoming Paris Peace Conference was rigged by Palestinians under French auspices, while French President Francois Hollande said the aim of the conference was to restate the international community's support for the two-state solution and ensure that it remained a reference. The French ambassador to Israel gave a video interview to Ynet and refuted Netanyahu's take, saying that they “hope the conference will be effective because at the moment there are no negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians."
 
The declaration by the next US Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis that Tel-Aviv was Israel’s capital and the death of acclaimed Israeli singer-songwriter, Meir Banai, at the age of 55 also made the front pages.