There are several items covering Israel-related stories in the media this morning. The Telegraph online reports on comments made yesterday by Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which he likened international guarantees of support for Israel to the European policy of appeasement in the 1930s. The Times this morning publishes a feature on the potential impact of Israeli plans to build homes in the area of Givat Hamatos in East Jerusalem. The report includes a warning from the Israeli advocacy group Peace Now that such construction would impair Palestinian contiguity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, damaging the chances of a two-state solution. The Times also reports on so-called ‘price tag’ attacks, which were carried out yesterday, vandalising a church and the gates of a Christian cemetery in Jerusalem. ‘Price tag’ attacks are thought to be the work of extreme elements virulently opposed to curbing Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The report notes swift condemnation of the vandalism by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, the Telegraph includes an opinion piece by Peter Oborne, which criticises a general atmosphere of support for Israel within the Conservative Party.

The online edition of the Financial Times reports that opposition groups in Egypt have decided to encourage a vote against the country’s new draft constitution in a referendum scheduled for Saturday, instead of boycotting the vote altogether. Supporters and opponents of President Mursi have apparently begun a short and intense campaign over the constitution, after both sides held mass protests over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the online editions of the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Financial Times and Independent all report that Syrian President Assad’s forces are thought to have fired Scud missiles at opposition fighters positioned in civilian areas. The Independent i and the Telegraph online say that several explosives were detonated yesterday at the gates of Syria’s Interior Ministry in Damascus, causing an undisclosed number of deaths. The Evening Standard covers a report by Human Rights Watch that claims that Assad’s forces have dropped incendiary bombs on civilian areas. On the diplomatic front, the online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph cover yesterday’s Friends of Syria meeting in Morocco, which bestowed full political recognition by the international community to the National Coalition, an umbrella of Syrian opposition groups.

Two stories feature prominently in the Israeli media this morning. One is the announcement expected this afternoon by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who is set to formally close the investigation into money laundering and bribery offences against Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Lieberman. Maariv, Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon make this one of their leading stories, while Yediot Ahronot claims that Lieberman may still resign his cabinet position as charges are expected to be confirmed over a secondary investigation into breach of trust.

The second item which features on the front pages of Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon is the shooting dead yesterday of a Palestinian teenage boy by a Border Policewoman in Hebron. The youth reportedly attacked Israeli troops at a roadblock, brandishing a gun, which turned out after the incident to be a fake weapon. The shooting prompted violent Palestinian protests in Hebron, which did not result in injuries or arrests.

Meanwhile, Maariv leads with the headline that the leader of the national religious Jewish Home Party Naftali Bennett has called for control of the Interior and Housing Ministries to be taken out of the hands of ultra-orthodox party Shas. A poll this morning in Israel Hayom indicates that the joint Likud-Beitenu list is set to win 39 seats in the Knesset, with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah party heading for just 9 mandates.