Israel’s election campaign is the focus of several articles in this morning’s dailies. The Times, Telegraph, Independent and Independent i report on a series of recent polls which have indicated a drop in support for the joint Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the Netanyahu-led list is still on course to win the largest number of seats in the next Knesset, all articles cover a surge in support for right-wing rival the Jewish Home party, headed by Netanyahu’s former chief of staff Naftali Bennett, whose rise in popularity has been the surprise of the campaign so far.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph and Guardian also report the recent polling, but focus on comments made by prominent Likud parliamentary candidates supporting the annexation of Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank. Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein and Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin stated their support for such a move at a conference in Jerusalem, while another high-profile Likud candidate Moshe Feiglin suggested that financial incentives should be offered to encourage Palestinians to move from these areas. Both articles place the politicians’ comments in the context of electioneering in the battle for right-wing votes between Likud-Beitenu and Jewish Home.

Elsewhere in the region, the online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph, Financial Times and the Independent report on a detailed study released by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commissioner which estimates that at least 60,000 people have died so far in Syria’s internal conflict. The UN report signifies a sharp increase from previous estimates which put the figure of those killed at around 45,000 people. Each article also covers an attack yesterday by a Syrian government jet on a queue of cars waiting at a petrol station in Damascus, which reportedly killed dozens of civilians.

In the Israeli media this morning, Maariv’s top headline claims that there is a new Israeli defence assessment which was presented to the Foreign Ministry’s annual conference of ambassadors, which notes that a diminished response is expected in the event of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. The assessment claims that the chaos in Syria has weakened the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis and means that Hezbollah’s strength has been curtailed. However, Maariv’s military affairs correspondent describes the assessment as simplistic.

Yediot Ahronot runs an intriguing preview of a weekend interview with former chief of the Shin Bet security agency Yuval Diskin. Today’s edition indicates that the interview will include a sharp attack on Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, with the sub-headline reporting that Diskin is “shocked and worried” over their leadership.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom publishes a new poll ahead of the election on 22 January, which places the Likud-Beitenu list in the lead on a potential 34 seats, followed by the Labour Party on 16 seats and the increasingly popular Jewish Home on 14 mandates. Yediot Ahronot claims that there is infighting within the Likud-Beitenu camp in light of their decreasing popularity in the polls, while Israel Hayom says that Likud-Beitenu will now focus on attacking other prominent figures on the Jewish Home list other than party leader Naftali Bennett.  Makor Rishon covers public comments made yesterday by Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who is facing charges of fraud and breach of trust, claiming that he has reviewed the evidence in the case against him and it supports his account of events.