The Guardian, Telegraph and Independent i all include articles this morning on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to strengthen the country’s border fence with Syria. Speaking at yesterday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that erecting a more robust fence is necessary as the Syrian regime is “very unstable.” The reports also mention that Netanyahu reiterated the danger that Syria’s chemical weapons could fall into dangerous rouge hands.

Meanwhile, the Independent, Daily Mail and the online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times prominently report a speech delivered yesterday in Damascus by Syrian President Assad. With the violent conflict in Syria having raged for almost two years, it was Assad’s first public address in seven months. He rejected the idea of dialogue with Syria’s opposition, describing them as “armed criminals, enemies of God and puppets of the West.” All reports note condemnation of Assad’s speech by the Syrian opposition and international leaders, including reaction from the prime minister and foreign secretary.

The Times reports on the rising popularity of Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett ahead of Israel’s election later this month. Jewish Home appears to be attracting increasing support at the expense of the joint Likud-Beitenu list headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The article also notes sharp criticism of Netanyahu over the weekend from former head of the Shin Bet security agency Yuval Diskin. It also mentions recent suggestions by leaders of the Labour, Hatnuah and Yesh Atid parties of the possibility of forming a united bloc to oppose Netanyahu. This morning’s edition of the Times also includes an obituary of Israel’s former chief of staff and cabinet minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak who died last month.

The headlines in the Israeli media are dominated by yesterday’s publication of a comprehensive report by the State Comptroller’s Office into the ‘Harpaz affair.’ The case involves the publication of a forged document which claimed that Defence Minister Ehud Barak had conducted a campaign against the interests of then chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi. Yesterday’s report into the affair, which criticised the actions of both Barak and Ashkenazi and detailed a dysfunctional relationship between the two is the headline in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea analyses how the affair might impact Barak’s legacy and Ashkenazi’s political ambitions. Writing in the same publication, Alex Fishman argues that given the conclusions of the report, a wider investigation should be launched.

The other major story this morning is the news that the leaders of the three major centrist parties, Labour, Hatnuah and Yesh Atid met last night to coordinate positions in the likely event that Prime Minister Netanyahu is asked to form the next government following this month’s election. According to Israel Radio News, the three party leaders, Shelly Yachimovich, Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid released a joint statement to say that the meeting was held in a good atmosphere and that the three would meet again if necessary. There is speculation that Yachimovich asked the other two leaders to pledge not to join a Netanyahu-led government, a request which Lapid reportedly rejected.