The Telegraph, Daily Mail and Times all report that the White House has denounced recently uncovered comments made by Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi in 2010, which show him derogatorily describing Israelis as “descendants of apes and pigs.” Egypt, which receives £800 million in annual US aid will this week host a senior American delegation to discuss security and counter-terrorism. According to the Financial Times online, the White House yesterday also downplayed claims in Foreign Policy magazine that Syrian government forces used poison gas in an attack on Homs on 23 December. President Obama has previously said that the use of chemical weapons by President Assad’s regime would represent a “red line.” Meanwhile, in Syria itself, the online editions of the Guardian, Times, Independent and Financial Times all report two huge explosions yesterday at the University of Aleppo which killed at least 80 people.

The Guardian, Evening Standard and the online edition of the Telegraph all report on the death yesterday of a 17-year-old Palestinian, after he had been shot by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank security fence. All articles quote an Israeli army spokesman who said that Palestinian protesters had confronted Israeli soldiers and had attempted to cut through a section of the barrier fence and as a result troops “initiated standard rules of engagement, which included live fire.” He also said that an investigation of the shooting had been ordered. Meanwhile, the Independent i report on protests in the West Bank by hundreds of Palestinian Authority (PA) workers in Ramallah who have not received a full salary in almost three months, owing to a financial crisis within the PA.

The online edition of the Telegraph covers comments by well-known American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who claims to have been told via White House officials that President Obama believes “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are” under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Guardian online includes a piece by Paul Owen which quotes a number of academics speculating that the prospects of advancing the peace process will be bleak should Netanyahu win next week’s election in Israel.

The online edition of the Telegraph reports that an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday that Tehran hopes to reach a “comprehensive agreement” with the representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency who arrive in the country for talks today.

The Israeli media is this morning dominated by Jeffrey Goldberg’s claims that President Obama regards Prime Minister Netanyahu as a “political coward” who does not know what Israel’s best interests are and is leading the country towards “near-total isolation.” The comments are the headline in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Haaretz. Both Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon focus on the response of senior Likud Party figures, who claim that Obama is attempting to interfere in Israel’s election next week in retaliation for Netanyahu’s perceived endorsement of Mitt Romney in advance of November’s US presidential election. Writing in Maariv, Nadav Eyal says that although perhaps indirectly, the comments attributed to Obama will impact Israel’s election, “The Likud-Beitenu election campaign speaks about a strong leader.  Obama talks about a coward.” Meanwhile, in Yediot Ahronot, Orly Azulai predicts that Israel will be met with presidential indifference from now on and so “We will all suffer from this.”

Meanwhile, Israel Radio News reports that the High Court of Justice will today hear the state’s request to remove tents erected by Palestinian activists last weekend at the controversial E1 site in the West Bank. The state argues that although the activists were removed, the tents constitute a threat to public peace and that the encampment was intended to provoke protests.

A Channel Two poll published yesterday indicated that the joint Likud-Beitenu list would receive 33 seats in next week’s election, with the Labour Party in second place with 17 mandates.  The survey suggests that Jewish Home will receive 12 seats, with Yesh Atid and Shas set to secure 11 apiece.  Hatnuah stands on 9 seats in the poll, while Meretz and United Torah Judaism are predicted to both receive 6 seats.