The Times includes two items related to Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. One claims that a multinational team, including British personnel, has been assembled on Jordan’s border with Syria and is on the highest state of alert to seize and secure Syria’s chemical arsenal. The report says that Israel has a separate contingency plan in place. A second item cites an unnamed Israeli official who claims that President Assad may have deployed chemical agents in an attack on Homs last month, in order to ‘test the water’ of the international community’s response. In Syria itself, the Guardian online reports on an offensive by Assad’s forces to gain control over parts of Aleppo.

The Independent and the online edition of the Telegraph both report on Palestinian claims that a 16-year-old student who was reportedly shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Tuesday had been deliberately provoked by the soldiers to confront them. The reports quote residents of the village of Budrus, claiming that army patrols used loudspeakers to insult local students. The IDF is currently investigating the incident. Meanwhile, the Metro includes a small item covering a report by the left-wing Israeli watchdog Peace Now, which claims that increased settlement construction under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hampering the chances of creating a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, the online edition of the Financial Times says that Iran has granted Syria a $1 billion import credit line, following a visit by Syria’s prime minister to Tehran this week. The deal will make it easier for Syrian importers to purchase consumer items in Iran, with trade elsewhere at a minimum. The Independent online notes that representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are currently visiting Iran in an attempt to further investigate Tehran’s nuclear programme.

In the Israeli media, the final set of polls ahead of the election in five days time is a major item. Maariv and Israel Hayom publish their own surveys, while a Channel Ten poll is also widely reported in other publications. All polls predict a comfortable victory for the joint Likud-Beitenu list headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. However, the margin of victory, which could significantly impact attempts to form a coalition differ in each poll. Maariv indicates that Likud-Beitenu will win as many as 38 seats, while the Channel Ten poll predicts that they will secure just 32 mandates. Israel Hayom suggests that Likud-Beitenu will receive 35 seats. Yediot Ahronot claims that there is disquiet in the Likud-Beitenu camp over disappointing polling figures.

Meanwhile, the fall-out from comments allegedly made by President Obama that Netanyahu is not acting in Israel’s best interests continues to be felt across this morning’s dailies. Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon report Netanyahu’s veiled response that Israel’s citizens will decide the country’s fate. However, Yediot Ahronot claims that Netanyahu’s real response was a decision yesterday to publish construction tenders in two different locations in the West Bank.

Maariv reports that French president Francois Hollande has confirmed that France will present a new initiative to renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, following next week’s election in Israel. A report on Israel Radio News this morning notes that following permission granted by the High Court of Justice, Israeli police last night removed tents from the controversial E1 area in the West Bank, which had been erected by Palestinian activists last weekend.