This morning’s Independent and the online edition of the Telegraph report that Israeli security forces have arrested 23 members of Hamas in the West Bank, including three who were elected to the Palestinian Authority Legislative Council. The Telegraph online suggests that the arrests are part of an attempt by Israel to quell simmering unrest in the West Bank over the past two months. Meanwhile, the BBC online includes a feature on two Britons living in the West Bank, who both explain that they moved to the area for practical, not ideological reasons.

Elsewhere in the region, the online edition of the Telegraph reports that the internationally recognised leader of the Syrian opposition has made an unprecedented appeal to President Assad to arrange for talks with the country’s Vice President Farouq-al Sharaa to begin discussing a solution to Syria’s bloody two-year old conflict. The Guardian includes a feature on the increasing ease with which opposition forces have overrun Syrian army bases.

The Telegraph reports on an analysis by the Israeli think tank, Institute for National Security Studies, headed by the country’s former-head of military intelligence Amos Yadlin, which claims that Iran has all the elements to produce a nuclear weapon but is holding off on doing so until world attention is focused elsewhere. Meanwhile, Independent i covers comments made by Saeed Jalili, head of Iran’s National Security Council on a visit to Damascus, during which he said that Israel will “regret” its “latest aggression,” in reference to an air strike which took place in Syria last week. The online editions of the Telegraph and Independent report doubts over whether Iran really did successfully launch a live monkey into space last week, as claimed by Tehran. The online editions of the Guardian, Times, Telegraph and Independent also cover comments reportedly made by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in which he appeared to volunteer to become the first Iranian to be sent into space. Some of these reports also note a sharp public showdown that recently occurred in parliament between Ahmadinejad and his rival, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani.

The latest coalition negotiations and positioning between parties dominates the headlines in the Israeli media this morning. Yediot Ahronot reports that there is some form of alliance between Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home parties. The report alleges that Likud-Beitenu officials are manoeuvring coalition negotiations in an attempt to break this pact. Yesh Atid and Jewish Home form a large enough bloc to effectively prevent Likud-Beitenu from forming a majority coalition. In Maariv too, Shalom Yerushalmi says that there is “nothing that worries Prime Minister Netanyahu more” than a Yesh Atid – Jewish Home alliance. However, Maariv focuses its coverage on tensions between Jewish Home and the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are reportedly urging national religious rabbis to distance themselves from Bennett’s party. Meanwhile, Haaretz suggests that Likud-Beitenu is courting Bennett and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah faction, as it hopes to reduce the leverage of Yesh Atid in coalition negotiations.

Both Israel Hayom and Israel Radio News report that the nineteenth Knesset will convene this afternoon with a festive opening session in the presence of President Shimon Peres. Israel Radio News also notes that Labour Party leader Shelly Yachimovich will meet Netanyahu at his request this afternoon, although Yachimovich reiterated that she has no intention of her party joining the government.