There is widespread coverage this morning of claims by an Australian television investigative report, that an unnamed Israeli ‘Prisoner X’ who killed himself in solitary confinement in 2010 was an Australian immigrant called Ben Zygier. The Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Independent, Financial Times, Daily Mail and the BBC online all repeat claims made by Australia’s ABC that Zygier was a Mossad spy and that his incarceration was so secretive that even prison staff did not know his identity. The reports also say that the Israeli government went to great lengths to prevent media coverage of Zygier’s suicide in 2010 such is the sensitivity of his crime and the entire case.

The Financial Times and the online edition of the Guardian report that Iran says it has been converting medium-enriched uranium into reactor fuel, in effect reducing its nuclear stockpiles. The Financial Times report says that it is unclear exactly how much of this material has been converted into fuel and that the installation of new advanced centrifuges at the Natanz plant means that the material could be replaced quickly. Both reports suggest that the slowdown in uranium conversion could delay the point at which Iran crosses the nuclear ‘red line’ specified by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a United Nations speech in September. Meanwhile, the online edition of the Times reports that Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned that the country’s presidential election in the summer could be rigged by his opponents.

In Syria, the online editions of the Times and Guardian report that opposition forces have captured an air base near Aleppo and have seized aircraft there, including MiG warplanes. The Independent online covers claims by a Syrian opposition leader that a car bomb which exploded earlier this week on the Turkey-Syria border was an assassination attempt by President Assad’s regime on senior opposition officials. Meanwhile, the Financial Times online includes a feature describing the increasingly difficult conditions endured by Damascus residents as the fighting inches closer to the centre of Syria’s capital.

Headlines in the Israeli media are also focused on the so-called ‘Prisoner X’ case of an Australian immigrant who is alleged to have killed himself while in top-secret Israeli imprisonment. Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz, Makor Rishon and Israel Hayom report that three Knesset members took to the podium yesterday to ask questions about the case. Maariv calls it an “unusual Knesset discussion,” as Ahmed Tibi, Zahava Gal-On and Dov Henin asked Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman about the veracity of the claims. Neeman replied that he did not know the answers to their questions and that prisons fall outside of his jurisdiction.

The ongoing coalition talks and manoeuvres also make the headlines this morning. Yediot Ahronot claims that Likud-Beitenu is attempting to break the apparent Yesh Atid – Jewish Home alliance by offering Jewish Home an extremely attractive deal should they join the government within the next 48 hours. However, Maariv and Makor Rishon report that given the evident strength of the Yesh Atid – Jewish Home agreement to coordinate coalition strategies, Likud-Beitenu has turned its attention to dividing the Labour Party by trying to tempt a handful of its MKs to join a coalition. Labour Party leader Shelly Yachimovich has repeatedly said that her party will not join a Netanyahu-led government.