The Times reports that British Special Forces, along with troops from France and the US, are poised along the borders of Syria to secure and destroy the country’s arsenal of chemical weapons if the regime in Damascus collapses. The Guardian reports that US military and intelligence officials met their Turkish counterparts in Ankara yesterday to discuss countermeasures against Syrian chemical weapons systems. The article notes that The Los Angeles Times has reported that the Pentagon possesses contingency plans to protect or destroy chemical weapons stockpiles if they were left unguarded or in danger of falling into the hands of the armed opposition, or extremist groups linked to al-Qaida or Hezbollah. The Daily Mail asks whether Bashar al-Assad will unleash a chemical weapon attack against Israel. The BBC reports that Fresh clashes erupted in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between two communities at odds over Syria, breaching a fragile truce agreed on Wednesday. In the Times, Gwythian Prins, a research professor at the London School of Economics and a visiting professor in War Studies at the University of Buckingham, comments that the fall of President Assad of Syria could bring an explosion in the Gulf. The Independent reports that Dan Shapiro, the US Ambassador in Tel Aviv, has said that Israel has failed to carry out the “thorough, credible and transparent investigation” it promised in relation to the death of American activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza nine years ago. In the Daily Telegraph, David Blair comments on the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran. The Guardian reports that Israel has summoned the South African ambassador to explain its decision to re-label products from West Bank settlements as coming from the ‘occupied Palestinian territories’. The Israeli government has called the move “blatant discrimination”. The Independent also notes that the West Bank is set to have its electricity cut-off for unpaid bills owed to the Israeli Electric Corporation.

Most Israeli papers report that according to Western diplomats, Iran has installed hundreds of new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility, potentially expanding uranium enrichment.The Times of Israel reports that officials from the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog are set to meet Iranian officials in Vienna today, though there are slim hopes for a breakthrough on gaining access to nuclear sites. The news website also reports that the UN nuclear agency is forming a special Iran team to add muscle to a probe of suspicions that Tehran is working secretly on atomic arms. Times of Israel also notes that an American aircraft carrier has been deployed in the Persian Gulf months before schedule, amid growing fears of a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which analysts say could spark a wider war in the region. Israel Hayom and the Times of Israel prominently cover a speech made by former IDF chief of staff Gabby Ashkenazi, in which he predicted that Iran is not close to achieving a nuclear weapon and that an Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities is not warranted. Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post report that Israel’s security forces are preparing to forcibly evict the 30 Migron families living on land that is privately owned by Palestinians. The settlers were said to have met during the night to decide whether or not to cooperate and leave the settlement on Sunday or defy the orders and stay. Ynet, Israel Hayom and Haaretz note that Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin visited Wednesday the hospitalised victim of last Friday’s attempted lynch in Jerusalem, offering an apology on behalf of the state of Israel. Ynet cites a report in the Al-Hayat newspaper, Egypt’s newly appointed Defence Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressing Cairo’s commitment to the 1979 peace treaty in a telephone call with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.