In the UK and international media today, several news outlets report on the demolition of the Shepherd Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem. The Independent has an article on a report sent by EU Consuls General in Jerusalem, which proposed that EU officials should be present at the site of imminent house demolitions or evictions and intervene if nonviolent Palestinians face arrest in East Jerusalem. The Financial Times has a piece focusing on the dilemma faced by Western states in developing policy to prevent a nuclear Iran. The Scotsman notes efforts by Hamas to stop other Palestinian factions from firing mortars and rockets into Israel. The paper notes that Hamas seeks by this to prevent an Israeli operation into Gaza. Reuters reports a statement by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri urging increased UN pressure on Israel.

Over the weekend, Reuters noted that chief Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho is currently in Washington to take part in talks intended to revive the peace process. The Observer on Sunday spoke to the mother of a Palestinian family which is involved in protests against the Security Barrier. The Daily Telegraph on Saturday noted the death of an IDF soldier in a ‘friendly fire’ incident in the Gaza area. Several papers Saturday reported the accidental killing of a Palestinian civilian by an IDF unit operating in Hebron. The Times notes that the IDF expressed regret for the incident and announced an inquiry into the death. The Financial Times had a piece on a dispute in Fatah between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior movement figure Mohammed Dahlan. Reuters on Sunday noted the destruction of the Shepherd Hotel, which is on land purchased by Jews in East Jerusalem. BBC Online noted the killing of a Palestinian who tried to attack IDF troops at a checkpoint, and had an additional piece on Iranian claims of a nuclear breakthrough. BBC Online on Saturday had an article on the plight of Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon. Sky News Online on Saturday reported on protests in Bili’in against the Security Barrier and the use by Israel of a spray designed to spread a foul stench and thus disperse crowds without injury. The Sunday Telegraph ran a piece on former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Daily Mirror on Saturday noted that outgoing Mossad Head Meir Dagan said that Iranian nuclear plans have been delayed by at least four years. The Independent on Saturday noted a report that the European Union has turned down an offer from Iran to tour its nuclear facilities. The Times, meanwhile, on Saturday interviewed Sara Shilo, an Israeli writer, and noted that Chile has become the latest country to recognise a Palestinian state. Scotland on Sunday and the Sunday Express noted a new revelation that the US authorities knew where Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hiding some years before his capture. The Observer and the Sunday Times also noted the arrest last week of a vulture by the Saudi authorities on suspicion that it spied for Israel. The Sunday Express had a travel piece on Tel Aviv.

In the Israeli media today, all papers note the beginning of demolition work on the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem, and international condemnation of the demolition. Haaretz has a piece on remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Iranian nuclear project. The paper also notes Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s remarks urging UN pressure on Israel to cease ‘violations’ of Lebanon’s borders. Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post and has a piece noting an article in the Independent, which reveals details of a new report by EU Consuls-Generals in Jerusalem which advises a crucial change of EU policy in East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post has additional pieces on efforts by Hamas to get other groups to cease attacks on Israel, and a remark by Secretary of State Clinton opposing Palestinian unilateral moves toward statehood. Ynetnews has additional pieces on the Stuxnet computer virus which struck at the Iranian nuclear programme, and an Israeli airstrike on terrorist targets in Gaza which took place yesterday. Maariv notes that the report by EU Consuls’ General proposes placing observers close to buildings threatened with evacuation or demolition.