In the UK and international press today, the Financial Times reports that the US will resist the efforts planned by Arab states to present a resolution to the UN Security Council condemning West Bank settlement construction. The Guardian reports that novelist Ian McEwan won the Jerusalem Prize and will accept the award at a book fair in Israel next month. Sky News Online carries a blog post by Tim Marshall on the imposing threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon and how the organisation is raising tensions due to the Hariri investigation. In related news, BBC Online reports that Saudi Arabia has abandoned its mediation efforts to end the political tension in Lebanon. The news agency also notes that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US was considering imposing additional sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme because China was failing to comply fully with the sanctions. Reuters reports that any chance of a breakthrough in nuclear talks seem unlikely when Iran and the international community meet on Friday and Saturday in Istanbul.

In the Israeli press, the Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews note that Lebanon put forward a proposed resolution to the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlement building in the West Bank. All papers note that an IDF probe into the death of a Palestinian woman in Bilin last month revealed that she died of medical malpractice after receiving an overdose of medicine to deal with tear gas inhalation. The Jerusalem Post reports that the UN was only able to meet 52 percent of an aide package for an additional Palestinian aid fund, known as the Consolidated Appeals Process, in 2010. Haaretz notes that Hezbollah is increasing its presence and tension in Lebanon’s capital, while Saudi Arabia has pulled out of its mediating role in Lebanon calling the situation “dangerous”.