Most dailies cover the announcement of new European Union (EU) guidelines which specify that all future EU funding agreements with Israeli entities should “unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967,” covering the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. All titles, including the Guardian and Times note the angry response to the EU guidelines from Israeli political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who pledged not to accept “external dictates on our borders.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times, Independent and Independent i all note that US Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting the region and speculate what impact the EU announcement may have on his efforts to re-start peace talks. In an analysis in the Guardian, Ian Black says that the EU is sending a clear message to Israel to stop settlement expansion and make progress on the peace process.

The Guardian also covers the visit of well-known Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf to Israel where his work was screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Makhmalbaf has been heavily criticised in Iran over his trip, but said that his films received an enthusiastic welcome in Israel. Meanwhile, the Times, Independent i and the online edition of the Guardian all report that Apple is considering a £200million bid to purchase Israeli company PrimeSense which manufactures Kinect and parallel technology for the Microsoft Xbox and similar devices. The Times covers condemnation by Israel’s Foreign Ministry of Poland’s decision to ban ritual kosher slaughter of animals on the grounds of animal rights.

In Egypt, the Guardian online reports on renewed clashes in Cairo between security forces and supporters of Mohammed Morsi which left seven people dead on Monday night. Meanwhile, the Times says that young dissidents within the Muslim Brotherhood have collected two thousand signatures rejecting the authority of the movement’s spiritual leader Mohammed Badie, in protest at the Muslim Brotherhood’s use of violence.

The Times and the Telegraph online both cover an announcement by Foreign Secretary William Hague that the UK will send Syrian opposition groups £650,000 worth of equipment to counter the effects of a potential nerve gas attack. Meanwhile, the Telegraph online reports that the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees has termed the flight of refugees from Syria as the most “frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost twenty years ago.”

The Israeli media this morning is dominated by the new EU guidelines regarding post-1967 territories. It is the headline in all dailies, with Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon highlighting Prime Minister Netanyahu’s angry response. Haaretz terms the episode a “serious crisis” between Israel and the EU, while Maariv speculates that Israel’s cabinet may react by restricting the movement of European diplomats in the West Bank. There is plenty of commentary on yesterday’s events, with Nadav Eyal in Maariv saying that the EU’s position was no secret but that Israel’s leaders “preferred to stick their hand deep in the swampy mud of denial.” Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Shimon Sheffer is critical of what he describes as Netanyahu’s “belligerent” response. He suggests that “The tangle that is now coming to light with Europe requires Netanyahu to make decisions of historic dimensions.”

The other major story, covered prominently in Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, is the increased tension on the Israel-Syria border following several incidents yesterday. A number of errant mortars from the fighting between Syrian rebel forces and President Assad’s troops landed on Israeli territory, causing no injuries. Later in the day, two Syrians infiltrated an unmanned IDF outpost in the demilitarized zone and appeared to open fire on an IDF patrol. No damage was caused and the Israeli soldiers targeted returned fire.