UK print media on the Middle East continues to be dominated by the situation in Egypt. The Guardian reports Egyptian condemnation of EU threats to withdraw aid, whilst the Independent focuses on the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the large numbers of arrests. The Telegraph has a leader article calling on Britain and other Western powers to exert its leverage over Egypt to control the actions of the Egyptian military.

Meanwhile the Times focuses on Syria and Lebanon. It reports on the increasing numbers of British Muslims joining the fight to overthrow Assad and the threat that foreign fighters could pose using chemical weapons against European targets. The Times also has a report on the situation in Beirut following the large bomb blast that hit a Hezbollah stronghold last week. In other news the Daily Telegraph has an article on German Chancellor Angela Merkel including her measured support for Israel, whilst the Guardian interviews a man in Gaza awarded an MBE for decades of work tending British and Commonwealth war graves. In Sunday’s press, aside from coverage of Egypt, the Sunday Telegraph ran an opinion piece from Christopher Booker arguing that the West’s naiveté is illustrated by its approach to the ‘menacing regime’ in Iran. The Independent on Sunday carried an article on the popularity of bagpipes among Palestinians.

Online the Independent, Times and Guardian report on the ‘river’ of refugees flowing from Syria to Iraqi Kurdistan after the border was opened following months of limited access. The Times also reports on the debate among politicians in Washington over whether or not to cut off aid to Egypt, a course advocated by Senator John McCain among others. The Telegraph online has a report on the issues facing negotiators after the opening of final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem last week.

In Israel the focus of the print media is divided between on-going interest in developments in Egypt, and the big domestic story which is the national rollout of a Polio vaccination for children, after the discovery of cases of the illness in recent months. All the front pages cover the vaccination of 30,000 children on the first day of the campaign. Maariv focuses on its front page on General Sisi’s claim to be fulfilling the will of the people, and includes a opinion piece by commentator Ben Dror Yemini criticising the West for not being supportive enough of the ‘lesser evil’ of Egypt’s secularist camp. Haaretz carries a prominent analysis by Zvi Barel opining that the West is likely to continue to support the Egyptian military for the time being. The Jerusalem Post reports on its front page that Israel is pressing in Washington and European capitals for continuing support for the Egyptian military in order to prevent Egypt’s complete collapse. Israel Radio reports on a similar report in the New York Times quoting high ranking sources, as does Ynet News online.