The Guardian, Independent, Times and Independent i all include short reports on an a violent clash yesterday evening near the Ofer Prison close to Ramallah, where two Palestinians were shot by Israeli security forces. Scores of Palestinians descended on the area to mark the Naqba anniversary (of Israel’s creation, viewed as a national catastrophe by many Palestinians) and reportedly threw rocks and firebombs at the soldiers. The Israeli military said that soldiers responded with rubber bullets, not live fire and that it was investigating the incident.

The online edition of the Financial Times says that Gazan newspapers are being sold with the permission of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, a small sign of the practical implementation of the recent Fatah-Hamas unity pact. However, the article notes that the thorny question of a unified security, police and intelligence command will be the real test for the unity deal.

The online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph cover Foreign Secretary William Hague’s announcement yesterday at a Friends of Syria meeting, that the UK will provide extra aid and diplomatic status for the moderate opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition. In Syria itself, the Independent online says that Syrian opposition forces detonated 60 tonnes of explosives in a tunnel beneath an army base near Idlib province. The online editions of the Guardian and Telegraph report that an explosion took place near a crossing on the Syria-Turkey border yesterday, killing up to 43 people seeking to leave Syria.

Commentating on the latest talks between the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) and Iran in Vienna, Julian Borger says in the Guardian online that a major sticking point could turn out to be the “possible military dimensions” to Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s leaders have so far refused access to the Parchin site at which there is thought to be evidence of explosives testing dating back to 2003. Such proof of weaponisation would force Iran to admit to a programme it formally denies exists. Meanwhile, the online edition of the Guardian says that Middle East Minister High Robertson has called on Iran to release prisoners of the minority Baha’i faith and to halt the destruction of a Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz.

In the Israeli media, both Maariv and Haaretz highlight the Naqba Day violence yesterday in which two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli security forces. In the aftermath of the clashes, Israel Radio news reports that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is considering ending its security cooperation with Israel, although another Palestinian official is reported to have described the suggestion as an empty threat.

Israel Hayom and Yediot Ahronot lead with the sentencing yesterday of former-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s senior aide Shula Zaken, who had struck a plea bargain with prosecutors to testify against Olmert in return for an 11 month prison sentence. Judge David Rozen, who earlier this week sent Olmert to prison for six years, reluctantly upheld the agreement with Zaken while at the same time expressing dissatisfaction at the deal.

Israel Radio news reports that Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni met yesterday in London with Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry. Apparently, Hague urged that neither Israel nor the PA should squander the chance for peace, while a State Department official said Kerry emphasised that the door to peace for both sides is still open and urged restraint from “unhelpful” actions from either party.