Through the weekend and into this morning, the FT (Saturday) and the Times (Monday) cover the lack of response by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to take in nearly any refugees from the Syrian Civil War, this as Europe is being inundated by thousands of asylum seekers on a daily basis. The UN High Commissioner on Refugees reported that 63 Syrian asylum seekers had petitioned the GCC states. Only 33 requests were approved. This morning, the Telegraph and the Independent are covering comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected calls to admit Syrian refugees into Israel. The issue is a source of much public debate in Israel and picked up over the weekend.

The Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday on King Salman of Saudi Arabia’s visit to Washington on Friday – the first such visit since he began his reign. The King and President Obama met in the Oval Office to discuss everything from the Iran deal, which the Saudis privately have deep concerns about, to Yemen, to ISIS and the crisis in Syria.

In a related matter, over the weekend the Telegraph reported that Russia was erecting a “secret base” for its forces in Syria as part of its increasingly overt efforts to prevent President Assad’s fall. The Times reports that Russian President Putin said that Syrian President Assad “agrees” to “holding early elections,” that would involve bring the opposition into the governing process.

The Sunday Times covered an interview given by Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu to Israel’s Channel 2 News on Friday night. This was the first such interview granted by the leaker to an Israeli media outlet and approved from broadcast by the military censorship since his release from prison in 2004. He served 18 years for revealing state secrets. His lawyer reportedly said that he believes this interview may signal the potential for a change in public’s perception and willingness to discuss the issue.

As it seems all but certain that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will stand the test of the US Congress, the Independent ran a story on Saturday on the waning influence of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States, and specifically AIPAC. The increased diversity of views when discussing Israeli and Middle Eastern issues within America’s Jewish community was also touched on in the piece, as well as the path forward for groups such as AIPAC and its left-wing counterpart – J Street.

The Guardian this morning quotes a United Nations report stating that Israel plans to demolish up to 17,000 structures, most of them on Palestinian private property in the West Bank. According to data of the Israeli Civil Administration, 2,020 applications for building permits in Area C were submitted by Palestinians between 2010 and 2014 and only 33 (1.5%) were approved.

Finally, the Times reports that Israel’s Prime Minister says that he will scrap a law passed last Thursday that bans journalists working for the public broadcaster from expressing their opinions on air. The law says that broadcasts should “avoid one-sidedness, prejudice, expressing personal opinions, giving grades and affixing labels”, but the Israel Press Council said that it violated free speech.

Haaretz, Walla the Times of Israel and other Israeli outlets are reporting this morning is that Riham Dawabsha (27) died this morning in hospital. Mrs Dawabsha succumbed to wounds she suffered in July when her house was set on fire in a terrorist attack in the West Bank village of Duma. Her 18-month old son Ali died in the fire and the husband, Saad, passed away a week after the attack due to the severe burns that he suffered. The family’s four-year old son, Ahmad, is still in hospital.

Coverage of the refugee crisis continues across the board in Israel. As the debate as to whether Israel should also agree to receive refugees from the Syrian Civil War grows, Haaretz, Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and the online outlets are covering the growing political debate on the subject. In comments made at the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected calls for Israel to accept refugees. Leader of the Opposition Isaac Herzog was highly critical of Netanyahu’s comments and urged Israel to abide by its Jewish value and help those in need.

Six senior police officers will be dishonourably discharged from active duty. These are some of the findings of the inquiry committee that examined the police’s failure to prevent the attack during the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, according to Ynet and NRG. During the 30 July parade a Jewish extremist assailant attacked marchers, stabbing six people and killing Shira Banki (16). The attacker, Yishai Shlissel, was previously imprisoned for a similar attack he committed during the Gay Pride Parade in 2005.

Israeli radio reports that all the schools in the Arab sector will be on strike today. This is a sign of solidarity with the thirty-three thousand pupils in the Christian education system have been on strike since the beginning of the school year in protest of insufficient budgets and discrimination relative to other sectors.

Walla and Ynet are reporting that, according to Palestinian officials, Palestinian President Abbas will nullify the Oslo Accords and announce it the upcoming UN General Assembly later this month.