In the UK and international press, several news sources note that the Arab League mission to monitor the situation in Syria ends today, amid ongoing violence and uncertainty about future deployment of observers in the country. The Times reports that EU ambassadors met yesterday to discuss new sanctions on Iran’s central bank and a possible ban on Iranian oil imports, though Reuters adds that differences between member states may still delay the imposition of a ban. The Independent reports a statement by IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin in Maariv yesterday, in which he warned that Iran possesses all the components needed to build a nuclear weapon. The Times also reports on the official visit of chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey to Israel, which will focus on the Iranian threat. The Financial Times notes that Israeli hackers appeared to have shut down the website of the United Arab Emirates’ central bank yesterday. BBC Online reports that Israel arrested the Hamas-affiliated speaker of the Palestinian parliament. The Daily Mirror has a feature article on the seventieth anniversary of the conference in Berlin on “The Final Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe,” where the Nazi regime decided on the extermination of Europe’s Jews. Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland assesses three years of Barak Obama’s US presidency and points to the ineffective role the US has played in Israeli-Palestinian mediation.

The Israeli media, Israel Hayom, Ynetnews and the Jerusalem Post lead with a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for greater urgency in imposing strong international sanctions on Iran. All papers note the visit of General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Israel. Ynetnews reports that in a meeting with Jewish community leaders in the US, President Obama suggested that existing sanctions are bearing fruit and that the US will continue to apply pressure on Iran. The Jerusalem Post, Maariv and Ynetnews note that US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro stressed yesterday the close coordination between Israel and the US on the Iranian nuclear threat and added that the US has additional options against Iran if sanctions fail to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. All papers also report that Yair Lapid, who recently announced his intension to enter politics, said he will not join Kadima, strengthening the assumption that Lapid will form a new party. The arrest of a Hamas-affiliated Palestinian parliamentarian in the West Bank is also reported in the Israeli media today.