Yesterday’s unity agreement between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas in Doha, Qatar give wide coverage to is widely covered in theTimes, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Guardian and Financial Times. Most outlets carry Prime Minister Netanyahu’s warning that the Palestinian leadership must now choose between talks with Israel and a unity deal with Hamas. A follow-up meeting between Palestinian leaders has been scheduled for 18 February in Cairo, where the new Palestinian government will be announced. Independent leader writer David Gardner injects a note of caution into the predictions of an imminent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, which he assesses can survive with continued support from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. However, the situation on the ground is far from stable, and the withdrawal of the British and American ambassadors to Syria points to further diplomatic isolation. The Independents also reports on continued deadly attacks by Syrian forces on rebels in Homs. BBC Online, which describes the feelings of ‘fear and abandonment’ in Homs, notes that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Damascus today, having described US and European criticism of his country’s veto at the Security Council as ‘indecent and hysterical’. In the Guardian, former head of al-Jazeera Wadah Khanfar says that the fate of Syria is in the hands of its people, who must avoid sectarian splits if they are to overthrow the regime.

In the Israeli press, responses to the Palestinian unity deal are mixed, with Haaretz describing it as a ‘breakthrough’ whilst Yisrael Hayom condemns Abbas for agreeing to head a ‘Hamas government’. International reactions are also mixed. According to Kol Yisrael radio, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said there is no contradiction between Palestinian unity and continued Israel-Palestinian talks, although US State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland stressed that whilst this is an internal Palestinian matter, the US would not deal with a Palestinian government that did not renounce violence, recognise Israel and uphold previous agreements. Yediot Ahronot and Makor Rishon–Hatzofe report that President Obama has signed an executive order to freeze all Iranian assets in the US. Haaretz notes IDF preparations for the transfer of weapons from Syria to Lebanon, as the situation deteriorates. The domestic agenda is dominated by the threat of a general strike tomorrow, and the serious illness of 102-year old Rabbi Yosef Eliyashiv, one of Israel’s leading ultra-Orthodox leaders.