In the UK press this morning, BBC reports from the Friends of the Syrian People Summit in Istanbul, in which some 70 foreign ministers recognised the opposition Syrian National Council as the “legitimate representatives” of the Syrian people. In the Daily Mail, Melanie Philips comments on the election of George Galloway, warning that “religious extremism has become for the first time a potential game-changer in British politics”. The Daily Telegraph briefly mentions that the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has raised concerns about Palestinian families in the largely Christian village of Beit Jala.

Over the weekend, George Galloway’s unexpected election victory in the Bradford West by-election drew extensive commentary. The Sunday Times, which described him as a “weekend Moslem”, noted that his advocacy for Palestinian rights and the support of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee were important factors in his victory. In the Mail on Sunday, Suzanne Moore described him as “a cynical opportunist”, while in the Sunday Times, Roger Liddle said Galloway “is as liberal as Hamas”. In the Observer, Nick Cohen drew parallels between Galloway and Ken Livingstone, warning that ‘if the secular left does not take on the sectarians, they will flourish. The paper also reported from the “disorganised and directionless” anti-Islamist rally organised by the English Defence League in Denmark. The Financial Times, meanwhile, noted that Turkey has announced a 20% reduction in purchases of Iranian oil. The Daily Telegraph refers to allegations in Private Eye that accuse Independent correspondent Robert Fisk of “embroidering news reports that inevitably cast the leaders of the ‘US-Israeli Axis’ as Bond villains”.

An axe attack in Jerusalem this morning leads the Israeli news. The victim, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, who was on his way to pray in the Old City was lightly injured. The attacker escaped on foot. The Jerusalem Post reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu will convene a ministerial meeting to discuss the fate of settlers who face removal from Migron, Hebron and Ulpana. Haaretz notes the IDF has ordered the immediate evacuation of a house in the middle of Hebron which settlers claim was purchased legally. Israel Radio notes that Quartet Representative Tony Blair yesterday met with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of a Quartet meeting that will seek to restart talks between the sides. The last-minute deal to moderate the latest rise in petrol prices on Saturday night is widely covered, although some commentators take issue with the move. In Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman writes that the prime minister’s intervention is the result of concerns about renewed social protests, and is weakening Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. Yisrael Hayom carries a poll that indicates 60% of Israelis believe that only military action will prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, whilst 65% think that such a strike would be preferable to living with a nuclear-armed Iran. In Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer reviews other polls on the issue, concluding that Israeli opinion is equally split in three, leaving Prime Minister Netanyahu needing to persuade an undecided middle of the wisdom of an attack.

The Sunday papers dealt extensively with the intervention in petrol prices, and drew mostly unfavourable comments. In Maariv, Shai Golden wrote that ‘intervention in gas prices is only the beginning of election economics.’ In Yediot Ahronot, Roni Shaked described ‘the millions that never turned up’ to Friday’s Land Day protests and the Global March on Jerusalem. Makor Rishon noted that, despite the low turnout, Hamas declaring them a “‎victory and the beginning of our renewed struggle for Jerusalem.” Yediot Ahronot profiled the Blue-White Future initiative, headed by hi-tech entrepreneur Orni Petruschka and lawyer Gilead Sher, which aims to encourage Israeli settlers to move to areas Israel would expect to retain in a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The paper also reported that several actors and playwrights are calling on London’s Globe Theatre to withdraw its invitation to Israel’s national Habima Theatre to participate in the Globe to Globe Shakespeare Festival this summer.