In the UK media this morning, both the Guardian and the Times report on the controversial decision by the Israeli cabinet to upgrade the status of Ariel College, situated in the large Ariel settlement in the West Bank, to the status of a university, claiming that the decision could fuel an academic boycott of Israel. The decision must still be cleared by the High Court, following objections from the heads of Israel’s other universities. Meanwhile the Guardian runs a comment piece by Robert Turner, the Gaza Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, calling for a lifting of the blockade on Gaza to avert a looming humanitarian crisis.

Online there continues to be widespread coverage in all media outlets of the continuing bloodshed in Syria. The BBC online covers calls from EU leaders for more sanctions on Iran. The Times has a feature on the fashion tastes of ultra-Orthodox women in Tel Aviv who are inspired by the conservative yet stylish dress code of the Duchess of Cambridge.

In the UK media over the weekend, the Telegraph in its Saturday edition reported Canada’s decision to cut ties with Iran because of its continued defiance of international will with regard to its nuclear programme and its anti-Semitic incitement. The paper also reports claims from a Vatican official in Jerusalem that Israel is becoming less tolerant of Christians. Meanwhile the Financial Times reported from Iran than the population are more worried about the country’s financial crisis than an attack by Israel on its nuclear facilities.

The Sunday Times reported from the US Democratic National Convention, noting the potential political damage from the controversial way the status of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was dropped from and then reinstated to the party’s platform. The Mail on Sunday ran a piece about an 18-year-old youth in Gaza who burned himself to death, citing his desperation at lack of opportunity. The Sunday Times reported that US energy company Noble Energy is to sell its stake in Israel’s offshore Leviathan gas field. The paper also runs an unsubstantiated report that Israel could use an electromagnetic pulse against Iran.

The Israeli media widely reports that a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip made a direct hit on an Israeli home in Netivot yesterday, and Israel’s response. Security analyst Alex Fishman, writing in Yediot Ahronot highlights the question facing Hamas, as to whether to clamp down on the Salafist groups firing the rockets or face retaliation from Israel. Israel’s relations with the US over the issue of Iran also remain prominent in the media. The Jerusalem Post has a front page story quoting remark made by PM Netanyahu in an interview with Canadian CBC news, in which he said that Israel was discussing with the US what kind of “red lines” should be set with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme. Meanwhile several Israeli online outlets report this morning comments from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the call for a deadline on Iran. Haaretz also reports on warnings from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in a meeting with Netanyahu not to unilaterally take military action against Iran. Meanwhile Israel Hayom reports on its front page comments from US presidential candidate Mitt Romney saying that not stopping Iran has been Obama’s biggest failing. Maariv runs a story addressing the question of whether Netanyahu will meet with President Obama when he travels to the US to address the UN General Assembly at the end of the month. In other news, the media widely covers an incident in which an Israeli security officer was knocked down and killed yesterday by a vehicle smuggling people in Israel, as well as a road traffic accident which killed three members of a family. Yediot Ahronot continues its focus on rising food prices, today reporting on the rise in cost of tomatoes. Makor Rishon reports on the controversial appointment of a deputy attorney general, Shai Nitzan, who is disliked by settler groups for his prosecutions of settlers for incitement to violence.

The Israeli media on Sunday widely covered the success of Israeli wheelchair tennis player Noam Gershony, who won Israel’s first gold medal of the 2012 Paralympics. Gershony was an Apache helicopter pilot wounded in the Second Lebanon War. Yediot Ahronot led with a full page picture and the caption, ‘Hero’. The press continued to cover developments with regard to Iran, including Canada’s decision to sever diplomatic ties. Israel Hayom led with the headline, ‘Thank you Canada’. Maariv reports that Israel is now working to put pressure on other states to follow Canada’s example. Meanwhile Haaretz reported that European leaders are examining the option of more sanctions against Iran in order to prevent an Israeli attack. Yediot Ahronot reports on last week’s meeting between Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, claiming that the US general assured Barak that the US was ready to attack immediately once an order was given. The visit is seen as part of an ongoing US effort to persuade Israel not to act alone. Meanwhile Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot report on an account by Congressman Mike Rogers of a meeting himself, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American Ambassador Dan Shapiro, where harsh words were reportedly exchanged between Netanyahu and Shapiro.