The Times covers a report in yesterday’s Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, which claimed that Israel had been warned by US officials that a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would generate such a high level of public anger as to leave the Egyptian and Jordanian governments with little choice but to sever ties with Israel. The article includes a quote from former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, who disagrees with the alleged US warning, arguing that the existing Israel-Egypt peace treaty serves both countries’ interests. The Financial Times reports on the imminent attempt by the Palestinian Authority to pass a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade the status of the Palestinian UN delegation from non-member ‘observer entity’ to non-member ‘observer state’. The report notes that PA President Mahmoud Abbas will speak on the issue at the UN General Assembly next week, with Israel and the United States expected to oppose the move, while European countries are largely undecided on whether to support such a resolution.

Meanwhile, most dailies report on the continuing violence in Syria. The Telegraph, Guardian, Times, Independent and BBC online all report on an apparent attack by the Syrian air force on a petrol station near the Turkish border, killing dozens of civilians. The BBC online report also notes that the Iranian Foreign Minister held talks yesterday with Syria’s President Assad and claimed that not only is Syria under attack, but also its’ relationship with Hezbollah and Iran. In the Guardian, there is an analysis of the potential impact of the relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and both US Presidential candidates following US elections next month.  The Telegraph online publishes comments by Peribattista Pizzaballa, a Vatican representative in Israel, denouncing attacks on Christian holy sites in Israel. The article notes the swift condemnation by Israeli leaders of recent vandalism at a Trappist Monastery in Latrun. Also on the Telegraph, the paper’s chief foreign correspondent, David Blair, publishes a blog assessing Israel’s military capability in a potential air strike against Iran’s nuclear installations.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot speculates that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will next month announce a general election to take place in early 2013. The report quotes several ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud Party, who claim that it will prove impossible to reach an agreement with coalition partners Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas on the budget, triggering an election. Haaretz and Israel Hayom report the admission by the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, that the organisation ‘occasionally gave false information’ to the International Atomic Energy Agency and international powers, to protect Iran’s nuclear facilities. Haaretz also covers yesterday’s hearing at the US House of Representatives subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, which discussed relations between Israel and the United States. Several lawmakers expressed their concern over the state of relations between the two countries. However, the Jerusalem Post reports quotes from former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, who says that the White House will support any Israeli action over Iran. Meanwhile, Israel Radio News reports that Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak met Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday, while Maariv says that Israel’s National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror secretly travelled to Washington for talks with White House officials. It is suggested that both meetings are intended to smooth relations between the Israeli government and the Obama administration. Yediot Ahronot covers an article by a Stanford University researcher, which comprehensively outlines the difficulties that the Israeli Air Force would face in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the location of the installations and the long distance in order to reach them.