In the UK and international press today, most papers report that the US and European Union condemned the decision yesterday by the Israeli Interior Ministry to approve the construction of 1,100 housing units in the southeast Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo. BBC Online reports that EU countries have dropped their proposal for a new set of UN sanctions against Syria. In other news, the Independent reports that the Israeli Security Services urged the government to stop funding a Jewish religious college in the West Bank due to its encouragement of extremist views.

On the front pages of Israeli newspapers today, the majority papers note that the organisers of the social justice protests plan to hold further demonstrations in October. Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his senior cabinet agreed to support the Middle East Quartet’s proposal to renew negotiations. The Jerusalem Post on the front page carries the results of a poll, which shows increasing popularity for US President Barack Obama’s in Israel.

Meanwhile, the papers also note that the Interior Ministry approved the construction of 1,100 housing units in the southeast Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo. All papers note that the US State Department and European Union condemned this decision. Haaretz notes that Egypt will host its first election on 28 November, marking the first vote since the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak. All papers note that US President Barack Obama in his Jewish New Year message stressed the strong relations and commitment between the US and Israel. Ynetnews reports that two rockets were fired from northern Gaza last night and landed in open areas in the south of Israel. The news outlet also notes that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged for UN sanctions on Israel.