In the UK and international press today, all papers note the diplomatic developments surrounding President Bashar Assad’s refusal to halt violence against anti-government protesters. In the latest news, most papers report that the US imposed sanctions on Syrian businesses yesterday and that today the US is expected to call on President Assad to step down. The Telegraph notes that President Assad admitted that his security forces, in dealing with the protesters, have made “some mistakes.”

The front page of the Jerusalem Post reports that the US army is looking to increase cooperation with joint training operations with the IDF. Haaretz newspaper notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his senior cabinet yesterday to discuss how to handle the Palestinian UN statehood vote in September. One proposal from the meeting was to implement preemptive sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, a proposal that Defence Minister Ehud Barak objected to, saying that it would lead to the PA’s collapse and would be detrimental to security stability.

In other news, Haaretz and Ynetnews report that the IDF conducted scenario drills yesterday in preparation for the Palestinians UN vote in September. Haaretz notes that President Shimon Peres met a delegation of US Democratic congressmen. Peres told the group that peace is still possible with the Palestinians and negotiations should take place before the September vote. Haaretz also note that the UK border agency sent a letter to fundamentalist Rabbi Yosef Elitzur in July, informing him he is prohibited from entering Britain for the next three years.