All Middle East news today in the UK and international papers is dominated by developments in Syria and the response by President Bashar Assad’s regime on the anti-government protesters. The Guardian notes that the EU is considering sanctions against Syria. The paper also reports that France and Italy called on the EU to close its borders in fear of an influx of refugees seeking asylum from the Middle East protests. BBC Online notes that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Syria for using tanks and live ammunition against protesters. The Independent carries an opinion piece predicting a road to civil war for Syria. In other news, the Daily Telegraph reports that according to an opinion poll more than half of Egyptians want an end to the peace treaty with Israel. BBC Online reports that an armed gang attacked and exploded a gas pipeline in North Sinai that supplies gas to Jordan and Israel.

In the Israeli press today, all papers cover the developments in Syria as President Bashar Assad sent troops into several cities to crackdown on antigovernment protests. The papers all note that an armed gang blew up the Egyptian gas pipeline in northern Sinai that supplies gas to Israel and Jordan. In addition, the papers report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the UK and France next week to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss developments regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Ynetnews and IBA News note that a poll conducted by the US-based Pew Research Centre showed that 54% of Egyptians would like to see the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty annulled. Haaretz notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting today to discuss how to handle a new flotilla of ships to Gaza, that is ready to set sail. In other news, all papers note that the parents of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit met last night for the first time with newly appointed Israeli coordinator for a prisoner exchange deal, David Meidan.