Several UK dailies report yesterday’s surprise announcement by Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak, that he is retiring from politics and will not be a candidate in January’s election. The Times calls Barak a “voice of restraint over Iran”, while the Independent says that Barak’s right-wing opponents welcomed the news of his retirement. The Daily Mail, Telegraph, Independent i and the online edition of the Financial Times also report on Barak’s resignation. The Guardian includes an analysis of Barak’s career in addition to an opinion piece by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn who predicts that the role of Defence Minister will likely be filled by either Moshe Ya’alon or Avigdor Lieberman, both considered more hawkish than Barak.

The Guardian and the Financial Times report that if certain conditions are fulfilled, the UK government may be prepared to support a resolution which will recognise the Palestinian delegation as a ‘non-member state’ in a UN General Assembly vote later this week. Both publications claim that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) pledges a return to peace talks with Israel without pre-conditions, refrains from pursuing cases in the International Criminal Court and vows not to seek a similar vote at the UN Security Council, then the UK government will reverse its opposition to the PA initiative. However, the Independent’s report on the upcoming UN General Assembly vote includes a quote from Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt reiterating opposition to the initiative.

The Daily Mirror and the online edition of the Telegraph both report on the successful test launch of Israel’s new missile-defence system dubbed ‘David’s Sling’, which is designed to combat mid to long-range missiles. BBC News online provides an analysis of Israel’s missile defence network and asks whether or not it is a game-changer in the region.

In the Telegraph online, Matt Hill opines that only political stubbornness by leaders on both sides is preventing a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The same publication and the Daily Mirror report on the exhumation of the body of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah today, with Russian, Swiss and French scientists set to take samples in order to determine whether he was poisoned.

The Financial Times online covers talks taking place in Cairo to flesh out the details of the ceasefire agreed last week between Israel and Hamas which brought Operation Pillar of Defence to an end. Egyptian mediators are reportedly holding separate talks with Israeli and Hamas officials to reach an agreement on issues such as border activity and transfer of goods in and out of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Times and the online editions of the Guardian and Financial Times all cover the large protests expected today in Egypt against President Mohammed Morsi’s assumption of powers without judicial oversight. In an attempt to defuse the tension, Morsi yesterday met with judges to assure them that the controversial decrees would only apply to “sovereign issues” and would expire following the approval of a new constitution.

The Evening Standard reports that ten children were reported to have been killed yesterday in a playground in a village near Damascus by cluster bombs dropped by a Syrian Air Force jet. The story is also covered in the online editions of the Times, Telegraph and Independent, each of which also reports that significant gains have been made by Syrian opposition forces. The Times and Telegraph online also claim that over the summer Russia printed 240 tonnes of banknotes and flew them to Syria in order to prevent the meltdown of the Syrian economy.

The Israeli media is dominated this morning by the results of the Likud primaries, which concluded yesterday. The results are the headline news in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom which leads with the headline, “Likud Shifts Rightward.” The results are widely viewed as a victory for right-wing elements within the Likud Party, including Moshe Feiglin, Danny Danon and Zeev Elkin, while more liberal figures within the party such as Benny Begin and Dan Meridor appear to have lost any realistic chance of securing a Knesset seat in January’s election. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea says that “The Likud list is bad news for Netanyahu… This veer to the right could cost the Likud at the polling stations,” with disaffected Kadima supporters now less likely to vote for the combined Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list.

Meanwhile, the resignation of Ehud Barak is also a major story. It is the headline news in Makor Rishon, while Haaretz notes that Barak refused to rule out a return to office should he be invited to do so. Maariv gives prominence to the announcement expected today that former-foreign minister Tzipi Livni will return to politics at the head of a new secular Zionist party. Israel Radio News reports that Livni’s list will include several current Kadima MKs plus Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, Danny Shek who was Israel’s ambassador to France as well as former CEO of BICOM, and Boaz Nol, a leader of the movement for an equal military draft.

Away from internal politics, Haaretz covers ongoing diplomatic moves in advance of Thursday’s vote at the UN General Assembly on upgrading the Palestinian delegation’s status to that of a ‘non-member state,’ claiming that Israel and the United States are working on softening the wording of the resolution. Israel Radio News reports that Israel is still trying to persuade key European countries to oppose or at least abstain from approving the resolution.