According to the Telegraph this morning, Syrian President Assad’s forces are preparing for an assault on the country’s second largest city Aleppo, following the regime’s capture of Qusair in an offensive led by its’ ally Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the Times, Independent and Independent i report that an anti-Hezbollah protester was killed by Hezbollah supporters at a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, raising further fears of violent overspill from Syria. The Financial Times online includes an article suggesting that the bitter conflict in Syria could be the catalyst for Sunni – Shi’ite violence throughout the region. The online edition of the Guardian reports that Foreign Secretary William Hague has pledged that there will be a House of Commons vote prior to any decision to arm moderate Syrian opposition groups. The Telegraph online and Independent online covers comments made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who warned yesterday that Israel cannot rely on international forces for its security, following the withdrawal of Austrian troops from the United Nations’ peacekeeping force on the Golan border with Syria last week.

Meanwhile, both the Independent and Telegraph note that Netanyahu’s office distanced the premier from public comments made by Deputy Defence Minister and Likud MK Danny Danon, who claimed that the coalition government would not vote in favour of a two-state solution. Both articles also note opposition calls for Danon to resign in light of his comments. The Independent i also covers this story.

The Guardian online reports on the long-running campaign that has intensified over recent months for women to hold their own prayer services at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Such practice is a departure from Orthodox Jewish tradition, but it has nonetheless recently received the backing of Israel’s courts despite protests from Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

The Times online says that millions are planning not to vote in Friday’s presidential election in Iran, leaving the Tehran regime with the prospect of an embarrassingly low turnout and a potential crisis of legitimacy for the incoming president. The Independent and Independent i analyses the absence of democracy from the Iranian election and indeed throughout many Middle East countries.

In this morning’s Israeli media, Maariv leads with an Iranian announcement that a heavy water reactor at Arak has been inaugurated, which Amir Rapaport describes as being of “immense importance.” The Arak plant was highlighted in the most recent International Atomic Energy Agency report as it is feared that it could be used to produce plutonium to make smaller more powerful nuclear warheads than weapons-grade uranium. This story is also a major item in Makor Rishon.

Yediot Ahronot reports that Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon has expressed deep frustration with his Deputy Defence Minister Danny Danon after Danon had suggested in an interview over the weekend that the Netanyahu government does not support a two-state solution. According to the report, Ya’alon will appoint Home Front Defence Minister Gilad Erdan as his replacement instead of Danon, during his absence owing to an expected trip abroad next week.

On the border with Syria, Yediot Ahronot claims that Syrian opposition fighters have twice entered unspecified Israeli “sites” on the Golan Heights and that the movements were closely observed by the IDF without any action being taken. Military affairs correspondent Alex Fishman calls it a “very troubling precedent.”

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom, Yediot Ahronot and Makor Rishon all report prominently on the apparent purchase of Israeli smart phone navigation application Waze by Google for £83million. However, neither company has yet confirmed the deal.