With Israelis going to the polls today in municipal elections, two dailies cover aspects of the vote in Jerusalem. The Telegraph online includes a feature on the race for mayor between the incumbent Nir Barkat and challenger Moshe Leon, framing it as a battle between the city’s secular residents in support of Barkat and Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox population which is largely expected to vote for Leon. Meanwhile, an editorial in the Guardian draws attention to the candidacy of an East Jerusalem Palestinian for the first time, running as a candidate on a left-wing list. The article notes that East Jerusalem Palestinians traditionally choose not to vote in Jerusalem elections in the belief that it would legitimise Israeli rule, but points out that their participation could transform the reality of the city.

The Guardian says Iranian media is reporting that the country’s officials have demonstrated Tehran’s military and technical capability to their Russian counterparts, showing them an accurate re-construction of an American drone which they claim to have captured two years ago.

The online edition of the Guardian reports that gunmen killed four Coptic Christians, including two young girls, outside a church in Egypt’s capital Cairo yesterday. Although unidentified, the killers are strongly suspected to have been Islamists who have increasingly targeted the country’s Coptic Christian minority, who they blame for backing the military seizure of power from the Muslim Brotherhood in July. The Times online also covers the killing and says that the Coptic Christian community is calling on Egypt’s government for greater protection.

The Independent reports that senior leaders of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) will meet with international backers in London today in attempt to build a unified front which can represent Syria’s opposition movement at proposed Geneva II talks with the Assad regime later this month. However, the Telegraph online reports that President Assad yesterday denied that an agreed date had been set for the talks and said that “many questions remain” over such a conference. The Guardian online says that in Syria itself, a senior FSA commander was killed yesterday during an assault against government forces near Deraa.

The Times includes a feature on al-Qaeda’s attempts to purchase Gaddafi-era weaponry, including uranium, from unregulated and poorly-guarded sites in Libya.

Meanwhile, both the Daily Mail and Daily Star report that the family of an Egyptian doctor who saved the life of a German Jew during the Holocaust has rejected an award from Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, saying that they would accept such an honour from any country other than Israel.  

The Israeli media is dominated this morning by the country’s municipal elections. It is the top headline in Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, which says that the mayoral race in Jerusalem is the focus of attention. The top story in Maariv says that some of the major ultra-Orthodox factions have decided to withhold their support for Jerusalem mayoral candidate Moshe Leon, who hopes to unseat incumbent Nir Barkat. In Maariv, Shalom Yerushalmi writes that the Jerusalem mayoral race is “a battle between the old politics and the new,” with Barkat the progressive candidate and Leon looking backwards.

Both Haaretz and Israel Hayom cover the High Court of Justice’s rejection yesterday of a petition which requested that the government’s policy on natural gas exports be subject to a Knesset vote. The government announced recently that up to forty per cent of Israel’s significant natural gas reserves can be exported. Petitioners, including Labour Party leader Shelly Yachimovich want a greater portion to remain in Israel and asked for a binding parliamentary vote. Israel Radio news says that Finance Minister Yair Lapid praised the High Court ruling.

Maariv reports this morning that Israel could release a second group of Palestinian prisoners next Tuesday, implementing part of the agreement which paved the way for peace talks to resume over the summer.