The Guardian reports that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas warned yesterday that if peace talks are not extended beyond their deadline next week, Israel will be handed responsibility for the entire West Bank. The article says that the PA is employing a two-pronged strategy, threatening Israel with an increasing West Bank burden while also pursuing unity talks with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. However, the Telegraph says the Palestinian leadership is softening its stance over the potential dissolution of the PA, following a stark warning by US officials over the potentially serious consequences of such a measure.

The online edition of the Telegraph also covers an announcement yesterday that the IDF will issue non-compulsory draft papers to Christian Arab citizens of Israel for the first time. Although military service will remain strictly voluntary, as it is for all Israeli Arabs, the draft papers make it easier to enlist. The report says that some sections of the Christian community have welcomed the move and are encouraging military service.

The Times online says Syria’s President Assad launched his campaign for re-election in the city of Homs yesterday, a day after it was announced that a presidential election will take place in early June, although the opposition will be effectively excluded from participating. The poll has been denounced by opposition groups and Western leaders as farcical. Meanwhile, Assad’s forces appear poised to capture Homs. The Telegraph online reports that a boy died in Idlib Province from suspected chemical poisoning, in further evidence that Assad’s forces recently used crude chemical weapons.

The Independent and Independent i both report that tentative progress has been made in talks between the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The next round of technical talks is scheduled for 5 May in New York while foreign ministers are reportedly set to meet in Vienna on 13 May.

In the Israeli media, the main story is a briefing which PA President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday gave to Israeli journalists in Ramallah, at which he said that he would agree to extend peace talks if Israel complies with three conditions: The release of a fourth batch of prisoners, a construction freeze in settlements and to devote the next three months to determining final borders. It is the top item in Haaretz and Makor Rishon, while Israel Hayom and Maariv-NRG both focus on the reaction of Israeli officials who said that such demands are proof that Abbas does not really want peace. Writing in Maariv-NRG, Ben-Dror Yemini says that although Abbas’ threat to dissolve the PA makes little sense for the Palestinians, it is perceived as a destructive measure against Israel and should be taken seriously.

Haaretz, Makor Rishon and Israel Hayom all cover yesterday’s announcement by Home Front Defence Minister Gilad Erdan that he has recommended to Prime Minister Netanyahu that his ministry be discontinued and that its work should come under the auspices of the Defence Ministry. The announcement signals the end of a dispute between Erdan and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, both senior Likud figures, over who should oversee Israel’s home front defence.

Israel Radio news says that unity talks between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza have begun, reporting that Hamas’ political leader Ismael Haniya called for a common Palestinian national strategy.