Both the Times and Telegraph report that the head of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) committee formed to investigate alleged war crimes during Operation Protective Edge resigned late Monday. William Schabas’s appointment to the position was heavily criticised by Israeli officials at the time due to his prior public criticism of Israel and its leaders. It emerged recently that Schabas had been hired in 2012 by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to construct a legal opinion, further clouding his position. He announced that he would resign after the UNHRC sought legal advice on the issue.

The Guardian online reports that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered an immediate investigation over a cartoon of Mohammed which was published in a Palestinian newspaper. The probe comes despite the fact that the cartoon depicts Mohammed in a positive light, sowing seeds of love across the world.

The Independent online includes an article reviewing the latest humorous election advert produced by Likud, which stars Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a babysitter (or “Bibi-sitter” in reference to his nickname) who makes the case that he, not his opponents is best equipped to look after the country.

The Times and the online edition of the Guardian both report that the United States and Iran are moving closer to an agreement over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The Guardian online quotes Iran’s President Rouhani, who told an Iranian newspaper that “we have narrowed the gaps.” Meanwhile, the Times speculates that the United States may have acquiesced on Iranian demands over centrifuges in return for agreement that Iran will help guarantee regional security.

An editorial in the Financial Times criticises the international community’s embrace of Egypt’s President al-Sisi. While conceding that he has introduced much needed economic reforms, the article argues that “economic development needs open politics … not crony capitalism or restoration of a security state,” which it suggests leaves militant Islamism as the only popular alternative.

In the Israeli media, the top item is a deadly road crash yesterday in the southern Negev region, which saw a bus collide with a truck carrying a number of tractors. The collision resulted in the deaths of eight bus passengers, all Bedouin women returning from visiting the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The accident is the top story in Maariv, Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom, which both lead with the headline “Bus of Death.” Israel Radio news reports that today will be a day of mourning in the Bedouin community of Hura, which was home to those killed. Meanwhile, police are investigating the two drivers for negligent manslaughter.

The resignation of William Schabas from the UNHCR inquiry into Operation Protective Edge continues to be discussed this morning. Yediot Ahronot says that Israeli officials alerted the UN to the information that Schabas consulted for the PLO, which eventually led to his resignation. In a Yediot Ahronot interview, Schabas himself says that classifying his resignation as a victory is childish. Writing on the NRG news site, Ilil Shachar suggests that Schabas’s resignation will in fact make it harder for Israel to claim that the eventual report is biased and flawed.