Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, has officially resigned according to reports today.
Al Jazeera tweeted this afternoon that Barak is leaving Binyamin Netanyahu's cabinet to join opposition politician, Tzipi Livni's, new centrist party.
More recent reports have suggested that the 70-year-old politician is retiring from public life altogether and will leave his post after the January election.
His departure comes in the wake of the latest conflict between Israel and Gaza.
Following a ceasefire agreement between the two sides, brokered by Egypt last week, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas representatives are scheduled start in Cairo on Monday, according to Arabic media.
London-based newspaper, al-Sharq al-Awsat, reported that representatives of the Egyptian intelligence will meet with each side separately and then shuttle between both delegations to deliver responses to draft agreements.
