Both the Telegraph and Independent i report that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that the Palestinian unity government, established between his Fatah faction and Hamas in April 2014, will be dissolved in the coming days. Apparently, Abbas has said that the decision is due to Hamas’ continued dominance of the Gaza Strip. In practice, despite their unity agreement, the PA and Hamas have not shared power in Gaza or the West Bank.

The Times reports that an art history lecturer at Tel Aviv University has alleged that the iconic Louvre gallery in Paris refused a booking he made for his students due to their Israeli identity. He was told that a booking was not possible, but was then immediately able to process an identical reservation when posing as a university lecturer from alternative countries. Meanwhile, the Guardian, Independent and Evening Standard all report that Israeli artist Matan Ben-Cnaan has been awarded the prestigious BT Portrait Award.

The Guardian online says that the CEO of Orange, Stephane Richard will launch legal action against individuals who threatened to kill him following comments he recently made which indicated that he was considering ending Orange’s activities in Israel for political reasons. Richard has since apologised for his comments during a personal visit to Israel and said that they were misinterpreted, pledging to continue to do business in Israel.

The Telegraph, Independent and the online editions of the Guardian and Financial Times all cover a decision yesterday by an Egyptian court to uphold the death sentence handed to Muslim Brotherhood leader and former-President Mohammed Morsi, who was arrested as part of a crackdown following his overthrow by Egypt’s military in 2013. The Guardian online says that the decision will still go to the country’s appeals courts, and the Telegraph says that Morsi’s supporters are calling for an uprising in response to the sentence.

In Syria, the online editions of the Telegraph and Independent report that Kurdish forces have defeated ISIS and are now in total control of Tal Abyad, which borders Turkey. The Financial Times online says that the victory will hand the Kurds a larger say in the future of Syria.

In the Israeli media, the situation on the country’s border with Syria is a major item. Haaretz highlights comments made yesterday by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot in front of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, pledging that the IDF would not allow a massacre of Syrian refugees. Israeli leaders increasingly fear that Syrian Druze are being targeted and will head for Israel, where many have family. Israel Hayom says that the fighting from Syria’s Civil War is getting closer to Israel’s border and Maariv notes that the IDF yesterday took the precautionary measure of briefly declaring a section of the border area as a closed military zone.

The top item in Maariv is continued speculation that Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks over the possibility of a 5-year ceasefire. Apparently, such an arrangement would include the creation of an off-shore floating seaport near Gaza. However, the report says that there are Israeli concerns such an arrangement could have a negative impact on relations with the PA. Israel Radio news says that Hamas leaders do not expect a deal to be agreed any time soon.

Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot continues to report that US President Barack Obama has invited Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington in the aftermath of an expected nuclear deal with Iran. Israeli and American officials have denied that any invitation has been extended, but Yediot Ahronot says today that an official announcement is just a matter of time.