The Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times all cover a trilateral water sharing agreement signed yesterday in Washington between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The project will see a pipeline constructed from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea and a large desalination plant built in Aqaba, Jordan. The aim is to increase the water supply to Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians and at the same time replenish the shrinking Dead Sea. However, all reports say that environmentalists believe introducing a foreign body of water could have a negative impact on the Dead Sea’s ecosystem.

The Guardian and online edition of the Telegraph cover an Overseas Business Risk Report for Israel issued by UK Trade and Investment which includes an outline of risks in doing business with West Bank settlements. The report reiterates the government’s position that the settlements are illegal under international law and that there are “potential reputational implications” of engaging in economic and financial activities with them. However, the report also emphasises government opposition to movements calling for an economic boycott of Israel and underlines commitment to promoting trade and business ties with Israel.

The Telegraph online also reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif has said that if the US Congress adopts further sanctions against Iran, even conditional future measures which some members are considering, then the interim deal agreed between the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) and Iran in Geneva last month would be “dead.”

The Guardian online says a countrywide power outage in Syria could slightly delay the work of an international team of experts overseeing the dismantling of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons stockpile. However, the Telegraph online suggests that their work could in fact be delayed by fighting near the main motorway connecting much of the country to the coast.

In Egypt, the Guardian online covers the start of the trial of the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual head Mohammed Badie, who criticised the country’s military rulers in an initial court appearance. The report also says that clashes took place yesterday between Egyptian security forces and protestors outside Cairo’s Al-Azhar University.

In the Israeli media this morning, Maariv leads with comments made by senior Palestinian officials alleging that US Secretary of State John Kerry is no longer an honest broker in the current peace talks. The comments come in the wake of a headline in yesterday’s Maariv which suggested that Kerry asked Israel to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners to pressure PA President Mahmoud Abbas to show greater flexibility in negotiations. Israel Radio news this morning reports that Kerry will return to the region on Wednesday for talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas.

Both Haaretz and Israel Hayom highlight legislation which was passed unanimously by the Knesset yesterday which will limit the concentration of commercial power by large conglomerates. The new law will see control of a business group limited to two tiers of management and is viewed as a measure against Israeli tycoons dominating large sectors of business.

Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom all report that Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will head Israel’s official delegation at the memorial to Nelson Mandela in South Africa today. Edelstein will be joined by five Knesset members, but criticism was levelled yesterday at the decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres not to attend. Peres was reported to have a bad cold while Netanyahu’s office cited the cost of millions of shekels for the trip. The reports suggest that this is a particularly sensitive point following revelations last week over perceived extravagant expenditure at the Prime Minister’s residence. Both Sima Kadmon in Yediot Ahronot and Shalom Yerushalmi in Maariv are sharply critical.