The Independent reports on an appeal being heard in Israel’s Supreme Court over the death of American activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza in 2003. She was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to prevent it demolishing a structure. Corrie’s family have brought the appeal after a Haifa court ruled in 2012 that Israel’s military was not responsible for Corrie’s death in what was a conflict zone and had adequately investigated the incident.

The Financial Times says that two of the biggest investors in Israel’s natural gas fields, US-based Noble and Israeli company Delek, are negotiating major gas supply deals with Egypt and Jordan. Israel has peace treaties with both countries. Such an agreement with Egypt would signify a role reversal; Israel had imported Egyptian gas for several years until unrest in Sinai and the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood brought an end to the arrangement.

The Guardian, in its G2 section, takes an irreverent look at the close family relationship between wildcard Israeli presidential candidate and solar energy pioneer Yosef Abramowitz and his sister-in-law, US comedienne Sarah Silverman. The article mulls whether Silverman might lend her public support to Abramowitz, given her vociferous backing for Barack Obama during the 2012 US presidential race.

An editorial in the Independent sketches out the increasingly close ties between Russia and China, arguing that the relationship is designed to weaken the United States and predicts that this dynamic could seriously impact attempts to reach an agreement with Tehran over Iran’s long-term nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile, the Times reports that six young Iranians have been arrested for having filmed their own interpretation of the Pharrell Williams hit song “Happy” in which they are alleged to have dressed and behaved inappropriately. However, the Guardian online reports that at least some of those apprehended have now been released.

The Guardian includes an in-depth feature on the plight of Syrian refugees now living in sprawling camps in neighbouring Jordan. Meanwhile, in Egypt, the Guardian online reports that former-President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for corruption. Mubarak still faces a re-trial over the killing of protestors prior to his removal from power in 2011.

In the Israeli media, the lead story in Yediot Ahronot and prominent items in Israel Hayom, Maariv and Haaretz are the latest developments in the Israeli presidential elections, scheduled for 10 June. All report that Energy Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday decided not to submit his candidacy, having failed to secure the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some reports suggest that Netanyahu, who holds deep antipathy towards leading candidate and Likud MK Reuven Rivlin, is courting former-Foreign Minister David Levy to throw his hat into the ring. However, Israel Hayom contends that Netanyahu may end up supporting nobody. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Sima Kadmon says that Netanyahu has become active in the race too late and “in the end, he is going to be forced to support” Rivlin, “at least in public,” as he is likely to be Likud’s sole candidate.

In Maariv, Ben Caspit says that a coalition crisis was averted last week with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having come close to firing Justice Minister Tzipi Livni after she met with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in London against his wishes. Caspit’s report suggests that Netanyahu was dissuaded from taking such action after Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it would spell the collapse of the coalition.

Israel Radio news reports that the IDF has issued a restraining order against a number of extreme right-wing activists, banning them from entering Jerusalem during the course of Pope Francis’s visit on Sunday and Monday. Authorities had received intelligence of plans to disrupt the visit.