The Times covers progress being made in a joint development project between Israel and Jordan, which will see water pumped from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, in an attempt to save the shrinking Dead Sea and provide drinking water for both countries. Ministers from the two countries announced an international tender to construct and operate a canal which will make the project a reality.

The Times also reports that a Jerusalem court found two Jewish men guilty of the brutal burning and murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khadir last summer. The murder came a week after three Jewish Israeli boys who had been kidnapped in the West Bank were found dead. Abu Khadir’s murder shocked Israel and was officially classified as a terror attack.

Another item in the Times says that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has instructed towns and churches to limit their Christmas celebrations this year, declaring that an overly-festive spirit would not be appropriate given the current wave of violence. At least 21 Israelis have been killed in attacks since the start of October and around 100 Palestinians have been killed, the majority while launching attacks on Israelis.

The Telegraph online includes an analysis item which asks what the West can learn from Israel to fight ISIS. The piece outlines the intelligence measures that Israel has in place in order to combat terror and contrasts these with current operations in Europe.

Ahead of today’s House of Commons vote on UK air strikes against ISIS in Syria, Roger Boyes in the Times warns against the price of inaction, arguing that had the Commons approved air strikes two years ago, the situation in Syria may be less grave. The Guardian online reports that the United States is sending an “expeditionary force” to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq, while the German cabinet has approved up to 1,200 soldiers to be deployed in Syria.

Writing in the Times, the Saudi Ambassador to the UK insists that his country is against terror and that such violence must be fought both militarily and educationally, saying “issues that inspire terrorists must be addressed, starting with the Palestinian conflict.”

Meanwhile, the Times, Telegraph and the Daily Mail all cover the response of a UK academic to a 13-year-old Israeli girl who asked a series of questions regarding her area of expertise about horses. The academic refused to provide the answers, telling the girl that she is upholding her boycott of Israel in doing so.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Maariv all lead with the unspecified “dramatic progress” which has reportedly been made in investigations of one or more acts of Jewish terror. The case is subject to a gag order and so there are no further details, but there is a sense of anticipation in the media. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Yossi Yehoshua outlines some of the difficulties for the security establishment in such investigations, saying, “The challenge facing the Shin Bet agents is to get their hands on evidence,” as suspects know “how to behave during Shin Bet and police investigations and how to distance themselves from the incidents in question.”

Yediot Ahronot and Israel Radio news both preview a State Comptroller’s report on the financial conduct of candidates during party primaries in the Likud, Zionist Union and Jewish Home parties. The report, which will be released this afternoon will apparently detail a falsified financial report by one well-known MK, an offence which could carry a 3-year prison term.

Israel Radio news also covers a New York Times report which claims that the Israeli athletes who were killed by Palestinian terrorists at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 were tortured and brutally beaten while they were being held hostage.