The killing of an Israeli soldier on the Lebanese border on Sunday and subsequent actions of Israeli soldiers, who fired upon Lebanese troops carrying out suspicious movements shortly after the attack, is covered by the Telegraph, the Guardian, Independent, Financial Times and online edition of the Times. 31-year-old Staff Sgt. Shlomi Cohen was buried yesterday in northern Israel while the United Nations (UN) called for calm on the border.

In his Diary column in the Independent, Andy McSmith notes that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the Nelson Mandela memorial event last week over concerns at the cost to the public purse, yet plans are being considered for a private jet and new residence to be used by the Prime Minister. A debate is afoot in Israel over whether such plans would in the long run save public money.

In the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman reflects on a recent trip to Israel. He says that rather than finding a country “paranoid” over the threat of a nuclear Iran, he found a country which if anything is “complacent” over regional developments and its place in the world, with relative quiet on its borders and unprecedented global interest in Israeli technology and economy.

The Times reports comments made by Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed Zarif who said Tehran will continue construction at the Arak plutonium plant, despite an agreement last month with the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) to halt activity there.

The Financial Times and online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph and Independent say the UN has launched its biggest ever appeal, a call for up to £4billion in international aid in 2014 to help millions of stricken Syrian refugees who have fled the country’s civil war. An editorial in the Telegraph says greater pressure should be placed on Syria’s President Assad to permit humanitarian access to the country and on Arab states to contribute more money to such aid efforts. The online editions of the Times and Telegraph report that the opposition Free Syrian Army has asked its Western backers to contribute £215million to create a more structured and conventional army.

In the Israeli media, there are several items relating to the aftermath of the killing of IDF soldier Shlomi Cohen by a Lebanese army sniper on the border between the two countries on Sunday. Yediot Ahronot’s front page focuses on Cohen’s burial yesterday and the wife and baby daughter he leaves behind. Israel Hayom leads with warnings by Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other officials, that they hold the Lebanese government responsible for such incidents. Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says the commander of the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in the border region praised both sides’ commitment to preserving quiet. Writing in Maariv, Amir Rapaport suggests Hezbollah is having an increasing influence within the Lebanese army and the organisation may therefore be implicated in Cohen’s death.

In other news, both Maariv and Haaretz highlight that more than 100 African migrants yesterday began to march from the southern city of Beersheva towards Jerusalem, after having refused to return to a new open detention facility in the Negev region. They are hoping to reach the capital to demand they be granted refugee status, but Maariv suggests that they will be arrested today.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom and Israel Radio news report that Jerusalem is continuing to return to normal today after extreme weather conditions brought the city to a halt for several days. Most schools in the city will operate today although some homes remain without power.