The Telegraph online reports that Israel carried out a successful final test of the David’s Sling anti-missile system, which is designed to destroy medium-range projectiles. David’s Sling is part of a three-part defensive umbrella against ballistic threats, which also includes the short-range Iron Dome and the long-range Arrow systems. Having passed its latest test, David’s Sling is scheduled to become operative during 2016. The article notes that the test came just a day after Hezbollah, which is estimated to possess an arsenal of around 100,000 rockets, threatened revenge against Israel for the killing of Samir Kuntar.

Writing in the Telegraph online, Dr. Raphael Marcus of King’s College speculates that Hezbollah’s most likely response will be a guerrilla attack against an Israeli position or a terror attack against Israeli interests abroad. However, he warns that there is the danger of miscalculation, leading to a serious escalation.

The Times and the online edition of the Telegraph both cover comments made by Bentzi Gopstein, the head of extremist organisation Lehava, who said that Christmas should be banned in Israel and Christians expelled, as they are “vampires” targeting Jews for conversion. Lehava says that it opposes what it calls “assimilation” between Jews and non-Jews, but the group’s members propagate the ideology of the Kach Party, which was outlawed in Israel during the 1980s for inciting racism.

In the Guardian online, Hannah Weisfeld of British pro-Israel, pro-peace group Yachad, laments attempts to impose limits on Israel’s human rights community through legislation proposed by right-wing MKs and pressure from activist groups such as Im Tirzu. She compares the atmosphere of intimidation to that which existed prior to the assassination of former-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Meanwhile, the Independent i and the online edition of the Guardian report that what was thought likely to be an ancient relic, found in an historic Jerusalem cemetery, has turned out to be an energy healing device available online.

The online editions of the Times, Guardian and Independent all cover an Amnesty International report, which accuses Russia of having used illegal cluster munitions in Syria and actively seeking to cover up air attacks which have killed many civilians.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Israel Hayom is the all-night talks between representatives from the Finance Ministry and the Histadrut workers’ union to avert a threatened general strike, scheduled for today. Israel Radio confirms that an agreement was reached successfully and the strike, which would have caused significant disruption for ordinary Israelis, was called off. 450,000 public sector workers will now receive a 7.5 per cent pay increase over three and a half years, in what has been described as a landmark deal by both sides.

Another major item in Israel Hayom is yesterday’s statements of support for the Shin Bet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Supporters of Jewish Israeli suspects who are thought to have carried out an arson attack earlier this year which killed three members of a Palestinian family, allege that the detainees have been mistreated and even tortured by Shin Bet agents. Netanyahu, Bennett and Ya’alon all dismissed the claims and reiterated the importance of preventing Jewish terror attacks and punishing their perpetrators.

Maariv and Israel Radio both report that thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators yesterday took to the streets of Jerusalem to protest the latest manifestation of a bill to increase the number of ultra-Orthodox students drafted to the IDF. Last month, an existing law introduced in the last Knesset, was amended in a way which would appear to make such mass conscription less likely.