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Media Summary

Questions remain over Brit death in Eilat

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The Telegraph online covers the unresolved questions which still remain surrounding the death of British citizen Julie Pearson in the southern resort city of Eilat in November. Pearson’s family have yet to receive any firm explanation from Eilat’s police over how she died, with some suggestion that she was beaten by her boyfriend. The latest report says that an autopsy on Pearson’s body has still not been completed by Israeli authorities.

In the Guardian online, British doctor Salim Hammad documents his experience volunteering at al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, carrying out kidney transplants. He highlights the huge difficulties in providing medical care for Gazans.

The Telegraph online reports that the non-profit organisation Israel Law Centre, which files lawsuits against terror groups and supporters on behalf of Israeli victims, has launched a controversial new publicity video. Highlighting the often routine incitement which takes place on official Palestinian television, the video suggests what such a scenario would look like on American television, dubbing the words of well-known celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen De Generes to give the illusion of saying “kill Muslims.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian online says that Prime Minister David Cameron, his German counterpart Chancellor Merkel and France’s President Hollande will all participate in a conference call today with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and urge him to do more to stop breaches of the current ceasefire in Syria, which began last weekend.

In this morning’s Israeli media, Maariv leads with the news that charges have been brought against two Arab citizens, who are accused of planning attacks on Israelis on behalf of ISIS. The two men, in their twenties, apparently planned to purchase weapons and had attempted to make contact with ISIS in Syria, with the intention of carrying out attacks in northern Israel and in Jerusalem. There have been several instances of Arab-Israelis planning ISIS-inspired attacks during the past year, or travelling to Syria itself to join the terror group. In a programme yesterday evening, Channel Ten said that ISIS has around 100 members in Israel and is urging them to launch a terror attack.

The top story in Israel Hayom is the news from farmers in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, that they have been asked to label their produce as “made in territory occupied by Israel,” in accordance with the European Union’s (EU) guidelines on labelling, which were approved by EU foreign ministers last year to be enacted.

Meanwhile, the Walla news website reports that a car-ramming attack has taken place this morning at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. A soldier is reported to have been lightly wounded, while the female assailant was shot and killed at the scene. It is the latest in near-daily attacks since the start of October, which have left at least 31 Israelis dead. The Gush Etzion junction in particular has been a flashpoint for a number of deadly attacks. It is situated in a region of close daily contact between Israelis and Palestinians. Writing in Maariv, Ben Caspit says that Israel’s security establishment believes that, “We have to ease the situation of the Palestinians as much as possible” in order to reduce the violence.