The Daily Telegraph reports that the head of radical Islamist terror group Fatah al-Islam was killed yesterday in Syria. A spokesman for the Syrian National Council, the umbrella group for opposition factions in Syria, said that the involvement of militant Sunni groups in the fight against the Assad regime is likely to grow without efforts to unify the opposition. The decision yesterday to legalise three West Bank settlements is reported in the Independent. The Daily Telegraph notes comments by Israeli officials that three settlements were anomalies, since they had already been approved by previous governments. The BBC notes a change to the election law in Egypt which bans any former Mubarak-era officials from standing for the presidency. The law may block the path of Ahmed Shafiq, who was the last prime minister under the former regime. The Times reports that the Israeli deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, has asked the International Olympic Committee to hold a minute’s silence to honour the Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Previous requests from the Olympic Committee of Israel to hold a memorial service for the 11 Israelis have been rejected. The Guardian carries a piece on Yossi Beilin and Ahmed Qurei, Israeli and Palestinian architects of the Oslo Accord. Both express their concern that a comprehensive peace agreement between the sides may not be possible at present.

On Memorial Day, and with Independence Day tomorrow, the Israeli media is in an introspective mood. Yediot Ahronot has a poll which shows that 88 percent of Israelis are proud to be Israeli, although over 70 percent recognise there are deep divisions within the society. Ninty percent said they identify with the state’s core values. According to Aliza Gershon, who carried out the poll, the findings indicate “‎a trend of the public’s desire to take responsibility for life in Israel and work to strengthen mutual responsibility and cohesion, and not to wait for the state to do so.” Maariv puts Israel’s 64^th Independence Day in numbers, with over 7.9 million citizens, of whom 75% are Jewish, 20% Moslem Arabs and 4% Christian or non-denominational. The Jerusalem Post carries special interviews with both the president and the minister of finance Yuval Steinitz. President Shimon Peres said “President Abbas is constant in his announced position – for peace, against terror, and for a two-state solution. I think we have never had a wider basis to conclude peace than under his leadership,” whilst Steinitz described Israel’s growth figures of 4.8 percent for 2011 as “quite exceptional” noting that Israel had posted the fastest economic growth in the Western world in 2010 and 2011. Israel Radio news reports international concern about the decision to legalise three West Bank settlements. The US, United Nations, France and Germany have asked Israel for clarifications. Haaretz carries an interview with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz in which he suggests that the sanctions against Iran may be working to deter them from taking the decision to build nuclear weapons.