A Palestinian militant group has threatened to kill an abducted Jewish settler if Israel does not stop its raid on the Gaza Strip.
The Popular Resistance Committees, which has claimed responsibility for abducting both the settler and an Israeli army corporal, said in a statement that "we are running out of patience".
A spokesman for the group, known only as Abu Abir, told the Al-Jazeera satellite TV early today that the settler would be "butchered in front of TV cameras" if the army operation did not stop.
The group told the TV station that the settler's name was Eliahu Pinchas Asheri, his full name had not been broadcast in the media so far.
The group's knowledge of this detail led Israeli authorities to believe that the group was holding him, Israel Radio reported.
Asheri's picture was published alongside the picture of the kidnapped Israeli soldier on the cover of Israeli newspapers today with the headline "Fear For Their Lives".
AP