Three papers discuss various aspects of the negotiations on the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit:
Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press
Three papers discuss various aspects of the negotiations on the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit:
Yediot Aharonot asserts, „It is perhaps because of the deep values aspect and the consequences of the decision, that things need to be transparent. If ever there was a need for pointed public debate, this is the moment. The decision such as that now being debated by seven people is no less strategic than the decision over the fate of the Golan Heights. For a decision of that magnitude, they are now trying to decide on a referendum law. Why is the Shalit issue being decided by a forum smaller than the quorum necessary for a burial?” The author adds, „We have apparently reached the final stages of the deal and we, the Israeli public, still do not have a clue about what is on the agenda. It is clear to all of us that the price will be steep, such as we have never paid before. The public is entitled to know what is being discussed. Gilad deserves better than that seven people should decide his fate. We deserve better.”
Ma’ariv deems the Military Censorship’s restrictions on the negotiations to be „a direct infringement on democracy, on the public’s right to know, on the need to hold a proper public debate, before it is too late.” The author suggests that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is well aware that „the settlers, who voted for him in droves, oppose the Shalit deal,” and adds, „It will be hard for him to hurt them again.” The paper believes that „he so much wants to bring Shalit home and is so incapable of paying the price.”
Yisrael Hayom says, „In the modern history of the State of Israel, it is doubtful if there has been another person in whom so much time and effort has been invested as Gilad Shalit.” The author speculates that since IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi and Mossad Director Meir Dagan are believed to favor and oppose a deal, respectively, the views of ISA Director Yuval Diskin could be decisive since ministers might be loathe to go against him.
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The Jerusalem Post comments that despite the upswing in the West Bank economy, the core attitudes of West Bankers and comparatively deprived Gazans are not poles apart, with so many believing that violence pays: „Has the relative prosperity of West Bankers made them more inclined to compromise with Israel? Not really. Despite a massive investment of resources by the EU and US, accompanied by essential Israeli cooperation, the relatively well-off West Bankers hanker after the imprisoned Marwan Barghouti, partly because he refuses to rule out a third paroxysm of violence.”
Haaretz describes the decision by Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer to issue a new series of banknotes with new portraits as „disconcerting”: „Why commemorate some but not others? Does commemoration come with an expiry date? Without a clear, convincing reason, changing the portraits on the bills is unnecessary and appears as little more than an attempt to curry favor with the political leadership.”
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