HEADLINES FROM THE IZRAELI HEBREW PRESS

Yediot Aharonot suggests that Hamas is going through a difficult period for several reasons: „First, the alliance with Iran has run its course. This alliance – a Sunni organization that supports a non-Arab Shi’ite state – was unnatural from the outset, but when Hamas refused Iran’s directive to support the crumbling Bashar Assad, Tehran closed the door on the organization. Even more severe, the flow of funds, by which Hamas looks after approximately 50,000 officials and soldiers in Gaza, was cut off.”

The author notes that Hamas’s HQ has yet to find a new home after it was obliged to quit Damascus and adds, „Moving to Gaza is out of the question since Israel is liable to strike at it.” The paper believes that the organization is also riven by internal power struggles, which are behind Khaled Mashaal’s decision to step down, and has met with little tangible support from the Arab world’s newly-installed Islamist governments. Lastly, the author contends that the putative reconciliation with Fatah is proving more chimera than reality and concludes: „Now, when there is no longer any siege and the crossing to Egypt is open to people and goods, what will the organization live off of on an awareness level? Perhaps this is the biggest problem for an organization that lives off slogans about the destruction of Israel and now finds itself colliding against reality.”

 

Ma’ariv comments on the situation in Egypt, one year since the start of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak. The author contends that the various Islamist and liberal groups are united by their distrust of the ruling military clique and their hostility to Israel. The paper says that, „The past year has proven how deeply-rooted hostility toward Israel is among the Egyptian public,” even though all parties have taken care not to call for the cancellation of the peace agreements with Israel.

 

The Jerusalem Post comments on the arrest of three Azerbaijani Hizbullah mercenaries for conspiring to attack a Chabad center in Baku and Israel’s ambassador there: „The fact that Hizbullah, in its role as Iran’s terror proxy, plotted to hit Jews in far-off Azerbaijan speaks volumes about the nature of Israel’s enemies. Similar deadly designs were uncovered in Thailand and Bulgaria. It does not really matter what Israel does or does not do. The craving for carnage is essentially unconnected with specific Israeli actions but instead stems from the fact that Israel exists at all. Much of the responsibility for this sorry state of affairs resides with the international community, which tolerates Hizbullah’s reinforcement. Similarly scant attention is paid to Iran’s role as a worldwide sponsor of terror. But when Israel is forced to protect its people, a chorus of condemnation resounds.”

 

Haaretz comments that „Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must reject the current proposal for criteria for public housing, which is biased towards the ultra-Orthodox. The Trajtenberg Committee tried to change this distortion by adding another criteria to qualify for subsidized housing – ‘fully exploiting earning capacity,’ but failed. Last summer’s social protest came from the heart of the middle class, which works hard, pays taxes, and serves in the army and in the reserves, but Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias (Shas ) doesn’t represent them. Netanyahu must prevent these criteria from being submitted to the Israel Lands Administration and get the government to pass other, more correct criteria, in accordance with the Trajtenberg Committee recommendations.”

 

Yisrael Hayom asserts that, „In the current round of the cyber war as well, the damage to Israel’s image is much greater than the physical damage,” and adds that defacing a newspaper’s and a hospital’s websites is not the same as rewriting stories or altering medical test records. However, the author adds that the latest incidents must be a warning that „We are under intensive attack and that those who very much want to cause damage are liable to succeed.” The paper complains that „The promised cyber directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office has been too slow in getting organized,” and calls for Israel to become more adept at cyberwarfare, „in defense and – mainly – on attack.”

BreuerPress-info