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Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: Stand firm, the Fayyad appointment at the UN is an Israeli interest, the Trump-Netanyahu meeting will end with no final product, and a ‘certified’ terrorist leader.
The Jerusalem Post commends Prime Minister Netanyahu on seven years of sagacious, but notes that he will have to choose a path in relations with the United States “as he faces another major challenge that can radically change the conceptual framework of Israel’s future on the West Bank and impact US-Israel relations for years to come.” The editor asserts that “Israel cannot afford to be overly identified with the Trump administration, which is shaping up to be one of the most divisive in American history,” and declares: “Netanyahu has a moral obligation to rise above partisan politics, to serve as the leader of the entire nation and to stem the trend of Israel becoming a partisan issue in the US.”
Haaretz states th at “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the appointment of former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to head the UN political mission to Libya runs counter to Israeli interests,” and contends that Israel should instead reinforce the Palestinian people’s commitment to democratic principles and institutions. The editor argues that “Israel must put a stop to its Pavlovian responses, which are guided by the idea that what is good for the Palestinians is by necessity bad for Israel,” and says that “Israel would do well to withdraw its opposition to his appointment, and under no circumstances should it make its support conditional on Tzipi Livni’s appointment an a UN under-secretary general.”
Yediot Aharonot predicts that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting will end with no final product, and contends: “There will be a lot of goodwill in Wednesday’s Washington meeting, but direction will remain vague; The US president doesn’t have a coherent policy, and the Israeli prime minister is not getting the support he needs from the Right to place a final product on the White House table.”
Israel Hayom discusses changes in leadership in the Hamas in Gaza, and notes that because the new government, which will now be led by Yahya Sinwar, largely comprises well-known, ‘certified’ terrorists, there is no chance of coming to an arrangement with them. The author notes that “Hamas currently finds itself in a military, political and economic vice, which is channeling it, against its will, toward increasing dependence on Egypt,” but remains hopeful that “pragmatic considerations and constraints and the obligation to the welfare of the Gaza Strip, with help from Qatar, will dictate policies of restraint for Hamas under Sinwar, and curb, even if temporarily, the terrorist inclinations so naturally inherent to his leadership.”
[Yoaz Hendel and Reuven Berko wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively. |
