Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press
Yediot Aharonot remarks that „Two months ago, at the Herzliya Conference, President Shimon Peres bestowed on Salam Fayyad the title „the Palestinian Ben-Gurion”. But the author warns that „We must prepare to foil the Ben-Gurionesque program that Fayyad is openly preparing: His plan to declare a sovereign Palestinian state by August 2011, ‘with or without Israeli cooperation,’ while exploiting an international situation favorable to him, and not to us. This plan was presented already in August 2009, and last week Fayyad again waved it at an Israeli journalist. He did so along with various accusations against the Israel government and the settlers as a whole…He left no doubt as to his determination to declare a Palestinian state on every centimeter over the Green Line (including Mt. Scopus, the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as Ramat Eshkol, Gilo and Latrun junction). He did not mention any settlement blocs, and even did not mention territorial exchange, and no hint of willingness to accept Jewish settlements under Palestinian sovereignty.” The paper concludes that „There is a basis on which to surmise that the original Ben-Gurion in his heyday would do his utmost to foil Fayyad’s scenario.”
Ma’ariv notes that „The Washington Post reports that, recently, no less than eight books dealing with the presidency of Barack Obama are awaiting publication.” The author asserts that „This wave is a testimony to Obama himself, the historic phenomenon he represents as the first black president and the extent of his ambitions.” But „no less than this, the flood of books testifies to cultural and public norms. The Americans – a people whose cultural ignorance and shallowness we like to poke fun at – see in themselves the obligation and the right to know.”
Yisrael Hayom professes that „It seems that neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian governments have either the necessary power or the validity to force their peoples to free themselves of their dreams which perpetuate the conflict. This helplessness requires urgent external intervention. This is occurring now, and it is to the benefit of both sides, rather than to the benefit of the Iranian regime whose leaders pray for the failure of peace. Therefore they [the Iranians] will do everything in order to drag Israel into a war which will serve only their strategic interests.”
The Jerusalem Post discusses the predicament of senior Catholic clergy, who are being rightly censured for failing to stop the abuse and punish the sex offenders in the Catholic Church, and declares that „The pope must confront the depravities of his Church, wherever they appear, whether they be child molestation or rabid anti-Semitism. A continued failure to do so undermines his moral legitimacy and the respect of the Catholic faithful worldwide.”
Haaretz considers a special report commissioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which states that there is no chance for negotiations between Israel and Syria in the near future, and states that Israel „must declare its intention to withdraw from the Golan Heights and return the occupied territory to its owners under conditions to be achieved during talks. The presentation of preconditions, like the demand that Syria detach itself from Hezbollah and Iran, rather than discussing security arrangements that would neutralize their impact, guarantees the failure of any negotiations.”
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