Summary of Editorials from the Izraeli Hebrew Press
Three newspapers comment on various issues related to the currentescalation in the south and/or thesituation on the Golan Heights:
Yediot Aharonot says that „The dilemma of the political leadership and of the IDF is how to craft a limited military operation such that
Hamas is not brought to a situation in which it feels that it is losing control. Israel has no interest in Hamas being replaced by more extreme elements. A limited military operation needs to achieve one central goal: A long-term ceasefire. And it will be possible to achieve this if targets that are chosen entail minimal attacks on the civilian population. The objectives must be regime and infrastructure targets with emphasis on Hamas and Islamic Jihad military targets. They need to avoid hitting the political leadership and make an effort to strike at the military chain-of-command.” The author asserts that the political leadership and the IDF are well aware that Hamas has a limited number of Fajr-5 missiles that could hit targets as far north as Herzliya.
Ma’ariv links the situation in the south to the January 22 elections and believes that „The current elections are dealing with socio-economic issues and for the first time a social leader has an advantage over a security leader. This is as it should be and recent events must not be allowed to divert our attention.” However, the author fears that „Our unavoidable reaction and the counter-reactions will yet turn the elections into a campaign that revolves around the security situation in the south,” and adds: „And this is a pity.”
Yisrael Hayom reminds its readers that „The south has seen three separate rounds of fighting in the past month,” and predicts that „Sooner or later, today or within weeks, Israel will need to decide between restraint and a wide-ranging operation.” The author suggests that on the one hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that continued restraint would make Israel appear weak while on the other hand, an extensive operation would leave him open to charges that he is trying to divert the upcoming elections away from socio-economic issues.” The paper calls on the Government to adopt a cautious approach to the situation vis-à-vis Syria as it moves toward a critical decision in the south.
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The Jerusalem Post equates Hezbollah with terrorism, and calls on the European Union to recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The editor notes that besides the Netherlands and Britain (which considers only Hezbollah’s military wing as terrorist), no other European country has followed the lead of the US and Canada. Quoting White House counter-terrorism chief John O. Brennan, the editor points out that “European failure to join the US in designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization is undermining international counter-terrorism efforts” and adds: “It’s about time Europe takes seriously the threat that Hezbollah represents.”
Haaretz cites a recent survey, which shows that “One out of every three women in Israel will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, and nearly 80 percent report that they are living in „constant fear” of sexual assault,” and asserts that “Such statistics are intolerable.” The editor declares: “Violence against women is not a divine decree or a cultural issue that typifies certain population groups; such attitudes merely perpetuate the current state of affairs,” and states that the battle against this phenomenon “requires the full mobilization of government ministries, first and foremost the public security, social affairs, and education ministries.”
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