Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: Gaza escalation, providing asylum seekers with a future, the new anti-Israel alliance, rumblings down south, and Israel is treating Trump stupidly.
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The Jerusalem Post remarks on the situation in Gaza, and notes: “While Hamas prepares for its next aggression, the people of Gaza are running out of hope.” The author discusses the possibility that Israel will offer Gaza increased economic benefits, but asserts: “The chances of this happening with continued rocket attacks is low, and as long as Hamas remains bent on Israel’s annihilation, it will be difficult to carry out these measures. The people of Gaza have an opportunity. They need to stand up to their ruthless leaders and pave the way for a better future.”
Haaretz comments on the miserable living condition of asylum seekers in Israel, and calls on the government to implement a system of normal living conditions and normal wages for asylum seekers as proposed by the mayor of Petah Tikva. The editor argues that “until the conditions exist for the safe return of the asylum seekers to their countries, Israel must provide them with a status that enables them to work and make a living according to their abilities,” and adds: “Such a step would improve the situation of the refugees, but as the mayor of Petah Tikva has said, it will also improve the situation of the Israeli population among whom they live.”
Yediot Aharonot points out: “Israel used to have bipartisan support in the US. The Democrats have not turned into Israel haters, but only a blind person can’t sense the change.” Noting the deterioration on the American Left, led by Bernie Sanders, the author notes the need for an impressive presentation of an Israeli willingness for peace, and asserts: “Israel can do more. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can do more. But he’s not doing more. He has turned himself into a caricature of Emile Zola. He accuses. All he does is accuse. Everyone is to blame. He is perfect and wonderful. It’s sad, because there is another Netanyahu. The smart Netanyahu. More than smart. He can be at the top of the list of Israel’s most impressive leaders. It’s time for the small politician, the talkbacker, the haggler, to return to the drawer, and for this smart person to spring into action. It would be good not only for Israel, but also for Netanyahu.”
Israel Hayom comments on the deceptive quiet along Israel’s borders with Sinai and Gaza, and calls on Israel to increase vigilance as “radical Islamic terrorist groups lurk just beyond its border.”
Globes s trongly criticizes the preemptive actions taken by the government immediately after the election of President Trump, on the assumption that he would approve them despite not even knowing about them in advance, and warns: “such thoughtlessness must not continue to characterize government and Knesset actions or a time will come when a glorious opportunity is actually missed.”
[Ben-Dror Yemini, Eyal Zisser and Norman Bailey wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Israel Hayom and Globes, respectively |