BBC Monitoring Quotes from Israel’s Hebrew Press 27 Aug 07

BBC
Aug 27 2007

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in 27
Aug editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Relations with Palestinians

"Preparations for the regional conference are seemingly progressing
well.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazin)
are close to agreeing a joint document of principles. But the affairs
on the ground remain weary. In view of the existing reality in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip all the talk about documents, conferences and
principles is worth a little. One has to see the headlines in the Arab
media in general and the Palestinian media in particular, that report
daily about people being killed and injured, about clashes depicted as
massacres or murder in cold blood and add to this the reports of the
women of Mahsom [Checkpoint] Watch about mistreatments and humiliations
[of Palestinians] in order to understand that the distance between talk
and deeds is immense…As long as Israel raises higher the walls of
separation and the Palestinian become poorer all the quibbling about
the settlement principles are not worth much." [From commentary by
Danny Rubinstein in left-of-centre, independent broadsheet Ha’aretz]

"Even without the prophecy cloak people in the Western Negev know what
the future holds for us. One not far off day one of the rockets fired
from Bayt Hanun will deviate from the miracle course that guided them
thus far and hit a classroom or crowded bus stop. Then the security
cabinet would meet urgently, the chief of staff would draw the plan
prepared for the outburst of anger and the revenge demand and the IDF
[Israel Armed Forces] would cross the fence and enter Bayt Hanun… For
every dead Israeli there will ten Palestinians… Following the
withdrawal of our forces temporary calm will prevail that slowly
will melt away and again rockets will fly from Bayt Hanun and again
an IDF reaction and so on and so forth… Perhaps nevertheless it
is worth reminding that the circular, folly march of killers and
killed is not an act of fate. Perhaps we should talk before so much
perishes?" [From commentary by Ze’ev Tsahor in centrist, largest
circulation Yediot Aharonot]

"Blind in Gaza is the name of an old novel by the British philosopher
Aldus Huxley… But today there are no blind in Gaza… They are
in Israel…

Instead of preserving what exists they [Israel’s leaders] want to
concede more territory… Israel’s leadership urgently needs strong
shaking, an earthquake that would throw out those who toady to Ariel
Sharon who started an accelerated campaign to destroy Zionism… Israel
needs a leader who will tell the Americans and the Europeans that we
have no intention of establishing a terrorist state on the borders
of Israel. An enemy state in our land is not a solution…" [From
commentary by Aharon Papo in centre-right Makor Rishon]

Outposts

"Once again, talks are reportedly being held on how many outposts
the settlers will evacuate voluntarily, in exchange for the state
‘laundering’ other outposts. Judging by the previous round, the
outposts slated for laundering will indeed be legalized, the settlers
will vacate a few rusty shacks, and most of the outposts will remain
in place…What significance could there possibly be to negotiations
with the Palestinians on an agreement of principles for ending the
occupation if the government is at once holding negotiations with
the settlers on legalizing outposts in the very heart of the West
Bank…?" [From Ha’aretz editorial of left-of-centre, independent
broadsheet Ha’aretz]

UNIFIL

"For better or worse, barring another explosion of conflict, UNIFIL
will continue to feature on our northern frontier for at least the next
year. Its mandate has just been unanimously extended by the UN Security
Council… The hope in most UN quarters, and certainly among the
nations contributing troops to UNIFIL, is that the present situation
in Lebanon can be kept as is. So long as it doesn’t appreciably
deteriorate, UNIFIL’s sponsors will be gratified. But the calm in
Lebanon is deceptive. Beneath the surface, Hizbullah has rearmed,
acquiring weaponry more sophisticated than that with which it caused
such heavy damage to Israel last summer. UNIFIL has not prevented
this… The bottom line is that UNIFIL can only keep the peace as long
as such deceptive tranquility serves Hizbullah’s interests. The UN
presence in southern Lebanon, unfortunately, is merely marking time to
the next showdown." [From editorial of English-language Jerusalem Post]

Armenian genocide

"One day in March this year MK Haim Oron took the floor and proposed
from the podium of the Knesset of the Jewish state that MKs approve
a debate in the plenum on the genocide of the Armenian people 92
years ago… MK Reuven Rivlin joined him and drew a line between the
Holocaust and the genocide of the Armenians… But there was another
MK, Avigdor Yitzhaki, then coalition chairman: While the two were
speaking Yitzhaki began a campaign of whispers and urged MKs to
drop the issue from the agenda at the instruction of the foreign
minister who phoned Oron in a panic from New York urging him not
to raise the issue… Yitzhaki won… Until now Jerusalem, under
Turkish pressure, has managed to silence the moral vote. But doing
so it joined the denial of the first genocide in the last century by
implication. Israel and Jewish organizations deny genocide? Is this
so? Yes, this is exactly what happened." [From commentary by Ya’akov
Ahimeir in centre-right Ma’ariv]