Summary Of Hebrew Press Editorials - 17 Oct 2007

Summary of Hebrew Press Editorials - 17 Oct 2007

The Jerusalem Post calls on the Israeli public and leadership to regard Hizbullah's "goodwill", recently demonstrated by the return of the body of a civilian who had drowned and washed up in Lebanon in return for a relatively small price, as the goodwill of ruthless pirates. Much as it may go against our national grain, it might thus be highly advisable for Israelis to lower expectations with regard to the possible exchange of IDF soldiers in the future.

Haaretz comments on Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Teheran, and claims that as a state wishing to regain a significant international role and wield influence on Israeli public opinion, Russia must present an unequivocal position against the Iranian nuclear program, and add its weight to the campaign pressuring Iran to respond to the international community's demands.

Makor Rishon-Hatzofeh says that talk of concessions regarding Jerusalem will only lead to a wave of terrorism in the city.  The editors believe that Jerusalem is quiet, in part, because its Arab residents are interested in remaining under Israeli rule and thus maintain calm.

Yediot Aharonot hints that Hezbollah might be inclined to forswear future kidnapping attempts if Israel agrees not to try to eliminate its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the context of a deal that would also see the return of Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.  The editors note that Israel "would have to deal with the pointed issue of the release of [Samir] Quntar," a Lebanese terrorist serving a life sentence in Israel for the 1979 murders of a father and his 4-year-old daughter.

Ma'ariv discusses Israeli and Palestinian efforts to draw up some sort of joint statement ahead of the Annapolis meeting and cautions that "The gaps that have been revealed between the sides up to now are substantive and it is doubtful whether or not they can be bridged."  Accordingly, the editors assert that "Israel must prepare for the possibility that the process will fail which, apart from the clear danger of Hamas taking over the West Bank, is liable to constitute a mortal blow to the two-state principle and to Israel's position in the international community."  The paper believes that "The main principles of these preparations are strengthening Palestinian Authority institutions so that it could survive a collapse of the talks and anchoring the principle of separation between Israel and the Palestinians via unilateral or agreed-upon measures," and adds that "From Israel's point-of-view, the goal of the Annapolis conference must - first and foremost - be to strengthen the principle of two states as the basis of the diplomatic process."

ENDS

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