(Government Press Office)
Haaretz - http://www.haaretzdaily.com
Ma'ariv - http://www.maariv.co.il
Yediot Aharonot - http://www.ynet.co.il
Globes - http://www.globes.co.il
Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com
Hazofeh - http://www.hazofe.co.il
Haaretz comments: "Israel, which wanted a different Palestinian leadership - something that, according to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, is likely to turn 2005 into a year of great opportunity - now finds itself in a dilemma. On one hand, no government can sit on its hands when its towns are attacked by rockets; Israel cannot abandon the towns of the western Negev to their fate. Yet on the other hand, a massive operation against the Palestinians is liable to dissipate the atmosphere of good will that has begun to develop and is necessary to ensure that the historic opportunity comes to pass. Therefore, the government and the IDF must act within these new constraints."
The Jerusalem Post writes: "Knesset Law Committee Chairman Michael Eitan yesterday threw a wrench in the new coalition's works. The independent-minded Likud MK pointedly refused to expedite the instant amendment of a Basic Law so that Labor's Shimon Peres could share with the Likud's Ehud Olmert the status of a deputy prime minister who also serves, when necessary, as acting premier... We applaud Eitan for his courage to defend a principle which all too many in both large parties are ready to sacrifice without much thought for the long-term impact. Eitan may have earned a name as a bothersome impediment to assorted shortcuts, machinations and deals, but his particular brand of obstinacy is sometimes precisely what our young democracy needs to preserve it."
Yediot Aharonot remarks that Mapai, forerunner of the current Labor Party, was “the central pillar” in the establishment of the State of Israel and that, “It is impossible to describe life and history in Israel before and after the state was declared without mentioning the central place of the party and its leaders.” The editors note that today the major argument between the Left and Right - the belief in the Greater Land of Israel - is no longer cogent."
Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, points out that out of 19 Labor MKs, approximately 15 have been given positions in the new unity government, leaving 3-4 in the Knesset, and concludes that, “The Labor faction no longer has a presence in the Knesset.”
Yediot Aharonot, in its third editorial, mourns the fact that 502 people have been killed on Israeli roads this year.
Hatzofeh urges the authorities to apply harsh punishments to those who drive dangerously, in order to reduce the number of deaths on the road.
[Eitan Haber wrote today’s editorials in Yediot Aharonot.]