(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
Hatzofeh claims that the Palestinian weapons and munitions industries are proceeding apace in the Gaza Strip and declares that, “It would be a disaster if the Israeli government puts its trust in the Palestinian Authority, thinking that it will see fit to stop the activities of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc., when the Disengagement Plan is implemented.” The editors suggest that, “All those who support disengagement should put their names on cards and sign the cards so that history will see fit to judge them for their blindness and for their errors.”
Haaretz comments: "The precedent-setting ruling handed down on Tuesday by the Jerusalem Family Court, which ordered a husband who refused to give his wife a 'get' (Jewish bill of divorce) to pay his spouse NIS 425,000 in compensation, is good news - no less so, it is a resounding statement from the civil authorities... The fact that the civil justice system came to the rescue of an ultra-Orthodox "chained woman" who has been refused a 'get' by her husband for more than 13 years is therefore a required call for liberation. Refusing to grant a 'get' is a gross violation of human rights, and a blight on any properly functioning civil society... For distinctly political reasons, the relationship between religion and state will not change in the foreseeable future. As a result, the civil justice system should be supported and encouraged to seek and find additional means to intensify the sanctions against a man who refuses to give his wife a 'get', and to expand the means of providing judicial relief to women who are not given a 'get'."
Yediot Aharonot warns that the national Magen David Adom blood bank is dangerously low and calls on Israelis to donate blood.
Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, refers to the case in which the US Defense Department has reportedly requested that Israel violate a contractual obligation to China and not return to Beijing spare parts for drone aircraft - which Israel sold to China five years ago - that the Chinese have sent here to be repaired. The editors note that, “The State of Israel has promised the US not to harm its vital security interests, and the State of Israel is meeting this commitment, but certain people in the Pentagon want to show us who’s boss,” and add, “The neighborhood bully is out on the street and all the children are looking for a place to hide.” The paper says that, “Everyone knows and understands how dependent Israel is on the US for everything - in security, diplomatically and economically,” and says that, “The American story is an exercise in humbling big China and little Israel; the problem is that from Israel’s point-of-view, in this exercise, it is always worthwhile to let the neighborhood bully win.”
Yediot Aharonot, in its third editorial, notes that the Labor Party Central Committee is due to select today who the Labor ministers will be in the new government.
The Jerusalem Post writes: "When Putin came to power, Western governments strained to give him the benefit of the doubt, on the understanding that he inherited a country beset by crime, corruption and confusion, badly in need of strong leadership. In recent years, though, he has gone too far in the direction of authoritarian rule, and a more independent and democratic Ukraine would provide a boost to the greatly diminished and struggling supporters of reform in neighboring Russia. It is the poison-scarred face of Yushchenko that has been the dominant image of the campaign now reaching its climax in Ukraine. But the most lasting impact of this extraordinary race may be whether or not it has exposed to the world the real face of the leader who sits in the Kremlin."
[Eitan Haber wrote today’s editorials in Yediot Aharonot.]