(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: "The prime minister is expected today to issue, with the consent of the state president, an order for the disbandment of the Knesset. Once the order has been published, the government is deemed a "transitional" one. The purpose of such a government is to "maintain" the state during the transition period until the establishment after the elections of a government that enjoys the confidence of the Knesset. A transitional government's powers to manage the affairs of the country are designed to ensure administrative continuity through the many months of the "twilight period," which in Britain, for example, lasts just three weeks. The current political reality, in which the prime minister has formed a new party, and the defense and finance ministers are members of a rival one, could severely hamper the functioning of the government, the members of which are collectively responsible for leading the country... The unprecedented political-constitutional situation that has come about calls for - and from Sharon first and foremost - extra vigilance insofar as the state's best interests are concerned. Sharon must not exploit his special powers during this brief period to serve his election campaign."
The Jerusalem Post writes: "As Talia Sasson, author of an official report on the legal morass that allowed the creation of dozens of illegal outposts, told this newspaper in an interview which appeared on Wednesday, the only obstacle to the promised removal of these outposts is a lack of political will. Why would she say that? Because, since the attorney delivered her report, which was commissioned by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the government has not removed a single illegal outpost... The government's sloth when it comes to the illegal outposts may be easy to overlook when we still face too many more immediate dangers. But then how does one explain another unfulfilled pledge that is literally threatening our lives? More than four years after the government decided to build the security fence, and more than two years after it vowed to finish the project by the end of this month, only some 40 percent of the life-saving structure is in place... The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as an inconvenient time for the government to keep its word and to strengthen the rule of law. Indeed, any delay only undermines the government's ability to function and maintain the order that preserves any society. No extraordinary measures are required, either."
Yediot Aharonot suggests that Tzahi Hanegbi's decision to leave the Likud "indeed attests to how great the crisis is in the Likud," and believes that, "This is a sharp ideological crisis that signifies giving up an 80-year-old dream, conceding on national ideas that generations were brought up on and for which people paid with their lives."
Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, warns against relying too much on political opinion polls ahead of the elections.
Hatzofeh calls for stiffened penalties for unscrupulous businessmen who forge kashrut certificates on food products.