(Government Press Office)
Two papers discuss various issues regarding the negotiations for the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit:
Yediot Aharonot suggests that the negotiations ought to be held in a wider context of related issues such as the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, the cessation of rocket fire into Israel, etc. The author "doubts that it is possible to set precise criteria," vis-à-vis prisoner release negotiations in general, "that will fit every future case and which can be implemented." The paper believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have articulated his own policy upon taking office instead of merely "stepping into Olmert's shoes," and that the Government should have held a detailed discussion and enunciated clear guidelines on the issue.
Yisrael Hayom believes that "The release of prisoners in the framework of the deal is likely to sharpen the propaganda war between Ramallah and Gaza," and ventures that Hamas will certainly reap short-term benefits in the Arab media. However, the author asserts that "In the end, the internal Palestinian deadlock will continue to be the main characteristic of the Palestinian sphere," and adds that "A few weeks after the prisoner release, Hamas will have to deal with the question: What now?"
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Ma'ariv comments on the controversy over the views of Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, head of the Har Bracha hesder yeshiva. The author notes that the party that Rabbi Melamed supported "contested the elections and received four seats," and says that "When Rabbi Eliezer Melamed talks about refusing orders, he is speaking for a small public." The paper asserts that "The group that Rabbi Melamed represents has not succeeded in convincing Israeli society in general or the religious society in particular of its belief-based agenda."
The Jerusalem Post discusses the Iranian situation in light of the recent death of opposition symbol Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, which has galvanized dissident politicians and clerics, and remarks that "Western leaders are arriving, glacially, at the realization that Iran's duplicitous determination to manufacture nuclear weapons - and perfect the means to deliver them - is not going to be reversed by diplomacy." The editor opines that "there is something that's doable right now and doesn't require financial sacrifice or very much diplomatic daring: To signal support for the Iranian opposition, countries which value liberty should opt to indefinitely extend the vacations of their ambassadors now on home-leave for the Christmas and New Year holidays," and concludes by asking: "Is that too much to ask in honor of Montazeri's memory?'
Haaretz bemoans the fact that despite cancer being the number one cause of death in Israel, the state's annual investment in research is negligible, and comments that "The meager investment in cancer research indicates flawed priorities on the part of the country's medical system." The editor reminds the readers that "Medical accomplishments are to a large extent products of past research. It is important that this momentum continue, with regard to cancer as well."
[Giora Eiland, Yohanan Tzoref and Bambi Sheleg wrote today's articles in Yediot Aharonot, Yisrael Hayom and Ma'ariv, respectively.]