(Government Press Office)
Yediot Aharonot asserts that "The glory of being the Foreign Minister is supposed to be in advancing the interests of one's country in all ways except battle. Liberman and his deputy are acting energetically to ignite a major conflagration here. We must take away their matches."
Ma'ariv notes that "Rachel Corrie was killed while protecting weapons smuggling tunnels in Rafah. But here we call her a 'peace activist'. The author decries "Jewish, American, killed while participating in pro-Palestinian activities. Rachel is a propaganda treasure in the hands of the activists of hate."
Yisrael Hayom reviews the Israeli-Palestinian process. The author recalls that in 2000, at Camp David, "Ehud Barak agreed to discuss the division of Jerusalem and the Palestinians fled the negotiations," and adds that "In 2009, Ehud Olmert even offered to soften on the principle against 'the right of return' and again they fled." The paper speculates that "In the current round, Israel is in a more complex position. Benjamin Netanyahu cannot offer Abu Mazen what came up in Ehud Olmert's plan and if Ramallah rejected the previous move, what will it accept now?" The author notes that the Palestinians will, apparently, proffer a plan of their own in the hope that an Israeli rejection will draw the Obama administration to their side. The paper says that US President Barack Obama will want something to show before the November Congressional elections, while "Netanyahu and Abu Mazen will talk even as they look toward the date on which the construction freeze is due to expire."
Haaretz asserts that the integration of "Israel's Arab citizens, who make up a fifth of its population, is not merely a moral imperative necessitated by the country's democratic values; it is also a social and economic necessity."
[Uri Misgav, Ben-Dror Yemini and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv, and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]