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BBC Monitoring Quotes From Israel's Hebrew Press 3 Aug 05

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in 3 Aug editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Tony Blair

Jerusalem Post [from commentary by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom]:

Tony Blair's recent unequivocal statements on terror should be compulsory reading for all leaders, journalists and anyone who shares our determination to stop the terrorists from taking away our democratic way of life and its hard-won freedoms. They should be applied not only in the British context, but everywhere terrorists lurk\ If the growing determination Blair has shown were mirrored in the statements and actions of the entire international community, the battle against terror would, indeed, be well on the way to victory.

Settler protest

Ha'aretz [from commentary by Uzi Benziman]:

The debate over the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has been channelled in recent weeks into a discussion of the rules of the democratic game, with the demonstrators speaking in the name of the right to protest, and the government responding in the name of its obligation to follow through on its sanctioned decisions. This argument conceals the deeper reasons for the crisis gripping the country: the refusal of a minority of its citizens to give up even one dunam [measure of land amounting to 1,000 square metres] of conquered territory, as opposed to the conclusion of the majority that the time has come to begin doing so.

Hatzofe [from commentary by Dr Yehuda Tzoref]:

What more should happen beyond the events of Kfar Maimon for the leadership of the [settlers'] Yesha Council to digest once and for all the crushing nature of the regime, which balks at nothing in order to foil every popular resistance to the uprooting. The Kfar Maimon siege has vividly shown that the police are ready to go to the extent of using firearms in order to halt the march\ Therefore, dialogue with the police amounts to the raising of a white flag even before the struggle has begun.

The road map

Ma'ariv [from commentary by Yosef Harif]:

When Israel accepted the 'road map', it pointed out that it had 14 reservations regarding it. If the Quartet the US, EU, Russia and the UN under whose auspices the 'road map' will be discussed, does not give weight to these reservations, the clash between it and Israel will be inevitable. Sharon, as a very experienced statesman, will try to find ways to escape any pressures that might be applied to Israel\ He should not be panicked by external pressure to concede his strategic 'I believe', even if this entails a confrontation with his big friend at the White House\ On more than one occasion, we have witnessed clashes between Israel and administrations that had come up with 'peace plans'\ In such cases a way was found in the end to an understanding between Washington and Israel\ This lesson should guide Israel's moves the 'day after'. This will be Sharon's big test.

Civil damages law

Ha'aretz [from commentary by Prof Alon Harel]:

With practically no echoes in the media, the Knesset last week passed one of the most despicable laws ever. Despite its innocent sounding name 'The Civil Damages Law (State Responsibility), Amendment 7', this law sweepingly deprives any Palestinian residents living in areas defined by the defence minister as confrontation zones of the right to compensation, apart from a few exceptions\ This law harms not only the direct victims - Palestinians who were not involved in hostile activity and who had the bad luck to have their property or person damaged or injured by negligent or deliberate gunfire - but the amendment also inflicts grave harm on the Israeli justice system and reflects a lack of faith in its fairness and wisdom in balancing reasonable dangers, stemming from the army's operational needs and negligent or malicious activity.

Sources: as listed

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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