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BBC Monitoring Quotes From Israel's Hebrew Press 10 Jan 06

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 06:00 CST

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials and commentaries published in 10 Jan editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Sharon stroke aftermath

Yediot Aharonot [largest circulation; from editorial]: Every citizen regardless of his political views and his personal attitude to Ariel Sharon felt a pinch of anxiety last Wednesday on seeing the ambulance rushing the prime minister to hospital and on hearing the harsh medical events he went through. More than five days have passed since, and it seems that the media preoccupation with Sharon's condition has been overdone. And since no real change is expected in the condition in the next few days, beyond moving a hand or a foot, the time has come for considering a change of trend in the media and the public\ In a few days, when we have a real picture of the present and future conditions, of course there is a need to report them. But until then there are many more important things worthy of being dealt with.

Ha'aretz [left-of-centre, independent broadsheet; from editorial]: A sense of cautious optimism continued to emanate last night from Hadassah University Hospital on the condition of the prime minister. With the effect of the anesthetic reduced, the director of the hospital and the head of the medical team reported initial signs of response. And the unprecedented public expectancy for particulars on the well-being of Ariel Sharon, who is still in critical condition, continues. Nevertheless, Prof. Shlomo Mor- Yosef, director of the hospital, noted that the upcoming announcements would be less frequent. This is the correct decision in the wake of days and nights of national obsession with every little scrap of information\ Without doubt, over the coming period, he [Sharon] will be `temporarily incapacitated', when it comes to fulfilling his duties, and there is no need for hourly reports from spokespersons or non-stop analyses from commentators to confirm this\ Over the coming days, the media, and its consumers, must reduce the dosage of this incessant invasiveness.

Ma'ariv [centre-right; from commentary by Dan Margalit]: On Sunday Shimon Schiffer quoted Ariel Sharon's associates who accuse [Education Minister] Limor Livnat of being a `partner to murder'\ Yesterday Shimon Schiffer added to the list he published in Yediot Aharonot also Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and Ophir Penis-Paz. According to them Sharon watched a TV broadcast at the farm. The education minister appeared on the screen. She said that the police document presented to the court apparently finding evidence of a bribe Sharon had received obligated two moves: investigation by Attorney General Menahem Mazuz and a public appearance by the prime minister to explain his part in the affair. Sharon listened, felt bad and suffered the current stroke\ Today the media occupies the place of Judaism in anti-Semitic Europe. In the eyes of its enemies it is guilty of all ills. It is also responsible for the prime minister's illness\ Sharon knows better than all that modern life is full of dangers and struggles and that in his condition, between two strokes, no one in politics or the media had any solid reason to treat him as a sick person.

Jerusalem Post [English-language; from commentary by Herb Keinon]: If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pulls through his massive stroke, a stroke medical experts over the last few days said would have felled a lesser man, much will be written about his strength and determination. And, indeed, a recovery would speak volumes about Sharon's character. But on a more global level, the manner in which the country has dealt with this latest crisis also testifies to the strengths and weaknesses of our national character. Ours is a country of stark extremes: of hot or cold, meat or milk, war or peace, extra-large or extra-small\ There is seldom a middle ground\ Ours is also a land in which everybody is an expert\ We also have an insatiable tendency to blame someone\ But everything is not only dark - the manner in which the country dealt with the crisis also revealed its strengths\ Those who needed to make critical decisions made them; those who needed to rise to the occasion have done so. In Hebrew it's called being a `rosh gadol', an expression roughly translated as `taking charge and using one's head'. It is a vital national trait, and this time it served the nation very well.

Hatzofe [National Religious Party affiliate; from editorial]: Palestinian Authority [PA] Chairman Abu Mazin hinted this week to his wish to meet Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert\ The acting prime minister has not got the time for a meeting with the PA chairman as he needs to deal with urgent matters on the state's agenda since he `entered Ariel Sharon's shoes'. Moreover, there is no interest in a meeting with Abu Mazin before the elections in the PA in two weeks' time. Only after the elections, after we know the new composition of the new balance of forces in the elected PA institutions, will there be room for examining Abu Mazin's proposal of a top-level meeting with an Israeli political figure\ For now, Abu Mazin must take quick, firm steps to impose order in the PA, if he is still capable of doing this.

Al-Qaidah threat

Ha'aretz [left-of-centre, independent broadsheet; from commentary by Amos Harel]:

The new audio clip attributed yesterday to Abu Musab Zarqawi, Al- Qaidah leader in Iraq, cannot be brushed off as political manipulation on the part of the government, against the backdrop of the upcoming elections. Nor can it be viewed as another defense establishment spin ahead of the budget deliberations. The threats voiced in the clip express well-known Al-Qaidah sentiments, with Usamah bin Ladin reported to have instructed his activists to redirect the offensive toward the Near East. This trend also found expression in the field - in the recent terror attacks on the hotels in Amman, on the US ship off the coast of Aqabah, and the tourism sites in Sinai\Presumably behind the Al-Qaidah headline is a minor Palestinian faction, and it is unlikely that it received direct instructions from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border\ Nevertheless, the general trend should worry Israel\ One can assume that what the Americans are running into over there [Iraq] will soon reach this part of the world.

Sources: as listed

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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