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BBC Monitoring Quotes From Israel's Hebrew Press 7 Mar 06

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 09:00 CST

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in 7 Mar editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Kadima

Commentary by Yossi Verter: Kadima is on the defensive in recent weeks because of Omri [Sharon - meddling in public appointments], [Minister Tzahi] Hanegbi [political appointments charge] and [Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert's real estate dealings. The election campaign that started four months ago should have finished tomorrow as far as it is concerned. According to a Ha'aretz-Channel 10 poll on 9 January, Kadima stood at 44 mandates while the two rival parties, Likud and Labour, had 29 mandates together. Today, polls predict 37 mandates for Kadima and 34 mandates for the Likud-Labour bloc. If we take into consideration the evaporation of Shinui, which passed its four remaining mandates to Kadima, it shows that Kadima lost 10-11 mandates within two months. Part of it went to the Likud, Labour and Israel Beitenu and some went to those still undecided... (Ha'aretz [left-of-centre, independent])

Commentary by B. Mikhail: For me, Kadima became unfit to be voted for the moment it accepted in its ranks [Defence Minister] Shaul Mofaz and [former Shabak head] Avi Dichter. One because of the endless insipidness of his deeds and thought, and the other because of the corrupting effect of the routine summary executions he brought down on the state... Even without the presence of these two, Kadima is fading away... (Yediot Aharonot [centrist, largest circulation])

'Demographic threat'

Commentary by Nadav Shragai: The centrepiece of the policy prescription that [Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert is presenting is Palestinian demography and its effect on Israel's permanent borders. But the real questions are being swept under the rug. Of these, one of the most important is the credibility of the data concerning this demographic threat... Yet this debate has not attracted enough attention from the public. The second issue is even more important, as it deals with the fundamental question: Under what circumstances, in which areas and through what means should Israel try to alter the demographic balance in its favour? The entire Zionist enterprise within Israel's pre-1967 borders was one of changing the country's demographic make-up - in other words, Judaizing the land... What kind of leadership is it that recommends throwing up our hands, bowing to Arab and international pressure and conceding these areas [in the West Bank] in advance? (Ha'aretz [left- of-centre, independent])

Iran

Jerusalem Post [English-language]: On the day before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met to discuss referring Iran to the UN Security Council, [US Ambassador to the UN John] Bolton warned that "failure by the Security Council to act on this matter would be a highly detrimental abrogation of its duties under the UN Charter". He added, "the Security Council must take due note that failure to act in a timely manner and with seriousness of purpose will do lasting damage to the credibility of the Council"... The mullahs are betting that Europe can be intimidated by a brash, defiant stance, and will, in the end, accept its nuclear programme as a fait accompli. But despite its oil revenue, Iran is vulnerable to diplomatic and economic isolation by the West. The Security Council, however, would need, to use Bolton's terms, to act in a more "timely" and "serious" manner than it ever has in the past; but it is never too late to revive the UN Charter's vision of collective self-defence against international aggression...

Sources: as listed

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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