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BBC Monitoring Quotes From Israel's Hebrew Press 16 Mar 06

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 06:00 CST

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in 16 Mar editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Jericho jail raid

Yediot Aharonot [centrist,largest circulation; from commentary by Yaron London]

A sovereign state cannot allow the blood of a minister in its government to be shed. [Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert was not guided by election considerations. Any Israeli leader would have done the same even knowing that the blow in Jericho will not change Palestinian thinking and that they will avenge their humiliation. From their point of view the assassination of [Rehavam] Ze'evi differs nothing from the deeds Jews did in order to shed the yoke of Britain. A reminder: towards the end of 1944 [6 November] two men from Israel Freedom Fighters assassinated Lord Moyne, British Minister of State for the Middle East]. They now count among the heroes of our freedom and streets are named after them. In the eyes of the Palestinians Ze'evi's murderers are also heroes. The two contradictory narratives are the basis of the war for the land. Until the two peoples learn that justice is not totally on one side we will continue killing one another.

Hatzofe [National Religious Party affiliate; from commentary by Hagay Huberman] Had we been in the year 2010 it is doubtful that the IDF would have been able to carry out the successful operation of capturing leaders of the Popular Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] this on the assumption that [Acting Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert had completed by then his political plan. For the success of the operation was above all due to the IDF freedom of action in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] including the territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority. This freedom of action would not have existed had the IDF `converged' within the separation fence for no one promises that terrorism would halt after this withdrawal. Olmert and [Defence Minister Shaul] Mofaz deserve all praise for deciding to carry out the operation\ Against this their political plan of unilateral withdrawal and establishing a Hamas state on 90 percent of Judea and Samaria only proves the danger in their remaining in office.

Ma'ariv [centre-right; from commentary by Yael Paz-Melamed] We love to see the Palestinians humiliated. The euphoria felt by most sectors of the public is not only linked to the success of the operation [Jericho jail raid]. It is intensified at the sight of scores of Palestinians in their pants with tied hands boarding trucks on their way to the investigation\ This is the real celebration for many and one only hopes that the leaders of the state are not party to this happiness for there lie in the humiliation of the Palestinians a big, superfluous danger: revenge\ The question was not whether there was a need to capture the murderers but whether there was a need to injure their pride so much. The IDF knows how to close an area before the media when it wants. In this case it did not want. The people love to see pictures like the ones they saw and therefore give them what they love.

Ha'aretz [left-of-centre, independent broadsheet; from editorial]

The key to the Palestinians' future is now in the hands of Hamas. Once the Hamas government in the making frames its policy, it will be possible to determine the direction in which the Palestinians are headed regarding its relations with Israel and other states. In the meantime, Hamas is sending out mixed messages through various spokesmen. If it wants, and is capable of, restoring quiet to its territories and preventing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine activists from burning down the British consulate, the group should do so. The answer to the question of whether they will fan the flames against the West by talking about an Israeli- American and British conspiracy, or use Europe and America to rehabilitate the Palestinian economy is also in their hands.

Ehud Olmert

Yediot Aharonot [centrist, largest circulation; from commentary by Yehuda Litani] Ehud Olmert is the par excellence continuer of Ariel Sharon in wanting to convince that it is possible to determine Israel's borders unilaterally\ The acting prime minister proved this twice this week: once when visiting Ariel where he annexed the settlement in words and declared that Ariel is an inseparable part of the state and again when he authorized bulldozers to begin work on the Judea and Samaria police headquarters. The most significant act is the start of construction at area E-1 not just the police headquarters but tens of thousands of housing units aimed at blocking the vacant area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim and this way sever the northern West Bank from the southern West Bank\ This way the white apartheid regime in South Africa created small statelets within its borders, like Bantustan, aimed at tricking the world\ It is impossible to reached an agreed settlement with the other side with unilateral acts.

Sources: as listed

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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