APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday March 23, 2015
Quote of the day:
"Welcome to the nightmare that we woke up to...It has become dangerous here. We are on a slippery
slope. The Prime Minister must stop this."
--Left-wing Israeli singer Ahinoam Nini said after being verbally attacked upon her arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport.**
--Left-wing Israeli singer Ahinoam Nini said after being verbally attacked upon her arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Rivlin called for wide government, (ultra-Orthodox) Leitzman and Gafni rejected: We won’t sit together with Yesh Atid. Lapid humiliated us
- Between a hard place and the world // Yossi Verter
- Senior Israeli officials head to Paris ahead of (final) round of nuclear talks
- Al-Qaeda on one side, Iran on the other: The coup in Yemen presents the US with a challenge // Zvi Bar’el
- Netanyahu’s schedule: A lot of media, zero social welfare – based on his meetings in 2013-2014
- Researchers from Tel-Aviv dream about TVs made from DNA
- The accusation: incitement // Amir Oren
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Stop the racism – Elections effect: Foul wave of fraternal hatred and mutual accusations between Ashkenazi and Mizrachi Jews
- Daddy didn’t forget // Merav Betito on her father, who votes Likud
- TV: The hatred rating // Einav Schiff
- Royal abyss // Ben-Dror Yemini
- Waiting for files – Shas demands one minister, two ministries; Yehadut Hatorah demands Knesset Finance Committee; Lieberman insists on Defense Ministry
- School principal: Your parents voted Likud? They should forget about getting a subsidy
- From the casino to the Knesset – Gambling business in Bulgaria…the past secrets of new Likud MK Oren Hazan
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Recommending and criticizing – 51 MKs already gave recommendation of Netanyahu to President, only 24 to Herzog; Joint List members disappointed that Rivlin avoided directly criticizing statement by Prime Minister against Arab Israelis on Election Day
- Exclusive: Military Intel Chief, Gen. Hertzi Levy, returned from meetings in US: the close intelligence relations between the countries – remains
- Winds of hatred (Photos of singer Ahinoam Nini, who was attacked yesterday at Ben-Gurion Airport for being left-wing, and of Prof. Amir Hatzroni, who made racist statement against talk show host)
- Fear in police of deterioration of security situation in West Bank
- Victims of Brooklyn fire will be buried in Jerusalem today
Israel Hayom
- Wednesday: Mandate for Netanyahu – 51 MKs already recommended him to form government
- London: Group of bullies tried to break into synagogue
- “I lost everything," says father of seven children who died in Brooklyn fire
- At Yedioth they admit: Netanyahu won – thanks to the economy // Chezi Sternlicht
- Storm on AM talk show: Prof. Amir Hatzroni made racist remark – and was expelled from the studio
- US: Republican Senator Ted Cruz expected to announce his candidacy for president
News Summary:
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin launched coalition talks Sunday, indirectly criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and called for a broad government, while racist exchanges continue between Mizrachi and Ashkenazi Jews and a senior delegation of Israeli officials left to Paris to attempt to change the agreement being formulated with Iran making top stories in today’s Hebrew papers. Also in the news were the statements by Jeremy Ben-Ami, director of the pro-peace pro-Israel J Street lobby, that Netanyahu does not represent progressive US Jews.
Rivlin is expected to give Netanyahu the mandate on Wednesday to form a coalition government, which he would like to be broad, but won’t be because the ultra-Orthodox parties won’t agree to Yesh Atid joining. Most of the papers also reported that Rivlin took Netanyahu to task for the latter’s race-baiting against Arab citizens on Election Day. Only Maariv’s Arik Bender noted that the Joint List was disappointed because Rivlin never named Netanyahu and he included Arabs in his general rebuke. The Joint List is made up of the Arab parties and the Jewish-Arab Hadash party. Rivlin’s exact quote: “Everyone must be careful of what they say, particularly those whom the entire world hears…We heard harsh remarks from the Jewish side toward the Arabs. We cannot ignore no less harsh remarks from the Arab side.” Moreover, Rivlin’s statements were made when he met with the Joint List, not with Netanyahu. Rivlin stressed that Israel's next government must answer to all citizens.
Haaretz+ reported that US President Barack Obama could force Netanyahu to make a unity government with Herzog. Yossi Verter writes that “Obama’s statements, in an interview with The Huffington Post website on Saturday, were intended not only to make Netanyahu sweat, and sweat hard. They made painfully clear that if he establishes a coalition government with the support of 67 MKs, including Habayit Hayehudi, Yisrael Beiteinu and the ultra-Orthodox parties, he sets himself on an immediate, fatal collision course with the entire international community, headed by the United States.”
Maariv’s Ben Caspit reported that while there is a real danger of damage in the political arena to US-Israel relations, due to Netanyahu’s pre-election remarks against the Arab Israeli population and against a Palestinian state, but there is no damage to the intelligence cooperation between the countries.
**Netanyahu’s win has created a dangerous division between Ashkenazim and Mizrachim, the latter being ‘accused’ of voting for Netanyahu when they are the ones suffering most from his economic policies and his support for settlements. Famous Israeli singer, Ahinoam Nini, who wrote a left-wing Facebook post against Netanyahu's re-election was verbally attacked and threatened at the airport yesterday, by two men, who called her 'an enemy of Israel' and said she would be 'taken care of like Gefen,' the left-wing author who was physically attacked on Friday. She called for Netanyahu to act to stop this. Ashkenazi Prof. Amir Hetsroni, sparked a storm when he told a Mizrachi TV host on a morning talk show, "Nothing would have happened had your parents stayed in Morocco and rotted" for which he was thrown out of the studio. In a number of today's Op-Eds (see Commentary/Analysis below), writers warn of bloodshed. Yedioth reported that the principal in the poor south Tel-Aviv hired someone to do a survey to find out how parents of the school's children had voted, because if they had voted Likud she would not give them a subsidy. She reportedly said, what many Ashkenazi left-wing Jews think: that she has difficulty understanding why people complain who about their bad economic situation voted for Likud. The answer was partially found in the front-page piece by Yedioth columnist Merav Betito, who wrote: "We, the Mizrachim, never will forget who was first to look in our direction. [In reference to the Likud leader Menachem Begin's support for Mizrachim, which won him the 1977 elections - OH] 'The people of Likud are closer in their hearts to the weaker sectors of Israel,' explained my father. 'They gave us what we never got from the Labor party.' It appears the eternal debate over the ethnic gap in Israel was determined in the 2015 elections, in which it was proved once and for all that Menachem Begin never passed away." The article is the cover story of today’s Yedioth ‘24 Hours’ magazine supplement and it's titled: ‘The real winner: the ethnic demon.’ Betito explores with her father 'the tribal support of Likud and the internal conflict of being a Mizrachi who votes for the Left.'
Meanwhile, Israel sent a delegation headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Steinitz to meet with French officials in a last-ditch effort to 'amend loopholes' in an Iran deal ahead of the final round of Iran nuclear talks. France is the most hard-ball in the talks. However, Republican Senator John McCain threatened to block the deal and said on CNN to Obama “Get over your temper tantrum with Bibi.”
But, at the annual conference of the liberal J Street lobby, director Jeremy Ben-Ami told Netanyahu: You don’t speak for us. Ben-Ami told his audience that “being pro-Israel doesn’t mean you have to be anti-Palestinian.” Ben-Ami said he welcomes a possible shift in US policy and that J Street would urge US leaders to 1.) declare settlements illegal, 2.) publish a set of parameters for a two-state solution and 3.) support a UN Security Council resolution that would provide guidelines for reaching a final settlement.
And, in an interview with Israel Army Radio, Dan Shapiro, the US ambassador to Israel, reiterated what Obama and the White House spokesman has already said: that the US has no choice but to reexamine its policy towards Israel after comments made by Netanyahu at the end of his campaign. "This was not Israel's stance until those comments. It is confusing and raises doubts regarding Israel's true stance.”
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin launched coalition talks Sunday, indirectly criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and called for a broad government, while racist exchanges continue between Mizrachi and Ashkenazi Jews and a senior delegation of Israeli officials left to Paris to attempt to change the agreement being formulated with Iran making top stories in today’s Hebrew papers. Also in the news were the statements by Jeremy Ben-Ami, director of the pro-peace pro-Israel J Street lobby, that Netanyahu does not represent progressive US Jews.
Rivlin is expected to give Netanyahu the mandate on Wednesday to form a coalition government, which he would like to be broad, but won’t be because the ultra-Orthodox parties won’t agree to Yesh Atid joining. Most of the papers also reported that Rivlin took Netanyahu to task for the latter’s race-baiting against Arab citizens on Election Day. Only Maariv’s Arik Bender noted that the Joint List was disappointed because Rivlin never named Netanyahu and he included Arabs in his general rebuke. The Joint List is made up of the Arab parties and the Jewish-Arab Hadash party. Rivlin’s exact quote: “Everyone must be careful of what they say, particularly those whom the entire world hears…We heard harsh remarks from the Jewish side toward the Arabs. We cannot ignore no less harsh remarks from the Arab side.” Moreover, Rivlin’s statements were made when he met with the Joint List, not with Netanyahu. Rivlin stressed that Israel's next government must answer to all citizens.
Haaretz+ reported that US President Barack Obama could force Netanyahu to make a unity government with Herzog. Yossi Verter writes that “Obama’s statements, in an interview with The Huffington Post website on Saturday, were intended not only to make Netanyahu sweat, and sweat hard. They made painfully clear that if he establishes a coalition government with the support of 67 MKs, including Habayit Hayehudi, Yisrael Beiteinu and the ultra-Orthodox parties, he sets himself on an immediate, fatal collision course with the entire international community, headed by the United States.”
Maariv’s Ben Caspit reported that while there is a real danger of damage in the political arena to US-Israel relations, due to Netanyahu’s pre-election remarks against the Arab Israeli population and against a Palestinian state, but there is no damage to the intelligence cooperation between the countries.
**Netanyahu’s win has created a dangerous division between Ashkenazim and Mizrachim, the latter being ‘accused’ of voting for Netanyahu when they are the ones suffering most from his economic policies and his support for settlements. Famous Israeli singer, Ahinoam Nini, who wrote a left-wing Facebook post against Netanyahu's re-election was verbally attacked and threatened at the airport yesterday, by two men, who called her 'an enemy of Israel' and said she would be 'taken care of like Gefen,' the left-wing author who was physically attacked on Friday. She called for Netanyahu to act to stop this. Ashkenazi Prof. Amir Hetsroni, sparked a storm when he told a Mizrachi TV host on a morning talk show, "Nothing would have happened had your parents stayed in Morocco and rotted" for which he was thrown out of the studio. In a number of today's Op-Eds (see Commentary/Analysis below), writers warn of bloodshed. Yedioth reported that the principal in the poor south Tel-Aviv hired someone to do a survey to find out how parents of the school's children had voted, because if they had voted Likud she would not give them a subsidy. She reportedly said, what many Ashkenazi left-wing Jews think: that she has difficulty understanding why people complain who about their bad economic situation voted for Likud. The answer was partially found in the front-page piece by Yedioth columnist Merav Betito, who wrote: "We, the Mizrachim, never will forget who was first to look in our direction. [In reference to the Likud leader Menachem Begin's support for Mizrachim, which won him the 1977 elections - OH] 'The people of Likud are closer in their hearts to the weaker sectors of Israel,' explained my father. 'They gave us what we never got from the Labor party.' It appears the eternal debate over the ethnic gap in Israel was determined in the 2015 elections, in which it was proved once and for all that Menachem Begin never passed away." The article is the cover story of today’s Yedioth ‘24 Hours’ magazine supplement and it's titled: ‘The real winner: the ethnic demon.’ Betito explores with her father 'the tribal support of Likud and the internal conflict of being a Mizrachi who votes for the Left.'
Meanwhile, Israel sent a delegation headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Steinitz to meet with French officials in a last-ditch effort to 'amend loopholes' in an Iran deal ahead of the final round of Iran nuclear talks. France is the most hard-ball in the talks. However, Republican Senator John McCain threatened to block the deal and said on CNN to Obama “Get over your temper tantrum with Bibi.”
But, at the annual conference of the liberal J Street lobby, director Jeremy Ben-Ami told Netanyahu: You don’t speak for us. Ben-Ami told his audience that “being pro-Israel doesn’t mean you have to be anti-Palestinian.” Ben-Ami said he welcomes a possible shift in US policy and that J Street would urge US leaders to 1.) declare settlements illegal, 2.) publish a set of parameters for a two-state solution and 3.) support a UN Security Council resolution that would provide guidelines for reaching a final settlement.
And, in an interview with Israel Army Radio, Dan Shapiro, the US ambassador to Israel, reiterated what Obama and the White House spokesman has already said: that the US has no choice but to reexamine its policy towards Israel after comments made by Netanyahu at the end of his campaign. "This was not Israel's stance until those comments. It is confusing and raises doubts regarding Israel's true stance.”
Quick Hits:
- Palestinian man wounded by IDF last week in coma - Ali Mahmoud Safi, 20, is said to be comatose after being shot in the chest during a protest at the Jalazone refugee camp. (Haaretz+)
- Singer Achinoam Nini says she was threatened at airport, called 'Israel-hater' - In a post on Facebook, left-wing singer says she was told, 'We'll take care of you like Geffen,' in a reference to (left-wing) writer who was attacked Friday. (Haaretz+)
- WATCH: Bill Maher questions whether Netanyahu's election rhetoric was racist - 'If America was a country that was surrounded by 12 or 13 completely black nations who had militarily attacked us many times, including as recently as last year. Would we let them vote? I don’t know.' (VIDEO Haaretz)
- Jewish rightists tour al-Aqsa (Temple Mount) compound, assault Palestinian women - 127 "extremist Jewish settlers" entered the compound via the Moroccan Gate in groups. Israeli police officers, who entered the compound to protect the settlers, chased Palestinian worshipers including children and women. (Maan)
- Right-wing activists arrested for 'unauthorized organization' - A 16-year-old from Kiryat Arba, an 18-year-old from Ramat Hasharon, 20-year-olds from Jerusalem and Kfar Tapuach, and a 60-year-old man from Kfar Tapuach were undergoing investigation for "unauthorized organization" on Sunday morning. (Ynet)
- Palestinians protest planned Jerusalem evictions - Dozens demonstrate in support of the Sub Laban family about to lose home near Al-Aqsa mosque; family says settlers backed by police tried to gain possession of home. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Report: Israeli control over water a continuing threat to Palestinians - Experts estimate that more than 85 percent of Palestinian water resources in the West Bank aquifers are currently taken by Israel, accounting for around 25 percent of Israel's water needs. (Maan)
- PA to fund new $24m hospital in Rafah - The Rafah mayor in Gaza thanked Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad for his efforts, as well as those by social media activists who launched a Twitter campaign called "#Rafah-needs-hospital." (Maan)
- Police officers no longer serving as internal affairs investigators - Police Internal Investigations Unit came under the gun for essentially investigating itself. Tensions rose recently as senior police officials accused of sexual harassment. Most new investigators young, college-educated, and 25% are minorities. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel nabs Hamas cell based in West Bank suspected of plotting attacks - The leader of the cell was apparently enlisted in Jordan and trained in Gaza. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- (Israeli-Arab) Christian leader applauds Netanyahu election win, urges coexistence - "The incorporation of [Christians] is the key to partnership between segments of Israeli society, co-existence and showing Israel's beautiful side to the world," writes Father Gabriel Nadaf, the spiritual leader of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum. (Israel Hayom)
- Haniyeh: Hamas still interested in unity, partnership - The partnership with Fatah should apply to the political decision-making process, to management and to the Palestinian national program, explained the Deputy chief of the Hamas politburo Ismail Haniyeh. (Maan)
- Israel issues traveling warnings amid fears of terror attacks - With Passover approaching, Israel's National Security Council warns Israelis not to travel to Egypt, recommends to avoid Turkey. (Ynet)
- U.S. bipartisan bill would seed funding for Israeli-Palestinian civil society programs - Lobby group says fund modeled on a similar one in Northern Ireland, which is credited with aiding birth of region's peace agreement. (Haaretz)
- Dave Gahan in Israel for son's wedding - EXCLUSIVE: The 27-year-old son of Depeche Mode's lead singer marries a local girl he met in Tel Aviv during his father's 2009 concert tour. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Netanyahu’s chief spokesman resigns after 3 1/2 years on job - Liran Dan exits with words of praise for and from PM. (Haaretz+)
- 21 arrested at violent BDS protest in South Africa - Dozens of teens raid, loot Pretoria store selling Israeli-made goods after massive demonstration calling for boycott of the Jewish State. (Ynet)
- Iranian backed rebels take over Yemen's 3rd largest city - Shiite rebels backed by Iran takeover city of Taiz and its airport on Sunday - a day after rebels called for mobilization against current President Hadi who had given speech requesting UN Security Council intervene. (Agencies, Ynet)
Features:
Despite electoral win, Arab Israelis feel more excluded
After uniting under banner of Joint List and securing third-place in Knesset, many among Israel's largest minority stress process of integration remains 'frozen'. (AP, Ynet)
In one Bedouin village, a landslide for Netanyahu
In the community of Arab-al-Naim, residents are preparing to move from tin shacks to villas. Three-quarters of the town’s votes went to Likud. Surprised? (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
The man who was almost an MK - six elections in a row
Mossi Raz, a member of the liberal Meretz party, failed to make into the Knesset by one seat for six straight elections in a row. (Omer Benjakob, Ynet)
Inside the failure of the Zionist Union campaign
After recovering from the shock of the election results, Zionist Union MKs try to figure out where they went wrong, and who was to blame for the collapse of the campaign efforts. In order to rise to power, they admit, 'we must tap into wider sectors of the Israeli public'. (Anat Meidan, Ynet)
IDF to create smaller, better-trained reserve force
Military decides to improve ground capability by letting go of thousands of reservists while increasing training for the remainder; engineering capabilities to deal with tunnel threat to be significantly increased. (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
After uniting under banner of Joint List and securing third-place in Knesset, many among Israel's largest minority stress process of integration remains 'frozen'. (AP, Ynet)
In one Bedouin village, a landslide for Netanyahu
In the community of Arab-al-Naim, residents are preparing to move from tin shacks to villas. Three-quarters of the town’s votes went to Likud. Surprised? (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
The man who was almost an MK - six elections in a row
Mossi Raz, a member of the liberal Meretz party, failed to make into the Knesset by one seat for six straight elections in a row. (Omer Benjakob, Ynet)
Inside the failure of the Zionist Union campaign
After recovering from the shock of the election results, Zionist Union MKs try to figure out where they went wrong, and who was to blame for the collapse of the campaign efforts. In order to rise to power, they admit, 'we must tap into wider sectors of the Israeli public'. (Anat Meidan, Ynet)
IDF to create smaller, better-trained reserve force
Military decides to improve ground capability by letting go of thousands of reservists while increasing training for the remainder; engineering capabilities to deal with tunnel threat to be significantly increased. (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
Obama could force Netanyahu to bring Herzog into his coalition (Yossi
Verter, Haaretz+) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would love a narrow coalition, but global
pressure may force him to consider the unthinkable.
Personal petition to the Prime Minister: It is your responsibility to resolve the rift in Israeli society (Liran Givoli, Maariv) The insults being thrown about by the left and the right are the direct result of mutual incitement. We have lost the unity that so were proud of, and there is one person who can fix that.
Netanyahu may now take aim at TV news (Amir Teig, Haaretz+) Israel's prime minister overcame hostile coverage during the election and may now ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Stop, before blood is spilled: humanists who endanger their democracy (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Education isn’t everything. Yigal Amir, the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin, was a third-year law student at Bar Ilan University. So what? He’s an educated killer….(And) it’s difficult to accept the statement by Yossi Sarid, once an anchor of the left-wing in Israel, that Netanyahu is not his prime minister. Maybe he’s not his, but he is for all of us, whether we elected him or not. It is impossible to accept the behavior of Prof. Amir Hetzroni, surely an educated man, but an exception who endangers life here, but not necessarily his. And it’s scary to listen to (Likud) MK Miri Regev, soon a government minister.
Netanyahu must apologize for anti-Arab comments (Ahmad Tibi, Yedioth/Ynet) Even if the prime minister was elected democratically, his statement against Arabs exercising their right to vote is undemocratic, and he is unworthy of serving as prime minister.
Netanyahu's successful campaign may prove destructive for Israel (Haaretz Editorial) If Israel does not adopt a two-state solution, one will be forced on it.
Interim report: How will the head of the Palestinian Authority act at this important juncture in his life? (Jacky Khougy, Maariv) When the election dust settles, the Palestinian issue, which was suppressed and concealed, will rise again and Abu Mazen will need to decide whether make an all-out confrontation with Israel through the International Court of Justice or to make a u-turn for the resumption of talks.
Who's the racist? (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The people who are furious over PM Benjamin Netanyahu's remark about Arab voters are the ones who turn "Arab" into a pejorative.
We, the Arab hordes (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz+) I believe that this nation, whose history is paved with pogroms, incitement and hatred, will never allow a racist and instigator of divisiveness to be placed at its head.
Obama can relax, there is democracy in Israel (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Does the U.S. president think he must now punish Netanyahu, and along the way all Israelis, whose only sin was not doing what he wanted them to, with a bad nuclear deal?
Netanyahu's win is convenient for Arab leaders (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi and Gulf state rulers trust Israel's re-elected prime minister to handle the Iranian issue, and the Americans to pressure him on the Palestinian issue.
For Obama, reconciliation is off the table (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Israel must announce that the 2009 Bar-Ilan speech is official government policy. This would help it weather the storm.
Herzog is making a big mistake (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) There is no reason to waste resources and energy on toppling a government that was legitimately elected and which represents the majority of Israelis.
Netanyahu won thanks to improved economy (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) The left promised to replace Israel's engine, but most voters didn't want an economic turnover; they are satisfied with their economic situation and are willing to settle for small repairs.
Netanyahu must stop attacks on Israel's legal system (Haaretz Sunday Editorial) Until now, Netanyahu has put a halt to most of the initiatives designed at harming the legal system and the Supreme Court. That, however, is not enough.
Netanyahu's moment of truth has arrived (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) International community is waiting to hear how Israel's re-elected prime minister plans to secure Palestinians' right to self-determination; for Israel's sake, he should decide where we are headed before world imposes its own solution.
Personal petition to the Prime Minister: It is your responsibility to resolve the rift in Israeli society (Liran Givoli, Maariv) The insults being thrown about by the left and the right are the direct result of mutual incitement. We have lost the unity that so were proud of, and there is one person who can fix that.
Netanyahu may now take aim at TV news (Amir Teig, Haaretz+) Israel's prime minister overcame hostile coverage during the election and may now ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Stop, before blood is spilled: humanists who endanger their democracy (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Education isn’t everything. Yigal Amir, the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin, was a third-year law student at Bar Ilan University. So what? He’s an educated killer….(And) it’s difficult to accept the statement by Yossi Sarid, once an anchor of the left-wing in Israel, that Netanyahu is not his prime minister. Maybe he’s not his, but he is for all of us, whether we elected him or not. It is impossible to accept the behavior of Prof. Amir Hetzroni, surely an educated man, but an exception who endangers life here, but not necessarily his. And it’s scary to listen to (Likud) MK Miri Regev, soon a government minister.
Netanyahu must apologize for anti-Arab comments (Ahmad Tibi, Yedioth/Ynet) Even if the prime minister was elected democratically, his statement against Arabs exercising their right to vote is undemocratic, and he is unworthy of serving as prime minister.
Netanyahu's successful campaign may prove destructive for Israel (Haaretz Editorial) If Israel does not adopt a two-state solution, one will be forced on it.
Interim report: How will the head of the Palestinian Authority act at this important juncture in his life? (Jacky Khougy, Maariv) When the election dust settles, the Palestinian issue, which was suppressed and concealed, will rise again and Abu Mazen will need to decide whether make an all-out confrontation with Israel through the International Court of Justice or to make a u-turn for the resumption of talks.
Who's the racist? (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The people who are furious over PM Benjamin Netanyahu's remark about Arab voters are the ones who turn "Arab" into a pejorative.
We, the Arab hordes (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz+) I believe that this nation, whose history is paved with pogroms, incitement and hatred, will never allow a racist and instigator of divisiveness to be placed at its head.
Obama can relax, there is democracy in Israel (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Does the U.S. president think he must now punish Netanyahu, and along the way all Israelis, whose only sin was not doing what he wanted them to, with a bad nuclear deal?
Netanyahu's win is convenient for Arab leaders (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi and Gulf state rulers trust Israel's re-elected prime minister to handle the Iranian issue, and the Americans to pressure him on the Palestinian issue.
For Obama, reconciliation is off the table (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Israel must announce that the 2009 Bar-Ilan speech is official government policy. This would help it weather the storm.
Herzog is making a big mistake (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) There is no reason to waste resources and energy on toppling a government that was legitimately elected and which represents the majority of Israelis.
Netanyahu won thanks to improved economy (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) The left promised to replace Israel's engine, but most voters didn't want an economic turnover; they are satisfied with their economic situation and are willing to settle for small repairs.
Netanyahu must stop attacks on Israel's legal system (Haaretz Sunday Editorial) Until now, Netanyahu has put a halt to most of the initiatives designed at harming the legal system and the Supreme Court. That, however, is not enough.
Netanyahu's moment of truth has arrived (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) International community is waiting to hear how Israel's re-elected prime minister plans to secure Palestinians' right to self-determination; for Israel's sake, he should decide where we are headed before world imposes its own solution.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.