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Commentary/Analysis:
Whitewashing Under a Black Flag (Haaretz Editorial) In expanding the size of the outpost of Adei Ad, the government thinks it can sideline the High Court’s ruling and fulfill its undertaking to the U.S. administration not to build new settlements.
Netanyahu and Lieberman fear war on the eve of elections - and that's exactly what they will get (Yossi Melman, Maariv) This is what negotiations look like. The IDF accidentally fires at a Hamas position and kills two of its members, who participated in a demonstration exercise for senior Hamas operatives, and a day later, Hamas sends a barrage of hundreds of rockets to Sderot and the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip. Iron Dome fails to intercept all but a few of them (for years that a few isolated voices claim that Iron Dome anti-missile battery cannot cope with launches from short range or short flight time). The result is a number of Israeli casualties. And we have not yet talked about the continued launching of the fire balloons. And all this happens when a senior Hamas delegation is in Cairo to continue discussions with Egyptian Intelligence Chief General Kamel Abbas and UN envoy to the Middle East, Nikolai Mladenov, and Hamas is ready for a long hudna - a cease-fire and a five-year truce in return for the lifting of the Israeli blockade, fully opening the border crossings in Kerem Hashalom and with Egypt in Rafah, serious rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip with short and long term plans, which will include regular and continuous supply of electricity, the construction of a desalination plant, the improvement of sewage and the establishment of seaports and airport in Sinai. Hamas is also prepared to negotiate the return of the remains of two IDF soldiers and the return of the two civilians, but it demands a high reward - the release of several hundred terrorists, including those with blood on their hands. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from the families of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and Ebra Mengistu, which demand that there be no agreement between Israel and the Palestinians as long as there is no exchange deal yet, passes over the clauses. And that is despite the fact that he knows that in the absence of a long-term cease fire arrangement, it becomes very difficult for residents of the Gaza Strip vicinity and there is a very high likelihood of war. However, Netanyahu is afraid to show leadership. On the one hand, as someone who was burned in the Shalit deal, he is unwilling to agree to a painful exchange deal in which Israel will pay a high price. On the other hand, he is afraid to tell the families and the public that Israel's strategic interests require an arrangement - even without an immediate solution to the problem of the POWs and MIAs. Alternatively, in the absence of willingness to reach an agreement, he must tell the truth that there will be no choice but to embark on a military operation in order to remove terror from the 100,000 residents of the Gaza perimeter. But here too he hesitates. Add to this the fact that both the prime minister and defense minister Avigdor Lieberman know that a war on the eve of elections can lead to commissions of inquiry or the loss of power. Therefore, they prefer to skip the clauses and manage the crisis of the continued of fire (balloon and kite) terror, the launching rockets and the responses of the air force. But the end of this hesitation is that there will be no arrangement and it will end in war.
Hamas takes advantage of Israeli wariness of military campaign (Ron Ben Yishai, Ynet) While the IDF's response to terrorism is bearable, and the Israeli leadership appears to be waiting with bated breath for a ceasefire, Hamas realizes it has all the cards and can get what it wants without concessions. But if even the more serious airstrikes don't help deter Hamas, Israel will be forced into a defensive war and Gaza too will burn.
Not Partners, at Most Collaborators (Zehava Galon, Haaretz+) Israel’s Druze send their sons to die defending settlement outposts, only to discover that the right doesn’t consider them partners.
The masquerade is over (Noam Tirosh, Israel Hayom) Any honest person will admit that the nation-state law merely gives voice to the political consensus in Israel, a state that was never fully democratic and that always privileged Jews over non-Jewish citizens.
In order to deal with the problem of Gaza, we have to decide, but there is no one to do it (Ben Caspit, Maariv) In order to deal with the problem of Gaza it must be decided: Either we conquer it, overthrow Hamas and the clean out the area; Or we bring the Palestinian Authority back to Gaza while promoting Palestinian reconciliation while waiving the return of the bodies of the fighters at this stage; Or we tell the public (and the bereaved families) the simple, painful truth that we have no idea what to do because we mostly do not want to do anything. Salvation will not come from (UN Envoy) Mladenov, nor from Egyptian intelligence, and not from Qatari money and not even from the Tweeting American envoys. The decision must be made here, courageously, by the person chosen for the purpose of accepting it. Right or left, backward or forward (not the political party), but (he) needs to decide. This is the meaning of leadership, which there isn’t.
Hysteria over nation-state law (Isi Leibler, Israel Hayom) Opposition to the law is exaggerated, but the government should have consulted with minorities and accepted amendments referencing democracy and equality.
Jeremy Corbyn for U.K. Prime Minister (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Israelis regard him as a sort of alien – the left here has never been led by an Israeli Corbyn, nor by anyone who can hold a candle to him.
A figment of the imagination (Uri Heitner, Israel Hayom) Many people are both for and against the nation-state law because they believe what the media has told them about it. Please look at it with an open mind, without prejudice, free of indoctrination.