(Israel Government Press Office)
Ma'ariv refers to Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon's recent remark to The Times of Israel to the effect that the Cabinet – including a majority of its Likud ministers – would vote down any two-state proposal and says: "In no normal government would a minister or deputy minister keep his job after such a provocation to the prime minister." The author calls on Prime Minister Netanyahu to "send Danon back to being an ordinary MK," but suggests that he fears the political ramifications of such a move.
Yediot Aharonot reviews the ongoing domestic chaos in countries neighboring Israel, and asks why Israel "needs to provide them with a pretext to unite around the only common denominator they have – hatred of Israel? Let them commit suicide in peace. While the weapons to Lebanon are dangerous, they do not constitute an existential threat, not like the Iranian bomb."
Yisrael Hayom discusses the situation vis-à-vis Syria and believes that "The concern right now is not over a direct war (Assad knows that Avigdor Liberman is right, he would lose his entire world in such a clash) but over a 'different' response by Syria to Israel's bombing its territory. The assessments speak about attacking an embassy, plane or tourists, something that will send a clear message of revenge without leaving a clear fingerprint. Hezbollah knows how to do such things, so does Iran, and it is possible that some other terrorist element will be used in order to push the evidence even further away from Damascus." The author also contends that Israel is greatly concerned over Russia's role in the Syrian conflict and by "its escalating rhetoric."
The Jerusalem Post wonders whether our courts are too quick to issue gag orders, “particularly in the age of Internet with the flow of information nearly impossible to control,” and adds: “due to the nearly insurmountable enforcement difficulties that confront anyone who seeks to impose the law’s authority in cyberspace, gag orders should be used selectively and only when needed.”
Haaretz comments on the Knesset’s committee on foreign workers discussion scheduled for this morning on the question of providing medical treatment for those people without official legal status in Israel, and in particular the situation of asylum seekers, and notes: “Today, asylum seekers and others without legal status are not entitled to treatment under the National Medical Insurance Law.” The editor states: “Including asylum seekers in the general health services is right not just because it protects their health and that of others lacking legal status, but also because it protects public health and reflects efficient policy, and asserts: “We must guarantee the realization of the right to health for all asylum seekers, as for all migrant job seekers who are in Israel − as has been done with the right to education.”
[Avraham Tirosh, Alex Fishman and Yoav Limor wrote today’s articles in Ma'ariv, Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]