(Israel Government Press Office)
Ma'ariv refers to the continuing controversy over the expenses of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. The author wonders how the chief accountant at the Prime Minister's Office could have approved the sums in question and says: "It could be that he is concerned for his job." The paper asserts: "What needs to be checked is how officials in the Prime Minister's bureau approved these expenses," and asks: "Does fear rule there or merely distorted standards?"
Yediot Aharonot discusses recent events regarding Syria, including Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The author speculates that "One may guess that the Prime Minister's request regarding arming Syria and the dangers of the transfer of this weaponry were met by a cold and cynical stare from the retired KGB officer – 'Who are you to tell us what to sell and to whom? You are among the biggest arms exporters in the world.'" The paper avers that "The Russians know that Assad is lost, but they do not intend to abandon him publicly, like the Americans did to Mubarak in Egypt. And when another country attacks their client and works – in their view – against their strategic interests, it will pay. For 40 years, the Russians have been making gigantic investments in building a bastion on the Mediterranean Sea and in the Arab world and they do not intend to give it up so easily, with or without Assad."
Yisrael Hayom insists that Qatar has been trying to lure the International Civil Aviation Organization away from its headquarters in Montreal, where it has been since 1946, as a means of punishing Canada for its – in Qatar's view – pro-Israel policy, and adds that Qatar is thus warning other countries against the perils of becoming too friendly with Israel. The author lauds the principled stand of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who "has already made it clear that even if he pays a political price, he will not backtrack on his government's stance on Israel."
The Jerusalem Post believes that “Israel and Turkey are seriously entertaining the notion of constructing an undersea pipeline to deliver Israeli natural gas to Turkey and, perhaps, hence to Europe,” and argues that access to Israel’s natural gas reserves was the real agenda underpinning recent Turkish willingness to consider a rapprochement with Israel. The editor asserts that “We cannot entrust this prized export – one that could overhaul our financial viability – to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hands,” and adds: “The thought that he would be granted an extortionist stranglehold over our economic future should send shivers down all our spines.”
Haaretz calls on the government to stop rewriting history. The editor states: “For decades, successive Israeli governments have waged a resolute war over the shaping of historical consciousness,” and asserts: “Without recognizing the Palestinian Nakba it is impossible to understand the source of the Israeli-Arab conflict.”
[Yael Paz-Melamed, Alex Fishman and Yaakov Ahimeir wrote today’s articles in Ma'ariv, Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]