(Israel Government Press Office)

Yediot Aharonot says: "There is an understanding between all sides that in order for Netanyahu to be able to get the government to approve the release of Palestinian terrorists, he will announce the approval of plans for the construction of thousands of apartments in the major blocs in the territories. This is supposed to be the baksheesh  by the Palestinian side in exchange for releasing the prisoners." The author reassures his readers that the Jewish Home, despite its strong opposition to releasing terrorists, will not be quitting the government any time soon, especially when "There are additional candidates waiting outside the door who are prepared to pay almost any baksheesh to enter."

Ma'ariv asserts that many of the major powers' intelligence services now realize that "Iran's strategic goal is not the destruction of Israel with nuclear weapons, but taking over the oil-producing states – Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Persian Gulf states." The author says: "The determined Iranian campaign to reach the status of a nuclear power by exploiting the political weakness of the Obama administration, which is trying with all its might to avoid a conflict with the country of the ayatollahs, has created a very interesting phenomenon from Israel's point-of-view," and adds: "At a time when a rift is starting to be revealed between the US and its historic allies in the Middle East regarding concerns over a nuclear Iran, common interests of a sort are developing among those threatened by the Iranian nuclear project, including the State of Israel." The paper speculates that "Perhaps even now, secretly and far behind the scenes, a new basis is beginning to develop for a beautiful friendship between Israel and all the Islamic states in the Middle East that are being compelled to exist under the threat of an Iranian takeover."

The Jerusalem Post comments on anti-Semitism in Australia on the backdrop of Saturday’s violent attack against a group of Jews, and notes that “there has been a general pattern of rising antagonism against Jews in recent years.” The editor points out that “Australian Jewry is compelled to spend large sums for its security, not because politicians or other prominent public figures promote a hostile climate,” but “because of the ever-present possibility that someone, influenced by the sorts of stereotypes about Jews that never really go away, might commit an anti-Semitic attack such as the one committed on Shabbat.”

Haaretz is pleased by Israel's decision to participate in the Human Rights Council review session on Tuesday, despite the March 2012 decision initiated by then-foreign minister Avigdor Liberman to sever all ties with the Council. The editor states that the decision of Netanyahu and the government of Israel to “appear before the Human Rights Council, as do all nations, is important,” and asserts: “It will advance Israel's own interests and improve its international standing.”