(Israel Government Press Office)

Ma'ariv notes the difficulties in moving or evacuating even a fairly small settlement outpost and asks: "Could someone stand up today and evacuate Imanuel, Kiryat Arba, Karnei Shomron, Beit-El, Ofra, Shilo or Alon Moreh?" The author avers: "No Israeli prime minister could deal with such an evacuation," not even one from the center-left, and concludes: "The situation is irreversible and how."

Yediot Aharonot condemns last week's incident in which a young woman was attacked by a group of ultra-orthodox yeshiva students over her presumed sexual identity. The author says that "The conduct of her assailants shows that they did not act according to the laws of the Torah," and adds: "They acted as they did in spite of their education, not because of it."

Yisrael Hayom discusses the fallout from the Harpaz affair and suggests that the State Comptroller's "report should be studied in all IDF schools since it is clear that even the senior military leadership is not made up of angels." The author asserts that "Checks and balances are needed at all levels," and calls on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to order an investigation "without delay."

The Jerusalem Post notes that the Palestinian Authority is currently embroiled in a largely self-inflicted financial crisis so bad that it could lead to a popular explosion. The editor feels that “Instead of choosing a path of self-empowerment and accepting responsibility for their own fate, Palestinian leaders have opted yet again for the well-traversed road of self-victimization,” and worries that “Palestinian leaders in the West Bank believe they will succeed in deflecting growing anger and frustration on the Palestinian street and redirect toward Israel.”

Haaretz criticizes the government for barring Palestinian prisoners from taking classes through the Open University, and states that “This is a position that undermines the fundamental values of democracy, and it behooves the state to retract it as quickly as possible.”

[Shalom Yerushalmi, Ricki Siton and Yaakov Borovsky wrote today’s articles in Ma'ariv, Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom respectively.]