(Israel Government Press Office)

Ma'ariv hopes that the Cabinet will, at its weekly meeting today, approve the 'Open Skies' agreement with the EU, despite vocal opposition from El Al, Arkia and Israir employees. The author notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz all strongly support the agreement even though none are particularly keen to pick a fight with Labor Federation Chairman Ofer Eini at the present time. The paper says that the latter "needs to make a tough decision: Should he use all the force at his disposal in a lengthy aviation strike? Will the public, which is deeply sentimental towards El Al, grant broad support to the strike given the apparent possibility of much cheaper fares? Is it worthwhile for the labor federation to waste all its ammunition now, even before the [2013 state] budget comes up for a Cabinet vote? The public is not prepared to support endless strikes, which it only suffers from. He [Eini] has a problem."

Haaretz notes that the agreement “will increase the availability of flights to and from Europe, increase competition among airlines, and lower the cost of tickets.” The editor calls on the Cabinet to confirm the agreement, and states: “Even if people from El Al, Arkia and Israir are right when they claim that the Open Skies agreement is bad for the airlines, El Al is not Israel. For the state of Israel and its people, this is a good agreement.”

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Yediot Aharonot discusses the arms deal that US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will reportedly finalize on his first trip to Israel, which begins today. The author suggests, "The arsenal of weapons that has been promised to Israel is supposed to rein it in and leave the decision on dealing with Iran's nuclear facilities up to the Americans. Netanyahu will be able to continue consulting with the US and uttering slogans on Holocaust Memorial Day, but let us remember that the $ 3 billion worth of weapons and equipment being provided to Israel will obligate the Government of Israel to show restraint. Talk? Sure. Act? Only in full coordination with the US."

Yisrael Hayom refers to the explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant, the toll of which currently stands at 14 and which caused widespread devastation. The author hopes that the incident should spur the initiative to transfer Haifa Chemicals' ammonia production facility from its present location in the Haifa suburbs – "one of the major centers of risk for residents of the north" – to a remote site in the Negev.

The Jerusalem Post is outraged by the petition signed by a majority of members of the Jordanian parliament calling for the release of the Jordanian soldier who murdered 7 Israeli schoolgirls in the wake of the Israel-Jordanian peace treaty of 1994. The editor notes that “Even the minimally fair-minded agree that the cold-blooded shooting of Israeli schoolgirls is as heinous a crime of hate as imaginable.” Despite the predisposition of many Jordanian leaders, the editor appeals to King Abdullah to “courageously embrace his father’s inspirational heritage” and to “educate the masses to reject hate.”