The Jerusalem Post reflects on the recent murder of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, and contends that “The bottom line is that during Vladimir Putin’s 15 years in power, an inordinate number of his opponents have met mysterious and violent deaths, all of which remain unsolved.”
Haaretz attacks the Ministry of the Interior for sending asylum-seekers back to their countries of origin, where, according to some reports, they have been imprisoned and tortures, and asserts: “The State of Israel is committing a crime against these people, breaking international laws and moral principles.” The editor is hopeful that the new government “will stop the abuse and the deportations,” but nevertheless calls on the High Court to ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent further abuse.
Yediot Aharonot notes that “In the past two months, the joint Arab list has managed to give the appearance of a democratic party which supports Jewish-Arab coexistence,” but asserts that recent announcements indicate that the “Joint Arab list's refusal to sign vote-sharing agreement with Israel's most leftist party proves that its leaders' real goal is not equality for Arabs.” The author notes that the one thing that unifies the Arab parties in Israel is their mutual hatred of Israel, and calls on the majority of the loyal, working and taxpaying Arab citizens to engage in self-examination, “because a vote for the joint Arab list is a vote against equality and against coexistence,” and concludes: “Such a vote is bad for the Jews, but it's even worse for the Arabs.”
Yisrael Hayom believes that “PM Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress on Iran represents a historic event in the annals of the Jewish people,” and, with elections next week, wonders “what impact Netanyahu's congressional address will have on Israeli voters.”
Globes asserts: “No deal could be best deal on Iran,” and notes that stiffer Western resolve, thanks to a French statement that the deal as presently constituted does not meet French standards for scope and enforceability, could leave Iran bogged down in the regional conflict. The editor concludes that: “the future of the six power-Iranian negotiations may have gone from highly dangerous to very promising, due more than anything else to the French.”
[Ben-Dror Yemini, Isi Leibler and Norman Bailey wrote today's articles in Yediot Aharonot, Yisrael Hayom and Globes, respectively.]