Yediot Aharonot contends that "In the framework of the [Government] policy of ‘there is no policy,’ Israel refuses to consider asylum requests by Africans, on the claim that they are arriving from hostile countries. Since it does not check the requests, it also does not maintain any process which can determine who qualifies as a refugee and who does not. The result – blanket immunity. That means that those undeserving of protection remain here as well. And the problem is quickly worsening. Last week was a record-breaker, when 623 people crossed the Israel-Egypt border in only two weeks. All that remains for the Netanyahu Government to do is to continue not dealing with them, and to patiently await a disaster."
Ma’ariv says that "After two months of silence, the Syrian president gave a speech yesterday in an attempt to prove that he is in control of the situation. His body language transmitted the exact opposite."
Yisrael Hayom regrets that Ilan Grapel has "supplied [Egypt’s] spastic military junta and the incited Egyptian people with the ability to blame the Jews for all of the screw-ups in which the Egyptians are embroiled."
The Jerusalem Post comments on the growing willingness of Israeli Arabs to volunteer for National Service, which is opposed – sometimes violently – by certain sectors of the Arab community, and notes that while Arab Israelis should not be expected to become diehard Zionists, “at the very least they should avoid the self-defeating pitfall of refusing to reconcile themselves to the existence of the Jewish state”. The editor states that “Arab Israelis enjoy better education, better medical services and more civil rights than their fellow Arabs living in neighboring countries,” and adds: “Reconciliation to Israel’s right to exist and thrive carries with it a willingness, however begrudging it may be, to integrate into Israeli society. And National Service is a perfect way to facilitate this integration.”
Haaretz attacks the rigorous and often offensive interrogation methods employed by outgoing security personnel at Ben-Gurion Airport, and points out the severe damage these methods cause to Israel’s international reputation and standing. The editor states that while security personnel must contend with risks and terrorist threats, and it is clear that all passengers must be checked, “this must be done in an egalitarian manner, even if it entails inconveniencing all passengers. It must be done more by using innovative technologies and less by rummaging manually through suitcases, and by a polite staff that understands it is providing a service to the public, not giving orders.”
[Alma Zohar, Eli Avidar and Reuven Barko wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]