Two papers comment on reports that a Swedish national of Lebanese origin has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of plotting to attack Israeli targets in Cyprus:
Yediot Aharonot says: "This is not the first time that Israeli tourists in Cyprus have been targeted by Hezbollah," and believes that close cooperation between Israel and Cyprus, including on the intelligence level, led to the foiling of the latest initiative. The author discerns an Iranian-backed coalition of states and organizations and suggests that "From the failures it has absorbed in the past year, the terrorism coalition has learned: Official institutions are too well-guarded and, therefore, in order to orchestrate a quick and painful attack – to punish Israel and deter it – they must hit the soft underbelly: Israeli tourists."
Yisrael Hayom notes that "For most of the Israeli public, the counter-terrorism operation in Cyprus passed under the radar as another headline about another terrorist who failed to perpetrate another attack. This is a healthy approach that allows people to carry on normal lives knowing that those who do the work are dealing with the dangers." The author also calls on Israeli tourists to be “alert and aware."
Ma\’ariv suggests that Israel could learn much from the situation in Cyprus. The author reminds his readers that "Turkish [northern] Cyprus is an area without status. The world does not accept it as part of Turkey. It is not part of [the Republic of] Cyprus and has no recognized independent status whatsoever." The paper believes that "This is also the status of the territories beyond the Green Line. I am willing to guess that the Turkish government set up some kind of Edmond Levy committee which determined that the Turkish regime in Cyprus is legitimate," and adds: "But this makes no impression on the world, international law and common sense." However, the author says, "International law is also toothless and what counts is interests, active forces and military strength. The Cypriots with whom we have spoken sadly admit that they believe that Cyprus will not be reunited in their lifetimes. The accepted opinion in Israel, ac! ross the political spectrum, is that there does not seem to be a situation in which the Land of Israel will go back to being divided between the two peoples that live in it. Cyprus is a mirror image of the situation in the area of the western Land of Israel. The picture is the opposite but it reflects the same reality.
Haaretz observes that Saturday July 14 marked the first anniversary of the outbreak of the social protest in Israel, and notes that while the activists did not achieve everything they wanted, “they did effect real change, which is visible not only in socioeconomic matters, but in their increased weight in the balance of power between the public and the government.”
The Jerusalem Post says that the Treasury is “hatching plans to divert tax revenues from the country’s solvent, most prosperous and patently well-managed municipalities to prop up the insolvent, least prosperous and most badly managed local authorities,” and notes that this will oblige residents in some cities to “pay for the services accorded to residents of other communities.” The editor asserts: “Not only is this patently unfair, it is counterproductive in the extreme,” and calls on the Treasury to “tighten the reins of supervision on palpably delinquent local authorities,” instead of obstructing the common good.
[Alex Fishman, Yoav Limor and Rubik Rosenthal wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Yisrael Hayom and Ma\’ariv, respectively.]