17 March 2010. Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press

Yediot Aharonot contends that "There are many in the Democratic government who, in the past days, have been closely following the domestic political consequences in the US of the confrontation-turned-diplomatic crisis between the US and Israel.  They are waiting to see …if Israel will attempt to attack the President from within.  Since the Reagan days, support for Israel in Washington, and throughout the entire US, has been bipartisan (for different reasons).  To play such a political game would be tantamount to playing with dynamite."

Yisrael Hayom notes that "It is interesting that after Bashar Assad ridiculed the American demand that Syria downgrade its relations with Iran, Obama did not view it as an insult."

The Jerusalem Post discusses the current diplomatic tension with the Unites States, and notes that "Netanyahu’s only option is to show flexibility without endangering his democratically elected government coalition and Israel’s most critical interests." The editor feels that "concrete efforts can be made to foster goodwill with the US while respecting both key Israeli needs and an Israeli public that brought this Likud-led government to power," and adds: "regardless of the reason, the Obama administration is going to great lengths to get across a clear message that Israel faces a fateful choice: either endanger relations with the US by building homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and by showing insincerity in declarations of support for a two-state solution, or bolster a partnership with the US by creating a climate conducive to negotiated progress with the Palestinians, the better to ensure an effective response to the Iranian threat."

Haaretz blames PM Netanyahu for instigating the current diplomatic crisis with the United States, and declares that "Instead of fanning the flames with irresponsible declarations about the continuation of construction in East Jerusalem, the prime minister would do well to say yes to the American demands. Stagnation in the diplomatic process, in the shadow of a deepening crisis with our greatest ally, is a strategic threat Israel can by no means afford."

====================

Ma’ariv cites Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, who, at the height of yesterday’s riots, called to his followers: "Do not fear war. Whether this will be a religious war or not, Jerusalem is Islamic.’"  The author says that "The calls coming out of Gaza yesterday were unequivocal and were reminiscent of Rantisi’s speeches at the height of the intifada: ‘Terror attacks, now.’  The present condition of terrorist cells will make it difficult for them to carry out the mission, but there is no doubt that they will try."
  
[Alon Pinkas, Isi Leibler and Amit Cohen  wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot,Yisrael Hayom and Ma’ariv, respectively.]