Yediot Aharonot argues: "In the beginning there was denial. The establishment refused to recognize the existence of the Goldstone commission, refused to cooperate with it, refused to offer it information, and refused to investigate the serious occurrences which it indicated. Then came the mudslinging. The commission is biased against Israel. Goldstone is anti-Semitic, a Jew who hates his own people. Human rights organizations that cooperated with him are Hamas advocates. Then afterwards came the price, the damage of denial."
Ma’ariv suggests that "Against the backdrop of the possibility of a Palestinian state being declared in the UN, Goldstone’s article of regret highlights the extent of the mistake of not cooperating with the commission."
Yisrael Hayom professes that "A [diplomatic] ‘initiative’ will not occur now, but constructive ideas – yes. We must hope that these deeds and their potential benefit, as opposed to the diplomatic putsch being planned by the Europeans and the Palestinians, will sway Obama’s hand. Washington is a senior Quartet member, along with Russia, the UN and the EU. Its stance carries much weight and, if it so desires, it can foil this poisonous concoction."
The Jerusalem Post states that the establishment of a Palestinian state is an Israeli interest, and declares: “[PM Benjamin] Netanyahu would do well to flesh out that vision of a two-state solution he presented at Bar-Ilan before others, less sympathetic to Israeli interests, do it for him. It is his Zionist legacy.”
Haaretz refers to the inquiry into PM Netanyahu’s travels abroad, which has been expanded to include the travel habits of dozens of ministers and deputy ministers, and states that the expansion is a result of political meddling and is therefore an illegitimate move. The editor says that the comptroller’s capitulation to pressure and the expansion of his probe “is no less dangerous than reducing the inquiry’s scope,” and adds: “The expansion of the probe has no basis in the evidence. Instead, it was borne of political considerations.”
[Rachel Liel, Shalom Yerushalmi and Zalman Shoval wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]