Three papers discuss various issues regarding yesterday’s incidents on the Syrian border:
Yediot Aharonot observes that "The Golan Heights has stopped being the quiet front for the State of Israel," and ventures that "The assessment in Israel is that as long as President Assad is fighting for his regime, and perhaps for his life, the Golan Heights will be in the headlines. The Syrians will push the Palestinians to the friction points with the IDF along the border in an effort to create permanent conflagrations that will continue to divert domestic and global attention from the deep crisis inside Syria." The author contends that "The popular, large scale organization of demonstrators was not carried out by social networks on the Internet; that is a myth. Facebook maybe played a main role in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, but there is nothing new on the Palestinian front. They continue to be tools in the hands of the regimes in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. They move them, or not, at will." The paper notes that the Lebanese and Jordanian borders are quiet because the authorities there want quiet. But regarding the Palestinian Authority it cautions that "If the diplomatic stalemate continues and the PA does not have an interest in blocking the street – the masses will move toward the Green Line."
Ma’ariv says that "As long as the Syrian President slaughters his own people, nobody will criticize the IDF too harshly for shooting several dozen protestors that tried to forcibly cross an international border," and adds that "Yesterday, it looked as if the demonstrators’ leaders were intent on securing the highest number of casualties – and it found enough volunteers for this macabre goal." However, the author asserts that "Regarding Syria and Lebanon, the world will apparently accept Israel’s right to defend its borders, even with live fire at unarmed people," and warns that "The story will be completely different if similar phenomena occur in the territories." The author concludes that "Israel would do well to continue reading the world correctly and to know what is permissible where."
Yisrael Hayom avers that the IDF was more successful yesterday than it was previously due to the "appropriate deployment" of forces, the placement of more formidable physical barriers along the border, and "international legitimacy." Regarding the latter point, the author notes that "Israel did everything to avoid conflict: It warned the world, sent messages to Damascus and Beirut, used UNDOF and UNIFIL, and was active among the Druze." The author believes that "The war over the fences, which began on Nakba Day and continued yesterday, is expected to gain strength in the coming months and peak in September. In the middle, we will have a major flotilla and Palestinians arriving en masse at Ben-Gurion, actions that are entirely designed to embarrass Israel and strike at its fragile legitimacy in the world, until the crescendo – the declaration of a Palestinian state." The paper says that "The security establishment is united in the opinion that the only way to blunt this trend is not by guns (at least not solely by them) but by words: Alongside the military determination, intensive diplomatic activity is also required, and yes – by Israel taking back the initiative as well. Only thus can we be certain that the next time will also end successfully."
The Jerusalem Post berates critics of outgoing Mossad chief Meir Dagan, who has made disparaging statements recently regarding the inability of the current Israeli leadership to successfully confront the threats on the country’s security, and claims the attacks are motivated by narrow politics. Calling on all the critics to allow Dagan to state his mind, the editor states that “If Dagan’s critics think his analysis is wrong they should explain why. That, rather than trying to question his motives and pressing for his silence, is the way to respond to heartfelt concerns expressed by a man with many merits and priceless experience.
Haaretz calls on PM Netanyahu to accept the French peace initiative and begin direct negotiations with the Palestinians in September on the basis of the Obama plan, and states: “It will be interesting to see what pretexts Netanyahu uses this time to strike down the French Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal, whose whole purpose is to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.”
[Alex Fishman, Ofer Shelah and Yoav Limor wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]