Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press – August 6th, 2012

Yediot Aharonot accuses the Egyptian authorities of scorning 

Israel\’s warnings of an impending terrorist attack and notes that Egyptian interior Minister Gen. Ahmed Jamal Adin claimed – in an article in Saturday\’s Al Ahram – that "Israel\’s warnings were a fabrication designed to harm tourism to Egypt," and that "The situation in Sinai has never been better." The author asserts: "Yesterday, the Egyptian government received a terrible slap in the face which, perhaps, will cause the Islamist President to wake up and understand that without full cooperation with Israel, Global Jihad will establish order not only in Sinai and along the border, but within Egypt itself." The paper calls on the IDF and ISA not to rest on their laurels, but to be alert for further attempts by Global Jihad, Hezbollah and others to exploit the situation in Sinai in order to perpetrate attacks against Israel. The author urges the Egyptians to establish law and order in Sinai and thus obviate any Israeli need to strike at the afores! aid terrorists in Sinai itself.

Ma\’ariv says that the Egyptian authorities have had their collective head in the sand vis-à-vis what has been happening in Sinai and warns that "Those who stick their heads in the sand will, in the end, be buried there." The author notes that the Americans have, so far, refrained from conditioning their assistance to Egypt on the reestablishment of law and order in Sinai, and cautions that nothing less than the peace treaty with Egypt and regional stability are at stake. The paper concludes: "Hosni Mubarak is dying in his cage, Omar Suleiman has passed away and all that we have left are yearnings for the old order, which has given way to a much more dangerous game."

Yisrael Hayom suggests that "The IDF was surprised yesterday, not by the attack, but by its daring," and adds: "The attack that rolled towards us yesterday was larger, and more daring and challenging than anything we have known up until now." While the author says that "The Morsi regime counted its first dead last night and will have to explain to its people how the enemy could have come from within," he nevertheless contends that "The good news is that they [the Egyptians] have no doubt that we were not responsible; the bad news is that one would have to be quite the optimist to believe that following this attack, they will begin to act in Sinai."

 

Haaretz discusses what it terms the demise of the Israeli protest movement, and attests: “This past Saturday evening, only about 5,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv in two separate demonstrations, one in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the other at Habima Square.”

The full text of Haaretz editorial is available for registered subscribers only.

The Jerusalem Post discusses the public debate surrounding the question of an Israeli attack of Iranian nuclear facilities, and appeals to the public to trust the country’s leaders “to make the right decisions when it comes to issues as crucial and complex as Iran.” The editor contends: “We are divided enough on so many things; when it comes to existential threats, let’s stick together and present a united front.”

 

[Alex Fishman, Ben Caspit and Yoav Limor wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma\’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]