1. FOREIGN MINISTRY REPORT: US DRAWING CLOSER TO PALESTINIAN POSITION.
US Vice President Biden arriving in Israel tomorrow. At same time, statement expected on resumption of indirect talks with the Palestinians. Temple Mount riots over the weekend: Stones thrown at worshippers at Western Wall for first time in nine years.
2. "AJAMI" TO COMPETE FOR OSCAR TONIGHT; DEMONSTRATION AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
MA’ARIV
1. American envoy on decisive visit to Israel.
US HOPES: DECLARATION ON RESUMPTION OF NEGOTIATIONS.
Envoy George Mitchell arrived yesterday on dramatic Jerusalem visit. At meeting with Netanyahu today, PM will tell him: Israel ready to return to indirect talks with PA. Washington now waiting for Palestinians' answer.
YEDIOT AHRONOT
1. Obama's Vice President to deliver clear message to Israel.
US: DON'T ATTACK IRAN.
Vice President Biden to land in Israel tomorrow, will warn: Action against Iranian nuclear sites liable to bring on general regional war.
YISRAEL HAYOM
1. Biden arriving; start of "proximity talks" expected.
"UN BYPASS" TRACK FOR SANCTIONS ON IRAN.
Israel to demand that US and west act to impose tougher sanctions on Iran than those planned by UN. Palestinians: Negotiations with Israel due to American pressure.
WALLA!
1. DEMONSTRATION IN SHEIKH JARRAH: "EAST JERUSALEM – CAPITAL OF PALESTINE."
Thousands of Israeli and Palestinian left-wingers went to Sheikh Jarrah and demonstrated against expulsion of Palestinian families from "Shimon Hatzadik" compound. MK Henin: "Eastern Jerusalem needs to be capital of Palestine."
2. WILL TONIGHT BE "AJAMI"'S OSCAR NIGHT?
82ND Oscar ceremony to begin at 03:00, with big question: Will "Ajami" win prize?.
3. ISLAMIC COUNTRIES: "ISRAEL DESECRATED AL-AQSA MOSQUE."
Islamic Conference joins chorus of condemnations following Israeli actions on Temple Mount and calls for international intervention.
NANA10
1. IRAN: WE HAVE STARTED PRODUCTION OF NEW LONG-RANGE MISSILE.
Tehran claims that missile will be capable of avoiding radar.
2. TODAY: ENVOY MITCHELL TO MEET WITH NETANYAHU.
Ahead of indirect talks with the Palestinians: Mitchell and Netanyahu to meet. American envoy to also meet with senior PA officials.
[Headlines for Walla! and Nana10 are from their websites as of 10:00.]
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SUMMARY OF OP-EDS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS
Yediot Ahronot asserts that, "Local authority elections are a real test of strength of legitimacy for the Abu Mazen-Fayad duo. The Palestinian Authority cannot stand for elections with a record of concessions on the national issue. Therefore, until after the elections, nothing will come of the contacts with Israel."
Ma'ariv opines that, "A strange suspicion sneaks into the heart: Perhaps the Prime Minister is afraid of his Foreign Minister? If this suspicion is correct, Netanyahu does not have to worry about admitting this fear."
Yisrael Hayom argues that, "Israel Apartheid Week, organized mostly by Israeli lecturers, presents an opportunity to hear the claims of the extreme Left…Academic theories attempting to simplify a complicated reality are thrown around, and do not allow facts to confuse them." The author notes that, "According to Israeli Apartheid Week, money and humanitarian aid should not be afforded to the Palestinians because this perpetuates the status quo…As one who believes in coexistence and peace, I am saddened that the interest common to us and the Palestinians has been kidnapped by a group of academics living in an ivory tower. If they were living in Nablus or Ramallah, they would see the complexity of the conflict and recognize the need for assistance so that the Palestinian state, which will be established, will be sustainable."
The Jerusalem Post discusses the plight of Tel Aviv, the vibrant city currently under an onslaught of hordes of mainly illegal third-world economic migrants, and notes that the entire neighborhood of Neveh Sha’anan "has essentially been ripped out of the city and commandeered." The editor states that "The central government must be vigorously involved and help reconquer this part of Tel Aviv, which is where the unlawful influx that begins on the porous border with Egypt eventually ends up," and calls on the government to boldly tackle Israel’s alarmingly escalating illegal migration problems from within the country, and not only on the country’s frontiers.
Haaretz criticizes the government for debasing the High Court and for "scorning rulings handed down by the court system's upper echelon," and states that "The prime minister and his cabinet would do well to internalize Supreme Court Justice Ayala Procaccia's observation that “A country that does not implement court orders is a country sowing the seeds of chaos and anarchy.”
[Alex Fishman, Nadav Eyal and Eran Sheferman wrote today’s articles in Yediot Ahronot, Ma'ariv, and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]
