1. LAST NIGHT: PERES HOSTED THE NETANYAHUS FOR DINNER AGAIN
YEDIOT AHRONOT
1. Letter to Prime Minister:
"WE, THE FRIENDS OF YONI NETANYAHU, REQUEST THAT YOU RETURN GILAD"
YISRAEL HAYOM
1. Chief-of-Staff Ashkenazi preparing for next flotillas:
GAZA MUST NOT BECOME IRANIAN PORT
Praised naval commandos. Preparations continue for arrival of ships from Lebanon and Iran. Lebanon to UN: Israel will be responsible for any damaged caused to our ships.
2. SPY SATELLITE OFEK 9 LAUNCHED
It will significantly improve information gathering capabilities from Iran. Barak: Major technological accomplishment.
3. LIBERMAN TO MINISTERS: ADOPT MY DIPLOMATIC PLAN
Proposes outline centered on: Land and population exchange. "Kadima must agree as a condition for joining coalition."
HA'ARETZ
1. INITIATIVE: UN EMERGENCY MEETING ON GAZA BLOCKADE
Encouraged by Syria and Iran, Malaysia proposes emergency UN debate on flotilla incident and Gaza blockade.
2. STAGE BY STAGE: THUS OFEK 9 WAS LAUCHED INTO SPACE
NANA10
1. "HAMAS INTERESTED IN CARRYING OUT OPERATION THAT WOULD CHANGE REGIONAL REALITY"
Security establishment on special alert for fourth anniversary of soldier Gilad Shalit's abduction. IDF Intelligence receives multiple alerts, according to which terrorists intend to perpetrate attack in southern region.
2. OFEK 9 SATALITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED FROM PALMACHIM BASE
WALLA!
1. FLOTILLA FROM LEBANON: "ONE SHIP READY TO SAIL"
According to reports from Lebanon, one of the ships set to sail from Tripoli towards Gaza is already laden with humanitarian aid. The ship, with female activists from Lebanon and abroad onboard, is still awaiting permission from authorities to sail.
2. SPY SATELLITE OFEK 9 LAUNCHED FROM PALMACHIM
Israel yesterday launched another spy satellite, which is supposed to improve its intelligence gathering capabilities. Security source: "The importance of Israel's independence in space is clear. It is our strategic asset."
3. WILL US DEPORT ISA COLLABORATOR?
According to Institute on Religion and Democracy, the United States' courts are expected to discuss the deportation of Mosab [Hassan] Yousef to the West Bank. Yousef, the son of a senior Hamas figure, collaborated with the ISA and assisted in saving Israeli lives.
[Headlines for Ha'aretz, Walla! and Nana10 are from their websites as of 10:10.]
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SUMMARY OF OP-EDS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS
Three papers discuss various aspects of the controversy over alleged ethnic discrimination at an ultra-orthodox primary school for girls in Emanuel:
Yediot Aharonot notes that the Government has yet to decide that "All private education will be entirely at the expense of the parents who want it," and wonders, given the influence of the ultra-orthodox parties, if any Government will ever do so.
Ma'ariv suggests that the "silence," of the religious Zionist sector over the controversy is due to the fact that the sector is edging closer towards ultra-orthodoxy and fears that ethnic discrimination and isolationism might make greater inroads in the religious Zionist sector as a result.
The Jerusalem Post finds Shas's silence and acquiescence to the ongoing Ashkenazi haredi discrimination against Sephardim unforgivable. The editor faults the Shas MKs who "were maddeningly silent when over 100,000 haredim took to the streets of Bnei Brak and Jerusalem last week to defend their rabbis’ call to discriminate against Sephardi school girls," and regrets that, due to the party’s deference to the Ashkenazi establishment, "Shas’s voice is not being heard."
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Yisrael Hayom discusses the latest measures to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip and asserts that "Israel must concentrate its efforts on reducing the pressure to lift the naval blockade because it is vital, and give up on preventing the entry of goods that lack any military value because we must internalize that – sadly – despite the plight of Gilad Shalit, we are unable to punish Hamas and its Gaza voters this way." The author says that the Hamas leadership is quite prepared to see Gazans suffer, "as long as it does not have to soften its position on the exchange for the kidnapped soldier."
Haaretz cites a decade-long University of Haifa study that shows a sharp decline in the public's faith in the Supreme Court, and states that "The study's findings should serve as an alarm bell for anyone concerned about the future of Israeli democracy, the existence of which depends on a strong, independent judiciary." The editor declares that "Those primarily responsible for the public's lack of trust are the politicians who have so doggedly striven to weaken the courts," and adds: "Netanyahu and his partners in government must pull themselves together and give the judicial system the support it needs to operate properly, first and foremost by adhering to its rulings and condemning those who incite against it."
[Amos Carmel, Avraham Tirosh and Yaakov Amidror wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]
