1. POLICE RECOMMEND: BRIBERY CHARGES AGAINST OLMERT IN HOLYLAND AFFAIR

 

1. MAP OF CLASS CROWDEDNESS

 

1. Senior Mossad figure convicted of spying speaks.

I DID NOT COMMIT TREASON

 

1. CHARGE NUMBER FIVE AGAINST OLMERT - BRIBERY

 

1. DEFENSE MINISTER WILL ASK EISENKOT TO REMAIN

 

2. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: GIORA EILAND TESTIFIES BEFORE TURKEL COMMISSION

 

1. REPORT: EGYPT AND JORDAN WILL TAKE ACTIVE ROLE IN DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS

El-Quds El-Arabi quoted Palestinian sources which say that Egypt and Jordan will assist in reaching concurrence on border and security issues.  Jordan will take part in discussions on Jerusalem's future.  According to the report Egypt and Jordan will take part in talks at Netanyahu's request.

 

 

 

Yediot Ahronot, opines that, "Obama has only one path: To lay his peace plan on the table, and to start pressuring.  He certainly can.  The question is, does he want to?"

 

Ma'ariv notes that, "In the name of Zionism, Im Tirzu is waging an unwavering battle against the University named after David Ben-Gurion, which symbolizes more than anything the institution of Zionism."  The author gibes, "The difference between Im Tirzu and the [Ben-Gurion] University [of the Negev]is also the difference between Ben-Gurion and others who speak of the Negev's importance: They only spoke, he acted."

 

Yisrael Hayom argues that, "More than Netanyahu's Cabinet meeting warning last month that the loss of the Jewish majority in the Negev is liable to lead to a demand for a Bedouin state within Israel, like what happened in the Balkans, it would seem that foremost we must understand that we are not living in the Balkans, and that the Bedouins are not a 'national minority.'  This is the Middle East.  And if there is a 'national minority' here, actually, that would be us, the Jewish citizens of the State of Israel, who are trying – against the odds – to survive within an ocean of Arabs, of which the Bedouins of Israel are an inseparable part of.  Just like Abu Mazen."

The Jerusalem Post comments that "talks between Israel and the Palestinians have not yet begun, and already Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to stop them. In a letter sent Sunday to the Quartet  Abbas warned that if construction continues anywhere beyond the Green Line, he will pull out of negotiations. Abbas purports to be ready for the kind of territorial swaps that would help facilitate an accord by formalizing the integration of the settlement blocs into Israel, along with the Jewish east Jerusalem neighborhoods where Israel already claims sovereignty. Yet the PA president’s demand for a blanket building moratorium that makes no distinctions between such territories and other, isolated settlements indicates ongoing intransigence. Abbas has already frittered away nine months of the building freeze - an unprecedentedly encouraging context for a genuine attempt at peacemaking. It’s hardly an optimistic harbinger for the talks ahead."

Haaretz discusses the challenges facing Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, recommended by DM Barak to become the IDF's 20th chief of staff: "Galant's immediate challenge will be to rebuild the confidence of the public and the troops in the integrity of the army's top command." The IDF "has to protect the country, whose borders cry out for definition, and support the political efforts to achieve peace" and "can be expected to act with the right combination of morals and discipline, and to take into account its influence on society and the economy."

[Orly Azoulai, MK Shaul Mofaz and Amona Alon wrote today’s articles in Yediot Ahronot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]