Editoriais de domingo, 30 de abril *

Haaretz comments: "Considering the results of the elections, which divided political power among numerous parties, it may be noted with satisfaction that the coalition negotiations were conducted in a dignified manner. Declarations on the intended path of the next government were clear from the outset, and the results of the negotiations were logical. The immediate linkage between Kadima and Labor, and the announcement that these would be the two senior members of the coalition around which the next government would be formed, prevented unnecessary horse-trading, foot-dragging, the making of empty promises to bring pressure to bear and insufferable compromises on matters of principle. The preference of Labor as a senior partner, rather than a number of parties that would have pulled the coalition in opposite directions, shows responsibility and the serious intention to implement agreed-upon programs.

The Jerusalem Post writes: "Sweden claims that its decision to pull out of a NATO air force exercise has nothing to do with the participation of the Israeli air force in the event. But as a Foreign Ministry spokesman put it, both Sweden's decision and its strange denial of the obvious are "insulting and unacceptable." ...Israel is a peace-seeking democracy that is under attack. We don't appreciate it when countries boycott us and welcome our attackers, as Sweden has done by granting visas - contrary to European policy - to Hamas officials... It is unfortunate that Sweden has shown such a gross inability to understand Israel's position that - in the name of promoting peace, of all things - it has removed itself from any constructive role in such a quest. Far from advancing peace, Sweden's extreme positions, however inadvertently, encourage terrorism against Israel, resulting in the deaths of more Israelis and Palestinians."

Yediot Aharonot urges Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz's internal party critics to fall in line and get to work. The editors urge Peretz to live up to his promises to his voters and to recast the Labor Party as "a renewed party of ideas that is genuinely dedicated to advancing socio-economic values in Israel."

Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, discusses the status of 99-year-old Labor Party patriarch Yitzhak Ben-Aharon.

Hatzofeh says that the new government's policy guidelines are anti-Zionist and wonders how Shas can contemplate joining such a government.

Editoriais de quinta, 27 de abril *

The Jerusalem Post writes: "Just two weeks ago Jews around the world celebrated Pessah, which emphasizes the Jewish people's escape from slavery and oppression in Egypt. The themes of redemption and freedom, cornerstones upon which the nascent Jewish nation were built, still resonate today. There is bitter irony, therefore, in the release of a United Nations report this week which found that Israel is among the top destinations of trafficking in humans for sexual exploitation or forced labor. The report, "Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns," identified 137 destination countries into which victims are smuggled. Israel was among the top 10... The fact that the Jewish state - of all countries - is among the most popular havens for such loathsome practices is a disgrace. Judaism values not only freedom but human dignity and protection of those who are powerless to help themselves. Slavery in our midst is intolerable and Israel must work to eradicate it."

Haaretz comments: "Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party propose stripping a significant proportion of Israeli Arabs of their citizenship as part of a territorial exchange agreement with the Palestinian Authority. This unacceptable position, even if it will not become part of the new government's platform, contributes to the deligitimization of Israel's Arab citizens. The fact that Lieberman is thought of as a legitimate partner in the government while the Arab parties have been rejected out of hand, is a mark of disgrace for Israel's political culture. There is no connection between that and disqualifying Lieberman as public security minister due to the continued investigation against him. Such a disqualification is unreasonable. The probe of criminal suspicions against Lieberman has gone on far longer than reasonable to the point where it constitutes a delay of justice. The investigation is connected to the funding of the 1999 elections, and began following publication of the 2000 State Comptroller's Report. Since then, newspaper headlines have appeared that have damaged his reputation and linked him financially with the Russian mafia. No evidence has been found for these suspicions, and no charges have been filed... Even if Lieberman's inflammatory style does not bear imitating and his political ideas are worthy of censure, his claims regarding the drawn-out investigation against him are justified. A probe cannot last forever, whether or not the subject is a public figure."

[Yediot Aharonot and Hatzofeh were unavailable today.]

Editoriais de quarta, 26 de abril *

The Jerusalem Post writes: "The official Palestinian condemnation of the horrific bombings at Dahab, a popular tourist destination on the southern Sinai coast, only makes the open Hamas endorsement of the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv more striking... The Islamist cancer directs its hatred at the West, but threatens the Arab world no less. The goal of the Islamists is a Taliban-like regime stretching across the entire Arab world; a vast dictatorship bent on subduing the Arab peoples and the West as well. For the Arab governments, the best antidote to this threat is not further crackdowns and attempts to keep the embers of the Arab-Israeli conflict alive, but rather the opposite: domestic liberalization and full normalization with Israel. Arab governments, if they want to survive, need to offer their people peace and prosperity, not an iron fist and unending conflict. Arab regimes that become less dictatorial, less corrupt, and less diplomatically and economically isolated should have a chance to compete against those that only offer a return to the mores and wars of the 11th century."

Yediot Aharonot, in its third editorial, discusses this week's terrorist bombing at Dahab in Sinai. The editors aver that, "The terrorism approaching us from the Sinai is of the Qaida variety," and call on the security establishment to be more vigilant in guarding the Egyptian-Israeli border.

Hatzofeh asserts that, "The one and only way to weaken the extremist terrorist organizations is to eliminate without hesitation all of those who preach in mosques and the ideologues who dispatch suicide terrorists but watch their own skins," and calls on the government to eliminate the Hamas leadership, including Ismail Haniye.

Yediot Aharonot calls on Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz to follow up on their decision not to appoint any deputy ministers in the new government and also decide not to appoint any ministers-without-portfolio.

Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, says that Tourism Minister Avraham Hirchson's participation in the March of the Living is far more important than his possible appointment as finance minister in the new government.

Haaretz comments: "Shaul Mofaz joined the Israel Defense Forces in the summer of 1966 and rose in the ranks until he became a lieutenant general, the highest position. A few weeks after he finished serving a four-year term as chief of staff, without a "cooling-off period," Mofaz was called on to join Ariel Sharon's government as defense minister. In the next few days, as the Olmert government is formed, Mofaz will set down the defense portfolio and receive another national task in a field he says has been close to his heart over the past year: economy that influences society. One might have expected that after four exhausting decades in security work, Mofaz would breathe freely and be glad to pass the burden of responsibility to others. But to our great disappointment, Mofaz not only had a difficult time taking leave from the Defense Ministry, but was deeply insulted - to the point of ordering the traditional party hosted by the defense minister and his wife the night after Independence Day be canceled."

Editoriais de segunda, 24 de abril *

Haaretz comments: "The cabinet being developed in coalition negotiation rooms and nighttime summit talks will soon be one of the largest in the annals of the country. Ehud Olmert will lead a large cabinet in a small country, where ministers with and without portfolios will converge and look for something with which to occupy themselves, which will not always be found. A cabinet that is apparently meant to include about 30 ministers is not a real governing body that constitutes "the executive branch of the country" by virtue of the Basic Law on government... Much of the quarter of a billion shekels needed, by some estimates, for annual maintenance of the cabinet - its ministers, deputy ministers and advisers - could have been used for far more important purposes than to be nice to everyone... If we add to the ministerial festivities some eight deputy ministers, who are considered part of the executive branch, then we will find that one-third of the Knesset members take no part in the obligation of parliamentary criticism of the cabinet. In a coalition that will likely include some 80 MKs, a significant portion of whom will not be participating in the work of the parliament as the legislative branch and supervisory authority, the cabinet will end up neutralizing the Knesset."

The Jerusalem Post writes: "At what point in the coalition negotiations do the parties jointly decide, "it's not our money, let's stick it to the voters"? It is difficult to interpret the decision to form a government of a minimum of 27 ministers in another manner. Such profligacy is a form of corruption, and clearly starts the nascent government on the wrong foot."

O Yediot Acharonot critica fortemente "the moral nadir expressed in the state's attitude toward the Holocaust survivors who live here," many of whom are in dire socio-economic straits.

O Hatzofeh critica os deputados árabes-israelenses que recentemente se encontraram com oficiais da liderança do Hamas e adverte que esses encontros poderão abrir caminho para que também líderes europeus e outros comecem a se encontrar com representantes do Hamas.

Editoriais de domingo, 23 de abril

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O Haaretz comenta: "Se alguma coisa ainda restava de uma aparente separação do que é oficial e do que é clandestino na Autoridade Palestina, desde que o Hamas tomou controle do governo isso desapareceu. A clara ilustração disso é a decisão do ministro do Interior do governo do Hamas, Said Sayem, de apontar Jamal Abu Samhadana como inspetor geral de seu ministério e como comandante de uma nova força de segurança. Abu Samhadana é completamente inaceitável para Israel, cujos civis ele matou durante anos a partir de seu esconderijo em Rafah, e para os Estados Unidos, porque seus Comitês de Resistência Popular assassinaram norte-americanos na Faixa de Gaza em 2003... Ele representa um modelo novo, explícito e provocativo - o "policial-terrorista", um terrorista que é também comandante de uma força policial. Até o momento, o governo do Hamas falou em termos de não-paz. Ao indicar Abu Samhadana, alterna para uma declaração de guerra contra Israel, e não apenas contra Israel: o governo do primeiro-ministro Ismail Haniyeh está caminhando em direção a um confronto com o presidente da AP Mahmud Abbas, que emitiu uma ordem que rescinde a indicação de Abu Samhadana e dissolve a nova força de segurança... O Hamas insiste em juntar evidências de que nega qualquer esperança de que o governo vai restaurar a ordem e acabar com o terrorismo. Os disparos continuados de mísseis Qassam, o atentado em Tel Aviv (e outros que foram frustrados pelas forças de segurança) e agora a indicação de Abu Samhadana provam que as chances de que um entendimento entre Israel e palestinos são mais remotas do que nunca. A responsabilidade pela retomada da violência recai diretamente sobre os palestinos, que estão sendo levados pelos seus governantes a tempos difíceis"

O Yediot Aharonot pergunta "A reocupação de Gaza, ou uma operação militar ampla qye incluiria ataques contra a liderança do Hamas realmente melhoraria a situação de segurança em Israel?" e responde que "O combate contra a ascenção do Hamas exige paciência e sagacidade; exige a habilidade de saber o que fazer e o que não fazer".

O Jerusalem Post escreve: "Se os Estados Unidos, o Reino Unido, a França e a Alemanha anunciaram em conjunto um embargo militar e diplomático contra o Irã como um primeiro aviso de futuras sanções do Conselho de Segurança da ONU, essas nações poderão deixar claro que o jogo do Irã não vai funcionar. Esses são os quatro países que devem liderar e cuja segurança - além da de Israel - está mais em risco. Ninguém pode permitir que a Rússia ou a China determinem os limites de uma resposta internacional às agressões terroristas atuais do Irã e a uma ameça nuclear em potencial".