BBC Monitoring quotes from Israel's Hebrew press 27 Oct 11

The following is a selection of quotes taken from the Israeli press published on 27 October:Relations with the Palestinians

"Brig-Gen Nitzan Alon, who yesterday ended his stint as commander of the Israel Defence Forces' West Bank Division, once again proved that not only is he a brave and decorated soldier, but he is also a man of conscience... Alon dared to state simply and clearly what many in the IDF and the defence establishment know, but refrain from saying: that the army has not been effective enough in blocking 'price tag' attacks against Palestinians and their property, and that these acts are a form of terror... One hopes that men like these will succeed in keeping the West Bank from a gratuitous eruption, and Israel society from losing its humanity." [From editorial of left-of-centre, independent broadsheet Ha'aretz]

"In the Shalit affair, Israel showed initiative, creativity and readiness to talk to the worst of our enemies, and grant them painful concessions entailing risks. Our duty is to prevent the casualties of the next wars and terrorist attacks, and there is no better way than a settlement with the Palestinians. The security risk inherent in it is not bigger than the risk inherent in the non- achievement of a settlement. Just like the government relied on our intelligence and operational power to take the calculated risk in the Shalit deal, so it can rely on it to take calculated risks on the way to a settlement..." [From commentary by former chief of staff Amnon Lipkin Shahak in centrist, mass circulation Yediot Aharonot]

"In an interview with the Washington Post [25 Oct], King Abdallah said: 'Many of us in Jordan have concluded that this government in Israel is not interested in the two-state solution'... The king is convinced that Israel intends to undermine his rule, create a new reality in which the Hashimite royal house would fall and replaced by Palestinians who constitute most of Jordan's population ... Such a situation would enable Israel to claim that Jordan is a Palestinian state and the West Bank residents to become Jordanian subjects... Until lately, it was clear that this plan comes from the school of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, but lately messages reached Amman that this plan had been adopted by Binyamin Netanyahu..." [From commentary by Ben Kaspit in centrist Ma'ariv]

Obama

"How convenient: When Obama's internal policy is a failure, he turns to argue the success of his foreign policy... However, it will be a mistake to boast about success in the Middle East because many things will go wrong in Libya and Iraq... In Libya, it is not clear who will govern. Now, there are two figures representing the alternatives: Mahmud Jibril, a doctor of political science, and Abd Al-Karim, a military leader who left for Afghanistan in 1988 to fight the Soviets, and later became leader of the group of Libyan Muslim fighters, caught by the CIA and handed to Al-Qadhafi... He was in prison until 2010... In relation to Iraq, it seems that Obama's declarations of satisfaction will still remind of Bush's mistake of declaring 'mission accomplished' before combat had ended..." [From commentary by Prof. Daniel Pipes in free, pro- Netanyahu Yisrael Hayom]

Prisoner swap deals

"The exceptionally disproportionate swap for Gilad Schalit has aroused profound misgivings and attempts to find ways of preventing more of the same in the future... The only antidote is a mindset switch and a return to the kind of resolve that characterized Golda Meir's administration and which was steadfastly adhered to despite the heavy cost... Israel unwaveringly refused to pay ransom, not even under the most harrowing of circumstances such as the Ma'alot school siege, the baby creche at Kibbutz Misgav Am, Tel Aviv's Savoy Hotel, Kiryat Shmona home invasions and numerous others. This is a matter of dogged determination - not merely more words on our law books." [From editorial of English-language Jerusalem Post]

Sources: As given

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