(Israel Government Press Office)
Yediot Aharonot commends German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier for standing by Israel in the face of growing anti-Israel sentiment in Germany due - inter alia - to Operation Cast Lead.

The Jerusalem Post ponders the banning of two Arab parties by the Knesset Central Elections Committee, and reflects that while totalitarian regimes are prone to banning political parties, democracies seldom do. The editor feels, however, that our polity should not shy away from making tough decisions to protect the system from those who would destabilize it.

Ma'ariv says that the Central Election Committee's decision to disqualify two Israeli Arab parties - Balad and Ra'am-Ta'al - was "an expression of weakness, a lack of self-confidence and irrational fear". The author denies that disqualifying the two parties was a case of a democracy defending itself: "Democracies are entitled to defend themselves against their enemies, including enemies of the state that undermine its very existence. A list that seeks to peacefully persuade Israeli citizens to shelve the concept of the country as a Jewish national state and replace it with a different concept, that of a state of all its citizens, does not fall under any of these". The paper asserts, "Even if the High Court of Justice saves Israeli democracy from itself, the Central Elections Committee's decision will remain as a mark of shame".

Yisrael Hayom refers to the disputed version of events regarding Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent phone conversation with US President George Bush about the US position on UN Security Council Resolution #1860 and suggests that, "To tell the truth, Olmert has surprised us in this war: He hasn't made many mistakes until his strange appearance in Ashkelon on Monday", in which he publicly discussed the matter. The author avers that Israel suffered a diplomatic defeat when the US chose not to cast its veto: "And guess what? The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister are now fighting over this failure".

Haaretz criticizes politicians who are calling to exploit Israel's advantage to bring about Hamas' complete, humiliating defeat and argues that Israel must think about the day after. The editor calls on the government to "seek a cease-fire as soon as possible, accelerate the diplomatic talks with Egypt about security arrangements and resume the talks about kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, whose plight seems to have been pushed aside during the operation".

Here you can find some other links:

Haaretz

Yediot Aharonot

Maariv

Globes

Jerusalem Post

Yisrael Hayom

Hazofe