From Today's Israeli Press
DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE
14 COMMON FEATURES: Nahum Barnea asserts in Yedioth Ahronoth that the election of the Netanyahu family's personal lawyer as State Comptroller completes Israel's fascist takeover.
WHAT WILL REALLY HAPPEN IF BIBI WINS? Nadav Shragai claims in Israel Hayom that the leftist horror scenarios raise the suspicion that they will refuse to accept the elections' results.
NETANYAHU'S PURGE: Ben Caspit argues in Maariv that Netanyahu has completed his takeover of almost all centers of power, and the change bloc is required to act responsibly.
OMAN UNDER AMERICAN THREAT: Yoni Ben Menachem stresses in ArabExpert that at stake is the ability of small Gulf States to maintain independent policy.
ONLY EISENKOT: Aluf Benn proclaims in Haaretz that Lebanon could become Netanyahu's political graveyard for a second time.
NEW TERMS: Elie Podeh and Elad Giladi contend in The Jerusalem Post that the moment for a new Saudi peace initiative has arrived.
From Today's Arabic Press
"LAST CHANCE" FOR WHAT?
A STRUCTURAL SHIFT: If the Lebanon/Israel agreement signed in Washington is implemented, it would mark a major structural shift in Lebanon's political landscape, argues Editor-in-Chief Munir ar-Rabi' on Friday's Lebanese news portal Lebanese commentator Hussam Kanafani on Friday's Qatari-owned, London-based, pan-Arab news portal www.alaraby.co.uk. In particular, it would pull Lebanon from Iran's orbit and place it squarely in the anti-Iran camp, end the state of hostility with Israel, remove the country from the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative, and put the state on a serious collision course with Hezbollah; the question, however, is whether it can be implemented.
A "SO-CALLED" CEASEFIRE: Lebanese officials justify the U.S.-sponsored agreement with Israel as an attempt to distance Lebanon from the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran, but they do not seem to have taken into consideration the domestic consequences of their move, warns Lebanese commentator Hussam Kanafani on Friday's Qatari-owned, London-based, pan-Arab news portal www.alaraby.co.uk. Statements by the Israeli defense minister regarding the agreement raise serious questions as to what exactly was agreed upon since they insist that Lebanon's South will remain subject to Israeli attacks; more dangerously, however, the agreement risks triggering an internal explosion that threatens everything.
MORE LIES THAN TRUTHS: The debate in Lebanon is based on three lies regarding opponents of the agreement with Israel: That they are opposed to negotiations as such, that they are against the Lebanese army taking control of the South, and that the resistance refuses the principle of restricting weapons to the state, argues Editor-in-Chief Nasser Qandil in Friday's Lebanese daily al-Bina. The truth is that the Lebanese authorities rushed into a very bad agreement, expecting the U.S. to guarantee it when Washington reneged on its commitments regarding the November 2024 agreement.
MORE COMPLICATED: Opponents of the new agreement argue that it requires Lebanon to take immediate steps on the ground to prove its credibility to Israel, without obligating Israel to take any prior or simultaneous steps, notes Lebanese commentator 'Imad Marmal in Friday's center-right Beirut daily al-Joumhouria. Moreover, the agreement ignores the fact that its implementation requires Hezbollah to commit suicide, which will not happen, and threatens to place the Lebanese army in direct conflict with it instead of with Israel; moreover, the agreement's objective is not to liberate Lebanon but to separate the Lebanese and Iran tracks.
THE WAR CONTINUES: The official Lebanese authorities describe the agreement reached in Washington as the "last chance" for the country, hoping this will pressure Hezbollah into ending its fight against Israel and allow the agreement's implementation, notes Lebanese commentator Naji. S. al-Bustani on Friday's Lebanese www.elnashra.com. Hezbollah, however, has already rejected the agreement and is clearly betting that Iran will succeed in reaching a comprehensive deal with the U.S. which would include provisions for a ceasefire in Lebanon in accordance with Tehran's criteria; a difficult and painful period lies ahead for the Lebanese.