From Today's Israeli Press
STRATEGIC MUSINGS
COMMUNAL SHOWER: Nahum Barnea asserts in Yedioth Ahronoth that everyone is talking to everyone in the Middle East in an unprecedented manner.
DANGEROUS STRATEGIC CHANGES: Amos Yadlin and Udi Evental explain in N12 what prompted the chief of staff and the head of the IDF's Intelligence Directorate to issue warnings of war with Iran and Hezbollah.
FOOL'S PARADISE: Ari Shavit claims in Makor Rishon that Israel is ill prepared for Iran's war plans.
CONFINED TO THE BENCH: Yisrael Ziv argues in Maariv that Israel can rehabilitate its regional standing by achieving a long-term cease fire in Gaza, thus curbing Iranian influence in the Strip.
KING OF FAKE NEWS: Yossi Verter proclaims in Haaretz that after passing Israel's destructive budget, giddy Bibi blurted out that the judicial "reform" will be back, sending the shekel to a four-and-a-half year low.
IDF PR CAMPAIGN: Yaakov Katz asks in The Jerusalem Post what will come first – war with Iran or peace with Saudi Arabia?
From Today's Arabic Press
REAPING WHAT THEY SOWED
HALTED NEGOTIATIONS: Despite the U.S.'s opposition to the normalization of relations with the Assad regime, direct and indirect talks have been going on between Washington and Damascus via Oman's mediation, reports Lebanese commentator Munir ar-Rabi' on Friday's Lebanese news portal www.almodon.com. The two sides, however, disagree on priorities: the U.S. wants the regime to free U.S. hostages held in Syria, make certain political concessions and revive negotiations with Tel Aviv before discussing the lifting of sanctions on Syria, while the regime wants sanctions to be lifted first before proceeding to negotiate other issues.
STORM OF OUTRAGE: Syrian opposition groups have expressed outrage at the Arab League's normalization of relations with the Syrian regime despite the latter's long list of atrocities, notes Syrian commentator Tareq 'Aziza on the Qatari-owned, pan-Arab news portal www.alaraby.co.uk. But the opposition groups are in fact reaping today what they had sowed in the past; they share a major part of the blame because of their corruption, rivalry and total subordination to their backers and financiers instead of insisting on maintaining some measure of independence.
EMPTY BLUSTER: Recent threats by various Israeli officials to attack Iran, Hezbollah, and even the entire resistance axis are nothing more than empty bluster meant to boost Israeli PM Netanyahu's standing in Israeli domestic politics, argues Palestinian commentator Mohammad an-Nubani in the Palestinian daily al-Quds. If carried out, such an attack would expose Israel to a real existential threat that may spell its end.
FROM TOXIC RELATIONS TO LETHAL DILEMMA: Relations between U.S. Democrats and Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu have been toxic for some time, with U.S. President Biden showing no interest in inviting Netanyahu to the White House, and Netanyahu's clear preference for Republican presidential candidates in the U.S., notes Jordanian commentator Hazem 'Ayyad on Friday's Qatari-owned pan-Arab news portal www.arabi21.com. But Netanyahu and his fascist government's domestically motivated disregard for U.S. regional policies and global priorities has conspired with the U.S. and Europe's reluctance to exert real pressure and sanctions on Israel, creating a lethal dilemma for the U.S.'s influence in the region.
THE U.S.'S TRUE FACE: By extending for another year an order that had been extended 20 times since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. President Biden simply ignored the Iraqis' wishes as expressed by their parliament's vote and insisted on continuing the criminal U.S. occupation of the country on the pretext of protecting U.S. national security, notes Egyptian commentator Mohammed as-Sa'id Idriss in Friday's UAE daily al-Khaleej. Such behavior stems from the fact that no Iraqi or international court has held the U.S. accountable for its actions in Iraq and exposes the U.S.'s true face.