Borders, elections, and evacuations

Another infiltration on Israel’s southern border with Egypt has left Israelis wondering just what will become of the once peaceful Sinai Peninsula.

The terror attack along the border and the death of a worker employed by the Defense Ministry made all the front pages on Tuesday. Alongside coverage of the attack was analysis about the weekend’s presidential election in Egypt.

Maariv’s front page paraphrases Defense Minister Ehud Barak in its headline, “Worried about the Egyptian loss of control in Sinai.” Inside, the coverage provides a play-by-play of how the terrorist cell crossed the border at dawn and was able to battle IDF troops called to the scene for almost an hour. The article headline warns, “The concern – Sinai is becoming like south Lebanon,” and the article ties in the Egyptian election coverage stating, “The ascension of the Muslim Brotherhood can create more tension.”

Israel Hayom’s front-page headline reads “A new Egypt – an active Sinai border,” and its coverage includes a recap of the terror attack and an opinion piece by Boaz Bismuth. Bismuth recalls the vicious civil war fought in Algeria after an Islamic party won elections in 1991, but states, “In Egypt we can expect a different scenario. The Muslim Brotherhood doesn’t need to begin armed struggle, today they have the power of the electorate.” Bismut goes on to state that while the government and the Muslim Brotherhood have both made mistakes, the Muslim Brotherhood will eventually triumph and there will be a new Egypt. “Maybe not an Algeria, but also not Switzerland,” he concludes.

Yedioth Ahronoth include in its coverage a small article about Said Fashafshe, the lone victim of yesterday’s attack. Fashapshe was on the phone with a family member at the time of the attack, before the call was disconnected. Relatives told Yedioth, “Said was an excellent man, a family man who loved his children very much.”

Illegal workers and tough words

Haaretz reports on its front page about the new tent city that the government is planning to build to house illegal migrants. According to the report, in order to meet the time demands of the project, the Defense Ministry wants permission to not include sewage and medical facilities in the camp. Medical facilities would only be added in September and until then facilities at the Sahronim center would be used. No date has been set for when the requests could be approved.

Maariv reports on the migrants that were deported to South Sudan on Sunday with an article titled, “Returning to the family in Juba, with no place to sleep.” The article details the path for the refugees over the next couple of weeks, which includes living in a UN refugee camp without shelter, electricity or water. The article quotes one of the 46 children aboard the flight, “Tell my friends in Israel never to come here, no matter what.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is getting fed up with the deportations and the “celebrations” surrounding them. Israel Hayom quotes the foreign minister criticizing Interior Minister Eli Yishai, “I’ve never heard speech so detrimental as what I heard yesterday at the South Sudanese repatriation ‘festival.’” Liberman didn’t stop his criticism there: “I urge those who want to find solutions and not just talk, to stop talking.” Yishai responded, “There are those who are engaged in commentary, and those engaged in action.”

Talking about Iran and Syria

Yedioth reports on the most recent round of talks between the West and Iran and the tension between the two sides in Moscow. The article describes the first day of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program as tough and full of tension. The article states that if there is no progress in this round of talks, they will not continue.

Syria is not out of the spotlight, with Haaretz writing that in a meeting yesterday between Putin and Obama the two agreed that democracy was the best way forward for Syria. The two presidents met at the G20 meeting in Mexico, and in addition to discussing Syria they also discussed Mideast peace and Iran, with generic statements being issued on both topics. Putin also invited Obama to Russia, saying it would help improve relations between the two countries.

Givat Ulpana is in the papers again with Maariv reporting that there are only 12 days remaining until the evacuation of the neighborhood. “Race against the clock,” reads Maariv’s headline, and the article details how government representatives met yesterday with Beit El rabbi Zevulon Melamed and spoke of options for moving the yeshiva. The meeting was attended by Minister Gilad Erdan, whose car was vandalized while he attended the meeting.

Haaretz also reports on Ulpana with a front-page article on a large scale training exercise held by the police in order to prepare for the evacuation. The exercise was held in the Jordan Valley and attended by a range of police units.

Maariv reports on a tragic drowning on Page 8. A 14-year-old boy drowned at a Holon pool during his school’s “Fun day.” The paper reports that he drowned while playing a game with his friends in the pool. His father told the paper that he tried to convince his son not to go. “I’ve always feared school field trips,” the father said.

Get a job!

Summer is almost here for Israeli students and in an apparent favor to parents everywhere, Yedioth wrote a story to help students get that summer job. This year summer vacation is slightly longer than usual and in order to help teens make the most of it, Yedioth provides websites, phone numbers, and job ideas for teenagers to get that perfect summer job.