Pending review

One man is on the minds of everyone in the Hebrew press on Tuesday morning as he steps into the Supreme Court, possibly for the last time before heading to jail. That man, of course, is former prime minister Ehud Olmert. The justices were to decide in an appeal whether Olmert, who was sentenced to six years in prison for receiving bribes, would spend time in prison or not. (The decision has already been handed down, but there are no spoilers here. Just here.)

There’s no shortage of hyperbole in the reportage on the upcoming moment. Israel Hayom calls the judges’ anticipated decision “unprecedented in terms of history: the first time in the annals of Israel that a former prime minister could be sent to prison.” Yedioth Ahronoth writes that “the eyes of millions of Israelis will follow the decision of his fate today.” Haaretz, with its characteristic sangfroid, sticks to the story at hand: Olmert and seven other appellants will face a panel of five judges who will weigh in on their sentencing in the Holyland corruption case.

Should Olmert spend time in the big house, he’ll enjoy the luxury suite reserved for VIPs, Haaretz reports. “The Department for Threatened Prisoners is a small branch, intended to hold up to 20 prisoners, designed for criminals whose situations are especially sensitive,” the paper reports, describing what could otherwise be a resort, “and they are entitled to better conditions than other prisoners.” “Other residents who will inhabit the branch are expected to be mayors, judges, police officers and intelligence officials,” the paper says, predicting rather pessimistically that Israel has at least 19 other elites prison-bound.

Olmert’s accommodations will be the deluxe suite, 4.5 meters square rather than the standard 3.5 meters square of ordinary cells, with an en-suite bathroom. Unlike other prison blocks, he will share his cell with one or two other prisoners, depending on occupancy, the paper says.

But rather than dwell on that which has already been decided, stories in the papers besides Olmert are worth examining. Yedioth Ahronoth reports that the Shin Bet and state prosecutors told a court that they intend to file charges against one of the suspects in the Duma terror attack — but not in connection to the July 31 firebombing. The paper points out that despite the fact that the police and internal security agency said there were big developments in the case to bring the killers of the Dawabsha family to trial, no charges have been filed, and the prosecution has only expressed intent to file charges against one suspect.

Haaretz reports that prosecutors were supposed to file charges against two suspects, but in the end didn’t and their remand was extended by two days. Moreover, the court ordered the release of one suspect to house arrest who has been held by the authorities for 29 days, 20 of which he didn’t have access to legal counsel, his lawyers say. The prosecution is appealing the decision to release the suspect, and Yedioth Ahronoth sums up its general disappointment with the headline “Release, appeal and embarrassment.”

Israel Hayom plays up IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s response to not-so-veiled threats against Israel by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, but also includes a terrifying piece on terrorism citing a trauma ward doctor from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Ofer Marin tells the paper that it would appear based on the stab wounds of victims in recent Palestinian attacks that the terrorists “know where they need to strike; this is not something random.”

“Three weeks ago a victim came to us who is still hospitalized with four stab wounds: one in the lung, one in the right atrium, one in the right ventricle and one in the neck,” he tells the paper. “It’s as if someone read the manual, and the victim arrived with two stab wounds in the heart. You learn that they know how to wound.”

In a completely unrelated matter, the IDF will be providing large stipends to officers who move to the Negev as part of the army’s relocation project: NIS 70,000 ($18,000) for an officer and NIS 200,000 ($51,000) for a family, Haaretz reports. The stipend is one of a series of benefits the Defense Ministry will extend to officers who move to the Negev, including salary increases, help in finding work for their partners, and subsidies for property development, apartment rental or mortgages on a new home. In short, the IDF is willing to shell out to bring its people south as it moves key bases away from the center of the country.