Striking Syria: Out in the open

From analyses on the regional significance of the IDF’s successful interception of a Syrian drone that entered Israeli airspace, through coverage of bereaved families of fallen soldiers ahead of next week’s Memorial Day, to colorful graphs and official Independence Day statistics on the Jewish state’s growing population, the major headlines across the country’s leading Hebrew-language papers this weekend are strikingly similar.

All papers lead with the Israeli army’s confirmation that a missile successfully downed an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Golan Heights, and tie the operation to Arab media reports, according to which the IDF attacked a Syrian army air base near Damascus on Wednesday.

Yedioth Ahronoth analyst Alex Fishman writes that, if, in fact, the attack in Damascus was Israel’s doing, the Jewish state’s security establishment is “walking on eggshells.” Fishman notes that mere hours before the reported attack, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow to discuss the two countries’ shared interests in Syria. Russia, Fishman continues, is no fan of Israeli strikes in Syria due to the alliance between the Kremlin and the Assad regime, and it takes “nerves of steel” and serious “Israeli chutzpah” for Liberman — while still in Moscow — to allegedly authorize an attack across the Jewish state’s northern border.

Haaretz military correspondent and defense analyst Amos Harel comments on the matter as well, arguing that the attack attributed to the IDF signals an end to the “era of opaqueness” with regards to Israel’s policy in Syria. “Jerusalem and Damascus came out of the closet,” Harel writes. Harel adds that while not explicitly acknowledging Israel was behind the strike, Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said the attack was consistent with Israel’s policy of preventing arms transfers to Hezbollah. “Syria admits it was attacked, Israel confirms it has struck, and in the meanwhile it is unclear where all this will lead in terms of relations with Russia,” says Harel.

The front pages of Israel Hayom and Yedioth both highlight the official reports on Israel’s population, which now stands at 8,680,000 and is increasing at nearly two percent a year, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of the country’s 69th Independence Day next week. “No longer just a small country,” Israel Hayom’s underline proudly exclaims. The reports further note that over the past 12 months some 174,000 babies were born, 44,000 people died and 30,000 new immigrants arrived in the country. At the current rate, Israel’s population will hit 15.2 million by the time the Jewish state celebrates 100 years since its establishment in 2048.

On the other hand, as part of coverage ahead of next week’s Memorial Day, the papers remind readers that 23,544 soldiers have been killed since before the establishment of the state. Yedioth further reports that 3,177 civilians have been killed in terror attacks over the past 69 years, and that 9,157 bereaved parents currently live in Israel.

Israel Hayom and Yedioth both report that the Defense Ministry unveiled a Remembrance Hall for the country’s fallen soldiers for the first time on Thursday. The site, located at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery and next to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, is currently in the final stage of construction. Construction of the memorial began in January 2015. The structure cost NIS 75 million ($20 million), with another NIS 14 million invested in multimedia. The site will first open to families of fallen soldiers on this year’s Memorial Day, May 1.

Yedioth reports that the Finance Ministry has confirmed an increase in monthly disability benefits for the over 200,000 Israelis who receive the financial aid. The announcement comes after the Finance Ministry appointed a team that will work during the Passover holiday to figure out the details of how to make the plan work, due to the need to find additional funding for the raise in monthly disability benefits. However, Yedioth notes, the plan still needs to be authorized by the government, and the final details on how and when exactly the increase will take place have yet to be finalized.