Haaretz was reporting this morning that Israel and the Palestinians have reached agreement on the principle of a prisoner exchange quoting a Gazan source as saying that Israel is now holding up discussions of the details of the deal, including how it would take place, which of several hundred Palestinian prisoners would be released, and when it would take place. At night, Channel 10 reported on the first attempted military putsch in the history of the country, a group of colonels, brigadiers and at least one reserve major general was named as taking part among others, demanding Dan Halutz resign as chief of staff of the IDF. Read more about Anything could happen
There is almost nobody in the public arena right now who objects to the view that the last month of fighting against Hizbollah was interrupted and that sooner or later, whether next month or next year, another round will erupt. Nobody disputes that such another round is inevitable, and very few are suggesting any steps to take to prevent that war from breaking out by trying diplomacy with the Lebanese leadership or even engaging the Syrians. And of course, the main issue on the Israeli agenda is the demand for ‘investigations’ into why Israel ‘lost’ the war, with accompanying demands for soul-searching by politicians. Read more about Political and sexual abuse
The Israeli consensus is holding largely because its media is still behind the operation, and focused on the empty streets of the northern communities and the individual suffering of various families who have lost relatives to the rockets or seen their life possessions demolished in a moment. Of the many, many hours of television time devoted daily to the violence, only a few minutes are given to the scenes from Lebanon. Regular programming has disappeared from the three main channels. A ground invasion would indeed raise the specter of a lengthy stay in hostile territory and casualties among Israeli soldiers and that would certainly lead to protests. Read more about The long, hot summer has already begun
