"They didn't flee, they used proper discretion."--Brig. Gen. (res.) Shmuel Zakai, former commander of the Golani Brigades and of the Gaza Command, discusses his views on the IDF soldiers who turned tail when confronted with Palestinian stone-throwers.
- U.S. intel predicts: Palestinian state to exist by 2030, but not peace with Israel - The report, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, predicts that with the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and eventually Afghanistan, support for Israel will remain the last cause for Muslim anti-U.S. sentiments. Issues like the right of return, demilitarization and Jerusalem will not be fully resolved by 2030 and there will be no complete end to the conflict, the report says. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Palestinians to launch 6-month initiative to restart talks with Israel - Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says initiative, to be launched next month in cooperation with international officials, conditioned on demand to release prisoners, call to halt settlement construction. (Haaretz)
- Right-wing parties seek to ban Arab parties from upcoming Israel elections - MKs cite support for the 2010 Gaza flotilla and the denial of Israel as a Jewish state. (Haaretz+)
- Knesset moves to disqualify MK Zoabi from running for re-election - Could Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zoabi be the first Knesset member to be disqualified since Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1988? Central Elections Committee is set to deliberate a request to disqualify Zoabi from running in the upcoming elections. Zoabi: "This is fascism." (Israel Hayom)
- Ultra-Orthodox draft exemption stirs political uproar - Cabinet's greenlight of guidelines meant to replace Tal Law meets angry response from Left, Right. Livni: Move beyond outrageous. (Ynet)
- Gaza perfume named after M-75 missile - Local cosmetics company decides to give new scent name of Hamas rocket fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, saying fragrance 'is pleasant and attractive, like the missiles of the Palestinian resistance.' (Ynet)
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