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Commentary;
It seems obvious that disjointed “intellects” of Ehud Barak, Haim Ramon and Ehud Olmert, etc. make perverted distinctions between “confidence-building” (repeated shows of weakness, equivocations and relinquishment of assets to Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.; i.e. prisoner releases, further emulation of the expulsions of Jews from Gush Katif and the Shomron) and Ehud Barak’s pronouncement that “the spirit of Israel must be prepared at every moment as if the next war is around the corner.” MB
Yom Kippur War Lessons Still Relevant’
Excerpts;
“A lesson of war for me is an order to look sensibly at reality and not to follow the heart’s wishes… Even at the beginning of Israel’s sixtieth year of independence, we knew that we were fighting for our existence and our right to achieve independence in the state of Israel,” said Ashkenazi at Mt. Herzl on Sunday.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who spoke after the army chief, reminded those who came to remember the fallen that a war is first and foremost a war of combatants and their commanders in the field, despite the fact that history books are filled with the names of political and military leaders.
“Even the Yom Kippur War was a war of soldiers and commanders who provided cover for the leadership’s failures with their hearts and their heroism. We must not follow the vision of a fictitious moment, the spirit of Israel must be prepared at every moment as if the next war is around the corner,” Barak added.
Cabinet Approves Release of 90 Palestinian Security Prisoners
Excerpts;
The cabinet approved on Sunday morning the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners ahead of Ramadan.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet that the prisoner release would not affect a deal for the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit. “This is a gesture that has been accepted in the past. The prisoners will be freed according to criteria that already exist,” he said.
Olmert has declared his willingness to release a limited number of the roughly 11,000 Palestinian prisoners Israel holds, in an effort to shore up Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in his power struggle with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin added on Sunday that all the prisoners who up for release would mostly be Fatah members, and all have more than a year left to serve.
Assuming the cabinet approves the release in principle, a special ministerial committee will meet later in the day to decide on a final list of names. Israelis will then have 48 hours to challenge the release in the Supreme Court, she said.
Eisen added that assuming the lists are published this evening and that there would be no [court] petitions, or if there are that they would have been discussed, in theory, by Tuesday or Wednesday morning, the prisoners can be released.
Related report: Not Only Fatah Prisoners Slated for Release