Israeli media criticise government

Death toll mounts as violence rages

Criticism of the government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has intensified in the Israeli press this week.

"A government that promised at its inception a year ago to put an end to terror - but only increased it - should resign," said a front-page commentary in the daily Yediot Aharonot, Israel's largest-circulation daily newspaper.

Judging by results, this government gets a grade of zero

Yediot Aharonot

The paper accused Mr Sharon's government of a catalogue of failures.

"A government that promised a year ago to stop the recession, and only deepened it, should resign. A government that promised a year ago to bring peace closer, and only distanced it for generations, should resign. Judging by results, this government gets a grade of zero," the paper said.

One year on

The results of an opinion poll published in the same paper confirmed that - a year after taking office on a promise of crushing the Palestinian uprising and guaranteeing security - Mr Sharon's popularity had plummeted.

Approval ratings in free-fall?

Yediot Aharonot reported that 72% of its respondents said the government had failed to meet their expectations. Only 43% were satisfied with Mr Sharon's performance.

Writing in the popular daily Ma'ariv, one commentator said the latest wave of attacks had "strengthened the feeling among many people that Sharon does not have an answer to terrorism right now."

Another said the national unity government was increasingly being perceived as a "colossal failure".

State in danger

The liberal daily Ha'aretz was scathing in its criticism.

"The government's deeds and failures show that the fate of the state is to a large extent in the hands of unbalanced people. Their continued rule puts the safety and stability of the state in danger," it said.

A Ha'aretz editorial headed "Empty Promises" accused Mr Sharon of lacking a policy altogether.

The state is to a large extent in the hands of unbalanced people

Ha'aretz

"The attempt to understand Sharon's policy assumes that such a policy does indeed exist... Empty words about a better future or the capitulation of the PA are evidence of a loss of direction," it said.

The government also came under attack from the religious right, who accused it of not being hard enough in its response to Palestinian attacks.

"Sharon and his partners may as well admit that they don't know what the solution is and vacate their seats to those who do know," said the right-wing Hatzofe.

National paralysis

The right-of-centre Jerusalem Post said that it was obvious that the national unity government had become "a government of national paralysis".

But it laid the blame for this on the Labor Party and its "itchiness to leave the coalition at the moment the Palestinian offensive is reaching new heights."

Labor leaders might find the public would respect them more for helping Sharon win the current conflict with Palestinians

Jerusalem Post

"The unity government was essentially an attempt to prevent Israeli politics from following its normal self-destructive pattern. But Labor's holding seats inside the government has not produced support for a coherent policy, but in policies compromised beyond recognition, or in paralysis."

Labor was "not gaining anything from its pathetic hand-wringing; it is certainly not presenting a coherent alternative."

"Perhaps Labor leaders might find the public would respect them more for helping Ariel Sharon win the current conflict with Palestinians and postponing the fight over what comes next for later," the paper said.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.