As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tries to salvage his government after his Labor Party allies walked out, the press is in despondent mood.

Sharon, who enjoyed a political paradise, will from now on learn what hell a coalition is

Ma'ariv

The liberal independent Ha'aretz daily says the motives for the "dramatic turnabout" were personal and a matter of party politics.

The latest polls showed Labor leader Binyamin Ben Eliezer at the bottom - and this "made him jump".

Motives aside, the outlook for Mr Sharon is bleak.

"Overnight, Sharon lost the partner who gave his bully policies a patina of respectability," the paper says.

It adds that the prime minister now faces the reality of his failed leadership. "There is no peace, no security, and no unity."

Battered captains

Another Ha'aretz commentary is equally scathing.

It says the Sharon-Peres government was in fact a government of "two broken ideologies".

Prime minister and foreign minister behaved like "two battered captains clinging to each other at the wheel". Their government was one of "weary, groggy men".

And what awaits the nation now is "much worse".

"Unlike Israel's citizens, Israeli leaders have not grasped the true meaning of the reality in which they live," the paper says.

The centrist mass-circulation Yedi'ot Aharonot highlights the economic cost.

"With the dismantling of the government of unity another heavy stone was tied around the neck of the economy."

The paper says Israel has joined a "black list" of states without a stable regime. And for this it will no doubt be punished by money markets.

"As an immediate response to the shaking of stability, a certain devaluation of the shekel is expected," the paper says.

Coalition hell

The independent Ma'ariv daily notes that in the unity government, Mr Sharon has lost his "most precious political asset".

"Ariel Sharon, who enjoyed a political paradise, will from now on learn what hell a coalition is, with all the blackmail, demands, and threats," it says.

At the same time the paper suggests that the fall of the government is no bad thing.

This time there is no diplomatic process to speak of

Jerusalem Post

"On paper the unity government was the most suitable solution to the current needs of the state," it says.

In reality, however, it spent all its energy on a battle to "survive".

"It seems this is its biggest achievement. It did nothing more than this".

This was a "clumsy government mainly driven by personal and political motives", the paper adds.

Peace process

The English-language Jerusalem Post says one frequently-asked question when Israeli governments fall is what impact this will have on the "diplomatic process".

"The answer this time is simple: none. The reason is equally simple: this time there is no diplomatic process to speak of," it says.

"There are no new initiatives, and there have been no major breakthroughs," the paper adds.

Reflecting Arab opinion, the Jordan Times believes the crisis really is all about Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories. And it sees a glimmer of hope.

It says Mr Sharon is bent on dealing a "death blow" to peace, while the Laborites "may wish to give peace with the Palestinians a chance", by sending a signal they are against settlement expansion.

An opposing and more pessimistic view is taken by the pro-government Qatari paper Al-Rayah.

"The coalition's collapse... is nothing but a farce meant to avoid future commitments in would-be peace talks," it says.

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.