This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000237 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA 
HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA 
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR 
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media (highlighted stories in The Jerusalem Post 
and Yediot) quoted Acting PM Ehud Olmert as saying 
during a meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav on 
Tuesday that he would be willing to begin final-status 
negotiations with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas 
if the latter keeps his promise to dismantle the 
terrorist organizations.  Yediot quoted Justice 
Minister Tzipi Livni, who will take over the foreign 
affairs portfolio today, as saying in an interview with 
the French daily Le Monde that the longer the conflict 
with the Palestinians lasts, the more time works in 
Israel's favor.  Yediot wrote that Livni hinted in the 
interview that unilateral withdrawals could continue. 
Livni was quoted as saying that Israel must progress 
toward separation from the Palestinians by its own 
forces. 
 
Hatzofe quoted diplomatic sources in Jerusalem as 
saying that the Olmert government may accept the 
election of Hamas representatives to the Palestinian 
government if PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas 
does not include Hamas representatives in the PA 
cabinet. 
 
Maariv reported that intelligence that has reached 
Israel over the past few weeks indicates that Abbas 
suffers from depression and is unable to deal with the 
situation in the PA.  The newspaper reported that PA 
Civilian Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan shouted at 
Abbas that he "was getting mad like Arafat."  Ha'aretz 
reported that in a bid to attract voters, Hamas has 
moderated its platform for the Palestinian Legislative 
Council elections, approaching its stance to that of 
Fatah. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted EU Commissioner for External 
Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita 
Ferrero-Waldner as saying during a Jerusalem press 
conference Tuesday that the EU has held up a transfer 
of some 35 million euros to the PA until it meets 
certain criteria.  The newspaper quoted EU officials as 
saying that the most serious criterion has to do with 
financial monitoring, auditing and "wage containment" - 
- meaning that more was paid in salaries than had been 
allocated. 
 
All media quoted Olmert as saying during his meeting 
with Katsav with regard to Iran: "Israel cannot allow 
someone who has such evil intentions against us to have 
control over a destructive weapon that could threaten 
our existence."  Olmert was referring to Iranian 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent threats to "wipe 
Israel off the map."  Yediot quoted IDF C-o-S Lt. Gen. 
Dan Halutz as saying in a lecture at Haifa University 
on Tuesday: "Iran is the only existential threat to 
Israel."  In its lead story, Ha'aretz reported that 
Israel is in advanced talks with the U.S. and European 
countries over a package of sanctions that would be 
applied against Iran should it continue its nuclear 
program.  Ha'aretz reported that over the past two 
months, various Israeli agencies, under the guidance of 
an interministerial committee headed by Mossad Director 
Meir Dagan, have presented proposals for diplomatic and 
economic sanctions against Iran.  Ha'aretz says that 
some of those ideas are: sanctions against Iranian oil 
exports; banning Iran's soccer team from the World Cup 
(a step also mentioned in other media); denying visas 
for foreign travel to Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad and Iranian officials involved in the 
country's nuclear program; halting the International 
Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) technical cooperation 
with Iran on nuclear issues; and restricting landings 
by Iranian civilian aircraft.  Ha'aretz cited the 
belief of Israeli officials that Russia will abstain in 
the IAEA vote on referring Iran to the Security 
Council, but that it will urge that action be postponed 
in order to give negotiations time. 
 
The electronic media reported the results of Tuesday's 
Labor Party primaries: Knesset Member Yitzhak Herzog is 
the big winner in the contest and will be No. 2 on the 
party's list for the Knesset.  MK Ophir Pines-Paz won 
the third spots on the list.  The first place is 
guaranteed to Labor Chairman Amir Peretz. 
 Also in the top ten were Ben-Gurion University 
President Avishai Braverman, ex-Shin Bet chief Ami 
Ayalon, MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, MK Yuli Tamir, and 
journalist Shelly Yachimovich.  Meimad leader Michael 
Melchior was given the tenth place on the list.  The 
media reported that former cabinet ministers such as 
Matan Vilnai and Ephraim Sneh were relegated to lower 
spots.  All media reported unconfirmed rumors that a 
deal had been concluded between Peretz and Knesset 
Member Binyamin Ben-Eliezer that was aimed at keeping 
people not associated with either camp off the slate. 
Israel Radio cited a response by the Kadima Party to 
the results that the Labor Party has become a branch of 
the Histadrut labor federation, whose Secretary-General 
is Peretz.  Speaking on Israel Radio, Likud Knesset 
Member Gilad Erdan, who is No. 3 on his party's list, 
said that the Labor Party list was on the far left of 
Israeli politics.  Major media reported that the police 
will check alleged forgeries in the Likud primaries. 
 
Israel Radio reported that two IDF soldiers were 
wounded last night in an operation in Jenin.  The 
station quoted Palestinian sources as saying that two 
Palestinians were also wounded in the clash. 
 
Israel Radio and Ha'aretz's web site reported that this 
morning the government approved the nomination of three 
Kadima members to cabinet posts.  MK Roni Bar-On 
becomes National Infrastructure Minister and Science 
Minister; Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim will be in 
charge of the Construction and Housing Ministry, as 
well as of the Agriculture Ministry; Deputy Internal 
Security Minister Jacob Edery will be Health Minister 
as well as Minister in charge of the development of the 
Negev and Galilee. 
 
Maariv reported that Israel's National Security Council 
will present a position paper at the Sixth Herzliya 
Conference on the Balance of Israel's National 
Security, which takes place next week, recommending 
that 40,000 Israeli Bedouins be relocated from their 
"unrecognized" villages. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that State Comptroller 
Micha Lindenstrauss told the newspaper on Tuesday that 
he took a grave view of the size of the donations 
former PM Shimon Peres received from three foreign 
contributors to help finance his primary campaign for 
leadership of the Labor Party. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Physicians for 
Human Rights organization is demanding that the Prisons 
Service pay the USD 100,000 cost of a kidney transplant 
for Ahmed el-Tammi, a Palestinian terrorist serving a 
life sentence. 
 
Leading media reported on Vice President Dick Cheney's 
meetings with Saudi and Egyptian leaders on Tuesday. 
Hatzofe stressed a remark made by Egyptian President 
Hosni Mubarak during his meeting with Cheney that the 
West pounces on Iran but turns a blind eye to Israel's 
nuclear program. 
 
Leading media reported that in Hebron on Tuesday, 
police arrested 12 teenagers, some of whom were not 
from Hebron, on suspicion of involvement in the rioting 
in the city over the past few days. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that at a joint conference 
of 30 Israeli and Palestinian journalists that ended 
Monday in Jordan, Palestinian journalists told their 
Israeli counterparts that, although their referring to 
a suicide bomber as shahid (martyr) would continue, 
there has been a perceptible change in their coverage 
of attacks inside Israel that reflects a recognition of 
such acts as terrorism and illegitimate. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a study released Tuesday by a 
"liberal think tank," the Jerusalem Institute for 
Israel Studies, according to which Israel and the 
Palestinians should allow the international community 
to supervise the Temple Mount and Jerusalem's other 
holy sites. 
 
Maariv quoted Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora as saying in an 
interview with the Lebanese daily As-Safir that he 
prefers to die rather than sign a peace treaty with 
Israel.  Siniora was quoted as saying that he would 
agree to a cease-fire with Israel only when the Golan 
is returned to Syria and a Palestinian state is 
established on Palestinian land.  Siniora also 
reportedly expressed his support for Hizbullah. 
 
Leading media cited a story published during the 
weekend in the German newspaper Koelner Stadtanzeiger 
that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has 
provided the Mossad with German passports for carrying 
out missions in unnamed Middle East countries. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a Tourism Ministry report that 
income from tourism reached USD 4.7 billion in 2005, an 
increase of 11 percent from the previous year spurred 
by the sharp rise in foreign visitors.  The largest 
contingent of travelers came form the U.S., which 
brought in 450,000 travelers throughout the year, 20 
percent more than in 2004.  French tourists came second 
in the number of visitors. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
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                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[Olmert] will 
make every effort to reach far-reaching understandings 
with the U.S. administration and the Europeans.  It is 
reasonable to assume that he has a detailed 'road map' 
of his own, which he will surely not present before the 
elections." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Israel is already installing its 
next political plan, according to which by the end of 
the decade, Israel will have pulled back to behind the 
fence in an agreement that it will make with the 
Americans, and not with the Palestinians." 
 
Ghassan Khatib, the Palestinian Authority's Planning 
Minister, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"[Israel's] attitude and behavior on the issue of 
elections in Jerusalem has been benefiting the 
Palestinian opposition and mainly Hamas." 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker opined in Yediot 
Aharonot: "The use that Hany Abu-Assad made of [his 
film] 'Paradise Now' ... gives it a further, dangerous 
dimension of indirect yet clear justification for the 
path of the suicide bombers." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "The reception accorded 'Paradise Now' 
reinforces the impression that, in the current global 
struggle against Islamist terrorism, our blood is 
somehow not as red as everyone else's." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "In Sharon's Shoes" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 18): 
"If Ehud Olmert is elected prime minister, he will not 
pass up his right to make his mark and carry out a 
significant historical step.  And when he speaks 
publicly today about the hope of reaching a final 
status arrangement with the Palestinians, this should 
be taken seriously.  He too, like Sharon, will try to 
make important decisions in an effort to resolve the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Olmert will not change 
after the elections: his stance, in principle, is that 
Israel should try to shape its permanent borders on its 
own, while viewing the demographic component as the 
most important factor.  All this leads to the 
assessment that in the coming years we will face 
another disengagement and the evacuation of isolated 
settlements in the West Bank, while withdrawing to the 
final borders.  This will happen either as part of an 
agreement with the Palestinian Authority or without an 
agreement, with the support of the international 
community.... [Olmert] will make every effort to reach 
far-reaching understandings with the U.S. 
administration and the Europeans.  It is reasonable to 
assume that he has a detailed 'road map' of his own, 
which he will surely not present before the elections. 
Olmert will not act on his own.  Tzipi Livni, who will 
assume the post of foreign minister today, is expected 
to be a loyal -- and opinionated -- partner to the view 
that Israel must withdraw from most of the territories, 
if it wishes to preserve the state as a Jewish and 
democratic entity.  She intends to turn the Foreign 
Ministry into a significant factor in the decision 
making process, and will carry out widespread personnel 
changes, which she describes in private conversations 
as the 'big bang.'" 
 
II.  "'The Collapse of the 'Rais'" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (January 18): "Intelligence 
accumulated in Israel over recent weeks indicates that 
Abu Mazen is ... losing control over the situation, has 
lost trust in his people, is sinking deep into 
depression and that the PA is very close to complete 
governmental collapse.  In this situation, Israeli 
political and security officials are calling to prepare 
for a situation in which there is no partner on the 
other side and Israel should take measures that are 
coordinated with the world in general and with the 
United States in particular.... The collapse of Abu 
Mazen's government is especially dangerous in light of 
the statements, policy and vision of President Bush for 
the Middle East.  The difficulties in Iraq continue to 
increase, Osama bin Laden is going about freely, and 
currently the Palestinian Authority, too, is about to 
fall into the hands of fundamentalist terrorist 
organizations.  Washington fears that this situation 
will lead to a complete collapse of American policy in 
the Middle East and make a mockery of the President. 
And the crisis is especially severe in light of the 
high hopes that the Americans had for Abu Mazen, who is 
thought to be the only Arab leader who at a certain 
point came close to the status that the Americans have 
given only to King Abdullah of Jordan and to his father 
before him, King Hussein.  As of now, Abu Mazen looks 
like a has-been.  The intelligence and security 
communities of Israel, the United States and other 
countries describe Gaza even now as 'no-man's land'.... 
Israel is already installing its next political plan, 
according to which by the end of the decade, Israel 
will have pulled back to behind the fence in an 
agreement that it will make with the Americans, and not 
with the Palestinians." 
 
III.  "Undermining the Peace Camp" 
 
Ghassan Khatib, the Palestinian Authority's Planning 
Minister, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(January 18): "The irony ... is that [Israel's] 
attitude and behavior on the issue of elections in 
Jerusalem has been benefiting the Palestinian 
opposition and mainly Hamas.  Firstly, discriminating 
against Hamas and opposition candidates or preventing 
campaigning in Jerusalem because Hamas is taking part 
in elections simply serves to single out Hamas and thus 
increase its public support.  Secondly, the fact that 
the PA hasn't been able to guarantee the right of its 
citizens to participate in elections in Jerusalem has 
been portrayed as a sign of weakness of the PA.  One of 
the possible outcomes is a low turnout among the 
general public in East Jerusalem.  This can also be 
expected to be unfavorable to moderate parties.  But 
this is consistent with Israeli positions and practices 
throughout last year, which have negatively affected 
the public image of the PA and the moderate leadership 
of President Mahmoud Abbas." 
 
IV.  "Road to Paradise Is Paved With Bad Intentions" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker opined in Yediot 
Aharonot (January 18): "The film 'Paradise Now,' about 
the Palestinian Islamic suicide bombers, won the Golden 
Globe award in Hollywood as best foreign language film. 
More precisely -- and accuracy is important here -- the 
choice was made by the Hollywood Foreign Press 
Association, not by the American press.  I watched the 
ceremony for awarding the prize to 'Paradise Now.'  It 
infuriated and upset me.  I was angry when the hosts 
giving the award opened the envelope and declared the 
winning country: 'Palestine.'  To the best of my 
knowledge, there is no state called 'Palestine'.... 
After the name of the winning film and its country of 
origin were read out loud, the director Hany Abu-Assad 
took the Hollywood stage and gave a political- 
nationalist-Palestinian speech.  He did not use the 
international limelight in order to speak about the 
aspiration for peace and/or to direct an emotional call 
to Muslim youth the world over to abandon the path of 
terrorism and suicide bombings.  Neither did Hany Abu- 
Assad speak about reconciliation and compromise.  He 
voiced his hope that now the entire world will identify 
with the Palestinian hope for a state that would be 
established 'unconditionally'.... The use that Hany Abu- 
Assad made of 'Paradise Now' as a lever for Palestinian 
national propaganda wrongs the content of the film, 
renders it superficial and gives it a further, 
dangerous dimension of indirect yet clear justification 
for the path of the suicide bombers.... 'Paradise Now' 
... is not a Palestinian propaganda film.... But this 
is not about the film, it is about the film's award 
ceremony.... In effect, the Golden Globe Awards 
established the Palestinian state by virtue of the 
words of a director and a foreign press association." 
 
¶V.  "Humanizing Terrorism" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (January 18): "We don't believe that 
those who decided to honor [the Golden Globe award- 
winning film] 'Paradise Now' necessarily wished to 
glorify suicide bombers or justify those who target 
Israeli civilians.  Yet we find it unlikely a film 
delving into the inner struggles of the terrorists who 
brought down the World Trade Center or who murdered in 
London, Madrid, Baghdad or Bali will be produced, let 
alone showered with the same accolades.  The reception 
accorded 'Paradise Now' reinforces the impression that, 
in the current global struggle against Islamist 
terrorism, our blood is somehow not as red as everyone 
else's.... 'Paradise Now' humanizes mass murderers even 
more forthrightly, and to a much wider audience.  Those 
who would heap awards on such a film should, even if 
they are unconcerned by the sensibilities of Israelis, 
consider whether they would make the same choice if 
they -- their nation or their families -- were the 
victims." 
 
JONES