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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001460 
 
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 
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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 
 
Please note: no Israel Media Reaction Thursday, April 
13, Passover holiday. 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
¶3.  Aftermath of Italian Elections 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad's announcement in Mashhad on Tuesday that 
Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first 
time and "joined the club of nuclear countries." 
Israel Radio quoted American officials as saying that 
the concentration of the uranium produced by Iran is 
low and it cannot be used to make nuclear weapons.  IDF 
Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin was quoted as 
saying in an interview with Yediot that Iran will have 
a nuclear weapon in three years.  Yadlin was also 
quoted as saying in Ha'aretz that he hopes the 
international community "does not fall into the new 
trap that Iran has set", and that it "accelerates the 
processes to stop the program."  In the same interview, 
he was quoted as saying that Israel and the West do not 
know everything about Iran.  Israel Radio quoted Shimon 
Peres, No. 2 in Kadima, as saying that Israel could be 
left on its own if it made hasty decisions regarding 
Iran.  Peres was quoted as saying that Israel should 
let the US manage the Iranian issue.  Israel Radio 
quoted Israel's National Security Adviser Giora Eiland 
as saying that Iran has an alternative nuclear program. 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio quoted White House Press 
Secretary Scott McClellan as saying aboard Air Force 
 
SIPDIS 
One when en route to Missouri: "Defiant statements and 
actions only further isolate the regime from the rest 
of the world."  Ha'aretz and Israel Radio quoted 
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as saying that he 
would not engage in "fantasyland" speculation about a 
possible US attack on Iran, though he said that the 
Bush administration is concerned about Tehran's nuclear 
ambitions.  He was quoted as saying: "The United States 
of America is on a diplomatic track." 
 
Israel Radio quoted Interim PM Ehud Olmert as saying in 
an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he 
intends to complete the shaping of his plan for a 
pullout from territories in the West Bank in a year and 
a half, and that during his visit to Washington next 
month he will try to convince the US administration to 
accept an outline of his plan. 
 
Israel Radio reported that last night, the IAF raided 
the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' office in Gaza.  Major 
media quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying on 
Tuesday that Israel must intensify its activities in 
the Gaza Strip, since the Hamas government has not 
taken action to stop cells launching Qassam rockets 
from the Strip into Israel.  Ha'aretz reported that on 
Tuesday, PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas severely 
criticized Israel for the recent artillery barrage. 
Ha'aretz reported that five human rights groups asked 
Mofaz to reverse a decision that reduces the "safety 
zone" that artillery batteries must maintain around 
Palestinian communities to 100 meters, saying it 
endangers civilians.  The Jerusalem Post and Israel 
Radio reported that on Tuesday in Tel Aviv, 
approximately 100 left-wing activists from the groups 
Gush Shalom and the Women's Peace Coalition 
demonstrated against the shelling of Gaza communities, 
ending their march opposite the US Embassy. 
 
Leading media reported that FM Tzipi Livni's comments 
in an interview with ABC-TV that suicide bombers who 
target soldiers are not terrorists came under fire from 
right-wing politicians.  The Jerusalem Post noted that 
her remarks touched a raw nerve with the IDF, and that 
Justice Ministry officials claimed Tuesday that her 
distinction was not based on any existing 
classification. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones 
as saying on Tuesday at a press conference in Tel Aviv 
that the only way to determine permanent borders 
between Israel and the Palestinians was through 
negotiations.  Ha'aretz quoted Ambassador Jones as 
saying, in response to a reporter's question as to 
whether the US administration supports Olmert's 
convergence plan, that the US continues to support the 
Roadmap and negotiations.  The Ambassador was quoted as 
saying that he believes this is Olmert and Kadima's 
approach, too, and that they prefer a negotiated 
agreement.  Jones was quoted as saying that the way in 
which any unilateral Israeli move would be viewed by 
the US remains to be seen, but that at this stage the 
US supports an agreement through negotiations and that 
its policies are designed to encourage the PA to be a 
partner for peace.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
Ambassador Jones as saying that the US "understands" 
Israel's policy of not transferring tax and customs 
revenues to the PA.  The Jerusalem Post said that the 
Ambassador's remark places the US at odds with Europe 
over this matter.  Hatzofe quoted Jones as saying that 
the United States' basic aid to the Palestinians will 
increase by 57 percent, reaching USD 245 million this 
year.  Hatzofe quoted the Ambassador as saying that the 
US will allot USD 42 million to strengthen Palestinian 
civil society and independent Palestinian institutions, 
and that the aid will be provided through USAID and 
local NGOs. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, the US and other 
permanent members of the UN Security Council rejected a 
draft statement that Arab states wanted the council's 
president to make, condemning Israeli military actions 
in the Gaza Strip but failing to mention Palestinian 
rocket fire. 
 
Israel Radio reported that on Tuesday in Ramallah, 
Luisa Morgantini, chairperson of the European 
Parliament's development committee, met with 
Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Abdel Aziz 
Duaik.  The radio reported that Duaik told Morgantini 
that he recognizes the 1967 borders, and that 
Morgantini concluded that he recognizes Israel. 
 
Several media reported that Special Forces loyal to 
Abbas took over the Rafah crossing between the Gaza 
Strip and Egypt.  Israel Radio reported that during his 
upcoming visit to the PA, Egyptian intelligence chief 
Omar Suleiman will tell Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh 
that Egypt will act urgently to help the Palestinian 
population. The radio reported that Egyptian FM Ahmed 
Ali Abu al-Gheit has rejected Palestinian FM Mahmoud 
Zahar's request to visit Cairo. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah 
-- the most senior Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy 
Land -- as saying during his Easter message Tuesday 
that Israel should initiate diplomatic relations with 
Hamas without preconditions. 
 
Hatzofe and Israel Radio reported that Kadima and the 
Labor Party agreed during their coalition talks that 
there would be no referendum on Olmert's convergence 
plan.  Major media reported that on Tuesday, Olmert 
told Kadima leaders that he sees no problem with 
appointing Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman 
as internal security minister, as long there is no 
legal impediment to doing so.  The media noted that 
Lieberman has soured relations with the police.  Yediot 
wrote that AG Menachem Mazuz will oppose Lieberman's 
appointment.  Major media reported that Labor Party 
Chairman Amir Peretz now insists on being handed the 
treasury portfolio. 
 
Yediot and The Jerusalem Post reported that two senior 
Israeli diplomats -- Deputy Foreign Ministry DG for 
Asia Amos Nadai and Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Yael 
Rubinstein -- visited Indonesia this week.  They were 
invited to three UN conferences that took place in 
Indonesia. 
 
Yediot reported that Israel will spend USD 9 million to 
renovate its London embassy. 
 
Yediot cited a claim by the Islamist Mauritanian 
newspaper Al-Ittihad that Israeli Ambassador to 
Mauritania Boaz Bismuth is a Mossad agent. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Gerald Kaufman, 
a British MP from the Labour Party, as saying on 
Tuesday that sanctions should be imposed against Israel 
if it does not hand over those suspected of being 
responsible for the killing of two British citizens in 
2003 -- peace activist Tom Hurndall and cinematographer 
James Miller.  Kaufman is a frequent critic of Israel. 
 
Yediot quoted a Newsweek source as saying that Olmert 
violated a promise to its reporter Lally Weymouth to 
grant an exclusive interview to the magazine and to The 
Washington Post. 
 
Ha'aretz ran a feature on two refugees from Darfur who 
spent several months in an Israeli jail and were later 
"adopted" by a family in the Negev kibbutz of Tse'elim. 
 
Yediot reported that Israeli filmmaker Haim Bouzaglo's 
movie "Janem, Janem" won four prizes at the Syracuse, 
New York, Film Festival. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶1.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in 
pluralist, popular Maariv: "In effect the Iranians are 
playing a cruel game of poker against the entire world. 
They are going for broke." 
 
Senior columnist Ron Ben-Yishai wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Bush, who is 
extremely entangled in Iraq, will find it hard to 
receive an OK from Congress for an offensive against 
Iran's nuclear and missile installations without an 
explicit UN Security Council resolution." 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Iran's Poker Game" 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in 
pluralist, popular Maariv (April 12): "The statement by 
the Iranian President on Tuesday should be viewed in 
the context of its battle against the international 
community.  In effect the Iranians are playing a cruel 
game of poker against the entire world.  They are going 
for broke.  On the one hand they took a tough, 
significant step on Tuesday, which will force the not 
necessarily united international community to devise an 
appropriate response.  But from the other side, the 
Iranian move was also a result of the powerful 
international pressure which is being put on them. 
Until Tuesday, the Iranians were careful to keep their 
cards much closer to their chest.  They possessed 
planned credibility.  So long as they never disclosed 
what stage they had reached in their nuclear program, 
the West, including Israel, always suspected that they 
might be further ahead with it than Western 
intelligence thought.  On Tuesday, it emerged that the 
intelligence estimates were right, but the moment the 
Iranians showed their cards, they had to expect that 
the West would react. The question is which side will 
blink first." 
 
II.  "The Day Iran Gets the Bomb" 
 
Senior columnist Ron Ben-Yishai wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 12): 
"Only one power in the world -- the United States -- is 
capable of carrying out and leading a complex and 
dangerous offensive [against Iran].... But without the 
US leading that move, this won't happen.  The problem 
is that Bush, who is extremely entangled in Iraq, will 
find it hard to receive an OK from Congress for an 
offensive against Iran's nuclear and missile 
installations without an explicit UN Security Council 
resolution granting legitimacy to that operation.  This 
is also the reason why the US won't make such a move 
without many other countries actively taking part in 
it.  Only a broad-based coalition would grant Bush 
international legitimacy for attacking Iran.  The US 
will also need the international community's assistance 
following the offensive in order to impede the 
terrorist offensive that Iran will start in response to 
that operation." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz: "It looks like a slow-motion 
image of a crash.  Here's Ehud Olmert and Kadima 
driving into a foreseeable accident." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz: 
"The settlers have reached that point in time where 
they ... must realize their role is over." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "A Government on a Collision Course" 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz (April 12): "It looks like a slow- 
motion image of a crash.  Here's Ehud Olmert and Kadima 
driving into a foreseeable accident.... Olmert is 
striving for a big government.... The man who succeeded 
Ariel Sharon regards it as his duty to provide the 
legacy a broad base.  The price is high and risky.  The 
convergence has been watered down, like an ink drop in 
a bowl of water.... The government's difficult path ... 
begins with mendacity about conducting a serious 
discussion with the other side, and it will continue 
with the refusal of [Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor] 
Lieberman and Shas to agree to broader withdrawals 
after the illusion of that negotiation is exposed.... 
Leaders greater than [Olmert] made huge mistakes." 
 
II.  "Pouring Out Their Rage" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz 
(April 12): "Olmert ... correctly diagnosed the mood of 
the settlers and is right to try to reach an 
understanding with them before he imposes upon them the 
(partial) withdrawal from the West Bank, which, he 
says, will be the centerpiece of his government's 
activity.  The move is becoming imperative, if not 
urgent, in light of the timetable he drew at the 
beginning of the week: To complete the execution of the 
disengagement plan within two years.  But he should 
know how to set a limit: to listen to the settlers, but 
not fawn before them.  In the winding and cruel loop 
that the minister of history is drawing, the settlers 
have reached that point in time where they also must 
realize their role is over.  Their status as the most 
precious offspring of the Israeli establishment has 
been turned into something else -- the accepted 
convention that they are actually a bone in its throat. 
That was true in Gush Katif and it is just as true in 
Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]." 
 
----------------------------------- 
¶3.  Aftermath of Italian Elections: 
----------------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Former Israeli Ambassador to Italy Avi Pazner wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "From 
Israel's point of view, Berlusconi was a loyal 
friend.... If Prodi does indeed form the new 
government, Israel will have to work hard to preserve 
this level of friendly relations." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Forecast: New Italian Government Will Be Cooler to 
Israel" 
 
Former Israeli Ambassador to Italy Avi Pazner wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 12): 
"From Israel's point of view, Berlusconi was a loyal 
friend and supported Israel's position consistently 
throughout the years of his tenure, both in the 
governing bodies of the European Union and in the 
international arena.  He forged strong bonds of 
friendship with Ariel Sharon, and they were in the 
habit of holding telephone conversations and 
coordinating their positions.  If Prodi does indeed 
form the new government, Israel will have to work hard 
to preserve this level of friendly relations.  It is 
possible that the new coalition will include parties 
with positions less convenient for Israel than those of 
the parties in Berlusconi's government.  On the other 
hand, among Prodi's colleagues there are people known 
for their pro-Israeli views, such as Francesco Rutelli, 
chairman of the Margarita party, Piero Fassino, leader 
of the Democrats of the Left, and the highly 
influential mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni.  If Israel 
is wise enough to foster lines of communication with 
these people, it will certainly be possible to preserve 
the good relations between Israel and Italy." 
 
JONES