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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 001648 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
¶3.  Iraq 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Interim PM Ehud Olmert will meet 
with President Bush on May 23. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning, two members of 
Islamic Jihad were killed and three other Palestinians 
were wounded in an IDF targeted assassination operation 
in Deir el-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday, the PA thwarted 
an attempt by the Popular Resistance Committees to blow 
up the Karni cargo terminal between the Gaza Strip and 
Israel with 500 kg of explosives.  The media reported 
that two attempts to attack troops of the Multinational 
Force and Observers (MFO) in Sinai failed.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that the state told the High 
Court of Justice on Wednesday that the Palestinians 
have only themselves to blame for the fact that Israel 
shuts down the Karni crossing as often as it does and 
that, as a result, the local population suffers. 
Israel Radio cited the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat 
that Palestinian forces uncovered a tunnel that may 
have been used to attempt to assassinate former PA 
minister Muhammad Dahlan. 
 
Leading media report that on Wednesday, Olmert decided 
to order the completion of the separation fence, in 
particular the "Jerusalem envelope," by the end of the 
year.  However, The Jerusalem Post reported that Olmert 
declined to institute a deadline for the completion of 
the Jerusalem fence.  The media reported that Olmert 
ordered the gaps in the "Jerusalem envelope" sealed 
with a temporary fence immediately. 
 
Maariv and The Jerusalem Post reported that on 
Wednesday, during his visit to Norway, PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas called for the convening of 
an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Arab League 
Secretary-General Amr Moussa as saying that the time 
 
SIPDIS 
for Abbas's proposal had not come.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that Asaf Shariv, a spokesman for Olmert, 
categorically rejected Abbas's idea, saying that no 
summit would take place until the PA reins in 
terrorism. 
 
In its lead story, Ha'aretz quoted Maj. Gen. Amos 
Yadlin, the head of the IDF Intelligence Branch, as 
saying Wednesday at a public appearance that Iran has 
purchased ground-to-ground missiles from North Korea 
with a range of 2,500 km.  Yadlin was quoted as saying 
that some of the missiles have already arrived in Iran. 
Major media reported that on Wednesday, Iran's Supreme 
Leader Ali Khamenei threatened the US with worldwide 
strikes, were it to attack Iran.  Israel Radio noted 
that the UN Security Council's ultimatum to Iran 
regarding its uranium-enrichment program will expire 
Friday.  Israel Radio reported that on Wednesday, the 
US House of Representatives passed, with a large 
majority, a bill that would tighten sanctions against 
Iran. 
 
Labor Party MK Ephraim Sneh was quoted as saying in an 
interview with The Jerusalem Post that under Amir 
Peretz's leadership, the Defense Ministry will wield a 
strong hand against settlers who violently resist 
government policy, and that Peretz would also cease to 
turn a blind eye to illegal building in the West Bank. 
Major media (banner in Maariv) cited the intention of 
Yisrael Beiteinu Avigdor Lieberman not to join Ehud 
Olmert's government.  Maariv quoted him as saying that 
the new government has no future and that the Labor 
Party will only bring subversion.  All media reported 
that on Wednesday, the Pensioners' Party (Gil) became 
the first party to sign a coalition agreement with 
Kadima.  According to the agreement, the Pensioners and 
Kadima will operate as one 36-MK parliamentary bloc. 
Israel Radio reported that Kadima is expected to sign 
coalition agreements today with the Labor Party, Shas, 
and United Torah Judaism. 
 
Major media reported that AG Menachem Mazuz has decided 
that there was insufficient evidence to try Ahmed 
Sa'adat, the former head of the Popular Front for the 
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) for his part in the 2001 
assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi.  Four 
other PFLP members, however, will face charges in 
connection with the murder.  Israel Radio reported that 
Fuad Shubaki, who was involved in weapons smuggling and 
in the affair of the weapons ship Karine-A, will be 
tried in a military court. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited claims by volunteers, 
including Americans, that settler violence is rising 
against Palestinians in Hebron. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Egyptian intelligence chief 
Omar Suleiman will visit Yemen to investigate the 
possibility that Al-Qaida activists who escaped from a 
Yemeni jail were involved in the Sinai bombings. 
Yediot reported that several senior position holders in 
the Egyptian intelligence services blamed Israel for 
the bombings. 
 
Leading media reported that Secretary of Defense Donald 
Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a 
surprise visit to Baghdad on Wednesday to express the 
USG's support for new Iraqi Prime Minister Jawad al- 
Maliki. 
 
Yediot reported that the Syrian government sent a 
letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and to the 
current president of the UN Security Council, saying 
that the UN envoy to Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, is 
taking a pro-Israeli stance.  Yediot noted that former 
PM Ariel Sharon and other senior GOI officials had 
refused to receive Roed-Larsen, whom they viewed as 
anti-Israeli.  Leading media reported that on 
Wednesday, President Bush authorized freezing the 
assets of anyone involved in the 2005 assassination of 
former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri. 
 
Ha'aretz, Maariv, The Jerusalem Post, Hatzofe, and 
Israel Radio reported that Sweden called off its 
participation in international air force exercises 
("Volcanex 2006") to take place in Italy next month 
because of the involvement of the Israel Air Force in 
the drills.  The media quoted senior officials in 
Stockholm as saying: "Israel is not currently acting in 
the name of peace, and therefore, it should not take 
part in the demonstration." A Swedish Foreign Ministry 
official was quoted as saying: "The point of the 
operation is to prepare for international cooperation 
in preserving world peace. The participation of the 
Israeli air force changes the prerequisites of the 
drill."  Swedish Defense Minister Leni Bjorklund was 
quoted as saying that her country is withdrawing 
because of the participation of a "state that does not 
take part in preserving international peace." 
Ha'aretz's web site quoted a GOI source as saying: "The 
lack of sympathy for Israel in Sweden is out of 
proportion.  Some government ministers spearhead the 
most anti-Israel approach in all of Europe, and 
particularly in Scandinavia.  In meetings between 
senior Israelis and Swedish ministers, the Swedes 
refuse to listen to Israel's positions." 
 
Major media reported that on Wednesday, President Bush 
announced the nomination of Fox News host Tony Snow as 
White House Press Secretary. 
 
Yediot reported that State Comptroller Micha 
Lindenstrauss has reached the conclusion that Shimon 
Peres, no. 2 in Kadima, is suspected of illegal 
activity related to USD 320,000 in foreign donations he 
received in the Labor Party's primaries around six 
months ago. 
 
All media reported that ex-minister Prof. Yuval 
Ne'eman, world-renowned physicist and former head of 
the Atomic Energy Commission, died Wednesday at age 81. 
He was among the founders of the campaign for retaining 
the land of Greater Israel. 
 
Maariv and The Jerusalem Post reported that Microsoft 
will open a new R&D center in Tel Aviv.  Maariv said 
that the American computing giant was "expressing 
confidence in Israel." 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a report released earlier this 
month by URCH Publishing [a British-based company] as 
saying that a boom in Middle Eastern pharmaceutical 
markets is imminent, although Israel may not be a 
beneficiary of the trend.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
the author of the report, Jean-Michel Saliba, as saying 
that "multinationals must be wary of the inadequate 
level of intellectual property rights protection in the 
region."  The newspaper wrote that US pharmaceutical 
companies lose around USD 555 million, in the Middle 
East, alone, due to lack of patent protection. 
Yediot reported that American rock singer Lenny Kravitz 
will visit Israel for the first time this summer. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "It is hard to 
imagine more convenient political conditions for 
Olmert's convergence plan.  If he does not hurry to 
take advantage of them, he will lose the opportunity 
and his plan will disappear into thin air." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "[A big cabinet] is bad, 
annoying, and costly, but if it is what will make the 
government implement its diplomatic plan, it's worth 
it." 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "The US, exhausted in Iraq and preoccupied 
with its problems, is in no hurry to enter a futile 
face-off with the Kremlin, and will agree to pay a high 
price to avoid one.  Part of it might be paid in 
Israeli currency.  One cannot change this but rather 
just try to get used to it." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "And Thank You to Hamas" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/27): "Interim 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert needs Hamas more than any 
other player.  From his point of view, a Hamas 
government that is weakened, lacks international 
backing and is hungry for assistance is the best 
alternative on the Palestinian side.... Before the 
elections, Olmert spoke about the rest of US President 
George W. Bush's term, until January 2009, as a 'window 
of opportunity' for carrying out the convergence plan. 
Bush's term now seems an eternity compared to that of 
the Olmert government, which is unlikely to survive 
until then.... Fatah enjoyed international support, 
which reduced Israel's freedom of operation. Hamas has 
no such status.  Its refusal to recognize Israel, 
adherence to an extremist ideology and vocal support of 
last week's terror attack in Tel Aviv assist Israeli 
public relations.  The internal struggle is 
preoccupying the Palestinians and freeing Israel to 
deal with its own issues.  It is hard to imagine more 
convenient political conditions for Olmert's 
convergence plan.  If he does not hurry to take 
advantage of them, he will lose the opportunity and his 
plan will disappear into thin air." 
 
II.  "Yes to a Big, Costly Government" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in 
popular, pluralist Maariv (4/27): "The government that 
Olmert is building -- at least it appears so -- is one 
that will allow the convergence move to happen, even if 
Avigdor Lieberman and 'Yisrael Beiteinu' enter the 
cabinet.... Olmert is turning the Labor Party and its 
leader into his senior partners in the government.... 
It transpires that in order to satisfy [Labor Party 
Chairman Amir] Peretz, he must be given seven 
ministers.  This is bad, annoying, and costly, but if 
it is what will make the government implement its 
diplomatic plan, it's worth it." 
 
III.  "Facing the Kremlin" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
Ha'aretz (4/27): "To understand what Stalin was doing, 
[George Kennan] believed [in 1946], one should go back 
to the days of the czar.  Would he say today that to 
understand what Putin is doing, one needs to go back to 
the days of Stalin?  'The Russians have decided that 
the only way back into the arena is to be a spoiler,' a 
source in Washington said.  And Israel, as an insect on 
the back of a galloping mammoth, can see the race track 
from above, but cannot affect the race.  A lesson in 
humility for all who believe that Israel's fate is only 
in its own hands.  Therefore, Hamas will be invited to 
Moscow, against the spirit of the Quartet's decisions 
(even if not in express opposition to them), and any 
diplomatic maneuvers against Iran also will get bogged 
down until the Kremlin's leaders are satisfied, or 
perhaps not.  The US, exhausted in Iraq and preoccupied 
with its problems, is in no hurry to enter a futile 
face-off with the Kremlin, and will agree to pay a high 
price to avoid one.  Part of it might be paid in 
Israeli currency.  One cannot change this but rather 
just try to get used to it." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Intelligence affairs reporter Ronen Bergman wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The 
failure [to expose Iran's uranium enrichment program] 
rests mainly on the shoulders of the Mossad, but not 
exclusively." 
 
Berlin correspondent Eldad Beck wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "Germany is responsible not only for 
preserving the memory of the Holocaust; it also bears a 
great deal of responsibility for the development of 
Iran's nuclear program." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Satellite or Balloon?" 
 
Intelligence affairs reporter Ronen Bergman wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/27): 
"Herein lies the great secret, which everyone is trying 
to conceal: The Israeli intelligence community (like 
the US and western European intelligence communities) 
has failed so far, aside from local successes, in 
thwarting the danger that it itself defines as the main 
threat to the state's wellbeing and existence.  This is 
a double failure: Not only did Israel not prevent Iran 
from going nuclear, but throughout most of this period, 
it did not know enough about what was happening inside 
Iran.  One example is the very-late discovery of the 
real route Iran chose to manufacture the bomb -- 
enriching uranium through centrifuges with Pakistani 
assistance, and not as was believed by Israel -- 
through upgrading the capabilities given to Iran by 
Russia by building the reactor in Bushehr.  The failure 
rests mainly on the shoulders of the Mossad, but not 
exclusively.  This is the sad truth, which even blaring 
headlines [about the new Israeli satellite] sponsored 
by the PR executives of Israel Aircraft Industries 
cannot succeed in changing." 
 
II.  "Good Hosts" 
 
Berlin correspondent Eldad Beck wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (4/27): "What is this dialogue that the 
Europeans are holding with the Iranians?  A 
conversation criticizing the US.  This criticism has 
been expanded to Israel as well.... Everywhere he goes, 
[German] Foreign Minister [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier 
condemns the positions of the Iranian President 
regarding the destruction of Israel and the denial of 
the Holocaust, but statements are one thing and actions 
are another.  That is also the attitude of the German 
government toward Ahmadinejad's intentions to come to 
the World Cup in order to support his team. 'He can 
expect criticism for his statements,' the German 
Minister of the Interior said, 'but he can come.  We 
want to be good hosts.'  When Israel made vocal demands 
to impose sanctions on the Iranian government for 
Ahmadinejad's statements and not to allow its national 
team to attend the World Cup, Berlin officials asked 
that the conflict with Iran not be made into a German 
matter, saying that sports are separate from politics. 
The Holocaust, which Ahmadinejad denies, was 
perpetrated by Germans.  Allowing him to come to 
Germany is tantamount to spitting on the ashes of every 
one of the six million.  But Germany is responsible not 
only for preserving the memory of the Holocaust; it 
also bears a great deal of responsibility for the 
development of Iran's nuclear program.  In the mid- 
1990s Israel gave Chancellor Kohl a list of German 
companies that were helping the Iranians in their 
efforts to obtain an atom bomb.  Very little was done 
to prevent this activity.  Once the Germans finally got 
moving, it was usually too late." 
 
--------- 
¶3.  Iraq: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "They call 
the Americans who fought World War II the Greatest 
Generation.  I would call the Americans who won't be 
fighting in Iraq, or anyplace else, the Hollowest 
Generation." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Hollowest Generation" 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/27): "The 
world's only superpower is at war, and its ruling class 
is manned almost wall-to-wall by 'chickenhawks' -- 
hawks by ideology, chickens by example.... The question 
is this: If you are not a pacifist, if you believe that 
your country needs an army and that occasionally, 
tragically, it may be necessary for it to go to war, 
why should somebody else and somebody else's son have 
to risk their lives in that army, but you and your son 
shouldn't?  They call the Americans who fought World 
War II the Greatest Generation.  I would call the 
Americans who won't be fighting in Iraq, or anyplace 
else, the Hollowest Generation." 
 
JONES