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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001669 
 
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 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio quoted Assistant Secretary of State for 
Near Eastern Affairs David Welch as saying that Hamas 
might have found ways to circumvent the boycott imposed 
on fund transfers to the PA.  The radio also cited 
Welch's concern that Hamas and Al-Qaida may be merging 
their operations. 
 
All media reported that last night, representatives of 
Kadima and the Labor Party signed a coalition 
agreement.  The accord includes a call for evacuating 
West Bank settlements and states that the government 
will work "to shape the permanent borders of the state 
as a Jewish state with a democratic majority."  The 
agreement explicitly states that the territory of the 
Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West 
Bank] " will be "reduced."  Furthermore, the government 
will work to shape the borders "through negotiation and 
agreement with the Palestinians on the basis of mutual 
recognition, previously-signed agreements, the 
principles outlined in the road map, an end to violence 
and the disarmament of the terror organizations." 
Maariv quoted senior Kadima members as saying that 
Olmert will carry out "limited convergence."   Maariv 
quoted one of them as saying that Olmert's power in the 
Knesset is limited while Hamas is ruling on the 
Palestinian side.  The newspaper cited a denial by 
Olmert's bureau.  The Labor Party will control the 
defense, education, infrastructure, agriculture and 
tourism ministries and will also have two ministers 
without portfolio.  The Labor Party's Central Committee 
will vote Sunday on the mode of selection of the 
party's ministers, which media say may not be in Labor 
Chairman Amir Peretz's favor.  The media said that the 
Shas party might get four ministers in the government. 
 
Maariv reported that Arab League Secretary-General Amr 
Moussa told the newspaper in Paris last night that 
"convergence is not peace." 
Ha'aretz reported that IDF Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. 
Amos Yadlin hinted Wednesday that Syria is poised to 
begin talks on major arms purchases in light of 
expectations of increased revenue due to rising oil 
prices. Yadlin was quoted as saying that larger oil 
producers like Iran and Saudi Arabia were also 
channeling their oil revenues into arms deals, and that 
some of the Syrian arms purchases are expected to go 
toward refitting its air force, which stopped buying 
new planes in the 1980s.  Yadlin also said that the 
Syrians continued to focus their arms production on 
rockets and longer-range SCUDS. Production, he said, 
was continuing on 200 to 300 millimeter rockets with a 
range of dozens of kilometers. Some of these weapons 
are apparently being transferred to Hizbullah, 
including the array Hizbullah has deployed along the 
border between Lebanon and Israel. 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday, Foreign 
Ministry DG Ron Prosor summoned Swedish Ambassador 
Robert Rydberg to the Foreign Ministry to clarify 
Stockholm's decision to withdraw from a NATO air force 
exercise due to Israel's participation. The media 
reported that Prosor also spoke to the Swedish 
Ambassador about Stockholm's reported plans to grant 
visas to two Hamas representatives -- the first 
European state to do so.  Prosor reportedly told 
Rydberg that if Israel was not regarded as a legitimate 
peace-keeping force, it should come as no surprise if 
Israel did not see a legitimate role for Sweden in the 
Middle East peace process.  Ha'aretz quoted Rydberg as 
saying that the Hamas officials had not requested visas 
and therefore were not granted them. 
 
Major media reported that only one Palestinian -- an 
Islamic Jihad Qassam rocket operator -- was killed in 
the IDF's targeted assassination Thursday in the Gaza 
Strip. 
 
Ha'aretz and Hatzofe quoted PA FM Mahmoud Zahar as 
saying Thursday on Al Jazeera-TV that there is no 
reason other parties cannot broker negotiations between 
the Hamas-led PA government and Israel.  Ha'aretz also 
reported that Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh threatened 
last week to resign together with his cabinet if Khaled 
Mashal, head of the political wing in Damascus, did not 
retract harshly critical statements he made about PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas last week. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted officials as saying that 
Ateret Cohanim, an organization that aims to settle 
Jews all over Jerusalem, has reached an accord with the 
Jewish owners of a soon-to-be-vacated police station in 
the Ras el-Amud neighborhood of East Jerusalem to house 
Jews in the building after police move out. 
 
Maariv reported that this week, Israel revoked former 
Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei's VIP pass. 
 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that in an interview 
Thursday, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah 
acknowledged giving Palestinian factions financial and 
political support, but that he denied arming them. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the US has refrained 
from pressing Pakistan to drop its anti-Israel trade 
embargo. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the US did 
not oppose appointing Iran to serve as a vice chair of 
the UN Disarmament Commission when the Commission 
decided on the nomination two weeks. 
 
Hatzofe reported that on Thursday, following the Sinai 
bombings, the Egyptian security services arrested the 
head of Al Jazeera-TV in Egypt on suspicion of 
broadcasting disinformation in order to vilify the 
Egyptian regime. 
 
Hatzofe cited the Lebanese newspaper Al-Diar that 
quoted European diplomatic sources in Iraq as saying 
the Mossad deposed its agent in Irbil, northern Iraq. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Jewish American 
organizations are at the forefront of coordinating a 
rally that will take place this Sunday in Washington 
under the banner: "Save Darfur." 
 
Maariv ran a feature on French native Philippe Hababou- 
Solomon, who organized fundraising events in the 1990s 
-- including a gala dinner with then President Bill 
Clinton -- for Robert Torricelli, who was then New 
Jersey's Democratic Senator.  Solomon spent time in 
American and French jails.  The newspaper also wrote 
that Hababou-Solomon laundered money in Donald Trump's 
Atlantic City casinos and almost bought an important 
Israeli sports club. 
 
Yediot reported that the Israeli company Aeronautics 
Defense Systems was selected to protect the Nigerian 
oil industry. 
 
A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll: 
-"Are you satisfied with the government's composition 
as it is shaping up?"  Dissatisfied: 55 percent; 
satisfied: 39 percent. 
- "Are you satisfied with Ehud Olmert's performance in 
the process of forming the government?"  Dissatisfied: 
51 percent; satisfied: 37 percent. 
-"Is the nomination of Amir Peretz to the post of 
defense minister the right step?"  Not the right step: 
76 percent; the right step: 21 percent. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "This is the first 
time an Israeli government commits itself in advance to 
dismantling settlements." 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "Global support for Israel hinges on Bush's 
continued support.  It's important that Iran sees Bush 
hugging us, too." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "Unilateralism is one thing: doing 
something for nothing is another." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist 
Caroline B. Glick wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "The 
nature of the war being waged against Israel changed, 
perhaps irreversibly, this week." 
 
Israeli attorney Deborah Housen-Couriel, an analyst at 
the Re'ut Institute, a non-partisan Zionist think-tank, 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "Ultimately, policies that 
promote the long-term economic well-being of the 
Palestinian Authority can benefit Israel as well." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "To Sharon's Left" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/28): "The 
diplomatic guidelines of the Olmert government are 
based on the Prime Minister's victory speech on 
election night.  They focus on the effort to shape 
permanent borders that would guarantee Israel's future 
state with a democratic majority."  But they don't 
content themselves with this general goal.  The text of 
the speech, which was appended to the guidelines, has 
an additional, very significant line: 'Israel's 
territory, the border of which will be determined by 
the government, will necessitate a reduction of the 
territory of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria 
[i.e. the West Bank]."  This is the first time an 
Israeli government commits itself in advance to 
dismantling settlements.  The Sharon government's 
guidelines, which were agreed upon in early 2003 -- a 
few months before Sharon decided to pull out from Gaza 
-- were much fuzzier." 
 
II.  "Walking on Eggshells" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz (4/28): "Every once in a while, some great 
brain gets up and denounces our 'dependence' on the US. 
One of them was Menachem Begin, who summoned then U.S. 
Ambassador Sam Lewis and snapped: 'We are not your 
vassals'.... Congressional elections are coming up at 
the end of this year, and Olmert needs to make sure 
that even if Bush loses his majority, the U.S. Congress 
continues to support Israel as it has until now. 
Because this is where the power lies.  This is where 
the commitments, the guarantees, the budgets and the 
pledges come from.  When we say Israel's fate depends 
on US support, it's not just the president we need 
behind us - we need Congress, too.  Even if the 
Democrats win a majority this time, it won't harm the 
close ties that have developed between us and Bush.... 
It's no coincidence that Ariel Sharon used to call Bush 
the best president Israel has ever had.  Why?  Because 
they saw eye-to-eye on the threat posed by global 
Islamic terror.  Bush gave Sharon a free hand to carry 
out targeted assassinations, and held a diplomatic 
umbrella over him in the UN Security Council.... Global 
support for Israel hinges on Bush's continued support. 
It's important that Iran sees Bush hugging us, too. 
Olmert must carry on the Sharon-Bush pact to walk 
shoulder-to-shoulder, pulling no surprises on one 
another." 
 
III.  "Something For Something" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (4/28): "The idea that Israel must 
receive something concrete from the international 
community if we are to proceed with a second 
disengagement is more than reasonable.  Unilateralism 
is one thing: doing something for nothing is 
another.... In an ideal world, the international 
support Israel seeks would make complete sense to 
Western nations, and such support would be readily 
forthcoming.  In practice, however, the international 
community is more likely to ask itself why it should 
'pay' Israel to do something if our prime minister says 
he will do it no matter what.  The upshot is that 
Olmert would do well to more seriously consider 
[Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor] Lieberman's main 
demand, namely that convergence be conditioned on -- 
not just vaguely linked to -- international recognition 
of borders that Israel has, for lack of a non-terrorist 
negotiating partner, been forced to establish 
unilaterally.  Even with such recognition, it may be a 
challenge for the government to make the case for 
evacuating thousands of Israelis from their homes in 
Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] against their 
will, and an immense challenge for Israeli society to 
absorb.  Without such a tangible benefit, implementing 
convergence will likely be both unwise and impossible." 
 
IV.  "Israel's New War" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist 
Caroline B. Glick wrote in The Jerusalem Post (4/28): 
"The nature of the war being waged against Israel 
changed, perhaps irreversibly, this week.... The face 
of the enemy has changed.  If in the past it was 
possible to say that the war being waged against Israel 
was unique and distinct from the global jihad, after 
the events of the past week, it is no longer possible 
to credibly make such a claim.... This new state of 
affairs demands a change in the way all of Israel's 
security arms understand and fight this war.  The 
entire process of intelligence gathering for the 
purpose of uncovering and preventing planned terror 
attacks needs to be reconsidered.  A reconfiguration of 
political and diplomatic strategies is also 
required.... Who can cause Ehud Olmert, [and his slated 
ministers] Amir Peretz, Tzipi Livni, and Yuli Tamir to 
take the steps required to protect Israel from the 
reality exposed by the events of this past week?" 
 
¶V.  "It's Not About the Economy" 
 
Israeli attorney Deborah Housen-Couriel, an analyst at 
the Re'ut Institute, a non-partisan Zionist think-tank, 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post (4/28): "Issues of public 
heath, sanitation, and water quality are only some 
examples of the need for basic [Israeli-Palestinian] 
cooperation.  Moreover, an Israeli 'beggar thy 
neighbor' approach is neither morally permissible nor 
sustainable in the long run.  That leaves three 
options: Redirection of the present focus from the 
issue of an inflow of cash to the Hamas-led government 
to that of the movement of goods and workers between 
Israel and the PA.... Treating Abu Mazen as Israel's 
'address' in his capacities as PA and PLO chairman.... 
Treating the PA's Hamas-led government as Israel's 
'address'.... My advice is for the Olmert government to 
begin by examining this third, most politically 
difficult option.... Ultimately, policies that promote 
the long-term economic well-being of the Palestinian 
Authority can benefit Israel as well." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Like in the thirties, the world is 
lying to itself.... The Ayatollahs' regime must 
disappear from the world." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Spiritual Viruses" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (4/28): "Like in the thirties, the 
world is lying to itself.  Former [US] National 
Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezinski called on the US 
not to act against Iran but to 'differentiate Iranian 
nationalism from the religious mentality.'  This is a 
pipe dream.  [Israeli intellectual] Dr. Tom Segev wrote 
in Ha'aretz: 'Villain, stupid, maybe both -- 
Ahmadinejad doesn't direct his threats and abuse to 
Israeli ears, but to the ears of a world that has 
internalized the Holocaust as a agreed-upon code of 
absolute evil.'  All right, but what to do with 
this?.... The Ayatollahs' regime must disappear from 
the world -- or alternatively, its nuclear enterprise. 
Ending its existence through every means, including the 
use of force, is a supreme and just necessity." 
 
JONES