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 001943 
 
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.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media reported that PM Ehud Olmert has decided 
to tone down his stance on the convergence plan, which 
Ha'aretz said may be related to staunch opposition 
worldwide to Israeli unilateral moves in the 
territories.   Ha'aretz reported that Olmert told 
Kadima ministers on Wednesday that he plans to present 
his plan to the Bush administration, but that only 
after "three, or 10, months" will it be possible to 
announce there is no Palestinian negotiating partner 
and move on to unilateral steps.  Ha'aretz quoted 
Olmert as saying: "Everything depends on the situation 
on the ground."  Ha'aretz reported that Olmert told 
Kadima ministers that the primary objective of his 
upcoming trip to Washington is to create chemistry with 
President Bush.   Speaking on Israel Radio this 
morning, Israeli Ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon said 
he believes that a good atmosphere is expected during 
Olmert's talks in Washington and that the US 
administration will not try to "gently kill" Olmert's 
convergence plan.  Speaking on IDF Radio, Ayalon said 
that Olmert's scheduled trip to the US presented a 
wonderful opportunity for Israel's new government to 
present its policies to the US president and to justify 
the much-maligned convergence plan.   Ayalon was quoted 
as saying on IDF Radio: "The convergence plan is not a 
backwards step; it is, rather, an intention of 
initiative towards making progress towards a final 
status solution in the conflict with the Palestinians." 
Maariv quoted sources at Olmert's bureau as saying that 
"the Americans are not interested in the convergence 
plan right now."  Ha'aretz quoted Olmert as saying that 
the key issue on the table will be the Iranian nuclear 
threat. The newspaper wrote that Olmert is planning to 
describe the gravity with which Israel views the threat 
and explain that the country is not leading the 
international struggle against Iran but expects the US 
and other countries to do everything they can to halt 
the threat. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying Wednesday 
after a meeting with French FM Philippe Douste-Blazy 
that he is willing to meet with PA Chairman [President] 
Mahmoud Abbas, but that he doubts that negotiations 
with a Hamas-led government will get anywhere.  Leading 
media quoted Douste-Blazy as saying that France will 
not support Olmert's convergence plan.  The Jerusalem 
Post quoted FM Tzipi Livni's spokeswoman as saying that 
Livni will meet with Olmert today to decide if she 
should meet with Abbas during an economic conference on 
Sunday.  The websites of Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem 
Post quoted Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as 
saying that Livni is set to meet Abbas in Sharm el- 
Sheikh on Sunday.  Israel Radio reported that Abbas 
called Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to congratulate her 
on her election, and expressed his hope that they will 
meet. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday, ordering 
the IDF to prepare an evacuation operation plan, 
Defense Minister Amir Peretz signed eviction orders for 
12 illegal outposts in the West Bank.  The newspaper 
reported that Olmert gave his approval for the eviction 
orders.  The Jerusalem Post reported that the orders 
were originally signed by former Defense Minister Shaul 
Mofaz (two years ago, according to Israel Radio).   The 
Jerusalem Post wrote that the outposts designated for 
eviction included: Mitzpeh Yitzhar near the settlement 
of Yitzhar; Yitzhar Darom (South); Havat Shaked; Givat 
Hadegel near Karnei Shomron; Givat Haroeh near 
Ramallah; Mitzpeh Assaf near Beit El; Mitzpeh Lachish 
near Hebron; and Hazon David near Kiryat Arba.  Maariv 
reported that in the past few days Peretz instructed 
the Israeli defense establishment to prepare for the 
evacuation of 124 illegal outposts. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Chief Justice Aharon Barak, the 
President of the High Court of Justice, wrote in a 
private letter this week that even though his opinion 
was voted down in Sunday's High Court ruling upholding 
a ban on family unification, most of the other justices 
agree with his position that the law violates 
constitutional rights and is not proportional.  He was 
quoted as saying that they also agreed that if the 
Knesset were to extend the validity of the Citizenship 
Law in its current format, the court would overturn it. 
Hatzofe cited the Palestinian daily Al-Quds as saying 
that senior Hamas members have recently debated the 
option of negotiations with Israel in order to reduce 
international pressure on their movement. 
 
Major media reported that on Wednesday, PA Interior 
Minister Said Siam announced that a new 3,000-strong 
security unit comprised of militants would be deployed 
across the Gaza Strip and start operating immediately. 
Ha'aretz wrote that Siam's move was in direct defiance 
of a veto by Abbas.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
Abbas deployed hundreds of PA policemen in response to 
Siam's move.  Israel Radio reported that last night, 
Fatah and Hamas representatives met at the residence of 
the Egyptian Consul in Gaza to try to defuse the 
tension between the factions, and quoted participants 
as saying that the talks were positive.  Leading 
Israeli electronic media and news websites quoted 
senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat as saying this morning 
that Abbas has told the Hamas-led government it must 
immediately remove its new security forces from the 
streets of Gaza. 
 
Yediot reported that the IDF intends to equip its bases 
along the border with the Gaza Strip with buildings 
resistant to direct hits by Qassam rockets, while 
neighboring civilian communities will remain with 
minimal protection. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday, Israel opened the 
Karni crossing on the Gaza Strip border to merchandise 
for the first time in several months, following a 
decision by Peretz on Sunday.  The crossing opened in 
the morning for the export of goods from Gaza, mostly 
produce, and beginning Wednesday afternoon, for import 
from Israel.  Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as saying that the 
opening of the crossing was a strategic decision that 
would directly impact the Gaza economy. 
 
Maariv reported that a Kuwaiti agent of Al Qaida 
recruited Gaza meat salesman Rakam Abu-Laila, whom he 
instructed to murder Americans.  The newspaper said 
that Abu-Laila was arrested following US-Israeli 
cooperation, but that the Hamas government quietly 
released him two weeks ago. 
 
Yediot and The Jerusalem Post reported that, in 
defiance of the German government's policy, Atef Adwan, 
a Hamas official and the PA's Minister for Refugees, 
who Yediot said was invited by senior Social-Democrat 
Bundestag member Detlef Dzembritzki, visited Germany 
for several hours.  The media wrote that German 
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her annoyance about 
the visit. 
 
Yediot reported that new Italian FM Massimo D'Alema, 
who in the past dubbed Israel a "terrorist state," is 
expected to change his country's pro-Israeli policy. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday, the Jerusalem 
Magistrate's court acquitted leftist activists 
Yehonatan Pollak and Moshe Snitz of charges of rioting 
during demonstrations against the construction of the 
separation fence on lands belonging to the West Bank 
village of Budrus in September 2004.  Ha'aretz quoted 
Judge Alexander Ron as saying: "The principle of 
freedom to demonstrate is a prime constitutional 
right."  However, Ron also wrote in his ruling that the 
court "rejects with repugnance any behavior that 
appears to support events where stones are thrown at 
police and soldiers ... even if perhaps under certain 
circumstances the accused cannot be found guilty of a 
concrete criminal act." 
 
The media reported that on Wednesday, Knesset Member 
Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List/Arab Movement for 
Renewal), who was an adviser to the late Palestinian 
leader Yasser Arafat, was appointed as one of Knesset 
Speaker Dalia Itzik's deputies.  Yediot wrote that in 
this capacity, Tibi could become Acting President of 
Israel. 
 
All media (banner in Maariv) quoted Olmert as saying 
Wednesday at a convention of the Movement for Quality 
Government in Israel that his government will fight 
"organized crime."  Maariv cited international data 
which it said show that Israel ranks high in criminal 
statistics within the Western world.  Leading media 
reported that Olmert hinted that Israeli leaders would 
not be exempt from possible corruption investigations. 
 
The Jerusalem Post's web site published a Jewish 
Telegraphic Agency (JTA) story stating that on 
Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named 
Gregg Rickman, a "dogged investigator" who has tracked 
the Swiss banks' role in the Holocaust, as the first 
special envoy for monitoring and combating anti- 
Semitism.   The JTA wrote that Jewish leaders 
unanimously agreed that the appointment would push the 
office monitoring anti-Semitism, in existence barely 18 
months, to the department's front burner. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a delegation of Jewish 
community leaders from Venezuela arrived in Israel as 
part of a mission intended to explore options for 
Venezuelan Jews who want to leave their troubled 
country and move to Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Daniel Wultz, the 16-year-old 
American who died on Sunday after being critically 
wounded in the Tel Aviv suicide bombing three weeks 
ago, was buried in Weston, Florida, on Wednesday. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶1.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Israel is finding 
it difficult to formulate a position on an American- 
Iranian dialogue.  It would be best if Olmert decides 
what he thinks before he leaves for Washington." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a 
lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[The Iranian 
nuclear program] is already a global problem, and there 
is no reason for Israel to turn it into an Israeli 
problem by its own hand." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Don't Be a Wimp" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/18): "[Iranian 
President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's letter to U.S. 
President George W. Bush was a brilliant piece of 
diplomacy that surprised Jerusalem.  Despite the 
letter's harsh formulations against Israel and the US, 
it raised pressure on the American administration to 
engage Tehran in talks about its nuclear program. 
Henry Kissinger called on Bush this week not to miss 
the opportunity.  But Israel is finding it difficult to 
formulate a position on an American-Iranian dialogue. 
It would be best if Olmert decides what he thinks 
before he leaves for Washington, since the question 
will certainly come up.  What will Olmert say to Bush 
next week?  The recommendation he's been given was to 
make clear the seriousness of the Iranian threat to 
Israel, without appearing to be pushing America into a 
military adventure or explicitly threatening an Israeli 
operation.  Olmert will need the best of his political 
skills for that mission.  But that won't be enough.  He 
has to fortify his security authority at home, lest he 
end up in the position of a wimp afraid to act against 
Iran.  The decision on this sensitive issue has to be 
made judiciously and not due to domestic weakness." 
 
II.  "What Should Be Done About Ahmadinejad?" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a 
lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/18): "Israel 
must stop serving as a tool in the hands of the Iranian 
dictatorship.  Any Israeli declaration that it will 
destroy Iran or act against it only plays into 
Ahmadinejad's hands.... Israel should respond in the 
only way that will thwart his goals: by treating Iran 
respectfully.  The Israeli spokespersons must at every 
opportunity use only one message, and repeat it again 
and again: Israel has no conflict with Iran, neither 
territorial, nor national nor any other kind.  Israel 
respects Iran and would be glad to renew the close 
relations that existed between the two countries for 
many years....  Israel owes a historical debt to Iran 
for the fact that the Persian king Cyrus permitted the 
Jewish people to return to its land and rituals in 538 
BCE, about 50 years after the destruction of the First 
Temple.  For Iran, Cyrus is an important figure to this 
day.  This does not mean that Israel should abandon the 
intelligence monitoring and close coordination with the 
US and the Western European countries with regard to 
the danger of the Iranian nuclear program.  Today, 
however, this is already a global problem, and there is 
no reason for Israel to turn it into an Israeli problem 
by its own hand.  This is already for the big leagues, 
and it would be best for little Israel for the US to 
take care of this, as it is already doing." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "If 
[Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] instructs the security 
establishment to stop insisting on a [separation] fence 
that intrudes into the West Bank, brings the fence as 
close as possible to the Green Line, and expedites its 
construction, then he will help the war on terror." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "Merely preventing Hamas from directly 
accessing international aid is not going to force it to 
modify its opposition to Israel's existence any time 
soon." 
 
Former Editor-in-Chief Moshe Ishon wrote in 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: " Even if Hamas's 
leaders are willing to 'talk peace,' they are still 
Israel's enemies." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Unnecessary and Lethal Delay" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(5/18): "The [West Bank separation] fence is not a 
total obstacle to terrorism.... But alongside the 
improvement in intelligence and operational 
coordination between the IDF and the Shin Bet security 
service -- and Hamas's decision to suspend suicide 
bombings -- the fence has made a significant 
contribution to a decrease in terror.  Given these 
statistics, the foolishness of delaying the fence's 
construction in the Jerusalem area and the area south 
of it is clear.  The construction of 285 kilometers of 
the fence is being delayed for legal reasons -- 
awaiting a High Court ruling or administrative and 
planning work in the army and government ministries. 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must refrain from repeating 
his predecessor's mistake.  If he instructs the 
security establishment to stop insisting on a fence 
that intrudes into the West Bank, brings the fence as 
close as possible to the Green Line, and expedites its 
construction, then he will help the war on terror." 
 
II.  "The Elephant in the Room" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (5/18): "In essence the EU is trying to 
tiptoe around the 'elephant in the room' which is 
Hamas's terrorism-supporting, anti-Israel stance. 
Israel, too, is caught in the dilemma, anxious to avoid 
a Palestinian humanitarian crisis but also to turn up 
the 'change or fail' economic pressure on the Hamas-led 
PA.  The trouble is that merely preventing Hamas from 
directly accessing international aid is not going to 
force it to modify its opposition to Israel's existence 
any time soon.  Why change such policies when the 
Palestinians who put it in power are being subsidized 
by the rest of the world?.... So long as it is led by 
an unreconstructed Hamas, of course, to even talk of a 
recovery plan for the PA is pointless and misguided. 
For now, the international community, and Israel, need 
to concentrate on minimizing the benefits that Hamas 
can derive from donors' humane instinct to alleviate 
suffering -- even when those who are suffering brought 
their plight upon themselves by electing a terror group 
as their leadership." 
 
III.  "Negotiations, But Without Recognizing Israel" 
 
Former Editor-in-Chief Moshe Ishon wrote in 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (5/18): "It turns out 
that the economic boycott imposed on the 'Hams 
government' has paralyzed its activity -- as regards 
policy as well.... It has suspended its declarations 
regarding the 'elimination of the Jewish state' and 
started to issue statements about its willingness to 
start talks toward an agreement with Israel -- without 
recognizing the Jewish state.... Proposals by [Hamas] 
are replacing one another.  It is hard to know which of 
them is valid.  One thing is for sure -- no 'change' 
that apparently occurred in Hamas can be relied upon. 
Even if Hamas's leaders are willing to 'talk peace,' 
they are still Israel's enemies.  They haven't changed. 
As in the past, Abu Mazen is the person with whom it is 
possible to talk.  We have to treat him according to 
the rule: 'Respect him but suspect him.'" 
 
JONES