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

301117Z May 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 002072 
 
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 
CDR USCENTCOM 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.  Hizbullah-IDF Clashes 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Maariv and Israel Radio reported that last night, for 
the first time since the disengagement, the IDF made an 
incursion into the Beit Lahiya area of the northern 
Gaza Strip.  Electronic media and leading news websites 
reported that today, at least seven Palestinian gunmen 
were killed in a number of raids early Tuesday in the 
West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  Leading media reported 
that on Monday, the IDF thwarted a suicide bombing in 
Jerusalem and a terrorist attack by infiltrators from 
Egypt, one of whom was killed. 
 
Hizbullah-IDF clashes dominated the weekend's 
headlines.  On Sunday, the IDF carried out a massive 
retaliatory strike following Katyusha rocket attacks by 
Hizbullah, in which two IDF soldiers were wounded.  The 
media reported that the fighting ended after on Sunday 
afternoon, the Lebanese government requested a cease- 
fire with Israel via the UN.  On Monday, Yediot 
reported that PM Ehud Olmert would ask Egyptian 
President Hosni Mubarak to convey a tough message to 
Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora.  The Jerusalem Post and other 
media reported that many Lebanese are increasing 
pressure on Hizbullah to disarm.  On Monday, Ha'aretz 
reported that Iran has transferred to Hizbullah rockets 
capable of reaching Beersheva. 
 
On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post wrote that in recent days 
The Washington Post and The New York Times expressed 
skepticism about Olmert's' "realignment" plan. 
 
On Monday, Israel Radio quoted political sources in 
Cairo as saying that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 
would propose to PM Olmert at their meeting next week 
that Israel transfer to the Palestinians the tax money 
that Israel collects for the PA.  He would also propose 
that donations collected by Arab countries for the 
Palestinians be transferred as well. 
 
On Sunday, leading media reported that defense 
establishment representatives told Justice Minister 
Haim Ramon late last week that 486 km of the separation 
fence will be completed by the beginning of 2007.  This 
constitutes 93 percent of the 523-km fence (which does 
not include some 300km that are awaiting legal 
rulings). 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior GOI minister as saying that 
the government plans to set aside just a few weeks for 
talks with the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in 
the Territories for the evacuation of 24 illegal 
outposts in the West Bank, and that that if the sides 
are unable to reach an agreement, PM Ehud Olmert is 
likely to order the IDF and police to move in and 
evacuate the locations. 
 
Leading media reported that on Monday, Interior 
Minister Roni Bar-On informed four Hamas legislators 
from East Jerusalem that they must renounce their 
membership in the group if they are to continue to have 
residency rights in Jerusalem. 
 
Yediot reported that on Monday, following talks with FM 
Tzipi Livni, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited 
Olmert to Turkey.  Livni was quoted as saying during 
her visit to Ankara that Israel favors a two-state 
solution.  Yediot quoted Erdogan as saying that the 
disengagement was a big step, but that Turkey would 
have preferred a Roadmap-based solution involving two 
states.   The Jerusalem Post reported that Turkish 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told the 
newspaper: "Turkey supports a policy that what Iran is 
doing or developing should be transparent and Tehran 
must convince the international community that [Iran's 
nuclear development] is only for peaceful purposes." 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas intends to expand the 
Presidential Guard directly under his authority with 
thousands of new members, with the ultimate goal of a 
10,000-strong force. 
 
Major media (banners in Yediot and Maariv) reported 
that at the cabinet today, Defense Minister Amir Peretz 
may vote against the government's proposal to make a 1 
billion shekel (around USD 221 million) cut in the 
defense budget -- including 500 million shekels from 
Defense Ministry funds.  Ha'aretz quoted Peretz 
associates as saying that officials at the Prime 
Minister's Office are acting against Peretz. 
 
All media reported that on Monday, NAFTHE, the largest 
union of university teachers in the UK, adopted a 
resolution encouraging an academic boycott of Israel. 
Ha'aretz quoted Education Minister Yuli Tamir as saying 
that the boycott has marginal support and that the 
British mainstream actually views Israel as a partner. 
The Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe reported that the 
British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Lord 
Triesman condemned NAFTHE's resolution. 
 
All media reported that on Monday, the daughter of 
Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh was briefly detained for 
entering Israel with false documents.  She was on her 
way to visit her jailed fiance. 
 
Citing the White House's belief that the UN Security 
Council will not vote for sanctions against Iran, 
Yediot reported that the US administration has decided 
to form, together with Japan and European states, a 
plan that would impose economic sanctions on Iran. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel announced 
Monday that the Israel Navy would for the first time 
participate in a summertime exercise with NATO in the 
face of the growing Iranian threat to obtain nuclear 
power.  Israeli Navy missile boats will take part in 
the Black Sea drill, dubbed "Cooperation Mako." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that despite assurances 
given last week in testimony to the US Senate's Finance 
Committee by US Deputy Trade Representative Susan 
Schwab that Saudi Arabia had told Washington it was 
abiding by its pledge to end the boycott of Israel, it 
continues to prohibit Israeli-made goods from entering 
Saudi territory. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a petition calling for 
the GOI to stamp out the practice of human trafficking 
has been signed by more than 3,000 Jews worldwide and 
will be brought before PM Olmert this week to coincide 
with the release of the State Department's annual 
Trafficking in Persons report on June 1. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Tel Aviv University President 
as saying Monday that the University's Jaffee Center 
for Strategic Studies will be folded into the new 
Institute for National Strategy and Policy established 
by Australian billionaire Frank Lowy.  The newspaper 
reported that former US Ambassador to Israel Martin 
Indyk will be deputy chairman at the Institute's 
governing board. 
 
On Sunday, Maariv's online service NRG quoted Father 
Elias Shakur, the Greek-Catholic Bishop in Israel, as 
saying that screening the movie "The Da Vinci Code" in 
Israel is worse than an attempt early this year to set 
the Church of the Annunciation on fire and it is liable 
to worsen relations between Christians and Jews in 
Israel. 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that the British newspaper 
The Financial Times selected the Ha'aretz journalist 
Akiva Eldar as the most influential commentator in 
Israel. 
 
Globes and other media reported that Indonesia's 
Sampoerna Group of Companies will buy 20 percent of the 
Israeli insurance group Harel at a value of USD 900 
million, and will eventually own 26 percent of the 
Israeli group.  The Sampoerna family is one of the 
richest in Southeast Asia. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶1.  Hizbullah-IDF Clashes: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "Blaming the aggressor is a novel 
strategy, but it's worth a try, and it might just 
work." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Blame the Aggressor" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (5/30): "Let there be no illusions: The 
modus operandi of Hizbullah, Syria and Iran depends on 
the continued hope that some stray Israeli missile will 
create a situation that has occurred many times in the 
past -- in which these forces can not only attack 
Israel and get away with it, but can heap international 
opprobrium on Israel in the bargain.  The Security 
Council, of course, has in the past been pivotal in 
this strategy, since it could be relied upon to condemn 
Israeli responses while ignoring the aggression that 
precipitated them.   Lately, the ability of rogues and 
terrorists to rely on the UN to blame the victim has 
been reduced in the sense that now it is more common to 
criticize 'both sides' and issue a global call for 
'restraint,' thereby merely treating aggressor and 
victim as equals. What is yet to happen, however, is 
for the international community to blame the aggressor 
and show unequivocal solidarity with the victim, such 
as in the resolutions condemning the 9/11 attack on the 
United States.  Blaming the aggressor is a novel 
strategy, but it's worth a try, and it might just 
work." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Sharon-Peres 
government ignored the Arab League's proposal.... The 
Olmert-Peres government has received ... a second 
opportunity to reach an agreement.  This may be the 
last opportunity." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "The Palestinians must choose between 
their desire for freedom and independence and their 
desire to destroy Israel.  They cannot have both." 
 
Columnist Shlomo Gazit, a former head of IDF 
Intelligence, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "If 
it is successful, Abu Mazen's surprising [referendum] 
initiative ... will turn the Palestinians into a 
partner with a clear opening position." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "The government of Israel would 
be well advised to allow its representatives to 
maintain ongoing contacts with senior Palestinian 
government officials on practical issues." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Between Prisoners and Captives" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/29): "The Sharon- 
Peres government ignored the Arab League's proposal and 
preferred a targeted assassination of the Palestinian 
partner and unilateral moves.  The Olmert-Peres 
government has received from the prisoners, from 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu 
Mazen) and from pragmatic groups in the territories a 
second opportunity to reach an agreement.  This may be 
the last opportunity." 
 
 
II.  "The Limits of the 'Reconciliation' Plan" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (5/29): "The [Palestinian] prisoners' 
statement does not openly call for the elimination of 
Israel, but neither does it explicitly recognize the 
Jewish state, much less explicitly seek accommodation 
with it.... Even if the Palestinian public were to 
ratify such a document in a referendum, Hamas and like- 
minded others would be able to argue that the people 
had confirmed the principle of a Palestinian state as a 
basis for continuing war against Israel, rather than 
ending the war with Israel.  Such a referendum might be 
presented as a step forward for Palestinian unity, but 
it is hard to see how it would advance the cause of 
peace.  The Palestinians must choose between their 
desire for freedom and independence and their desire to 
destroy Israel.  They cannot have both.  The prisoners' 
'reconciliation' document seeks to keep all options 
open." 
 
III.  "A Brilliant Palestinian Ploy" 
 
Columnist Shlomo Gazit, a former head of IDF 
Intelligence, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv 
(5/30): "If it is successful, Abu Mazen's surprising 
[referendum] initiative ... will turn the Palestinians 
into a partner with a clear opening position.  The new 
Israeli defensive position complains that the 
compromise document that [Fatah leader Marwan] 
Barghouti drafted in prison is unacceptable to Israel. 
Without doubt, this is true.  But we need to bear in 
mind that it is inconceivable that the opening 
positions of the Palestinians before beginning 
negotiations should conform to Israel's positions, 
since that is precisely why and over what negotiations 
are held.  Moreover, we are still a long way away from 
being able to determine whether it will be possible -- 
even with exceptional good will on both sides -- to 
reach an understanding and an agreement.  The failure 
of the talks will not be, therefore, the result of 
there being 'no partner.'  We will then face a new 
problem.  We are going to have to work very hard to 
prove that the impasse that has evolved stems from the 
Palestinian positions and not Israel's." 
 
 
IV.  "Contacts With Hamas" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (5/30): "The attitude of the 
Israeli government was and remains a total rejection of 
all ties with the Palestinian government, except for 
'humanitarian purposes,' such as the transfer of funds 
for medicine.... It is clear, however, that residents 
of the territories and Gaza are suffering the most from 
this.  Moreover, it turns out that the siege on the 
Hamas government is not weakening it -- at least not 
for now.  On the contrary, it is boosting support for 
it.  Despite the severe suffering in Gaza, there have 
been no protest actions or demonstrations against the 
Hamas government there.  Furthermore, cooperation on 
practical issues is no less important to Israel than it 
is to the Palestinian side.... Such cooperation could 
help gradually normalize Israel's relations with the 
Palestinian public and its leaders.  On this backdrop, 
the government of Israel would be well advised to allow 
its representatives to maintain ongoing contacts with 
senior Palestinian government officials on practical 
issues such as water, electricity, health and tourism, 
the promotion of which could help improve the 
atmosphere and relations between the two sides." 
 
CRETZ