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Carol X Weakley  07/27/2006 01:05:17 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Carol X Weakley

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STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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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
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that on Tuesday President Bush hinted that he 
supported the continuation of the IDF operation in Lebanon.  The 
radio quoted Bush as saying: "We want a sustainable cease-fire.  We 
don't want something that's short-term in duration.  We want to 
address the root causes of the violence in the area, and therefore, 
our mission and our goal is to have a lasting peace -- not a 
temporary peace, but something that lasts.  And I believe that Iraq, 
in some ways, faces the same difficulty, and that is a new democracy 
is emerging and there are people who are willing to use terrorist 
techniques to stop it."  The President was speaking at a joint White 
House press availability with Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki. 
 
All media reported on the second day of Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice's current visit to Israel and the PA.  Ha'aretz 
(lead story) and Yediot reported that Secretary Rice and PM Ehud 
Olmert agreed Tuesday that the role of the international force that 
will be sent to Lebanon following a cease-fire will be to assist the 
Lebanese Army to deploy in the south, ensure that Hizbullah does not 
rebuild its positions there and ensure that quiet is maintained 
along the Israeli-Lebanese border.  However, Ha'aretz and Yediot 
said that this force will not be responsible for disarming Hizbullah 
nor will it be stationed at the border crossings between Lebanon and 
Syria in order to halt the flow of weapons from Syria to Hizbullah. 
Ha'aretz wrote that Israel has thereby in effect conceded its 
initial demands that any cease-fire deal include stripping Hizbullah 
of its rockets and ensuring that it is not rearmed.  Ha'aretz wrote 
that Rice and Olmert agreed that any new arrangement in Lebanon must 
be based on UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and the statement 
issued by the G-8 summit, both of which call for disarming Hizbullah 
and deploying the Lebanese Army along the Israel-Lebanon border. 
Ha'aretz quoted Olmert as saying that Israelis determined to keep up 
the fight against both Hizbullah in the north and Hamas in the 
south.  Ha'aretz quoted Secretary Rice as saying that the US opposes 
an immediate cease-fire that is not part of a broader arrangement. 
The Secretary was quoted as saying that instead, the US is seeking a 
sustainable cease-fire that would improve the security situation, 
because "we have no interest in returning in another three weeks, or 
three months, or six months," or whenever the extremists next decide 
to sabotage the peace. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel promised Secretary Rice Tuesday that 
it would work to ease the humanitarian distress in Lebanon.  The 
newspaper reported that Olmert pledged to widen existing 
transportation channels in Lebanon and add transportation corridors 
for that purpose.  Ha'aretz reported that Defense Minister Amir 
Peretz proposed to Rice that an international task force be created 
to assist in rehabilitating Lebanon after the fighting ends. 
Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as saying that such a force would prevent the 
creation of a vacuum that would enable Iran to strengthen its hold 
on Lebanon by financing the reconstruction itself, which it is 
currently promising to do.  Yediot reported that Peretz has 
advocated the creation of an Israeli security zone in southern 
Lebanon, without permanent IDF outposts. 
 
Israel Radio and other media reported that four members of a UNIFIL 
force, including a Chinese worker for the organization, were killed 
in an IAF air strike on Khiam, southern Lebanon.  Israel Radio 
reported that the Chinese government summoned Israel's Ambassador in 
Beijing, requesting that Israel apologize over his killing.  The 
station cited the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that Israel 
will conduct a full investigation into the matter.  The station 
reported that Israeli Representative to the UN Ambassador Danny 
Gillerman expressed deep regret over the incident but that he 
rejected a claim by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that he was 
"shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate 
targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a UN Observer post in 
southern Lebanon."   Israel Radio later reported that Olmert called 
Annan to express his deep regret for the incident, but that he 
voiced reservations over Annan's remarks.  Israel Radio reported 
that Annan called on the GOI to conduct a full investigation into 
the incident.  The radio reported that Israel's Ambassador to the US 
Danny Ayalon also condemned Annan's remarks and called on him to 
apologize. 
 
Israel Radio and other media quoted Hizbullah Secretary-General 
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah as saying Tuesday on Hizbullah's Al Manar-TV 
that his fighters would begin firing rockets deeper into Israel, 
south of Haifa.  The radio quoted a senior GOI source as saying that 
Nasrallah is lying and making up "Arabian Nights-type" stories, and 
that Israel should not relate to them.  Vice PM Shimon Peres was 
quoted as saying in an interview with Israel Radio that Israel 
should not relate to Nasrallah's remarks, but that it should be 
prepared as if Nasrallah had been telling the truth.  Major media 
cited statements by senior Hizbullah members, including Nasrallah, 
that the organization did not foresee Israel's strong response 
following the abduction of two IDF soldiers along the Lebanese 
border.  Yediot bannered a "secret" message that Nasrallah 
reportedly transmitted to his men, according which Israel's home 
front would break in two weeks.  Ha'aretz had reported in today's 
edition that an IDF analysis of the messages transmitted by 
Nasrallah to his men during the fighting in Lebanon revealed a 
slightly less bellicose tone than the one he took in media 
interviews during the same period. 
 
The media reported that the battle for Bint Jbail is continuing. 
Israel Radio reported that ten IDF troops were wounded in the 
southern Lebanese town today.  The media reported that a senior 
Hizbullah commander was killed in a clash with the IDF, although 
Maariv wrote that the report was unconfirmed.  Leading media 
mentioned the IDF's belief that Hizbullah is retreating.  Maariv 
bannered an Israeli intelligence assessment that Nasrallah is hiding 
in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut and conducting the fighting against 
Israel from there.  Yediot quoted a senior Israeli military source 
as saying that during the past two nights the IDF attacked convoys 
of weapons that were on their way from Syria to Lebanon.  Maariv 
reported that the IAF has received orders to respond massively for 
each Katyusha rocket fired into Israel.  All major media quoted IDF 
Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin as saying before the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday that 
Damascus fears that Israel would expand its Lebanon offensive to 
include Syria and that it has gone on high alert in preparation for 
such a scenario.  Maariv stressed Yadlin's remark that Israel is not 
interested in a conflict with Syria.  Yadlin also warned that 
Hizbullah was planning to abduct more IDF soldiers, in addition to 
the two it has already kidnapped, in an effort to use them as 
bargaining chips in a future exchange of captives for prisoners. 
 
All media reported that a 15-year-old girl from the Israeli Arab 
village of Maghar in the Galilee was killed Tuesday when a 
Hizbullah-fired rocket landed in her living room.  The rocket was 
one of 95 to land in the north on Tuesday, including 17 that hit 
Haifa, where The Jerusalem Post said a man died of a heart attack 
while running for shelter. 
 
Globes cited an assessment by Israeli economists that should the war 
in Lebanon continue for two more weeks, the cost of the 
confrontation to Israeli would amount to 10 to 20 billion shekels 
(around USD 2.26-4.52 billion).  Globes reported that a budget 
deficit of 7 to 9 billion shekels (around USD 1.58-2 billion) is 
being forecast.  The Jerusalem Post reported on important donations 
to Israel by Jewish American communities. 
 
Maariv reported that the US Embassy in Tel Aviv has announced that 
it would be considerate of tourist visa applicants who are prevented 
from coming to the Embassy because of Hizbullah's rocket attacks or 
call-ups to the IDF. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli diplomatic officials as saying 
that Israel would not discuss a withdrawal from the Sheba Farms 
area. 
 
Reporting from the Rome conference on the Israel-Lebanon crisis, two 
Yediot correspondents wrote that two "senior Arab statesmen" have 
expressed strong criticism of Israel's "too slow" operation against 
Hizbullah. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted AG Menachem Mazuz as saying Tuesday that Israel is 
still not legally at war with Lebanon, even though it is conducting 
large-scale ground operations on Lebanese territory. 
 
Israel Radio reported that on Tuesday PA Chairman [President] 
Mahmoud Abbas presented to Secretary Rice his plan for the release 
of captured IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit: Shalit would be released 
in exchange for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, the cessation 
of Israel's attacks, and the lifting of the economic siege on the 
PA.  The radio quoted Abbas as saying that his plan enjoys the 
approval of all Palestinian groups, including Hamas.  Yediot 
published the details of Hamas's demands.  The Jerusalem Post 
headlined: "Abbas Promises to Help Release Gilad Shalit."  Ha'aretz 
quoted Muhammad Nazal, a senior "Hamas-abroad" official, as saying 
Tuesday that Hamas and Hizbullah must cooperate on the matter of the 
abducted soldiers. 
 
Maariv cited an allegation by Turkey that on Tuesday the Israel Navy 
shot at a Turkish ferry carrying Lebanese fleeing their country. 
Maariv cited the IDF's response by that the vessel suspiciously left 
Beirut port without identifying itself. 
 
Leading media cited the preliminary findings of an air force 
investigation into Monday's helicopter crash that killed two IDF 
officers: It is likely to have been caused by a hit from an IDF 
rocket. 
 
Yediot reported that foreign buyers are less eager to purchase 
Israeli defense products in the wake of Hizbullah's missile hit on 
an Israel Navy ship. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported on the largest ever cash sale of 
an Israeli company: Hewlett-Packard is buying the Israeli company 
Mercury Interactive Corp. for USD 4.5 billion.  The media noted that 
the US Securities and Exchanges Commission is currently 
investigating Mercury for financial irregularities. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Why 
should Lebanon take on this politically and militarily difficult 
task [of disarming Hizbullah] if it feels it has US support 
regardless?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Condoleezza Rice ... is no longer convinced of 
anything.  On the one hand, she is giving [Israel] some rope.  On 
the other hand she would like to see us doing something with that 
rope -- hanging Nasrallah, for example." 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "At the conclusion 
of two weeks of fighting, Israel is far from a decisive victory, and 
its main objectives have not been achieved." 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime 
minister Yitzhak Rabin, opined in the lead editorial of 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Israel [could] help 
convince that this is not just Israel's war but that of the entire 
Western world against ... Iran, Syria, Hamas, and Hizbullah." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of Ha'aretz: 
"The decision to launch a broad military operation in Lebanon ... 
was made with lightning speed." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The primary decision-makers do not [seem to] 
have a hidden agenda in this war." 
 
Columnist Shaul Schiff wrote in nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "It 
would be worthwhile to remember that the US has very close links 
with Britain.... There also is the issue of oil and its price." 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Experience teaches us that the turnabout from patriotic criticism 
to rational behavior based on moral norms occurs sooner or later." 
 
Prominent liberal novelist David Grossman wrote in Yediot Aharonot: 
"Whereas Hizbullah is interested in the destruction of Israel, most 
Palestinians have already become reconciled -- albeit grudgingly -- 
with its existence." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "No Prizes For Hizbullah" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/26): 
"'The people of this region, Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian have 
lived too long in fear and in terror and in violence,' Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice said, standing next to Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert on Tuesday.  'A durable solution will be one that strengthens 
the forces of peace and democracy in the region.'  Rice is right. 
Such a durable solution must begin with the principle that Hizbullah 
is handed only defeats and Israel only victories by this war's 
diplomatic aftermath.  Otherwise, aggression will have been rewarded 
and the seeds of future conflict will have been sown.  In this 
context, Lebanon's demand that Israel relinquish the Sheba Farms 
enclave, and the murmur of international support such demands are 
gaining, are mystifying and disturbing.... A critical component of 
the 'durable solution' the US is correctly seeking is for Lebanon to 
do something that it has failed, despite substantial international 
pressure, to do until now: disarm Hizbullah and prevent its 
rearming.  Why should Lebanon take on this politically and 
militarily difficult task if it feels it has US support regardless?" 
 
 
II.  "The Rope Offered by Condoleezza Rice" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of popular, 
pluralist Maariv (7/26): "[At the Lebanon Forum, which is meeting in 
Rome today] the Europeans will be torn between these two poles, but 
will tend to support Annan.  In the end, there may be a formula 
calling for an immediate temporary cease-fire for humanitarian 
purposes.  Or perhaps the American position will prevail, perhaps 
with British support.  But this is not certain, because, 
unfortunately, the Americans do not have the power of veto at the 
Lebanon Forum.  When in Rome, do as the Lebanese do.  Condoleezza 
Rice herself is no longer convinced of anything.  On the one hand, 
she is giving [Israel] some rope.  On the other hand she would like 
to see us doing something with that rope -- hanging Nasrallah, for 
example.  'What is your end game?' she has been asking the Israelis. 
 'What do you see as your way out of this situation in the end?' 
And indeed, a good question.  We are no longer seeking the 'decisive 
point,' but rather the 'feel good point.'" 
 
III.  "No Goals Attained" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/26): "At the 
conclusion of two weeks of fighting, Israel is far from a decisive 
victory, and its main objectives have not been achieved.  There are 
major lessons to be learned.  The war of attrition being waged by 
Hizbullah is continuing unabated.... Without the assistance of 
ground forces, it will not be possible to hit the rocket reservoirs 
hidden in tunnels and basements. Excellent troops have been sent in 
from the standing army but if hundreds of Hizbullah fighters are not 
hit, the achievement will be only partial.... The objective of 
keeping Syria out of the conflict has been achieved -- so far. 
Syrian troops are on alert, and the Syrians are helping to bring 
equipment to Hizbullah.  Israel is preparing for the eventuality 
that Syria's leaders will make a mistake.  The Palestinians in Gaza 
are meanwhile suffering the IDF's wrath at Hizbullah, and the 
responses to Qassam attacks have become harsher.  There is no 
progress yet in the diplomatic attempts to bring about a new type of 
cease-fire. Israel has to be wary, lest Hizbullah surprise it and 
cause heavy losses." 
 
IV.  "V For Victory" 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime 
minister Yitzhak Rabin, opined in the lead editorial of 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (7/26): "What ... would 
be considered an achievement for the IDF, the government, and the 
state?  [Such a possibility would exist] if, in the context of an 
arrangement, Hizbullah and its Katyusha rockets remain in the Beirut 
area, do not get close to South Lebanon, and especially do not open 
fire.  In such a case, a threat would still hover above Israel -- 
and even possibly increase -- but in the context such an agreement 
it would not be very different from treaties with Arab states that 
possess emergency weapons arsenals.  The other option -- probably 
the less advisable one -- would be to intensify the conflict with 
Hizbullah and to draw into it mostly American foreign forces that 
Israel will help convince that this is not just Israel's war but 
that of the entire Western world against the malefic quartet, as 
Shimon Peres called it Tuesday -- Iran, Syria, Hamas, and 
Hizbullah." 
 
 
¶V.  "Was There a Proper Decision Process?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of Ha'aretz 
(7/26): "The decision to launch a broad military operation in 
Lebanon, in response to the abduction of soldiers ... on the morning 
of July 12, was made with lightning speed.... [At first] the 'world' 
blamed Hizbullah and agreed to put off a cease-fire until a broader 
agreement is reached on southern Lebanon.  World media this week 
turned against Israel and focused on Lebanon's destruction, but 
sources in Jerusalem say this is not reflected so far in the 
important positions of the government.... Olmert will [also] have to 
redraw his [realignment] plan, knowing that the international 
recognition he wants for the new border in the West Bank will 
require him to evacuate the IDF, not just settlers, thereby taking a 
security risk." 
 
VI.  "No Hidden Agenda" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/26): "The Lebanon War of 1982 was founded 
upon a ruse: the defense minister and the chief of staff had a 
covert plan that they concealed from the government.  In the Lebanon 
War of 2006, all the cards are on the table.  But in this instance, 
as well, there is a lurking danger of the political leadership being 
dragged into events by authorizing the plans proposed by the 
military leadership.... In the current war, no significant cracks 
have been spotted, so far, in the version reported by the political 
leadership and the senior military leadership in their description 
of the war and its objectives.  This would mean the primary 
decision-makers do not have a hidden agenda in this war. 
Nevertheless, two weeks into the war, it is coming across as a 
runaway train over which the government's control is growing 
increasingly tenuous." 
 
VII.  "The Turnabout Will Come Quickly" 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz (7/26): 
"No one can predict this, but experience teaches us that the 
turnabout from patriotic criticism to rational behavior based on 
moral norms occurs sooner or later, sometimes within weeks or months 
and sometimes after a generation.  It seems that in the current 
outbreak of violence, the change will come very quickly; its 
conduct, objectives and results do not encourage too much enthusiasm 
and it has not even been granted the title of 'war' since those who 
waged it are not sure if they want to commemorate it among the 
state's official wars or if they believe it would perhaps be better 
to forget it." 
 
VIII.  "The US, Oil Interests, and Britain" 
Columnist Shaul Schiff wrote in nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe 
(7/26): "President Bush undoubtedly has been one of the friendliest 
US presidents to Israel.... But ... it would be worthwhile to 
remember that the US has very close links with Britain and that 
relations between Tony Blair and George Bush are particularly good. 
There also is the issue of oil and its price.... An international 
force would not have the capacity to prevent Hizbullah from 
rebuilding itself." 
 
IX.  "On the Wrong Track" 
 
Prominent liberal novelist David Grossman wrote in Yediot Aharonot 
(7/26): "The uncompromising bellicose activity of Hizbullah has 
caused many Israelis to lump the two fronts together and to have a 
feeling that they pose a single existential threat.  But whereas 
Hizbullah is interested in the destruction of Israel, most 
Palestinians have already become reconciled -- albeit grudgingly -- 
with its existence and the necessity of dividing the land between 
the two nations.  Most of the Israelis and Palestinians recognize 
that they are destined to live together and cannot be separated. 
Both have a clear interest in reaching a compromise and even to give 
up some of their demands which are a matter of principle for them. 
It is clear to both of them that in the last analysis, the conflict 
cannot be solved by force.  The cruel pounding of the Gaza Strip has 
achieved all that it can, and according to reports even the most 
extremist organizations in the Palestinian Authority are ready for a 
cease-fire.  A sincere Israeli proposal to begin negotiations even 
before the end of the fighting with Hizbullah could send a signal to 
the Palestinians and the entire world that Israel draws a 
distinction between these two conflicts, and will improve the 
situation of Israel on both fronts at one and the same time." 
 
 
JONES