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Leza L Olson  11/30/2006 01:22:47 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Leza L Olson

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    INFO:   POL DAO DCM AMB

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DRAFTED: PD:MKONSTANTYN
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RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 1271
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RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 1993
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 8916
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 9360
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 6036
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 3414
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 8291
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4435
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 004679 
 
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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 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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that President Bush arrived in Jordan on 
Wednesday.  Israel Radio reported that the President had breakfast 
with Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki in Amman this morning.  The radio 
reported that Bush met last night with Jordan's King Abdullah II. 
Israel Radio cited a statement issued by the Royal Jordanian Court 
according to which Abdullah asked Bush to assist the resumption of 
Israeli-Palestinian talks.  The station reported that the President 
reaffirmed his "two-nations, two-states" vision.  Israel Radio 
reported that President Bush called for strengthening Abbas and 
quoted Bush as saying that the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict is essential for bolstering regional stability. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is 
meeting with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho and 
will meet with PM Ehud Olmert and FM Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem.  The 
radio said that Abbas is expected to ask the Secretary to make use 
of the opportunity presented by the period of calm ("tahdiya") to 
promote Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.  Israel Radio quoted Abbas 
associate Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying that the Palestinian will tell 
Rice that they are willing to treat Olmert's diplomatic initiative 
in earnest.  The radio quoted Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh as 
saying that the Palestinians expect five million refugees to return 
and that this is their sacred right that no one can renounce. 
Israel Radio reported that Olmert is expected to tell the Secretary 
that Israel will continue to abide by the cease-fire and release 
Palestinian prisoners if kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit is freed. 
Yediot (Shimon Shiffer) expects Rice to ask Olmert whether he has 
the political wherewithal to hold negotiations with the Palestinians 
that would eventually entail the evacuation of many West Bank 
settlements.  Ha'aretz quoted Jerusalem sources as saying that 
Secretary Rice will ask Olmert to help Abbas by alleviating the 
 
SIPDIS 
siege on the Gaza Strip and removing non-essential roadblocks in the 
West Bank.  Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian sources as saying that Rice 
is expected to ask Abbas and Israel to expand the cease-fire to the 
West Bank.  Ha'aretz wrote that hey will also discuss implementing 
the border passes agreement that was signed by the US, Israel, and 
the PA after Israel's pullout from Gaza.  Ha'aretz reported that an 
extremely critical report written by the UN Coordinator for 
Humanitarian Affairs in the Territories is to be released before 
Rice's visit.  The report, a copy of which has reached Ha'aretz, 
accuses Israel of violating every single clause of the border passes 
agreement. 
All media reported that Israel released Palestinian Public Works and 
Housing Minister Abdel-Rahman Zidan on Wednesday. 
 
Major media quoted Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as 
saying on Wednesday that the Shalit affair will be over soon. 
Maariv quoted Suleiman as saying that the Israeli-Palestinian deal 
will be carried out in three weeks. However, The Jerusalem Post 
quoted Israeli and Palestinian sources as saying that Suleiman was 
unable, during his visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, to bridge the 
gaps between Israel and he Palestinians regarding the identity or 
numbers of prisoners to be released in exchange for Shalit or the 
timing of a swap.  Maariv quoted senior Israeli sources involved in 
the negotiations that Israel will release 500 Palestinian prisoners, 
including some who "have blood on their hands."  The Jerusalem 
Post's web site cited the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat as saying 
that Hamas announced this morning that West Bank Tanzim leader 
Marwan Barghouti would be at the top of the list of security 
prisoners they want released in exchange for Shalit. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the UN has started work on mapping the Sheba 
Farms area along Israel's northern border, using available maps and 
satellite photographs.  The disputed territory, or parts of it, is 
claimed by Syria, Lebanon and Israel.  Maariv quoted French 
President Jacques Chirac as saying at the NATO Summit in Riga on 
Wednesday that Hizbullah is a moderating force in Lebanon. 
Electronic media reported that Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan 
Nasrallah urged Lebanese citizens to demonstrate against the Siniora 
government. 
 
Maariv and Yediot reported that tests of the Sky Shield system 
recently conducted in the US were successful.  The system, which is 
manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is supposedly capable of 
intercepting and destroying Qassam and Katyusha rockets.  Maariv 
wrote that various branches of Israel's defense industries are also 
trying to finds a response to the rocket threat.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted a high-ranking IDF officer as saying on Wednesday that the 
IDF plans to purchase and install Trophy active protection 
anti-missile systems on its Merkava tanks by the end of 2007. 
Maariv reported that a state-of-the-art computerized baggage 
screening system recently installed at Ben-Gurion Airport has proven 
ineffective. 
 
Israel Radio reported on several violent incidents and 34 arrests of 
Palestinians in the West Bank. 
Israel Radio reported that Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor 
Lieberman will travel to Washington next week and meet with 
Secretary Rice and National Intelligence Director Negroponte. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that Nobel Laureate Desmond 
Tutu has been named to head a UN fact-finding mission to the Gaza 
Strip town of Beit Hanun, where 19 civilians were killed by an 
Israeli artillery barrage earlier this month.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Luis Alfonso De 
Alba, as saying that Tutu will travel to Gaza to "assess the 
situation of victims, address the needs of survivors, and make 
recommendations on ways and means to protect Palestinian civilians 
against further Israeli assaults." 
 
Leading media reported that in an open letter to the American 
people, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questions the US aid 
to Israel.  Maariv reported that the Jewish Agency has recently 
decided to set up a Farsi-language hotline for Iranian Jews 
interested in immigrating to Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday the Meretz party asked AG 
Menachem Mazuz to prevent a legislation proposal extending the time 
span of, and amending, the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law. 
Meretz, which said that the proposal is anti-constitutional and 
discriminatory, warned that it would turn to the High Court of 
Justice if its demand was not met. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday the cabinet and the Knesset 
approved the appointment of Tzipi Livni to the post of justice 
minister in place of Construction and Housing Minister Meir 
Sheetrit.  She will also continue her role as Foreign Minister. 
 
Maariv reported that the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations, which 
is presided by David Kimche, will today present the first issue of 
The Jerusalem Review, a new magazine devoted to foreign policy 
issues of Israel and the Jewish people. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the general strike in the public sector 
ended at 06:00 today following a ruling by the President of the 
National Labor Court last night.  Leading electronic media reported 
on the gradual resumption of air traffic through Ben-Gurion 
Airport. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Even those who are hoping for a solution to 
the Arab-Israeli conflict in the figure of [former Secretary of 
State James] Baker, the father of the Madrid conference and the 
'comprehensive solution,' can expect disappointment." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Position Papers and Fighting Spirit" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/30): "After six years during which the 
[US] administration has focused on the 'isolation' of its foes, the 
new key word is 'engagement.'  The question is how much engagement 
is needed and where.  [Robert] Malley, [who was a key US mediator 
during the Clinton administration], believes that the United States 
should conduct a dialogue with Syria, but the public hints the heads 
of the administration have been sending to the committee in recent 
days are quite clear: The US does not see the Syrian regime as a 
worthy interlocutor. Baker and Hamilton would do well to stay away 
from this track, which looks like a dead end.  Thus, even those who 
are hoping for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the figure 
of [James] Baker, the father of the Madrid conference and the 
'comprehensive solution,' can expect disappointment." 
 
JONES