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DE RUEHTV #0340/01 0311046
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P 311046Z JAN 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000340 
 
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 ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
SIPDIS 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1. Mideast 
 
¶2. Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz reported that according to security sources Prime Minster 
Ehud Olmert has approved a change of route in the separation barrier 
east of the Green Line in the area of Modi'in Ilit.  This change 
will take in the settlements of Nili and Na'aleh and will create two 
Palestinian enclaves containing about 20,000 people. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted foreign news agencies as reporting that the US is 
demanding that its allies in Europe increase their economic pressure 
on Iran beyond the sanctions accepted last month in the UN Security 
Council. The agencies reported that the American call is being 
resisted both in Europe and in Russia. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the IDF intends to strike against Islamic 
Jihdad in response to Monday's terror attack in Eilat but, decided 
to otherwise maintain its cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. 
 
Maariv cited Minister of Defense Amir Peretz as saying in a meeting 
with Eilat's mayor that he ordered the IDF to enhance its activity 
in Eilat and its surroundings and that the issue of building a fence 
between Israel and Egypt will be discussed soon in the security 
establishment. 
 
Ha'aretz reported GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh signed a 
series of orders meant to step up the battle against illegal 
outposts. The orders were signed at the instruction of Minister of 
Defense Amir Peretz. According to the paper the orders include 
amendment of the Jordanian law, which forbidds construction without 
permit in the West Bank and consider it a criminal offense. 
 
All media reported that former justice minister Haim Ramon was 
convicted in his sexual harassment trial on Wednesday. 
 
Yediot cited a report written by Foreign Ministry analysts 
indicating that opposition against Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad in Iran is growing due to growing fear of a possible 
military attack against its nuclear devices and economic sanctions. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Egypt is trying to persuade the 
Palestinians to form an army that is shared by all Palestinian 
factions in an attempt to solve the crisis in the PA. 
 
Leading media quoted Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani as 
saying to Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres that Israel should talk 
with Hamas. 
 
All media reported that President Moshe Katzav has moved out of the 
President's Residence for the period that he is unable to fulfill 
his duties. The media also reported that Knesset discussions on 
whether to oust President Katzav will begin in two weeks and will 
last up to six weeks.  The process can begin after the Knesset House 
Committee has unanimously approved the procedure. 
 
Maariv reported that during Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres's 
visit to Qatar, Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani called 
upon Israeli students to come to study at the education complex in 
his capital, Doha. The paper noted that Qatar boasts several 
branches of leading universities and academic institutions from the 
United States that are attended by students from 22 countries. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (01/31): "The 
Israel-Egypt border is porous, for the use of both terrorists and 
criminals, and no Israeli community is immune to attack -- either by 
Katyusha rockets or by suicide bombers.  Nonetheless, this does not 
mean that the hastily reached conclusion, that it is necessary to 
invest billions of shekels in a border fence, with sophisticated 
electronic equipment, from Eilat to Kerem Shalom, a total of 240 
kilometers across desert and mountainous terrain, should be 
adopted." 
 
The conservative, Independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (01/31): 
"As expensive as a Sinai border fence would be to build, we suspect 
that, as was the case with other such projects, all involved will 
consider the money well spent once it is built." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I. "Pointless Fence" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (01/31): "The 
suicide bombing in Eilat on Monday was a painful reminder of a 
reality that has been pushed to the periphery of public debate.  The 
three murdered citizens join the long list of victims of the 
confrontation with Israel that the Palestinians began in September 
2000.... The Israel-Egypt border is porous, for the use of both 
terrorists and criminals, and no Israeli community is immune to 
attack -- either by Katyusha rockets or by suicide bombers. 
Nonetheless, this does not mean that the hastily reached conclusion, 
that it is necessary to invest billions of shekels in a border 
fence, with sophisticated electronic equipment, from Eilat to Kerem 
Shalom, a total of 240 kilometers across desert and mountainous 
terrain, should be adopted.... Even if the fence is completely 
successful, it will only divert the perpetrators of attacks in 
different directions, either over (rockets) or under (tunnels) the 
fence.... Overall, the Israeli security services have managed to 
limit the number of both attacks and casualties.  They employ the 
proper tactics, and the proof of this is the decreasing frequency of 
the attacks.  This does not mean that the Palestinians and Egypt -- 
either directly or indirectly -- have no responsibility for the 
bombing in Eilat.  The divided Palestinian government is not trying 
to prevent attacks.... Egypt does not insist on exercising its 
sovereignty over its territory or along its borders, neither that 
with the Gaza Strip nor that with Israel.  A diplomatic effort to 
demand from these parties to assume their responsibility, in 
addition to maintaining the intelligence and military efforts to 
prevent attacks will be more useful than the illusion of a costly 
fence." 
 
II. "Fence the Border" 
 
The conservative, Independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (01/31): 
"As expensive as a Sinai border fence would be to build, we suspect 
that, as was the case with other such projects, all involved will 
consider the money well spent once it is built.  This particular 
fence, moreover, would serve multiple purposes.  The border with 
Egypt is not only an entry way for terrorists; it is a source of 
rampant smuggling of goods, weapons and people.... The Egyptian 
border is the primary conduit for weapons and terrorists moving from 
Gaza to the West Bank -- where the security fence is also 
incomplete.  As expensive as it is, then, the 'Hourglass' plan 
should be funded and implemented.  If, as the name implies, we all 
know it is a matter of time, many lives might be saved and much good 
achieved if that time is sooner rather than later." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington based correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the mass 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (01/31): "The urgent appeals 
of Arab rulers to Washington testify that leaders in Riyadh, Cairo 
and Dubai understand perfectly well a simple, agreed fact: without 
an American determination there will be no worthy half-back to face 
the Iranians." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"A Need for A Worthy Half-Back" 
 
Washington based correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the mass 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (01/31): "Bush is captured in 
the pliers of American public opinion that suspects that he intends 
to act in Iran as he did in Iraq and Middle Eastern opinion that 
examines every sign of American weakness.... The Americans recognize 
that time is short and that so far they haven't succeeded in 
cracking the Iranian wall of refusal.  Thus, the Europeans ... are 
moving too slowly, too slack in order to produce results.... 
Regarding Iran, the US also falls into the trap that describes its 
situation in the 21st century.  On the one hand its allies are 
requesting that it does not act alone and take into considerations 
their interests and opinion.  On the other hand it is obvious to 
everyone that eventually the responsibility for the outcome, would 
be written first of all to the debit of the United States. The 
urgent appeals of Arab rulers to Washington testify that leaders in 
Riyadh, Cairo and Dubai understand perfectly well a simple, agreed 
fact: without an American determination there will be no worthy 
half-back to face the Iranians." 
JONES