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P 141032Z FEB 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000481 
 
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.  US-Israel Relations 
 
¶2.  North Korea 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) quoted senior GOI sources as saying that 
Israel has decided to reassess its relations with the PA and its 
Chairman [President], Mahmoud Abbas, due to the Mecca Agreement on a 
unity government between Fatah and Hamas.  Ha'aretz quoted senior 
government sources as saying Tuesday that the agreement, including 
its implications for the diplomatic process and Israeli-Palestinian 
relations, will be at the center of Monday's tripartite summit in 
Jerusalem. Ha'aretz quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying a preparatory 
meeting on the summit on Tuesday that the strategic and geopolitical 
implications of the Mecca Agreement are no less important than those 
of Hamas's victory in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative 
Council a year ago.  He added that Israel must calculate its 
policies toward the new Palestinian unity government carefully. 
Ha'aretz quoted a well-placed government source as saying: "The 
chances that there will be talk of a political horizon at the 
summit, given that a Fatah-Hamas government is waiting in the 
corner, are not high."  Yediot wrote that it may be concluded from 
the preparatory meeting that Olmert believes that there is a chance 
of resuming negotiations with the Palestinians if the Hamas-Fatah 
government rejects terror and recognizes Israel and the agreements 
signed with Israel. 
 
The leading Internet news site Ynet, followed by all media, reported 
that a Syrian group, the "Popular Committees to Free the Golan 
Heights," which was founded last summer, announced that it detains a 
"Zionist solider who disappeared in the Golan."  The soldier is 
believed to be Guy Hever, who disappeared in northern Israel in 
¶1997.  The Syrian group reportedly demands the release of nine 
Syrians imprisoned in Israel.  Israel Radio reported that the 
Israeli defense establishment is checking this declaration. 
 
All media reported that North Korea agreed to halt its nuclear 
programs in exchange for aid and improved relations with regional 
powers, but that it later announced a partial retraction.  Ha'aretz 
(Hebrew Ed.) and Yediot quoted Secretary Rice as saying that this is 
a message to Iran.  Ha'aretz bannered the story.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted Vice PM Shimon Peres as saying on Tuesday: "This shows the 
international; community that, if they are united, there are a 
number of options."  The Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe quoted Likud MK 
Yuval Steinitz, former chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs 
Committee, as saying that the agreement with North Korea increases 
pressure on Iran.  The Jerusalem Post reported that Steinitz told 
the newspaper that the US should lead the international community. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior GOI officials in Jerusalem as 
saying on Tuesday, in response to an internal EU document 
pessimistic of the ability of diplomatic efforts to keep Iran from 
developing a bomb, that Israel expects the EU to do its utmost to 
put a "united face" on international efforts to pressure Iran to 
abandon its nuclear program. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the defense establishment is 
considering deploying new Arrow 2 missiles batteries, in addition to 
the two currently in place, at sites throughout the country, 
including in the South. 
 
The electronic media reported that Maj. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi 
officially become IDF Chief of Staff this morning.  Outgoing Chief 
of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz was quoted as saying at a parting event 
from the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday 
that he was shot in the back, which the media construed as an 
expression of disapproval of politicians who have criticized him 
since the war in Lebanon.  The Jerusalem Post reported that Halutz, 
then commander of the Israel Air Force, halted in 2002 development 
of a weapons system that could have been used against Hizbullah. 
Development of the system has now resumed on the orders of the 
current IAF commander, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy. 
 
Leading media reported that, several hours after announcing it will 
stop construction work near the Temple Mount, the Jewish Quarter 
Development Company revoked its decision, declaring that work on the 
Mugrabi Ascent will proceed as planned.  The about-face comes on the 
heels of pressure from official sources, including the Housing and 
Construction Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office. 
 
Major media reported that on Tuesday IDF troops killed a member of 
Fatah's military wing after he opened fire on them and activated an 
explosive device that he was trying to place along the Gaza border. 
None of the soldiers were hurt.  The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades 
identified the militant as a 23-year-old Gaza resident. A Qassam 
rocket hit the northern Negev, causing no injuries or damage. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Monday a group of Palestinian 
entrepreneurs presented plans to create a new Palestinian city in 
the West Bank, located between Ramallah and Nablus.   Ha'aretz 
quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the developers want to 
build the city in Area A, which is under the PA's full control.  The 
group, headed by businessman Abd al-Malik Jabbar, presented its plan 
to Israeli, Palestinian, and US officials during an economic 
conference at the home of the US Ambassador to Israel, Richard 
Jones.  According to sources who were at the Herzliya event, the 
idea was received with enthusiasm by the attendees, including 
Defense Minister Amir Peretz.  The PA has already allocated land for 
the new city.  The Palestinian delegation included the PA's chief 
negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and two senior advisers to Abbas.  Jones 
was joined by the US security coordinator for Israel and the PA, 
Keith Dayton, among others. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the PA has fired hundreds of 
security officers who refused to participate in the recent fighting 
against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 
 
Yediot reported that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon intends to 
make his first visit to Israel in March or April. 
 
Yediot and Maariv reported that today Olmert will leave for Turkey 
on a two-day visit. 
 
Yediot and Ha'aretz reported that Israel's National Security Council 
has warned Israelis against visiting Iraq, citing the danger to 
their lives there and reminding them that such visits were a 
criminal offense under Israeli law. Israel Radio said dozens of 
Israeli businessmen have recently traveled to Iraq, despite the 
raging warfare there.  Yediot told the story of an elderly Iraq-born 
Israeli woman who visited her native country despite the warnings. 
 
Maariv reported that official Israeli bodies have decided to grant 
every Iranian Jew the sum of USD 5,000, in order to convince them to 
immigrate to Israel. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
 
 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Abbas's way 
is supposed to defeat that of Hamas, but he will evidently receive 
no succor from the Israeli government." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"What Is a Political Horizon?" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (2/14): "While 
the Palestinians are discussing the renewed negotiations with Israel 
that will begin with the upcoming summit, and Palestinian Authority 
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is declaring that issues related to a 
permanent agreement will be on the agenda, the Israeli government is 
talking about 'theoretical talks,' and its representatives explain 
the use of the abstract term 'political horizon' as an attempt to 
lower expectations.  That is not a political message of hope for the 
future or even a promise to go in that direction.  Abbas's way is 
supposed to defeat that of Hamas, but he will evidently receive no 
succor from the Israeli government." 
 
 
 
 
 
------------------------ 
¶2.  US-Israel Relations: 
------------------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If Israel wants the United States to 
continue to demonstrate its support, and if the United States wants 
Israel to know that its support has not been eroded, and if both of 
them want the world to see that the American backing is stable, then 
the wallet has no substitute." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Looking For Love in the Wallet" 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/14): "In the run-up to the 2008 elections, 
the parties and their candidates will not want to conduct battles of 
attrition on such a sensitive subject [US assistance to Israel]..... 
However, the most convincing argument in favor of continuing the 
aid, at least right now, is in fact the least focused and is almost 
emotional.  It is similar to American Jews' insistence on donating 
money to Israel, not necessarily because of the urgent need but 
because of the power of money in translating concern and affection 
into concrete action.  'Put your money where your mouth is,' as the 
adage goes.  If Israel wants the United States to continue to 
demonstrate its support, and if the United States wants Israel to 
know that its support has not been eroded, and if both of them want 
the world to see that the American backing is stable, then the 
wallet has no substitute." 
 
---------------- 
¶3.  North Korea: 
---------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Even if 
the North Korean deal is faulty, it demonstrates that sanctions can 
work. All that is lacking is Western will." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"North Korea's Deal" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/14): 
"The lesson from the North Korea deal for the Iranian situation ... 
should be this: A tough international stance can force rogue regimes 
to back down, but the further the regime is along the nuclear path, 
the higher the price, and the harder an agreement is to enforce.... 
The Libyan and even the North Korean cases put the lie to European 
defeatism, as exemplified by a new EU report that suggests that 
sanctions will not stop Iran's nuclear program.... The US and Europe 
alone can impose much more effective diplomatic and economic 
sanctions than have been approved to date.  European nations have 
not even cut off subsidies for trade with Iran, let alone imposed a 
trade embargo.  No formal diplomatic sanctions have been imposed. 
Europe has made no move to indict President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for 
incitement to genocide, following his calls to eliminate Israel, 
 
despite the provisions of the Genocide Convention requiring all 
signatory nations to do so.  Even if the North Korean deal is 
faulty, it demonstrates that sanctions can work. All that is lacking 
is Western will." 
 
JONES