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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000564 
 
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 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying on Wednesday that he 
is prepared to talks with enemies.  However, Olmert was quoted as 
saying that Hamas is not ready to talk with Israel.  Yediot 
disclosed part of the discussion held during trilateral talks on 
Monday, in particular PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas's 
allegations that Olmert has not kept previous promises and he 
attacked Abbas's connection with Hamas.  Hatzofe reported that 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had wanted to discuss the final 
 
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status of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the three-way 
talks on Monday, but that President Bush ruled that the sides should 
first talk about the cessation of terror and recognition of Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that, ahead of the meeting of 
principal Quartet negotiators that took place in Berlin on 
Wednesday, Secretary Rice underlined international demands that any 
Palestinian government recognize Israel and renounce violence. 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that the meeting's host, German FM 
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, cautioned against building unrealistic 
expectations for the US-backed push for peace. 
 
In an expanded lead story, Ha'aretz reported that the Syrian armed 
forces are being strengthened in an unprecedented way in recent 
memory with the help of generous funding from Iran.  The Syrians are 
bolstering their forces in all areas except the air force, which has 
been believed to be weak for some time.  The main emphasis of the 
efforts has been missiles and long-range rockets to compensate for 
the weak air force.  According to Ha'aretz, the Syrian navy, after 
years of neglect, is also being reinforced with an Iranian version 
of a Chinese anti-ship missile, similar to the one used by Hizbullah 
during the second Lebanon war to strike the Israeli destroyer INS 
Hanit.  In addition to the overall strengthening of the armed forces 
in Syria, there has been a redeployment of forces along the front 
lines.  Ha'aretz wrote that Damascus is close to concluding a 
multi-million dollar deal to buy modern anti-tank missiles from 
Russia.  Ha'aretz said it appears that the Syrians have moved forces 
closer to the border with Israel on the Golan Heights.  Speaking on 
 
Israel Radio this morning, Amos Gilad, head of the 
political-military department at the Defense Ministry, said that 
Syria's apparent arming does not point to bellicose intentions 
against Israel in the near future.  Israel Radio quoted a Syrian MP 
as saying that nothing has changed along the Syria-Israel border, 
that Syria is ready for anything, and that Israel will pay a heavy 
price should it do something "stupid." 
 
The Jerusalem Post: reported that incoming Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. 
Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters on Wednesday that the IDF may have to 
stop Hizbullah from rearming.  On the other hand leading media 
quoted him as saying that Hizbullah is still far away from 
rehabilitation.  Citing news agency stories, Ha'aretz reported that 
on Wednesday Olmert rebuffed assessments that Hizbullah had 
recovered from last year's war with Israel, saying UN Peacekeepers 
and the Lebanese army were keeping the guerrilla group in check. 
Ha'aretz reported that the Lebanese Army fired anti-aircraft weapons 
at Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles flying over Tyre slightly after 
10 A.M. on Wednesday, while Israeli warplanes flew over south 
Lebanon. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency is 
expected to announce that Iran has sped up its uranium-enrichment 
process.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying on Wednesday 
that "serious chances" remain for a non-military solution to the 
Iranian problem. 
 
Leading media reported that on Wednesday in Jenin border policemen 
killed Mahmoud Abu Obeid, the dispatcher of the would-be suicide 
bomber apprehended in Rishon Lezion. 
 
Yediot quoted British PM Tony Blair as saying on Wednesday that the 
peace process between Israel and the Palestinians can also be 
promoted through moderate elements within Hamas.  Blair was 
addressing the British Parliament shortly before his 10 Downing St. 
meeting with Abbas.  The Jerusalem Post reported that Abbas told 
Blair that he will handle negotiations with Israel, not the PA 
government. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday Hamas leader Khaled Mashal 
arrived on a surprise visit to Egypt, where he is expected to meet 
with local leaders.  The newspaper quoted Palestinian sources 
assaying that he will discuss a deal to release abducted IDF soldier 
Cpl. Gilad Shalit.  Ha'aretz reported that Physicians for Human 
Rights-Israel (PHR) has appealed to human rights organizations in 
Lebanon with a request to obtain information about the Israeli 
soldiers who were abducted last summer. Ha'aretz said that the 
appeal is unusual, since PHR usually acts on behalf of Palestinians 
being held by Israel in particular. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday Egypt arrested a Palestinian 
who was allegedly planning terror attacks against Israelis in Sinai. 
 The man, who crossed into Egypt from Gaza, intended to travel to 
southern Sinai resorts popular with Israelis.  He led investigators 
to two accomplices.  It is not known whether any of the three belong 
to a terror organization.  Ha'aretz reported that Egyptian security 
sources told a French news service on Wednesday that the first 
suspect crossed the border via an underground tunnel, and that he 
was wearing an explosive belt at the time of his arrest.  His 
accomplices were supposed to transport him to southern Sinai. 
Yediot said that the arrest was an Egyptian achievement in the war 
against terror. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv 
Oppenheimer told the newspaper on Wednesday that the construction of 
3,000 new housing units now under way in the West Bank has made it 
hard to enact a two-state solution. 
 
Maariv reported that senior Labor Party leaders threatened to split 
the party if Amir Peretz is reelected party chairman.  The media 
reported that on Wednesday oligarch Arkady Gaidamak announced the 
establishment of new social movement -- "Social Justice" -- instead 
of a new political party, as had been expected.  The media quoted 
Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu as saying in Paris on Wednesday that 
there is no political alliance between him and Gaidamak. 
 
Yediot reported that Japan plans to build an airfield in Jericho 
accommodating cargo planes transporting agricultural produce and 
planes carrying Japanese tourists to Jericho and the Dead Sea area. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday the Knesset plenum approved by 
24 to 6 the first reading of a bill to establish an academy for the 
Arabic language, similar to the Academy of the Hebrew Language that 
was created in 1953.  According to the bill, which is sponsored by 
Labor-Meimad MKs Michael Melchior, Chairman of the Education 
Committee, and MK Nadia Hilou, the aim of the academy is "to direct 
the development of Arabic on the basis of research into all aspects 
and periods of the language." 
 
The media reported that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has set May 
2 as the date for the hearing of Israeli President Moshe Katsav in 
the sexual misconduct affair of which he is accused. 
 
Hatzofe quoted the CEO of Intel-Israel, Alex Kornhauser, as saying 
on Tuesday that substantial tax cuts could prevent the closure of 
Intel's Jerusalem plant. 
 
A poll conducted by Channel 10-TV on Wednesday found that a party 
headed by Gaidamak would receive 14 mandates, three more than 
Olmert's Kadima.  The poll also found that Likud would receive 27 
mandates, Labor 14, National Union-National Religious Party 10, Shas 
10, Yisrael Beiteinu 8, and the Arab parties 10. 
 
Maariv and The Jerusalem Post displayed the results of a Conrad 
Adenauer Foundation poll conducted in Israel according to which 75 
percent of Israelis are interested in Israel joining the EU. 
However, only 11 percent would leave Israel for Europe if they were 
citizens of an EU country.  The US and Germany are the Israelis' 
favorite Western countries, whereas France is the least loved one. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Bush administration's main contribution, 
under Rice's leadership, has been to root the idea of the 
Palestinian state in the international mind, and in the shaping of 
that state's future borders." 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "How is it possible that a seventh-rate 
terror organization, the leaders of which have long since been 
assassinated, can succeed in concealing a kidnapped Israeli soldier 
somewhere within the recesses of the Gaza Strip?" 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "A Kind Word For Condoleezza" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/22): "People who spoke to United States 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit this week were 
 
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impressed by her determination to invest the remainder of her tenure 
 
in promoting a 'two-state solution' for the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.... She wants an achievement that can be chalked up to her 
credit.... Even though she does not talk about this in public, she 
sees putting an end to the occupation and the establishment of a 
Palestinian state as a moral imperative.  In closed conversations, 
Rice has used imagery from the racist American South where she grew 
up.  But with no connection to her motivations, Rice's activity is 
welcome.... Contrary to popular opinion, which accuses the 
administration of US President George W. Bush of shoulder-shrugging, 
if not neglect, Bush has done a great deal to create conditions for 
a future agreement.... The Bush administration's main contribution, 
under Rice's leadership, has been to root the idea of the 
Palestinian state in the international mind, and in the shaping of 
that state's future borders.  The previous administrations tended to 
grumble about the Jewish settlements in the territories as an 
'obstacle to peace,' but did very little to stop them.... This week 
Rice learned that in the Middle East there aren't good guys and bad 
guys, and that any alliance is good for its moment.  The moderates 
of yesterday join up with extremists today, as in the Mecca 
Agreement between Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashal.  One can 
guess that Rice was angry at Abbas, but she wiped the spit off her 
face and promised that she would be back soon for another round of 
visits.  And if only for this, she deserves a kind word, even if it 
is hard for her to show real results." 
 
 
 
II.  "Why Do They Still Have Gilad Shalit?" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (2/22): "How is it possible that a 
seventh-rate terror organization, the leaders of which have long 
since been assassinated, can succeed in concealing a kidnapped 
Israeli soldier somewhere within the recesses of the Gaza Strip, 
without the long arm of the security services being able to reach 
him?... What happened to the billions invested in the most advanced 
surveillance techniques and in creating the most reliable network of 
agents?.... The fact that Israel, the military-security empire, has 
not succeeded so far in releasing Gilad Shalit from his kidnappers, 
is not only a stain on its ethos as a state that always brings its 
combatant sons home.  It is also a sign of the weakness of the 
security and intelligence services and an erosion of the 
professional abilities of the special military units.  Our enemies 
have taken note of this.  Today, the IDF should not be tempted into 
a showy operation, which would only endanger the life of the 
kidnapped soldier.  At present, diplomacy is preferable -- but on 
condition that those who use it know how to employ it.   And with 
us, that too is no longer certain." 
 
JONES