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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000591 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday Israeli officials in 
Washington urged "crisper" and "faster" moves to sanction Iran after 
a UN report found that the Islamic Republic had expanded its 
[programs to obtain nuclear weapons.  The officials welcomed the 
Bush administration's stated interest in pressing for expanded 
sanctions, but expressed mounting concern over the slow pace of 
international action. 
 
In its lead story, Ha'aretz reported that the US has demanded that 
Israel desist from even exploratory contacts with Syria, of the sort 
that would test whether Damascus is serious in its declared 
intentions to hold peace talks with Israel.  Ha'aretz said that, in 
meetings with Israeli officials recently, Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice was forceful in expressing Washington's view on the 
matter.  The American argument is that even "exploratory talks" 
would be considered a prize in Damascus.  Ha'aretz quoted senior 
Israeli officials as saying that the American position vis-a-vis 
Syria, as it was expressed by the Secretary of State, reflects a 
hardening of attitudes.  The newspaper wrote that PM Ehud Olmert has 
so far adopted the strict American position not to respond to the 
Syrian feelers.  On the other hand, at the Foreign Ministry and 
within the defense establishment, there is a greater degree of 
openness to the offers, and the overall view is that the door should 
not be closed entirely to the Syrians.  Similarly, many believe that 
the Syrian offers should be tested for their sincerity.  Among the 
leading individuals supporting this view is Defense Minister Amir 
Peretz. 
 
Leading media (banner in Yediot) reported that on Sunday the heads 
of the Israeli defense establishment will present to the cabinet the 
yearly security assessment for 2007.  The media said that the report 
states that there are low chances for a war to break out this year. 
However, the defense bodies will allegedly warn about the 
strengthening of Hamas and Hizbullah, Syria's determination, and the 
acceleration of the Iranian nuclear program.  Yediot reported that 
Israel will ask for one extra billion dollars from the US.  The 
newspaper wrote that an interministerial delegation headed by Bank 
of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer is expected to leave for 
Washington in the next few weeks in order to present Israel's 
request, which Yediot said is based on the risk of security 
deterioration in the North and the territories, and principally 
Iran's nuclear program.  Yediot said that the sum that Israel will 
receive from the US will more likely be USD 500 million.  Ha'aretz 
reported that Yoram Ben-Zeev, the Deputy Director for North America 
at the Foreign Ministry, has led a series of discussions on the 
creation of a new umbrella agreement that would combine all the 
memoranda of understanding between the US and Israel, give them new 
validity, and highlight the special nature of the relations. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior diplomatic officials as saying on 
Thursday that Olmert is confident that Israel will not be 
blindfolded until at-least mid-summer by new proposals aimed at 
jump-starting the diplomatic process.  The newspaper also reported 
that Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh hopes to finalize a Palestinian 
unity government by next week. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihasnoglu, the 
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, as 
 
SIPDIS 
saying, in an interview with the Saudi daily Arab News, that 
Israel's excavations at Jerusalem's Mugrabi Gate are akin to the 
action of the ousted Taliban government in Afghanistan. 
 
All media reported that the GOI's anti-terror headquarters has 
renewed its advisory against travels of Israelis to the Sinai. 
Media reported that Egypt is still looking for terrorists intent on 
carrying out actions against Israelis in the peninsula.  Israel 
Radio reported that, during his investigation by  Egyptian 
authorities, a Palestinian who was caught carrying an explosive belt 
admitted he belonged to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  The radio 
quoted Islamic Jihad as saying that it would not carry out 
operations on Egyptian soil. 
 
Arabic-language Kull al-Arab reported that six Arab Knesset members 
met with King Abdullah II in Jordan about three weeks ago. They also 
met with the Jordanian Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and the 
Security Services Director. King Abdullah asked the MKs to help in 
calming the situation in the West Bank. General Mohammad Al-Thahabi, 
Jordanian Security Services Director, said that Jordan is 
implementing President Bush's policy in the Middle East and that 
there are no problems between Jordan and the US.  In addition, 
Al-Thahabi expressed JordanQs efforts in combating "extreme Islamic 
terrorism." 
 
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh was quoted as saying in an 
interview with Arabic-language Assennara, following recent news 
about Israel's expanded military maneuvers in the north, that Israel 
has no intention to attack Syria and that the exercises were only 
meant to restore military skills to a paratrooper division that had 
not practiced for several years. 
 
Ha'aretz printed an AP story that an independent report ordered by 
the UN, written by John Dugard, and to be presented to the Human 
Rights Council next month, compares Israel's action in the 
territories to the apartheid regime in South Africa.   AP reported 
that Yitzhak Levanon, Israel's Representative to the UN institutions 
in Geneva, has strongly criticized Dugard, saying that the report 
has only attacked Israel and that its conclusions is basically 
flawed and intentionally biased.   Conversely, The Jerusalem Post 
reported that on Thursday, in a surprising move, the UN's 
anti-racism panel praised Israel for the detailed report it had 
provided on issues relating to racism and discrimination.   The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Ambassador Levanon as saying that he was 
"optimistic" that Israel would receive a fair hearing as the UN 
conducts its periodic review of the state's compliance with its 
convention against racial discrimination. 
 
Hatzofe and Israel Radio reported that, for the third consecutive 
year, trucks of the International Committee of the Red Cross will 
transport thousands of tons of apples grown in Druze communities on 
the Golan to Syria.  Hatzofe reported that this week Agriculture 
Minister Shalom Simhon asked the Treasury to fund the request to the 
tune of approximately 1.4 million shekels (around USD 334,700). 
 
Yediot reported that Olmert has asked Transportation Minister Shaul 
Mofaz to consider easing security procedures for Israeli-Arab 
travelers passing through Ben-Gurion Airport and other border 
crossings.  Olmert cited the humiliating and discriminatory 
treatment they are reportedly currently submitted to. 
 
The media reported that Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz claimed 
victory in Thursday's cabinet reshuffle, but The Jerusalem Post 
quoted sources close to Peretz as saying that Olmert's government 
could fall soon due to the diplomatic stalemate with the 
Palestinians.  Peretz had been pleading for Labor to be given the 
Social Affairs portfolio for months until Tourism Minister Isaac 
Herzog agreed on Thursday to swap portfolios and become social 
affairs minister. 
 
Yediot reported that the Israeli company Arpal will provide 
protection from car bombs, explosive devices, and shooting attacks 
for 1,000 housing units used by US military personnel around the 
world. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Having a 
moderating force in the Gaza Strip and within the Palestinian 
Authority is in Israel's interest, but it is not enough.  Israel 
must also insist that the Palestinians pass the critical test of 
reining in terror and fully abide by all agreements." 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in Ha'aretz: "Never in recent 
decades has a US administration been in this kind of international 
trouble, with such an inferior package of political creativity. 
It's a sorry portrait of our great friend.  We have known far better 
times together." 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Abbas, according to [a 
top PA] official, claimed that Washington had actually endorsed the 
Israeli stance toward the Fatah-Hamas agreement." 
 
Former editor-in-chief Moshe Ishon wrote in the editorial of the 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "In his first steps, the [new IDF] 
Chief of Staff has pointed to the right direction for tomorrow's 
IDF.  The maneuver he initiated this week is an indication of that 
development." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Lest the Sword Slip From Our Hand" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/23): "Of 
course Israel must help Mahmoud Abbas, and through him, the 
suffering Palestinian people.  But it cannot participate in a sneaky 
attempt by Hamas to use a moderate and positive-thinking man like 
Salam Fayad, who would have been the finance minister in a unity 
government, to put aid money into the hands of Hamas ministers, 
including those heading the movement's military wing. 
Having a moderating force in the Gaza Strip and within the 
Palestinian Authority is in Israel's interest, but it is not enough. 
 Israel must also insist that the Palestinians pass the critical 
test of reining in terror and fully abide by all agreements." 
 
II.  "Against Israeli Rationality" 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in Ha'aretz (2/23): " Not 
everything the government does is a failure.  The big success this 
week ... belongs to Ehud Olmert.  In a surprise move, he trapped the 
US Secretary of State on her inconsequential visit to Jerusalem. 
Olmert placed a bomb under the chances of extracting anything that 
might result in an understanding emerging out of his meeting with 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and out of the Mecca 
summit.  It was a speedy achievement and also one of the peaks of 
the Prime Minister's style of governmental arrogance.... While the 
British Prime Minister again proposed, on Wednesday, with English 
politeness, that Israel should talk to Hamas, the headline of a New 
York Times editorial, for example, termed the meeting in Jerusalem a 
'charade.'  The moderate meaning of that is a game of illusions.  A 
more appropriate gloss would speak of deception.  Condoleezza Rice 
came without any new ideas.  She yielded to Olmert, who struck a 
deal behind her back in a phone call to President George W. Bush. 
Thus, in a rare sequence of events, we heard a senior representative 
of the superpower declaiming the inflexibility of the local leader. 
The guest also allowed Olmert to humiliate her.... The President, no 
little fundamentalist in his own right, trashed the recommendations. 
 Never in recent decades has a US administration been in this kind 
of international trouble, with such an inferior package of political 
creativity.  It's a sorry portrait of our great friend.  We have 
known far better times together." 
 
III.  "A Mecca Prayer Unanswered" 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (2/23): "Reflecting the 
gloomy mood in Abbas's office [following the PA Chairman's meeting 
with Secretary Rice], a top PA official said he did not rule out the 
possibility that Abbas would eventually end up being isolated in the 
Muqata like his predecessor, Yasser Arafat.  'Rice employed a 
threatening tone during the talks with President Abbas,' the 
official said. 'We've never seen her in such a bad mood.  She just 
doesn't understand that the President had no choice but to reach a 
deal with Hamas.'  The official quoted Abbas as telling his aides 
after the Ramallah meeting that, by rejecting the Mecca deal, the US 
was 'pushing the Palestinian people toward civil war.'  Abbas, 
according to the official, claimed that Washington had actually 
endorsed the Israeli stance toward the Fatah-Hamas agreement." 
 
IV.  "Facing the Syrian Arms Race" 
 
Former editor-in-chief Moshe Ishon wrote in the editorial of the 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (2/23): "The IDF maneuver that was 
conducted this week in northern Israel was directed, among other 
goals, at Syria's arming with Iranian support.... In the next war, 
it is not only with terrorists that we will have to cope.  The real 
foes threatening Israel are the Syrians and the Iranians who are 
equipping themselves with state-of-the-art weapons.  They are very 
close to getting non-conventional weapons with all the consequences 
this entails.  In his first steps, the [new IDF] Chief of Staff has 
pointed to the right direction for tomorrow's IDF.  The maneuver he 
initiated this week is an indication of that development." 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The 
mullahs are betting that short-term financial interests will prevent 
Europe from defending itself and acting against an existential 
threat to Israel.  Europe, this time, must prove the tyrants 
wrong." 
 
Washington correspondent Hilary Leila Krieger wrote in The Jerusalem 
Post: "Some in the Jewish community who want Bush to have as much 
latitude as possible to take the steps he sees as necessary to 
prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon [are worried]." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Stop Subsidizing Iran" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/23): 
"Thursday's IAEA report confirms what everyone knows: Iran has not 
only failed to meet the UN Security Council's two-month deadline to 
stop uranium enrichment, but has expanded those activities.  The 
regime's statements and actions are an open challenge to the 
international community to make good on its promise to tighten 
sanctions against Tehran.  It should not be necessary to spell out 
the consequences of an international failure to prevail in this 
confrontation with the Iranian regime.  Since 9/11, the regimes in 
Afghanistan and Iraq have paid a price for their support for 
terrorism, and Libya has capitulated.  But Iran and Syria sense that 
sowing mayhem in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza presents them with an 
opportunity to turn the tables and intimidate the West into 
permanently living with terrorism.... European nations, particularly 
Germany, consider themselves to be friends with Israel.  To a degree 
that is perhaps surprising, a recent poll indicated the feeling is 
mutual..... It is hard to see, however, how such warm ties would 
remain unaffected when Europe in general, and Germany in particular, 
refuses to substantially curtail its economic ties to Iran.  This 
hesitancy may not be surprising, given that the German Chamber of 
Commerce claims that 10,000 jobs could be lost if tough sanctions 
are imposed on Tehran.  But imagine the cost of Iranian nuclear 
blackmail, growing terrorism and a sharp jump in oil prices 
engineered by Tehran.  The mullahs are betting that short-term 
financial interests will prevent Europe from defending itself and 
acting against an existential threat to Israel.  Europe, this time, 
must prove the tyrants wrong." 
 
II.  "Congressional Cold Shoulder" 
 
Washington correspondent Hilary Leila Krieger wrote in The Jerusalem 
Post (2/23): "'Anybody who's looking at American foreign policy and 
thinking the President is going to be given the flexibility he was 
given in 2002-3 is deluding himself,' said National Jewish 
Democratic Council executive director Iran Forman.  Forman 
maintained that many Americans -- including many Jews -- are 
relieved by that notion, given Bush's international track record. 
But it worries some in the Jewish community who want Bush to have as 
much latitude as possible to take the steps he sees as necessary to 
prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon -- including, if it comes 
to it, military action." 
 
JONES