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DE RUEHTV #0757/01 0720502
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P 130502Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000757 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Major media (banners in Maariv and Hatzofe) quoted PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas as saying on Sunday, during his talks with 
PM Ehud Olmert, that abducted IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit might be 
released even before the formation of a Palestinian national unity 
government.  Leading media quoted Hamas officials as saying that 
Abbas's remarks are unfounded.  Israel Radio quoted Olmert as saying 
that Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government that 
includes Hamas members.  The media reported that the meeting was 
held in an overall positive atmosphere.  Israel Radio quoted 
Palestinian sources as saying that FM Tzipi Livni secretly met with 
Abbas associates Yasser Abed Rabbo and Salam Fayad.  The radio 
reported that Livni denied the report.  On Sunday The Jerusalem Post 
reported that Olmert was expected to rebuff appeals by Abbas to 
extend the Gaza "cease-fire" to the West Bank. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. administration is holding separate 
talks with Israel and Saudi Arabia before the Arab League summit in 
Riyadh late this month that will deliberate renewed approval of the 
overall Arab peace plan known as the Saudi initiative.  Ha'aretz and 
Maariv quoted Olmert as saying on Sunday at a cabinet meeting that 
the initiative should be taken very seriously.  "We hope very much 
that during the meeting of the heads of Arab states that will be 
held in Riyadh, the positive elements expressed in the Saudi 
initiative will be validated and perhaps will enable the 
strengthening of the chances for negotiations between us and the 
Palestinians," Olmert added.  Olmert made the statement at the start 
of the cabinet meeting, in front of television cameras.  It was both 
more positive and detailed than his previous comments on this issue. 
 Previously he only referred to the "positive elements" in the Saudi 
initiative.  Ha'aretz reported that political sources in Jerusalem 
confirmed on Sunday that diplomatic talks are being held concerning 
the Saudi initiative, but that they refused to give details.  Yediot 
reported that Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh had a chance 
meeting with Saudi Ambassador in Washington Adel al-Jubeir over the 
weekend. The Jerusalem Post reported that an Arab diplomat, speaking 
on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that Israel should 
accept the principle of the right of return for Palestinian refugees 
and then negotiate the terms of its implementation. 
 
The Jerusalem Post  reported that Israel is hinting at stopping 
talks with Palestinian moderates over a "political horizon" if the 
European Union drops its insistence that the PA government recognize 
Israel, renounce terrorism and accept previous agreements.   The 
Jerusalem Post quoted FM Livni as saying, according to the protocol 
of a meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held in Brussels last week 
with EU foreign ministers: "Israel's ability to engage and make 
progress with moderates on the Palestinian side is closely tied to 
the international community's continued refusal to legitimize any PA 
government that fails to fully comply with the Quartet principles." 
Her comments came as certain EU countries -- Italy, France, Spain 
and Finland -- are pressing for the EU to be more flexible in 
demanding that all contact with the PA government be cut off until 
it accepts the Quartet's three conditions. The Jerusalem Post quoted 
senior GOI officials as saying that Livni was not threatening the EU 
foreign ministers, but rather explaining what the consequences of 
their recognition of Hamas might be without that organization's 
acceptance of the Quartet's three conditions. 
 
On Sunday Yediot reported that Damascus sent Jerusalem stern 
warnings that it would not tolerate Israeli jets flying in Syrian 
airspace any more and would "respond with fire, if put to the test. 
FM Livni said in a telephone interview she granted Israel Radio from 
Washington last night that Israel has no controversy with the US 
regarding possible negotiations with Syria and that the US 
administration is not preventing Israel from achieving diplomatic 
progress in any direction. 
 
On Sunday Maariv reported about a meeting that was held recently 
between Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and the 
Vice President of Germany's intelligence agency BND, who was only 
identified as "Konrad."  In this meeting Nasrallah reportedly said 
that the two soldiers that Hizbullah guerrillas kidnapped in July, 
Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, were alive.  Nasrallah demanded 
that Israel release a large number of prisoners, including terrorist 
Samir Kuntar, in exchange for a sign of life from the kidnapped 
soldiers.  Maariv reported that Israel has refused to accept 
HizbullahQs demands, which are deemed "exorbitant." 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz quoted Labor Party ministers queried by the 
Winograd Commission probing last summer's war in Lebanon as saying 
that Olmert is evading responsibility for his naming Amir Peretz 
Defense Minister.  Leading media reported the commission will 
publish part of its protocols on the Internet over the weekend. 
The censorship will decide which portions of the document will be 
made public.  Ha'aretz reported that on Sunday, a senior IDF officer 
criticized Olmert for failing to order the army to implement 
military plans for an extensive ground assault during the first 
three weeks of last summer's war in Lebanon.  The officer reportedly 
told Ha'aretz that the existence of the plans was well-known, and 
criticized Olmert for delaying the ground assault -- even after, 
according to the officer, it had been proved that the attempt to 
stop Hizbullah from firing Katyusha rockets on northern Israel by 
aerial bombing and limited ground incursions had failed. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a report by the British think-tank Royal 
Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) as saying that 
Israel should pursue a strategy of "open nuclear deterrence" towards 
Iran if international attempts to curtail Tehran's nuclear ambitions 
fail.  On Sunday The Jerusalem Post cited reported that Iran is 
expected to dominate the policy agenda of the 5,500 AIPAC members 
convening in Washington to lobby elected officials. 
 
On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that on Friday the State 
Department confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is 
expected to visit the Middle East in the near future for further 
talks aimed at advancing peace Israelis and Palestinians.  However, 
The Jerusalem Post reported that one State Department source told 
the newspaper that the visit would likely occur in conjunction with 
another regional trip she has tentatively planned in early April 
regarding Iraq. 
 
On Sunday Maariv reported that the IDF and Hamas have been preparing 
for the possibility of a fierce military clash in the Gaza Strip. 
The two parties have recently accelerated those preparations. 
 
The Jerusalem Post dubbed Defense Minister Amir Peretz's visit to 
the US "watered-down," because no meetings have been scheduled for 
him with President Bush or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. 
 
Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that on Sunday Al-Qaida deputy head 
Ayman al-Zawahiri sharply criticized Hamas for agreeing to respect 
past accords with Israel as part of the national unity government 
agreement sponsored by Saudi Arabia in Mecca.  According to an audio 
recording broadcast on Al Jazeera-TV, minutes before the 
Olmert-Abbas ended their meeting in Jerusalem, Zawahiri blamed Hamas 
for having "fallen in the swamp of surrender." 
 
On Sunday Maariv and The Jerusalem Post quoted UN Secretary-General 
 
Ban Ki-moon as saying on Friday that he will visit Israel and the PA 
later this month on an effort to help revive the peace process 
between the two sides. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Foreign Ministry Spokesman 
confirmed on Sunday that the ministry has issued directives to 
foreign embassies and consulates in Israel explaining the new 
regulations for allowing foreign passport holders who are not listed 
in the Palestinian population registry to spend time in the West 
Bank.  Thos foreign citizens may extend their entry visas for up to 
27 months without having to leave the West Bank. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the human rights group Machsom Watch as 
saying in a report published over the weekend that the outcome of 
remand hearings held in Israeli military courts for Palestinian 
suspects are frequently determined in advance without the suspect's 
lawyer having a genuine opportunity to defend his client. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Sunday the cabinet gave a 
bureaucratic push to a joint Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian project 
called the "Peace Valley," which Vice PM Shimon Peres has been 
pushing for years.  On Sunday Maariv reported that the cabinet was 
scheduled to decide to begin a number of large major projects that 
require huge investment, which are geared to improve and strengthen 
Israel's international relations with Jordan and the PA.  Among 
other things, Peres would be given the authority to promote a joint 
project with Jordan -- laying a railway line that will connect the 
two countries for the first time.  Moreover, The Jerusalem Post said 
that planning will be begun for additional railway lines that will 
be laid between Jordan and the PA via Israel. 
 
Maariv quoted Egyptian soldiers who took part in the Six-Day War as 
saying in interviews with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yawm 
that the IDF had performed atrocities on their bodies.  This 
development follows alleged reports of killings of Egyptian soldiers 
by IDF troops in that war. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a ceremony marking the designation 
of eight additional sites in Israel on UNESCO's World Heritage List 
will be held today at Avdat in the Negev.  The localities were 
selected by UNESCO as world heritage sites in 2005. 
 
The Jerusalem Post (on Sunday) and Maariv reported that the Zionist 
Organization of America (ZOA) is calling on world Jewry to boycott 
the Coca-Cola Co.  ZOA claims that the company refuses to compensate 
a Jewish family whose property was sold to Coca-Cola after it was 
confiscated by Egyptian authorities. 
 
On Sunday The Jerusalem Post cited a Jewish Telegraphic Agency 
report saying that "some big names in Hollywood" hope that the 
Israeli TV series B'Tipul (In Treatment), whose American version is 
being created by HBO, will be a great success in the US. 
 
Leading media reported that Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 
visiting the country with his Israeli girlfriend, supermodel Bar 
Refaeli. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "Perhaps on the eve of the demise of the current US 
administration, someone there will rise to the occasion and make the 
parties a creative offer that they will not be able to refuse? 
Blessed is the believer." 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The 
approaching exit of the US from Iraq is dictating the global agenda. 
 Israel, too, must think about the day after rather than clinching 
to obsolete ideas." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of Ha'aretz: 
"Only Saudi Arabia can grant Israel regional recognition and 
legitimacy, in exchange for its withdrawal from the territories." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "So what's in [the Saudi 
initiative] for Israel?  Mainly appearances, but right now that's 
about all the government can hope for.... And most importantly, the 
Americans are all for it." 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in an editorial on page one 
of the nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "The Arab world, which 
embraces the Saudi initiative, will not be prepared for any 
compromise regarding Arab sovereignty in the Old City [of 
Jerusalem]." 
 
Block Quotes: 
 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Plus Minus" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (3/12): "If the moderate Arab states had only agreed to 
accept the proposition that establishing a Palestinian state solves 
the right of return in and of itself, it would have been possible to 
pronounce it a done deal.   But they are far from agreeing to such a 
thing, just as we are far from agreeing on any other formula that 
will enable the shadow of a hint of permitting the tip of a 
refugee's moustache from crossing the borders of sovereign Israel. 
This is the issue upon which the entire moderate diplomatic axis 
will either rise or fall now, and is awaiting a savior who will 
appear and arrange a creative solution.   Or perhaps on the eve of 
the demise of the current US administration, someone there will rise 
to the occasion and make the parties a creative offer that they will 
not be able to refuse?  Blessed is the believer.  In the meantime, 
as odd as it may sound, anyone who recalls the previous summit 
between Olmert, Abu Mazen and Condoleezza Rice can assume that of 
these three, it is the Palestinian who has the highest chances of 
survival: Condoleezza Rice will become history in less than two 
years.  It will take Olmert much less time to do so at the present 
rate.  Only Abu Mazen looks like he is here to stay.  For the time 
being." 
 
II.  "Finger on the Pulse" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/11): "The 
approaching exit of the US from Iraq is dictating the global agenda. 
 Israel, too, must think about the day after rather than clinching 
to obsolete ideas.  The axis of evil sketched out by the Americans 
is becoming increasingly blurry, and the US is now ready for 
diplomacy where it once thought that only force could work.... 
Whenever diplomacy can take the place of force, this should be 
encouraged.  The North Korean and Libyan threats were dissolved with 
a combination of diplomacy and economic pressure.  At a time when 
alliances rise and fall daily to accommodate new realities, when 
yesterday's enemy may be tomorrow's partner in dialogue, the primary 
part of removing the Iranian nuclear threat must not be compromised. 
 
 But, at the same time, we must reexamine Israel's interests daily 
rather than becoming entrenched in intransigence." 
 
III.  "Only Saudi Arabia Can Do It" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of Ha'aretz 
(3/12): "After months of stagnation and hesitation, in which Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert lost almost all public support in his 
leadership, he revealed a new political agenda on Sunday.  Olmert 
began the weekly cabinet meeting with a positive statement about the 
Saudi plan for a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab 
states, and hinted that if changes were made to it, it would be 
capable of serving as the basis for a renewed political process with 
the Palestinians.  Olmert's statement also hinted at contact taking 
place between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States, in 
anticipation of the Arab summit scheduled for Riyadh at the end of 
the month.  At the core of these contacts lies the shared interest 
in curbing Iran's increasing power and the desire to from a regional 
'axis of moderates' around a renewed peace process.  Everyone 
recognizes that the Palestinians' unstable situation makes it 
difficult for them to contribute their part to a political process 
or an agreement, and the Saudi involvement is meant to provide them 
with patronage.  Only Saudi Arabia can grant Israel regional 
recognition and legitimacy, in exchange for its withdrawal from the 
territories.  From Olmert's perspective, the Saudi plan is the only 
alternative that allows him to demonstrate initiative and political 
action.... Above all, the magic of the Saudi initiative stems from 
its being merely a declaration of principles rather than a detailed 
plan.  Thus it is possible to speak in slogans, negotiate over the 
wording, and defer paying the domestic price that withdrawal from 
the West Bank and the Golan Heights entails.  But make no mistake: 
If Israel accepts the Saudi initiative, even only as the basis for 
negotiations, it will be taking a huge step toward the end of its 
control over the territories -- one that even Olmert's successors 
will have difficulty renouncing." 
 
IV.  "The Saudi Fig Leaf" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (3/12): "More than any 
other country in the region, the Saudis desperately need stability 
to ensure their oil fortunes and, by extension, the survival of 
their despotism.  Out of sheer necessity, they have realized that 
Israel is a crucial partner in their campaign for maintaining the 
status quo, since Israel can do a lot to ruin their cherished 
stability.... So what's in it for Israel?  Mainly appearances, but 
right now that's about all the government can hope for.... And most 
importantly, the Americans are all for it.  The establishment of a 
coalition of 'moderate states,' recently replaced by the formulation 
'responsible states,' has long been the dearest wish of the US State 
Department.  The Saudi initiative will never hatch a realistic peace 
plan.  But if talking about it is going to make US Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice happy when she comes for another one of her 
'maintenance trips,' the Israelis and Saudis will play along." 
 
¶V.  "Olmert Is Giving Up Jerusalem" 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in an editorial on page one 
of the nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (3/12): "'Moderate' Palestinian 
leader Abu Mazen, whom Olmert has met, has never declared he was 
prepared too concede the refugees' 'right of return.'  But what 
about the full withdrawal to the 1967 lines, including Jerusalem? 
Is this also an 'element that should be discussed'?  We all know the 
truth: The Arab world, which embraces the Saudi initiative, will not 
be prepared for any compromise regarding Arab sovereignty in the Old 
City [of Jerusalem].  Is Olmert prepared for Palestinian sovereignty 
on the Temple Mount?" 
 
JONES