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DE RUEHTV #0885/01 0810915
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P 220915Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 1788
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 2670
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 1849
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 9660
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 2583
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 9497
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 9973
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 6588
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 3985
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4999
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RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000885 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio, The Jerusalem Post's web site, and the 
English-language version of the leading Internet news site Ynet 
quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying on Wednesday, 
in testimony before a House subcommittee that controls foreign aid, 
that the Bush administration will reduce a proposed USD 86-million 
security assistance package to the PA government in an effort to see 
that none of the money ends up with forces loyal to Hamas. 
Secretary Rice was quoted as saying that she would soon send 
 
SIPDIS 
Congress a revised package that will ensure only security elements 
loyal to PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas receive the aid. 
Israel Radio said that the revised aid would amount to USD 50 
million. The media quoted Rice as saying that the inclusion of Hamas 
in the government posed a challenge to Middle East peacemaking 
because of its refusal to recognize Israel and reject violence to 
achieve its aims.  The Secretary was quoted as saying: "Frankly, the 
formation of the Palestinian unity government has provided something 
of a challenge," she said.  "The United States is not prepared to 
change its assistance policies toward this government because it 
does not recognize those foundational principles," Rice clarified. 
Media quoted Secretary Rice as saying that the US remained committed 
to peace and would carry on contacts with Abbas.  She was quoted as 
saying that her trip to the region, starting Friday, would 
demonstrate that.   Ynet cited AP as saying that the Secretary Rice 
demanded the end of Palestinian incitement against Israel.  Yediot 
reported that, in addition to Secretary Rice, many foreign officials 
will visit Israel and the PA last week, including UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and 
 
SIPDIS 
other senior EU officials. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that more than half of the US House of 
Representatives sent a letter to EU policy chief Javier Solana, 
which he received on Tuesday afternoon, calling for Europe to stand 
firm in refusing aid to the new Palestinian unity government.  The 
Jerusalem Post wrote that the letter, given to Solana during a visit 
with the House's Foreign Affairs Committee, had been signed by 253 
representatives, according to the office of Congressman Robert 
Wexler (D-FL). 
The leading Internet news site Ynet quoted senior GOI officials in 
Jerusalem as saying on Wednesday: "The Arab nations must understand 
that the right of return is a red line as far as Israel is 
concerned."  The Yediot-affiliated site noted that PM Ehud Olmert 
expects that the Arab League Summit in Riyadh will lead to 
significant changes in the Saudi peace initiative, including 
dropping the right of return clause.  "Arab nations seeking to 
advance the Middle East peace process must remove the right of 
return from the equation," the state officials were quoted as 
saying.  Ynet reported that officials in Jerusalem made clear that 
Israel considers the right of return a "nonstarter demand." 
According to them, as long as Arab nations demand the right of 
return, no progress can be made.  The other difficult issues, the 
1967 borders and East Jerusalem, are open for discussion, but not 
the return of Palestinian refugees to the Green Line.  The officials 
were quoted as saying that, despite Israel's decision to refuse to 
cooperate with the Hamas-led Palestinian unity government, the Saudi 
initiative is still open for consideration: "As the Prime Minister 
said, there are positive elements to this initiative, and we are 
willing to seriously consider it.  But everything depends on 
everything.  There is the matter of the Hamas government, which the 
government decided to boycott, and there is the Saudi initiative, 
which needs amending.  One issue cannot progress without the 
other." 
Israel Radio and Yediot reported that on Wednesday, in a telephone 
consultation, the Quartet stated that the Palestinian unity 
government does not abide by the Quartet's terms.  The media cited 
Israel's satisfaction with the declaration. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials as saying that both the 
proposed new UN sanctions against Iran and the recent Russian 
unhappiness with Iranian failure to stop uranium enrichment were 
positive signs.  The newspaper quoted a senior government official 
said in reference to Russia: "It is an encouraging sign when a major 
player puts strategic issues before economic interests."  He said 
that the same could be applied to the Europeans, who have begun 
implementing the sanctions called for by US Security Council 
Resolution 1737, as well as some parallel economic steps led by the 
US aimed at the Iranian economy.   The official, however, would not 
say whether he believed this would change Iran's decision regarding 
its nuclear program. "It's hard to gauge Iranian behavior," the 
official was quoted as saying. 
 
In its lead story, Yediot reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. 
Gabi Ashkenazi told the cabinet on Wednesday that the rehabilitation 
of the IDF will take a long time.  All media reported that on 
Wednesday last summer's war in Lebanon was officially named the 
"Second Lebanon War." 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media quoted UN officials as saying on 
Wednesday that international aid to the Palestinians grew from about 
USD 1 billion in 2005 to more than USD 1.2 billion in 2006, despite 
a boycott of the Hamas-led PA government. 
 
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, the new PA Information Minister, was quoted 
as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that relations between 
Israel and the Palestinians must be based on full reciprocity. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the state has not yet formulated its official 
stance on the occupation of a Hebron building by hundreds of Jewish 
settlers on Monday evening.  The defense establishment is still 
waiting to hear its legal advisers' positions before taking action. 
Ha'aretz wrote that IDF sources told the newspaper on Wednesday that 
this could take up to 14 days. In an unrelated development, Ha'aretz 
cited a contention by the IDF that a settler community on a military 
base in Hebron is "in line with the army's needs."  The IDF was 
quoted as saying that the settlers are living on the Plugat 
Hamitkanim base temporarily, but the community has been there for 16 
years.  The base is next to Beit Hadassah, a settler quarter in the 
city, and is used by the infantry company that defends the region, 
as well as several settler families who live in mobile homes. 
Ha'aretz said that Peace Now has complained to OC Central Command 
Yair Naveh, saying that civilians should not be allowed to live on 
an IDF base and that there is no justification for them to do so. 
The newspaper wrote that the Central Command has told Peace Now that 
the base was captured in 1983 "for security needs and not for 
settlement needs."  "Nonetheless," the army was quoted as saying, 
"in 1991 the Justice Ministry handed down an opinion determining 
that the military commander can allow Israeli inhabitants, including 
civilians, to enter the territory, for temporary residence, if and 
to the extent that it is in line with military needs there." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday the High Court of 
Justice ordered petitioners against the Citizenship and Entry into 
Israel (Temporary) Law to wait until the Knesset amends the 
legislation and to then submit new petitions that that address the 
law. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Association for Civil Rights in Israel is 
calling on the Defense Ministry to examine the legality of 
preventing Palestinians from accessing Route 60, a main road in the 
southern Hebron Hills area of the West Bank. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a former airport security examiner 
told the newspaper that ethnic profiling is an unfortunate but 
crucial element in the security checks of passengers at Ben-Gurion 
and other airports. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that, reversing an earlier stance, former PM Ehud 
Barak has told associates in recent weeks that he would not join the 
government unconditionally. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that victims of terror and their families could 
sue the Postal Bank, a state institution slated for privatization, 
for monetary compensation under the law prohibiting the financing of 
terror.  An investigation by Ha'aretz reveals that in recent years 
the bank has transferred hundreds of millions of shekels to security 
prisoners convicted of terror activity and serving their sentences 
in Israel. The issue in question is funds from the PA, which 
supports the prisoners. The funds are officially defined as support 
for families of prisoners, but according to indications that 
Ha'aretz has obtained from prisoners, a substantial portion of this 
money remains with prisoners and their leaders behind bars. 
 
Yediot quoted veterans of the Shaked Commando, which an Israel TV 
documentary had said killed Egyptian soldiers during the Six-Day 
War, as saying that Olmert and FM Tzipi Livni left them alone to 
confront Egyptian incitement. 
 
The media continued to report on the police investigation of Finance 
Minister Abraham Hirchson, who is suspected of embezzlement. 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that Attorney General Menachem 
Mazuz/the Justice Ministry may suspend Hirchson.  Maariv reported 
that the police are investigating the possibility that Hirchson 
bribed an unnamed senior political figure. 
 
Hatzofe reported that the heads of several faction heads in the 
Knesset (National Union - National Religious Party; Meretz; Shas; 
and the Pensioners' Party), as well as MKs Danny Yatom (Labor) and 
Robert Elituv (Yisrael Beiteinu), have called on Olmert to act 
toward the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, who has been 
in US jail for over 20 years. 
 
Yediot reported that crime kingpin Zeev Rosenstein will apparently 
be returned from Miami to Israel next week to serve the rest of his 
prison sentence here. 
 
Yediot reported that Israeli billionaire Yitzhak is buying Las 
Vegas' New Frontier Hotel for the sum of USD 1.5 billion. 
 
The media reported that an 8-hour nationwide strike in the public 
sector ended on Wednesday after the government promise to disburse 
the unpaid salaries of local council employees. Ha'aretz cited the 
belief of business sector representatives that the cost of the 
industrial action was 170 million shekels (around USD 40.5 
million). 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Olmert is unpopular not due to poor public 
relations, as he claims, but due to his lack of a compass." 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in Ha'aretz: "An Israeli initiative ... 
will not bring an end to the conflict.... But it will create a 
gradual change in the situation that will indicate a direction that 
Israelis and Palestinians should follow." 
 
Contributor Yonatan Yavin wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "The problem does not lie with Israel's image, but 
in its perception.  Any public relations deriving from the latter 
would be faulty." 
 
Contributor Guy Maayan wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: 
"Principle acceptance of the Saudi initiative does not contradict an 
unbending rejection of the right of return." 
 
Veteran journalist Alexander Zvielli wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Let me appeal to the people of Norway: 
Tell your government that Israel has a right to live in peace and 
security.  And that to do so, the Palestinian government must [abide 
by the terms of the Quartet]." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Giving Up the Goal" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (3/22): "The Israeli public, which gave Olmert 
and his party limited credit even in the elections, sees the 
confusion at the top and is reacting with disapproval in the polls. 
Olmert is unpopular not due to poor public relations, as he claims, 
but due to his lack of a compass.  Israelis want to understand where 
he is leading them, if at all.  What does he want?  Has he given up 
the division of the country in favor of a renewed partnership with 
the settlers?  Is Israel on the way to another war in the 
territories?  Have the demographics changed and the threat to 
Zionism been removed?.... Olmert's problem is that given the failure 
in Lebanon and the widespread scandals and corruption among the 
country's leadership, it is hard for him to convince anyone he still 
has some cards up his sleeve.... The time has come for him not to 
give the public excuses for what was, but to say where we are going 
from here.  How we can promote the worthy goal of saving Zionism, 
which he posited when he came to power?  If he has given up on it, 
he should say so and resign.  But if the demographic danger is still 
threatening Israel, Olmert must show how he will stop it in the time 
his government has left.  If he continues to hesitate, he will go 
down in history as a footnote who spent time on the job between a 
failed war and serial investigations." 
 
II.  "A Creative Israeli Initiative" 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in Ha'aretz (3/22): "The internal 
Palestinian agreement, the pan-Arab initiative, and the new Haniyeh 
government are decisively demanding the right of return.  The demand 
for the right of return does not accord with an end to the 
conflict.... What is needed now is not Israeli enslavement to a 
false international discourse totally divorced from reality.  What 
is needed is a courageous, creative and sober Israeli initiative 
that offers thinking out of the box.  The Israeli initiative must 
have four aspects: Israeli willingness to carry out a limited 
withdrawal in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] even without a 
peace agreement; Palestinian willingness to turn the settlements 
Israel evacuates into rehabilitation sites for Palestinian refugees; 
commitment by the moderate Arab quartet to fund the rehabilitation 
of the refugees and to guarantee that the rehabilitation sites will 
not become bases for terror; and renewed international recognition 
of Israel as a Jewish and democratic nation state that solves the 
problem of Jewish refugees in exactly the same way the future 
Palestinian state will solve the problem of Palestinian refugees. 
An Israeli initiative in this spirit will not bring an end to the 
conflict.... But it will create a gradual change in the situation 
that will indicate a direction that Israelis and Palestinians should 
follow.  It will prove that Israel is giving up the ethos of 
settlement while the Palestinians are beginning to move beyond the 
ethos of the return.  It will prepare the awareness of two tortured 
nations for a genuine historical compromise.  It will oblige Egypt, 
Saudi Arabia and Jordan not only to preach reconciliation but to 
take responsibility for what the strategy of reconciliation actually 
requires.  This is the right thing the moderate West, the moderate 
Arabs, and the moderate Israelis can do during this difficult time 
in the face of the rise of extremism." 
 
III.  "The Entire World Is Against Us" 
 
Contributor Yonatan Yavin wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (3/22): "Even in the United Sates, 'our greatest 
friend,' the boycott imposed on the Palestinian unity government 
lasted no longer than the time it rakes to swallow a Big Mac.  At UN 
Headquarters in New York, the red carpet to welcome the 'modern 
Hitler,' our pal Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is being woven.  These are 
only two blatant, but definitely not unique, examples of the erosion 
of the world image of Judaism and Israeliness.... What needs be 
done?  First of all, [Israel must exercise] maturity, and change its 
psychological-national perception.  It must get out of the square of 
a people whose life is dictated by circumstances, and claim 
responsibility fitting a nation among nations.  We should stop 
comparing ourselves to the Palestinians in the style of 'Who's 
right?' because we are a nation -- and what are they?  What is 
certainly not required is to dispatch the local Condoleezza -- Tzipi 
Livni.... The problem does not lie with Israel's image, but in its 
perception.  Any public relations deriving from the latter would be 
faulty." 
 
IV.  "Who Is Afraid of the Saudi initiative?" 
 
Contributor Guy Maayan wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv 
(3/22): "The primary goal of the current Saudi initiative is to curb 
the destabilization of the regional order.... Principle acceptance 
of the Saudi initiative does not contradict an unbending rejection 
of the right of return.... [Israel] must make it abundantly clear 
that its acceptance des not contradict the fight against terror. 
Israel should even demand the integration of moderate elements like 
Turkey and the World Bank, and, obviously, demand guarantees from 
the US administration regarding the character of the permanent 
status and a further upgrading of relations with the US. 
Acceptance, however hesitant and reserved, would assist the fight 
against Iran more than any populist utterance." 
 
¶V. "Norway's Dash For Gaza" 
 
Veteran journalist Alexander Zvielli wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (3/22): "Why was Raymond Johansen, the 
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, in such a hurry to be the first 
European representative to meet Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister 
of the new Palestinian unity government in Gaza?.... I consulted my 
old files in our archives to see whether they would help me fathom 
Norway's rush to Gaza.  Here's what I came upon.  It was Norway 
that, during World War II, produced the original Quisling -- Vidkun 
Quisling.... The very name 'Quisling' still stands for a 
betrayal.... Now, after over 2,000 Israelis perished or were maimed 
by the Palestinian terror which came in the wake of Oslo, the very 
name 'Oslo' has became anathema to most Israelis.... As long as 
Europe allows the Arabs to fantasize about "the right of return" 
there can be no end to this conflict.  But this message has failed 
to reach the consciences of the Norwegian government.  So let me 
appeal to the people of Norway:  Tell your government that Israel 
has a right to live in peace and security.  And that to do so, the 
Palestinian government must recognize the agreements signed between 
Israel and the PLO; must renounce the threat and use of terrorism 
against Israelis; and must recognize the right of the Jewish people 
to live as a sovereign nation in the Middle East." 
 
JONES