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P 120915Z APR 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001075 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz, Yediot, and Israel Radio reported that US Defense 
Secretary Robert Gates will visit Israel next week for a series of 
 
SIPDIS 
meetings with PM Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz on the 
strategic situation in the Middle East.  Ha'aretz's web site 
reported that, during his visit, Gates may attempt to persuade 
Israel to ease its objections to the sale of advanced weapons 
systems to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.  The visit, which 
Ha'aretz said is scheduled for April 17, is the first time a US 
Defense Secretary will be visiting Israel in eight years.  Ha'aretz 
reported that American sources told the daily on Tuesday that the 
visit was decided and a date finalized, though an official 
announcement on the matter has not been made public.   Ha'aretz 
wrote that the visit, which comes about a month after Peretz visited 
Washington, will also deal with bilateral defense ties between the 
U.S. and Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the Prime Minister's Office as saying that 
Olmert will block any attempt by Abbas to discuss final status 
issues when the two leaders meet on Sunday.  Citing AP, The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad as 
saying on Wednesday in Brussels that the new Palestinian government 
will need USD 1.33 billion in international aid to "get back on our 
feet." 
 
Leading media quoted Hamas as saying on Wednesday that a prisoner 
swap deal for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit was "doomed to fail," 
if Israel demanded that militants "with blood on their hands" be 
dropped from the Palestinians' list.  The Jerusalem Post reported 
that, as negotiations over the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit appeared 
to enter their final lap this week, grave concern was expressed 
within the Israeli defense establishment on Wednesday over the 
growing rift within Hamas, which Israeli officials warned could 
jeopardize the deal and future contacts with the PA.  The Jerusalem 
Post quoted a senior Hamas official as saying on Wednesday that 
Israel will eventually surrender to Shalit's captors and release 
hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.  The Jerusalem Post also quoted 
the PA as saying that Israel was responsible for the delay in 
reaching a prisoner exchange with the Palestinians. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that senior Israeli defense officials 
told the newspaper that Defense Minister Peretz plans to go ahead 
with the evacuation of settlers from the controversial Hebron 
building they have occupied, even if Olmert opposes the move. 
Ha'aretz and other media quoted Attorney General Menachem Mazuz as 
saying on Wednesday that the settlers should be allowed to petition 
the High Court of Justice against their eviction.  Therefore, Mazuz 
was quoted as saying that they could not be evacuated immediately. 
The settlers have 30 days to petition against their eviction. 
According to Mazuz, the settlers' inhabitance of the house -- which 
they claim to own after having paid USD 700,000 for it -- cannot be 
defined as "invasion" and is therefore not subject to immediate 
eviction. Mazuz had, however, ordered their eviction based on the 
fact that even if the house were legally acquired, the settlers 
still required permission from the Israeli Civil Administration to 
inhabit it.  Maariv and other media cited the opinion of half the 
cabinet members that Defense Minister Peretz cannot make a deQsion 
to evacuate the building. 
 
Yediot reported that PM Olmert has decided to continue legal 
investigations into illegal settler outposts.  Yediot quoted Olmert 
associates as saying that the outposts will be vacated in a matter 
of weeks.  According to the newspaper, Justice Minister Daniel 
Friedmann will likely head the committee that should ultimately 
decide on their evacuation. 
 
Ha'aretz and Maariv, and The Jerusalem Post reported that Alon Liel, 
former director general of the Foreign Ministry, and American-Syrian 
national Ibrahim (Abe) Suleiman will appear today before the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.  The two will brief 
the committee members on the secret, unofficial talks they 
conducted, and on the understandings they reached for a peace 
agreement between Israel and Syria.  Suleiman, who landed in Israel 
on Tuesday, will become the first Syrian to address a Knesset 
committee when he briefs the panel on the extent of his connections 
with the Syrian regime.  He will tell the Knesset members about the 
committee appointed by Syrian President Bashar Assad, which is 
headed by one of his army generals, to coordinate the talks with 
Israel. In addition, he will relay the messages he received from 
Syrian FM Walid Mualem.   Ha'aretz wrote that, in the hearing, Liel 
will disclose the content of the reports he allegedly gave to 
officials in the Foreign Ministry regarding his progress in the 
talks. Liel also reported to various parties in the Prime Minister's 
Office when it was headed by former PM Ariel Sharon.  Ha'aretz said 
that, during his stay in Israel, Suleiman told Israeli sources that 
he intended to clarify to the MKs that "there is a genuine 
willingness in Damascus to initiate peace talks with Israel, which 
at the very least requires Israel to test the waters."  Ha'aretz 
reported that, despite Suleiman's interest to meet Israeli officials 
during his visit, the Foreign Ministry decided against such a move. 
The ministry's Director General, Aharon Abramovitch, explained that 
Suleiman's request had been denied "to avoid giving a false 
impression, as though he were engaged in official talks with the 
State of Israel." Abramovitch added: "If Syria wanted to conduct 
official talks, it had other avenues available to it."  Ha'aretz 
reported that the Prime Minister's Office had similar reservations, 
as it did when the newspaper first exposed the existence of the 
talks in January. 
 
Leading media quoted Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem 
as saying in an interview with the British Guardian that his 
organization is preparing for the possibility of a new war with 
Israel as soon as next summer.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Thomas 
Fuentes, special agent in charge of the FBI's international 
operations, as saying on Wednesday that the FBI assesses that 
Hizbullah has not conducted attacks in America out of concern that 
it would provoke too strong a response and disrupt the 
organization's fund-raising in the US. 
 
Yediot quoted sources in Jordan as saying that Knesset Member Azmi 
Bishara has proposed that he return to Israel provided he is not 
arrested.  According to the sources, Israel is not prepared to 
conclude any deal with him.  Yediot reported that Bishara told his 
friends in Jordan that a kidney condition he suffers from does not 
allow him to sit in jail.  The media reported that his wife and 
children have come back to Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post printed a picture taken Wednesday of visiting US 
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) with the wife and mother of abducted IDF 
solder Ehud Goldwasser.  The photo shows Ackerman displaying signed 
copies of the House bill supporting calls for the release of the IDF 
soldiers. 
 
Yediot quoted International Atomic Energy Agency Spokeswoman Melissa 
Fleming as saying on Wednesday that it will take four to six years 
for Iran to have the capacity to build its own nuclear bomb.  This 
means, in FlemingQs opinion, that there is still time to counter the 
potential threat by diplomatic efforts.  Yediot cited the Israeli 
intelligence's assessment that Iran would have that capacity in 3-4 
years. 
 
Maariv quoted former Mossad head Nahum Admoni as saying that Israel 
attempted to thwart the construction of a nuclear reactor in Iraq in 
the 1980s -- after Israel bombed the Osirak reactor in 1981. 
 
Yediot reported that police officers will interrogate billionaire 
Olmert associates abroad -- Frank Lowie in Australia and Daniel 
Abrams in the US -- regarding Olmert's alleged intervention in the 
government tender for the sale of the controlling interest in Bank 
Leumi, Israel's second-largest bank. 
 
All media reported on Wednesday's series of bombings in Algiers, in 
which at least 24 people were killed.  A local branch of Al-Qaida 
claimed responsibility for the attacks. 
 
All media reported on a further drop in the rate of the US dollar on 
the Tel Aviv market (4.107 shekels to a dollar on Wednesday).  The 
media said that a comment by Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer 
that he will not intervene in the foreign currency market 
accelerated the decline of the US currency in Israel.  Ha'aretz 
explained that the situation entails no crisis. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the peace fund established by Yitzhak Rabin 
and Shimon Peres is voluntarily liquidating its assets. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that, during his recent visit to Israel, 
conservative American journalist Robert Novak criticized the Bush 
administration, Olmert, AIPAC and Senator Hillary Rodman Clinton, 
but that he found that AIPAC was a suitable interlocutor. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday IAF warplanes nearly shot down 
a Continental Airlines aircraft during its approach to Ben Gurion 
Airport after it lost communications with air controllers. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the average prison term for convicted 
traffickers in women last year was 33 months, compared to 54 months 
in 2005 and a maximum sentence of 16 years. 
 
Maariv cited a claim by Shlomo Taub, the director of a private 
corporation dealing the restitution of Jewish property, as saying 
that one fifth of the land in Poland belongs to Jews.  The value of 
the supposedly Jewish-owned property is assessed at USD 35 billion. 
Maariv also cited a new Google Earth project mapping the Holocaust. 
The Jerusalem Post ran a feature about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 
late father, US Congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., a "Roosevelt 
Democrat" who broke ranks with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 
the issues of rescuing Jews from Hitler and creating a Jewish 
state. 
 
Ha'aretz and Hatzofe cited The Wall Street Journal as saying that 
Northrop Grumman Corp. plans to forge an excusive partnership with 
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to provide lighter, more flexible 
spy satellites to the US military and intelligence agencies. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the international transportation firm 
Bombardier is in advanced talks with Iscar and Cyclone Aviation 
Products that would make the two local companies regular suppliers 
for its factories worldwide.  Iscar, which was bought up by American 
tycoon Warren Buffett last year, may supply cutting tools to 
Bombardier Transformation factories in Europe.  The deals could be 
worth tens of millions of dollars. 
 
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling Institute 
survey according to which 45 percent of Israelis support the release 
of Palestinian prisoners who murdered Israelis -- as part of a wider 
release of Palestinian detainees -- in exchange for Shalit's 
release; 36.5 percent are opposed; 18.6 percent are undecided. 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "A release of 
prisoners in stages will ensure that [Hamas's] commitment [to 
freeing IDF Cpl. Gild Shalit and maintaining a general cease-fire] 
is upheld." 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox 
Hatzofe: "The very fact that the release of terrorists in exchange 
for the kidnapped soldier is being negotiated at all is moral 
bankruptcy." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
¶I.  "Release Them in Stages" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/12): "Once 
again in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel is 
faced with the question of whether to cross the red line in the hard 
war against terrorism.... The list of prisoners presented to Israel 
is extreme in its demands.  It is clear that Israel will have to 
cross certain lines in this deal, and the question is how to bring 
Shalit back without undermining certain criteria of the war on 
terrorism. Israel has no choice but to negotiate with Hamas, even 
through Egyptian mediation.... Hamas has a twin interest in the 
release of the prisoners: shocking Israeli public opinion and 
bolstering its position among the Palestinians.  Israel's surrender 
to Hamas on the matter of the prisoners' list will seriously 
undermine its deterrent in the war against terrorism and will 
bolster terrorist groups.  The lesson to terrorists is that acts 
against Israel are risky, but that they stand a chance of avoiding 
punishment a few years later.... There is no way to avoid 
negotiating with Hamas for the release of Shalit, despite the 
continuing war. The members of [Israel's] National Security Council 
are right in their claim that the current deal needs to be part of a 
broader effort.  For example, not only exchange of Shalit for these 
prisoners but also the commitment of the Hamas government to impose 
the cease-fire on all the Palestinian groups.  A release of 
prisoners in stages will ensure that this commitment is upheld." 
 
II.  "No to the Shalit Deal" 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox 
Hatzofe (4/12): "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert deserves our praise for 
having rejected the list of prisoners that Hamas submitted with a 
demand that they be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit.  The 
difficult problem is not the list of prisoners but the very fact 
that the release of terrorists is being negotiated in exchange for 
the kidnapped soldier.  The following is likely to be very 
unpopular, but it is something that needs to be said: the very fact 
that the release of terrorists in exchange for the kidnapped soldier 
is being negotiated at all is moral bankruptcy.  It damages and 
weakens the State of Israel and the terrorists are given a valuable 
lesson: Kidnapping soldiers pays.... The [1985] Jibril 
[prisoner-swap] deal served within two years as the fuel for the 
Intifada.  The Intifada created an irreversible reality in Judea and 
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]: the masses of Israel stayed away from 
those parts of the Land of Israel.  That reality, the aloofness and 
alienation that was shown by the masses of the Jewish people to 
Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, prepared the emotional groundwork for 
trading them for a political agreement and prepared the ground for 
the acceptance of the terrible Oslo Accords, which established a 
terrorist Palestinian Authority in the heart of the Land of Israel 
and ended with 1,500 Israelis dead." 
 
JONES