VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1143/01 1090849
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190849Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0611
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 1992
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 8731
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 1946
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 2797
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 1986
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 9834
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 2728
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 9631
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0107
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 6713
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4112
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 9010
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 3206
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5132
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 6566
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001143 
 
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.  Secretary Gates to Israel, April 18-19, 2007 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post prominently covered the visit of 
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to Israel.  Yediot and Maariv did 
not report on the first day of the Secretary's visit.  The media 
reported that on Wednesday Gates held two meetings with Defense 
Minister Amir Peretz, one in a large forum.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that last night Secretary Gates attended a reception hosted 
by US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones.  The Secretary is 
scheduled to meet today with PM Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister 
Tzipi Livni. 
 
Leading media reported that the meeting between Gates and Peretz 
focused on a number of issues: the Iranian threat, the implications 
of the ongoing fighting in Iraq, the recent Syrian statements that 
were hostile to Israel, and the defense ties between the US and 
Israel. 
 
In their top stories, Ha'aretz and Hamodi'a quoted Gates as saying 
during his meeting with Peretz that diplomatic efforts to resolve 
the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program are working. 
Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as telling reporters during a joint press 
conference with Gates that "2007 will be a critical year for 
thwarting the Iranian plans."  "Iran presents a threat not only to 
Israel, but to the entire free world," Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as 
saying. "This problem is of concern to all of us and we are certain 
that the world will not stand aside."  "We expect that the U.S. and 
the world will stand by us regarding the Iranian nuclear issue," he 
added.  "I congratulate the U.S. on the Security Council decision 
regarding sanctions."  Ha'aretz wrote that, while Peretz welcomed 
the diplomatic efforts, the Defense Minister said Israel could not 
rule out using other options.  Ha'aretz appended to its lead story 
an Associated Press report citing an International Atomic Energy 
Agency document that Iran has started feeding small amounts of 
uranium gas into centrifuges that can enrich it to weapons-grade 
level and is already running more than 1,300 of the machines.  This 
was also reported in Maariv. 
 
Ha'aretz wrote that Secretary Gates criticized Syria's policies and 
positions. "While we have diplomatic relations with Syria, that does 
not mean that we are happy with what they are doing," he was quoted 
as saying.  Ha'aretz said that Gates expressed concern over ongoing 
weapons transfers from Syria to Hizbullah, as well as the fact that 
Syria is not preventing militants from crossing into Iraq.  This 
issue was highlighted by Hatzofe.  Ha'aretz said that the defense 
secretary refused to respond to questions on how the US views the 
 
SIPDIS 
results of the Second Lebanon War, and whether the US administration 
was disappointed by the IDF's performance during the war. 
"Fortunately for me, I was not the secretary of defense last summer, 
and I therefore exempted from answering," Ha'aretz quoted Gates as 
saying. 
 
In its lead story, The Jerusalem Post reported that Defense Ministry 
officials walked away slightly disappointed from a round of meetings 
with Secretary Gates on Wednesday night, saying he refused to 
discuss non-diplomatic options on the Iranian nuclear threat.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials who participated in the 
meeting with Gates as saying that Gates came to Israel more to 
"listen then to be heard."  The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli 
official as saying: "The US is busy formulating its strategy 
regarding Iraq and he wanted to hear how we understood the 
instability there and how it would affect us."  The official added 
that the assumption within the Israeli defense establishment was 
that US armed forces would pull out of Iraq unilaterally and in one 
 
wave, not gradually. 
 
Yediot reported that Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz will head 
the Israeli delegation in the Israel-US strategic dialogue that will 
take place in Washington early next month.  The newspaper said that 
the Israeli delegation will include officials from the Defense 
Ministry, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, and the IDF, and that 
Under Secretary of Ste for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will 
lead the American delegation. 
 
The media reported on the beginning of talks between Israel and the 
Arab League.  Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday the Arab League 
committee entrusted with implementing the Arab initiative of peace 
with Israel decided that Egypt and Jordan will spearhead efforts to 
market the scheme.  The League conditioned negotiations with Israel 
on the cessation of construction in the settlements.  Ha'aretz wrote 
that on Wednesday that Olmert spoke by phone with King Abdullah II 
of Jordan on promoting the Arab peace initiative.  Leading media 
reported that Olmert told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense 
Committee that the diplomatic process with the Palestinians would be 
based on the Roadmap and direct negotiations. He was quoted as 
saying that the Arab League's initiative could provide the 
"envelope" for the process.  Olmert also told the committee that the 
U.S. had tried to promote a regional conference with the 
participation of the international Quartet, the Arab Quartet -- 
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates -- Israel 
and the PA.  However, the attempt failed "and not because of us." 
He was also quoted as saying that the Arab League was considering 
sending a delegation to Israel.  Yediot wrote that the League will 
soon dispatch to Israel a delegation of Egyptian and Jordanian 
diplomats, headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries.  It 
is expected to arrive towards the end of next week in Israel. 
Yediot reported that Olmert's senior aide Yoram Turbowicz will soon 
hold talks in Washington about the Arab peace initiative. 
 
Yediot and Hatzofe reported that on Wednesday, during his appearance 
before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, PM 
Olmert related to a possible deal with Hamas and stressed that 
Israel cannot pay the price that IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit's kidnappers 
are demanding in return for his release.  Olmert was quoted as 
saying that Israel had received from Egypt a list of Hamas's demands 
for a prisoner release.  He added: "The list is disappointing 
because it creates expectations that we have no possibility of 
meeting.  Gilad Shalit's release would make us all feel good, but it 
is our duty to also act in our interests and not to act out of 
emotion.Q  Leading media also quoted Olmert as saying that, despite 
Syrian President Bashar Assad's declaration that his country was 
ready was ready for a war for Israel, the latter has "no intention" 
of attacking Syria. 
 
Ha'aretz printed a Reuters story quoting PA Finance Minister Salam 
Fayyad as saying -- in interviews with Palestinian newspapers 
published on Wednesday after meetings in Washington with Secretary 
of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior Bush administration 
officials -- that he was hopeful the US would ease banking sanctions 
that have paralyzed the Palestinian government for more than a year. 
 The Reuters wire story said that the State Department made clear it 
had not intention of lifting sanctions against the Hamas-led 
government but that it said that the US administration was 
considering whether to make it easier for funds to flow to accounts 
held by the PLO, which has signed interim peace deals. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that operations at the Karni Crossing 
between the Gaza Strip and Israel have been extended by at least 
five hours a day, following an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to 
expand traffic at the vital cargo passage for a trial period. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday Islamic Jihad denied 
reports that it had agreed to halt rocket attacks on Israel. 
Reports in some Arab newspapers claimed earlier that the Islamist 
organization had reached an agreement with PA Chairman [President] 
Mahmoud Abbas to stop the Qassam attacks. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday the UN 
Security Council decided to dispatch a special experts' team to 
investigate claims that weapons were being smuggled to Hizbullah 
militants in Southern Lebanon through the border with Syria.  The 
Jerusalem Post said that Israel lauded the UN move.  Yediot reported 
that on Wednesday the Council managed to adopt a decision based on 
intelligence provided by Israel, while condemning Israel for the 
manner in which it was obtained.  Those developments took place in a 
debate about the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Hizbullah in 
Lebanon. 
 
The Jerusalem Post printed a Jewish Telegraphic Agency story that on 
Monday Judge T.S. Ellis of the US District Court in Alexandria, 
Virginia, threw out a motion to keep the trial of former AIPAC 
staffers Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman secret. 
 
Ha'aretz cited statistics released by the National Insurance 
Institute -- the Israeli equivalent of the Social Security 
Administration -- that 66 civilians were killed in hostile actions 
since last Independence Day, bringing the number of civilians killed 
in terror attacks since the state's establishment since the state's 
establishment to 1,635.  The media reported that the number of 
fighters killed in Israel's wars and the pre-state period (since 
1860) has reached 22,305. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post cited AP quoting Britain's National 
Union of Journalists as saying that it will continue working with 
its counterparts in Israel despite a vote on Friday by its annual 
meeting to boycott Israeli goods. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Knesset officials as saying on Wednesday 
that the Knesset will elect a new president by June 13 at the 
latest, even if President Moshe Katsav attempts to hold on to his 
post for as long as possible. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday State Attorney Eran Shendar 
announced that he will leave office in August, after completing 
 
 
three years of his six-year term. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday President Bush paid tribute to 
Liviu Librescu, an Israeli professor who died on Monday while trying 
to save students during he shooting spree at Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute.  The President made the remarks during a speech he 
delivered at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to mark Holocaust 
Remembrance Day. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶1.  Secretary Gates to Israel, April 18-19, 2007: 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Everything we hear from Washington 
points to the conclusion that if Israel and the US are going to foil 
Iran's genocidal plans, there is an 18-month window of opportunity: 
the time left to Bush in the Oval Office." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Bush Really Aims to Go Out Fighting" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (4/19): "Will there really be no [US] 
backing down [in Iraq]?  Even if Bush, in the last quarter of his 
term, manages to go out fighting, how long will his successor stay 
the course?  In this context, what was the purpose of Defense 
Secretary Robert Gates' visit here, the first visit by a US defense 
 
SIPDIS 
secretary in eight years?  One Israeli newspaper raised the 
 
SIPDIS 
possibility that Gates is here to prepare the key Middle East 
players for an American pullout that would take place earlier than 
expected.  However, Gates, at least in public, is singing a 
different tune.  In Cairo, he said Iraq 'is a responsibility we will 
not abandon, a trust we will not break.'  Whatever assurances Gates 
has brought with him, he reserved his press conference at the 
Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv for taking aim at Syria.  The failures 
and miscalculations, the quagmire in Iraq, the obduracy of the 
'insurgents,' the pusillanimity of allies, and the loss of 
congressional support, none of it seems to have deflected Bush from 
his course.  Everything we hear from Washington points to the 
conclusion that if Israel and the US are going to foil Iran's 
 
genocidal plans, there is an 18-month window of opportunity: the 
time left to Bush in the Oval Office." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Olmert's 
desired to remain in power should not disqualify his diplomatic 
initiative.... But to do so, Olmert must lead the process, not look 
as though he were trailing behind outside initiatives." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "To 
avoid the 'far too grave' situation of which [Palestinian Finance 
Minister Salam] Fayyad warns, the international community should 
politely do the opposite of what he advocates, and tighten the link 
between international aid and Palestinian movement toward proper 
governance and peace." 
 
Conservative contributor Prof. Gabi Avital wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Israel is returning to Yitzhak Rabin's situation 
of as chief of staff -- before he understood the seriousness of the 
state of affairs -- only in much more difficult conditions." 
 
 
Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in Maariv (4/19): "The 
Ha'aretz newspaper ... has turned over the past 15 years into an 
almost monopoly of the anti-Zionist stance and the stronghold of 
those dealing with the delegitimization of Israel." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Leading, Not Being Led" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/19): "On 
Wednesday Olmert signaled his desire to take part in a regional 
conference, attended by Saudi Arabia and the members of the 
International Quartet on the Middle East peace process.  He hopes 
the conference will provide sponsorship and backing for talks with 
[PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas and put Israel on a joint front with the 
moderate Arab states against the Iranian threat.... Olmert's desired 
to remain in power should not disqualify his diplomatic 
initiative.... But to do so, Olmert must lead the process, not look 
as though he were trailing behind outside initiatives.  His 
ostentatious hesitations regarding talks about the final status 
arrangement and his readiness to discuss only limited issues 
indicate that he is having difficulty deciding, or is afraid of 
undermining his coalition with Avigdor Lieberman.  But the time for 
making a decision is approaching and the present attempt to revive 
the peace process must not be wasted on a photo opportunity and 
empty talks." 
 
II.  "When Aid Hurts" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/19): 
"In Washington on Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met 
with Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad in his 
'private capacity,' the State Department said. Does this mean they 
spent the time looking at family photos?  Officially, the US will 
have nothing to do with the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government, 
yet the US, with Israeli support, is providing some USD 59 million 
in non-lethal assistance to PA security forces that ostensibly are 
controlled by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  The US also contributed 
substantially to the USD 1.2 billion in international assistance 
that flowed to the Palestinians in the year following Hamas's ascent 
to power.  This represents an increase over the previous year and 
makes the Palestinians the highest per capita aid recipients in the 
world.  Even this level of assistance, evidently, is not enough.... 
The Palestinian message ... is this: We need record levels of aid to 
avert a humanitarian crisis, but we are unwilling to abandon our 
commitments either to the means of terrorism or to the goal of 
Israel's complete destruction.  The fact that the people asking for 
the money, Fayyad and Abbas, may personally disagree with this 
position does not change the nature of the government they 
represent.... Both Hamas and Fatah need to learn that the US and 
Europe will not continue to pour money into a dysfunctional economy 
suffering under from warring 'security services' and rampant 
corruption, not to mention the burden imposed by Israeli security 
measures necessitated by the constant terrorist activity.... Hamas's 
positions are not an academic matter; Hamas is preparing for war.... 
To avoid the 'far too grave' situation of which Fayyad warns, the 
international community should politely do the opposite of what he 
advocates, and tighten the link between international aid and 
Palestinian movement toward proper governance and peace." 
 
III.  "Nothing in Exchange" 
 
Conservative contributor Prof. Gabi Avital wrote in the popular, 
 
pluralist Maariv (4/19): "As a result of past withdrawals and of 
those planned for the impending future, Israel will remain with a 
tiny vital space, without water and land resources.... Israel will 
have to withstand an unbearable economic burden.  At the same time, 
it will 'be forced' to relocate a quarter of a million Jews. 
Instead of envisaging the end of the conflict, one can see the rise 
of the three-headed snake -- the elimination of Israel, Holocaust 
denial, and anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Israelism.  The Arab 
world views Israel as a dagger in the heart of the Arab nation.  In 
other words, Israel is returning to Yitzhak Rabin's situation of as 
chief of staff -- before he understood the seriousness of the state 
of affairs -- only in much more difficult conditions." 
 
IV.  "Brutality, Zionism, and Righteousness" 
 
Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in Maariv (4/19): "The 
Ha'aretz newspaper -- in particular its literary sections -- has 
turned over the past 15 years into an almost monopoly of the 
anti-Zionist stance and the stronghold of those dealing with the 
delegitimization of Israel.  The representatives of five percent of 
research have become center stage in Ha'aretz.  Post-Zionists survey 
themselves and their opponents.  They create the impression that 
this small group constitutes most of the research.  So what does one 
do when someone argues with that anti-Zionism?  One ignores him.... 
A suspicion arises that many people are just afraid to open their 
mouths because the power of Ha'aretz is great and that it becomes 
more righteous, conceited, and violent." 
 
JONES