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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001688 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that senior American military officers 
-- who predicted that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon within 
three years and who claim to have a strike plan in place -- have 
told the newspaper they support President Bush's policy to do 
everything necessary to stop Tehran's race for nuclear power.   The 
Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Democratic Sen. 
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as saying on Sunday that the US 
should consider a military strike against Iran because of its 
support of Iraqi insurgents.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that an 
unnamed American source told the newspaper that the US will attack 
Iran in 2008.  On Sunday Ha'aretz reported that Reza Pahlavi, the 
exiled son of the last shah of Iran, told the newspaper at a 
gathering of dissidents in Prague that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threat 
to annihilate Israel should be taken very seriously.  However, he 
suggested refraining from military action.  Pahlavi allegedly said 
that the Iranian regime fears opponents from within more than 
external threats. 
 
On Sunday Yediot reported that the US administration has been 
pressuring Israel to relax its use of military measures and to take 
diplomatic steps to promote reconciliation.  Washington, according 
to the report, has refused to accept the Israeli premise that it has 
no partner for negotiations on the Palestinian side.  Rather, the US 
reportedly wants to hear from PM Ehud Olmert in his upcoming visit 
to Washington new and far-reaching ideas to "advance a solution to 
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."  According to Yediot, the US, 
moreover, has reportedly resolved to urge Olmert to stop eschewing 
the core issues of refugees, Jerusalem, and final borders in his 
talks with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas and his 
subordinates.  The Jerusalem Post wrote that Israel has yet to 
respond officially to the United States' 'benchmark' document on 
movement and access presented in April, even though the plan is 
likely to be on the table at the White House when PM Olmert visits 
there on June 17.  The newspaper reported that sources in the Prime 
Minister's Office could not say on Sunday night when a response 
would be forthcoming, although it is widely expected that Israel 
would respond before Olmert's visit.  On Sunday Makor Rishon-Hatzofe 
reported that Mahmoud Abbas has called on the UN to consider means 
to force Israel to implement UN resolutions and end the occupation, 
among others by imposing sanctions. 
 
On Sunday Ha'aretz quoted Deputy State Department Spokesman Tom 
Casey as saying on Friday that the US administration opposes a 
renewal of Israeli-Syrian negotiations and that it believes that 
efforts should be focused on the Palestinian track.   Ha'aretz 
quoted a source in PM Olmert's bureau as saying that the 
Israeli-Syrian track was not expected to come up at next week's 
meeting between Olmert and President Bush.  Ha'aretz reported that 
Syrian President Bashar Assad had rejected Israel's feelers and 
quoted an Israeli "source" as saying that Assad's lack of response 
showed that Syria was not serious.  On Sunday, Transportation 
Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Israel Radio that the GOI sent messages 
to Syria over the possibility of renewing peace talks.  However, he 
did not reveal any details of the communications.  Yediot quoted a 
senior Syrian spokesman as saying that the Golan Heights will not be 
returned to Syria through secret contacts.  Farid Ghadry, the exiled 
head of Syria's tiny opposition Reform Party, was quoted as saying 
on Sunday, in an interview with Ha'aretz, that Israel should return 
the Golan Heights to Syria -- but not while Bashar Assad, who Ghadry 
said would continue to harm Israel, is president.  Ghadry, an 
American citizen, is scheduled to address the Knesset today.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Ghadry as saying on Sunday, during a 
conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, that entering into 
peace negotiations with Assad would mean condoning dictatorships 
across the Middle East. 
 
Leading electronic media reported this morning that Israel has 
launched a new spy satellite -- Ofek 7 -- from its Mediterranean 
coast.  Israel Radio cited the satisfaction of Israel's defense 
establishment over the successful lift-off.  In an unrelated 
interview with Israel Radio's Washington correpondent, Lt. Gen. 
Henry A. "Trey" Obering III, the Director of the Missile Defense 
Agency (MDA) Office of the US Defense Secretary, was quoted as 
saying that Israel's anti-missile defenses are satisfactory, but not 
sufficient. 
 
Maariv reported that Defense Ministry Diplomatic-Military Bureau 
head Amos Gilad and IDF Planning Directorate head Maj. Gen. Ido 
Nehushtan have left for the US to explain to senior Pentagon 
officials that a planned "smart bomb" sale to Saudi Arabia would do 
damage to Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East. 
Last week The Jerusalem Post reported on the same issue. 
 
 
 
On Sunday Yediot reported that the US has proposed to Egypt that it 
deploy an electronic system for detecting tunnels in order to combat 
the problem of the huge quantities of arms being smuggled into the 
Gaza Strip through tunnels under the "Philadelphi Road." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Sunday the High Court of Justice 
gave Defense Minister Amir Peretz until July 8 to present a plan to 
evacuate illegal outposts in the West Bank. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning four rockets were launched 
at the western Negev after a three-day interruption. 
Over the weekend all media reported that along the Gaza Strip border 
on Saturday the IDF thwarted a kidnapping attempt by Islamic Jihad. 
The terrorists allegedly taped the letters "TV" on the jeep they 
used.  On Sunday Ha'aretz reported that IDF Chief of Staff Gabi 
Ashkenazi recently recommended that the army broaden the scope of 
its offensive in the Gaza Strip. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited the British weekly The Sunday Times as 
saying that Hizbullah has amassed an undisclosed number of Fatah-110 
rockets, which could theoretically be fired at Tel Aviv. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted sources close to PM Ehud Olmert as saying that if 
Knesset Member Ami Ayalon is elected head of the Labor Party on 
Tuesday, Olmert will offer him the Finance Ministry instead of the 
Defense Ministry, assuming that Ayalon will want the treasury for 
his ally Avishay Braverman.  According to the sources, if Ayalon 
accepts his proposal, Olmert is planning to give the defense 
portfolio back to Shaul Mofaz.  Ha'aretz quoted Olmert's people as 
saying that if former PM Ehud Barak becomes Labor chairman, the 
treasury will not be offered to Labor at all. 
 
On Sunday Maariv reported that Olmert will be questioned under 
caution for the first time over his role in the affair of the 
privatization of Bank Leumi, Israel's second-largest bank. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Muhammad Sawirki, a 24-year-old 
officer in the PA's Force 17 "Presidential Guard," died on Sunday 
when he was thrown from the 18th floor of a Gaza City building.  The 
newspaper quoted PA security officials as saying that Sawirki and 
another officer were kidnapped earlier in the day by members of 
Hamas's paramilitary Executive Force. 
 
On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that the PA's mufti, alarmed 
by the growing number of Palestinians who are emigrating from the 
Palestinian territories, has issued a fatwa (religious decree) 
forbidding Muslims to leave.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
Foreign Ministry sources told the newspaper that there are at least 
45,000 immigration applications under review by different countries. 
 Today Yediot reported that 14,000 Palestinians have left the Gaza 
Strip for Egypt since the implementation of former PM Ariel Sharon's 
disengagement.  The newspaper cited the assessment of Palestinian 
sources that most migrs belong to the middle class and are 
concerned about the Strip's future under Hamas rule. 
 
On Sunday major media reported that on Friday Defense Minister 
Peretz approved the appointment of Maj. Gen. Dan Harel as the next 
IDF deputy chief of staff.  Harel will replace Moshe Kaplinsky in 
the coming months, most likely around September.  In addition, IDF 
Radio commander Avi Benayahu will replace Brig. Gen. Miri Regev as 
IDF spokesman. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen will 
visit Israel, bringing the message to PM Ehud Olmert that his 
country wishes to play a more central role in resolving the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The newspaper also quoted visiting 
Greek FM Theodora Bakoyianni as saying on Sunday that Greece hopes 
to deepen its relations with Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted British Minister of Higher Education Bill Rammell, 
who is visiting Israel in the wake of a decision by Britain's 
lecturers union to recommend a boycott of Israeli universities, as 
saying on Sunday that a boycott was "fundamentally wrong."  The 
Jerusalem Post filed a similar report.  Yediot quoted Rammell as 
saying that he UK will increase its academic cooperation with 
Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post cited AP quoting MENA, Egypt's state 
news agency, as saying that Ali Islam, the head of Egypt's atomic 
agency, testified on Sunday in the trial of the Egyptian nuclear 
engineer Mohammed Sayed Saber, charged with spying for Israel, that 
the accused obtained sensitive documents illegally and passed them 
on to Israeli intelligence. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli defense industry exporters 
hope to sign USD 800 million in new contracts at next week's Paris 
Air Show. 
 
Major media reported that on Sunday Ronald Lauder was elected 
interim president of the World Jewish Congress. 
All media reported on the expansion of oligarch Arkady Gaidamak's 
business interests.  He bought a 51 percent share of the supermarket 
chain Tiv Ta'am and proclaimed his intention to turn it into a 
kosher company. 
 
A Smith Research poll first published on Yediot's Web site (Ynet) on 
Sunday found that nearly three of four Israelis believe that Ehud 
Barak is not fit to reassume the premiership.  Forty-three percent 
believe that Ami Ayalon is unfit to become PM.  By contrast, Likud 
leader Binyamin Netanyahu received a positive ratio, with 54 percent 
saying he is fit to be prime minister and only 44 percent deeming 
him unfit.  The poll also found that Ayalon would bring Labor seven 
more Knesset seats than Barak -- 23 to 16. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the lead article of 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Administration 
leaders told Minister Mofaz and others that they expect to hear from 
the Prime Minister about new and far-reaching ideas that would 
advance a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The US 
is reportedly pressing Olmert to bring some kind of diplomatic 
initiative with him, but no 'diplomatic horizon' that Israel might 
conceivably offer can substitute for ... pressure [on Egypt]." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote on page one of The 
Jerusalem Post: "Bush's 'green light' [to Israeli-Syrian contacts] 
should not be interpreted as US approval of Israeli-Syrian talks." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If the Lebanese Army is capable 
of fighting an enemy from the inside, then ... it will also be able 
to protect the state from Israel -- rendering Hizbullah 
superfluous." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "US to Israel: Start Moving" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the lead article of 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/10): "The US is 
not prepared to adopt the Prime Minister's position that there is no 
partner on the Palestinian side: The Bush administration has been 
pressuring Israel to bring up new and significant proposals to 
promote a peace agreement with the Palestinians.  Minister Shaul 
Mofaz returned over the weekend from talks with administration 
leaders in Washington.  Political sources who are informed about 
these discussions and other talks that have been held between 
Israeli and American officials said that the two countries disagree: 
While the Israeli government describes Chairman Abu Mazen as a 'dead 
partner' and says that there is no partner for peace in the PA, 
which is in the midst of civil war, the US administration has still 
not given up.  Senior Bush administration officials said that it was 
Israel's responsibility to pull the parties out of their current 
impasse since it was the stronger side.  Political figures who spoke 
recently with senior Bush administration officials said that the 
Americans were noticeably frustrated with Israeli conduct in the 
West Bank and Gaza Strip, no less than they were frustrated with Abu 
Mazen's helplessness.  Administration leaders told Minister Mofaz 
and others that they expect to hear from the Prime Minister about 
new and far-reaching ideas that would advance a solution to the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The Americans will ask Olmert to 
begin discussing with the Palestinians the core issue of the 
conflict: the borders between Israel and the PA, the future of 
Jerusalem, the solution to the problem of the refugees, and the fate 
of the settlements." 
 
II.  "Diversify Pressure on Hamas" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/11): 
"Ultimately, a defensive posture that leaves the initiative in the 
enemy's hands will always be flawed; what is necessary is to ensure 
that the enemy decides not to attack in the first place.... Military 
pressure, however, is not the only sort that must be brought to 
bear. When Prime Minister Ehud Olmert travels to Washington next 
week for his White House meeting, he should stress that the best way 
to help Mahmoud Abbas is to stop the weapons flow to Hamas and 
reduce the flood of foreign assistance going into the Palestinian 
areas.  Giving Abbas more weapons as is apparently being mooted, 
without doing anything to staunch the flow of weapons across the 
Egyptian border to Hamas and other terror groups, will not 
fundamentally change the situation for the better.  If, by contrast, 
that flow were staunched, along with increased financial and 
military pressure, it is possible that Hamas would find a reason to 
pursue a different course.  For this to happen, both Washington and 
Jerusalem must decide that more intense pressure on Egypt is 
necessary, rather than treating Cairo as a fragile, helpless and 
constructive partner.  The US is reportedly pressing Olmert to bring 
some kind of diplomatic initiative with him, but no 'diplomatic 
horizon' that Israel might conceivably offer can substitute for such 
pressure.  The diplomatic stalemate is not a consequence of a lack 
of formulae or ideas, but of the lack of fundamental goodwill and 
desire for reconciliation on the part of the Hamas-dominated PA 
leadership.  If anything, new initiatives, if not accompanied by a 
palpable change on the Egyptian-Gaza border and other moves that 
constrain and deter Hamas, would only increase the incentive for 
Palestinian attacks." 
 
III.  "Feelers to Assad For Show Only" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote on page one of The 
Jerusalem Post (6/10): "A report in Friday's Yediot Aharonot that 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert obtained President George W. Bush's 
agreement nearly two months ago to quietly engage with the Assad 
regime and has been trying, through German and Turkish channels, to 
elicit a response to this offer to give Syria the Golan in return 
for full peace arrangements and for Syria cutting itself off from 
Iran and Hamas, does not say much for Israel's bargaining powers. 
Bush's 'green light' should not be interpreted as US approval of 
Israeli-Syrian talks.  Both the official and unofficial positions of 
the US administration are that such negotiations have very little 
chance of reaching any results, and that their breakdown will only 
make matters worse.... The return of most of the Golan to Damascus 
is the only realistic outcome of an Israeli-Syrian deal, and Bush 
has no interest in rewarding Assad for his help to the United 
States' enemies.  So the administration is perfectly happy for now 
to see the Heights remain in Israeli hands." 
 
IV.  "Hizbullah's Palestinian Predicament" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/11): "The Lebanese Army's 
demonstration of its ability and determination is now liable to 
shatter another one of Hizbullah's arguments in favor of holding 
onto its weapons.  After all, if the Lebanese Army is capable of 
fighting an enemy from the inside, then with good equipment and 
suitable training, either American or European, it will also be able 
to protect the state from Israel -- rendering Hizbullah 
superfluous." 
JONES