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DE RUEHTV #1727/01 1641039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131039Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 9027
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 2317
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 3114
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 2322
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0227
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3061
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 9937
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0409
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 7010
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4426
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RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001727 
 
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 reported that former PM Ehud Barak regained the 
chairmanship of the Labor Party following his victory in the party's 
run-off primary.  Barak obtained 51.3 percent of the votes and 
Knesset Member Ami Ayalon 47.7 percent.  In his victory speech, 
Barak pledged to strengthen the IDF and restore Israel's deterrence. 
 Media reported that PM Ehud Olmert wants Barak to join his 
government as soon as possible.  Yediot wrote that Olmert will offer 
Barak the defense portfolio. 
 
All media prominently reported on the ongoing clashes between Hamas 
and Fatah militants in the Gaza Strip, in which at least 31 people 
were killed and 75 wounded on Tuesday and this morning.  Leading 
media reported that Hamas controls most of the Strip -- or most of 
its northern part.  Leading media reported that Fatah suspended 
participation in the Palestinian national unity government.  The 
Jerusalem Post bannered: "Gaza on Verge of Becoming Hamastan." 
Yediot quoted the heads of Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence as 
saying that Al-Qaida terrorists are becoming involved in the bloody 
fighting in Gaza.   Israel Radio reported that senior Egyptian 
officials blame Iran for the violence.   Israel Radio reported that 
the US-based organization Human Rights Watch accused Hamas and Fatah 
of war crimes against the Palestinians. 
 
Media quoted PM Olmert as saying: "If the Gaza Strip falls 
completely into the hands of Hamas, this will have regional 
implications."  Israel Radio quoted him as saying that Israel will 
not enter the Gaza Strip to fight the pragmatic forces' fight 
against the extremists.  Israel Radio reported that Defense Minister 
Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi decided on Tuesday 
not to intervene in the Gaza Strip.  The radio reported that Peretz 
warned that Israel would respond seriously if violence spills into 
Israel.  Leading media quoted Olmert as saying, after a meeting with 
visiting Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen, that the deployment of a 
multinational force along the "Philadelphi Route" in Rafah should be 
seriously considered.  Media reported that Olmert expressed his 
concerns about the PA's possible collapse. 
 
 
Leading media quoted Syria's Deputy FM Ahmad Arnous as saying on 
Tuesday that Syria is ready to negotiate peace with Israel but that 
it refuses conditions on the talks.   Israel Radio quoted a source 
in Israel's Foreign Ministry as saying that Arnous failed to mention 
Israel's offer of direct negotiations, even without US mediation. 
In another development, Yediot reported that Syria recently denied 
UN observers access to the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights 
to check whether Syria respects the 1974 Separation of Forces 
Agreement.  Yediot noted that Syria eventually acceded to the UN 
demand. 
 
The media reported that the Knesset will elect Israel's next 
president in three rounds today.  Maariv defined Vice PM Shimon 
Peres' bid as his "last attempt" to win a top national post.  The 
media noted that the race between Peres and former Knesset speaker 
Reuven Rivlin (Likud) is tight. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday Riyad Mansour, the 
Palestinian Observer Mission's ambassador to the UN, called for a 
cease-fire with Israel in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, 
saying the quiet would strengthen moderates seeking a political 
agreement.  Mansour also backed a cease-fire between warring 
Palestinian factions.  The Jerusalem Post reported that, despite the 
talk of cease-fires, Jeremy Issacharoff, Deputy Chief of Mission at 
the Israeli Embassy in Washington, warned that there could be an 
increase in the fighting. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday the Winograd Commission 
probing the Second Lebanon War released the testimony of 
Transportation Minister -- and former defense minister and former 
chief of staff -- Shaul Mofaz before the commission.  Mofaz was 
quoted as telling the commission that each time he tried to 
intervene during the course of the war, his view that the IDF should 
heavily strike Hizbullah was rejected. 
 
Yediot, The Jerusalem Post, and Israel Radio reported that the State 
Department released its 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, which 
states: "The Government of Israel does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is 
making significant efforts to do so."  Yediot and Israel Radio cited 
the satisfaction of Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and his 
ministry over the report. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that, as part of a debate at the 
Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, the Israeli 
defense establishment and the Justice Ministry are preparing a 
campaign to fight what they say is the World Bank's hostile and 
erroneous report on the territories. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Civil Administration in the 
territories has threatened to seal off four rooms that abut two 
Jewish-owned apartments at the edge of Hebron's Avraham Avinu 
neighborhood.  The newspaper quoted a Civil Administration spokesman 
as saying on Monday that Jewish families had illegally expanded into 
the premises. 
 
Israel Radio reported that over 250 British academics have placed a 
paid ad in the British daily The Times to protest the boycott of 
Israeli universities, saying that the union of lecturers that 
recommended it is small, unrepresentative, and harms academic 
freedom and Britain overall. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Jerusalem Municipality will invest 6 
million shekels (around USD 1.433 million) in various improvements 
around the walls of the Old City. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the city of Tel Aviv has been 
ranked as one of the world's top 50 centers of commerce by the new 
MasterCard Center of Commerce research index of leading cities that 
influence the global economy and drive global commerce.  The 
Jerusalem Post also wrote that Israeli real estate attracted a 
record USD 209 million in foreign investment in May as French and US 
Jews purchased second homes in the country. 
 
Yediot reported that, ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 
Municipality has granted honorary citizenship of the Chinese capital 
to 15 people from around the world, including former Israeli 
ambassador to China Ora Namir. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Secretary of State and her assistants 
will now make do with outlining a path of "American realism," which 
is now being translated into spoken Arabic in the smoking alleys of 
the Gaza Strip." 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "In the end we won't have any choice.  We 
will have to go [into the Gaza Strip] to disassemble the ticking 
bomb that is being built in front of our very eyes." 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in Ha'aretz: "The outcome [of 
the intra-Palestinian fighting] in the offing will have far-reaching 
implications not only for the future of the Palestinian Authority, 
but also for its relations with Israel, and perhaps for the entire 
region.  The old Palestinian dream of a real state is fading fast." 
 
Former Mossad director Ephraim Halevy wrote in the editorial of 
Yediot Aharonot: "The turn of daily events in the Palestinian 
territories does not leave us with more than just a few weeks to 
grab the bull by the horns." 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
US, wrote in Yediot Aharonot: "Bush and Olmert [might decide] to 
skip over the first two stages of [the Roadmap] and go straight to a 
permanent status arrangement based on the Saudi initiative -- 
perhaps with light cosmetic changes." 
 
Assad Ghanem, a lecturer at the University of Haifa, wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "[A] stable binational state ... is the only option that 
can still represent an alternative to the current harsh reality." 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "American Realism in the Alleys of Gaza" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/13): "[Secretary] Rice, who, [like 
President Bush], is in favor [of a two-state solution], is preparing 
the ground for a predictable disappointment.  It is true, she will 
be able to claim when the time comes, that no state was established; 
but Bush succeeded in bringing about a critical change in public 
opinion.  And meanwhile ... the Secretary of State and her 
assistants will now make do with outlining a path of "American 
realism," which is now being translated into spoken Arabic in the 
smoking alleys of the Gaza Strip.  That is the political philosophy 
with which she will explain the efforts to strengthen the status of 
Fatah, which lost the elections, at the expense of Hamas, which won 
them legitimately.  That is also the theory that will justify the 
renewed reliance on oppressive regimes such as Egypt, deceitful ones 
such as Saudi Arabia, and autocratic ones such as Jordan -- pursuing 
what is desirable, and making do with what exists." 
 
II.  "Concern that Israel Might Be Forced to Enter Gaza" 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/13): "Israel is a sovereign state that 
has become embroiled -- or embroiled itself -- in an impossible 
situation in which it lives beside a large neighborhood of Baghdad. 
There, on the far side of the fence, there is a slew of factions.... 
If up until a few weeks ago, in the sixth round of violence since 
Hamas rose to power, we still wanted to believe that this was an 
internal, political battle, today, in the seventh round, no one 
harbors doubts any more: This is a brutal civil war with short 
breaks for each side to lick its wounds and regain its strength. 
All the mediation efforts are for appearanceQs sake only.  The 
military wings on both sides have already made their strategic 
decision.  Hamas has decided to eradicate Fatah by force and to 
dissolve its security services. Fatah has decided to topple Hamas 
from power.  These rounds of violence could very well continue for a 
long time to come.... The attacks on Israel will, ultimately, come. 
In order to close Palestinian ranks there will be a Qassam rocket 
attack, and the small terror organizations will make concerted 
efforts to execute terror attacks and kidnap soldiers.  The clashes 
in Gaza might also set the West Bank on fire.  There are already 
signs of that.  And we haven't even begun to talk about the 
humanitarian crisis on our doorstep.  The systems in Gaza have 
already begun to collapse.  Schools arenQt open, stores are open 
only partially, the foreign welfare agencies have left, and some of 
the hospitals have become battlegrounds.  The world will point the 
accusatory finger at Israel.  In the end, we won't have any choice. 
We will have to go in there to disassemble the ticking bomb that is 
being built in front of our very eyes." 
 
III.  "Hamastan, Fatahstan" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in Ha'aretz (6/13): "Yasser 
Arafat must be turning in his grave.  Barely two and a half years 
have gone by since his death and already his movement, Fatah, is 
steadily losing its last strongholds in the Gaza Strip.... The 
outcome in the offing will have far-reaching implications not only 
for the future of the Palestinian Authority, but also for its 
relations with Israel, and perhaps for the entire region.  The old 
Palestinian dream of a real state is fading fast.  The speech that 
President George Bush is scheduled to deliver on June 24 (the fifth 
anniversary of his speech laying out a two-state vision for the 
Middle East) will have to undergo substantial revision.  Hamas's 
takeover of Gaza, which seemed closer than ever on Tuesday, is 
destined to split the territories into two entities that are 
politically and even culturally separate: Hamastan (the Gaza Strip) 
and Fatahstan (the West Bank).  Anyone on the Israeli side still 
contemplating the question of a Palestinian partner might also need 
to do some rethinking.  In Gaza, at least, it seems there is nobody 
left for Israel to talk to." 
 
IV.  "Is Arab Unity to Our Benefit?" 
 
Former Mossad director Ephraim Halevy wrote in the editorial of 
Yediot Aharonot (6/13): "[The] Arab world considers the turn of 
Palestinian events as a grave threat to the stability of life 
throughout the Muslim world, and that is why Saudi Arabia has 
intervened in the inner workings of the Palestinian government and 
has tried to manage the infighting between Fatah and Hamas.  That is 
why the Arab world has organized to engage in negotiations with 
Israel, in the course of which it might expropriate the management 
of those negotiations Qom the Palestinians and seize it for itself. 
 It is a complex challenge for Israel to prepare for dialogue of 
that sort.  The Arab world's demands are difficult and, in some 
cases, patently unacceptable.  But we do need to notice that while 
in the past we believed, and justly so, that the Arabs, when 
unified, would toe the most radical line, now we have an opportunity 
to examine whether circumstances have not changed and it is the 
moderate majority that will force the extremists to toe its line. 
The Mecca agreement, which Hamas was forced to accept, and the 
Riyadh summit in which the Arab peace initiative was ratified with 
the attendance of the Fatah-Hamas national unity government, create 
the tools for the Israeli government to engage in some daring and 
creative diplomacy.  This opportunity will not be here forever.  The 
turn of daily events in the Palestinian territories does not leave 
us with more than just a few weeks to grab the bull by the horns." 
 
¶V.  "The Gospel According to Washington" 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
US, wrote in Yediot Aharonot (6/13): "Washington, naturally, is well 
aware of Olmert's weaknesses, but precisely this situation appears 
to it to be particularly suitable to achieve results.... The 
intention of the Arab rulers who convened a few months ago in Riyadh 
[was] to offer Israel the poisoned candy of relations (not 
necessarily peace), on condition that it bow to the dictate of a 
prior withdrawal from all the territories, including Jerusalem, and 
that it agree, in one way or another, to the demand to let refugees 
return -- not in the framework of negotiations, but as an ultimatum. 
 It could be that Olmert will tell President Bush that he is now 
willing to accept the Arab ultimatum at least partially: not yet in 
the matter of the refugees, but on the territorial issues and in the 
matter of Jerusalem.  Therefore, it will not be surprising if the 
following 'gospel' emerges this coming week from Washington: since 
there has been no progress according to the original outline of the 
Roadmap, Bush and Olmert decided to skip over the first two stages 
in it and go straight to a permanent status arrangement based on the 
Saudi initiative -- perhaps with light cosmetic changes.  Indeed, 
everything is politics." 
 
VI.  "One State Is Enough" 
 
Assad Ghanem, a lecturer at the University of Haifa, wrote in 
Ha'aretz (6/12): "The present situation does not allow a logical 
separation between two states, but it also appears that there is 
neither the political will nor the ability to implement that 
separation.... Israel and the Palestinians must change directions. 
The option of a stable binational state, on the basis of 
self-determination for both nations in one common state, agreeing on 
the partition of power and political positions in an egalitarian 
way, is the only option that can still represent an alternative to 
the current harsh reality." 
 
JONES