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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001757 
 
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.  Hamas Takeover of Gaza Strip 
 
¶2.  Election of Shimon Peres as President of Israel 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that on Thursday Hamas completed its takeover of 
the Gaza Strip.  Maariv bannered: "Three States for Two Nations" and 
Yediot "Iran, Five Minutes From Ashkelon."  This morning the 
electronic media reported that Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh refused 
to comply with Thursday's announcement by Chairman [President] 
Mahmoud Abbas's office in Ramallah that he had been dismissed. 
Haniyeh was quoted as saying that Fatah was responsible for the 
violence and that he called on Fatah to resume national unity talks 
with the Palestinian factions.  The media had also reported that 
Abbas declared a state of emergency and the dissolution of the PA 
government.  The media reported that an angry mob lynched a senior 
Fatah official in the Gaza Strip and that Fatah retaliated in the 
West Bank. 
 
Yediot (Shimon Shiffer) wrote that associates of PM Ehud Olmert and 
the Israeli defense establishment believe that the Palestinian 
Authority no longer exists and that Israel has no partner.  This 
morning Israel Radio quoted senior GOI sources as saying that Israel 
was considering granting Gaza Strip civilians unilateral aid should 
the humanitarian situation worsen.  Media reported that the IDF is 
prepared to face a situation in which it would have to push back 
refugees fleeing from the Gaza Strip. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
called Abbas, stressing that Washington supports moderate elements 
among the Palestinians.  The radio also said that British Foreign 
Secretary Margaret Beckett called on the sides to introduce a 
 
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cease-fire immediately.  Leading media reported that the EU and UN 
suspended their aid to the Gaza Strip.  Ha'aretz quoted the US as 
saying on Thursday that the Bush administration will now work to 
prevent the violence from spilling over to the West Bank.  According 
to Ha'aretz, the US therefore aims to accelerate Israeli-Palestinian 
negotiations to allow Abbas to present some achievements.  Ha'aretz 
reported that a GOI official told the newspaper on Thursday that PM 
 
Olmert also intends to tell President Bush that Hamas's coup d'etat 
must be contained to the Gaza Strip and not allowed to occur in the 
West Bank as well.  Ha'aretz wrote that the US administration is 
also interested in improving living conditions in the West Bank to 
demonstrate to the Palestinians that they are better off under Fatah 
than Hamas.  Ha'aretz said that Washington will urge Israel to 
reconsider loosening its military grip on the West Bank.  Israel 
will also be asked to unfreeze Palestinian tax funds it has been 
withholding from the PA.  The money and further funding will help 
boost Abbas' new emergency government.  Ha'aretz quoted political 
sources in Jerusalem as saying that they expect Israel to consider 
transferring the funds.  Abbas, Olmert, and President Bush are 
reportedly in favor of deploying multinational forces in the Strip 
to maintain order, as Hamas has consolidated near-absolute control 
of the area.  Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday political sources 
in Jerusalem were skeptical of the prospect of deploying 
multinational forces in the Strip any time soon.  Egypt has made it 
clear it does not intend to send troops. "No one will come there," 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior political official as saying.  According to 
the source, the defense establishment shares Olmert's views that 
containing the situation in Gaza must be a priority.  "The defense 
establishment agrees with the containment policy, as we are 
determined not to see last week's events repeated in the West Bank," 
the source was quoted as saying.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe expects 
Olmert to tell President Bush that Israel is definitely disengaging 
from the Gaza Strip. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the US is trying to stir Arab 
support for Abbas. 
 
Leading media reported that the events in Gaza have also affected 
Israel's negotiations with Palestinian officials over a possible 
prisoner exchange to free Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier whom Hamas 
abducted last year. Ha'aretz quoted the GOI source as saying that 
the negotiations, which are being conducted via Egyptian mediators, 
have suffered as a result of the recent fighting.  "We hope, 
however, that the negotiations will become more intensive after the 
situation in the Strip stabilizes," he added. 
 
Ha'aretz said that Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip will dominate 
PM Olmert's White House meeting with President Bush, and in this 
context, Olmert will discuss the possibility of deploying a 
multinational force in Gaza with both Bush and UN Secretary-General 
Ban Ki-moon. The security cabinet, however, has not yet decided on 
its stance regarding the deployment of such a force, and will 
address the issue only after Olmert returns.  Regarding the Iranian 
threat, Olmert intends to suggest that Bush move to enforce harsher 
sanctions against the Islamic Republic, beyond those adopted by the 
UN Security Council.  Among others, he will propose that Bush halt 
investment by American pension funds in companies that deal with 
Iran, and will also suggest that Bush and like-minded allies bar 
Iranians from visiting Western countries.  Olmert is also expected 
to brief Bush on his contacts with Damascus and on Syria's military 
efforts, which the defense establishment believes to be defensive at 
this point in time. 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday IDF troops killed two 
Palestinians in separate West Bank operations. 
 
UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano was quoted as saying on 
Thursday, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, that Hizbullah 
has not returned to its former strength in southern Lebanon. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that PM Olmert and the 
new Labor Party Chairman, Ehud Barak, will meet this morning for the 
first time since Barak's election, amid threats from the former PM 
to topple Olmert and force a general election within a year. 
Ha'aretz quoted Olmert associates as saying on Thursday that Olmert 
has no intention of renegotiating the coalition agreement with the 
Labor Party, ahead of Olmert's meeting with Barak.  The aides were 
quoted as saying that, according to the coalition agreement, the 
defense portfolio is earmarked for Labor's leader.  In addition, 
Labor is allowed another minister to replace Knesset Member Eitan 
Cabel, who resigned. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a new study by the Jerusalem Center for 
Public Affairs saying that linking the Gaza Strip and the West Bank 
with a transportation system for goods and people would be dangerous 
and unnecessary. 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday President Bush blamed Syria 
for the assassination of Lebanese MP Walid Eido. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that the newly launched Ofek-7 spy 
satellite transmitted its first images to a ground station in Israel 
at midnight on Wednesday.  The media quoted defense officials as 
saying that its performance was "beyond expectations." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the US have reached an 
undefined "accommodation" regarding the proposed sale of 
state-of-the-art weaponry to Saudi Arabia, and that the issue is not 
expected to be a source of friction when PM Olmert goes to 
Washington for talks next week.  Felix Frisch, Maariv's correpondent 
in the US, views US-Israeli missile defense deals as business 
opportunities for US firms such as Lockheed Martin. 
 
Leading media reported that Shimon Peres' election as president was 
preceded by talks between the candidate and his men, on one side, 
and ultra-Orthodox community leaders on the other.  Media reported 
that Peres promised to block the Gay Pride parade scheduled to take 
place in Jerusalem next Thursday -- or at least to move it away from 
the city center. 
 
All media reported on the death on Thursday of former UN 
secretary-general Kurt Waldheim, who had concealed his past as a 
 
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Wehrmacht officer during World War II. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that New York University will set up 
a mini-campus at Tel Aviv University, according to a letter of 
intent.  The newspaper quoted a Tel Aviv University spokeswoman as 
saying that the goal is to have the campus ready to admit students 
for the fall 2008 semester. 
 
Yediot reported that on Thursday the police arrested Yoni Mizrachi, 
the son of Menashe Mizrachi, who is accused of managing an illegal 
bank.  Yoni Mizrachi is suspected of having received tens of 
millions of dollars, with which he bought real estate in Las Vegas. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that a record number of Israelis are going abroad 
this summer -- mainly to the US and Turkey. 
 
Yediot presented the results of a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) 
poll: 
- "Were elections for the Knesset to be held today, which party 
would you vote for?"  (Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, 
seats in current Knesset.) 
-Likud 27 (12); Labor Party 25 (19); Shas 11 (12); Arab parties 10 
(10); Kadima 9 (29); Yisrael Beiteinu 9 (11); National 
Union-National Religious Party 8 (9); United Torah Judaism 6 (6); 
Meretz-Yahad 5 (5); Gil - Pensioners' Party 3 (7).  Respondents 
representing 7 Knesset seats were undecided. 
- "Whom would you like to see as Israel's next prime minister?" 
Binyamin Netanyahu: 34 percent; Ehud Barak: 25 percent; Ehud Olmert: 
5 percent. 
 
Ha'aretz and Maariv cited the results of a poll commissioned by 
B'nai Brith World Center: 54 percent of Israeli Jews believe that 
Jews living in the Diaspora are not entitled to express criticism of 
the GOI. 
 
--------------------------------- 
¶1.  Hamas Takeover of Gaza Strip: 
--------------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent 
Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"Under such circumstances, it will be hard for the United States to 
make demands of Israel, which now borders an Islamic terrorist 
entity." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The US 
[might] have learned nothing from the serial failures born of 
backing particular people rather than policies." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "In ten days the Americans will be celebrating five years 
since 'President Bush's vision speech' .... What now remains is a 
vision of dry bones." 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "In effect, the 
military arm [of Hamas] played into the hands of Israel.... [Also, 
Palestinian] public opinion is still not with Hamas." 
 
Regional correspondent Ronni Shaked wrote in Yediot Aharonot: "Abu 
Mazen is largely to blame for Gaza's deteriorating into civil war, 
but he is not the only one.  The US and Israel had a decisive 
contribution to this failure." 
 
Palestinian politics expert Prof. Shaul Mishal wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "Chaos is fertile ground for global jihad." 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "The infant Hamas state will be forced to rely on Egypt." 
 
Columnist and Editor of Ha'aretz's English-language Web site Bradley 
Burston wrote in Ha'aretz: "Hamas is Hamas because of Israel. And no 
group in the Holy Land has done more to bolster the Israeli 
far-right than Hamas." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "An Overpowering Reality" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent 
Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(6/15): "The American embarrassment [over the makeover in Gaza 
Strip] provides a convenient backdrop for Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert's visit to the White House on Tuesday.... Under such 
circumstances, it will be hard for the United States to make demands 
of Israel, which now borders an Islamic terrorist entity.  The 
Americans were planning a diplomatic blitz over the next two weeks, 
focusing on the Palestinian issue.... The fire has to be 
extinguished first.  Only then will it be possible to plan the house 
that will replace the one that burned down/.... The Hamas victory 
bolsters Israel's unstated policy of dividing the Palestinian 
Authority into two states -- Gaza and the West Bank.  Israel cannot 
say this out loud in front of the Americans, who are committed to a 
single Palestinian state, so Olmert will have to speak in code.  He 
will suggest that Bush strengthen international support for the 
peace process.... The Americans, meanwhile, are not rushing to 
switch gears.  They still believe that strengthening Abbas is the 
only solution left, and that's what they'll tell Olmert." 
 
 
II.  "The Fall of Gaza" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/15): 
"First Hamas won at the ballot box, now it has won again, with 
bullets.... The Quartet now has the opportunity to hold Hamas fully 
accountable in Gaza, Fatah fully accountable in the West Bank, and 
Egypt fully accountable for policing its border.... Some observers 
have noted that in the context of the current fighting, the US State 
Department is blaming Hamas's 'military wing,' thereby for the first 
time implicitly distinguishing between 'good' and 'bad' parts of 
Hamas.  It may be that even the US is poised to treat the 'good' 
Hamas as a legitimate Palestinian address, following the collapse of 
the 'good' Mahmoud Abbas, and before him, the 'good' Yasser Arafat. 
If so, it would mean that the US has learned nothing from the serial 
failures born of backing particular people rather than policies.  In 
each case, the international community failed to hold its favorite 
Palestinian leaders accountable for fear that worse ones would take 
over.  This approach has led precisely to the outcome it sought to 
avoid.  The alternative is a policy that does not support the search 
for a Palestinian ally to support at all costs, but holds all 
factions, on behalf of Palestinians and Israelis alike, to basic 
standards of legitimacy, governance, and movement toward peace." 
 
III.  "Welcome to Hell" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (6/15): "In ten days the Americans will be celebrating five 
years since 'President Bush's vision speech' .... What now remains 
is be a vision of dry bones.... There are quite a few people in the 
US administration who have been against Israel for some time.  The 
battle between them and the remnants of the neo-conservatives who 
support Israel completely, will converge on the desk of the 
President, who will have to decide.  What is certain is that Bush 
and Olmert, two lame ducks, are meant to work out a new outline for 
putting the peace process in the Middle East in motion and renewing 
hope for two peoples for peaceful coexistence.  True, the last 
sentence never sounded more ludicrous." 
 
IV.  "Gaza Is South Lebanon, Hamas Is Hizbullah" 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/15): "The military 
wing of Hamas snatched the cards from the hands of the political 
leadership, which had planned to gain control of public opinion and 
the institutions of government gradually, little by little, while 
acquiring legitimacy in the eyes of the world.  But the military 
wing was in a hurry.  In all its recent moves [the military wing] 
was taking advantage of its own successes, not implementing a 
pre-conceived plan.  In effect, the military arm played into the 
hands of Israel.  It exposed to the entire world its pro-Iranian, 
fundamentalist ideology, its brutality.  The world has begun to 
understand where Palestinian public opinion is going, and the 
resulting damage to their cause is enormous.... The moment Hamas 
seizes control of the crossing points, neither Israel nor Egypt will 
cooperate with it, and it is the population of the Gaza Strip that 
will pay the price.  Hamas could not cope with a humanitarian 
disaster on that scale.  At the present stage the Hamas victory is a 
military one, but it has not won the hearts and minds of the Gaza 
population.  Public opinion is still not with Hamas." 
 
¶V.  "Abu Failure" 
 
Regional correspondent Ronni Shaked wrote in Yediot Aharonot (6/15): 
"Abu Mazen is largely to blame for Gaza's deteriorating into civil 
war, but he is not the only one.  The US and Israel had a decisive 
contribution to this failure.  The Americans, in their lack of 
understanding for the processes of Islamization in the territories, 
pressured to hold democratic elections and brought Hamas to power 
with their own hands.  Israel not only did not do enough to cancel 
the elections, it even helped them be held in Jerusalem.  Since the 
elections, Israel, like the US, declared over and over that 'Abu 
Mazen must be strengthened,' but in practice, zero was done for this 
to happen.  The meetings with him turned into an Israeli political 
tool, and Olmert's kisses and backslapping  turned Abu Mazen into a 
collaborator and a source of jokes on the Palestinian street. 
Israel also has no firm policy against Hamas in Gaza." 
 
VI.  "Bin Ladin Is Here" 
 
Palestinian politics expert Prof. Shaul Mishal wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (6/15): "I fear that we will yet miss the civil war in Gaza 
in its present form.... Chaos is fertile ground for global jihad. 
In other words: Al-Zarqawi and bin Ladin will be five minutes from 
Ashkelon.  From that moment, the battle will no longer be only for 
the liberation of Palestine, but a war of Islam against the West. 
The new situation liable to be created in Gaza will threaten the 
stability of Sunni regimes in the region.  Countries like Egypt, 
Jordan, and Saudi Arabia will have to step in quickly.  The West 
will also have to intervene when a humanitarian disaster takes place 
in the isolated and alienated Gaza.  Israel will deal with the same 
enemy, but the rules of the game will change, as well as the 
challenges.  It is possible that one Palestinian movement will get 
the IDF to strike at a rival Palestinian movement.... With all the 
chaos, we have no address.  There is no one to talk to, no one to 
approach and no one to blame." 
 
VII.  "The Separation Began Long Ago" 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Danny Rubinstein wrote in Ha'aretz 
(6/15): "The separation between Gaza and the West Bank deepened 
after Israel constructed fences around the Gaza Strip and, later, in 
the West Bank as well, effectively cutting the two areas off from 
each other.... The fences around Gaza and in the West Bank have 
increased the ties between the West Bank and Jordan, on one hand, 
and between Gaza and Egypt, on the other.  The infant Hamas state 
will be forced to rely on Egypt.  Cairo, like Jerusalem, does not 
want to accept responsibility for the Gaza Strip, but it will 
probably be unable to avoid involving itself in its affairs." 
 
VIII.  "Why There Is No Palestine" 
 
Columnist and Editor of Ha'aretz's English-language Web site Bradley 
Burston wrote in Ha'aretz (6/15): "Why is there no Palestine?  1. 
Because Israelis can't decide what they want.... 2. Because 
Palestinians cannot decide what they want..... 3. Because neither 
side is willing to abide by peace agreements.... 4. Because we are, 
all of us, better at vengeance than we are at forgiveness.... 5. 
Because we love our extremists too much.... 6. Because the policies 
of both sides play directly into the hands of extremists on the 
other.  Hamas is Hamas because of Israel. And no group in the Holy 
Land has done more to bolster the Israeli far-right than Hamas.  7. 
Because the Muslim world wants its Palestinians to suffer.... 8. 
Because the West now sees them as terrorists.... 9. Because Arafat 
lied to them.... 10. Because they cannot stop themselves.... 11. 
Because some of the best people in Palestine are leaving.... 12. 
Because each side takes it for granted that its side is clearly, 
morally, objectively in the right, and that the other side is 
nothing but wrong.... 13. And because the Holy Land is the world 
capital of wishful thinking." 
 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶2.  Election of Shimon Peres as President of Israel: 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "No one is 
better suited [than Shimon Peres] to restore the dignity of the 
presidency in the world's eyes and to represent Israel." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"His Excellency the President" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/15): "By 
electing Shimon Peres, one of the last of Israel's founding 
generation, as Israel's ninth president, the Knesset bestowed a 
lovely gift on Israel and its citizens.... The new president built 
up the country's defense and deterrent capabilities, and then turned 
his energies to advancing the peace process, cultivating Israel's 
international standing, and helping its economy.  Now he is ready to 
toll up his sleeves again to burnish one of the most prominent 
emblems of the state, which has been tarnished.  No one is better 
suited to restore the dignity of the presidency in the world's eyes 
and to represent Israel.... Congratulations to Shimon Peres, who 
restores the dignity of the presidency. And good luck in your new 
job." 
 
JONES