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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001901 
 
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 (banner in Ha'aretz) reported that a regional summit is 
scheduled to take place early next week at Sharm el-Sheikh, with the 
participation of PM Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud 
Abbas.  Israel Radio quoted GOI sources as saying that the meeting 
will be held on Monday.  The summit will be hosted by Egyptian 
President Hosni Mubarak and will be attended by Jordan's King 
Abdullah II.  It aims to bolster Abbas's position and encourage 
dialogue with Olmert, following the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip 
and the establishment of an emergency government in Ramallah. 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior political source in Jerusalem as saying on 
Wednesday that Olmert reached an understanding with President Bush 
during his visit to Washington that it is necessary to support 
Abbas.  The decision to aid Abbas was made despite skepticism in 
light of past experiences about his chances for success.  Olmert and 
Bush reportedly agreed they must not allow the impression that Abbas 
failed because Israel or the US failed him. 
 
Ha'aretz wrote that on his return leg from the US, Olmert told 
reporters that he is satisfied with his visit and noted the great 
opportunity in the fact with Hamas no longer in the Palestinian 
government.  Meanwhile, for the first time since the new Palestinian 
government was established, senior level contacts between Israel and 
the Palestinian Authority took place on Wednesday.  Ha'aretz 
reported that FM Tzipi Livni spoke Wednesday on the telephone with 
Salam Fayyad, the PA's Prime Minister, and discussed the 
implications of the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip.  Livni 
stressed the importance of the establishment of the new government 
in the PA, saying that "it enables progress in matters that have 
been at an impasse during the period of the unity government and 
enables progress in the peace process."  Ha'aretz quoted sources in 
Livni's office as saying that the conversation with Fayyad was 
coordinated with Olmert. 
 
Major media reported that, in his first address to the Palestinian 
people since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, Abbas went on the offensive 
on Wednesday and angrily lashed out at the Islamic militants, 
accusing them of trying to build an empire of darkness in the Strip 
and pledging he would not talk to murderous terrorists.  Abbas was 
uncharacteristically harsh in his verbal attack on Hamas.  He said 
the group attacked national symbols, including the home of Yasser 
Arafat.  He also hinted at the possibility of replacing the 
Palestinian parliament, where Hamas has a majority, with the 
Palestine National Council.  Such a measure would be necessary since 
under current rules, the emergency government would require 
parliament's approval after a month.  He said Palestinian travel 
documents would in the future only be issued from the West Bank and 
if recognized internationally, as expected would mean Gazans can no 
longer travel abroad. Security personnel will be deployed in force 
in the West Bank to restore law and order, he added.  Despite the 
harsh setback of losing Gaza, Abbas reiterated that the time is ripe 
for restarting peace talks with Israel, under the umbrella of an 
international conference.  At one point, Abbas also described in 
great detail what he said was a Hamas attempt to assassinate him by 
means of a tunnel leading to his office. 
 
Israel Radio quoted high-ranking IDF officers as saying that there 
must be no negotiations or talks with Hamas, not even through 
international organizations, as they would only strengthen Hamas and 
give it recognition. 
 
Major media (lead story in Yediot) reported that last night 60 Fatah 
loyalists were evacuated from the Erez Crossing to Egypt.  The 
operation was the result of cooperation between Israel, the PA, and 
Egypt. 
 
Major media reported that President Bush has talked to British PM 
Tony Blair about becoming the Quartet's Middle East peace envoy 
after he leaves office next week.  The Jerusalem Post reported that, 
PM Olmert and other Israeli politicians expressed support for Blair 
continuing to play a role in efforts to bring about peace in the 
region. 
 
The media reported that five Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza 
Strip landed on Wednesday evening in and around Sderot, lightly 
injuring three people.  Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the 
attacks. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior officials in the Prime Minister's 
Office as saying on Wednesday that the new PA government must 
formally announce that it has accepted the Quartet's three 
benchmarks before Israel transfers frozen tax revenues to the PA. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel will continue to supply 
gasoline, water, and power to the Gaza Strip. 
 
Leading media quoted police as saying that Ala Hamad, a Jordanian 
citizen who was enlisted by Hamas operatives in Syria to carry out a 
terrorist attack in Israel is under arrest for allegedly planning to 
kidnap an Israeli in Jerusalem. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the American Jeffrey Seth, formerly 
of North Carolina, who lived in a West Bank settlement, was 
sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday after being 
convicted of trying to import weapons that police suspected he 
intended to use against Palestinians.  Seth was arrested last year. 
 
Maariv reported that four days ago in Cairo Raleb Majadele, the 
Israeli Minister of Science, Culture, and Sports, met with Lebanese 
Education Minister Khaled Qabbani. 
 
Maariv quoted senior GOI sources as saying on Wednesday that Israel 
will not purchase natural gas from the Palestinians as long as Hamas 
has total control over the Gaza Strip. 
 
Leading media reported that on Wednesday the UK's largest trade 
union, UNISON, advocated a total boycott of Israel over its 
continued occupation of Palestinian territories. 
 
Yediot reported that private companies have recently promised 99 
percent success in procuring US visas in exchange for hundreds of 
shekels (on Wednesday one shekel was worth 4.187 US dollars).  The 
newspaper cited the claim of travel agents that this is a fraud. 
Yediot reported that the American Embassy in Tel Aviv was surprised 
to hear about the alleged dealings and that the visa application 
process involves only the Embassy and the individual applicant. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that a delegation of 14 senior law 
enforcement agents, including police commanders and sheriffs from 
across the US, will visit Israel for a week to learn how to fight 
terrorism.  The visit was organized and paid for by the 
Anti-Defamation League in New York, which views visits of this type 
as a good opportunity for strengthening relations between Israel and 
the US. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Petrogroup, which was taken over this month 
by Russian-born Israeli oligarch Arkady Gaidamak, has completed the 
acquisition gas stations and convenience stores in Virginia and 
Tennessee for USD 46 million. 
All media reported that the police will deploy more that 7,000 
officers today in Jerusalem to protect an estimated crowd of 5,000 
people expected to attend the Gay Pride Parade.  Violent protests by 
ultra-Orthodox extremists are expected to escalate.  Jerusalem's Gay 
and Lesbian Center organizes the parade.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
Noa Sattath, the head of the center, as saying that her organization 
receives about USD 2000,000 a year from the Jewish Federations in 
the US. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "[President Bush] is thinking in terms of a 
generation or two, of how the region will look 50 years from now. 
That is a bird's-eye view of the situation, but it dangerously 
ignores the problems of the present." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The 
only problem is that the enthusiasm with which Washington and 
Jerusalem are leaping into this new-old approach is matched only by 
the consensus that it won't work." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "Now that Gaza has fallen into Hamas's 
hands, no effort should be spared in the attempt to salvage the West 
Bank from extremists.  [Marwan] Barghouti as a free leader could 
greatly assist in achieving that." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "The Egyptians need to understand that there are no 
more excuses and that the burden of proof is theirs to bear now." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in The Jerusalem Post: 
"If the US and Israel are to realize their hopes of a greater 
Egyptian involvement in dealing with the Hamas mini-state that has 
sprung up overnight in Gaza, it will only be achieved by a 
considerable package of incentives, or a serious threat to other 
interests of the Mubarak regime." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Only heavy pressure by the residents [of the Gaza 
Strip], which would reach their leadership, could bring the latter 
to the realization that damage resulting from the continued 
detention of [abducted IDF Corporal Gilad] Shalit is considerably 
more important that its effectiveness." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Between a Vision and a Mirage" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/21): "We should listen to Bush attentively: 
His true vision is not the establishment of a Palestinian state but 
the establishment of the right Palestinian state.  Nor has his 
understanding of the causes and the results of the dispute changed: 
It is not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that fuels the 
extremists, but the extremists who are adding fuel to the conflict. 
And they will not stop until they are defeated -- in Iraq, in 
Lebanon, in Palestine, in Iran, in Syria and in Afghanistan.  Bush 
has apparently long since stopped having gloomy thoughts about his 
public approval rating.  He is thinking in terms of a generation or 
two, of how the region will look 50 years from now.  That is a 
bird's-eye view of the situation, but it dangerously ignores the 
problems of the present, the daily life of the Palestinians who are 
fleeing to the Erez crossing, who do not have 50 years, or even 50 
minutes, to wait. But they will apparently have to wait 
nevertheless." 
 
 
II.  "Missing an Opportunity" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/21): 
"There could hardly have been en more agreement between President 
George Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at their White House 
press conference.... It was hard not to notice an odd sense of 
relief. The previously untenable policy of trying to support the 
better half of a two-headed monster has suddenly been simplified. 
The operation may have been barbaric, but now that Hamas extremists 
and 'Fatah' moderates have separated, the screws can be tightened on 
the former and the floodgates of assistance can be opened to the 
latter.  The only problem is that the enthusiasm with which 
Washington and Jerusalem are leaping into this new-old approach is 
matched only by the consensus that it won't work.... The fall of 
Gaza proves that being against Hamas should not alone qualify Fatah 
for massive Western support, even though Fatah -- with some 
justification -- is seen as no better, and perhaps worse, in 
Palestinian eyes." 
 
III.  "Free Barghouti" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (6/21): "Modern history -- including Israel's 
-- has known national leaders who turned to violence and were jailed 
for years, until they were released to become political leaders who 
marched their peoples toward independence peacefully.  Nelson 
Mandela is one such example.  The leaders of the Zionist 
undergrounds in pre-state Israel are another.  Now, the turn of 
Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan] Barghouti has come.... Fatah's moderate 
leadership is in a serious crisis.  Israel's interest calls for its 
consolidation, albeit after outrageous delays, and no one matches 
Barghouti's ability to achieve that. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's 
promises in Washington that Israel would be willing to take 
'far-reaching' measures to assist the Palestinian Authority's 
emergency government must be backed by immediate action.  Releasing 
prisoners is the first step one should demand of anyone who promises 
such steps.... The Prime Minister's statements must not remain empty 
words -- especially not now, when a practical opportunity for 
dialogue with a moderate Palestinian leadership has presented 
itself.  Now that Gaza has fallen into Hamas's hands, no effort 
should be spared in the attempt to salvage the West Bank from 
extremists.  Barghouti as a free leader could greatly assist in 
achieving that." 
 
 
 
 
IV.  "Let the Egyptians In" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (6/21): "The Gaza Strip today is like a large water 
container with two narrow openings on either side, each of which is 
stopped up with a finger; the water aspires to burst out.  On the 
one side Israel is stopping the flow and on the other side Egypt is. 
 This is a battle of attrition, the results of which are of historic 
proportions.  The first to give in and pull his finger out, even 
cursorily, will find himself flooded eventually with the entire 
amount of the water.  Neither Egypt nor Israel want responsibility 
for the Gaza Strip and that is why both have sealed their border. 
The first one to give in -- Gaza will be theirs.  A gift.... As long 
as Fatah partially controlled the Gaza Strip, the Egyptians consoled 
themselves with the fiction that it would be best were the 
Palestinians to administer Gaza themselves and not Egypt.  At least 
 
that is what they led people to believe.  That is probably why they 
downplayed the importance of the arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. 
 They perceived themselves as mediators at most, and reduced their 
real influence to the minimum possible.  That fiction no longer 
exists.  The Egyptians should have no doubt that the terrorist 
regime in Gaza will radiate outward into the Sinai peninsula and, 
finally, to Cairo itself.  The Egyptians need to understand that 
there are no more excuses and that the burden of proof is theirs to 
bear now: They need to stop letting the weapons into the Gaza Strip 
and they need to intervene there more.  Not only for Israel's sake, 
and I don't expect them to do that for us.  But first and foremost 
for their own regime." 
 
¶V.  "Calling Egypt's Bluff in Gaza" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in The Jerusalem Post 
(6/21): "At their summit in Sharm e-Sheikh in January, Mubarak said 
in Ehud Olmert's presence that the Egyptian efforts against the 
smuggling are sufficient.  The small group of Egyptian officers 
acting as advisers within Gaza were all withdrawn when the current 
round of internecine bloodshed began.  The policy remains not to 
risk even one Egyptian for the Palestinians' sake.  If the US and 
Israel are to realize their hopes of a greater Egyptian involvement 
in dealing with the Hamas mini-state that has sprung up overnight in 
Gaza, it will only be achieved by a considerable package of 
incentives, or a serious threat to other interests of the Mubarak 
regime." 
 
 
VI.  "Yes, Collective Punishment" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (6/21): "The absurd situation is that Abu Mazen and 
his government can possibly afford to totally disconnect from Hamas, 
but at this stage Israel cannot afford that luxury.... Israel must 
talk to the residents [of the Gaza Strip] above the head of their 
government, and clarify to them that the key to some relief in their 
condition lies in an insignificant gesture that they must make. 
Only heavy pressure by the residents, which would reach their 
leadership, could bring the latter to the realization that the 
damage caused by the continued detention of [abducted IDF Corporal 
Gilad] Shalit is considerably more important than its 
effectiveness.... [Hamas] may then return to negotiating a 
prisoner-exchange deal with Israel and somewhat soften their 
claims." 
CRETZ