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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001912 
 
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.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media (banner in Yediot) quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying at 
a fundraising event in Haifa on Thursday that his meeting with PA 
President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday will create a "new beginning" 
between Israel and the Palestinians.  "I am going to meet with 
President [Hosni] Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan and 
President Abu Mazen [Abbas] of the Palestinian Authority this coming 
Monday to jointly work on a platform that may lead into a new 
beginning between us and the Palestinians," the PM was quoted as 
saying.  "We will have the support and the involvement of the United 
States of America, whose leader George W. Bush, wants to realize 
while still in office, the dream of a Palestinian state alongside 
the state of Israel in peace and security," Olmert added.  Leading 
media reported that during the upcoming meeting Israel will propose 
a "package of gestures" for the Palestinians, such as releasing USD 
600 million in tax revenues that Israel collected on the PA's 
behalf, providing PA forces with modern weapons, and the removal of 
checkpoints in the West Bank.  The media quoted GOI officials as 
saying that more concessions will be offered, but that a prisoner 
release is not on the agenda.  Yediot reported that Olmert suggested 
that a senior Saudi official take part in the Sharm el-Sheikh 
summit.  The Jerusalem Post wrote that efforts are underway to get 
the Saudis to join future meetings. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that a "senior White House official" 
told the newspaper after the meeting between Olmert and President 
Bush that Israel's restraint weakens the US.  The official was 
quoted as saying that the Israeli failures in Lebanon and the Gaza 
Strip are perceived as an American failure and that Olmert is a very 
weak prime minister. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that despite open backing by UN Secretary-General 
Ban Ki-moon's office of the new Palestinian emergency government, a 
Security Council bid to support Abbas and isolate Hamas has been 
thwarted.  A US initiative for a Security Council declaration of 
confidence in the emergency government was blocked by objections 
from four council members -- Russia, South Africa, Indonesia, and 
Qatar -- on Wednesday.  Ha'aretz quoted UN sources in New York as 
saying that these countries' governments object to the anti-Hamas 
policy and to American and European efforts to isolate the group as 
a terror organization.  The South African Ambassador argued that the 
international community, especially the US, Israel and the Quartet, 
are to blame for the situation in the Gaza Strip.  The Indonesian 
Ambassador complained that the Security Council was devoting time 
and energy to discussions of Lebanon but ignoring the Palestinian 
problem.  The Palestinian observer to the UN also objected to a 
declaration of support for the emergency government.  The observer 
argued that such a declaration would constitute intervention in the 
PA's internal affairs. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that fearing a humanitarian crisis, the 
Defense Ministry is considering parachuting food into the Gaza 
Strip, or sending in tanks and troops to take over the Palestinian 
side of the Karni cargo crossing to oversee supplies.  Leading media 
reported that on Thursday Israel evacuated about 60 Palestinian 
residents but that half of them refused to enter Israel and insisted 
on returning to Gaza.  Media reported that on Thursday ten 
truckloads of basic foodstuffs, provided by King Abdullah II of 
Jordan, entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. 
 
Major media reported that on Thursday the PLO's Central Council 
called for disarming all armed militias in the PA, including Hamas's 
Executive Force and Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.  Yediot 
reported that Abbas intends to declare Hamas a terrorist 
organization. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted former Palestinian FM Mahmoud Zahar (Hamas) as 
saying in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel: "We will 
establish an Islamic state only after we have a Palestinian state. 
At present we want to establish an Islamic society."  Maariv 
reported on the presence of Iranian military experts in the Gaza 
Strip. 
 
Major media reported that in Washington on Thursday Likud Chairman 
Binyamin Netanyahu told reporters that the Jordanian-Palestinian 
Badr Brigade should help maintain order in the West Bank.  Ha'aretz 
also quoted Netanyahu as sayng and that Egypt should act to prevent 
arms smuggling along its border with Gaza.  Speaking on Israel Radio 
this morning, former FM Silvan Shalom (Likud) blasted the idea of 
bringing the Badr Brigade to the West Bank, saying that the force 
might turn against Israel.  Maariv, The Jerusalem Post, and Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe printed pictures of Netanyahu with Sen. Hillary 
Rodham Clinton. 
 
In its lead story, Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday Syrian Vice 
President Farouk Shara downplayed prospects of peace with Israel, 
saying that crucial American support was lacking.  In the first 
official Syrian comments on the matter, Shara said in Damascus: "We 
are not optimistic.  The US President does not want peace between 
Israel and Syria." 
 
Israel Radio and other media reported that the US Congress has taken 
USD 200 million off the assistance to Egypt because that country has 
allowed weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.  The radio also 
reported that Congress has taken financial measures against Hamas. 
 
Saying that the IAF is boosting its offensive "long-range" 
exercises, Maariv reported on increasing contacts between Israel and 
the US regarding possible attacks against Iran.  The Jerusalem Post 
also reported on growing IAF-USAF cooperation.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe 
reported that on Wednesday Russian FM Sergey Lavrov met with Iranian 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.  The newspaper and The 
Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday US Congress members 
passed, 411 to 2, a non-binding resolution calling on the US 
Security Council to put Ahmadinejad on trial for infringing the UN 
Genocide Treaty. 
 
Maariv cited Arab media as saying that Syrian President Bashar 
Assad, who fears that Israel might endanger his regime, plans to 
smuggle his personal fortune out of Syria. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that three experts told the US Congress 
on Wednesday that a historic window of opportunity to put Hizbullah 
on the EU terror list has opened following the French elections. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Mumtaz Dughmush, the head of the 
Gaza clan that has been holding BBC correspondent Alan Johnston for 
the past 100 days, is refusing to release the journalist for fear 
that Hamas will kill him and most of his clan members. 
 
Maariv reported that through the Greek Orthodox Church -- a 
significant landowner in Israel -- Jordanian Prince Ghazi, a cousin 
of the late King Hussein, is trying to take over thousands of dunams 
(one dunam equals approximately 0.25 acres) of precious real estate 
in Israel, including land on which the Knesset building was 
erected. 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that "Obsession: Radical Islam's War 
Against the West," a documentary produced in Israel and screened 
widely throughout the US, is stirring furious debate over its 
depiction of Muslims.  The film is gaining a quick following among 
conservative Americans, Evangelicals, and Jews.  Vice President Dick 
Cheney is said to have seen the film and though it has not 
technically been released yet, segments have been screened several 
times on Fox News and shown on nearly 200 university campuses. 
However, the newspaper said that critics of the film dismiss it as 
"fear-mongering" propaganda aimed at bashing Muslims and inciting 
bigotry and hate. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a source in the IDF's Civil Administration as saying 
that residents of the West Bank settlement outpost of Adei Ad 
uprooted 300 olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers about a 
week ago.  Ha'aretz cited claims by the settlers' regional council 
that the orchard had been worked by Jews for years. 
 
Ha'aretz and Yediot quoted close associates of Olmert as saying that 
Interior Minister Roni Bar-On is likely to replace Abraham Hirchson 
as finance minister. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Russian tycoon Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor, an 
associate of President Vladimir Putin, is the leading candidate for 
president of the European Jewish Congress in next week's elections 
in Brussels.  Kantor is supported by a number of European Jewish 
community leaders, but a few have warned against electing a close 
ally of the Russian government.  Ha'aretz cited the fear of some 
Israeli officials that as president of the umbrella organization, 
Kantor could undermine Israel's efforts to prevent Iran from 
developing nuclear weapons.  Ha'aretz quoted Kantor as saying that 
his close links to the Kremlin are good for the Jews and might prove 
helpful on the Iranian issue. 
 
Ha'aretz published a series of appreciative obituaries of its senior 
defense commentator Zeev Schiff, who passed away this week.  Israeli 
president-elect Shimon Peres, former US ambassador to Israel Martin 
Indyk, Executive Director of the Washington Institute Robert 
Satloff, and former ambassador to the US Itamar Rabinovich, are 
among the writers. 
 
Yediot reported that Israelis who convicted of drunk driving or 
similar offenses are likely to be refused a US visa.  The newspaper 
quoted Israeli lawyers as saying that the US has access to Israeli 
criminal records so that lying when applying for a visa is useless. 
Yediot quoted sources at Israel Police headquarters as saying that 
in certain cases the US and Israel exchange information about their 
citizens. 
 
Globes reported that the leading US healthcare company Boston 
Scientific is purchasing the Israeli medical equipment firm Rimon 
Medical for USD 80 million. 
 
Ha'aretz, Yediot, and Maariv cited the results of a poll published 
on Thursday by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and 
Survey Research.  Some 75 percent of Palestinians favor new 
elections.  The poll, conducted during and after last week's Hamas 
takeover of Gaza, found that 49 percent back Abbas for president and 
42 percent favor former PM Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.  But if 
imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti were to run, he would win 
59 percent to Haniyeh's 35 percent.  Some 59 percent said that Hamas 
and Fatah are equally to blame for the factional fighting in Gaza, 
while 70 percent said the chances of getting a Palestinian state in 
the next five years are slim. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner and diplomatic correspondent 
Aluf Benn wrote from Washington in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "In conversations within the US and Israel this week, we 
heard doubts that go beyond questions of timing to those of 
substance: Is the idea of an independent Palestinian state still 
valid?" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea and diplomatic correspondent Shimon 
Shiffer wrote from Washington in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "On the Palestinian issue, Olmert has become the 
salesman for the new Abu Mazen." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Since Abbas is the moderate, he must be 
supported, and Bush's expectation is that Israel will do everything 
it can to support him as well." 
 
Michael Freund, who was an assistant to former prime minister 
Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "We should never 
have left [the Gaza Strip] in the first place, and the time has now 
come to return." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "A Moment of Clarity" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner and diplomatic correspondent 
Aluf Benn wrote from Washington in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (6/22): "During the Bush-Olmert meeting, the Americans 
described their thorough examination of the Palestinian constitution 
to determine whether it allows for the removal of the Hamas 
government and its replacement by the Fatah emergency government. 
To the Israelis, who are dismissive of the fine points of 
Palestinian law, it seemed strange: 'The Americans are going too far 
in judging our conflict in their own terms,' an Olmert aide said. 
Washington wants to demonstrate consistency and loyalty to 
principles, however.  Its decision to extend wholehearted support to 
the emergency government does not make life easier for the State 
Department's public relations people.  If they talk about democracy, 
they will be reminded that they did everything possible to 
neutralize the Hamas victory in the elections.  If they speak of 
peace, they will be accused of colluding with the Israelis to 
dictate the nature of the Palestinian leadership.  When they try to 
convince the Arabs of the honesty of their intentions, the Americans 
proceed cautiously: How can they explain their position to the Arabs 
without harming Israel?.... Bush and Olmert conducted the most 
effective propaganda show possible under the present circumstances. 
Olmert looked as though he wanted a Palestinian state even more than 
the Palestinians themselves do, and Bush appeared to believe in the 
two-state vision even more than the Israelis and the Palestinians. 
But in conversations within the US and Israel this week, we heard 
doubts that go beyond questions of timing to those of substance: Is 
the idea of an independent Palestinian state still valid?" 
 
II.  "Fellow Sufferers" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea and diplomatic correspondent Shimon 
Shiffer wrote from Washington in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (6/22): "On the Palestinian issue, Olmert has become 
the salesman for the new Abu Mazen.  'I hope that the shock of the 
atrocities in Gaza shook him up,' he said to Bush.  'Perhaps he has 
broken free of his previously held illusions that it is possible to 
work with a government that includes Hamas.  The fact is that the 
decisions that he has made in the past few days were not made 
beforehand.'  Olmert could have said to the Americans: I told you 
 
so, I warned you about Hamas.   My hands are clean.  Instead of 
bemoaning the reality, he preferred to present it as an opportunity. 
 Bush seized the idea of the opportunity with both hands.   Like 
Olmert, he felt that he has to market a vision to his public, to 
demonstrate control.  The chances that something will come of this 
are not high, but in the meantime, it is best to concentrate on the 
chances.  For Bush, the crisis in the Palestinian Authority fits 
into a larger worldview, which in the eyes of most Israelis, and not 
just the Israelis, is groundless.  The avalanche in Gaza was part of 
a global struggle of sons of light against sons of darkness.  Fatah, 
like Israel, represents democracy.   Hamas is the opposite of Fatah: 
It represents benighted Islamic fanaticism.  The US has an absolute 
commitment to defend democracy everywhere.  It is embracing Abu 
Mazen not for utilitarian reasons, but on the basis of a profound 
moral awareness.  It could even be said that OlmertQs marketing ploy 
succeeded too well.   He knows that Abu Mazen is a feeble support. 
Tomorrow or the day after he may join forces with Hamas again or 
disappear, he and his men, as they disappeared in Gaza.  'Reality is 
what will determine matters,' said Olmert to his American 
interlocutors, 'not dreams.'" 
 
III.  "Fumbled in Mid-Pass" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (6/22): "It was planned to have been much 
different, Ehud Olmert's third trip to the US as prime minister.... 
This visit was designed to shift the focus in Israel from Olmert's 
political problems to his role as statesman.  It was intended to be 
an important step along the route toward the embattled premier's 
overall rehabilitation.  But then Hamas intervened, and the focus of 
Olmert's talks this week in the US shifted from boosting Olmert to 
bolstering Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  As much as 
the US is comfortable with Olmert and the current configuration of 
the Israeli government, the survivability of Abbas and the success 
of the 'moderate Palestinian camp' is even more important to Bush's 
overall policy in the Middle East.  And this explains why Olmert, 
though in the spotlight in Washington, was actually only a 
supporting player.... It is critically important for the US right 
now that Abbas not be tackled by the extremists, and this is 
important not simply within the context of US strategy throughout 
the Middle East.... Bush has little choice at this point but to 
support Abbas.  The US must demonstrate to others in the Arab world 
now that in times of need it does not abandon its allies.... Since 
Abbas is the moderate, he must be supported, and Bush's expectation 
is that Israel will do everything it can to support him as well." 
IV.  "Take Back Gaza Now" 
 
Michael Freund, who was an assistant to former prime minister 
Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in The Jerusalem Post (6/22): "As 
important as diplomacy is, it pales in comparison with protecting 
the lives of innocent Jewish men, women, and children.  When it 
comes to safeguarding the welfare of its citizens, Israel has no 
choice but to put aside all other considerations and to act to 
defend itself.  For no matter does, or does not do, the blame is 
inevitably hurled our way.  So we might as well do what we must, and 
proudly raise the blue and white flag once again over the sand dunes 
of Gaza.  We should never have left in the first place, and the time 
has now come to return.  Like it or not, the choice between Israel 
or Hamas ruling the area really doesn't leave us with much choice at 
all.  So Gaza, here we come!" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "The Persian Gulf is brimming with American aircraft 
carriers.  The Israel Air Force runs 'long-range' training 
flights." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Positive News on the Iranian Front" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (6/22): "Israeli sources knowledgeable of the contacts with 
the United States say: 'Everything we suggested them in the Iranian 
affair has been accepted, including timetables.  There are no 
disagreements at all between us and them on this issue.'  The news 
is good regarding stiffer economic sanctions being imposed on Tehran 
and information flowing back and forth between Tel Aviv and 
Washington -- including explicit names of banks active in 
transferring funds from Iran.... The main problem is the small 
amount of information about Iran's secret nuclear program.... The 
Persian Gulf is brimming with American aircraft carriers.  The 
Israel Air Force runs 'long-range' training flights.  Those are 
long-range offensive flights that include refueling in mid-air. 
They are meant to prevent any trouble or to practice an attack -- 
whatever happens." 
 
CRETZ