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DE RUEHTV #1930/01 1761344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251344Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 2394
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RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 2393
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0312
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3131
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0004
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0475
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 7071
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4487
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 9397
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 3572
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5516
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 7222
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001930 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Over the weekend the media extensively reported on the four-way 
meting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, PM Ehud Olmert, PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas, and Jordanian King Abdullah II 
slated to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh today.  Maariv bannered: 
"Anti-Hamas Summit."  Leading media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying 
at Sunday's cabinet meeting that "it was necessary to take risks" 
but that he had no illusions about Chairman Abbas and that he did 
not want to give anyone the mistaken impression that "we are on the 
brink of a dramatic breakthrough."  According to Israel Radio, 
Olmert referred to the possibility that Abbas could make a mistake 
similar to the signing of the Mecca Agreement with Hamas.  The media 
reported that the cabinet voted on a resolution to "renew 
transferring tax revenue" to the PA.  PM Olmert will bring up the 
decision at the summit.  Only Yisrael Beiteinu ministers Avigdor 
Lieberman and Yitzhak Aharonovitch voted against the decision. 
Ha'aretz wrote that on Sunday, in their reports to a meeting of 
Olmert, FM Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, most 
security chiefs opposed lifting the roadblocks and recommended that 
the travel restrictions remain unchanged until it is possible to 
better evaluate security conditions in the West Bank.  The security 
chiefs were quoted as saying that they are concerned about Hamas's 
plans to carry out suicide bombings and that they consider the 
restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank to be the most 
efficient way to prevent this.  Ha'aretz said that Barak asked for 
more time to evaluate the situation.  Maariv reported that both 
Olmert and Abbas are interested in bringing international forces 
such as NATO to the region. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted President-elect Shimon Peres as saying on 
Sunday that Israel should extend economic assistance to the 
Palestinians in the West Bank.  Peres was talking to the opening of 
the Jewish Agency Assembly. 
 
Leading media quoted PA officials as saying that during today's 
summit Abbas is expected to demand the release of hundreds of Fatah 
prisoners -- including Marwan Barghouti -- from Israeli jails.  On 
 
Sunday Maariv reported that former PM Ariel Sharon had planned to 
release Barghouti in exchange for convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. 
 
On Sunday Ha'aretz revealed that during his visit to the US last 
week, PM Olmert rejected a proposal by Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice that Israel negotiate a permanent settlement with 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  Rice supports talks 
on a "shelf agreement" that would outline the permanent settlement 
but not be implemented immediately because of Abbas' weak standing. 
In Rice's view, merely reaching such an agreement in principle would 
provide the Palestinians with a "political horizon" and hope, 
thereby encouraging them to fight terror and to establish governing 
institutions in preparation for an independent state.  Ha'aretz said 
that FM Tzipi Livni shares Rice's approach, but that Olmert is 
strongly opposed to the idea.  He believes that any settlement 
reached should be implemented, and fears a situation in which Israel 
approves the agreement, but Abbas fails to sell it to the 
Palestinian public.  In that event, Israel might be pressured to 
make further concessions to make Abbas's task easier. 
 
All media reported that an Islamic Jihad gunman was killed and two 
other wounded when an IAF aircraft targeted a car traveling in 
eastern Gaza City on Sunday night, the fist such attack since Hamas 
took over the Gaza Strip earlier this month.  The IDF was quoted as 
saying that the man killed, Hussan Khalil al-Hur, had fired Qassam 
rockets as Sderot earlier in the day, which resulted in injuries to 
three people.  Media quoted Israeli military sources as saying that 
he was also suspected of manufacturing the rockets.  The Jerusalem 
Post quoted sources close to Mahmoud Abbas as saying that he decided 
to incorporate Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades into the PA security 
forces in the West Bank. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet 
on Sunday that Hamas is planning to carry out suicide bombings in 
order to undermine the efforts by Israel and the West to bolster 
Abbas.  Diskin also warned that the impression that Fatah is 
powerful in the West Bank is only an illusion.  On Sunday Maariv 
cited new data collected by Western intelligence officials and 
diplomats about Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.  Three countries 
knew about Hamas's planned coup in Gaza in advance and supported it: 
Iran, Syria and Qatar.  The coup was meticulously planned by Hamas's 
military wing.  The planning was completed in the course of a 
meeting that was held a few days before D-Day in Damascus. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that John Ging, Director of UN Relief 
and Works Agency (UNRWA) Operations in Gaza, told the newspaper that 
the passage of basic staples into Gaza through two secondary border 
crossings under Israeli control averted an immediate humanitarian 
crisis on Sunday.  Ging warned that this was only a stop gap 
measure. 
 
All media reported that on Sunday six UNIFIL soldiers were killed in 
a car bomb attack.  The Jerusalem Post and Yediot quoted Israeli 
officials as saying that terror cells affiliated with Al Qaida -- 
and possibly also responsible for last Sunday's Katyusha rocket 
attack on Kiryat Shmona -- were the prime suspects. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Sunday Assistant NATO 
Secretary-General John Colston told the newspaper that Israel moved 
 
SIPDIS 
a step closer toward joining global NATO missions after the IDF 
agreed to upgrade relations and joint military training and 
exercises to enhance interoperability with NATO. 
 
The media reported that the deputy head of the Mossad, "N.," a 
likely candidate to replace the chief of Israel's external 
intelligence organization, Meir Dagan, in the fall of 2008, has 
stepped down after a falling-out with his boss.  To fill the 
unexpected vacancy, Dagan restored his former deputy, "T.," to the 
post.  "T." had been "on loan" to the IDF. 
 
Major media reported that the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem 
plans to publish a statement today that holding IDF Cpl. Gilad 
Shalit hostage is a "war crime."  On Sunday The Jerusalem Post 
reported that the Franco-Israeli community will start a public 
relations campaign to get French President Nicolas Sarkozy to help 
bring about the release of Shalit, who has dual French and Israeli 
citizenship. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that several months ago an attempt failed to 
arrange a meeting between Shimon Peres, the Vice PM and now 
president-elect, and a senior Saudi figure. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that several Jewish organizations 
expressed outrage following the publication of opinion pieces penned 
by Ahmed Yousef, a political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, in 
The New York Times and The Washington Post. 
 
Yediot reported that Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik met with Olmert in 
an attempt to convince him to name Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu 
finance minister, and that Olmert promised to consider her proposal. 
 The newspaper reported that Itzik wants Olmert to form a national 
unity government.  Media noted that Education Minister Yuli Tamir 
(Labor) might pay the price of a cabinet reshuffle.  On Sunday The 
Jerusalem Post and other media quoted Kadima Party officials as 
saying that Olmert favors MK Ham Ramon for finance minister. 
 
Maariv reported that for the first time the State Department 
determined that every American citizen born in greater Jerusalem 
will be registered as a native of Israel.  The newspaper reported 
that senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials are refraining from 
granting special importance to the new policy. 
 
On Sunday Yediot reported that a temporary solution to the problem 
of African refugees seeking asylum in Israel is taking shape: Israel 
will not allow the refugees to stay in the country, but instead will 
grant temporary asylum before their transfer to a friendly African 
country. 
 
Media reported that on Sunday the cabinet eased the acquisition 
process of Israeli passports.  Maariv noted that oligarchs will be 
able to obtain passports even if they do not intend to live in the 
country. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Talla-Tech, the Tallahassee, 
Florida-based subsidiary of Israel's Tadiran Communications, 
recently said it has received US Army purchase orders worth about 
USD 18.5 million for the latest generation Rugged Personal Digital 
Assistant RPDA computers. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Citigroup has selected the Israeli 
market as a relative outperformer among the regional markets in 
Central-Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. 
 
Media speculated about the possibility that New York City Mayor 
Michael Bloomberg might become the first Jewish president of the US. 
 Last week Bloomberg announced he was becoming an independent. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "It is a pity 
to waste [the circumstances of] the emergency in the territories and 
the neighboring leaders' moment of willingness on marginal gestures. 
 The Prime Minister must come to Sharm el-Sheikh with an agenda.  He 
should leave his trinkets at home." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Premature gestures, besides risking Israeli lives, also greatly 
reduce the incentive for Abbas to act." 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "The willingness to pay Abu Mazen in advance, immediately, 
created a new level of demands." 
 
Veteran journalist Yaron London wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "It is doubtful whether increasing the 
economic support for the PA will do anything to change the political 
culture of the Palestinians." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv: "Hamas is like 
a young snake that swallowed a cow.  Now let us see it digest that 
thing." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: "Israeli 
intelligence officials are already warning that the opposite of 
peace is imminent war between Israel and Syria. This means that Bush 
is refusing to help prevent another round of blood-letting." 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "An Agenda, Not Gestures" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/25): "Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert's actions and statements heighten the 
impression that he does not appreciate the seriousness of the new 
reality after Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip.  On the other hand, 
concern is growing that Olmert and his coalition partners, among 
them the new-old defense minister, are about to miss the opportunity 
to enlist moderate Arab countries to strengthen pragmatic forces in 
the territories and prevent the West Bank from becoming a second 
Gaza.... As was reported in Ha'aretz on Sunday, during his visit to 
Washington last week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected a proposal 
by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to begin negotiations with 
Abbas on a 'shelf agreement'.... The Prime Minister maintained his 
bad-old approach that negotiations on a two-state solution are a 
prize to the Arabs for good behavior.  It seems that the lessons of 
the past seven years are insufficient for policy makers to 
understand the fate of politicians and Palestinian police who 
cooperate with a foreign regime.  It is a pity to waste [the 
circumstances of] the emergency in the territories and the 
neighboring leaders' moment of willingness on marginal gestures. 
The Prime Minister must come to Sharm el-Sheikh with an agenda.  He 
should leave his trinkets at home." 
 
II.  "An Experiment in Israeli Lives" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/25): 
"Shouldn't Israel remain open to the possibility that an important 
corner has been turned and all this will now change?  The answer is 
yes, but not by risking Israeli lives; rather, by being forthcoming 
in response to actual changes in Palestinian behavior.... If Abbas 
is taking action against terrorism, there will be no reason for the 
IDF not to reduce its presence in the West Bank substantially.  But 
it is unacceptable for the Palestinians to demand, let alone for 
Olmert to offer, that Israel let its guard down first and see what 
happens.  This would amount to experimenting with Israeli lives.... 
Premature gestures, besides risking Israeli lives, also greatly 
reduce the incentive for Abbas to act.  Indeed, Abbas needs Israeli 
conditionality to justify taking action.  The standard Abbas 
justification for opposing terrorism is, unfortunately, not moral 
but pragmatic: on the grounds that terror is not in the Palestinian 
interest.  Putting the cart of security concessions before the horse 
of a Palestinian crackdown against terrorism endangers Israelis, 
deprives Abbas of his main reason to act, and thereby endangers the 
chances, however slim, of moving forward." 
 
III.  "Haste Is From the Devil" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv 
(6/25): "What was the urgency that caused the government on Sunday 
to decide immediately on giving approximately USD 600 million to the 
Palestinians?  Even a government that believes that the payment is 
inevitable and that the Palestinian Authority is entitled to the 
funds should have reined in its eagerness.  Why before the four-way 
summit being held today at Sharm el-Sheikh?  It could be done during 
the summit, or after it.  It is not advisable to do so before it.... 
The willingness to pay Abu Mazen in advance, immediately, created a 
new level of demands: The money is already in his pocket, and he can 
take advantage of the meeting for additional demands -- a prisoner 
release.  In particular, the release of Marwan Barghouti.  A demand 
to remove IDF roadblocks in the West Bank, the reduction of which is 
a recipe for rebuilding the Hamas infrastructure in the territories. 
 Arms and weaponry for Abu Mazen's Fatah.  Had the government not 
released the funds on Sunday, Olmert would only have been urged at 
the summit to release the frozen taxes.  Now he can expect to be 
subjected to further pressures.... Despite the fact that Olmert is 
arriving in a position of inferiority, he must bargain.  Haste is 
from the devil.  He can borrow a successful slogan from his rival 
Binyamin Netanyahu: 'If they give, they will receive.'" 
 
IV.  "Money is Not the Solution" 
 
Veteran journalist Yaron London wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/25): "The aid that the UN Relief and 
Works Agency has been supplying since 1948 to the Palestinians and 
their descendants has paralyzed their ability to rehabilitate 
themselves.  Their weakness is one of their reasons for their 
political behavior, and therefore it is doubtful whether increasing 
the economic support for the PA will do anything to change the 
political culture of the Palestinians.  Contrary to the doctrine of 
the Bush school of thought, imposed and imported democratization 
does not have the power to educate people.  Chile's economy actually 
became stronger under the rule of Augusto Pinochet.  South Korea 
began its journey towards wealth during the long reign of the 
dictator Park Chung Hee.  China's economy is advancing at a dizzying 
pace despite the fact that its regime is one of the most loathsome 
in the world.  My assumption may sound strange, but it is not 
impossible that benighted Hamastan will gather up strength and 
improve its economic situation, whereas Fatahland, the regime of 
which is closer to democracy, will become impoverished." 
 
¶V.  "The Snake that Swallowed a Cow" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv (6/24): "Hamas 
is like a young snake that swallowed a cow.  Now let us see it 
digest that thing.  In the meantime, it is lying in the sun, 
half-passed-out, enervated, bloated and paralyzed.  Suddenly it is 
vulnerable.  From being a hunter it has become hunted.  It has a 
huge cow in its stomach, how is it going to feed it?  What is it 
going to do with it?  Suddenly, Hamas has exposed itself to 
governmental responsibility.  Suddenly, it is not the alternative 
but the real thing.  It is the one who is going to have to deliver 
the goods.... The events in Gaza last week unleashed all of the most 
fundamental powers and emotions of the dissolving Palestinian 
society.  The folks in Ramallah finally understood what the Israelis 
have been saying to them since 1996.  That Hamas poses a greater 
threat to them than to us.  That if they did not stop the Hamas 
extremists, Israel would be forced to do so.  And now it is here.... 
Outwardly, the Palestinians have been saying quietly that they hope 
and pray that weQll do the job for them.  'Barak will give Hamas its 
blow,' they say hopefully.  Barak will take care of Gaza.  The 
Israelis will pummel Hamas.  Why?  Because that is all they have 
got.  They look ahead and see only a pit at the end of the tunnel. 
They know that they are liable to fall into that pit.  So let Israel 
go there first." 
 
VI.  "With Friends Like These..." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (6/25): 
"American intervention was one of the primary considerations leading 
to the Egyptian, Palestinian, and Jordanian decision to reach a 
diplomatic settlement with Israel.... The US President's shrugging 
off of responsibility for the peace process that began in Madrid in 
1991, under his father's baton, ruined one of Israel's most 
important strategic assets: the belief, which bought a grace period 
from its neighbors, that the only place that was selling tickets to 
Washington and the right to enjoy its favors was in Jerusalem. 
Officials in Olmert's government are sighing in great relief over 
the lowering of the American profile.  To understand the depth of 
these leanings, one must go to Damascus.  Vice President Farouk 
Shara interpreted Bush's statements using the following harsh, but 
accurate, words: 'The President of the US does not want peace 
between Israel and Syria.'  Israeli intelligence officials are 
already warning that the opposite of peace is imminent war between 
Israel and Syria. This means that Bush is refusing to help prevent 
another round of blood-letting." 
 
JONES