VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #2135/01 1930953
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120953Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2230
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 2448
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 9167
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 2502
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 3253
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 2476
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0429
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3210
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0085
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0553
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 7150
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4563
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 9479
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 3649
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5587
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 7393
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002135 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that an IDF soldier was killed and two others 
lightly wounded in the Gaza Strip.  The radio also reported that two 
Islamic Jihad militants were severely wounded in a clash with IDF 
troops in the El-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will 
arrive in the region on Monday or Tuesday and that it is not certain 
if she will participate in the talks between PM Ehud Olmert and PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas.  The Jerusalem Post reported 
that Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David 
Welch met with Palestinian leaders on Tuesday, and will also hold 
preparatory talks with Israeli leaders ahead of the Rice visit.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted a local US official as saying that there was 
no expectation that Washington would exert pressure on Israel at 
this juncture to make additional concessions following the goodwill 
gestures already taken to boost Abbas. 
 
Leading media quoted Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky as 
saying on Tuesday that the IDF does not anticipate war with Syria 
this summer, although the IDF is prepared to counter any attack on 
Israel -- from Syria, Hizbullah, Iran, or Hamas.  In its lead story, 
Ha'aretz quoted IDF reservists as saying that nothing has changed 
along the northern border and that another kidnapping, like the one 
that sparked last summer's war, is merely a matter of time. 
 
All media reported on the anniversary of the outbreak of the Second 
Lebanon War.  Yediot and its Web site, Ynet, dispatched Rinat 
Makhles, a journalist with the Brazilian daily O Globo, to report 
from Lebanon ("An Israeli In Hizbullah-Land.") 
 
Israel Radio reported that Amnesty International (AI) and Human 
Rights Watch (HRW) have harshly criticized Israel and Lebanon over 
their conduct during the Second Lebanon War.  The radio reported 
that in a statement released Thursday, AI charged that neither 
Israel nor Lebanon has yet investigated allegations of war crimes. 
The group called for a UN inquiry and the imposition of an arms 
embargo on Israel and Hizbullah.  In its reports since the war, AI 
strongly criticized Hizbullah for firing nearly 4,000 rockets at 
Israeli cities and towns, and Israel for bombing civilian areas and 
using cluster bombs in south Lebanon.  Israel Radio reported that 
HRW has issued a similar report. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Egypt has reinforced its troops along the 
Philadelphi Route between the Egyptian and Palestinian parts of 
Rafah.  The move comes in the aftermath of Egyptian intelligence 
suggesting that Hamas would try to use force to open the border. 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Riyad al-Malki, the Palestinian 
emergency government's Information Minister, as saying that 79 
Palestinians who underwent military training in Iran, Syria, and 
Qatar are waiting at Rafah to enter the Gaza Strip. 
 
Israel Radio cited the US-run Radio Sawa as saying that President 
Bush will appoint an ambassador to Libya 35 years after the rupture 
of relations with that country.  Radio Sawa said that the new 
ambassador would be Gene Cretz, the current DCM at the US Embassy to 
Israel. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as 
saying on Thursday that Abbas associates have asked PM Olmert not to 
release the Palestinian Parliament members from Hamas. They warned 
that their release might harm Mahmoud Abbas's ability to act against 
Hamas. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as saying on 
Wednesday that the discussion of ownership of the disputed Sheba 
Farms area on the Lebanese border is premature.  The UN chief spoke 
in London, following a meeting with British PM Gordon Brown, in 
response to a Ha'aretz report earlier on Wednesday saying the UN had 
asked Israel to hand the land over to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. 
UN officials later denied the report, saying "the UN has not asked 
the government of Israel to hand over the Shaba Farms to the UN." 
Ha'aretz also cited the GOI's denial of the report. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted visiting Slovakian FM Jan Kubis as saying 
that his country supports Israel's efforts to stymie Iran's drive to 
develop nuclear weapons. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Likud Chairman 
Binyamin Netanyahu as saying before the Jerusalem Conference on the 
Future of the Jewish People that Iran represents an existential 
threat to Israel, which must act during the time that remains.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu as saying that a "Reverse Manhattan 
Project" is needed against Iran.  Ha'aretz reported that a number of 
delegates attending the conference were surprised to find that 
Jewish-Muslim peace was not even on the agenda for debate.  Maariv 
reported that after a long struggle, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo 
Amar has decided to convert thousands of Russians from the Subbotnik 
community -- one of the "Judaizing Christian sects."  They will 
eventually immigrate to Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post cited economic forecasts for 
2007-2008 published on Tuesday by the Finance Ministry:  The economy 
is set to grow 5 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2008. 
Inflation this year will reach 2.1 percent, and 2.0 percent next 
year.  Unemployment is also predicted to continue to drop. 
 
Ha'aretz cited a World Bank report released on Tuesday, according to 
which Israel and the UAE are the leading Middle Eastern countries in 
the fight against corruption and enacting laws that benefit 
business. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that former Knesset member Naomi 
Blumenthal, who was convicted in 2006 of corruption related to 
Likud's primary elections, reached a plea-bargain deal with Justice 
Minister Daniel Friedmann and will not have to serve a jail term. 
The plea is subject to approval by Acting President Dalia Itzik or 
president-elect Shimon Peres. 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Eran Shayson, the analyst team leader at the Re'ut Institute, a 
non-partisan advisory organization to the Government of Israel, 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Israel knows 
that the only political alternative to the Hamas regime in Gaza is 
al-Qaida.  Therefore, if Israel wishes to stay relevant, it will 
have to recognize Hamas as the true address in Gaza." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "There is no argument about the political 
results of last summer's war: It destroyed the 'big bang,' which 
promised to redraw the map of Israel's political parties but ended 
 
in a whimper." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Hamas Won the Battle -- and It May Win the War, Too." 
 
Eran Shayson, the analyst team leader at the Re'ut Institute, a 
non-partisan advisory organization to the Government of Israel, 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (7/12): " A 
month after its takeover of Gaza, it seems Hamas has begun to 
translate its military achievements into political dividends, while 
Fatah is wallowing in the mud and becoming even less relevant.... 
Most significantly, it was the cautious 'satisfaction' expressed in 
Jerusalem and Washington regarding the split between a Hamas-led 
Gaza and a Fatah-led West Bank, that created the impression that 
Hamas's coup was in fact a hasty move.  Israel and the US seemed to 
have found the formula that would force Hamas to face the 
responsibility towards Gaza's population, while making the Fatah 
government a political partner.  However, a month later, it seems 
that Hamas had the political wisdom to overcome its drawbacks.... 
Israel's frustration with Hamas's buildup emanates mostly from its 
failure to influence the Palestinians' internal balance of power.... 
Therefore, Israel's efforts to strengthen Abbas should be conducted 
wisely.  For example, Abbas should not receive free gifts.... 
Moreover, Israel should seek to transfer powers and authorities to 
the PA.  Only when the West Bank is ruled by a genuinely 
self-governing Palestinian authority will there be a chance for the 
creation of a partner.  The true victory of Hamas is that it leaves 
Israel with no political alternatives vis-a-vis Gaza; Israel knows 
that the only political alternative to the Hamas regime in Gaza is 
al-Qaida.  Therefore, if Israel wishes to stay relevant, it will 
have to recognize Hamas as the true address in Gaza." 
 
II.  "What Remains of the 'Big Bang'?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/12): "One can argue about whether the 
Second Lebanon War weakened Israel's regional status, which in the 
past rested on its deterrent image as a ruffian, or actually brought 
the country closer to an alliance with Arab regimes that fear Iran 
and created new opportunities for peace.  However, there is no 
argument about the political results of last summer's war: It 
destroyed the 'big bang,' which promised to redraw the map of 
Israel's political parties but ended in a whimper.  The choice of 
Ehud Barak as chairman of the Labor Party and his entry into the 
government as defense minister returns Israel to the two-headed, 
two-party system.  The race in the next elections will be between 
Likud and Labor, between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barak.  Kadima, the 
'big bang' party, may survive as a secular kingmaker, but as last 
Friday's Ha'aretz-Dialog poll showed, it will probably not be 
running the country beyond its current term.... The immediate 
political benefit was reaped by Likud, which, after the split in its 
ranks and the establishment of Kadima, had looked like an ephemeral 
right-wing party.  Now, Barak will try to position Labor against 
Likud, perhaps aided by an infusion of ex-Kadima members after the 
elections.... Ironically, the reasons that led Ariel Sharon into the 
'big bang' two years ago, with the encouragement of Haim Ramon and 
Olmert, are just as relevant now as they were then.  Israel still 
needs a new eastern border to end the occupation of the West Bank 
and ease demographic concerns.  The state also needs a more stable 
and functional political system, especially after the war exposed 
the limits of the old 'trust me' system." 
 
JONES