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P 131015Z JUL 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
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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 reported that the visit of Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice, which was scheduled for next week, has been 
canceled.  Media quoted President Bush as saying during a press 
conference on Thursday that he was "sending Secretary Gates and 
Secretary Rice to the region in early August."  The President was 
 
SIPDIS 
also quoted as saying: "The same Hizbullah terrorists who are waging 
war against the forces of democracy in Lebanon are training 
extremists to do the same against coalition forces in Iraq.  The 
same Syrian regime that provides support and sanctuary for Islamic 
Jihad and Hamas has refused to close its airport in Damascus to 
suicide bombers headed to Iraq.  All these extremist groups would be 
emboldened by a precipitous American withdrawal, which would confuse 
and frighten friends and allies in the region." 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post led with remarks that PM Ehud Olmert 
made to ambassadors of EU countries on Thursday: "Syria does not 
want war and neither does Israel, but this does not mean that the 
situation will turn into negotiations. Assad says he wants 
negotiations, but in practice he means negotiations with the United 
States and [President] Bush and not with Israel."  On the other 
hand, leading media quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying in an interview 
published on Thursday in the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur 
that she would not confirm rumors of secret discussions between 
Israel and Syria.  She stressed that Syria supported Hizbullah, was 
tied closely with Iran, and refused to recognize the independence of 
Lebanon, and that peace with Syria would necessitate the 
clarification of those issues as well.  Maariv led with revelations 
by diplomatic and political sources that secret negotiations between 
Israel and Syria have stepped up.  Major media quoted UN Special 
Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process Michael Williams as saying in 
an interview with Reuters on Thursday that Syria has signaled its 
willingness to change its relationship with Iran, Hizbullah, and 
Hamas if progress were made towards a peace deal with Israel. 
Incoming Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) was quoted as 
saying in an interview with Yediot that he is in favor of only Jews 
immigrating to Israel. 
 
Yediot and Globes reported that Channel 2-TV news anchor Gadi 
Sukenik is leaving the station.  Globes reported that Maariv 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner will quit his post in 2008 after five 
years in office. 
 
All media reported that on Thursday a suicide bomber opened fire at 
IDF forces at a roadblock in the northern West Bank, and that they 
returned fire, killing him. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the head of the PA's emergency government, PM 
Salam Fayyad, is developing an overall reform plan that will tackle 
security, the economy and welfare in an effort to "rescue" the West 
Bank from a fate similar to that of the Gaza Strip.  Fayyad's plan 
is focused on improving the daily lives of Palestinians and not on 
negotiations with Israel.  The Arabic-language Assennara quoted 
Israeli sources as saying that the Israeli cabinet decided this week 
to assassinate deposed Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh.  According to 
the newspaper, the decision was forwarded to special security 
forces, which will set a date for carrying it out.  Assennara cited 
a response by Hamas that this is not unlikely to happen since Israel 
has no red lines. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Saturday senior Hizbullah officials will 
participate in a conference in France in which French officials will 
try to mediate the political crisis in Lebanon.  The conference is 
scheduled to last until Monday.  Even though France is hosting the 
meeting, the diplomatic efforts also involve Iran and Saudi Arabia, 
which have made their own proposals on how Lebanon could emerge from 
the political impasse.  A Hizbullah spokesman, Dr. Hussain Rahal, 
was quoted as saying in an interview with the Arabic-language Kull 
al-Arab that through its resistance, the movement's victory against 
Israel succeeded in bringing back trust in the souls of Arabs and 
Muslims.  According to Rahal, Hizbullah has recovered its 
"militarily" abilities and has become stronger than before and if 
Israel initiates a second aggression it will pay the price.... Rahal 
was quoted as saying that Hizbullah is aware of the "invasion" of 
Israeli journalists into Lebanon and that Siniora's government bears 
responsibility for this. 
 
Leading media cited a document from US counterterrorism analysts 
that Al-Qaida has regained its pre 9/11 strength. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the USG has reaffirmed its 
commitment to ensuring that Holocaust survivors who worked in the 
Third Reich's ghettos receive the benefits for which many of them 
qualify under law. 
 
Maariv printed an archive picture of Cabinet Secretary Yisrael 
Maimon with President Bush.  Maimon gave the newspaper an interview 
focusing on Olmert's performance. 
 
Assennara quoted Qatari sources as saying that former MK Azmi 
Bishara has received a Qatari passport and is now under the 
protection and sponsorship of the Qatari prince and considered an 
unofficial refugee. 
 
Yediot ran a feature about Avraham Rabby, the first handicapped US 
diplomat.  The newspaper claims that Rabby is the only US diplomat 
who has retained his Israeli citizenship. 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday oligarch Arkady Gaidamak 
founded a new party -- Social Justice.  Yediot published the details 
of a French court's indictment of Gaidamak: the sale of old Eastern 
European weapons to Angola and Cameroon at exorbitant prices; the 
establishment of a lobby in Paris to protect his business; and the 
filling of bank accounts around the world to the tune of USD 463 
million over four years. The newspaper cited Gaidamak's denials. 
 
The Arabic-language Panorama cited the results of an Israel 
Radio/Panorama poll: Israelis believe that the chances of war 
erupting during the coming year are low to medium.  In case of war 
along the Lebanese border, the majority of Israelis trust neither 
the Israeli government nor Olmert or Defense Minister Ehud Barak. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Weapons of war may be more 
sophisticated today, but the basic approach formulated by David 
Ben-Gurion in the early days of the state is still valid -- move the 
war to enemy territory and keep it short." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Nasrallah ... not only became Iran's representative in Lebanon, but 
also introduced Iran as an active partner in the political 
process." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Oh, What a War" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/13): "Based on our experience 
in the last war, the threats from Syria and the nuclear armament of 
Iran, all sorts of theories about the battlefield of the future are 
hovering in the air.  With the enemy building up its attack force 
and dangers looming over the home front, the question is not so much 
what kind of scenario the army is preparing for, but how the 
political echelon is readying itself to reach life-or-death 
decisions.  The winner will not be the one with the newest and most 
lethal weapons, but the one whose leaders make the right moves. 
Weapons of war may be more sophisticated today, but the basic 
approach formulated by David Ben-Gurion in the early days of the 
state is still valid -- move the war to enemy territory and keep it 
short." 
 
II.  "Kowtowing to Hizbullah" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(7/13): "It appears that the Israeli dilemma of whether Hizbullah 
emerged from the Second Lebanon War strengthened or weakened has 
been resolved by France.  This weekend, Hizbullah figures will 
arrive in the French town of St. Cloud to conduct a 'national 
Lebanese dialog' under French supervision.  This is the first time 
Hizbullah has been invited to France as a political entity equal to 
the other factions, for a meeting intended to find a solution to 
Lebanon's political future.... Nasrallah thereby not only became 
Iran's representative in Lebanon, but also introduced Iran as an 
active partner in the political process, not only the military one, 
and gave it standing that Tehran will be able to exploit in 
discussions with France on other issues such as nuclear power and 
the future of Iraq.  Hizbullah's status has also made Saudi Arabia 
realize that it must cooperate with Iran on the matter of Lebanon. 
Thus, the two countries conveyed to the Lebanese parties suggestions 
for a solution that might get political life out of the deep freeze 
into which it sank after the war.  In view of these developments, 
apparently the way of thinking that measures Hizbullah's power 
according to the number of rockets or launch pads it has needs to be 
 
revised, in consideration of the strategic leverage the war gave 
this group." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Very liberal columnist B. Michael wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: " It is no wonder that so many people are 
so active nurturing and inflating the Iranian scarecrow -- because 
it is a good, very efficient scarecrow." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"The Iranian Scarecrow" 
 
Very liberal columnist B. Michael wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (7/13): "It is no wonder that so many 
people are so active nurturing and inflating the Iranian scarecrow 
-- because it is a good, very efficient scarecrow.  Failures and 
corruption, political tricks and government coalition ploys can be 
concealed behind its ragged coat.... For instance, the 'uranium 
enrichment by laser' business has recently reemerged.... Dick 
Cheney, one of the fathers of the Iraq war bluff, could not have 
formulated this better to prove once again that Saddam Hussein still 
has closets full of atom bombs.... First, the laser scoop is an old, 
almost prehistoric, story.  It started in 1970 (!) with the 
cooperation of the United States.  An Iranian opposition group 
revived it in 2002.  The Iranians gave it an official seal of 
approval in 2003.... Second, dozens of countries, including Sweden, 
Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Australia, Israel (according to foreign 
sources...), the US, etc., have been researching and testing 
enrichment by laser for decades.  Third, not one of these countries 
has succeeded.... But this does not matter to the spin masters" 
 
JONES