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P 161032Z JUL 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002163 
 
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 
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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.  Swearing-In of Shimon Peres as President of Israel 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media reported that today President Bush will give a special 
address on the Middle East, which is expected to focus on the 
Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process.  Ha'aretz quoted a senior 
Israeli political source who was briefed in advance about the speech 
as saying that it will express a plan for "activism" on the part of 
the Bush administration.  Bush's tone is meant to express his 
approval of the formation of a new PA government under Salam Fayyad, 
as well as the appointment of former British prime minister Tony 
Blair as the Quartet's coordinator.  The speech is also intended to 
reiterate President Bush's commitment to a two-state solution, and 
will offer American support to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  In 
addition to offering new ideas for progress, it is also expected to 
include several demands to Israel.  Ha'aretz quoted the senior 
political source as saying on Sunday: "In the past, it had been 
clear who the good guys and the bad guys were, and so long as Yasser 
Arafat and [later] Hamas were in power in the PA," that was the 
case.  "Now, Bush needs to relate to the two sides as equals," the 
source added.  Yediot reported that on Sunday senior GOI sources 
expressed their concern that President Bush's speech will include 
contents that are uneasy for Israel.  However, the daily quoted 
Olmert associates as saying that the President's outline will not 
impose anything on the sides, and that Bush's speech will be 
balanced.  The President's speech will be made several hours after 
PM Ehud Olmert hosts Abbas at his official residence in Jerusalem. 
Ha'aretz expects the President to make reference to it, as well as 
to the package of measures Israel has undertaken to bolster Abbas 
and the Fayyad government. These include the release of prisoners, 
amnesty to fugitive Fatah militants, and entry permits to veteran 
PLO leaders.  Leading media reported that on Sunday the PA received 
a shipment of weapons from Jordan with Israel's approval. 
 
On Sunday major media reported that in a move aimed at helping PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas gain approval of the new PA 
government, PM Olmert will approve allowing Nayef Hawatmeh, the 
Damascus-based leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of 
Palestine (DFLP), to travel to Ramallah on Wednesday to participate 
in a meeting of the PLO's general assembly.  One of the DFLP's most 
notorious attacks was the raid on a school in Ma'alot in 1974, in 
which 26 people, most of them children, were killed.  On Sunday 
Maariv and other media reported that Israel also allowed the return 
of Farouk Kaddoumi (Abu-Lutuf), Fatah's secretary and the head of 
the PLO's political wing.  Kaddoumi is considered one of the 
strongest opponents in the top echelon of the movement to the Oslo 
agreements.  Over the weekend the media reported that Israel has 
agreed to stop pursuing dozens of Fatah gunmen in the West Bank as 
part of an effort to boost Chairman Abbas. 
 
All media highlighted the swearing-in of Shimon Peres as ninth 
President of Israel.  The media quoted Peres as saying in his 
inaugural address to "devote myself to unifying" the nation.  The 
Jerusalem Post bannered: "Dreaming of Peace, Peres Sworn In as 
President."  Leading media quoted Peres as saying in an interview 
with AP: "We have to get rid of the territories."  Yediot and Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe noted the anger of right-wing politicians over 
Peres's remarks.  Maariv reported that Peres will attempt to revive 
the "London Agreement" that he signed with the late King Hussein of 
Jordan in 1987, according to which Jordan would rule the West Bank. 
 
All media quoted French FM Bernard Kouchner as saying on Sunday that 
the two IDF soldiers abducted by Hizbullah last year are apparently 
alive, and that negotiations for their release are being conducted 
via the UN.  He was speaking at a press conference marking the close 
of two days of talks on the future of Lebanon that were held in the 
town of La Celle Saint-Cloud west of Paris.  The conference was 
attended by representatives of Hizbullah and the Western-backed 
government of Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora.  Israel Radio cited a 
denial by a Hizbullah source.  Yediot quoted diplomatic sources in 
Jerusalem as saying that this is not the first time Hizbullah is 
making such statements about the abductees, and that it should back 
them up with evidence. 
 
Leading media reported that a "senior Iranian official in Damascus" 
told the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan that Iran has a map of 600 
targets deep inside Israel against which the Iranian Army's General 
Staff is prepared to launch missiles in case of a US or Israeli 
offensive against Iran. 
 
Maariv noted that Olmert and Lebanese politician Sa'ad Hariri, the 
son of the assassinated former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri, visited 
Amman at the same time last Wednesday. 
 
On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that on Friday businessman 
Dani Dayan was voted in as the Chairman of the Yesha Council of 
Jewish Settlements in the Territories. 
 
The Jerusalem Post printed an AP wire report that Egyptian 
intelligence chief Omar Suleiman flew to Washington  on Sunday for 
talks with US administration officials.  The report cited 
disagreement between the two countries -- mostly on the issue of 
democracy -- as the reason for the visit. 
 
Leading media reported that Turkey has agreed to loan to Israel for 
a few months the "Siloam Inscription" from the First Temple period, 
which the Ottoman authorities brought to Istanbul in the early 20th 
century.  The artifact had been taken from the Silwan Tunnel in 
Jerusalem. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The influence of the president of the US 
consists mainly of checking a crisis, not of finding a solution." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "Olmert must keep his promise and resume 
negotiations on a permanent status settlement with the Palestinians 
and on the formation of a Palestinian state.  That is the only way 
to truly augment Abbas's standing and that of the moderate 
Palestinian bloc." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "We should disengage from the Palestinian world, 
for better or worse, and focus only upon ourselves." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "[The 
Palestinians] must choose whether to allow the Islamification of 
Gaza to spread to the West Bank, or to move in the opposite 
direction, toward peace with Israel." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "An Envoy, Not a Messiah" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/16): "The next president of the United 
States will operate in the narrow space, barely a crack, between the 
pole of 'practical idealism,' a term coined by incumbent US 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and that of 'realistic 
 
SIPDIS 
idealism,' which is how former US Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright described her recommended foreign policy.  The new policy 
will not overturn US President George W. Bush's decision to try to 
change the face of the Middle East, but it will seek to be more 
flexible in adapting to a day-to-day reality that makes it difficult 
to realize such subversive visions.... The influence of the 
president of the US consists mainly of checking a crisis, not of 
finding a solution.... Rhetoric aside, the arena of Israeli-Arab 
peace will remain of secondary importance, and will be solved only 
in the unlikely case of a local decision to break the ice at one 
fell swoop, as Egyptian president Anwar Sadat did, or, in a vastly 
different way, Yasser Arafat.  Meanwhile, an envoy will arrive, but 
not a Messiah." 
 
II.  "Bolstering the Palestinian Public" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (7/16): "Gestures [made by Ehud Olmert] show 
that he is willing to take a controlled political risk vis-a-vis the 
right-wing bloc in an attempt to express support for Abbas and his 
followers in the West Bank.  But this is not enough.... Even though 
Olmert is meeting with the PA Chairman, the Prime Minister's moves 
will produce no discernible change in the lives of the inhabitants 
of the territories.  In order to 'bolster Abbas's standing,' the 
Palestinian public must see that the chairman's leadership is 
improving their lives, not just promoting Fatah's interests in the 
West Bank.  The gestures must not be restricted to symbolic moves. 
Olmert must keep his promise and resume negotiations on a permanent 
status settlement with the Palestinians and on the formation of a 
Palestinian state.  That is the only way to truly augment Abbas's 
standing and that of the moderate Palestinian bloc..... [Similarly,] 
the push which the Quartet will give the peace process will be 
embodied in launching former UK prime minister Tony Blair's mission 
to the Middle East as the organization's envoy.  It will provide 
significant international backing for Olmert and Abbas's efforts, 
and it will heighten the recognition that the current opportunity, 
unlike others before it, must not be squandered." 
 
III.  "Back to the Illusions of Oslo?" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (7/15): "True, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to 
bolster Fatah and the nationalist stream versus Hamas, but those 
people also use terrorism against Israel.... For ... released 
prisoners, terrorism is the way to earn a living.  It is their way 
of life, their dignity and their self definition.  Moreover, anyone 
who is released in the framework of a deal must prove that he has 
not changed, must prove his status anew, and the way to do this is 
terrorism against Israel.  It is possible that the Israeli 
government still has not come to understand that disengagement is 
what is needed here, since all our involvement in the Palestinian 
arena always ends with a terrible uproar. The things that we think 
will bolster Abu Mazen usually weaken him, and vice versa.... What, 
have we retuned to the delusional years of Oslo?  Those are dreams 
whose time has long since passed, and the Israeli government should 
spare itself the self-deception, the decline and the disappointment 
that follows that, once everything blows up in its face.  It would 
be preferable were Israel to announce that it intends not to 
intervene either now or in the future in the turns of events in 
Palestinian life -- neither in the affairs of Hamas nor with 
compensating Fatah; neither with the needless assassinations in Gaza 
at present nor in the no less delusional prisoner releases.  We 
should disengage from the Palestinian world, for better or worse, 
and focus only upon ourselves." 
 
IV.  "A Palestinian Choice" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/16): 
"Ostensibly, the Palestinian decision to adopt ... a two-state 
solution occurred with Arafat's renunciation of terrorism in 1988, 
or his signing of Oslo in 1993.  In practice, Arafat went to war 
rather than accept a Palestinian state in 2000, and Abbas, whatever 
his desires and intentions, did not lift a finger to start creating 
a state when given the opportunity in the post-Arafat era.... The 
risks that Israel is taking to give the Palestinians yet another 
chance to take such a course should not be minimized.  Based on the 
record, such risks are difficult if not impossible to justify.   For 
the Palestinians, however, the stakes are even higher. They must 
choose whether to allow the Islamification of Gaza to spread to the 
West Bank, or to move in the opposite direction, toward peace with 
Israel.  Until now, Fatah has had the luxury of pretending it had 
decided to make peace with Israel, while keeping the war against 
Israel as alive as it could. Now the price of such a policy will be 
abdication to Hamas, which stands for the policy of never ending the 
war with Israel and never building a state.  There is a limit to 
what Israel, the US or anyone else can do to help Palestinian 
leaders make this choice.  Ultimately, it is their own.  They must 
decide if they want the state they claim to have been fighting for, 
or not. If so, they will have to begin waging peace rather than war, 
and will have to focus inward on building, rather than outward on 
attacking.  As usual, all of us will lose if they make the wrong 
choice." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶2.  Swearing-In of Shimon Peres as President of Israel: 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "Only Peres can simultaneously be a tough 
security oriented politician and a peace-loving dreamer." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In no small way, Peres is responsible for 
the country's quagmire in the territories.  His new role offers him 
a unique opportunity to correct that mistake." 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Number One at Last" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (7/16): "Olmert -- and his successors -- 
will regret the day [Shimon Peres] was born, because Shimon Peres 
does not know how to do nothing.... [Shimon Peres] is the most 
irremediable optimist who ever existed.... Only Peres can 
simultaneously be a tough security oriented politician and a 
peace-loving dreamer.  He has been moving between those poles during 
his entire life, allowing settlers to build Sebastia [the first 
settlement] and spending entire generations in efforts to evacuate 
them later.  He built Dimona [Israel's nuclear program] built 
Israel's defense establishment, and embraced Arafat." 
 
II.  "Peres Must Busy Himself With Peace" 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/16): "The tradition that took root since 
the time of [Israel's first president Chaim] Weizmann assigns the 
president only a symbolic function.  All presidents avoided becoming 
involved in the running of the state and saw their role mostly as 
super-unifiers... Instead of trying to collect the leftovers, the 
new president is invited to stand at the head of the Israeli peace 
camp and utilize his post's prestige to take energetic action toward 
resolving the conflict with the Palestinians.  This way Peres will 
fulfill the wishes of a significant portion of the public, and also 
his own.  He will stray from the tradition that sanctifies the 
political neutrality of the president, but he will work for its 
benefit and instill genuine substance to his post.  In no small way, 
Peres is responsible for the country's quagmire in the territories. 
His new role offers him a unique opportunity to correct that 
mistake.  It is one thing for Peres to be at the head of a 
medium-sized party seeking an agreement with the Palestinians, and 
another to strive for such an end from the Office of the 
President." 
 
JONES