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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002620 
 
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 
 
¶3.  Turkey 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on the meeting between PM Ehud Olmert and PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas.   The Jerusalem Post reported 
that on Tuesday officials from both sides adamantly denied that an 
agreement on principles dealing with Jerusalem, borders, and 
refugees was exchanged between the two leaders.  Al Jazeera-TV 
broadcast on Tuesday what it claimed was the two-page document drawn 
up by the two sides, but Israel dismissed the report as false. 
Yediot and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Olmert and Abbas will 
strive to draft such a document for the international meeting 
expected in November.  Yediot reported that Gideon Saar, head of the 
Knesset's Likud faction, will direct PM Olmert to bring the 
agreement to Knesset approval.  Yediot reported that Dani Dayan, 
Chairman of the Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories, 
urged right-wing and center Knesset members to work toward toppling 
the government and thwarting the incipient agreement of principles. 
 
Israel Radio reported that PM Olmert's bureau blamed Hamas for the 
failure to release abducted IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit three months ago 
(four months ago, according to some media).  Media reported that the 
list of 450 prisoners presented by Hamas included the perpetrators 
of some of the worst bombings of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.  The media 
quoted Gilad's father Noam Shalit as saying at a public rally in Tel 
Aviv on Tuesday: "The team dealing with the issue of Gilad's return, 
under the leadership of PM Olmert, has failed." 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to replace 
permanent checkpoints in the West Bank with mobile ones, thus easing 
restrictions on Palestinian traffic while still safeguarding 
Israel's security.  However, he believes that such a change cannot 
be implemented immediately, as the IDF must first train a sufficient 
number of troops in the new methods, which is likely to take some 
time. 
 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PA officials told the newspaper on 
Tuesday that EU security officials have been conducting secret talks 
with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks.  The 
newspaper cited denial of the report by EU and Israeli officials. 
 
Maariv reported that the IDF has transferred its training of troops 
to the Negev rather than on the Golan.  The newspaper reported that 
the Israeli defense establishment has reached the conclusion that 
tensions with Syria are over. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday Ra'anan Dinur,  Director General 
of  the Prime Minister's Office, told the Knesset Committee on 
Foreign Workers that Israel is considering the construction of a 
border fence in cooperation with Egypt to prevent the passage of 
terrorists, smugglers, and asylum-seekers between the two countries. 
 Egypt has yet to respond to the proposal.  Construction of the 
fence unilaterally by Israel would cost between 2.5 and 3 billion 
shekels (approximately USD 605 million to 725 million).  Ha'aretz 
quoted officials in Jerusalem as saying that it was unlikely Egypt 
would agree to the fence's construction, and that a unilateral move 
would damage the relations between the two countries.  Dinur also 
told the committee that Israel would take in some 500 refugees from 
Darfur who had infiltrated from Egypt over the past two years, and 
that PM Olmert would present a proposal to that effect to the 
cabinet in mid-September. 
 
Electronic media reported that this morning IDF troops surrounded a 
house in Qalqilya, saying it was believed to be the hideout of a 
wanted Palestinian militant.  All media reported that a Qassam 
rocket scored a direct hit on a home in Sderot on Tuesday, lightly 
injuring one person who was walking by at the time. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Col. Imran Suleiman, the commander of the 
Palestinian security forces in Jenin -- where an IDF officer was 
rescued from a likely lynch mob on Monday -- as saying on Tuesday: 
"The PA has changed its attitude toward Hamas and ties with Israel, 
even though Israel refuses to do the same.  This is a gQden 
political opportunity to reach an agreement between Israel and the 
PA, an opportunity that will not repeat itself."  Israel Radio cited 
the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as saying today that Hamas is 
prepared to cede to Chairman Abbas control of PA institutions and 
bases in the Gaza Strip in return for a renewal of the unity 
government, reforms in the PLO, and the reinstatement of the 
Palestinian parliament.  The proposal was reportedly given to Abbas 
by Hamas senior leaders on Tuesday, but the leadership of Hamas was 
reluctant to embrace it. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel is considering a Palestinian request 
to include in its amnesty for Fatah fugitives 26 militants expelled 
in 2002 after a standoff in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. 
 The request was made by Chairman Abbas during his meeting with PM 
Olmert on Tuesday.  Some Palestinians included in the request are 
from Fatah rivals such as Hamas.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted 
Israeli defense sources as saying that Israeli authorities are 
likely to approve a request by the PA to allowed freedom of movement 
in the Palestinian territories to Nayef Hawatmeh, the Damascus-based 
leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Hizbullah is planning to file a host of 
lawsuits against Israel over the damage it caused during the Second 
Lebanon War.  Lebanese individuals with dual citizenship will file 
the suits in the countries where they hold citizenship.  Attorney 
Ibrahim Awada, who heads Hizbullah's legal department, revealed the 
plan last week on a Syrian television program devoted to "Zionist 
crimes against Lebanon."  He said that each plaintiff would hire a 
lawyer in the country where he files suit, and that Hizbullah would 
pay the lawyers' fees.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Hizbullah 
is building a new line of fortifications north of the Litani River. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday Israeli mercenary (res.) Col. 
Yair Klein was apprehended in Russia and that he might be 
transferred to a jail in Colombia, where he was sentenced to 12 
years imprisonment for training drug cartels and illegal 
paramilitaries. 
 
Yediot quoted the Los Angeles police as saying that members of local 
Israeli gangs may be behind the shooting in the legs of Israelis 
residing in the city. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that in an interview with Palestinian 
TV, senior Hamas official in Gaza Fathi Hamad threatened to make use 
of suicide bombers against Abbas. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the participants in Faithlink -- a 
British-based student interface network -- are all in agreement that 
coming to Israel and the PA was nothing short of an "eye-opener," 
both politically and religiously. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday the Israel Prisons Service 
parole board denied a request by former businessman and convicted 
traitor Nahum Manbar for his 16-year sentence to be reduced by a 
third.  Manbar was convicted of treason in 1998 for selling military 
equipment to Iran and found guilty of other security crimes. 
 
Yediot and other media cited International Monetary Fund data 
concerning the gross national product (GNP) per capita in 
industrialized nations: In Israel it is USD 31,800 and in the US USD 
45,200.  The average GNP per capita in the Euro bloc is USD 31,900. 
The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe said that Israel's GNP 
per capita is USD 31,767. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that two educational NGOs -- one 
American and one Israeli -- signed an agreement in Jerusalem on 
Tuesday to join their expertise to reduce the unwarranted placement 
of non-white children in the US in special education programs.  The 
US-based National Urban Alliance for Effective Education and the 
International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential in 
Jerusalem signed their partnership agreement at the Knesset and they 
plan to begin working with children in 20 US cities as soon as 
possible. 
 
American mogul Sheldon Adelson, the "richest Jew in the world," was 
quoted as saying in an interview with Globes that he decided to 
create his new free daily Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today) to counter 
the influence of Arnon Mozes and Ofer Nimrodi -- the respective 
owners of Yediot and Maariv -- who Adelson said control Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israel's Ambassador to Greece Ali Yahya as 
saying that the Greek public and government are thankful to Israel 
for the work of dozens of firefighters who came there to help douse 
the raging fires in the country. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The major challenge 
facing both Olmert and Abbas is not producing a paper that will 
please US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but rather what to do 
with Hamas -- Iran's new local proxy." 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The American concern for the welfare of the 
Vietnamese then, or of the Iraqis today, was not and is not the main 
consideration determining the public's support for or opposition to 
a pullout.  In Israel, too, the country's policy was not determined 
by consideration for the welfare of our neighbors." 
 
Far-left Palestinian affairs correspondent Amira Hass wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "Experience teaches us that [the Palestinians] will accuse 
two other governments [rather than Hamas's of causing 
impoverishment]: Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, 
which is increasingly considered to be a lackey of the US." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Full Gas in Neutral?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (8/28): "Even if Olmert and 
Abbas reach an 'agreement of principles' dealing with the core 
issues -- Jerusalem, borders, and the refugees -- neither of them is 
strong enough politically.  Olmert and Abbas need to discuss these 
issues, because that is what the US wants them to do in order to 
serve its wider Middle East goals of forging a 'moderate coalition' 
to help out in Iraq and to face off against Iran.  But Olmert and 
Abbas can't implement any agreement on these issues because they 
cannot deliver their publics.... The major challenge facing both 
Olmert and Abbas is not producing a paper that will please US 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but rather what to do with 
 
SIPDIS 
Hamas -- Iran's new local proxy.  Any agreement that Olmert and 
Abbas might work out will be meaningless if Hamas retains its 
current strength in Gaza." 
 
II.  "History in Combat" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/28): "It was an important and fascinating 
speech.  An American president was declaring himself a heretic in 
public by announcing that the US withdrawal from Vietnam was not 
necessarily the wisest move.  Just a year before, in June 2006, he 
was asked whether he saw a similarity between Vietnam and Iraq and 
he said, 'No.'  Last week, at a national convention of the Veterans 
of Foreign Wars, he gave a detailed 'Yes'.... The truth ... is that 
the American concern for the welfare of the Vietnamese then, or of 
the Iraqis today, was not and is not the main consideration 
determining the public's support for or opposition to a pullout.  In 
Israel, too, the country's policy was not determined by 
consideration for the welfare of our neighbors.  The withdrawal from 
Lebanon, like the withdrawal from Vietnam, was imposed by the 
public.  No one has yet formulated a credible explanation for Ariel 
Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza.  He certainly didn't do it 
for the good of the Palestinians." 
 
III.  "Three Governments and One Closed Crossing" 
 
Far-left Palestinian affairs correspondent Amira Hass wrote in 
Ha'aretz (8/28): "Hamas knows how to lead prayers in the mosques but 
does not know what economics is, explained one textile workshop 
owner.  But it is probably more accurate to say that the Hamas 
government is convinced that the policy of impoverishment will 
actually strengthen its position among most of the Palestinian 
public, and draw it closer to uncompromising ideological positions 
and pan-Islamic power centers: Not just because of the many 
charitable organizations that Hamas established, but also because 
experience teaches us that people will accuse two other governments: 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which is 
increasingly considered to be a lackey of the US." 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The best way to 
undermine Iran's strategy of destabilizing the region is through a 
comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace, which will be accompanied by 
massive investments in human development and bring in its wake 
international financing for building a peace and security system in 
a Middle East free of nuclear weapons." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"A Nuclear Iran: There Are Steps That Can Be Taken" 
 
Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (8/28): "The nightmare 
of a nuclear Iran haunts Arabs and Israelis alike, but the driving 
force in the attempt to block the Iranian ambitions consists of the 
US and Israel.  In the America-Iran-Israel triangle lies the root of 
the problem, as well as the possible solution..... Only in the time 
of the Rabin government did Israel and Iran reach an open 
confrontation..... The Israeli-Arab peace process under US 
sponsorship produced a series of breathtaking achievements -- the 
Madrid peace conference, the Oslo Accords, the peace between Israel 
and Jordan, a near agreement with Syria, and establishing Israeli 
delegations in most of the Arab countries.  All these were a 
nightmare for Iran, which felt increasingly isolated.  At this 
juncture, Israel and Iran -- two forces competing for hegemony in a 
rapidly changing region -- chose to portray the strategic contest 
between them in ideological terms.... Iran, more than being an enemy 
of Israel, was an enemy of the possibility of Israeli-Arab 
reconciliation.... The best way to undermine Iran's strategy of 
destabilizing the region is through a comprehensive Israeli-Arab 
peace, which will be accompanied by massive investments in human 
development and bring in its wake international financing for 
building a peace and security system in a Middle East free of 
nuclear weapons." 
 
 
 
 
----------- 
¶3.  Turkey: 
----------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The fear of Islamization [in 
Turkey] is not necessarily real." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Too Early to Talk about Islamization" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/28): "With the election of 
[Abdullah] Gul as president, the impression might be created that 
Turkey has completed the crossing of secular lines and is about to 
strike out Ataturk's ideology.  But the fear of Islamization is not 
necessarily real.  It looks as if the continuity of a policy in 
which the 'Islamists' have engaged so far can be expected.  During 
the past five years it has been in power, the Justice and 
Development Party has made every effort to blur its religious 
character; neither does it present itself as an Islamist party with 
a religious agenda.  The party failed every time it tried to promote 
religious issues -- either because of pressure from the army or due 
to the understanding that the Turkish public, in spite of having 
granted the party 47 percent of its votes, is a secular public.... 
Anyway, the party's victory also shows that there is no real stable 
political alternative to it." 
 
JONES