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DE RUEHTV #2806/01 2630625
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200625Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3339
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RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0379
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0850
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RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 3934
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5879
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002806 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, September 19-20, 2007 
 
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------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that PM Ehud Olmert and Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice will meet again this afternoon following Secretary 
Rice's visit to Ramallah.  Ha'aretz reported that Secretary Rice 
heard pessimistic messages from senior Israeli officials on the 
chance of having more than "joint statements" at the planned 
US-sponsored regional meeting.  The newspaper reported that Vice PM 
Haim Ramon told Rice that there are still wide gaps and that it 
would be worthwhile to start with as general a declaration of 
principles as possible, and not a detailed agreement, so that the 
meeting succeeds.  Ha'aretz reported that FM Tzipi Livni told Rice 
that expectations should be lowered.  Ha'aretz quoted associates of 
PM Olmert as saying that he will deliver a "very important" 
diplomatic speech today to the members of Kadima's Council. The 
Jerusalem Post reported that PM Olmert is moving to keep Kadima 
united over the future of Jerusalem, and that Kadima members blasted 
Vice PM Haim Ramon's proposal for the city as "left of Meretz." 
 
Yediot reported that jailed Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti 
actually controls the Palestinian side of the negotiations and that 
the road to the Washington meeting "passes through his jail cell." 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday the security cabinet voted 
unanimously to increase sanctions against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, 
declaring the region "hostile territory."  The media quoted 
Secretary Rice as saying at a press conference following her meeting 
 
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with FM Tzipi Livni that Hamas "is indeed a hostile entity to the US 
as well.  Secretary Rice added: "However, we will not abandon the 
innocent Palestinians in Gaza and indeed will make every effort to 
deal with their humanitarian needs."  Livni said that the decision 
meant that "except for humanitarian needs, Israel will supply 
nothing further to the residents of Gaza."  Hamas denounced the 
security cabinet's decision and the sanctions as a "declaration of 
war."  Ha'aretz quoted Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum as saying: "We 
must unite the ranks to come together in the conflict with the cruel 
enemy. There will be implications in the long term. This is another 
attempt to force us to surrender to agreements." 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior GOI official as saying that two different 
approaches were presented during the cabinet meeting.  One was to 
cut off electricity in response to every rocket fired.  This 
approach was found to be problematic in terms of international law 
because it would constitute collective punishment.  The second 
approach, which the ministers accepted, was to compromise the 
ability of Hamas to govern in Gaza as the quality of life 
deteriorated.  "We will reduce the amount of megawattage we provide 
to the Strip, and Hamas will have to decide whether to provide 
electricity to hospitals or weapons lathes," the official was quoted 
as saying.  The cabinet also authorized the closure of crossings in 
response to rocket fire for up to 48 hours.  PM Olmert was quoted as 
saying during the meeting that "the price of a military operation in 
Gaza is known to all, and in any case conditions are not ripe for 
this."  Defense Minister Ehud Barak echoed this sentiment, adding 
"We will embark on action at the right time, not in order to let off 
steam."  However, Barak also said that "every day that passes brings 
us closer to an operation in Gaza; we will decide on the means of an 
operation and the goals when the time comes."  The Jerusalem Post 
and Israel Radio quoted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as saying 
on Wednesday that it would be illegal for Israel to cut the supply 
of fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip. 
 
Major media bannered a comment made last night on Israel-TV by 
opposition leader Knesset Member Binyamin Netanyahu that he was 
party to PM Ehud Olmert's decision to order an Israeli operation in 
Syria two weeks ago.  The media said that this appears to be the 
first confirmation by a senior politician of foreign media reports 
on the matter.  Yediot quoted officials in Olmert's bureau as saying 
that Netanyahu is a dangerous person who lacks judgment.  Yediot 
quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying on Wednesday that 
Syria is serious about returning to the peace process.  Maariv 
quoted Israeli experts as saying that the crisis with Syria will not 
affect the negotiations. 
 
Ha'aretz (Hebrew Ed.) led with comments made on Wednesday to the 
annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency 
by Gideon Frank, Director General of the Israel Atomic Energy 
Commission that Israel will not tolerate the development of weapons 
of mass destruction in the region. Media quoted Secretary Rice as 
saying on Wednesday that a diplomatic push to halt Iran's nuclear 
program could work, but that "it has to have teeth."  Ha'aretz 
reported that on Wednesday Danny Gillerman, Israel's Ambassador to 
the UN, called on the US to prevent Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad from coming to the opening of the UN General Assembly 
session next week. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the US has asked Israel to curtail its 
activities in Lebanon until the presidential elections there, 
scheduled to take place on September 25.  US official conveyed to 
their Israeli counterparts that Israel should avoid any steps that 
may affect the domestic situation in Lebanon, referring specifically 
to overflights of Lebanon.  Ha'aretz reported that in talks with 
senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem two weeks ago, Assistant 
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch stressed 
 
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that the elections are a domestic Lebanese matter, and that it is 
important to avoid any action that may influence the elections. 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior Israeli official as saying on Wednesday 
that "in any case, Israel had no intention of intervening in 
Lebanon's elections.  Ha'aretz quoted political sources in Jerusalem 
as saying on Tuesday that that Lebanese media reported "supersonic 
booms" over Sidon and Tyre, which they attributed to IAF jets. 
Ha'aretz also reported that that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
for Near Eastern Affairs Robert Danin told his Israeli counterparts 
in recent weeks that if Israel could provide the Lebanese government 
with data from launch-control computers used in the firing of 
cluster bombs in the summer of 2006, this would be considered a 
major gain for the Siniora government.  The data could be used to 
locate areas over which the cluster bomb munitions were dispersed, 
as part of demining operations in southern Lebanon.  Ha'aretz said 
that the US and Israel are not in agreement on whether any steps 
they take can bolster Siniora.  The leading Israeli news Web site 
Ynet and Israel Radio reported that President Bush condemned the 
assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker Antoine Ghanem on 
Wednesday and said the US stood in solidarity with the Lebanese 
people against what he called an attempt by Syria and Iran to 
destabilize Lebanon. 
 
Media reported that on Wednesday, for the second time in 24 hours, a 
Palestinian was killed in the city of Nablus as Israeli forces 
continued searching for a Hamas cell that is thought to be 
attempting to dispatch a suicide bomber on a mission inside Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday Israel barred students from 
leaving Gaza despite lengthy prior coordination.  Ha'aretz said that 
three Israeli defense agencies each insist it was the other's 
decision. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Federal Reserve Board's decision to slash 
the American funds rate by a whole half-percent "did not pass over 
Tel Aviv." 
 
All media quoted police as saying on Wednesday that Jerusalem 
businessman Nir Barkat commissioned surveillance of Maj. Gen. Mickey 
Levy, the Israel Police representative in the US.  Barkat denied any 
knowledge of the affair.  Barkat, a Kadima activist, is a potential 
rival of Levy in next year's Jerusalem municipal elections. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, September 19-20, 2007: 
 
SIPDIS 
----------------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Rice's main message, which she 
reiterated during her meetings in Jerusalem on Wednesday, is that 
the summit cannot end without substantive achievements." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/20): "What is 
currently happening is an Israeli attempt to bring down Condoleezza 
Rice and [Olmert's] Palestinian partner Abu Mazen from a tall 
tree." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Sometimes ... it seems as if Rice sees the Israeli-Palestinian 
situation in a vacuum, unaffected by events swirling around it." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Just Another Empty Threat" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/20): "Wednesday's decision [to 
declare Gaza a 'hostile territory'] is an attempt by the government 
to throw a bone to residents of Sderot and other members of the 
public who are angry at the rocket attacks. But it does not contain 
any operational elements, only declarations -- namely, the usual 
threats against Hamas.  The electricity supply will continue, at 
least until a Qassam rocket claims casualties.... The interesting 
aspect of the cabinet decision is its timing: It happened on the day 
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region for 
talks with Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. 
Once, Israel preferred not to adopt aggressive resolutions when 
senior American officials were visiting.  But while Rice was not 
enthusiastic about the threat to impose sanctions on Gaza's civilian 
population, according to one Israeli official who met her, she chose 
not to make a big deal out of it.  She has a more important goal: 
promoting the upcoming international peace summit in Washington as 
much as possible.  Rice's main message, which she reiterated during 
her meetings in Jerusalem on Wednesday, is that the summit cannot 
end without substantive achievements." 
 
II.  "Arm-Wrestling on the Way to the Summit" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/20): "What is 
currently happening is an Israeli attempt to bring down Condoleezza 
Rice and [Olmert's] Palestinian partner Abu Mazen from a tall tree. 
A moment before he falls further into the honey trap of his intimate 
talks with Abu Mazen, Olmert is trying to escape, uttering numerous, 
varied pretexts.... Rice has her own agenda.... She will remain with 
the disaster of US foreign policy of which she was a senior partner 
in shaping.... Olmert's close associates assume that what is taking 
place in the talks is just part of the 'arm-wrestling to improve 
drafts that will appear in the joint statement.... The course 
pursued by Olmert is a correct expression of a declaration that 
negotiations over the final status between the sides will follow the 
Washington meeting.... A senior [Israeli official] says that the 
vision of two states living sided by side in peace will pass from 
the hands of George Bush to those of the next president of the US." 
 
III.  "Cart and Horse" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/20): 
"Sometimes ... it seems as if Rice sees the Israeli-Palestinian 
situation in a vacuum, unaffected by events swirling around it.... 
The Israeli cabinet decision [on Gaza], coupled with the reports 
operation in Syria two weeks ago, should serve as gentle reality 
checks.  Peace efforts continue, but they do so, unfortunately, in a 
war context.  What is more, it is impossible to rationally pursue 
such peace efforts without acknowledging which is the cart and which 
is the horse: negotiating peace or fighting the war.... Even if the 
regional conference were successful beyond expectations, any 
progress could only be considered a promissory note pending the 
outcome of the confrontation with Iran and its proxies and allies. 
By contrast, the moment a corner is turned in the conflict with Iran 
and it becomes clear that the mullahs will be stopped, then the 
possibilities for real peacemaking will be greatly enhanced." 
JONES