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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002815 
 
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.  US-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday PM Ehud Olmert told a 
gathering of Kadima that "there is a partner for dialogue in the 
PA."  Media quoted Olmert as saying that he will propose the release 
of prisoners "without blood on their hands" at Sunday's cabinet 
meeting.  Olmert was quoted as saying that in his last meeting with 
Abbas, they decided that task forces would draft a joint declaration 
ahead of November's Middle East conference in Washington.  He was 
quoted as saying that if an agreement was reached on such a 
declaration and the leaders of moderate Arab countries attended, the 
conference would be a success.   The Jerusalem Post quoted 
diplomatic sources as saying that Olmert received an impression from 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday that she had agreed 
 
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to his request to limit the scope of the conference to a joint 
declaration, despite the Palestinian request for the meeting to 
yield an outline for a peace deal.  The sources were quoted as sayng 
that no document would be signed at the summit.  Ha'aretz quoted 
Secretary Rice as saying on Thursday after meeting with PA Chairman 
 
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[President] Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah that the upcoming meeting in 
Washington must be substantive, using whatever document Israel and 
the Palestinians formulated beforehand as the basis for serious 
talks.  Several media quoted Rice as saying that she hopes that the 
Washington meeting would lead to "serious negotiations for the 
establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible."  Ha'aretz 
quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying this week that the 
incipient joint declaration "must be sufficiently substantive, so 
that the Palestinians do not feel humiliated and exploited." 
However, he also said that "it must be sufficiently general, so 
Israelis do not feel like they are suckers who have made substantive 
concessions on core issues without receiving anything in return." 
Media reported that most senior members of Kadima are critical of 
Vice PM Haim Ramon's stance on Jerusalem.  Major media reported that 
FM Tzipi Livni reiterated that in any agreement not a single 
Palestinian refugee would be allowed to return to his home in 
Israel.  Israel Radio reported that she will leave for the US on 
Saturday night to attend the annual session of the UN General 
Assembly. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday President Shimon Peres told 
Secretary Rice that it was "in everyone's interest that the summit 
 
SIPDIS 
does not fail.  We must be aware of the possibility of a crisis of 
expectations and create a substantive agenda." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF is working on a proposal 
that calls for a "complete disengagement" from the Gaza Strip -- 
involving the closure of all border crossings with Israel and the 
transfer of responsibility over the Palestinians territory to Egypt. 
 The newspaper reported that Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Moshe 
Kaplinsky is behind this plan. 
 
Defense Minister Barak was quoted as saying in an interview with 
Maariv that PM Olmert knows that he erred in the Second Lebanon War, 
that he (Barak) has brought cool mindedness to the post of defense 
minister, and that he never said that the Labor Party would leave 
the government coalition the day the Winograd report is published. 
 
Major media (lead story in Yediot) reported on a high state of alert 
along the Syrian border.  The newspaper quoted IDF Chief of Staff 
Gabi Ashkenazi as saying that the army will do everything not to be 
surprised.  Israel Radio quoted The Washington Post as saying that 
Israel and the US shared data on the suspected nuclear site in 
Syria.  Major media reported that on Thursday President Bush would 
not comment on Israel's purported attack on Syria. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that barred by police from visiting 
Ground Zero, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "may find more of 
a welcome" at Columbia University, where he has been cleared to 
speak on Monday at the school's annual World Leaders Forum despite 
outrage expressed by New York-area Jewish leaders. 
 
All media reported that on Thursday senior Likud members and other 
right-wing politicians rallied to the side of Likud Chairman 
Binyamin Netanyahu in an effort to contain the political damage that 
his statements acknowledging an Israeli operation in Syria may have 
caused.  Israel Radio quoted PM Olmert as saying that Netanyahu's 
comments were unintentional.  Ha'aretz quoted Ibrahim Othman, the 
Syrian Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 
as saying on Thursday that Israel's nuclear capabilities were 
sparking an arms race in the region.  Leading media reported that on 
Thursday the IAEA conference criticized Israel for refusing to put 
its nuclear program under international purview.  Only the US 
supported Israel. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the IDF has arrested suspected terrorists 
who were planning a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Its 
reported mastermind Nihad Shakirat (phon.) is the head of Hamas in 
the Nablus refugee camp of Ein Beit Ilma. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA) as saying that the number of roadblocks has reached 
572, an increase of 52 percent compared to 376 in August 2005.  The 
OCHA was quoted as saying in the past two months alone, Israel put 
up 40 new roadblocks. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Chairman Abbas has ordered to 
anchor in the Palestinian Charter the right of return and the 
Palestinians' right to fight the occupation by all means permitted 
by international law, including the armed struggle. 
 
Jailed Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti was quoted as saying in 
an interview with Yediot that he will take part in and win the 
election for Palestinian president.  He was also quoted as saying 
that Hamas put a knife in the back of the Palestinians. 
 
Steve Emerson, the Executive Director of the American NGO 
Investigative Project on Terrorism, was quoted as saying in an 
interview with The Jerusalem Post that radical Islam is alive and 
well in America -- thanks to the tacit cooperation of government 
agencies that embrace the very groups they should be investigating. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a bill protecting travelers from 
denial of life insurance simply because they travel to Israel 
cleared the House of Representatives on Wednesday in a 312-110 
vote. 
 
The media reported on the fast of Yom Kippur, which takes place 
tonight and tomorrow, and ran features devoted to the 1973 Yom 
Kippur war.  Ha'aretz reported that on the sixth day of the Yom 
Kippur War, as the Egyptian forces were stranded in Sinai, Israel 
requested military aid from the US -- and "realized that it faced a 
huge problem in the Pentagon, in the shape of Admiral Thomas 
Moorer." 
 
Ha'aretz reported that in his forthcoming book, Brig. Gen. (res.) 
Yiftah Spector claims that he was the leader of the air attack on 
the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War. 
Leading media reported that the FAA has urged Israel to improve its 
aviation safety. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.)  reported on the opening of the school year 
at the Walworth Barbour American International School (AIS) at its 
new campus in Even Yehuda last week.  Ambassador Richard Jones, an 
AIS parent, attended the dedication ceremony. 
 
Yediot presented the results of a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) 
poll: 
-"Were elections held today, for which party would you vote for?" 
(Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of a July 27 
poll.)  Likud 24 (26); Labor Party 18 (23); Yisrael Beiteinu 10 (7); 
Shas 10 (11); Kadima 10 (11); Arkady Gaidamak: 8 (2); National 
Union-National Religious Party 5 (8). 
-"What effect resulted from Netanyahu's remarks on the operation in 
Syria?" 
They have neither harmed nor advantaged Israel: 43 percent; they 
have harmed Israel: 31 percent; they have advantaged Israel: 3 
percent; 23 percent were undecided. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "For years Jerusalem has been enlisting 
US and European help to contain Tehran.  But there will be a 
price." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Olmert isn't particularly nonplussed by his 
Defense Minister's skepticism and wariness.  If anything, it just 
strengthens his position in the negotiations with Abbas and in 
fending off Rice's pressures." 
 
 
Ahmed Yousef, a political advisor to Palestinian (Hamas) PM Ismail 
Haniyeh, wrote in Ha'aretz: "Isolating Hamas is not a feasible 
political option.... Hamas is a bulwark in the face of radical and 
militant ideas and trends." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "No Such Thing as a Free Launch" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (9/21): "Israel sees the containment of 
Iraq as nothing less than an existential imperative.  Although Iran 
is obviously a threat to the whole world, and not just a threat to 
Israel, it is first and foremost a threat to Israel, and for years 
Jerusalem has been enlisting US and European help to contain Tehran. 
 But there will be a price.... Olmert ... met Rice this week facing 
a situation in which she needs to satisfy the Saudis, and he will be 
expected to satisfy Rice.  Politically, this is not an easy place 
for him to be." 
 
II.  "Back on Top" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/21): "The diplomatic process in which 
Olmert is currently engaged appears to Barak to be the exact 
opposite of what went on at Camp David.  Then Israel spoke with 
Arafat, whose desire to reach an accord was in doubt, although his 
ability to implement one was not.  Now Israel is dealing with Abbas, 
a relatively positive figure, and Salam Fayyad, a totally positive 
figure, with the danger of their falling from power and being 
replaced by Hamas hovering in the background.  The goodwill of these 
two men is not in question, but even if an understanding is 
attained, it's doubtful whether they'll be able to stand behind it 
and implement it.  Olmert isn't particularly nonplussed by his 
Defense Minister's skepticism and wariness.  If anything, it just 
strengthens his position in the negotiations with Abbas and in 
fending off Rice's pressures.  At the end of the day, Barak and the 
Labor Party will support any agreement that Olmert brings to a vote. 
 They have no choice, and Barak also knows this quite well, of 
course. But in the meantime he's still enjoying his new role as 
Mister Security." 
 
III.  "Hamas Is the Key" 
 
Ahmed Yousef, a political advisor to Palestinian (Hamas) PM Ismail 
Haniyeh, wrote in Ha'aretz (9/21): "Hamas is an integral part of the 
Palestinian political landscape.  It is a mainstream Islamic 
movement that is committed to the principles of democracy and 
legitimate and peaceful political participation on an equal footing 
for all Palestinian groups.  The movement has deep roots in various 
sectors of Palestinian society.  Isolating Hamas is not a feasible 
political option.... Hamas is a bulwark in the face of radical and 
militant ideas and trends.  Policies whose aim is the isolation or 
marginalization of Hamas will not only fail but will also set the 
stage for the spread of extremist thinking in occupied Palestine. 
Allowing Hamas to participate in the Palestinian political process 
will encourage the growth and development of pragmatic ideas and 
instruments of political action.  It will also allow tolerance and 
respect for pluralism and diversity to strike root in Palestinian 
political culture.  The West should ask itself whether it wants the 
moderation and realism of Hamas or the dogmatism of radical groups 
that subscribe to the clash of civilizations theory." 
 
------------------------ 
¶2.  US-Israel Relations: 
------------------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
MJ Rosenberg, Director of the Israel Policy Analysis Forum's 
Washington Policy Center, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post (9/21): "Has 'pro-Israel' advocacy consistently 
produced 'pro-Israel' ends?  At several critical moments, it most 
certainly has not." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"It's Lobbying, but Is It Really Pro-Israel?" 
 
MJ Rosenberg, Director of the Israel Policy Analysis Forum's 
Washington Policy Center, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post (9/21): "Has 'pro-Israel' advocacy consistently 
produced 'pro-Israel' ends?  At several critical moments, it most 
certainly has not.... Was it pro-Israel to press Congress to attach 
so many onerous conditions to aid to President Mahmoud Abbas's 
Palestinian Authority that Abbas was unable to demonstrate to his 
people that a moderate president, who fully accepted Israel, would 
produce benefits that they would not achieve by choosing Hamas?.... 
Was it pro-Israel to prevent the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II 
administrations from insisting on a permanent freeze on settlements 
or, at the very least, the immediate removal of the illegal 
settlements?  Wouldn't Israel be infinitely better off if the United 
States had used friendly persuasion to end the settlement enterprise 
right from the get-go?  After all, the vast majority of Israelis 
consider the settlements to be impediments to peace and so has every 
president since the first settlement was erected.... There is 
nothing pro-Israel about supporting policies that only promise that 
Israeli mothers will continue to dread their sons' 18th birthdays 
for another generation.  For that we are supposed to be grateful?" 
 
JONES