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DE RUEHTV #2853/01 2691029
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P 261029Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002853 
 
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 
 
Please note: There will not be a Tel Aviv Media Reaction report 
Thursday, September 27, 2007, due to the Sukkoth holiday. 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech 
to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.  The Jerusalem Post bannered: 
"Ahmadinejad Sets Out His Vision of a World without Israel." He was 
quoted as saying that his country has completed the development of 
atomic energy for peaceful purposes and that he considers the debate 
on the issue closed.  Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman 
walked out before Ahmadinejad's speech, calling him a "madman." 
Leading media quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying that she refuses to 
attend Ahmadinejad's attempts to legitimize his twisted view. 
Leading media reported that at a press conference after his speech 
Ahmadinejad would not answer questions by Karnit Goldwasser, the 
wife of one of the IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah in July 2006. 
 The Iranian President ignored a question by Channel 10-TV 's 
Washington correspondent and withdrew his hand when Israel Radio 
correspondent Benny Avni told him he was a proud Zionist.  Major 
media quoted President Shimon Peres as saying on Tuesday that he was 
in favor of academic freedom of expressions "on condition that it is 
based on truth, not lies.  Ahmadinejad stood up on Monday and lied 
to the people of America." 
 
The media reported that in his speech to the UNGA, President Bush 
slammed brutal regimes, including Iran, but avoided mentioning 
Ahmadinejad.  Singling out the Human Rights Council, the President 
was quoted as saying that the UN was "silent on repression" in 
places like Caracas and Tehran while it focused its criticism 
"excessively on Israel."  He also mentioned Israel in his 
reaffirmation of a two-state solution and call for the international 
community to help by backing Palestinian moderates. 
 
Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter was quoted as saying in an 
interview with Makor Rishon-Hatzofe that Yasser Arafat and his 
follower Mahmoud Abbas "built tactics of cowards, who did not have 
the courage to go out to the streets and confront those whom they 
 
viewed as jeopardizing the interests of the PA. 
 
All media reported that French President Nicholas Sarkozy told the 
UNGA on Tuesday that "allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons would 
mean an unacceptable risk for regional and world stability." 
Sarkozy added there would be no world peace if the international 
community "shows weakness in the face of the proliferation of 
nuclear weapons," 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Syria is willing to transfer its claim to the 
Sheba Farms to UN custody as part of an effort to resolve the 
sovereignty dispute.  The new Syrian position was outlined in a 
letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by Spain's Foreign 
Minister Miguel Moratinos, who visited Damascus last month. 
Ha'aretz quoted Israeli political sources as saying on Tuesday that 
Syria's offer is meant to put pressure on Jerusalem, which opposes a 
withdrawal from Sheba at this stage. 
Yediot correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai reported from the location in 
the Syrian desert where he said the September 6 Israeli strike took 
place.  The newspaper said it would publish more details from 
Ben-Yishai on Friday.  Yediot reported that in recent days the 
Syrian Army increased its activities in the Golan. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that EU Ambassador to Israel Ramiro 
Cibrian-Uzal said on Tuesday that Syria's decision on whether to 
attend a US-sponsored Middle East meeting in Washington could go a 
long way in determining the future of the peace process. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a committee set up following the 
cabinet's decision last week to define the Gaza Strip as "hostile 
territory" has recommended that Gaza be penalized seven 
megawatt-hours of electricity following every Qassam rocket attack. 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that on Tuesday Bank Hapoalim, 
Israel's largest bank, announced that it is cutting business ties 
with Palestinian banking institutions in the Gaza Strip, thereby 
essentially severing the Hamas-ruled territory from a steady money 
supply.  Ha'aretz said that Israel Discount Bank, the other Israeli 
bank with the necessary clearing mechanisms in place for working 
with Palestinian banks, is expected to follow suit.  Media reported 
that both banks are in part responding to the GOI's recent decision 
to declare Gaza "hostile territory." 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday FM Tzipi Livni told the Amir of 
Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, that Arab countries should 
strengthen ties with Israel via "normalization in stages."   (Yediot 
printed a picture of Livni with Qatar's head of state.)  At a 
 
meeting in New York, Livni and Sheikh Al-Thani also discussed the 
talks between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of the regional 
meeting due this fall in Washington, and Qatar's possible support 
for the talks. Earlier in the day Livni met with Egyptian FM Ahmed 
Ali Abu al-Gheit, saying that to contribute to the success of the 
diplomatic process, Egypt had to stop the smuggling of arms and 
money into Gaza.  Livni also said "recent developments are turning 
the West Bank into a test case" where "the success of the process" 
would be measured.  On Monday Livni met with the foreign ministers 
of Jordan and Mauritania, as well as with deputy foreign minister 
Sayyid Badr of Oman, with which Israel has not had diplomatic 
relations since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000.  Livni 
and Badr met over the dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 
Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman -- a remnant of 
cooperation between Israel and the Arab world. 
 
Based on interviews with Arab diplomats, The Jerusalem Post reported 
that Arab leaders see the Washington meeting as a "waste of time." 
 
Major media reported that the cabinet is divided over National 
Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's proposal to 
imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
associates of Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying that Ben-Eliezer 
was not speaking on behalf of Barak, his political ally.  Maariv 
reported that most cabinet ministers are in favor of freeing 
Barghouti in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit.  Leading 
media quoted National Union-National Religious Party MK Effi Eitam, 
a former minister, as saying on IDF Radio that releasing Barghouti 
would lead to soldiers refusing to take orders.  Israel Radio 
reported that Hamas has voiced its opposition to such a deal. 
Ha'aretz reported that former PM Ariel Sharon's aides inquired 
whether Barghouti would support Salam Fayyad for prime minister 
should Fatah win the January 2006 elections.  MK Haim Oron (Meretz), 
who visited Barghouti in his Israeli prison, served as the liaison 
between Barghouti and Sharon's bureau.  Barghouti told Oron that he 
would support Fayyad and objected to forming a coalition with Hamas. 
Sharon's staff concluded that Barghouti had the power to help Fatah 
win the elections, and therefore, the authorities improved his 
prison conditions: 
 
This morning electronic media reported that IDF forces have arrested 
seven wanted militants in the West Bank, including a participant in 
the 2000 lynch of IDF soldiers in Ramallah.  Several Qassam rockets 
were fired into Israel. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on Islamic Jihad's growing presence on 
the Internet. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that senior Israeli and Palestinian police 
officers will participate in a conference organized by the EU next 
month in Jerusalem as part of efforts to renew cooperation between 
Israel and the PA.  Ha'aretz quoted Colin Smith, who heads EUCOPPS, 
the EU team advising the PA's police force, as saying that the 
purpose of the conference will be to renew ties between the forces 
and begin formulating working procedures on issues of common 
interest. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Maariv cited an AP report that Israel is 
lobbying nuclear exporting countries to lift restrictions that 
prevent them from doing business with the Jewish state.  The 
initiative appeared to be linked to a US-India deal that would 
effectively waive the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group by 
allowing the US to supply India with nuclear fuel despite its 
refusal both to sign the nonproliferation treaty and to allow the 
IAEA to inspect all of its nuclear facilities.  The Jerusalem Post 
cited an AP report that North Korea accuses the US of helping Israel 
develop nuclear weapons.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the US 
will build a nuclear reactor in Yemen. 
 
Maariv reported that a source associated with the investigation of 
Daniel Sharon, the dual Israeli-German citizen detained in Lebanon, 
told the English-language Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star that 
Sharon is not a spy. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Monday an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian 
academic center was inaugurated in Berlin.  The center -- the 
product of a joint initiative by the Interdisciplinary Center 
Herzliya, Jordan's Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies, and Al 
Quds University -- will specialize in European Studies. 
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya President Uriel Reichman, Al Quds 
University President Sari Nusseibeh, Dutch Queen Beatrix, and former 
German president Richard von Weizsacker, attended the ceremony. 
 
Ha'aretz, The Jerusalem Post, and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that 
right-wing activists are planning to set up five new settlement 
nuclei throughout the West Bank on Sunday. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Jerusalem Municipality is promoting a 
plan to build 1,900 housing units for Arab residents of the city in 
the northern neighborhood of Isawiyeh. 
 
Leading media reported that Haidar Abdel Shafi, a former Palestinian 
negotiator, leading Palestinian nationalist, and physician, died 
Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.  He was 
¶88. 
 
Leading media cited a prediction by the Israel Airports Authority 
(which controls Israel's border crossings) on Tuesday that between 
30,000 and 40,000 Israelis will cross through Taba to Sinai over the 
Sukkoth holiday, despite warnings from the GOI's terror 
headquarters. 
 
Maariv told the plight of 96 refugees from Eritrea who crowd a Tel 
Aviv apartment. 
 
Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner said that the 2008 
US presidential campaign will be the "longest, most expensive, most 
sophisticated, most impulsive, and most crowded one in US history -- 
perhaps also the most interesting. 
 
----- 
Iran: 
----- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz: "The credibility of the Security Council is on 
the line.  It is possible to see this as good news of a sort: Burns 
apparently believes that it still has some shreds of credibility 
left to lose." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"[President Bush's] speech [at the UN] seems to have been written 
almost as if the jihadi bid for global dominance did not exist." 
 
Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[Ahmadinejad] taught Bush a lesson this 
week: He proved that he is not afraid to talk directly with the 
enemy." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Ahmadinejad and the City" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz (9/26): "On one hand, it is possible to hope 
that no great damage was caused [by Iranian President Ahmadinejad's 
visit to NY].  He came, he spoke, he left.... But in the big city, 
and sometimes this is easy to forget, public relations are an 
important matter, but not the most important.  More important is a 
shipment of Iranian arms that was caught in Afghanistan last week on 
its way to the Taliban rebels.  More important are the talks on 
tightening sanctions on Iran, which, if they do not produce results, 
will spell the end of the illusion of resolving the crisis by means 
of the United Nations Security Council.  Today and tomorrow, there 
will be meetings of the countries that are supposed to decide on 
those sanctions.... At their meeting last Friday, which was 
reportedly 'excellent,' no agreement was reached.  Therefore, US 
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns took 
the trouble to send a warning in advance of the next round of talks: 
The credibility of the Security Council is on the line.  It is 
possible to see this as good news of a sort: Burns apparently 
believes that it still has some shreds of credibility left to 
lose." 
 
II.  "The Jihadist Elephant" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/26): 
"On Tuesday, President George W. Bush, speaking to the UN, stood up 
for human rights around the world.... Yet ... the speech seems to 
have been written almost as if the jihadi bid for global dominance 
did not exist.  How is it possible to speak of human rights 
challenges in individual nations without prominently acknowledging 
the greatest threat to human rights globally, let alone outlining a 
strategy to address it?.... Faced with a ruthless and determined 
enemy that celebrates death over life and poses an inimical threat 
to Western civilization, we dance gingerly around the problem, as if 
it is not quite a subject for polite company.... Our leaders talk 
blithely of real global problems, such as the environment, poverty 
and disease and human rights, as though it would be possible to 
comprehensively address any of them if the world descends into an 
abyss of escalating terrorism, spreading dictatorships and new 
nuclear powers sprouting like mushrooms.... Western global 
priorities are seriously misaligned.... The existential threat to 
Israel is, of course, part of the Islamist threat to the West. 
Ignoring it, in either its local or global forms, will not make it 
go away." 
 
III.  "Ahmadinejad Took Center-Stage" 
 
Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/26): "For over two years Bush has tried 
to convince the Americans and the world that Satan resides in Tehran 
and that Iran is the axis of evil's most dangerous point.  Instead 
of being offended, he taught Bush a lesson this week: He proved that 
he is not afraid to talk directly with the enemy, and that playing 
at being angry is good in a kindergarten, but not for managing a 
world approaching a crisis.  It is doubtful whether many Americans 
were convinced by his claims, but it is equally hard not to remain 
indifferent to his pronouncements.... Ahmadinejad proved that one 
does not have to agree with every word that is uttered.  It is 
possible to be opposed to him, protest, and insult, but also, to ask 
and listen.  This is better than banging on the drums of war." 
 
JONES