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P 050626Z NOV 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003207 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
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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: SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, November 3-5, 2007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media continued to report on Secretary of State Condoleezza 
RiceQs visit to the region.  Maariv quoted Rice as saying that 
failure is not an option.  Israel Radio reported that the Secretary 
stated the importance of the Palestinians' future.  Leading media 
reported that Secretary Rice had agreed to most of Israel's 
conditions for the Annapolis summit. Ha'aretz quoted an official in 
Olmert's bureau as saying that the premier and the Secretary spoke 
about the upcoming summit and "adhering to the principles of the 
Roadmap as a basis for progress between Israel and the 
Palestinians."   Maariv reported that the Secretary informed PM 
Olmert of her meeting with Syrian PM Walid Muallem.  The 
nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Secretary Rice as 
saying that the US and Israel are not opposed to Syria's 
participation in Annapolis, while Olmert conditioned such a 
development on the Golan issue not being discussed. 
 
PM Olmert was quoted as saying on Sunday that contrary to 
declarations he had made earlier, negotiations with the Palestinians 
after the Annapolis meeting will focus on the core issues. "All 
fundamental questions, the substantive issues, all the historical 
questions burdening our debate, are on the agenda," Olmert was 
quoted as saying during an address at the Saban Forum, an annual 
gathering of Israeli and US political leaders.  He was further 
quoted as saying that Israel has a "partner."  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted Olmert as saying: "If we and the Palestinians act with 
determination, there is a chance that we can reach real 
accomplishments during the Bush presidency.  There is no intention 
of dragging on the negotiations endlessly." 
 
Maariv reported that in secret meetings Meretz-Yahad Chairman Yossi 
Beilin and associates of PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas, 
including Yasser Abed Rabbo, have been devising drafts for the 
declaration of principles that could help achieve progress at 
Annapolis. 
 
 Ha'aretz (lead story) and Yediot Aharonot reported that PM Ehud 
Olmert intends to release more Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of 
good will to the PA prior to the Annapolis meeting.  Ha'aretz quoted 
sources in Olmert's bureau as saying that the PM is currently 
examining a request by the PA for freeing as many as 2,000 
prisoners.  Ha'aretz quoted a diplomatic source in Jerusalem as 
saying on Sunday that "because at Annapolis there will be no 
solutions presented to the core issues, the Palestinians want to 
show that they are making gains in routine matters -- both in the 
implementation of the road map and in the release of prisoners. 
From our point of view, the release of prisoners is the easiest 
price to pay, but there are still no numbers.  Ha'aretz noted that 
unlike other moves that directly affect the quality of life of 
Palestinian civilians, a decision to free prisoners is less 
dependent on agreement by the Defense Minister and defense 
establishment. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Rice on 
Sunday that the sanctions Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip will 
not lead to a humanitarian crisis.  He also promised to allow 
Palestinian policemen to deploy to other cities in the West Bank, if 
the recent deployment of 300 PA policemen in Nablus has a positive 
effect.  The media reported that Rice also met FM Tzipi Livni on 
Sunday, who told reporters afterward that the Palestinians "need to 
understand that the implementation of future understandings will be 
implemented only according to the phases of the road map -- meaning 
security for Israel first and then the establishment of a 
Palestinian state."  Leading media quoted Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as 
saying in a speech in Ramallah that Palestinians had abided by 90 
percent of the road map requirements and now "Israel must do its 
part."  Livni was quoted as saying that Israel was prepared to move 
forward in discussions with the Palestinians, although the situation 
was "complicated ... more than ever."  Ha'aretz reported that Rice 
told Livni that she hoped her visit would help to "advance the work 
you are doing bilaterally with the Palestinians as well as 
continuing to plan for the Annapolis meetings." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that in an interview with the newspaper, 
the Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair urged Israel on Sunday to 
make a "psychological shift" from indifference and skepticism about 
the prospects of progress with the Palestinians to an active 
determination to "make it happen on the right terms."   He was 
quoted as saying that Israel, which turns 60 in May, would 
"absolutely" still be here in another 60 years, but that "to 
guarantee its long-term security I believe it needs a viable 
Palestinian state."  Blair was quoted as saying he was "sure that 
the Prime Minister [Ehud Olmert] is absolutely up for it. I've got 
no doubt about that at all.  The next few weeks will tell whether 
everyone is prepared to get behind that." 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Blair as saying on Sunday that he hoped to announce 
a series of projects that will help bolster the Palestinian economy. 
He told a conference in Jerusalem that formal negotiations over 
creating a Palestinian state should not be "impossibly difficult" 
but he acknowledged that the path was "utterly fraught" and that 
both sides had to take steps to build confidence. Maariv quoted 
Blair as saying that another peace meeting might take place in 
December, in which the Palestinians would present their plans for 
the future. 
 
The media reported that on Sunday four Palestinians were killed in 
the Gaza Strip in two IDF attacks against Qassam rocket launchers. 
A Qassam rocket hit a high-voltage power line at the entrance of 
Sderot, cutting the power supply to the city for two hours. 
Ha'aretz quoted Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who visited 
the region, as saying that Israel might carry out a major ground 
offensive in Gaza "when the time is right."  Ha'aretz reported that 
a private bill introduced by Knesset members Israel Hasson (Yisrael 
Beiteinu), Limor Livnat (Likud), and Matan Vilnai (Labor), and 
backed by 13 other legislators, calls for withholding Palestinian 
tax and customs revenue to pay for damage caused by Qassam rockets. 
Leading media quoted security officials as saying on Sunday that 
three Jerusalem Arabs have been charged with planning a series of 
terrorist attacks in the city, including the assassination of 
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, a suicide bombing, and a shooting 
attack near the Western Wall. 
 
Leading media reported that the office of the Military Advocate 
General is expected to ask the High Court of Justice on Monday to 
halt the publication of the Winograd Commission's final report 
pending a ruling on the right of response for IDF officers who stand 
to be harmed by the reportQs contents. 
 
Major media reported that for the first time, the Foreign Ministry 
will be given access to raw military intelligence relevant to 
political analyses.  The Winograd Commission recommended the move in 
its interim report.  Under the agreement, the Foreign Ministry will 
receive a great deal more raw intelligence collected through signals 
intelligence -- namely, communications surveillance -- in particular 
developments in Lebanon, Syria, and the PA. 
 
All media reported that the circumcision ceremony of the son of 
Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir took place in Amir's prison on 
Sunday.  Small groups of militants from the Left and the far Right 
demonstrated outside the prison.  Major media reported that before a 
soccer game on Sunday fans of the (Likud-associated) Beitar 
Jerusalem club booed the name of Yitzhak Rabin when asked to respect 
a minute of silence in memory of Rabin.  Leading media reported that 
pictures of President Shimon Peres with a kaffiyeh (Arab head-dress) 
were stuck on Jerusalem walls.  Similar images portraying Rabin were 
posted before his assassination. 
 
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, who visited Israel 
last week, was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that 
interfaith dialogue is vital for fostering understanding and 
preempting further destabilization in the Middle East. 
 
------------------------ 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, November 3-5, 2007: 
 
SIPDIS 
------------------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Olmert is convinced 
that the Israelis will not forgive him if he does not exhaust this 
opportunity.... [However] some of them will not forgive him for the 
very attempt." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Annapolis summit is an excellent 
opportunity to update the formula for peace posed by the Arab League 
and conclude that when the conflict is resolved, the Middle East 
will be free of nuclear weapons.  No exceptions!" 
 
Columnist Caleb Ben-David wrote on page one of the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Since Israel and the Palestinians are 
now already talking to each other on almost every level, Annapolis 
looks increasingly less like a shortcut in the Roadmap than a 
potentially risky detour." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "It's Starting" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/5): "In his speech 
to the Saban Forum on Sunday, Olmert made a significant step in 
marketing the Annapolis summit to the Israeli public.... Olmert 
proved a second time in a week (the first one was the press 
conference he convened to talk about his illness) that he knows how 
to create drama and control.... Should this depend on Olmert and 
Livni, the document to be presented at Annapolis will promise a 
debate on all core issues on the day after.... [But] Annapolis will 
be a photo-op.  The level of representation of the Arab countries at 
the meeting will be low.... Olmert is convinced that the Israelis 
will not forgive him if he does not exhaust this opportunity. 
Arafat is dead. It also depends which Israelis we are talking 
about: Some of them will not forgive him for the very attempt.  It 
seems that the temporary quiet -- some say: the coma -- in the 
political debate that is tearing Israel ended on Sunday.  A 
different, stormy, dramatic, and also ugly period -- as we saw on 
Sunday [over the circumcision of Yigal Amir's son] -- has started." 
 
II.  No Exceptions" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/5): "What will Israel's policy -- or for 
that matter, America's -- be, if in Iran's upcoming elections, 
Ahmadinejad were to give way to a more moderate leader, who were to 
announce that Iran recognizes Israel's right to exist within the 
1967, borders?  Will Iran become one of the 'moderate' Muslim 
states, like, say, Pakistan, which is allowed to develop nuclear 
weapons?... What will the Israeli and American policies be toward 
the Syrian nuclear program if Assad were to announce his intentions 
to step away from Iran, not interfere in Lebanon and seal the border 
with Iraq?  The struggle against the Iranian and Syrian nuclear 
programs, and in the future perhaps the Egyptian and Jordanian 
programs, is meant to divert attention from the real problem in the 
Middle East -- the war for hegemony over the region between the 
religious-extremist camp and the moderate-pragmatic one.  The 
Annapolis summit is an excellent opportunity to update the formula 
for peace posed by the Arab League and conclude that when the 
conflict is resolved, the Middle East will be free of nuclear 
weapons.  No exceptions!" 
 
III.  "The Long and Winding Roadmap" 
 
Columnist Caleb Ben-David wrote on page one of the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (11/5): "Bogged down in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, Rice and George W. Bush are in no mood to patiently 
oversee the Roadmap process developing [as a self-contained peace 
process], as the clock ticks down on their time in the White House. 
Instead, they have called a conference in Annapolis whose timing and 
purpose appear outside of the Roadmap framework, even as the latter 
is now starting to move along down the original route first set in 
motion by Bush four years ago.... Since Israel and the Palestinians 
are now already talking to each other on almost every level, 
Annapolis looks increasingly less like a shortcut in the Roadmap 
than a potentially risky detour.  So unless Rice can soon pull a 
rabbit out of her hat by bringing an Arab state such as Saudi Arabia 
into the conference -- a prospect that looks increasingly dim -- it 
is only fair to indeed ask, as Olmert did so defensively Sunday 
night: Why Annapolis, and why now?" 
 
JONES