VZCZCXRO7834
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #3377 3321231
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281231Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4354
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003377 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL IS
SUBJECT: ISRAEL FIRST REACTION: ANNAPOLIS GOOD START, BUT 
DIFFICULTIES REMAIN 
 
¶1.  The day after the international conference in Annapolis, 
most Israelis view the event as a success but still think the 
difficulties in achieving peace are too great to overcome, 
especially before the end of 2008.  Newspapers have devoted 
most of their front page and large internal sections to the 
event, but no one seemed to rush home last night to see the 
speeches, and the television stations quickly returned to 
their regular programming when the three opening statements 
were done.  However, there are already signs of a growing 
thread of optimism on the street; the lack of enthusiasm 
appears to stem from public weariness after past 
disappointments.  Overall, the event bolstered U.S. prestige, 
achieved broad Arab attendance, and elicited rage from the 
Iranians and other extremists-- all significant positives for 
most Israelis. 
 
¶2.  Many Israelis feel that Annapolis was theater, while the 
most cynical think Prime Minister Olmert is only engaging in 
this show to buy himself more time in the face of the 
still-looming Winograd final report and several criminal 
investigations.  This includes an announcement expected this 
week on whether the Prime Minister will be indicted for 
alleged improprieties in the privatization of Bank Leumi 
while he was Finance Minister.  Most observers think that by 
agreeing to the 2008 timeframe for an agreement, Olmert has 
deftly secured another year in office and kept Labor chairman 
Ehud Barak in the governing coalition despite Barak's 
promises to leave when Winograd is released. 
 
¶3.  For its part, the political right wasted little time in 
mobilizing against the Annapolis event. Danny Dayan, chairman 
of the settler's council, vowed to fight concessions on land 
with every means available, while a Likud spokesperson 
immediately called for right-wing parties SHAS and Yisrael 
Beiteinu to quit the governing coalition.  SHAS party 
chairman Eli Yishai released a statement within hours of 
Olmert's speech on Tuesday night calling it "fantasy," and 
underlining that real concessions cannot be made until terror 
ends, there is no more incitement in Palestinian schools, and 
Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.  He added 
that SHAS spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia has made it clear 
that SHAS must quit the coalition if any move is made to 
divide Jerusalem. 
 
¶4.  Yisrael Beiteinu leader and Minister for Strategic 
Threats Avigdor Lieberman called the statements in Annapolis 
"pitiful" and said it was a sign of how difficult final 
status talks will be.  However, Lieberman, like SHAS, said 
that Annapolis was not significant enough to warrant leaving 
the coalition.  Lieberman called instead for Israel to deal 
with its most immediate threat by mounting a major military 
operation into Gaza. 
 
¶5. Even those who see Annapolis as theater admitted it was 
good theater, with broad attendance from the Arab world and 
an unexpected joint statement that laid out the way forward. 
The images in the Israeli media showed strong American 
leadership, Arab foreign ministers listening to Olmert and 
sitting alongside Foreign Minister Livni, and Syria in 
attendance but marginalized.  Before the conference, polls 
indicated most Israelis favored peace, but over 60 percent 
thought the Annapolis conference would do nothing to achieve 
that peace.  Now, the Israeli public seems to see Annapolis 
as a positive development that will start a real process, 
even if they believe the obstacles to peace will remain 
immutable. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
MORENO