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P 111135Z DEC 07
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RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 1249
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3875
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003491 
 
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.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem 
as saying that the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators who will meet 
in Jerusalem on Wednesday to kick off final-status negotiations will 
focus on process, procedure, and building a framework for the 
bilateral talks aimed at reaching an agreement.  The sources were 
quoted as saying that nothing has yet been decided regarding the 
framework for the talks, though they are expected to begin in 
earnest following President Bush's planned visit in mid-January. 
 
Media reported that the PA at first threatened to boycott the talks 
if Israel did not cancel a tender --  and later recanted threats -- 
to build 307 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har 
Homa.  Leading media reported that on Friday Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel for the construction plan. 
 
Ha'aretz cited information obtained by the Foreign Ministry from 
Russian sources in recent days, according to which the U.S. supports 
holding a second peace conference in Moscow that would address 
Israel's conflicts with Syria and Lebanon as well as the Palestinian 
issue.  Nevertheless, Ha'aretz quoted GOI sources in Jerusalem as 
saying they have some doubts about the Russian claim, as they have 
received contradictory reports from Washington.  They added that 
they expect the situation to become clearer at next week's meeting 
of donor nations to the Palestinian Authority, as representatives of 
the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers -- the U.S., EU, UN, and 
Russia -- will meet on the sidelines to discuss whether to hold a 
Moscow conference and if so, when and in what format.  Ha'aretz 
cited information received by the Foreign Ministry that that U.S. 
supports a regional conference that would also deal with the Syrian 
and Lebanese tracks.  Ha'aretz reported that the conference would 
probably take place in April 2008 and would be at the level of 
foreign ministers. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad 
as saying on Monday that that he hopes that next week's donors 
conference to the PA will yield $5.6 billion to stoke the economy 
and lay the basis for an independent state by 2011. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday PA officials in Ramallah 
expressed outrage with Saudi Arabia for hosting a senior Hamas 
delegation headed by Khaled Mashal. 
 
Major media quoted Capt. John Kirby, a spokesman for visiting U.S. 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, as saying 
on Monday that the intelligence estimate "made it clear that Iran 
did have a nuclear weapons program and that they are still enriching 
uranium."  The Jerusalem Post reported that Mullen's remarks left 
the IDF with a feeling the Israel does not stand alone in the face 
of the Iranian nuclear threat, despite the recent NIE report. 
Maariv reported that Mullen was briefed on the IAF's offensive 
capability.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Mullen as saying that 
friends do not have to agree on everything. 
 
Leading media reported that on Monday in Paris French President 
Nicholas Sarkozy told opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu that 
the world must continue to press Iran over its nuclear program, 
including via a new UN Security Council resolution imposing tougher 
sanctions on Tehran.  Yediot quoted senior sources in the entourage 
of PM Ehud Olmert as saying on Monday that Israel has no information 
that would contradict that Israeli assumption that Iran continues 
its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. 
 
Leading electronic media reported that three Palestinian gunmen, 
members of Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, were 
killed in an Israeli air strike on Tuesday, after they opened fire 
at IDF forces operating near the town of Khan Yunis in southern 
Gaza.  Two other IAF strikes left three Popular Resistance 
Committees members critically injured and wounded four Palestinians, 
according to local sources.   The leading web site Ynet reported 
that dozens of Israeli tanks and bulldozers have entered the Strip. 
Ynet quoted the Israeli defense establishment as saying that this is 
not the large-scale operation that has been bandied about in recent 
weeks. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that in late November Hamas's government in the 
Gaza Strip tightened its grip on three important civilian 
institutions: the court system, the municipality, and the Central 
Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.   Ha'aretz says that in taking 
over these branches of governance, Hamas deepened the institutional 
rift between its dominion and the Fatah-led West Bank, enhancing the 
Strip's character as a separate entity. 
 
Major media reported that two men convicted of the 1992 
assassination of four Iranian opposition figures in a Berlin 
restaurant have been released early from prison.  The release of one 
of the men, Kazem Darabi, an Iranian, had been previously tied to 
information on missing IAF navigator Ron Arad. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday President Bush hosted 
Jewish leaders, including Deputy Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and 
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the spiritual leader of the Abayudaya Jews of 
Uganda, who had suffered religious persecution, as part of White 
House events commemorating Chanukah   Bush condemned the "ideology 
of hate" which he said the U.S. was fighting against, and told his 
guests that freedom of worship is a key American value. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday the right-wing group 
Human Rights in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza accused the state 
authorities of "trampling" on the rights of West Bank settlers and 
their supporters. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the International Monetary Fun as saying, 
in a report released on Monday by the Finance Ministry, that Israel 
must step up efforts to cut debt, reducing the economy's 
vulnerability to "external shocks and preserving the government's 
ability to fund welfare payments during an economic slowdown. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli and Palestinian doctors met 
on Monday in East Jerusalem with World Health Organization officials 
in the territories, but ended up being bogged down by politics 
without agreeing on any concrete proposals.  They had intended to 
find practical solutions to the health problems of Gaza residents. 
 
Hamodi'a reported that applying for a U.S. non-immigrant visa will 
become more expensive, reaching $131.  The $31 increase covers a 
fingerprinting fee. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the American Embassy's Foreign 
Commercial Service wants to double the number of Israelis studying 
in the U.S.  The Israeli Fulbright program and a subsidiary of the 
Smile Internet Zahav web provider are associated with this program 
and will launch a special on-line portal where young Israelis can 
easily apply to hundreds of American institutions of higher 
education. 
 
Ha'aretz presented the results of Tel Aviv University's Peace Index 
poll conducted among Jewish Israelis on December 3-4: 
 
As in the past the main issues on which the public thinks the sides 
will have trouble reaching a compromise are (in rank order) 
Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees, although compared to 
the late 1990s, less weight is now ascribed to Jerusalem and 
considerably more is given to the refugee issue. 
As in the past, the dominant view is that the Israeli government and 
people are interested in peace -- 78 and 80 percent, respectively. 
Surprisingly, though, now there is also a majority --  albeit a 
small one -- that says the PA under President Mahmoud Abbas also 
wants peace (55 percent).  Regarding the desire for peace among the 
Palestinian people in general, opinions are divided, with a very 
slight lead on the positive side: 48 percent think the Palestinians 
want peace, while 45 percent think they do not. 
Notwithstanding all the events of recent years, a majority of the 
Jewish public also views the Palestinians' demand for an independent 
state as justified -- 62 percent (compared to 34.5 percent who see 
it as unjustified). As in the past, there is also a majority - 58 
percent -- that is sure or thinks Israel can permit the 
establishment of an independent Palestinian state (32 percent think 
or are sure it cannot, and the rest do not know). 
However, despite the positive attitude toward the two-state solution 
both in terms of justice and pragmatism, a large obstacle is the 
widespread belief among the Jewish Israeli public that even if a 
peace agreement is signed along these lines, it will not end the 
conflict with the Palestinians. Whereas 61 percent hold this 
pessimistic assessment, only 31 percent believe an agreement on two 
states would end the conflict from the Palestinians' standpoint. 
Furthermore, a large majority -- 71 percent -- believe it is 
impossible to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians without 
Hamas's consent, with only 21 percent claiming the opposite. The 
pollsters said that given the perception of Abbas' weakness, it is 
clear why this assessment also contributes to a lack of faith in the 
feasibility of a peaceful solution. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "In the face 
of all [right-wing efforts], the government and a majority of the 
public must respond clearly and confidently: 'Yes to concessions in 
Jerusalem, as distinguished from conceding Jerusalem.'" 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Holy Stones, not Stumbling Blocks" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (12/11): "The 
bargaining lines on the issues of borders and the refugees are 
clear.  So will the distribution of blame for the negotiations' 
failure be, should Israel refuse to withdraw to the '67 lines and 
the Palestinians refuse to accept financial compensation for the 
refugees and settling them in their own state.  Reaching 
arrangements on these two core issues would leave only Jerusalem, 
which was already debated at the Camp David conference held in the 
summer of 2000.  The peace objectors, or those who speak in favor of 
peace but are unwilling to pay its price, are now forming a 
fortified wall around Greater Jerusalem.  If their plan succeeds, 
they will convert the city of peace into an obstacle to peace.  The 
method is simple, having been tried and tested repeatedly on the 
Israeli public, involving pulling out the slogan 'Peres/Barak/Olmert 
will divide Jerusalem.'  Right-wing politicians, with the financial 
and political support of American rightist Jewish and Christian 
groups, launch a preemptive attack.  They intend to sway public 
opinion, parts of the coalition that may support them, and the next 
Knesset elections.  In the face of all these, the government and a 
majority of the public must respond clearly and confidently: 'Yes to 
concessions in Jerusalem, as distinguished from conceding 
Jerusalem.'" 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "If 
Israel sees no urgency, why should any other country?  This 
impression needs to be corrected quickly, or the year ahead will be 
marked by Iranian advances rather than by increasing pressure on the 
world's most dangerous terrorist regime." 
 
Columnist Calev Ben-David wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "Israel may 
have to act for its survival, is the message [Chairman of Joint 
Chiefs of Staff Mike] Mullen received Monday.  One wonders though, 
that even as he sat there politely listening to our concerns, what 
he really wanted to say in response was: 'Tell it to the Marines.'" 
 
Columnist Yoaz Hendel wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe: "If the recent [NIE] report illustrates a 
'different' thinking in the CIA, Mullen's visit shows that as far as 
he is concerned, common threats [to the U.S. and Israel] are real 
and existent." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Missing the Urgency" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (12/11): 
"It is not possible ... to sound and turn off the alarm at the same 
time.  If the U.S. indeed wants sanctions to be intensified, it must 
undo the self-inflicted damage it has caused to its own diplomacy. 
It is not enough to say that Iran is 'still dangerous,' as Bush and 
his team have been doing.  Rather, the NIE's bizarre attempt to 
distinguish between Iran's 'military' and 'civilian' nuclear program 
must be effectively reversed.... [President Bush has implied that] 
the Iranians' 'civilian' enrichment program is fundamentally 
military in nature, and their race to build a bomb, therefore, does 
not have to be 'resumed.'  It is continuing right now.  The Bush 
administration, if it is to achieve its declared policy goal of 
increasing pressure on Iran, must find a way to drive this point 
home, as difficult as this has become after the NIE's twisted 
analysis.  Israel, for its part, needs to issue the equivalent of 
its own NIE, in whatever form, restating the largely agreed-upon 
facts: Iran has and continues to single-mindedly pursue nuclear 
weapons and is doing so overtly and perhaps also covertly.... For 
some time, Israel has tried to keep a somewhat low profile on the 
Iranian issue, in the hopes that the world would act appropriately 
on its own.  This reticence may have been misinterpreted as a lack 
of urgency on Israel's part.  And if Israel sees no urgency, why 
should any other country?  This impression needs to be corrected 
quickly, or the year ahead will be marked by Iranian advances rather 
than by increasing pressure on the world's most dangerous terrorist 
regime." 
 
II.  "Attack Iran?  Tell It to the Marines" 
 
Columnist Calev Ben-David wrote in The Jerusalem Post (12/11): "Last 
week, in a Time magazine article titled 'Why the Pentagon is happy 
about the NIE,' Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, was among the US military heads cited as being relieved that 
the release of the National Intelligence Estimate declaring that 
Teheran is not now developing nuclear weapons had seemingly taken 
the military option off the table.  The reason is simple: With close 
to 190,000 American troops now in Iraq and Afghanistan, US military 
manpower is being stretched to the limit.... From Mullen's 
perspective, the last thing he needs right now is a new [front] with 
Iran.  Sanctions and diplomacy, yes, but military action, no -- even 
if Israel acts on its own, since Iran would likely respond elsewhere 
in the region where American troops are in combat.  And without 
American consent and cooperation, it is very unlikely Israel would 
be able to carry out any effective attack, certainly from the air, 
on Iran's nuclear facilities.  Israel may have to act for its 
survival, is the message Mullen received Monday.  One wonders 
though, that even as he sat there politely listening to our 
concerns, what he really wanted to say in response was: 'Tell it to 
the Marines.'" 
 
 
 
 
III.  "Identity of Interests" 
 
Columnist Yoaz Hendel wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe (12/11): "As one can remember, the invasion of Iraq 
started following a detailed report from the American intelligence 
agencies found that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass 
destruction.  The army that quickly conquered Iraq was unable to 
find anything.  Admiral Mullen's visit at this juncture, even if it 
was planned in advance, shows that there is an identity of interests 
between the U.S. Army and the IDF.  If the recent [NIE] report 
illustrates a 'different' thinking in the CIA, Mullen's visit shows 
that as far as he is concerned, common threats are real and 
existent." 
 
JONES