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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003520 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Maariv reported that President Bush is expected to accept an 
invitation by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to visit Israel during the 
state's 60th anniversary celebrations.  The newspaper reported that 
the Prime Minister's Office confirmed the visit, but  added that it 
does not yet have an official response. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that on Sunday the cabinet is 
expected -- at Defense Minister Ehud Barak's request -- to maintain 
the "state of emergency" status of Sderot and communities bordering 
the Gaza Strip until the end of March because of continued Qassam 
rocket fire.  Under the order, the IDF is involved in managing the 
communities targeted by Qassam rockets.  Meanwhile, Sderot Mayor Eli 
Moyal rescinded his resignation at Barak's request.  Maariv reported 
that as opposed to PM Ehud Olmert, Barak is in favor of protecting 
Sderot's houses.  Israel Radio reported that since Israel's 
disengagement from Gaza, the Palestinians have launched over 3,500 
rockets and shells at Israel -- half of then since Hamas's takeover 
of Gaza.  Maariv reported that contradicting professional advice in 
the Defense Ministry, Barak has ordered his ministry to consider 
again two interception systems -- one of which is being built by the 
Rafael company.  Barak's announcement comes after Israel Aerospace 
Industries' decision to build its own system. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying during a meeting 
with EU ambassadors in Tel Aviv on Thursday that the 
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that began on Wednesday with mutual 
distrust need to be divorced from "current events."  Maariv reported 
that Livni told the diplomats that Syria is exacerbating the 
security situation along the border with Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on the eve of the donors conference 
in Paris, which is expected to discuss ways of strengthening the 
Palestinian Authority, PA officials admitted on Thursday that they 
still have a long way to go in reforming their security forces -- a 
key condition set by the international community for funding the 
government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.   The Jerusalem Post also 
reported that PA Civil Police commander Gen. Kamal al-Sheikh 
revealed that 612 Fatah-affiliated policemen -- out of 13,000 
policemen in the Gaza Strip -- helped Hamas take control of the Gaza 
Strip last June. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israeli and American officials involved in 
the intelligence analysis of Iran's nuclear efforts will meet soon 
to discuss their differing assessments.  Ha'aretz said that Israel, 
which was surprised by the National Intelligence Assessment, asked 
for the meeting.    Ha'aretz quoted defense establishment sources as 
saying this week that Israel accepted 90 to 95 percent of the 
intelligence material on which the American assessment was based, 
including the assertion that Iran stopped the development of nuclear 
weapons in 2003 but was continuing uranium enrichment and the 
development of long-range weapons.  Among the Israeli participants 
in the talks will be experts at the level of department heads in IDF 
Intelligence, the Mossad, the IAF, and the Atomic Energy Commission. 
 The U.S. intelligence community will be represented by 
representatives from the CIA, Pentagon intelligence agencies, the 
Department of Energy, and the National Intelligence Council 
operating alongside the Director of National Intelligence.  Makor 
Rishon reported that Dr. Thomas Fingar, Chairman of the U.S. 
National Intelligence Council, the author of the recent NIE report, 
had written a report with opposite conclusions this summer. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that speaking at the Washington 
Institute for Near East Policy on Thursday, European diplomats 
promised "robust" action from the EU on Iran and said the EU will 
introduce their own sanctions if the UN Security Council approves a 
weak third resolution, despite the NIE report.  Leading media 
reported that on Thursday Russia and Iran agreed on a time line to 
complete the construction of the nuclear reactor in Bushehr. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Nabil Fahmy, the Egyptian Ambassador to the 
U.S., as saying that the U.S. administration has only a few months 
left to advance Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. 
 
Ha'aretz obtained a copy of the speech PA Chairman [President] 
Mahmoud Abbas is expected to deliver at the donors conference in 
Paris on Monday.  Ha'aretz said that he will demand a complete halt 
of Israeli construction in the territories.  Major media reported 
that on Thursday Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair, 
Defense Minister Barak, and Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad, met to 
discuss possible economic cooperation ahead of next week's 
conference. 
 
Maariv quoted the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as saying that the 
authority of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has 
been transferred to this Deputy, Naim Qassem.  The Jerusalem Post 
cited a Congressional report that North Korea might have helped 
train and equip Hizbullah, improving its capabilities ahead of the 
war. 
 
Maariv reported that grave warnings by the Jordanian authorities 
about possible assassinations of Israeli diplomats in Jordan have 
almost completely crippled the activity of the Israeli Embassy in 
Amman.  The newspaper reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry 
would not comment. 
 
Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz quoted the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) as saying on Thursday that Israeli restrictions 
have caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank that is 
growing worse, leaving hospitals unable to treat the sick and 
keeping farmers off their land.  The ICRC called on Israel to "lift 
the retaliatory measures which are paralyzing life in Gaza" and 
urged Palestinian factions to stop targeting civilian areas and 
putting lives at risk. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that jailed Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti 
told the editor of Al Jazeera-TV's web site that Israel is not 
serious in the negotiations.  Barghouti cited construction in the 
settlements and killing and arrests of Palestinians.  Ha'aretz and 
Makor Rishon quoted Barghouti as saying that Palestinian suffering 
has worsened since Mahmoud Abbas came to power. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Palestinian Shipping Council 
plans to file a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against "those 
responsible" for causing the severe monetary damage that has 
resulted from the loss of business brought on by the now 
half-year-long closure of the Gaza Strip crossings. 
 
Ha'aretz reported on British PM Gordon Brown's ambition to play an 
active role in the Middle East.  The newspaper reported that he 
dispatched his close adviser, Secretary of State for International 
Development Douglas Alexander, to the region with a 243-million 
pound ($500 million) contribution destined for the Palestinians over 
three years, in accordance with progress in the peace process. 
 
Leading media reported that police have twice interrogated MK Said 
Naffaa (National Democratic Assembly) over an unauthorized trip to 
Syria. 
 
Maariv reported that officers in the professional army are 
increasingly leaving the IDF for reasons such as last year's Lebanon 
War and civilian "temptations." 
 
Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that on Thursday Israel's Consulate 
General in New York opened a page on the leading online social 
network Facebook.  Ha'aretz quoted David Saranga, the Consul for 
Media and Public Affairs at the Consulate General, who initiated the 
project, as saying: "It is meant to reach the younger population, 
which according to our studies tends to view Israel as less relevant 
to their lives."  Saranga was quoted as saying that the Consulate's 
page was the first any country in the world has launched on 
Facebook. 
 
Maariv reported that on Wednesday, ending a lengthy legal dispute, 
Israel agreed to return "Sergey's Courtyard" (in West Jerusalem's 
Russian Compound) to Russia.  The newspaper reported that the Duke 
of Edinburgh, a member of the Russian imperial family, might claim 
ownership to the building. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that a record 17,000 participants in the 
Taglit-birthright israel program will land in Israel this winter in 
the latest chance for Jews 18 to 26 years old to visit Israel on a 
heavily subsidized educational trip. 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Liberal columnist Doron Rosenblum wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "When it appears that Barak's policies ... 
are improvised ... and when his party's electoral strength continues 
to plummet in surveys, along with fragments of the party itself, the 
result is the feeling of a vacuum." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "[Palestinian pollster Khalil] Shikaki has indicated that as 
of today Hamas would lose elections by a large margin.... Israeli 
security sources are starting to see this." 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The main problem that 
[Mahmoud] Abbas and his lieutenants continue to face is not whether 
the bulldozers are continuing to work in Har Homa, but the fact that 
many Palestinians still don't see them as a better alternative to 
Hamas." 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in Maariv: "Why for God's 
sake must youngsters with skullcaps realize Hamas's dream?" 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Our Mona Lisa" 
 
Liberal columnist Doron Rosenblum wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (12/14): "If ... many Israelis sleep soundly 
with [Ehud] Barak at the wheel, it is due more to the things that 
they do not know he is doing than the things that they know he is 
doing.  Their hope is that, in the dark of night, he is conducting 
the country's defense matters wisely, responsibly and intelligently 
-- which is almost the opposite of the clumsy, crafty, bumbling 
manner in which he conducts himself before the television cameras, 
in his party and in Israeli politics in general.... When it appears 
that Barak's policies (on the Supreme Court's status, Annapolis, the 
settlers) are improvised, in accordance with the newspaper articles 
he read that morning, and when his party's electoral strength 
continues to plummet in surveys, along with fragments of the party 
itself, the result is the feeling of a vacuum. Israel needs a 
leadership that is more than the sum total of the 'eccentricities of 
genius' (to quote Mr. Pickwick in Charles Dickens' 'The Pickwick 
Papers,' when he hears that someone who devoured oysters then threw 
the shells at one of his friends)." 
 
II.  "Barak's Nightmare" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (12/14): "The Annapolis process, of which the Palestinian 
street is skeptical, is the key [to the fate of Palestinian 
politics].  Should it fail, the Palestinian public would in large 
numbers run to Hamas.  Within a year, a galactic explosion can be 
expected -- to the extent of Fatah disappearing, radical movements 
taking over Palestinian society, and secularism and pragmatism being 
obliterated.  [Palestinian pollster Khalil] Shikaki has indicated 
that as of today Hamas would lose elections by a large margin. 
Currently, only 30% of Palestinians support suicide bombings, as 
opposed to 70-80% in the past.... Israeli security sources are 
starting to identify this.  The pressure of sanctions on Gaza, 
severe international isolation, and IDF activity.... The cabinet was 
presented ... with data showing the weakening of Hamas.  In the 
present state of affairs, the IDF and Ehud Barak believe that some 
patience is needed.... The time is not yet ripe." 
 
III.  "Under Pressure" 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (12/14): "The main problem 
that [Mahmoud] Abbas and his lieutenants continue to face is not 
whether the bulldozers are continuing to work in Har Homa, but the 
fact that many Palestinians still don't see them as a better 
alternative to Hamas... In fact, the Palestinians look at the Mukata 
'presidential' compound in Ramallah and continue to see the same old 
faces of those who failed their people time and again over the past 
15 years.  The negotiators who came to Jerusalem on Wednesday are 
the same figures that negotiated on behalf of the Palestinians at 
Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Cairo, Wye River, Camp David, and, finally, 
Annapolis.  As far as many Palestinians are concerned, these 
officials belong to an era of financial corruption, embezzlement, 
and anarchy which they wish to forget.  Perhaps that's the reason 
why most Palestinians have no confidence in the peace talks that 
were launched this week." 
 
IV.  "In the Service of Hamas" 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in Maariv (12/14): "The 
project to destroy the Jewish states won yet another achievement 
this week -- a Chanukah miracle for Hamas.... True, these [new] 
outposts are for show.  But experience teaches us that outposts win 
in this battle.  Some will stay.... In fact, it is not the settlers 
or the outposts that win.  The victory is Hamas's.  In stages ... 60 
years after the UN resolution on the establishment of a Jewish 
state, the operation to annihilate it is gathering speed.  The 
Jewish and Zionist camp in Israel is astounded by this idiocy.  Why 
for God's sake must youngsters with skullcaps realize Hamas's dream? 
 Don't say that you are following in the footsteps of the fouders 
from the 1930s.  You are taking the Jewish state from us.  There is 
no need to take away history, too." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Can Iran yet be stopped, military or by 
any other route?  The thinking in Israel is still that, yes, it can, 
but that the NIE's intervention means military action, if it proves 
necessary, will only be possible further down what is a fairly short 
road." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"The Year of Engagement" 
 
Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (12/14): "[According to Brig. Gen. (res.) 
Shlomo Brom, the former head of strategic planning in the IDF,] if 
the U.S. intelligence assessment is accurate, then a military strike 
on Iran would actually be more feasible than previously thought from 
a purely military perspective, because the NIE minimizes the 
likelihood of current covert facilities.... But equally, of course, 
the sanguine NIE has rendered the likelihood of military action 
thoroughly unfeasible from a political perspective -- and not just 
for the U.S., but for Israel, too.... Can Iran yet be stopped, 
military or by any other route?  The thinking in Israel is still 
that, yes, it can, but that the NIE's intervention means military 
action, if it proves necessary, will only be possible further down 
what is a fairly short road.... By [2009], according to [IDF Chief 
of Staff] Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel's ability to act 'against various 
threats' will be upgraded greatly -- with a strong emphasis,' as he 
so resonantly put it this week, 'on long-range capability.'" 
 
JONES