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P 171141Z JAN 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000144 
 
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.  Israeli Politics 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media continued to lead with the situation in and around Gaza. 
The media reported that on Wednesday over 50 Qassam rockets and at 
least a dozen mortar shells landed in Sderot and its surroundings, 
while five Palestinians were killed in IDF air strikes.  Three of 
the Palestinians were civilians who were killed when a missile 
missed its target.  The media quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak and 
other defense officials as saying that Israel will step up 
operations in Gaza if the rocket barrages continue.  Maariv reported 
that the political echelon has ordered the defense establishment to 
hold off on large-scale operations until the spring.  Senior Hamas 
official Ismail (or Osama) El-Muzeini warned in an interview with 
Israel TV on Wednesday that the ongoing IDF raids on the Gaza Strip 
could turn negotiations over the release of abducted soldier Gilad 
Shalit into a "Ron Arad affair."  The warning was in reference to 
the IAF navigator who has been missing in action since his plane 
went down over Lebanon in 1986.  El-Muzeini, who is overseeing the 
Shalit matter for the group, said that if the raids continued, Hamas 
would cut off all contacts with Israel over the release of Shalit. 
Israel Radio assessed that such a scenario was unlikely, given 
Shalit's importance to Hamas.  Ha'aretz quoted Hamas's exiled leader 
Khaled Mashal as saying that recent IDF operations in the coastal 
strip also made Hamas less likely to negotiate any truce with 
Israel.  Speaking to Israeli leaders, Mashal said: "What you are 
doing will deny you of any plan you could be betting on: No exchange 
for Gilad Shalit and no truce."  Israel Radio reported that senior 
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told the London-based Ash-Sharq 
Al-Awsat that the PA cannot continue to talks with Israel as long as 
raids into Gaza continue. 
 
Israel Radio and the leading Internet news service Ynet reported 
that this morning Israel's security establishment held a successful 
rocket systems test at the Palmachim Air Force Base (on the 
Mediterranean coast, near Rishon le-Zion), adding a propulsion 
system to a test-missile in order to review its operation. 
 
Following Yisrael Beiteinu's decision to leave the government, some 
media touted the idea of new Knesset elections in 20008.  Ha'aretz 
quoted National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) 
as saying on Wednesday that Yisrael Beiteinu's decision actually 
helps Labor to be a partner in reaching a peace agreement and that 
the party must not miss the opportunity.    Ha'aretz quoted other 
senior Labor officials as saying that the party's Chairman Ehud 
Barak could not ignore the Winograd report and that he would look to 
find a replacement within Kadima for Olmert as a way to continue in 
government until  early elections could be held.   But Barak's 
advisors are continuing to repeat that only after the report is 
published will he decide on the matter, based on national and 
security concerns.  Speaking on Israel Radio this morning, former 
Labor Party cabinet minister Moshe Shahal recalled that the law does 
not allow Barak, who is not a Knesset member, to become prime 
minister.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Meretz-Yahad Chairman Yossi 
Beilin as saying on Wednesday that his party will support Olmert's 
coalition from the outside but not join it. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Shas sources as saying following 
conversations with the Prime Minister's Office that PM Ehud Olmert 
intends to accept Shas's demand that negotiations on the fate of 
Jerusalem be set aside until the end of the Annapolis diplomatic 
process.  Speaking on Israel Radio on Wednesday, Shas leader and 
Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai stated his belief 
that his party will quit the government by the end of this year. 
 
Maariv quoted senior Likud members as saying that a merger of their 
party with Yisrael Beiteinu is possible, despite Yisrael Beiteinu 
leader Avigdor Lieberman's statement on Wednesday that the chances 
for such a development are close to nil. 
 
Yom Leyom reported that President Bush told cabinet minister Eli 
Yishai during their meeting in Jerusalem that he empathizes with the 
residents of Sderot. 
 
Yediot quoted Mahmoud Zahar, whose son was killed in an IAF raid on 
Tuesday, as saying that Gilad Shalit's father Noam sent him his 
condolences. 
 
Major media reported that on Wednesday Israeli Arab politicians 
demanded that Yisrael Beiteinu be outlawed, after Avigdor Lieberman 
said that Israeli Arabs are "more dangerous" than Hamas's Khaled 
Mashal or Hizbullah's Nasrallah. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the Civil Administration as saying that it 
filed a complaint with the Foreign Ministry against U.S. 
Consul-General Jacob Walles after the diplomat refused to roll down 
his window or open his door and show identification papers on 
Wednesday.  The newspaper quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying that 
it had not yet received a complaint.  However, The Jerusalem Post 
quoted a U.S. official as saying that Walles had shown 
identification through the car window but that he refused to open 
the door.  The daily reported that after a short standoff at the 
Beit El checkpoint and after Ambassador Richard Jones got involved, 
Civil Administration head Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai authorized 
Walles to enter Ramallah. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday oligarch politician Arkady 
Gaidamak arranged a new recreational trip for Sderot children. 
 
Maariv reported that Professors Uzi Arad and Gideon Biger of the 
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) will next week present to 
the Eighth Herzliya Conference a plan involving regional territorial 
swaps between Israel and the PA, as well as  between Syria and 
Israel, Syria and Lebanon, Israel and Egypt, and Egypt and 
Palestine. 
 
Media reported that on Wednesday a former Border Police officer was 
convicted of manslaughter in the death of a Palestinian man during 
an October 2006 search in Jaffa for people without entry permits. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, while rejecting the idea of Israel 
or other countries in conflict joining NATO, five former Western 
defense chiefs called on Wednesday for the alliance and the EU to 
create a joint security "directorate" to address global terrorism 
and the challenges posed by Iran and China. 
 
Yediot reported that the U.S. refuses to grant a visa to former 
defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai, who was indicted for sexual 
misconduct.  The newspaper reported that even the Prime Minister's 
Office was unable to rescind the decision. 
 
The media cited data published by the GOI's Central Bureau of 
Statistics according to which tourism in 2007 was up 25% over the 
previous year, and up 20% over 2005, with the country drawing a 
total of 2.3 million visitors.  U.S. tourists were the most frequent 
visitors, with 527,000 (a record number), or about a quarter of all 
entries. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company -- a 
privately-owned firm owned jointly by Israel and the government of 
Iran (it was established during the Shah's rule and since the 
revolution, Iran has stopped involvement in the venture) -- is 
leading an international initiative to channel crude oil from Johan 
in southeast Turkey to eastern Asia.  A memorandum of understanding 
is expected to be signed within three months.  The oil would be 
pumped in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and be brought to Turkey by 
pipeline.  From Turkey it will be shipped by tanker to Ashkelon, 
whence it would be transported by pipeline to Eilat.  In Eilat, the 
oil will be loaded onto anew set of tankers for transportation to 
eastern Asia. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Teva Pharmaceuticals is bolstering its 
marketing and sales activities for its inhalers, made by Ivax.  The 
firm has signed and agreement with Europe's UCB to jointly market 
Teva's products that treat respiratory diseases in the U.S. 
 
Ha'aretz ran a feature on renowned American jazz and blues musician 
Amina Claudia Myers, who will perform in Israel twice next week. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "While the IDF 
is preparing for [a large-scale] operation [in the Gaza Strip], the 
government must focus on preparing the ground for a political move 
at its conclusion. Until Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, and Ehud Barak do 
this, they must not send the IDF into the Gaza Strip." 
 
Popular columnist and anchor Yair Lapid wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The Israeli instinct 
is that if force doesn't work, then more force should be used.... 
[Quite the opposite,] the only thing that can be done at present is 
to try to turn the wheel back by one month." 
 
Gilad Sharon, son of former prime minister Ariel Sharon, wrote in 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "We must fight to 
win, but without unnecessary risks to our troops.  Better for an 
entire neighborhood in Gaza to become ruins than to hold funerals 
for our soldiers." 
 
Conservative contributor Menachem Ben wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "It is impossible for Israel to mind Palestinian 
'territorial contiguity' and to dump Israeli 'territorial 
contiguity.'" 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Start from the End" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/17): "In 
recent days, the seven-year-old war of attrition in southwestern 
Israel has intensified.... The military operation the Palestinian 
groups seek to draw Israel into will not be measured only by whether 
it removes the immediate threat.  No military operation exists 
outside of a political context, and in the case of Gaza, the 
operation will not end if it is not preceded by sufficient 
preparations for a political solution.... In essence, two elements 
are necessary.  One needs to be Palestinians: The Palestinian 
Authority.... Its interlocutor is Palestinian President Mahmoud 
Abbas, and the Gaza Strip must be surrendered to him.  The second 
element must be the ability to secure the Egyptian border.... An 
international force is required, including a military component 
(preferably Jordanian), along with American, European, and other 
units.... While the IDF is preparing for the operation, the 
government must focus on preparing the ground for a political move 
at its conclusion. Until Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, and Ehud Barak do 
this, they must not send the IDF into the Gaza Strip." 
 
II.  "Reduce the Fire" 
 
Popular columnist and anchor Yair Lapid wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/17): "The Israeli 
instinct is that if force doesn't work, then more force should be 
used.... This is not just irresponsible, it is also dangerous. 
According to all the IDF scenarios going into Gaza may well entail 
scores of casualties.  This is an unacceptable number... Less than a 
month ago Hamas tried to broadcast in every manner possible ... that 
it was offering us a cease fire.  Minister [Binyamin, a.k.a. Fuad] 
Ben Eliezer went on the radio almost immediately to express his 
support for the idea.  Those familiar with the relationship between 
Ben Eliezer and Ehud Barak were well aware that it was reasonable to 
suppose that the Minister of Defense was speaking from Fuad's 
perpetually hoarse throat.  So why did it not happen?  Because we 
applied too much pressure, because Hamas has no real control over 
what is happening on the ground, because that's how things are in 
this insane region of ours.... The only thing that can be done at 
present is to try to turn the wheel back by one month: to calm 
things down, reduce the fire, use mediators, ask the criteria 
committee politely to hurry things up a bit so that we can put 
together the Shalit deal, and restore Gaza and Sderot to their usual 
abnormal state.  It won't be good, but it will be a little bit 
better than now." 
 
III. "An Extreme Situation Deserves an Extreme Solution" 
 
Gilad Sharon, son of former prime minister Ariel Sharon, wrote in 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/17): "The 
pressure employed by the terror organization [Hamas] on our civilian 
population is unacceptable and must be responded to with 
extraordinary pressure on their population whose support is the main 
oxygen and fuel for terror.  Even if ultimately we are compelled to 
embark on a large-scale operation in Gaza, we must not treat it like 
a surgical operation of microscopic accuracy.  We must call on the 
non-fighting population to evacuate.  We must fight to win, but 
without unnecessary risks to our troops.  Better for an entire 
neighborhood in Gaza to become ruins than to hold funerals for our 
soldiers.  All resistance must be pulverized and crushed before our 
forces enter and this -- as all Gazans will agree  -- is less 
desirable than sitting by candle light.  The Gazans must be told: 
'We will have quiet.  You can choose if this will come about by your 
sitting in the dark or by turning your houses into rubble.'  The 
dilemma should be theirs.  Let them choose how quiet should be 
brought about." 
 
IV.  "Our Swiss Cheese" 
 
Conservative contributor Menachem Ben wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (1/17): "George Bush's comment, following Ariel 
Sharon's, that is not possible for the Palestinians to have a state 
shaped like a Swiss cheese full of holes (the Israeli settlements) 
was almost universally accepted in Israel.... But, even within the 
Green Line's borders, Israel is more 'punctured' than Judea and 
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], to say nothing of Gaza, which has 
become judenrein [free of Jews] after all of its Swiss holes [the 
Gaza settlements] were abandoned with awful brutality.  [Avigdor] 
Lieberman is totally right about this: It is impossible for Israel 
to mind Palestinian 'territorial contiguity' and to dump Israeli 
'territorial contiguity.'" 
 
--------------------- 
¶2.  Israeli Politics: 
--------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "It 
should be obvious that Labor will only continue to lose more of the 
public's confidence if it clings to Olmert's sinking political 
ship." 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post: 
"Between the dual effect of Palestinian terror and Israeli 
prosperity, Netanyahu's worldview has taken over politics in this 
country during the two years since the last election.... What I once 
thought of as right-wing demagoguery has become, in the present 
conditions, common sense." 
 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Barak's Promise" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (1/17): 
"The current combination of a leadership crisis created both by the 
sudden incapacitation of Ariel Sharon and the collapse in confidence 
in his successor and external challenges would seem to warrant an 
emergency coalition of national unity under a new prime minister. 
What is already clear, even before the final Winograd Report, is 
that the worst option is a continuation of the status quo.  While 
Olmert himself bears primary responsibility for not drawing the 
personal conclusions that Dan Halutz and Amir Peretz eventually did, 
it is Ehud Barak who is now sustaining Olmert's coalition.  Barak 
and the Labor Party leadership apparently fear new elections, in 
which polls indicate that the party would lose seats.  But it should 
be obvious that Labor will only continue to lose more of the 
public's confidence if it clings to Olmert's sinking political ship. 
 If Barak can succeed in engineering Olmert's resignation without 
new elections, that might be preferable, but Labor must not sustain 
this government just to avoid going to the polls.  [Avigdor] 
Lieberman kept his commitment; Barak should keep his promise to the 
public as well." 
 
II.  "The Three Bibis" 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post (1/17): 
"There's no controversy anymore.  Between the dual effect of 
Palestinian terror and Israeli prosperity, Netanyahu's worldview has 
taken over politics in this country during the two years since the 
last election.... So -Q who do you want for prime minister?  When it 
comes to the Bibi-ization [Bibi is Netanyahu's nickname] of Israeli 
of policy toward Gaza and the West Bank, I blame the Palestinians. 
They didn't have to keep firing Qassams after we got out of Gaza, 
but they did, and now even an old leftist like me is unwilling to 
get the IDF out of the West Bank for fear that the Palestinians will 
rocket Ben-Gurion Airport like they're rocketing Sderot.   What I 
once thought of as right-wing demagoguery has become, in the present 
conditions, common sense. As for peace negotiations, they can't go 
anywhere as long as the Palestinian Authority can't or won't control 
terror, and the PA can't or won't.  On security, then, the debate in 
Israel is no longer between hawks and doves, but between hawks and 
super-hawks." 
 
JONES