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P 221109Z JAN 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000178 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel's siege of Gaza dominated the news over the weekend.  The 
media reported that, Israel agreed on Monday to allow some fuel and 
medicine to reach Gaza in order to avert a humanitarian crisis, 
while saying at the same time that the siege will continue and 
blaming Hamas for creating the suffering.  This decision followed 
growing international pressure over Israel's actions in response to 
increased rocket fire from Gaza.  The media reported that PM Ehud 
Olmert told a Kadima Knesset faction meeting Monday: "We will not 
allow a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  But we have no intention of 
making their lives easier... As far as I am concerned, every 
resident of Gaza can walk because they have no gasoline for their 
vehicles, because they have a murderous regime that doesn't let 
people in southern Israel live in peace." 
 
Maariv reported that Israel has apparently infringed the Supreme 
Court's conditions for cutting energy to the Strip.  According to 
Yediot, on Monday the Foreign Ministry claimed that Hamas 
intentionally cut the power in Gaza at 8 p.m. on Sunday  to coincide 
with the prime time news broadcasts in Israel and the Middle East 
(and Europe),  sending scores of Gazans in to the streets.  Media 
reported that on Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to 
allow the EU to resume deliveries of industrial fuel to the power 
plant in Gaza as well as diesel and butane gas used for cooking. 
Ha'aretz quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that 
restrictions would remain in place on gasoline used for cars. 
Maariv and Israel Radio reported that the UN Security Council will 
convene following a call by the Arab countries. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that there is growing concern in Israel that the 
recent tightening of sanctions against the Gaza Strip will result in 
international pressure to transfer control of the border crossings 
into the Strip to the PA.   PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad proposed 
during last month's donor nations' conference in Paris that 
Palestinian forces not affiliated with the rival Hamas and Fatah 
factions take over operations at the crossing points.  Fayyad is 
also considering the possibility of involving private international 
companies specializing in border crossings, who would assist PA 
officials in running them.    Senior U.S. officials have sent a 
number of memos to Israeli counterparts describing Fayyad's idea as 
"creative and worth a serious look."  Israeli sources quoted 
American officials saying that "Fayyad is a person we completely 
trust and if he is proposing such an idea it is worthwhile to assist 
him and approach the matter favorably."  Ha'aretz wrote that 
Fayyad's proposal also enjoys the support of many European states, 
including Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands.  Ha'aretz 
reported that at this stage Israel has reservations about Fayyad's 
proposal, but that it has not rejected it. Ha'aretz quoted a senior 
diplomatic source in Jerusalem as saying on Monday: "Opening the 
crossings by Fayyad, without coordination with Hamas, is 
impossible."  "Opening the crossings with the agreement of Hamas 
means the group is granted legitimacy. This can only result in a 
weakening of Fayyad and a bolstering of Hamas," the same source 
added.  Another Israeli concern is that agreeing to Fayyad's 
proposal may lead to an irreversible situation, making it impossible 
to use closures as leverage in response to Qassam rocket attacks. 
 
On Sunday all media reported on what they described as a "heinous" 
and "sickening performance" by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan 
Nasrallah on Saturday when he announced that his organization holds 
body parts of Israeli soldiers, including "hands, legs and heads." 
Nasrallah complained that no progress was being made on a prisoner 
exchange deal, due to the "lack of responsiveness" on the Israeli 
side.  Military sources defined this as a cynical and wicked move, 
and slammed Nasrallah for trampling basic codes of human dignity. 
Israeli political officials made it clear that no negotiations would 
be held with Hizbullah over body parts. 
 
The media (Maariv's lead story) reported that 50 IDF reserve 
officers, most of whom fought in the Second Lebanon have sent PM 
Olmert a letter in which they urge him to take responsibility for 
the failure of the war. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Maariv quoted Western sources as saying that 
the successful launch on Monday in India of an advanced Israeli 
satellite was delayed in recent months by Iranian sabotage.  The 
TECSAR satellite -- developed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace 
Industries (IAI) -- was supposed to be launched in September, on the 
heels of the June launch of the Ofek-7 spy satellite.  Media 
reported that the new satellite will be tightly watching Iran's 
ground-to-ground missiles. 
 
Maariv quoted senior Labor Party members as saying that they will 
convince PM Olmert to proclaim new elections in 2009.  On Monday The 
Jerusalem Post quoted President Shimon Peres as saying at the 
Herzliya Conference on Sunday that the government should bring its 
plan for a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians to the people 
for approval -- apparently in general elections.  On Sunday The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Yisrael Beiteinu's exit from the 
government deals a blow to prospects for electoral reform. 
 
On Sunday Maariv reported that the special ministerial forum that 
was appointed to make recommendations regarding which of the Hamas 
prisoners described as having "blood on their hands" should be 
released in exchange for Gilad Shalit has drawn up a partial list, 
and over the next several days is expected to complete its work and 
submit it to Ehud Olmert on its way to approval by the cabinet. 
 
Visiting Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen was quoted as saying in an 
interview with Ha'aretz on Monday that the singling out of Israel 
for criticism in international fora was unfair.  On Sunday The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Canada plans to remove both Israel and 
the U.S. from a list drawn up by the Foreign Ministry in Ottawa of 
countries where prisoners risk torture and abuse. 
 
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton was quoted as saying in 
an interview with Ha'aretz on Sunday that the IDF ground offensive 
during the Second Lebanon War did not influence the UN cease-fire. 
He told Israel Radio that part of Israel's air raid in Syria in 
September should be exposed.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Israeli 
defense sources as saying that Israel's ambiguity policy will 
continue. 
 
On Monday The Jerusalem Post reported that 150 families from Sderot 
are considering sending their children to the U.S. 
 
On Monday Ha'aretz quoted Israeli government officials as saying on 
Sunday that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones is the leading 
candidate for the post of U.S. Ambassador to Russia. 
 
Leading media reported that a Housing Ministry official told a 
Knesset panel on Monday that the ministry has stopped publishing 
tenders for state construction in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the 
Green Line without the prime minister's approval. 
 
Yediot cited the belief of lawyers for some of the families of 13 
Israeli Arabs killed in the 2000 riots that Attorney General 
Menachem Mazuz will drop the cases of policemen involved in the 
disturbances. 
 
 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Thelma Askey, Deputy 
Secretary General of Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
 
SIPDIS 
Development (OECD), as saying at a press conference in Jerusalem on 
Monday that Israel still has to make some changes, including passing 
legislation, before it is fully accepted into the OECD.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer as 
saying that Israel will become a full-fledged member of the 
organization by the time he leaves office. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: " The Palestinians 
often say: 'Let a thousand mothers weep, just don't let my mother 
shed a tear.'  Somebody needs to explain to them that that saying 
applies equally on either side of the border." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Even if 
the suffering were comparable, the moral culpability is not.  What 
have the citizens of Sderot done to Gazans or Hamas?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "It is incumbent upon us to understand 
that the only alternative to the power outages in the Gaza Strip is 
an IDF invasion or, alternatively, bombardments from the air." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Over one million people -- children, women, the 
elderly, the infirm -- are abandoned to their fate, in the hope that 
they will rebel against the Hamas leaders.... In Gaza, however, the 
calculations work differently." 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Most of the 
cabinet ministers have so far been wise not to cooperate with 
Nasrallah's provocative trafficking in bodies and emotions.... The 
government would do well to stick to that position." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
¶I.  "So What, Let Them Suffer" 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/22): "As soon as the 
Defense Minister announces that we are renewing the supply of 
diesel, crude oil or both today -- that is tantamount to an 
admission of guilt: We were out of line.  As if there really wasn't 
electricity in the Gaza Strip because of us.  As if we really are 
responsible for the death of five people in Gaza hospitals.  Mubarak 
picked up the telephone, and the Israeli officials became weak in 
the knees.  The Defense Minister ought to announce that not only 
will no fuel oil enter, but not a single drop of gasoline will make 
its way from Israel into the Gaza Strip either.  That there is no 
reason that Israel should supply transportation for the Qassam 
rockets.  That if they're so eager to shoot them, let them carry the 
rockets on their backs or use donkeys.  In order to make any sort of 
achievement with respect to the Gaza Strip Israel needs to use four 
levers of pressure simultaneously and at full force: targeted 
killing operations against the leadership, strikes at the military 
infrastructure and the fighting troops, strikes on symbols of 
government and Hamas installations, and economic closure and 
stopping the flow of funds into the Gaza Strip.  Israel has been 
doing that only temporarily for the time being.  The alternative to 
those four levers is an IDF invasion: thousands of Palestinians and 
hundreds of Israelis will be killed or injured.  Who needs that?.... 
The weak win with images.  The hungry child with a candle in his 
hand will always elicit sympathy. That is the way of the world.  The 
Palestinians often say: 'Let a thousand mothers weep, just don't let 
my mother shed a tear.'  Somebody needs to explain to them that that 
saying applies equally on either side of the border -- that as far 
as we are concerned, the children in Sderot mustn't shed a tear." 
 
II.  "Hamas's Dupes" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (1/22): 
"It would be nice if the international press and the governments 
that blindly took their cues from it would take a moment to consider 
that their Pavlovian embrace of the manufactured 'humanitarian 
crisis' in Gaza could lead, at best, to prolonging the suffering of 
Gazans and Israelis and, at worst, to full blown war.  The reason 
for this is that anything that reduces the pressure on Hamas to end 
its unprovoked aggression against Israel will encourage that 
aggression, with all its associated results.  Israel obviously has 
no interest in causing suffering of any kind in Gaza, and every 
interest in encouraging Palestinian development, absent the war 
Hamas is waging against Israel.  But Hamas is responsible for the 
firing of dozens -- 50 in one day last week -- of missiles at the 
citizens of Sderot.  As a result, Israel has reduced fuel supplies, 
producing a 25 percent reduction in the electricity availability to 
Gazans.... Power outages and gas shortages are no picnic, but they 
cannot compare to the deadly and indiscriminate threat from missiles 
landing on kindergartens and homes.  Even if the suffering were 
comparable, the moral culpability is not.  What have the citizens of 
Sderot done to Gazans or Hamas?  How could Israel have withdrawn 
more completely from Gaza, after uprooting not only every 
settlement, but also cemeteries and the security strip along the 
border between Gaza and Egypt?  It is one thing for Hamas to have 
decided to attack Israel without any justification, to the detriment 
of the people it claims to represent.  But why would nations that 
claim to be concerned for Palestinians, Israelis and for peace chime 
in to reinforce the transparent ploy by Hamas to blame Israel for 
having been attacked?.... As necessary as Israeli military and 
non-military measures are, the greatest pressure of all would be if 
the international community let it be clearly known that it was fed 
up acting as Hamas's dupes." 
 
 
 
 
III.  "There Is No Alternative" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (1/21): "Today will be Gaza's day.  The 
pictures of the blackout, the march of the candles and the 
nauseatingly familiar manipulations made by the Arab propaganda 
machine will deluge the media, from one end of the world to the 
other, including in Europe.  Everyone will upbraid Israel for having 
created a humanitarian crisis, and people in Israel will begin to 
squirm uncomfortably in their seats as well.  We mustn't be moved by 
any of that. It is incumbent upon us to understand that the only 
alternative to the power outages in the Gaza Strip is an IDF 
invasion or, alternatively, bombardments from the air.... If the 
Gazans want to live peacefully, if they want a regular supply of 
food and medicine, if they want electricity, water and fuel and 
quiet, if they want to rehabilitate their refugees and to build new 
lives, they don't need to recognize Israel or forge peace treaties 
with it, and they don't need to convert to Judaism and to begin to 
sing Israel's national anthem.  They need to stop shooting.  That is 
a truth that no one can distort, and it is the only truth that is 
out there.  In the end, it is going to have to prevail." 
 
IV.  "Closed Cycle" 
 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (1/21): "Every price tag that we attach to the 
Qassam rocket fire at us has a price tag of its own, and so on and 
so forth -- a cycle of blood and suffering, which as of now is 
hermetically sealed.  Over one million people -- children, women, 
the elderly, the infirm -- are abandoned to their fate, in the hope 
that they will rebel against the Hamas leaders, and bring about a 
cessation of the fire at Sderot and the surrounding communities. 
This is the arithmetic according to which the current price tag was 
calculated.... In Gaza, however, the calculations work differently. 
Instead of coming out against Hamas, many of the city's residents 
came out for a darkened demonstration in favor of it.... And there 
is of course the world, which sees on its television screens day-old 
premature infants whose lives are feared to be at risk, because 
there may not be power to operate their incubators, and thinks that 
someone in Israel has gone crazy.... Whoever says that the value of 
guarding the lives of the residents of Sderot is less important, is 
right, but it is also clear to many officials in the security 
establishment that the act of darkening Gaza will not achieve this. 
They too have their insane price tag.  The crossings will eventually 
be opened.  It will take three, four, or five days.  But when it 
happens, another few hundred or few thousand civilians in Gaza will 
have joined the ranks of Hamas.  What else do they have left?" 
 
¶V.  "Provocative Trade in Corpses" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/21): "The 
responses to Hassan Nasrallah's speech stating that Hizbullah was in 
possession of the remains of IDF soldiers who died in the Second 
Lebanon War range from demands by ministers and Knesset members to 
assassinate Nasrallah to an attempt to interpret his comments as an 
expression of weakness.  The voices of the relatives of abducted IDF 
soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser could also be heard amid 
the tumult, saying that as long as the Hizbullah leader was not 
offering negotiations for their release, he should be ignored. 
Nasrallah, the father of the theory that Israel is weaker than a 
spider's web, has already proven that he is attentive to the mood of 
Israeli society and knows how to get on its nerves and generate 
debate among its leadership on all matters related to the redemption 
of captives, whether alive or dead.  In stating that his 
organization has the body parts of soldiers killed in battle, 
Nasrallah has hit at the heart of Israeli sensitivity.... Most of 
the cabinet ministers have so far been wise not to cooperate with 
Nasrallah's provocative trafficking in bodies and emotions.... The 
government would do well to stick to that position and treat 
Nasrallah with the repugnance due him, while ignoring -- in the name 
of the dignity of the dead and the living -- his recent macabre call 
for opening additional negotiations." 
 
JONES