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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000019 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
President Bush was quoted as saying in a comprehensive interview 
with Yediot that an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians 
will be reached by the end of the year.  The President was also 
quoted as saying that he will not allow a terror state alongside 
Israel.  Bush also talked about Palestinian statehood, the 
possibility that Israel may attack Iran, his relations with Ariel 
Sharon and PM Olmert, and the legacy he will leave behind in the 
White House.  The full text of the interview will appear in Friday's 
Yediot. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted GOI sources as saying that Israel is seeking to 
reach an understanding with the U.S. administration that would 
safeguard Israel's security interests during current negotiations 
and in a future final-status agreement with the Palestinians.  The 
sources were also quoted as saying that Israel is seeking President 
Bush's support for its security demands so that such understandings 
can serve as a basis for the work of the American special security 
envoy General James Jones, who has been tasked with formulating the 
security arrangements for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.  At the 
heart of Israel's demands is that it remain free to act against 
terror in the West Bank for as long as negotiations last, and that 
demilitarization arrangements place limitations on the future 
Palestinian state.  Israel wants to maintain effective military 
superiority in the territories during the talks, and ensure that it 
has the freedom to act against terror organizations in Gaza. "It is 
inconceivable that we would be prevented from continuing the 
extraordinary achievement against terror in the West Bank," a source 
said.  Israel would like the U.S. to agree to a number of 
limitations on the future Palestinian state's sovereignty.  Israel 
wants Palestine to be completely demilitarized, and for Israel to be 
able to fly over Palestinian air space.  Border crossings would be 
monitored by Israel in such a way that the symbols of Palestinian 
sovereignty would not be compromised, but Israel would know who was 
coming and going.  Israel is to propose the deployment of an 
international force in the West Bank and along the Philadelphi Route 
in Rafah, and would ask that a permanent IDF presence remain for an 
extended period in the Jordan Valley.  According to Israel's plan, a 
small Israeli force would be stationed in the Jordan Valley as a 
"tripwire force" that would act as a deterrent. Israel would also 
demand Palestinian agreement that in the case of an emergency Israel 
could deploy in essential areas of the West Bank to thwart a threat 
of invasion from the East.  According to government and security 
sources, "in most of the issues involving the agreement with the 
Palestinians, Israel is the one being asked to give tangible things. 
 The only area in which we have real demands from the Palestinians 
is that of security arrangements.  Therefore it is important that 
the talks have the proper outline so that Israel can insist on its 
security demands and the Palestinians will not dilute them." 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli diplomatic officials as saying 
that the involvement of a number of Palestinian security officials 
in the murder of Israelis in terrorist attacks will be raised during 
President Bush's meeting with PM Olmert next week. 
 
All media reported that defense officials slammed Egypt on Wednesday 
after it allowed hundreds of stranded Gazan pilgrims returning from 
Mecca to cross into the Gaza Strip trough the Rafah border crossing. 
 Media quoted PA and Hamas officials as saying that Egypt's decision 
was made at the behest of Saudi King Abdullah.  Media reported that 
dozens of senior Hamas members were part of the group of pilgrims 
and were believed to be carrying tens of millions of dollars that 
they had collected in Saudi Arabia.  In addition, some of the Hamas 
members were believed to have undergone advanced military training 
in Iran.  Senior Israeli officials were quoted as saying that 
Egypt's decision is against all agreements. 
 
All media quoted Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah 
as saying last night in an interview with the Lebanese TV station 
NBN that his group is holding remains of Israeli soldiers and that 
he is ready to negotiate with Israel over them.  Speaking on Israel 
Radio, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said that Israel is 
unaware of Nasrallah's claim.  Nasrallah was also quoted as saying 
that Hizbullah is monitoring Israeli military moves along the 
border, and that it is preparing accordingly, but that he does not 
expect war to break out soon.  Ha'aretz quoted him as saying that 
Israel is behind the assassinations in Lebanon. 
 
The media reported that on Wednesday the IDF killed seven militants 
in the Gaza Strip and destroyed a heavy machine-gun post that was 
used by Palestinian militants to fire at IDF forces.  Israel Radio 
reported that on Wednesday Abu Shaaban, the Popular Resistance 
Committees' leader in Gaza, escaped an assassination attempt by the 
IDF.  Israel Radio reported that this morning for the first time 
Palestinians fired a Katyusha rocket that landed north of Ashkelon 
-- the longest range launching ever.  Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front 
for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command claimed 
responsibility for the attack.  The radio quoted Palestinian sources 
as saying that this morning an IDF shell killed five Palestinians in 
a building east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.  Leading 
media cited a claim by Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that it 
fired a rocket on Wednesday at the northern West Bank settlement of 
Shaked. 
 
Israel Radio reported that in a letter to Libya's Ambassador to the 
UN (the current UN Security Council President) and to UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny 
 
SIPDIS 
Gillerman, protested against a UN report on the Middle East that 
failed to mention the two IDF soldiers who were abducted to 
Lebanon. 
 
Last night Israel TV reported that on Tuesday, at a gathering of 
right-wing rabbis, Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe of Chabad called for PM 
Ehud Olmert to be hanged. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the One Jerusalem organization, 
which is against government plans to divide the capital, will make a 
human chain next week surrounding the Old City -- as a response to 
President Bush's visit. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Tuesday Israel and the PA 
renewed meetings of their Joint Economic Committee following a 
seven-year hiatus. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday Justice Minister Daniel 
Friedmann unveiled plans to increase politicians' influence in 
picking Supreme Court justices. 
 
Ha'aretz reported on the restoration of public order in Nablus by 
the PA police. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday the 
police questioned seven Druze dignitaries over their visit to Syria 
four months ago. 
 
The Jerusalem Post, citing AP, wrote that Charles Steele, Jr., the 
President of the Southern Christian Leadership, arrived on Wednesday 
for a trip to the West Bank to promote Arab-Israeli peace talks 
based on the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
 
Major media reported that on Wednesday, in what marks its largest 
acquisition in Israel, IBM Corp. announced that it has purchased 
XIV, a local privately-held data storage technology company.  The 
companies would not put a price on the deal, but reports in the 
Israeli financial press earlier this week valued it at $300 million 
to $350 million. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that sources at Israel's Export Institute accuse 
the government of bending before American pressure regarding 
products that China could use for military purposes, which has hurt 
exports.  (Under U.S. pressure following Israel's controversial 2005 
sale of spy drones to China, Israel ruled that companies exporting 
products that could be used militarily need permission from the 
Export Control Department of the Defense Ministry.) 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Since [the 
Annapolis] summit, both Jerusalem and Ramallah have been affected by 
weakening positions, coupled with evasion and procrastination. 
Bush's mission during his upcoming visit will be to convince his 
hosts of his determination to see his vision -- which is also their 
vision -- realized." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit and others wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "In advance of the visit of the U.S. President 
next week, Israel is trying to put together an agenda and derive 
benefits from it, as well as benefits for Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in Maariv: "Even 
Olmert doesn't really care if new apartments are or are not built in 
East Jerusalem, in complete violation of the promises that Israel 
gave at the Annapolis conference." 
 
Former ambassador to Egypt and Sweden, contributor Zvi Mazel wrote 
in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Though Egypt has 
made peace with Israel, it is first and foremost an Arab country 
aspiring to regional leadership, and wholeheartedly on the side of 
the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel." 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post: 
"Condoleezza Rice [compared] what Palestinians go through at the 
West Bank checkpoints to what blacks went through in the Jim Crow 
South.... Israelis can scream bloody murder at Condoleezza Rice, but 
they're only trying to shoot the messenger." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Bush's Final Effort" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/3): 
"Precisely because the [next U.S.] administration will need 
considerable time to make appointments and formulate its policies, 
in a manner that is liable to make 2009 a wasted year, Bush must 
frame one final, concerted effort to close the gaps between the 
Israeli and Palestinian positions.... The Palestinians, for their 
part, must choose between a leadership that is willing to compromise 
and an extremist element that aspires to total religious control -- 
even if it is delayed for tactical reasons -- over the entire 
territory between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the Jordan River.... 
Recognition of this fact does not exempt Israel from its obligation 
to work toward an agreement, without waiting for the fall of the 
Hamas government in the Gaza Strip and the unification of the two 
parts of Palestine under a single, moderate leadership.  The present 
government represents a large, realistic and willing-to-compromise 
majority of the Israeli public.... [President Bush's] brief stay in 
Israel is an opportunity to persuade him, and indirectly also those 
who aspire to succeed him, that in the eyes of the Israelis who live 
here, the friendships of the President and of American legislators 
is not measured in terms of tougher stances than those of the 
government in Jerusalem.  At Annapolis, both parties undertook to 
act continuously in order to get closer to the precious goal by the 
end of 2008.  Since that summit, both Jerusalem and Ramallah have 
been affected by weakening positions, coupled with evasion and 
procrastination.  Bush's mission during his upcoming visit will be 
to convince his hosts of his determination to see his vision -- 
which is also their vision -- realized." 
 
II.  "Goal: American Recognition of Israel's Interests" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit and others wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "In advance of the visit of the U.S. President 
next week, Israel is trying to put together an agenda and derive 
benefits from it, as well as benefits for Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert. In a meeting on Wednesday with Olmert prior to the visit, an 
emphasis was put on an attempt to get a presidential declaration 
from Bush on US recognition of Israel's 'vital interests' in advance 
of the negotiations on a permanent status arrangement with the 
Palestinians.  Before the Annapolis conference, Olmert's aides, 
Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turgeman, went to Washington with a 
document containing a map of Israel's vital interests.  Now they are 
trying to redo the list, and the security establishment is 
reformulating Israel's critical security interests in an attempt to 
extract from President Bush a declaration on the matter that can be 
presented as an achievement.  Among other things, this refers to 
such interests as the future Palestinian state being demilitarized 
of all heavy weapons, allowing Israel to maintain freedom of 
security action in the course of the negotiations, maintaining 
Israeli airspace, etc." 
 
III.  "Playing Let's Pretend" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in Maariv (1/3): 
"Ostensibly, the Prime Minister ... informed his good friend from 
long back, Housing Minister Zeev Boim, that from now on, every house 
that is built in East Jerusalem or in the settlements, has to 
receive his permission and the permission of the government.... But 
Boim, it appears, needs to be told these things, after, with great 
impudence, he approved the expansion of settlements without 
notifying anyone.  That is how weak the central government is 
here.... Even Olmert doesn't really care if new apartments are or 
are not built in East Jerusalem, in complete violation of the 
promises that Israel gave at the Annapolis conference.  Moreover, to 
some degree, he doesnQt even want all construction to stop, because 
otherwise, he will have to deal with [right-wing cabinet ministers] 
Avigdor Lieberman and Eli Yishai, and he really doesn't feel like 
getting into a coalition crisis over this.... And so, a handful of a 
few hundred right wing extremists will continue to dictate a 
distorted agenda to an entire country that the majority of Israelis, 
according to every possible poll, do not want." 
 
IV.  "The Unholy Return of the Palestinian Pilgrims" 
 
Former ambassador to Egypt and Sweden, contributor Zvi Mazel wrote 
in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (1/3): "After three 
days of a tense standoff, Egypt's determination not to allow the 
thousands of pilgrims returning from Mecca into the Gaza Strip 
without being thoroughly checked by Israel to prevent smuggling of 
explosives and cash to bolster Hamas rule finally crumbled and a 
jubilant crowd surged into the strip.... Though Egypt has made peace 
 
with Israel, it is first and foremost an Arab country aspiring to 
regional leadership, and wholeheartedly on the side of the 
Palestinians in their struggle against Israel.  The idea that 
Egyptian soldiers would be instructed to stop smuggling at all costs 
-- which means they would have to report to violence and to live 
fire -- is ludicrous in that context.... It is now up to Israel to 
think long and hard about what it wants to do.  What we need is a 
solution, not someone to blame.  There is a warning for America, 
too, in that story: Don't push Egypt too far." 
 
¶V.  "Dr. Rice Strikes a Nerve" 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post (1/3): 
"Condoleezza Rice [compared] what Palestinians go through at the 
West Bank checkpoints to what blacks went through in the Jim Crow 
South, and Israelis are shocked, offended, outraged, etc.... [There] 
are some dissimilarities between the West Bank and the old South, 
and the dissimilarities are all that Israelis, in general, will 
allow themselves to see.   But after coming to this country from 
America 23 years ago, I have seen Israelis treating Palestinians and 
Israeli Arabs in ways that made me think immediately of white 
crackers putting blacks in their place in Louisiana or South 
Carolina back in the old days.... When Israeli Jews bully Arabs, 
they don't appear to be acting out of desperation, to be avenging 
Arab terror or war, to be striking back at their oppressors -- they 
appear, instead, to be luxuriating in the power of the strong over 
the weak, of the bosses over the bossed.  The kind of Israeli 
behavior documented most recently by the IDF's own survey may not be 
the rule around here, but neither is it by any means the exception, 
and it can only go on because Israeli society, tacitly or overtly, 
condones it.  This is the way in which Israel's treatment of 
Palestinians -- and, to a much lesser extent, its own Arab citizens 
- is reminiscent of the treatment of southern blacks in the days of 
Jim Crow.  It's not the whole story of the Israeli-Arab conflict, 
but it's a very important part of the story.  Israelis can scream 
bloody murder at Condoleezza Rice, but they're only trying to shoot 
the messenger." 
 
MORENO