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DE RUEHTV #0197/01 0241215
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P 241215Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000197 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that 200,000 to 300,000 Gazans poured into Sinai 
on Wednesday after holes were blasted in the fence at Rafah. 
Ha'aretz quoted a source close to the Popular Resistance Committees 
(PRC) in Rafah as saying on Wednesday that Hamas operatives had been 
sawing away the foundations of the wall for a few months as 
preparation for the breach.  A central Hamas operative partially 
confirmed the report, although he told Ha'aretz it was PRC 
operatives who were involved, and not Hamas policemen.  Maariv 
reported that Hamas informed Egypt of its actions ahead of time and 
Ha'aretz added that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak instructed 
police officers "not to block the hungry on their way to grocery 
stores."  The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday Hamas 
leaders called for an "urgent and speedy" meeting with 
representatives of Egypt and the PA to work out new, shared 
arrangements to control the border crossing.  Speaking on Israel 
Radio this morning, Ahmed Yusuf, a senior advisor to Hamas PM Ismail 
Haniyeh, envisioned throngs of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip 
rushing into Israel.  Maariv reported that Ahmed Jibril, the head of 
the PFLP-General Command,  urged millions of Palestinians in 
Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, to march toward Israel, breach the 
border, and realize the right of return. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Palestinian journalists as saying that on 
at least two occasions, Hamas staged scenes of darkness as part of 
its campaign to end the political and economic sanctions against the 
Gaza Strip. 
 
Speaking on Channel 10-TV during a visit to France, Defense Minister 
Ehud Barak commented: "I believe Egypt knows what its job is, and we 
expect it to fulfill its obligations under various agreements." 
Ha'aretz said that Barak was expressing the frustration and anger of 
the defense establishment.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted a senior 
source in the defense establishment as saying that Israel might take 
advantage of the collapse of the Gaza-Egypt fence to complete the 
disengagement by cancelling the customs agreement with the PA. 
All media (lead stories in Maariv, Israel Hayom, and Yediot) quoted 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comments -- now and in 2006 -- about 
the Second Lebanon War.  He was quoted as saying on Wednesday at the 
Herzliya Conference that he had no regrets and will not shy away 
from a debate on his actions and perceived failures.  Maariv 
bannered: "[Olmert's] Line of Defense: Peace Is More Important." 
"It is quieter today on the northern border than it has been for the 
past 18 months and this is the longest period of quiet we've had for 
25 years. The North is thriving and flourishing," Olmert said.  The 
PM did not deny that Hizbullah has increased its weapons arsenal, 
saying "there is no doubt that Hizbullah has become stronger. 
Hizbullah has more rockets, missiles, ammunition, some of it 
state-of-the-art," but he asked: "Had there not been a war in 2006, 
would they have less?"  "Is this the most secure situation?  Not 
necessarily," Olmert continued. "We must not dismiss the possibility 
of renewed fighting, but the current situation is immeasurably 
better than before."  After his associates reportedly blasted the 
officers who signed the company commanders' letter on his conduct of 
the war, Olmert went out of his way to praise the reserve officers. 
He said he admired all IDF soldiers, "both privates and company 
commanders."  "I have nothing against their criticism and 
protest.... I appreciate our fighters' courage, resoluteness and 
sacrifice both in the regular army and in the reserves and if anyone 
pretended to be an associate of mine and said anything different, 
then he is not my associate," Olmert said.  Perusing the protocols 
of the Winograd Commission, Yediot led with a comment that PM Olmert 
allegedly made to then defense minister Amir Peretz before the 
ground offensive in August 2006: "We'll be heroes for two days -- 
and then idiots."  Yediot cited a telegram drafted by Daniel Carmon, 
Israel's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, on the eve of 
Israel's offensive, in which he said that then U.S. Ambassador to 
the UN John Bolton told Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny 
Gillerman that France gave in to all Arab demands and that the U.S. 
was unwilling to give up on its "holy alliance" with Europe. 
 
Vice Premier Haim Ramon was quoted as saying on Wednesday in an 
interview with Channel 10-TV: "You have heard from foreign sources 
about what happened in Syria in September.  This was the result of 
an outstanding thinking and decision-making process." 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported on the arrival in 
Israel of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas 
Burns and Stuart Levey, Under Secretary of Finance for Terrorism and 
Financial Intelligence, for talks on diplomatic sanctions against 
Iran. 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that nine coalition 
Knesset members attended an event at which reserve soldiers called 
upon PM Olmert to resign over the Second Lebanon War. 
 
Major media reported that the state promised the High Court of 
Justice on Wednesday in the name of PM Olmert and Defense Barak that 
the illegal outpost of Migron, which is situated on private 
Palestinian land, will be evacuated by the beginning of August. 
 
Yated Ne'eman quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying in Paris 
on Wednesday that Israel does not rule out any type of action 
against Iran and that the time has come to impose further sanctions 
on that country. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen, who 
visited Israel this week, has pledged to lobby the EU member states 
to admit Israel in its ranks. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the number of Arab Israeli youth 
performing national service has more than doubled this academic 
year, despite strong opposition to the initiative by the 
overwhelmingly majority of Arab community leaders. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. diplomats, including Lt. Gen. 
Keith Dayton, the U.S. Security Coordinator to Israel and the PA, 
continued this week to raise the Civil Administration's ire over 
their refusal to open their car doors or windows and present 
identification when crossing from Israel into the West Bank. 
 
The Jerusalem Post repeated Wednesday's story in Ha'aretz on the 
bottleneck situation of American Citizen Services at the U.S. 
diplomatic representations in Israel and the PA.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that some people are booking multiple appointments and then 
selling them. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a delegation of astronauts from 
NASA is coming to Israel next week to mark the fifth anniversary of 
the death of Israel's first astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, in the 
Columbia shuttle's last flight.  Yediot reported that a 14-year-old 
immigrant from India will leave next week for an educational tour of 
NASA facilities. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a Hebrew University poll, 
based on surveys conducted in September 2006 and May 2007, that 80% 
of Israelis expressed  a high level of trust in the interim Winograd 
report (26% trusted the report and 55% placed "complete trust" in 
the document). 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The 
destruction of the border barrier is ... perceived as a legitimate 
prison break.... A statesmanlike response is now needed to turn the 
crisis into an opportunity." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "By 
playing into Hamas's hands, failing to punish aggression, and 
refusing to hold Egypt responsible for stopping the weapons buildup, 
the UN is sowing the seeds of the next war and strengthening the 
forces it claims to wish to isolate.  And it is doing this in the 
name of peace and humanitarian law -- while producing the exact 
opposite." 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "A number of senior security officials 
began to become enamored with the new situation." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote on his Internet site Gplanet: "The 
moment the crossing between Gaza and Egypt was opened -- down came 
the 'siege' argument." 
 
Meretz-Yahad Party Chairman Yossi Beilin wrote in Ha'aretz: "Olmert 
could keep a stiff upper lip and ... replace Tzipi Livni as foreign 
minister, while Livni takes the post of premier.... I would propose 
that Olmert do this even before the Winograd report comes out." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Opportunity in Gaza" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/24): "The 
closure imposed a year ago on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt was 
effectively lifted on Wednesday after hundreds of thousands of 
Gazans overran the Egyptian border.... Now that the barrier is down, 
it is hard to imagine that the situation in Gaza can be restored to 
 
its previous state.... Hamas used the closure to create sympathy for 
the people of Gaza.  The destruction of the border barrier is also 
perceived as a legitimate prison break.  A statesmanlike response is 
now needed to turn the crisis into an opportunity.  Because none of 
the players is on its own and the parties' interests are interwoven, 
one can hope that Egypt and Israel, with help from the international 
community, can create new facts on the ground.  If there is a 
moderate leadership that can be relied on, and if Mubarak and 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are part of it, then this is the 
moment they need to cooperate and put themselves in the forefront." 
 
II.  "Sowing War" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (1/24): 
"The ... fundamental problem is that the [UN] Security Council chose 
to meet not on January 15, in response to the major barrage of 
rockets attacks against Israeli civilians, but on January 22, in 
response to Hamas's staging of a 'humanitarian crisis.'  The 
backwards sequencing of the international response serves to vitiate 
the supposedly balanced statements of the Western ambassadors. 
Hamas doesn't care about being condemned along with Israel, because 
it knows these condemnations are lip service.  The timing says it 
all.  It is telling that the one country that could have prevented 
this 'cycle of violence' -- that is both Hamas's aggression and 
Israel's measures to defend itself -- was not mentioned in the 
debate.  That country was Egypt, which even had the temerity to join 
the chorus against what it called Israel's 'brutal punitive 
measures.'  The moment Hamas took over Gaza in June, Egypt could 
have tightly controlled its border and prevented tons of weaponry, 
including sophisticated rockets, from entering the Strip.  It could 
have closed the revolving door for terrorists leaving for training 
and returning to join Hamas's increasingly dangerous army. It did 
not.... The moment Hamas took over Gaza in June, Egypt could have 
tightly controlled its border and prevented tons of weaponry, 
including sophisticated rockets, from entering the Strip.  It could 
have closed the revolving door for terrorists leaving for training 
and returning to join Hamas's increasingly dangerous army. It did 
not.... By playing into Hamas's hands, failing to punish aggression, 
and refusing to hold Egypt responsible for stopping the weapons 
buildup, the UN is sowing the seeds of the next war and 
strengthening the forces it claims to wish to isolate.  And it is 
doing this in the name of peace and humanitarian law -- while 
producing the exact opposite." 
 
III.  "The Real Disengagement from Gaza" 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/24): "Up until Wednesday afternoon the 
sense in Israel was that the strategy of Israeli levers of pressure 
had failed.... Towards Wednesday evening the mood began to shift.  A 
number of senior security officials began to become enamored with 
the new situation: '.... Israel has a golden opportunity here to 
reap political gain: On Wednesday, for all intents and purposes, the 
real disengagement from Gaza began'.... [On the other hand,] the 
Egyptians, in their distress, reached an agreement with Hamas: The 
gates would be opened at 6:30 in the morning.  Hamas blew up the 
walls and created an irreversible situation: The physical obstacle 
isn't there any more.  If the Egyptians want to prevent future 
movement they are either going to have to rebuild the wall or shoot 
people.  Now we're waiting for the third and fourth act of this 
play.  If the siege is restored to the Gaza Strip, Hamas will renew 
its rocket fire on Israel.  When Hamas becomes weaker in the 
political arena it intensifies its military activity.  Hamas hasn't 
yet said the final word in terms of its efforts to create a balance 
of deterrence with the IDF.  It is currently working on a special 
operation that it will try to execute." 
 
IV.  "The Fall of the 'Siege' Argument" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote on his Internet site Gplanet (1/23): 
"Hamas has made cynical use of the Palestinians it governs, claiming 
that Israel has shut down the Gaza Strip and has imposed an inhuman 
siege on it.  However, the moment the crossing between Gaza and 
Egypt was opened -- down came the 'siege' argument.  If that is the 
case, why shouldn't the Egyptians tend to the Palestinians in every 
matter, which is a state of affairs that couldn't be more natural. 
After all, Israel is the enemy, but Egypt is the big sister.  How 
can the UN Security Council continue to claim that the Palestinians 
are shut in now that their border with Sinai and Egypt is wide open? 
 Egypt is currently in a state of profound embarrassment, since on 
the one hand it has been urging the UN Security Council to convene 
to condemn Israel for closing off the Palestinians, when it is doing 
the very same thing itself!  Everyone in the Arab world was stunned 
to see the hypocrisy of the Egyptian regime, which didn't balk at 
firing on the Palestinians, until it capitulated in the face of the 
outcry from the entire Arab world and opened up the border." 
 
¶V.  "Prime Minister Livni, Foreign Minister Olmert" 
 
Meretz-Yahad Party Chairman Yossi Beilin wrote in Ha'aretz (1/24): 
"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has improved greatly over the past 
year.... Olmert has led a reasoned diplomatic process, making 
courageous statements that no prime minister before him ever did. 
If not for the war in Lebanon, he could have continued at his post 
with no small measure of success.  But the war in Lebanon did take 
place, and so did its last two accursed days.  Those two days were 
an effort to create the image of victory after the United Nations 
resolution had already been formulated.  That last operation was 
ostensibly launched to influence the resolution.... The right is 
spearheading a campaign for early elections.  It wants to stop talks 
with Fatah, and believes, according to the polls, that this is the 
chance of a lifetime.  That is exactly the reason I have no interest 
in supporting such a move.... If Olmert cannot continue in office, 
he can contribute to the diplomatic process, and if elections are an 
undesirable option, then the optimal solution is for the rook to 
switch places with the king.... Olmert could keep a stiff upper lip 
and ... replace Tzipi Livni as foreign minister, while Livni takes 
the post of premier.... I would propose that Olmert do this even 
before the Winograd report comes out, and not go into a battle 
which, if he survives, will leave him bruised and vulnerable.  Livni 
can put together a coalition that will help her lead the diplomatic 
process, while Olmert, if he is sincere in his diplomatic 
determination, can devote most of his time to this task, heading the 
negotiating team." 
 
JONES