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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000221 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz reported that according to a senior political source, PM 
Ehud Olmert has still not figured out how to resolve the issue of 
Jerusalem.  According to Ha'aretz, Jerusalem is likely to be left 
until the end of the negotiations as the Israeli side has become 
convinced that it is too sensitive and complex with potentially 
negative ramifications for the entire process.  The government is 
concerned that talks on Jerusalem would lead to the fall of the 
governing coalition as the ultra-Orthodox Shas party has stated that 
no concessions over Jerusalem can made or even discussed.   Ha'aretz 
reported that Foreign Ministry Director General Aharon Abramovitch 
told French officials last week that it is highly likely that 
negotiations on Jerusalem will be postponed because of domestic 
political reasons.  Abramovitch has denied making these remarks. 
According to Ha'aretz, President Bush also supports postponing talks 
on Jerusalem until the end of the negotiations. 
 
Leading media reported that PM Olmert promised Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday that Israel will not let a humanitarian 
crisis develop in Gaza.  The two leaders said they will demand that 
Egypt reseal the border.  The Jerusalem Post reported that Olmert 
told Abbas that Israel would not let normal life return to Gaza as 
long as Qassam rockets fall.  Leading media reported that the state 
told the High Court of Justice on Sunday that Israel will resume the 
supply of industrial-use diesel in the Gaza Strip according to 
levels set prior to the blockade.  Ha'aretz quoted officials in 
Jerusalem as saying that "Israel will not allow the continuation of 
the current state where its security interests are being 
compromised."  The officials added that Abbas and Olmert saw eye to 
eye on what they perceive as the need to refrain from negotiations 
with Hamas.  Ha'aretz reported that over the past few days Egyptian 
authorities have arrested Palestinians armed with assault rifles and 
handguns.  Maariv reported that on Sunday an assessment presented to 
Defense Minister Barak showed that new kinds of dangerous weapons 
have been brought into the Gaza Strip via Rafah over the past 
several days.  On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that more than 
1,000 people took part in a demonstration organized by a coalition 
of left-wing groups at the Erez crossing on Saturday, in solidarity 
with Gazans and Sderot residents, under the slogan: "Stop the siege 
on Gaza: A demonstration for Gaza and for Sderot." 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that Egypt has invited 
Hamas representatives to Cairo for talks on controlling the border 
between the Gaza Strip and Sinai.  Last week Palestinian PM Salam 
Fayyad was in Cairo discussing the border. 
 
Maariv and Yediot led with imminent publication of the Winograd 
report.  Maariv wrote that former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz will 
be the main target of the report but that current Defense Minister 
Ehud Barak and former defense minister Shaul Mofaz might not be 
spared.  All media reported that on Sunday FM Livni met with 
representatives of bereaved families and told them that she is 
willing to listen but that she will not take part in their struggle. 
 Israel Radio quoted a Meretz MK as saying that PM Olmert is 
cynically exploiting the leaked sections of the Winograd Report. 
The radio reported that in the classified portion of the report, 
three members of the Winograd Commission praised the ground 
offensive in Lebanon. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Iran is offering its assistance to Egypt 
in aiding the thousands of Palestinians streaming into its territory 
from the Gaza Strip.  A high-ranking Iranian diplomatic made the 
offer while he met in Cairo on Sunday with Egyptian FM Ahmed Ali Abu 
al-Gheit.  The radio quoted a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in 
Cairo as saying that both countries can cooperate in providing 
assistance via the Red Crescent organization. 
 
Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that last week in Paris, Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak told Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that 
he was concerned about the growing strength of extremist Islamic 
movements in Pakistan.  He also said he was worried that Pakistan's 
nuclear weapons would fall into the hands of extremists. 
Separately, in an interview with Newsweek held at Davos, Barak said 
Iran has no reason to develop a missile with a range of 1,500 miles 
unless it is meant to carry a non-conventional warhead.  Barak also 
said that according to Israel's assessments Iran is moving ahead 
with the development of nuclear weapons.  The Defense Minister said 
Israel has an entirely different view than that expressed in the 
American National Intelligence Estimate.  However, Barak 
acknowledged that it is not clear how much enriched uranium the 
Iranians have managed to produce. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Sunday Ehud Barak hinted at 
elections in March 2009.  On Sunday Yediot quoted Barak as saying in 
an interview with The Washington Post and Newsweek that he is 
contemplating a Qnational emergency governmentQ following 
publication of the Winograd report. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the Israeli Arab Higher Monitoring 
Committee is likely to proclaim a general strike in the Israeli-Arab 
sector and to turn to the international community, following 
Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz's decision on Sunday not to close 
the cases against police officers involved in suppressing the 
October 2000 riots.  Major media reported that 20 Arab Israelis have 
been arrested in a joint Shin Bet/Israel National Police operation 
on suspicion of conducting weapons deals with Fatah's Tanzim. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that PM Olmert canceled his 
appearance before the World Jewish Congress (WJC) board of governors 
this week after WJC President Ronald Lauder published an open letter 
calling on Olmert to involve world Jewry in any decision on the 
future of Jerusalem. 
 
Maariv ran a feature on alleged brutalities against Palestinians 
carried out by troops from the Givati Brigade. 
 
Leading media reported that in exchange for the government agreeing 
to increase its share of financing the company's security costs, the 
privatized El Al Israel Airlines has agreed to give up its monopoly 
on overseas lines, meaning other domestic Israeli airlines will be 
able to compete on El Al's routes.  The airline's acquiescence 
remains subject to formal approval by the relevant company bodies. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "An immediate 
summit is needed between Egypt's President and Israel's Prime 
Minister, with or without a senior U.S. presence.", 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "An increasing number 
of figures in the Israeli leadership are reaching the conclusion 
that a dialogue with Hamas, one way or another, is vital, if we wish 
to calm the southern border." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yediot Aharonot: "Olmert and 
Barak would do well to listen to other officers, including officers 
who fought in Gaza in recent years.  There are hundreds of thousands 
of people [in Gaza] who pray for stability, for normalcy, say these 
officers." 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in 
International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "To portray [Hamas's] 
latest antics as some kind of success is simply wrong.  They are a 
disaster." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "An approach that treats inquiry commissions 
as a legal guillotine rather than a way of ascertaining the truth is 
unacceptable." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Double Threat to Peace" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/27): "Peace 
with Egypt is one of Israel's greatest strategic assets, although it 
is a cool peace.  The entire Arab world followed it in moving ahead 
toward coming to terms with Israel.  Over the past week danger has 
hung over this peace.  Events on the border between the Gaza Strip 
and Egypt threaten to tear the delicate fabric of Cairo-Jerusalem 
relations.  At the same time, they also jeopardize the 
yet-to-be-attained peace between Israel and the Palestinians, at a 
fragile moment in the process the Bush administration is trying to 
drive forward.... The ongoing Egyptian failure to seal the border 
with Gaza, in addition to the immediate threat of terror that has 
already set out from Gaza to Sinai, will push Israel against its 
will into a costly and continual military operation in the Rafah 
area.  Such an operation will not only cost many Israeli and 
Palestinian lives but will also make it very difficult for 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to continue the peace 
process.... At the Annapolis conference, President George W. Bush 
dictated that there would be meetings every two weeks between the 
Israeli and Palestinian leaders.  The crisis in the south has 
changed the priorities.  An immediate summit is needed between 
Egypt's President and Israel's Prime Minister, with or without a 
senior U.S. presence." 
 
II.  "Perhaps We Will Have to Talk to Hamas" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/27): "Abu Mazen's 
dilemma lies in the fact that the Israeli side will immediately halt 
the dialogue with him as soon as he engages in dialogue with Hamas. 
Officials in Jerusalem believe, therefore, that at least in the 
short term, the Chairman will continue to speak against Hamas, based 
on the desire to extricate an agreement of principles from the 
Israelis on partitioning the land -- and only then will he turn to 
Hamas.  On the other hand, an increasing number of figures in the 
Israeli leadership are reaching the conclusion that a dialogue with 
Hamas, one way or another, is vital, if we wish to calm the southern 
border.  Ironically enough, Israel does not perceive the toppling of 
the walls on Philadelphi Road solely as a negative development, but 
also as an opportunity to reshuffle the deck in the dialogue with 
the Palestinians.  However, none of this, say political sources, 
improves the chances for the release of the soldier Gilad Shalit. 
The negotiations with his kidnappers have been stuck because there 
is wall-to-wall opposition in Israel to the release of hundreds of 
prisoners that Hamas is demanding in exchange for the kidnapped 
soldier." 
 
III.  "For a Milder Touch" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yediot Aharonot (1/28): "As 
of now, the only element that comes out ahead in the blockade is 
Hamas.  Its prestige has strengthened.  Its warehouses have filled 
up.  Its subjects are grateful.  The Arab world admires it.  We gave 
Hamas this victory with our own hands.  Olmert and Barak would do 
well to listen to other officers, including officers who fought in 
Gaza in recent years.  There are hundreds of thousands of people 
there who pray for stability, for normalcy, say these officers. 
They oppose the path of the terrorist organizations with all their 
being.  Instead of starving these people, let them exist, work, 
grow, market, export. Hamas will not be defeated by hunger, they 
say, but rather by a life with dignity.  It is possible that this 
idea, too, is a failure. One thing is certain: it contains less 
damage. And if they wish, they can always stop and go back to the 
beginning, which cannot be said of the current bad situation." 
 
IV.  "Hamas's PR Debacle" 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in 
International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (1/28): "Public support for 
Israel in America is at an all-time high. In some European 
countries, notably France and Italy, it has been rising.  At any 
rate, no important Western states are siding with Hamas.  If they 
have any policy obsession it is pushing the peace process, and Hamas 
is recognized as a barrier to that.... Two years after Hamas's 
election victory and six months after it seized the Gaza Strip, 
international sanctions show no sign of faltering.  Other than 
Syria, no Arab state is helping Hamas. Egypt may be soft on Hamas at 
times, but it is very angry at the organization.  In the West Bank, 
the Palestinian Authority, now a Fatah regime, is not falling apart 
(well, not any more than usual).... If it opted for quiet, Hamas 
could build up Gaza's economy and social institutions, training a 
future generation for all-out war.  But it also rejects this wisely 
cynical approach.  Yasser Arafat, of course, made the same error. 
So while Hamas will never give up, it also will never win.  To 
portray its latest antics as some kind of success is simply wrong. 
They are a disaster, and to understand this reality is to comprehend 
the central blunder plaguing the Palestinian movement since its 
inception." 
 
¶V.  "Wait until Wednesday" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (1/28): "It would have been appropriate for 
anyone interested in issuing an alternative Winograd report' to wait 
until the real Winograd report is released on Wednesday. But by last 
week, three alternative reports had already been issued -- one by 
bereaved parents, another by Meretz faction whip Zahava Gal-On, and 
the third by the protest movements.  What all the reports have in 
common is the recommendation that the Winograd Commission will not 
be writing: Dismiss the prime minister. It's difficult not to get 
the impression that since the Commission announced in advance that 
it would not be calling for any heads to roll, those behind the 
alternative reports have rejected it from the outset. But an 
approach that treats inquiry commissions as a legal guillotine 
rather than a way of ascertaining the truth is unacceptable.... With 
all due respect to the army's commanders in the field, we cannot 
accept the letter in which 50 company commanders demand that the 
prime minister be ousted.... Even Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's 
meeting with the reserve soldiers on Sunday was out of place. Livni 
could have met with them months ago, and there's no reason she 
shouldn't do so as of Thursday. Sunday, though, was the time to tell 
the reservists that they too should wait.... Moreover, it could be 
that the Winograd Commission members will have something important 
to say on matters no less important than the fate of the prime 
minister. For instance, was there a need for an earlier ground 
offensive? Was the home front neglected so that soldiers would not 
be hurt?  Was the war conducted with both hands and a leg tied 
behind the back? And what is needed to make sure all these things 
don't take place in the next war? It is worth looking intensively 
for the answers to these and other questions in the Winograd report, 
rather than holding steadfastly to predetermined positions." 
 
JONES