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P 061106Z MAR 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000518 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that on Wednesday, a day 
after he met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, PM Ehud 
Olmert made clear during a session of the diplomatic-security 
cabinet that only quiet in Sderot would bring quiet to Gaza.  The 
Jerusalem Post said this is a clear indication that the current IDF 
operations are not intended to topple Hamas.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe 
reported that the cabinet instructed the IDF to bring Qassam fire to 
an end, while leading media reported that the cabinet ruled out an 
immediate ground operation in Gaza.  Yediot quoted Attorney General 
Menachem Mazuz as telling the cabinet that bombarding civilians is a 
war crime.  Vice PM Haim Ramon was reported to have said that the 
moment a rocket is  launched, Israel will shoot back at the sources 
of fire, even if that area is inhabited.  Maariv reported that the 
Foreign Ministry will hold simulations of a Gaza invasion. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that Israel will begin a 
diplomatic push for an agreement with Egypt on securing the 
Gaza-Sinai border and countering arms smuggling.  Ha'aretz reported 
that the diplomatic-security cabinet instructed the foreign and 
defense ministries to step up contacts with Egypt on this issue. 
Israel Radio cited PA sources as saying that Egypt is working to 
achieve a tahdiya (truce).  Speaking on the radio this morning, Amos 
Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security 
Bureau, said that Israel was not negotiating with Hamas through 
Egypt.  Yediot quoted Noam Shalit, Gilad Shalit's father, as saying 
that Israeli officials told him that private negotiations, for 
instance through French lawyers, will harm chances of obtaining his 
release. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the belief of PM Olmert that negotiations with Syria 
should be seriously considered "if this would bring an end to its 
involvement in terrorism and extricate it from the axis of evil." 
Speaking at a briefing on the situation in the South to the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, Olmert 
said that the Syrian leadership is aware of his position. 
On Wednesday Ha'aretz quoted IDF Intelligence as saying that Iran is 
arming Hizbullah with missiles sent via Turkey, in violation of UN 
Security Council Resolution 1701. 
 
The Jerusalem Post, Yediot, and Israel Radio reported that President 
Bush has appointed career diplomat James Cunningham, currently U.S. 
Consul General in Hong Kong, as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, 
pending Congressional approval.  Yediot headlined: "U.S. Sends 
Psychologist to Israel."  Maariv cited the disappointment of GOI 
sources in Jerusalem over Cunningham's appointment, quoting them as 
saying that this is a weak appointment of a person lacking 
diplomatic experience in the Middle East, who will be arriving at a 
critical time for Israel.  While The Jerusalem Post said that the 
possibility that Ambassador Richard Jones will serve as U.S. 
ambassador to Russia has not materialized, Maariv reported that he 
will apparently serve there. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying on Wednesday at a joint 
conference with Secretary Rice that the Israeli and Palestinian 
teams are likely to meet today.  Yediot headlined: "Following 
American Pressure: Abu Mazen Returns to Negotiations."  Maariv also 
cited an agreement between Rice and Abbas to this effect.  Ha'aretz 
quoted Secretary Rice as saying that Hamas was holding the people of 
Gaza hostage and was now "trying to make the path to a Palestinian 
state hostage to that.  And we cannot permit that." 
 
Major media reported that several illegal outposts will be evacuated 
in the next few days, under an agreement reached between the 
settlers and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning an IDF soldier was killed 
and three others were wounded from the explosion along the 
Israel-Gaza border.  Leading media reported that on Wednesday a 
Palestinian was killed and an Israeli civilian sustained 
moderate-to-serious injuries in a drive-by shooting in the village 
of Idna, west of Hebron.  Some media reported that the Israeli was a 
car dealer about to sell a vehicle to Palestinians. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media quoted the High Court of Justice 
as saying on Wednesday that it would hand down its decision on a 
petition protesting an army order barring Palestinian from driving 
on Highway 443 -- in the West Bank, parallel to the main Tel 
Aviv-Jerusalem highway -- at a later date.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that the court hinted that preventing travel by 
Palestinians on the road would prevent attacks on Israel. 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that on Wednesday the House of 
Representatives passed a resolution condemning Palestinian rocket 
attacks.  The Jerusalem Post: reported that on Tuesday the House of 
Representatives placed a hold on $150 million in economic assistance 
to the PA until the State Department provides further clarification 
of how the money will be dispensed and until it has certified that a 
dingle treasury account for the funds has been created, among other 
requirements. 
 
Maariv ran a feature about the average American's ignorance of world 
affairs.  A teaser reads: "It is easier to send to war a nation that 
does not really know where Israel, Iran, and Iraq are." 
 
Major media reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak has not 
renewed the exemption of military service for around 1,000 students 
learning in new yeshivas.  Maariv reported that the IDF has 
acknowledged that the lack of solders is due to exemptions granted 
to the ultra-Orthodox.  Ha'aretz reported that the first edition of 
Yom Hadash, a free daily newspaper for the ultra-Orthodox community, 
appeared on Wednesday.  Ha'aretz said that the publication reflects 
a leadership crisis in the ultra-Orthodox community. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the Jordanian government is drawing up a 
law to make it possible to involve Israel in a regional cooperation 
start-up in the area of electricity supply, but that the Jordanian 
parliament is taking steps to torpedo the initiative. 
 
Leading media reported that National Union MK Effie Eitam told Arab 
Knesset members, in the Knesset, on Wednesday that "one day we will 
expel you from this house, and from the national home of the Jewish 
people." 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a Gallup poll that found that 71% of 
Americans view Israel favorably.  Israel was ranked fifth, slightly 
higher than India and France. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "For the foreseeable future, meaning months or 
years, no military solution will be found for the Qassam rocket 
problem, yet we are not willing to talk about other alternatives." 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the 
independent Israel Hayom: "There are indications that Hamas, which 
is anxious for a cease-fire, intends to present Israel with a 
Greek-style gift: It will cease its fire.... Olmert signaled on 
Wednesday that the lessons of the gift presented by the Greeks, in 
HomerQs Odyssey, are of no concern to him." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "Here is an idea, which can be applied in 
conjunction with the existing IDF activity: Every time a rocket is 
fired at Israeli territory, Israel will respond against the 
population -- but never by lethal means." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: " We do 
the Palestinians no favors by not demanding it of them, by ignoring 
the narrative of war, dismissing it as mere 'rhetoric,' or actually 
joining in blaming the failure to change narratives on Israel." 
 
Former IDF spokesman Nachman Shai wrote in The Jerusalem Post: 
"After saying time and again that we don't want propaganda, we need 
to understand that there is no alternative to putting our positions 
forward -- and that's not necessarily 'propaganda.'" 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Hot Winter of Illusions" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Yael Paz-Melamed commented in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (3/6): "The truth is that For the foreseeable 
future, meaning months or years, no military solution will be found 
for the Qassam rocket problem, yet we are not willing to talk about 
other alternatives.... The solution will arrive when Sderot is 
cloaked by some kind of defensive system, or when a hudna [truce] is 
reached with Hamas for five, ten or twenty years.  Until then, the 
IDF and the Shin Bet will continue to wrack their brains about what 
to do.  The IDF will enter and leave the Gaza Strip, arrest wanted 
men, assassinate murderers, clean up one area and move on to 
another, and the Qassam and Grad rockets will continue to fall and 
make the lives of the civilians impossible.  Homes and the public 
buildings can be fortified, the support system for the 200,000 
residents of the region can be made more efficient; but normal life 
is impossible....  Anyone who promises something different is 
throwing sand in the eyes, and preventing vital decisions being made 
by the residents on their future." 
 
II.  "A Trojan Horse Named Hudna" 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the 
independent Israel Hayom (3/6): "There are indications that Hamas, 
which is anxious for a cease-fire, intends to present Israel with a 
Greek-style gift: It will cease its fire.  An unconditional gift, 
which Ehud Olmert already announced on Wednesday that he would 
accept, if it should reach him: 'If they do not fire at us from the 
Gaza Strip, we will not fire back.'  This is precisely what Khaled 
Mashal and Ismail Haniyeh have proposed over the past months, and 
Israel wisely refused, because it wanted to prevent the 
Lebanonization of Gaza.  It refused to give Hamas a year or two of 
calm to smuggle heavy rockets into the Gaza Strip and place them in 
an array that would endanger Israel.... If Olmert means what he 
says, then the Palestinians will be able to freely smuggle Grad 
rockets, advanced Katyusha and Fajr rockets, and threaten the 
coastal communities reaching up to Herzliya, while Israel will watch 
from the sidelines.  No strikes against metal workshops for 
manufacturing Qassam rockets, no targeted killings against terrorist 
leaders and no surprise incursions.  Quiet means quiet....  In the 
absence of a freeze in Hamas's military preparations, the IDF will 
continue its war -- with even greater energy, even though at a 
certain stage there may be no rocket fire at Israel.  However, 
Olmert signaled on Wednesday that the lessons of the gift presented 
by the Greeks, in HomerQs Odyssey, are of no concern to him." 
 
III.  "No Need to Kill" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (3/6): "The IDF is capable of wiping out the entire 
Gaza Strip, but is barred from doing so since we simply cannot kill 
the civilian population.... Here is an idea, which can be applied in 
conjunction with the existing IDF activity: Every time a rocket is 
fired at Israeli territory, Israel will respond against the 
population -- but never by lethal means: Tear gas cannons will fire 
tear gas throughout the Gaza Strip, at increasing intervals; 
powerful loudspeakers will play terrible noises -- squealing, 
sirens, deafening explosions -- first for ten minutes, then for 
fifteen minutes, up to periods of hours.... In my assessment, after 
ten such days -- sleepless, with eyes burning from tear gas, with 
ringing in their ears and red paint -- the residents will bodily 
stop those who are firing rockets at Israel.  This is what is 
special about the idea: The blame cannot be attached to Israel, 
since the one that will press the button each time and activate this 
series of harassments is Hamas itself, the moment it fires a rocket. 
 And if there are complaints around the world, well, the Israeli 
measures do not kill; these are accepted and known crowd control 
measures.  Every launch, which is now carried out daily by the 
dozens, will cause a ceaseless disturbance and a blow to the 
Palestinian side.  This way, Hamas will also divert the effect of 
the rockets towards its own public." 
 
 
IV.  "Narrative First" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/6): 
"In case anyone might think that the PA is only remembering past 
'glories,' Fatah, the faction that Abbas heads, issued a poster 
displaying a map of 'Palestine' that included all of Israel, a 
machine gun and a picture of Yasser Arafat.  Incitement against 
Israel, including the glorification of 'martyrdom,' continues 
through Abbas-controlled PA television, and PA educational 
institutions, such as schools and camps.... Abbas is not doing 
anything near what he could and should be doing.  No one is forcing 
him to play so wholeheartedly into the Hamas propaganda machine.... 
What we should have learned by now is that the real peace process is 
not a diplomatic one, but one of each side preparing itself for 
peace.  Israel has effected a sea change in this sphere, in that a 
consensus that held that a Palestinian state would necessarily be an 
existential threat has been transformed into a consensus that such a 
state is a strategic necessity.  Such a transformation has barely 
begun on the Palestinian side.  We do the Palestinians no favors by 
not demanding it of them, by ignoring the narrative of war, 
dismissing it as mere 'rhetoric,' or actually joining in blaming the 
failure to change narratives on Israel." 
 
¶V.  "Hello to Public Diplomacy" 
 
Former IDF spokesman Nachman Shai wrote in The Jerusalem Post (3/6): 
"We labor under the misconception that public diplomacy only 
involves speaking to the world at large, but that is not the case. 
We must also hold a dialogue with the Arabs, particularly with those 
alongside whom we live -- the Israeli Arabs, the Palestinians, the 
neighboring Arab states and even the more remote Muslim nations.  At 
present, Israel does not posses communications media -- neither 
radio, nor television -- capable of transmitting the pictures and 
voices of Israel beyond a short range from our borders.  The Foreign 
Ministry and the IDF Spokesperson have improved their treatment of 
Arab journalists stationed here, but with the lack of appropriate 
mass media tools in Israel, the skies above the Middle East are 
ruled by Arab satellites, their broadcasts reaching Europe and 
beyond.  I'm not talking about propaganda.  An independent, 
commercially funded communications network needs to be set up, 
broadly along the lines of Aljazeera-TV or Al-Arabiya-TV, capable of 
broadcasting to extensive audiences; and not affiliated with the 
Israeli government.  However, after saying time and again that we 
don't want propaganda, we need to understand that there is no 
alternative to putting our positions forward -- and that's not 
necessarily 'propaganda.'" 
 
JONES