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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0620/01 0771025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171025Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5875
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RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 3802
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4356
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 3572
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 1813
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 4318
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1195
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1635
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8186
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 5666
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 6648
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 9335
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RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000620 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
On Sunday Ha'aretz quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that 
Washington is likely to pressure Israel and the PA to make 
significant diplomatic progress before President Bush visits the 
region in May. 
 
On Sunday Ha'aretz reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
has asked Congress to approve a plan that would expand the training 
of PA police loyal to Abbas. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, the commander-designate of 
the IAF as saying that the presence of Israeli forces on the ground 
in the Gaza Strip could prevent the manufacture of rockets and the 
smuggling of arms into the Strip.  "Professionally speaking," he was 
quoted as saying, "if Israel wants to prevent any high-trajectory 
rocket or mortar fire, it must establish control over the ground." 
At the same time, Ha'aretz quoted defense officials as saying that 
Israel is again examining a possible purchase of an overseas 
anti-rocket weapons system to combat the Qassam rockets, because the 
Israeli-made Iron Dome system, currently under development at 
Rafael, the Armaments Development Authority, will not be operational 
before 2010. 
 
On Sunday Maariv reported that ahead of the conclusion on Saturday 
of the forty days of mourning for high-ranking Hizbullah operative 
Imad Mughniyah, the defense establishment has been put on its level 
highest alert for fear of a revenge attack.   Shin Bet officials 
have concentrated their forces and sent reinforcements abroad in 
order to protect Israeli targets.  Ha'aretz reported that Syrian FM 
Walid Muallem told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba on Sunday that 
"Israel tops the list of those who stood to gain" from the 
assassination lat month of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyah. 
 
The media continued to highlight the local and global repercussions 
of the current financial crisis.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
affluent Gulf states are seizing the opportunity to increase their 
control of financial companies and other branches of the U.S. 
economy.  The Jerusalem Post cited analysts' fear that the prospect 
of Arab financial prowess might manifest itself in a political 
agenda, with negative consequences for Israel. 
 
Over the weekend media reported hat Israel resumed air strikes 
against terrorist targets in Gaza on Saturday, killing three Islamic 
Jihad members whom the IDF said were planning to fire Qassam rockets 
into Israel. 
 
Major media reported that last night dozens of right-wing activists 
stormed Arab homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebel 
Mukaber in an attempt to raze the house of the family of Ala Abu 
Dhaim, who killed eight Mercaz Harav Yeshiva students 10 days ago. 
One policeman and four protesters were lightly wounded, while 22 
activists were arrested on suspicion of stoning Arab residents' 
houses.  Some Arab residents also threw stones. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that in the face a possible escalation 
with Syria and Iran's efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, parts of 
the country will shut down next month in what security officials say 
will be the largest emergency exercise in Israel's history. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying on Sunday at a 
reception ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport: "I am grateful we can open 
a new chapter in relations between our two countries."  All media 
reported that Israeli-German relations are likely to step up.  Major 
media noted that Berlin's "special relationship" with Jerusalem will 
be tested over Germany's economic ties with Iran. 
 
Over the weekend Channel 10-TV alleged that Likud Chairman Binyamin 
Netanyahu spent thousands of shekels in public funds during a PR 
campaign for Israel he conducted in London during the Second Lebanon 
War.  Netanyahu said in a forum of senior Likud activists in 
Ashkelon that the claims were part of a campaign to denigrate him 
ahead of the next Knesset elections. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that author and Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel 
told the Prime Minister's Office that he will not take part in the 
torch-lighting ceremony for Israel's 60th Independence Day due to 
prior commitments.  Wiesel told Ha'aretz that this was not a 
cancellation because he had not yet committed to take part. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that GOI officials told the newspaper on 
Sunday that Egypt is putting together a deal that will include a 
cease-fire in Gaza, a cap on the smuggling from Gaza, the 
reinstatement of PA authority control over Gaza-Israel crossings. 
 
However, the officials said that the deal does not include a 
prisoner swap for soldier Gilad Shalit. 
 
On Sunday Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted a high-ranking defense 
official as saying that PM Olmert and FM Livni have "abandoned" 
Defense Minister Barak, following accusations by the Palestinians 
and the U.S. that the defense minister is destroying efforts to 
reach an understanding with the Palestinians. 
 
Based on reports in several Arab media, Makor Rishon-Hatzofe 
reported that PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas is considering 
proclaiming the collapse of the Annapolis process. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the method of taking over Palestinian land is 
being publicized for the first time, based on testimony from a 
hearing on an appeal filed by a resident of the Kedumim settlement, 
Michael Lesence, against a Civil Administration order to vacate 35 
dunams (almost 9 acres) near the Mitzpe Yishai neighborhood of the 
settlement.  According to that document, West Bank settlements have 
expanded their jurisdictions by taking control of private 
Palestinian land and allocating it to settlers.  The land takeover 
-- which the Civil Administration calls "theft" -- has occurred in 
an orderly manner, without any official authorization. 
 
Leading media quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying that terror victims 
will be able to sue the PA. 
 
On Sunday Israel Hayom reported that Israeli-Arab youths have been 
paid by Israel's Islamic Movement to stone cars on Israel's northern 
roads. 
 
Maariv reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is considering 
making former consul-general in New York Alon Pinkas his chief of 
staff. 
 
On Sunday Ha'aretz reported that a new aviation agreement between 
Israel and the U.S. is expected soon, as the old one expires at the 
end of month.  The new agreement is expected to significantly open 
the skies, including removing limits on the number of flights, and 
allowing stopovers on the way. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "[American] 
pressure to put an end to the bloodshed and guarantee the Israel's 
future as a Jewish and democratic country is welcome pressure." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "[Ariel 
Sharon's post 9/11] message seemed to have sunken in, since the U.S. 
position did in fact change dramatically.  Now, if anything, the 
analogy to 1938 and the folly of appeasement is even more apt. 
Israel's voice today should be no less clear.  And Merkel, the 
leader of Germany, should listen." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: "It 
does not matter a whit whether we are talking about a signed treaty 
with Hamas, open or covert negotiations, or denials that conceal the 
existence of talks." 
 
Veteran writer Hemmi Shalev wrote in the independent Israel Hayom: 
"The unilateral option will arise once more, the least bad of a 
variety of undesirable options, as if it had never disappeared." 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "[If 
it surrenders the Golan Heights,] Israel will not be able to avoid 
direct confrontation with Hizbullah, and neither a threat against 
the Syrians nor an agreement with them will neutralize Hizbullah." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "American Intervention Now" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/17): "A 
senior American official quoted in Ha'aretz on Sunday predicted that 
despite the upcoming presidential elections, and in advance of his 
visit to Israel in May, President George W. Bush will increase the 
pressure on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to achieve 
significant diplomatic progress.  The American intervention will be 
evident already at the end of the week, with the arrival of Vice 
President Dick Cheney for talks in the region.  Immediately after 
him, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to arrive 
here.... The American source said that Bush expects genuine steps 
from Israel to advance the implementation of his two-state vision. 
He emphasized that the U.S. would not force anything on Israel, but 
that it expects the Olmert government to decide where it is heading. 
 Between the lines one could detect an implied threat that in the 
absence of progress, the administration will hold Israel responsible 
for the failure.... The senior official saw fit to explain that when 
it comes to the peace process, Bush does not intend to behave like a 
lame duck.  We can hope that he will follow in the footsteps of the 
three presidents who preceded him: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, 
and Bill Clinton, who did not end their involvement with the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict even after the American people had 
elected their successors.  Pressure to put an end to the bloodshed 
and guarantee the Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic country 
is welcome pressure." 
 
II.  "Germany Holds the Key" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/17): 
"German Chancellor Angela Merkel, here for a three-day visit with 
much of her cabinet, will today meet with our Prime Minister. 
Tomorrow she will become the first German chancellor to address the 
Knesset.  Merkel will be greeted as a friend of Israel, as she 
should be.  But friendship, if it is to mean anything, is not just 
about showing empathy with a friend in need.  It is about doing what 
you can and should do to help.  Back in October 2001, just after 
9/11, U.S. President George W. Bush was seeking Arab support for the 
U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan.  Yet at that time, the U.S. 
was still not explicitly backing Israel's right to self-defense 
against the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign, and was even 
pressuring Israel to exhibit restraint.  This prompted Israel's new 
prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to warn the U.S., 'Do not repeat the 
dreadful mistake of 1938, when enlightened European democracies 
decided to sacrifice Czechoslovakia for a "convenient temporary 
solution."  Do not try to appease the Arabs at our expense. Israel 
will not be Czechoslovakia.  Israel will fight terrorism.'  The 
message seemed to have sunken in, since the U.S. position did in 
fact change dramatically.  Now, if anything, the analogy to 1938 and 
the folly of appeasement is even more apt.  Israel's voice today 
should be no less clear.  And Merkel, the leader of Germany, should 
listen." 
 
III.  "Until We Reach the End of Days" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(3/17): "Anyone seeking to conduct peace talks with the PA of 
President Mahmoud Abbas needs the acquiescence of Hamas.  It does 
not matter a whit whether we are talking about a signed treaty with 
Hamas, open or covert negotiations, or denials that conceal the 
existence of talks.  The necessary result must in any event be an 
end to the rockets on one hand, and an end to the assassinations in 
the Gaza Strip on the other hand, as well as an open Rafah border 
crossing that does not conceal a threat of an uncontrolled invasion 
by captive Gazans into Egyptian territory.  Now Washington also 
realizes there is no way around bringing Hamas into the border 
agreement.  Sources in Egypt have said that Assistant Secretary of 
State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch is encouraging Egypt to 
push for a cease-fire with Hamas and that it is obvious from his 
remarks that Hamas is no longer a pariah; rather, it is an essential 
partner, without which the calm needed to go forward with the peace 
process cannot be achieved.... Israel could propose that the PA and 
Hamas cooperate in creating a unity government as a condition for an 
Israeli cease-fire and the opening of the Rafah border.  Israel 
could continue its fruitless peace talks with Abbas, but more 
importantly, it would be dealing with a single Palestinian authority 
via which life in the territories could be conducted until the End 
of Days vision is realized.  The other option is to conduct 
two-headed talks: one with Hamas, over the important issues such as 
security, and the second with the PA -- over nothing." 
 
 
 
IV.  "The Unilateral Era: Over but Perhaps Not Done With" 
 
Veteran writer Hemmi Shalev wrote in the independent Israel Hayom 
(3/17): "Unlike the 'new history' of the settlers and their right 
wing supporters, the decision on disengagement from Gaza did not 
really sQm solely from SharonQs desire to escape Qom justice or tQ 
find favor with the 'leftist elites' (on the assumption that he 
indeed wanted to do so).  The disengagement from Gaza was a 
possible, perhaps necessary, corollary of the 'era of unilateralism' 
in the history of the state, which started in 2000 with the 
withdrawal from Lebanon, reinforced by the 'proof' supplied at Camp 
David that there was no Palestinian partner for peace, and peaked 
during the second Intifada, which persuaded many, including right 
wingers, that there was no possibility of holding onto the 
territories and continuing to control millions of Palestinians.... 
IsraelQs unilateral moves received consistent and massive support in 
public opinion, for the disengagement from Gaza, for the withdrawal 
from Lebanon and for the Qjewel in the crownQ of the unilateral era 
-- the construction of the separation fence....  The basic facts 
that led to the adoption of the unilateral paradigm have not 
changed.  Despite the revival attempts, today too Israel does not 
have a reliable partner for peace, and today too time continues to 
work against us.... Another danger has been added, one that only the 
Iranian bomb surpasses in severity, of a 'binational state'.... 
There is no question that Israel must find an answer to the rocket 
fire from Gaza and a response to HizbullahQs threats in the north, 
but these dangers are not enough to make unnecessary the future 
discussion on the continuation of 'realignment,' this time in the 
West Bank.... But we should take into account that it will not be 
long before Israel finds itself isolated in the international arena 
like South Africa before the removal of the apartheid regime, and on 
the internal front, stands before an untenable situation with regard 
to its relations with the Palestinians.  At that point, the 
unilateral option will arise once more, the least bad of a variety 
of undesirable options, as if it had never disappeared." 
 
¶V. "Ceding Territory Is Not a Solution for Peace" 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (3/16): 
"Experience teaches that there is no magical solution that will 
remove the clouds that cover Israel's security horizon.  Going by 
the Egyptian experience, the surrender of the Golan Heights to Syria 
will turn the Syrian border into the 'peace front.'  We may assume 
that the Syrians will indeed be able to promise Israel that they 
will not attack it anymore, certainly not with conventional weapons. 
 But Israel has no reason to assume that Syria will bid farewell to 
its Iranian ally.  Syria's transition to the American axis endangers 
its internal stability. And again, according to the Egyptian 
experience, there is no reason to assume that peace with Syria would 
neutralize Hizbullah.... There is also no reason to assume that the 
circle of arrangements with the Palestinians will be completed as a 
result of peace with Syria.  The Iranian threat will continue to put 
constant pressure on Israel, and the price that Israel will pay for 
surrendering the Golan Heights will not be worth what it receives in 
exchange.  On the contrary: the geographical approach of the Syrians 
to the point of connecting with the Arabs of the Galilee contains 
new dangers.  It appears that the talk about negotiating with the 
Syrians even as threats are sent to it is connected to the fear of 
things catching fire with Hizbullah in the north.  Here, too, those 
who make the assessments are mistaken: Israel will not be able to 
avoid direct confrontation with Hizbullah, and neither a threat 
against the Syrians nor an agreement with them will neutralize 
Hizbullah." 
 
JONES