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P 111004Z APR 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000835 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz reported that PM Olmert has called on IDF commanders in the 
West Bank to understand that the roadblocks are causing suffering to 
the Palestinians, whose needs should be taken into consideration to 
avoid a worsening of relations.  Olmert made these comments during a 
closed-door meeting with the brigade commanders of Central Command. 
Ha'aretz reported that more than half of the roadblocks Israel 
committed to lifting as part of measures meant to ease restrictions 
on Palestinians in the West Bank are temporary obstacles that the 
state had promised the High Court a month ago to remove. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the GOI and politicians sent mixed 
messages yesterday regarding plans by former U.S. President Jimmy 
Carter to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in Damascus next 
week.   On the one hand, senior Israeli diplomatic officials in 
Jerusalem said they were "outraged" at Carter's decision.  PM Olmert 
and FM Tzipi Livni have declined to meet with him when he visits 
Israel, citing "scheduling conflicts," while sources close to Likud 
chairman Binyamin Netanyahu said he was refusing to see Carter 
because of the Mashal meting.  But President Shimon Peres, Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak, Shas chairman Eli Yishai and Yisrael Beiteinu 
leader Avigdor Lieberman have all agreed to see Carter.   Israel 
Radio quoted State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack as saying 
that the U.S. would assist Carter in Damascus, but not to meet with 
Mashal.  The radio reported that all three U.S. presidential 
candidates expressed reservations about such a meeting. 
 
The media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying yesterday at a 
pre-Passover toast for Kadima activists that Hamas would be held 
accountable for every infiltration, shooting, and rocket attack in 
the South, no matter which terrorist organization actually carries 
it out.  While Olmert said he believed an agreement could be reached 
with PA President Mahmoud Abbas this year, he was quoted as saying 
that due to the situation in the PA and Hamas's control of Gaza, no 
deal could be implemented any time soon. 
 
All media reported that two Palestinians have been arrested only 
days before they planned to poison diners at a Ramat Gan restaurant 
at which they worked.  Under interrogation, the pair admitted being 
recruited by an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades cell that received funding 
and instructions from Hizbullah. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying that two Hamas 
activists were killed in an IAF raid in Gaza.  The radio reported on 
a land incursion by the IDF in the Strip. 
 
Maariv reported that Histadrut Labor Federation Chairman Ofer Eini 
and Israeli Manufacturers Association President Shraga Brosh are 
mediating between Olmert and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak in 
order to unite the two parties and form a bloc that could counter 
Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud in the next elections.  The media 
reported on persisting tensions between Olmert and Barak. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted former CIA Director Porter Goss as 
saying at a congress of Evangelical Christians in Jerusalem that 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is capable of anything.  Goss 
was quoted as saying that it will take generations to fix the harm 
done by Islam to young people. 
 
Yediot reported that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack 
Obama has started a Hebrew-language blog and that he intends to 
visit Israel.  The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying in an 
interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he is in the 
"common sense camp" on Israeli-Palestinian peace. 
 
Yediot (Alex Fishman) reported that Israel is preparing a list of 
"gifts" that it wishes to receive from President Bush, such as 
weapons systems and compensation for the Saudi arms deal.  Maariv 
(Ben Caspit) filed a similar story. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli and Palestinian 
sources as sayng that Hamas seizes half the fuel Israel sends to the 
Gaza Strip and uses it in part for its military wing's vehicles. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that officials announced yesterday that 
Defense Minister Barak will ask the government to increase the quota 
of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel from the West Bank. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on a "momentum of Palestinian 
development" in the West Bank 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a report by the Intelligence and Terrorism, 
Information Center as saying that Hamas has 20,000 armed men.  The 
think tank's report shows a formidable military force in Gaza that 
uses Hizbullah as its role mode.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited the 
report that Hamas has set up a suicide-bombe unit in case the IDF 
invades Gaza.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the Palestinian 
Parliament is launching a law to prosecute "Israeli war criminals." 
 
Yediot reported that on Thursday the Security Chief for the defense 
establishment ("Malmab") ordered all employees of the IDF, the Shin 
Bet, to refrain from publishing what can be construed as classified 
information on the popular Internet social networking site 
Facebook. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that a legislating process banning sale of Jewish 
National Fund land to Arabs might resume. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the head of the Turkish Parliament has 
requested the intervention of Olmert's bureau to annul a Knesset 
committee debate on the recognition of the Armenian genocide during 
World War I. 
 
Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton was quoted as saying in an interview 
with Globes that the growth potential in the U.S. is low, whereas 
the opportunities lie in Asia. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Edition) reported that U.S. philanthropist Anne 
Heyman, who heads the Heyman-Merrin foundation in New York, has 
applied the Israeli youth village model to help Rwandan orphans. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that IBM is buying the Israeli start-up FilesX for 
an estimated $70-80 million, though the sides have refused to 
disclose the price. 
 
Ha'aretz printed the results of a Dialog poll conducted on April 9: 
 
Were elections held today, for whom would you vote? 
(Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of a February poll 
and 2006 elections results.  Possible discrepancy in current Knesset 
configuration.)   Likud: 29 (35, 12); Labor Party: 18 (17, 19); 
Kadima: 15 (14, 29); Yisrael Beiteinu 12 (12, 11); Shas: 10 (9, 12); 
Meretz: 7 (6, 5); United Torah Judaism: 6 (7, 6); National 
Union-National Religious Party: 6 (4, 9); Arab parties: 10 (10, 10); 
Social Justice (under Arkady Gaidamak) 4 (3.,0); Pensioners Party: 0 
(3,7). 
What worries you the most these days? 
Iran's nuclear program: 34%, the economic situation: 22%; the 
security tension in the North: all of the above equally: 14%; none 
of the above: 4%; 4% were undecided. 
 
Next month, Israel will celebrate 60 years of independence.  Will 
the state exist 60 years from now? 
Yes: 77%; no: 11%; 4% were undecided. 
 
The Jerusalem Post published the results of a poll conducted among 
Israeli Arabs on April 2-6 by Keevon Research, Strategy and 
Communications: They favor Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Clinton as 
the Democratic candidate for U.S. president by a margin pf 37% to 
26%.  Thirty-seven percent were undecided.  The results contrasted 
with the opinions of Jewish Israelis, who prefer Clinton to Obama, 
61%-12%, according to a poll taken by the same company two weeks 
ago. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Every 
released Hamas prisoner is a risk, but when we weigh the risk 
against other values of the state, it seems to be a risk Israel 
should take." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Free Gilad Shalit" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/11): "This 
summer, two years will have passed since Gilad Shalit was abducted 
and, as far as we know, negotiations for his release have yielded no 
results.  As time goes by, it has become clear that Hamas cannot be 
deterred or brought to heel by power cuts, closed crossings, 
international boycotts, kidnapped parliamentarians nor fierce 
military action.  The more casualties and prisoners Hamas suffers, 
the stronger it gets.  It is also continuing to arm itself.  One may 
assume that every prisoner Israel releases in the Shalit deal would 
add to Hamas' prestige and strength.  Hence Israel's difficulty in 
deciding on the release.... Every released Hamas prisoner is a risk, 
but when we weigh the risk against other values of the state, it 
seems to be a risk Israel should take.... A 20-year-old prisoner 
cannot carry on his back the deterrence of a state that is armed to 
its teeth, and if he disappears or is killed, abandoning him could 
harm morale in a manner whose effect on deterrence is hard to 
measure.... The assumption that Shalit would not be executed is not 
an evaluation but a risk.  If anyone understood the goals of Hamas 
in the war against Israel, we could assess Shalit's chances of 
survival. But since we are dealing with incoherent terrorism, it 
would be prudent to take the worst-case scenario into 
consideration." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "Before he leaves the White House, George W. Bush, a failed 
president who leaves a war of deception and an economic crisis as 
his legacy decides to change everything in one go, strikes Iran's 
nuclear installations and redeems Israel and the world." 
 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "As Iran 
progress forward with its grand strategy for regional hegemony, the 
West dithers, and so assists it.  No wonder Ahmadinejad is always 
smiling." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "This Would Fit the Bush Administration" 
 
Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (4/11): "In the United States an open debate is bursting. The 
call it the 'October surprise': a pre-election dramatic move.... 
There can only be one October 2008 surprise: before he leaves the 
White House, George W. Bush, a failed president who leaves a war of 
deception and an economic crisis as his legacy decides to change 
everything in one go, strikes Iran's nuclear installations and 
redeems Israel and the world.... Such an operation is not conducted 
in a fog of secret, which would be followed by keeping mum in front 
of the cameras.  In the mean time there is a debate in the U.S., and 
in Israel one doesn't need particularly sharp ears to hear the winds 
of war." 
 
II.  "Ahmadinejad's Smile" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/11): 
"Through its proxy strategy, Iran has taken control of Syria, has 
paralyzed and is increasingly calling the shots in Lebanon, and has 
effective control over Gaza, from which it can attack Israel and 
Egypt at will.  And of course, it is the primary sponsor of the 
insurgency in Iraq.  Led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the Sunni Arab 
states are well aware of Iran's proxy strategy for attaining 
regional dominance, and they are not pleased.  The partial boycott 
of the Arab Summit in Damascus last month was the Sunni Arab states' 
way of showing their displeasure with Iran's domination of Syria and 
Lebanon.... In the absence of a strategy of confronting Iran either 
directly or through its proxies, the only coherent course that 
remains is one of containment.  But this option is raft with danger. 
 With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement this week 
that Iran is introducing 3,000 upgraded centrifuges to its Natanz 
nuclear installation, it is clear that international sanctions have 
had no impact on Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.  It is also clear 
that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it will be impossible to 
confront its proxies, who will operate under Iran' nuclear umbrella. 
 So as Iran progress forward with its grand strategy for regional 
hegemony, the West dithers, and so assists it.  No wonder 
Ahmadinejad is always smiling." 
 
JONES