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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000935 
 
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.  Syria 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
¶3.  Ben-Ami Kadish Affair 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media cited The Los Angeles Times as saying yesterday that 
Congress will hear from the CIA that the facility destroyed in the 
IAF attack on Syria was a nuclear reactor for producing plutonium. 
Maariv cited U.S. intelligence's belief that the reactor was 
operational.  Ha'aretz reported that PM Ehud Olmert's advisors 
recently visited Washington, asking that the issue be minimized. 
Ha'aretz reported that defense sources told the newspaper yesterday 
that the government will not go public with new information in the 
case.  The media reported that the Prime Minister's Office declined 
to comment on the matter yesterday, and that they referred Ha'aretz 
to PM Olmert's statements last week in his Passover interviews with 
media outlets, in which he said that "the Syrians know what our 
position is, and we know what their expectations are."  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that top defense officials expressed concern 
yesterday that the details revealed in the congressional hearing 
would "embarrass" Syrian President Bashar Assad -- who has refused 
to confirm reports on the nature of the site -- and might create 
pressure from within his government to respond militarily against 
Israel.  The Jerusalem Post quoted a senior defense official as 
saying: "Syria thinks it owes us for what happened in September. 
The official added that the congressional hearing could also force 
Assad to reject peace talks with Israel as an act of leadership in 
face of growing internal criticism. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the GOI declines to comment on reports 
from Syria that PM Olmert has agreed to Israel's withdrawal from the 
Golan in exchange for peace. Leading media reported that yesterday 
on Aljazeera-TV Syrian Minister of Expatriates Buthaynah Shabaan 
confirmed the report by the Syrian news agency Sham-Press.  Leading 
electronic media reported that Bashar Assad confirmed those reports 
today in the Qatari daily Al-Watan. 
Yediot (Alex Fishman) said that the Syrians who leaked the 
information omitted Israel's terms in possible negotiations. 
Ha'aretz quoted officials as saying that significant U.S. 
involvement will probably be necessary for negotiations with Syria 
to move ahead, and that Syria is still demanding such involvement. 
Both Israeli and foreign experts on Syria told Ha'aretz yesterday 
that a change in the American position was not on the horizon, and 
that no details on the Israeli position had been included in 
yesterday's Syrian media reports.  Media quoted Syrian Foreign 
Minister Walid Muallem as saying yesterday in Tehran that if Israel 
were serious about making peace with Syria and withdrawing from the 
Golan, there was nothing to prevent the renewal of negotiations. 
But he added that Syria was not prepared for talks with Israel that 
would hurt the Palestinian negotiating track. 
 
Leading media reported that Hamas will tell Egypt this evening its 
final position on the proposed truce with Israel.  Ha'aretz quoted 
Hamas sources as saying yesterday that their organization is 
expected to accept Egypt's cease-fire proposal, under which fighting 
with Israel will be suspended only in Gaza.  However, Hamas is 
likely to condition its consent on the cease-fire expanding in a few 
months to cover the West Bank as well.  According to the proposal, 
Israel will refrain from attacking Hamas's people during the 
temporary cease-fire -- or tahdiya -- in Gaza, even in the event of 
terror attacks in the West Bank or Israel.  The Rafah crossing into 
Egypt is to be opened, along with cargo crossings between Israel and 
the Gaza Strip.  In return, Hamas will ensure there is no rocket 
fire or any other armed operation against Israel.  Ha'aretz quoted 
Hamas's PM Ismail Haniyeh as saying yesterday that Hamas is prepared 
to offer Israel a long-term cease-fire, or hudna, in return for an 
Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, a Palestinian state with 
Jerusalem as its capital, and right of return for refugees -- 
without recognizing Israel.  Israel Radio reported that Hamas is 
calling on Palestinians to march to the Erez and Rafah crossings 
tomorrow. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that yesterday Israel resumed piping industrial 
diesel fuel to the Palestinian side of the Nahal Oz fuel depot, 
transferring to Gaza about a million liters, enough to operate 
Gaza's power plant for at least three days.  The Nahal Oz depot was 
attacked on April 9 by terrorists who murdered two Israeli civilians 
employed there. Ha'aretz reported that Palestinians complained 
yesterday about the ongoing shortage of gasoline, supply of which 
was not resumed. Defense officials responded that Israel is not 
transferring fuel for transportation purposes, and that there are 
considerable amounts of diesel and gasoline for vehicles on the 
Palestinian side of the fuel depot, but that the Hamas government is 
not pumping it, apparently in an effort to generate a humanitarian 
crisis and blame it on Israel.  Ha'aretz reported that yesterday the 
UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued 
data on the repercussions of the fuel shortage in Gaza.  UNRWA's 
transportation fleet will remain idle starting tomorrow, the OCHA 
statement said. This means that distribution of food packages to 
650,000 refugees will stop, and the orderly operation of 214 schools 
and 19 health clinics will be disrupted, along with the collection 
of solid waste.  In addition, garbage is no longer being collected 
by 12 local councils, impacting half a million Gazans.  Trash 
collection will soon be suspended by the other councils.  According 
to OCHA, hospitals run by the Palestinian health ministry have fuel 
supplies for between 33 and 170 hours. Hospitals belonging to 
non-governmental organizations have enough fuel left for less than a 
week. The major pharmacies in the Strip, which are powered by 
generators, ran out of fuel on Tuesday, jeopardizing inoculations 
for 55,000 babies. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that eight months after the High Court of Justice 
ordered the state to dismantle the segment of the separation fence 
near the Palestinian village of Bil'in within a "reasonable amount 
of time," the Defense Ministry has yet to do so.  Ha'aretz noted 
that it has not even begun to plan an alternative route there, in 
accordance with the court's instruction. 
 
The media cited a Foreign Ministry statement released yesterday, 
according to which Israel halted its espionage activities against 
the U.S. on U.S. soil in 1985.  Yediot and Israel Radio quoted 
Joseph diGenova, the prosecutor in the Pollard case, as saying 
yesterday: "The Israelis, of course, lied to us.  They said there 
were no other spies and they had destroyed all the documents they 
got at the time."   Maariv cited the belief of top GOI sources that 
President Bush's upcoming visit will take place as planned and that 
the affair is not expected to cloud Israel-U.S. relations. 
 
Israel Radio reported that settler leaders are attempting to obtain 
a pardon from President Shimon Peres for Jewish security prisoners 
(including Ami Popper, who was convicted of murdering seven Arab men 
in 1990) through the intermediary of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi 
Ovadia Yosef. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted former cabinet ministers and former Meretz leader 
Yossi Sarid as saying yesterday that he will not run for Tel Aviv 
mayor in November's municipal elections.  Sarid said that he has 
other commitments. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a soldier serving in the IDF's 
elite 8200 military intelligence unit was sentenced to 19 days in 
prison on Wednesday for uploading a picture onto the Facebook social 
networking site. 
 
---------- 
¶1.  Syria: 
---------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Notwithstanding the 
messages between Olmert and Assad, it is almost certain that the 
negotiations will not be renewed in the near future -- at least not 
until the next tenant takes up residence in the White House." 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The cost of 
peace with Syria has been known for years, and there is no reason to 
be alarmed by it.... The problem is that even within Kadima, 
Olmert's party, it is hard to locate sufficient support for this 
welcome move by the Prime Minister." 
 
Veteran journalist Hemmi Shalev wrote in the independent Israel 
Hayom: "At least as far as spin is concerned, there is already real 
cooperation between [Israel and Syria]." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Waiting for the Next President" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/24): "Let's start at 
the end.  Notwithstanding the messages between Olmert and Assad, it 
is almost certain that the negotiations will not be renewed in the 
near future -- at least not until the next tenant takes up residence 
in the White House in January 2009.... The Turkish mediators 
informed Israel ... that Assad also understood that the talks would 
not be renewed unless he clarified that a peace agreement would 
oblige Syria to shut the offices of the Palestinian rejectionist 
organizations in Damascus, end its support of Hizbullah and cool its 
relations with Iran.  In other words, Olmert and Assad have been 
exchanging messages with the understanding that they weren't going 
to have to close the deal any time soon.... Olmert wants to give the 
public the impression that he is seeking the right path to an 
agreement, and Assad wants to signal to the Americans that their 
perception of him as a monster is incorrect.  There are substantial 
differences of opinion between the IDF Intelligence Branch and the 
Mossad with respect to the sincerity of Assad's intentions.  The IDF 
Intelligence Branch believes that Israel ought to act vigorously to 
renew the talks that, ultimately, are destined to remove Syria from 
the 'axis of evil.'  The Mossad director has told the cabinet 
ministers that Assad is not particularly interested in regaining the 
Golan Heights and that his paramount interest lies in Lebanon." 
 
II.  "Don't Be Afraid of Peace with Syria" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/24): "Peace 
with Syria is once again knocking at our door, and it even seems to 
be meeting with a less-frosty reception on the Israeli side.  The 
time is ripe for negotiations with Syria, especially since U.S. 
President George W. Bush's reign is drawing to a close, and among 
his potential successors, whether Democrat or Republican, there is a 
willingness to negotiate with Bashar Assad instead of boycotting 
him.... Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, and Benjamin Netanyahu have all 
supported withdrawing from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace 
and security arrangements, and they all worked to obtain such an 
agreement.  Whether or not the current government is capable of 
carrying out a historical move that entails territorial concessions 
is a question of leadership ability.  Peace is not a commodity in 
high demand when the border is quiet, but peace with Syria might 
open up the possibility of regional peace by changing the balance of 
interests in the area..... The cost of peace with Syria has been 
known for years, and there is no reason to be alarmed by it.  The 
security advantages of peace are greater than the strategic value of 
the Golan Heights.  The problem is that even within Kadima, Olmert's 
party, it is hard to locate sufficient support for this welcome move 
by the Prime Minister." 
 
III.  "The Plutonium Bypass Spin" 
 
Veteran journalist Hemmi Shalev wrote in the independent Israel 
Hayom (4/24): "The unusual declarations made yesterday by 
high-ranking administration officials and image consultants in 
Damascus about Prime Minister Olmert's willingness to withdraw from 
the Golan Heights serve the interests of both sides very well, so 
that at least as far as spin is concerned, there is already real 
cooperation between the two countries.  Syrian President Bashar 
Assad wants to appear to be an obsessive peace seeker, while the 
American Congress is about to expose him today to be a high-ranking 
member of the nuclear axis of evil, even as Olmert wants to look as 
if he were juggling several peace processes in tandem in order to 
rebuff claims that he is basically achieving nothing.  Assad wants 
to avoid the need to respond with force to what it has so far been 
convenient for him to deny, i.e., the Israeli attack on September 6, 
2007, whereas Olmert is willing to cooperate in salvaging Assad's 
lost dignity in return for a bit of credit, either direct or 
indirect, for himself." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "True, George Bush too has wreaked calamity on the Middle 
East, but the way to correct Bush's mistake is not to return to 
Carter's abomination." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Beware, Appeasement" 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(4/24): "Carterism is far more important than Jimmy Carter.... The 
possibility that a Democrat will be elected president of the United 
States in November makes the debate over Carterism relevant and 
vital.  Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will have to choose whether 
to continue in the sober tradition of Roosevelt-Truman-Kennedy or to 
revive Carter's appeasement.  That is why it is important to speak 
out strongly right now about the path chosen by the old man who came 
to visit us this week.  This path is not only delusional, but 
immoral.  Carterism's cooperation with Hamas is cooperation with the 
oppression of women, with the jailing of homosexuals, with the 
persecution of Christians.  It is cooperation with a religious 
tyranny that tramples the Palestinian individual and seeks to 
eradicate the Israeli-Jewish collective.  True, George Bush too has 
wreaked calamity on the Middle East, but the way to correct Bush's 
mistake is not to return to Carter's abomination.  If the Israeli, 
European, and American left chooses to become a Carterist left, it 
will indeed become a suicidal left." 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  Ben-Ami Kadish Affair: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "On the 
eve of Bush's visit to Jerusalem next month, Israel and the United 
States must exert every effort to address the latest spy scandal 
like allies should -- responsibly." 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "The spying in the U.S. [may have] helped to ... save 
lives -- but at the price of jeopardizing Israel's main support 
column." 
 
 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "'Library Spy'" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/24): 
"More details are sure to emerge, but for the time being we should 
insist that the Kadish case not be misused to bolster the enemies of 
Jonathan Pollard.... There are already regrettable efforts to draw 
the two cases together.... Regardless of the outcome of the Kadish 
case, President George W. Bush should commute Pollard's sentence to 
the 22 years already served.... [Israel] should remind the U.S. of 
its gratitude that security cooperation between the two counties is 
tighter now than at any time in the past.  On the eve of Bush's 
visit to Jerusalem next month, Israel and the United States must 
exert every effort to address the latest spy scandal like allies 
should -- responsibly." 
 
II.  "Kiss on the Check, Knife in the Back" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (4/24): "What is tolerated due to helplessness when it 
comes to China, Russia and Cuba is prohibited for Israel, (which is 
on the top of the spies list), France and other friends. Every 
Pollard, every Kadish, reinforces the national-religious label of 
Judas Iscariot, a kiss on the cheek and a knife in the back, and in 
the case of the IDF and Israeli intelligence, the hero who is also a 
thief, the pilot who is also a pickpocket..... What is needed -- and 
lacking -- is cold, strategic thinking in order to understand that 
this is a dangerous game.  The spying in the U.S. helped to shorten 
development schedules, to save billions, to know the enemy, and at 
the end of the day perhaps also to save lives -- but at the price of 
jeopardizing Israel's main support column.  For years everyone in 
the Prime Minister's Office and the Defense Ministry should have 
known -- and most of them did -- and everyone is responsible." 
 
JONES