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P 251103Z APR 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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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 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Most media featured the intelligence briefings yesterday to Congress 
on the alleged Syria - North Korea nuclear connection.    The media 
quoted senior Bush administration members as saying that Israel 
destroyed a nuclear reactor during its September 6, 2007 strike on 
Syria and that the reactor was close to being operational.  Israel 
Radio quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that the U.S. was 
never asked for nor gave a green light to the Israeli raid.  Yediot 
and Maariv illustrated the story with pictures allegedly taken 
inside and outside the reactor, which was said to be modeled on a 
North Korean design.  (Maariv claims that the pictures were taken by 
"an Israeli spy.")  Israel Radio reported that Israeli cabinet 
ministers have been instructed not to respond to the story. 
Ha'aretz quoted senior Israeli defense sources as saying that it was 
still too early to gauge how Damascus will react, but that they 
warned that the Syrians may now be forced to  retaliate in some way. 
 Channel 2-TV reported that PM Ehud Olmert obtained Defense Minister 
Ehud Barak's approval to share the reactor pictures with the 
Americans.  However, Maariv cited a claim by Barak's office that he 
was absolutely opposed to passing on the documents. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday a delegation from Hamas that 
included Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam told Egyptian intelligence 
chief Omar Suleiman that Hamas is prepared to accept a temporary 
cease-fire with Israel.  The cease-fire would first be limited to 
Gaza and then be expanded at a yet to be determined date to the West 
Bank.  Hamas had previously demanded that a truce apply 
simultaneously to both areas, but Israel refused.  According to 
Hamas's understanding, Israel will immediately cease all military 
activity in Gaza, including arrests, assassinations and field 
operations.  In return, Hamas will ensure an end to cross-border 
rocket fire and stop  arms smuggling.  Additionally,  the Rafah 
crossing will be opened to  ease cargo shipments into and out of the 
Strip.  The Jerusalem Post  quoted Israeli defense officials as 
saying that it was likely that Defense Minister Barak would agree to 
the cease-fire , since he opposes a large-scale military operation 
in Gaza, currently Israel's only viable course of action.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas officials in Gaza as saying that Hamas 
is keen on ending the case of Gilad Shalit soon, "to create a better 
atmosphere" that would consolidate the cease-fire.  Ha'aretz 
reported that Israel will now monitor Hamas's compliance with its 
commitments to Egypt: If Hamas manages to keep things calm and rein 
in terrorist activity by the other Palestinian factions, the IDF 
will be instructed to refrain from taking offensive action in the 
Gaza Strip.  Ha'aretz wrote that while no such order was given 
yesterday,  apparently as of today there is a new, more cautious 
procedure in place for authorizing military operations. 
 
Leading media quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying in the 
interview published yesterday in the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan that 
he did not expect direct talks with Israel to be resumed in the 
coming year.  "Perhaps we will be able to talk about direct 
negotiations with the next American administration," he was quoted 
as saying.  Israel would not comment on the withdrawal offer, but 
did say it was interested in negotiating with Damascus.  Maariv 
reported that Syrian FM Walid Muallem told a Western figure whom 
Syria hosted that "Syria has no claim to the water resources in the 
Golan, and Israel will be able to access all of them."  Ha'aretz 
quoted Mark Regev, a spokesman for Olmert, as saying "We are 
interested in peace with Syria.  We know what the Syrians expect 
from negotiations and the Syrians know what Israel wants from them." 
 Maariv quoted President Shimon Peres as saying in a private 
conversation: "We will not hand over the Golan to Syria.  Assad 
prefers Lebanon and the connection with Hizbullah.  Unless Syria 
disengages from Iran and Hizbullah, Israel must not give it the 
Golan."  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe bannered the Golan settlers' 
opposition to giving up their homes, 
 
Israel Radio reported that two Israeli security guards were shot and 
killed in a terrorist attack in the Israeli industrial zone of 
Nitzanei Shalom near Tulkarm.  The radio cited Islamic Jihad's claim 
of responsibility. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Danny Gillerman, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, 
as saying that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's hands are 
"tainted with blood" because he met and shook hands with Hamas 
leader Khaled Mashal.  Gillerman also voiced his indignation at 
Libyan Ambassador to the UN Giadalla Ettalhi's stating at the 
Security Council that the situation in Gaza is worse than that of 
the Nazi concentration camps.  The radio and other media reported 
that Gillerman and other Israeli spokesmen claim that Hamas is 
refusing to pump a large amount of fuel that is in storage tanks on 
the Palestinian side of the border in order to create a fabricated 
crisis and blame it on Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that yesterday PA President Mahmoud Abbas asked 
President George Bush to tighten oversight over Israeli settlement 
expansion in the West Bank.  Abbas told his host in Washington that 
the continued construction in the settlements would make it 
difficult for him to convince the Palestinian people that his peace 
talks with Israel may reach a breakthrough. Abbas also told the 
President about the good atmosphere in his talks with PM Olmert. 
But he said progress was slow and that there were still many issues 
on which there was no agreement.  The Jerusalem Post and Israel 
Radio cited Bush's optimism regarding the achievement of an 
Israeli-Palestinian accord before he leaves office.. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the release of Jonathan Pollard 
is not expected to be discussed during President Bush's visit to 
Israel. 
 
All media reported that an engineering problem has delayed the 
launching of the Amos 3 communications satellite from Baikonur, 
Kazakhstan, which was scheduled for yesterday, until Monday. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel will sign a declaration of 
trade and economic cooperation together with Rwanda, Burundi, Benin, 
and Liberia nest Wednesday to develop new export markets and to help 
the African countries build infrastructure and technology. 
 
Maariv reported that billionaire businessman/politician Arkady 
Gaidamak has sold his English-language newspaper The Moscow News to 
the Russian government.  Maariv quoted senior sources in Russia as 
saying that he is reimbursing part of a $365-million debt to Russia, 
which was part in a deal with Angola. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Ivanka Trump, the daughter of real estate 
mogul Donald Trump, will arrive in Israel on May 12 to gather 
information on investments for her father and try to interest 
Israelis in his new real estate project in Philadelphia. 
 
---------- 
¶1.  Syria: 
---------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The dismal figure in 
[the Syrian nuclear reactor] affair is Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice.... Yesterday's revelations presented her as a 
sucker -- worse: as someone betraying her position." 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The silence in Jerusalem made moderation in 
Damascus easier.  These regional behavioral codes are now disrupted 
by the Americans in a way that may push Assad toward defending 
Syrian honor." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "If he 
wants Israelis to risk all by ceding the Golan, Assad is going to 
have to show that he truly wants a change -- and he is going to have 
to take some chances too." 
 
Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "The Syrian demand for public negotiations, which might only 
be a pretext for rejection -- who knows -- is something that the 
Prime Minister should seriously consider." 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "It 
looks as if America is running around with two souls at least: The 
litmus test between the two is the attitude toward Israel." 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Second Roles" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/25): "In this play 
Israel finds itself playing a role it is not accustomed to: a lesser 
one.  This story isn't about Israel.  It touches the roots of U.S. 
foreign policy and a domestic political struggle, in which Israel 
has nothing to gain.  Israel's priorities in this affair are Syria 
first, and then North Korea.  America's priorities are first of all 
North Korea and -- far behind -- Syria.... The dismal figure in this 
affair is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The accord with North 
Korea is her only tangible achievement in her over three years at 
the State Department.  She is adhering to the agreement even as 
senior administration officials have understood that the Koreans 
have breached it.  Yesterday's revelations presented her as a sucker 
-- worse: as someone betraying her position.  If she doesn't get an 
Israeli-Arab agreement in her remaining seven months, she will leave 
the administration empty-handed -- like her predecessor Madeleine 
Albright." 
 
II.  "Those Who Need to Know" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/25): "The moment it is officially known 
that Israel destroyed a reactor in Syria and Damascus failed to 
respond, Assad's standing becomes weaker domestically and in the 
Arab world.  In Israel, the assumption has been that time eases the 
pain, but will not cure it.  The silence in Jerusalem made 
moderation in Damascus easier.  These regional behavioral codes are 
now disrupted by the Americans in a way that may push Assad toward 
defending Syrian honor.  The release of information on the site 
comes at a bad time for Assad.... Amid this complexity, Jerusalem 
and Damascus have tried their best to bolster each other this week 
with declarations on their willingness to renew negotiations on the 
Golan Heights, an effort geared to cool the atmosphere before the 
revelations in Washington.  In talks with reporters, senior 
officials in Israel complimented Assad's 'seriousness and maturity' 
and described him as a worthy successor to his father." 
 
III.  "A Golan Peace" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/25): 
"Since [the Yom Kippur War], the Syrians have remained a force for 
instability in the region.... Whatever his motivations, Israel 
should judge Assad by what he says and what he does.  Assad insists 
that even under a peace treaty normalization is out of the 
question.... It is in Israel's long-term interest to have a peace 
treaty with Syria, but not at any price, Israel would have to make 
irrevocable strategic concessions.  So it's hard to imagine many 
Israelis having the confidence to support a deal that does not 
signify a true opening of genuine peaceful relations.  If Assad 
wants a treaty, we urge him to come to Jerusalem or invite Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert to Damascus.  After 60 years of unremitting 
anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement Syrians may indeed not be 
ready for normalization.  But if he wants Israelis to risk all by 
ceding the Golan, Assad is going to have to show that he truly wants 
a change -- and he is going to have to take some chances too." 
 
IV.  "This Is Not Yet the Time to Talk about It" 
Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (4/25): "This is how the Israeli leadership looks under Ehud 
Olmert, the prime minister whose most common response is: 'I 
can't/don't want/I don't believe the time has come to talk about 
this.'  Those who are trying to find out what's happening between 
Israel and Syria must rely on tidbits and statements from those 
people close enough to have maybe or maybe not heard something from 
Olmert or to interpret by themselves the silences and hints of the 
Sphinx in Jerusalem.... Ehud Barak can tell him firsthand: In a 
democratic state, the preparation of hearts for an agreement is no 
less important than any list of security demands it contains.  It 
won't be easy for Olmert to sell the Israelis overnight a virgin 
agreement from an unpopular prime minister.  The Syrian demand for 
public negotiations, which might only be a pretext for rejection -- 
who knows -- is something that the Prime Minister should seriously 
consider." 
 
¶V.  "The United States Has Two Souls" 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (4/25): 
"This was one of the most complex weeks in Israel-U.S. relations. 
The arrest of an elderly Jew dubbed 'Pollard No. 2' whose 
transgressions allegedly took place in America close to 30 years 
ago; the CIA has acknowledged that the target that was struck in 
Syria on September 6, 2007 -- by Israel, according to foreign media 
report -- was a Syrian-North Korean nuclear reactor; the U.S. press 
also reported that contrary to restrictions inherent in President 
Bush's peace initiative, there is a secret Israel-U.S. agreement 
allowing development and expansion of existing Judea and Samaria 
[i.e. West Bank] settlements that Israel views as being within its 
future borders.... The various events in Israel-U.S. relations that 
occurred this week point first of all to a war of institutions 
within the U.S. administration and the American elites.... It looks 
as if America is running around with two souls at least: The litmus 
test between the two is the attitude toward Israel." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Columnist and former Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Sarid wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "All good reasons for apartheid 
are bad reasons; apartheid always has a reason, and it never has a 
 
justification." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Yes, It Is Apartheid" 
 
Columnist and former Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Sarid wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/25): "Let's let old Carter be, 
so he may let sleeping warriors lie; he will not be back.  The 
contents of his words, however, should not be ignored.  'Apartheid,' 
he said, 'apartheid' -- a dark, scary word coined by Afrikaners and 
meaning segregation, racial segregation.  What does he want from us, 
that evil man: What do we have to do with apartheid?  Does a 
separation fence constitute separation?  Do separate roads for 
Jewish settlers and Palestinians really separate?  Are Palestinian 
enclaves between Jewish settlements Bantustans?  There is no hint of 
similarity between South Africa and Israel, and only a sick mind 
could draw such shadowy connections between them.  Roadblocks and 
inspections at every turn; licenses and permits for every little 
matter; the arbitrary seizure of land; special privileges in water 
use; cheap, hard labor; forming and uniting families by bureaucratic 
whim -- none of these are apartheid, in any way.  They are an 
incontrovertible security necessity, period.  The white Afrikaners, 
too, had reasons for their segregation policy; they, too, felt 
threatened -- a great evil was at their door, and they were 
frightened, out to defend themselves.  Unfortunately, however, all 
good reasons for apartheid are bad reasons; apartheid always has a 
reason, and it never has a justification." 
 
JONES