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P 271101Z MAY 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001114 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with what is characterized as significant progress in 
indirect talks between Israel and Hizbullah over an exchange 
involving the two abducted reservists that ignited the Second 
Lebanon War.  The deal is expected to involve the release of six 
Lebanese held in Israel, including the convicted terrorist Samir 
Kuntar, and the corpses of 10 Hizbullah fighters.  Hizbullah 
Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday in a prerecorded 
address to the Lebanese public that "very soon Samir Kuntar and his 
brothers will be among us."  Diplomatic sources in Beirut reported 
significant progress in the German mediated talks yesterday and that 
Israel has made a "final offer" that includes the release of Kuntar, 
Nasim Nisr, and four Hizbullah fighters that were imprisoned during 
the 2006 war in Lebanon. Nisr is a Lebanese Jew who immigrated to 
Israel and was convicted in a plea bargain of spying for Hizbullah. 
The offer does not include the release of Palestinian prisoners, a 
long standing demand by Hizbullah which had  caused Israel to 
publicly threaten an end to negotiations.  Ha'aretz wrote that the 
relatively low Israeli offer suggests that officials do not believe 
that the two abducted soldiers are alive, even though they have not 
yet been officially declared dead.  The media reported that official 
Jerusalem has not responded to the reports, but Ha'aretz cited 
Israeli sources close to the negotiations as saying yesterday that 
progress had been achieved.  However, a senior security source told 
Ha'aretz last night that "we must not be impressed by Nasrallah's 
declarations.  He has said similar things in the past." 
 
All media reported that Morris Talansky began his early deposition 
in the Olmert bribery case to the Jerusalem District Court this 
morning.  The defense has said it would like Talansky to return to 
Israel at a later date, probably in July, for his cross-examination. 
 Ha'aretz wrote that the most important bit of evidence prosecutors 
would like to obtain from Talansky is whether he received something 
in return for the cash transfers, which are suspected to have been 
large and numerous.  Electronic media reported that Talansky told 
the court that he met PM Ehud Olmert 10 times between 2002 and 2005, 
while Olmert was industry, trade and labor minister, and on each 
occasion, gave him envelopes of cash.  Talansky stressed, however, 
that he did not do it for personal gain.  Talansky said that when he 
asked Olmert why he wanted the money in cash, he replied that this 
was the customary method in Israel. 
 
Media quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying at Sunday's 
cabinet meeting that peace the Jewish state is not one of the top 
four items on Syrian President Bashar Assad's to-do list, but that 
it is still something that Israel should pursue.  Over the weekend 
the media noted that the bond between PM Olmert and Transportation 
Minister Shaul Mofaz is appearing to be solidifying.  However, in an 
Israel Radio interview, Mofaz strongly criticized a deal over the 
Golan.  All media quoted Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (National 
Union-National Religious Party) as saying yesterday at a Golan 
solidarity rally at the Knesset that whoever gives up parts of the 
country should be sentenced to death."  Eldad cited the penal code 
of 1977, which state that it is treasonous to intentionally act to 
relinquish territory and hand it over to the sovereignty of another 
nation. The media reported that even right-wing parliamentarians, 
who noted the similarity to utterances made before the assassination 
of Yitzhak Rabin, condemned Eldad's remarks.  Leading media quoted 
PM Olmert as saying yesterday at a Knesset's Foreign Affairs and 
Defense Committee meeting that only people suffering from delusions 
still believe it is possible to hold on to the greater Land of 
Israel, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.  While 
denying that the Golan has already been promised to Syria, Olmert 
said that it is clear what Syria wants to get as part of any peace 
deal.  The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday a multiparty bill 
designed to make it harder for the government to cede the Golan to 
Syria received an initial promise of 61 signatures even before it 
was filed by MK Eliahu Gabbay (National Union - National Religious 
Party). 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior Israeli security source as saying that the 
PA's security forces are becoming increasingly successful in their 
operations in the West Bank.  The source was quoted as saying that 
their performance has so improved that, contrary to the fears of 
many senior Israeli officials, an Israeli pullout from the West Bank 
would not automatically result in Hamas being able to take over the 
area shortly thereafter.  But according to the same source, one area 
in which the PA security forces have not been sufficiently effective 
is in combating what he termed the "terrorist infrastructure" in the 
West Bank.  Ha'aretz also reported that Israel and the PA are 
considering looking into incitement in Palestinian textbooks. 
 
All media reported that Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin told the cabinet 
on Sunday that it is "only a matter of time" before Ashdod and 
Kiryat Gat are within Hamas's rocket range. 
 
Major media cited the British daily The Times quoting former U.S. 
President Jimmy Carter as saying in England on Sunday that Israel 
holds at least 150 nuclear weapons, the first time a U.S. president 
has publicly acknowledged Israel's atomic arsenal.  Media reported 
that Carter also condemned Israel's blockade of Gaza as "one of the 
greatest human rights crimes now existing on Earth."  Carter said in 
reference to the situation of Palestinians in Gaza that "there is no 
reason to treat these people this way." 
 
All media reported that Shas is threatening to quit the government 
if the cabinet does not increase child allowances.  Some media said 
that Shas will make good on its warning if PM Olmert moves forward 
on diplomatic fronts such as agreeing to pull out from the Golan. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted defense officials as saying yesterday that 
the IDF is drawing up plans to move the Gaza crossings away from 
Israel's border. 
 
All media reported that a 55-year-old Iranian born Israeli was 
indicted on Sunday on charges of spying for Tehran. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted defense officials as saying yesterday that 
the chances of reaching a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza have 
significantly dropped, due to seemingly          irreconcilable 
differences.  The Jerusalem Post also quoted diplomatic officials as 
saying that Israel continues to let Egypt exhaust its efforts, 
partly because it understands the importance Cairo has placed on the 
issue and Jerusalem's interest in showing the Egyptians that Israel 
is not responsible for the failure of a cease-fire. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted the Director General of the Defense Ministry as 
saying yesterday that the Iron Dome system, designed to protect 
Israeli civilians from Qassam rockets, will be ready for testing 
within a month.  Defense officials were quoted as saying that there 
was a recent breakthrough in the Iron Dome's interception system, 
and that the upgraded system might be operational by 2010.  The 
defense system is meant to block 95 percent of Qassam rockets and 
mortar shells fired at Sderot and Ashkelon. The Jerusalem Post 
quoted defense officials as saying on Monday that Rafael Advanced 
Defense Systems has received special rabbinic permission to work on 
Shabbat. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio cited a report released yesterday by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency that Tehran's nuclear plans -- 
including uranium enrichment -- are a "matter of serious concern" 
and require "substantial explanations" from Iranian officials." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy's recent 
diagnosis of brain cancer could signal the loss of one of Israel's 
most powerful and high-ranking U.S. allies. 
 
Yediot reported that the UN will open its "Durban II" conference in 
Geneva in April 2009.  Yediot said that fearing that Arab countries 
would again join with African states and turn the meet into a 
defamation show against Israel, Western states had objected to the 
convention taking place in an African country. 
 
The media reported that on Saturday night, MK and former deputy 
defense minister Ephraim Sneh quit the Labor Party and announced his 
decision to establish a new political framework -- "Yisrael Hazaka" 
(A Strong Israel).  The media noted Sneh's awkward relations with 
Ehud Barak. 
 
Leading media reported that Likud and Labor will cooperate in the 
local elections, which are slated to take place in November.  The 
move is meant to stem the advance of Arkady Gaidamak's party, Social 
Justice, and Kadima. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that the American 
mathematician David Mumford, co-winner of the 2008 Wolf Foundation 
Prize in Mathematics -- an award presented in Israel annually -- 
announced upon receiving the award on Sunday that he will donate the 
money to Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, and to Gisha, an 
Israeli organization that advocates for Palestinian freedom of 
movement. 
 
Leading media reported that Israel has recently refused to admit 
into the country American Jewish political scientist and strident 
anti-Israel activist Prof. Norman Finkelstein.  Ha'aretz condemned 
this incident in its editorial today. 
 
Leading media reported that as of Sunday night, the Israeli shekel 
can be exchanged on the world market. 
 
All media reported that Israel's entry at the 61st Cannes Festival, 
"Waltz with Bashir," an animated documentary about the first Lebanon 
War, did not win any prizes but "has been sold to the whole world," 
in the words of the movie's producer. 
Over the weekend all media reported on the death of noted journalist 
and art critic Adam Baruch. 
 
Major media reported on the success of NASA's Martian mission. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote on page one of the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The cease-fire that appeared relatively near 
at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference last week is now a little further 
away." 
 
Meretz-Yahad Party Chairman Yossi Beilin wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "I am convinced that just as 70 percent of the 
public opposed the evacuation from Sinai before the Camp David 
accords and 70 percent supported the accords after they were made 
public, the same will happen regarding the Golan Heights." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Because of [Olmert or Assad's] difficulties they talk of peace or 
at least of negotiations to achieve peace.  It is best to take them 
seriously  to force them to adhere to their own spin and make them 
play it out.  They can.  These are leaders who no longer have 
anything to lose." 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in Maariv: "Damascus 
never promised Iran that it would refrain from resuming the peace 
process, and in any case it violated no such commitment." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Israel 
can -- indeed must -- harness Russia's ambition to increase its 
clout in the Middle East to Israel's own strategic interests." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Truce Looks Farther Away" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote on page one of the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/26): "The attempted attack on the Erez 
[Crossing], in parallel with the continuous rocket attacks on 
communities bordering the Gaza Strip, may serve as grounds for the 
IDF to intensify its operations against Hamas even as Egypt is 
trying to mediate a truce.  Those supporting such escalation argue 
that without it, Israel will enter the tahdiya [truce] from a 
position of weakness, which will only encourage provocations by 
militant Palestinian groups.  Thus the cease-fire that appeared 
relatively near at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference last week is now a 
little further away.  There are also other reasons for this, of 
which one is the vast distance between the parties' positions 
regarding the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.  For the 
time being, Hamas is rejecting Israel's demand that significant 
progress be achieved in the talks on Shalit as part of the 
cease-fire negotiations.  Moreover, Hamas is demanding an immediate 
lifting of the blockade on the Strip, which Israel would like to see 
lifted only gradually, conditional on progress in the Shalit deal 
and on compliance with the truce.  But senior Hamas officials say 
that Shalit is not the obstacle to the tahdiya, since Israel has not 
made his release a condition of the deal.  It is also impossible to 
ignore the implications for the cease-fire talks of the political 
instability in Israel that has been sparked by the investigation 
against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.." 
 
 
 
II.  "It Is Already a Done Deal" 
 
Meretz-Yahad Party Chairman Yossi Beilin wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (5/25): "The best-kept secret is the fact that 
there is no real need for negotiations, but rather for opening the 
[January 2000] Shepherdstown file and political courage.  I am 
convinced that just as 70 percent of the public opposed the 
evacuation from Sinai before the Camp David accords and 70 percent 
supported the accords after they were made public, the same will 
happen regarding the Golan Heights.  Things will turn upside-down 
the moment an agreement is signed with Syria.  The significance of 
an agreement to carry out the Arab initiative and normalization 
between all the Arab countries and Israel is dramatic for Hizbullah 
and Hamas, which will not be able to keep receiving the current 
Syrian assistance, and for the relationship between Syria and Iran. 
The moment that the public realizes that such an agreement will put 
an end to Israel's feelings of being under curfew and that Israelis 
will be able to take their cars and drive northward via Syria and 
Turkey into the heart of Europe, they will realize that this means 
regional change, not merely giving up a beautiful place in exchange 
for a piece of paper.  We could have signed the treaty with the 
Syrians years ago. The price of missing out on it was withdrawing 
from Lebanon without a treaty, with all that implies.  The picture 
of the Middle East could have been completely different if Barak had 
not made a mistake.  I hope that today, Barak will be among those 
who push for such an agreement, and that we will not waste time 
unnecessarily, and that we will reach the signing stage quickly. 
There is no need for more than two weeks to finish things up." 
 
III.  "Peace of No Choice" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(5/25): "If it is 'accepted' that the sides are talking because of 
their difficult circumstances, and not because of their wisdom, then 
it is precisely these circumstances that can lead the processes to 
fruition.  The spin, on the basis of this hopeful thought, has a 
life of its own.  According to the spin theory, each of the leaders 
is holding on to the peace process to extricate himself from his 
difficult circumstances. Olmert aspires to become untouchable, Assad 
wants to be the new Arab hero, and Erdogan needs to prove to secular 
Turks that he can provide Turkey with a regional stature that no one 
before him has achieved.  Their difficulties may prove to be the 
mother of all inventions, and under the right circumstances can also 
offer various strategic results.... Olmert or Assad, weak leaders 
who sit in the swamps they have made for themselves, do not need to 
raise doubts about their ability to make peace.... Because of their 
difficulties they talk of peace or at least of negotiations to 
achieve peace.  It is best to take them seriously  to force them to 
adhere to their own spin and make them play it out.  They can. 
These are leaders who no longer have anything to lose." 
 
IV.  "The Iranian Mine" 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in Maariv (5/25): "The 
report that the Iranian President is furious with the Syrian regime 
for having dared to begin talks with Jerusalem is doubtful, and it 
is likely that it was inflated by interested parties.  Damascus 
never promised Iran that it would refrain from resuming the peace 
process, and in any case it violated no such commitment.  The 
Iranians know that Assad has the right and even the obligation to 
return the Golan Heights to his possession, even at the price of 
peace with the Zionist state.  Moreover, the Iranian President is 
not an important authority in matters of foreign relations and 
defense.  The Iranian upper echelons contain policymakers of higher 
rank than he... Nevertheless, the report reflects Iranian fears -- 
not rebukes -- that the process that has now begun will go well, 
leaving them in splendid isolation, without a single friend in the 
Arab world.  For Iran, Syria serves as a moral partner who provides 
legitimacy, as well as a comrade in arms.  Its departure from this 
alliance will harm Hizbullah and weaken the Iranian effort to keep 
the coals burning in Gaza.  Meanwhile, the side that is planting the 
Iranian mine is actually Syria.  In a choice between Washington and 
Tehran, the Syrian President knows deep inside that Washington is 
preferable.  But Assad fears being plucked from both sides.  If he 
sells Iran out to the Israelis and then the negotiations stall, he 
will be revealed in all his wretchedness as one who granted 
concessions for nothing.  In addition, Damascus regards the Israeli 
demand that Syria sever its connection with Iran as chutzpah.  The 
Syrians have said that these relations are an independent choice. 
No one has the right to ask that they be severed, just as no one 
would dare to demand that Israel give up its relationship with its 
friend in the West. Israel will find it difficult to receive such a 
commitment from Damascus, certainly not publicly.  If it insists, it 
could find that the doors of negotiations have closed once again. 
This story also contains a history lesson.  In March 2000, when the 
failure of the latest round of talks was announced, Iran was not 
such a threatening stumbling block.  Israel, which will find itself 
spitting blood once more at the Iranian wedge in the negotiations, 
should know that this is the price of the lost years." 
 
¶V.  "The Bear Is Back" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/25): 
"As recent reports make clear, Russia is now forcing its way back 
into the Middle East -- and not necessarily in the most encouraging 
manner.  By dangerously increasing its arms sales to the region, 
Moscow is seeking to restore prestige, bolster influence and -- not 
least -- to make money.... Israel must put far greater pressure on 
Moscow to stop the sale of weapons that threaten Israel's security 
requirements.... Such diplomacy must especially stress Moscow's 
fears of losing ground to Iran.... There are hopeful signs that 
Israeli diplomacy can turn Russia's pragmatic fears to healthier 
ends.... In these and other ways, Israel can -- indeed must -- 
harness Russia's ambition to increase its clout in the Middle East 
to Israel's own strategic interests." 
 
JONES