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TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian sources in Cairo as saying yesterday 
that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman will go to Israel to 
discuss a cease-fire agreement.  The proposal, which 12 Palestinian 
factions agreed to yesterday,  would include an end to the rocket 
fire out of Gaza in exchange for a cessation of Israeli strikes and 
the opening of the crossing points, including Rafah.  Hossam Zaki, 
the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, told Ha'aretz that Egypt 
is expecting Israel to accept and implement the proposal.  Speaking 
by phone from Cairo, Zaki said: "The Israelis are giving themselves 
plenty of time to think and evaluate ... Israel can contribute by 
accepting the Egyptian effort and the tahdiya [calm]."  Egyptian 
Foreign Minister Abu al-Gheit is also expected to raise the issue 
with FM Livni tomorrow  at the PA donor conference in London.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted a top official involved in the negotiations as 
saying that Israel's acceptance would "significantly" expedite Gilad 
Shalit's release.  However, Yediot and Maariv reported that Israel 
may refuse to sign on to the agreement, claiming that Hamas is only 
looking for a chance to rearm.  Israel Hayom quoted Internal 
Security Minister and former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter as saying 
that Israel should not reach any agreement with Hamas but "set the 
rules by itself."  Speaking on Israel Radio, Interior Minister Meir 
Sheetrit (Kadima) said that Israel should crush Hamas rather than 
enter an agreement with it.  Additional criticism focused on the 
danger of opening Rafah. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that senior U.S. administration officials told PA 
President Mahmoud Abbas last week that President Bush will not set 
guidelines or propose solutions to the core issues.  Ha'aretz quoted 
an American official who met with Abbas in Washington as saying that 
the latter was deeply disappointed by the administration's 
unwillingness to pressure Israel.  It was reported that Abbas's 
visit to Washington was the first step in a campaign to publicly 
lambaste Israel on construction in the settlements and highlight 
what he terms "major gaps" on the borders issue."   Ha'aretz quoted 
a political source in Jerusalem as saying that "Abbas wants to press 
Israel at international conferences and vis-a-vis the Quartet, in 
the hope of creating a situation in which Israel stands alone 
against the world. That's why he's eager to promote the Moscow 
conference as a sequel to Annapolis."  Ha'aretz reported that 
according to officials who met with Abbas in D.C.  Abbas asked Bush 
and Secretary Rice to intervene in the negotiations and press Israel 
on the border issue.  However, Ha'aretz said that there seem to be 
differences of opinion between Abbas and Ahmed Qurei, who has 
indicated positive progress in the talks.  Ha'aretz quoted Abbas as 
saying that there is disagreement over what constitutes 100 percent 
of the territory of the West Bank, with an emphasis on the Latrun 
region, parts of the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, and areas 
surrounding Jerusalem.  Abbas took issue with Israel's wanting to 
hold on to eight percent of the West Bank, in a territorial 
exchange, which would enable it to keep the major settlement blocs. 
The Palestinians are demanding that the border follow the 1967 
lines, with border adjustments of no more than two percent. 
 
All media, except the ultra-Orthodox newspapers, underscored the 
events of Holocaust Memorial Day.  President Shimon Peres said at 
the official ceremony in Yad Vashem last night that he asks himself 
every morning what can be done so that the Holocaust will not be 
repeated and that one must not fall asleep in the face of history. 
Yediot, Israel Hayom, and Israel Radio quoted Chief of Staff Gabi 
Ashkenazi as saying in Auschwitz yesterday that "the U.S. knows 
about the Iranian bomb, too."  Ashkenazi was referring to the notion 
that the U.S. knew about the nature of the camp of 
Auschwitz-Birkenau but failed to bomb it.  Israel Hayom says that 
Israeli politicians view Ashkenazi's remark as veiled criticism of 
U.S. policy. Leading media quoted Transportation Minister Shaul 
Mofaz, who is leading Israel's strategic dialogue with the U.S., as 
saying yesterday in Washington that Iran will reach nuclear 
capability within a year.  Yediot and Israel Radio reported that 
tomorrow FM Livni will meet with British PM Gordon Brown, FM David 
Milliband, and top British intelligence officials to discuss 
cooperation in countering the Iranian nuclear program and present 
intelligence in the matter.  The radio said that the meeting will be 
patterned after the U.S.-Israel strategic talks.  In an exclusive 
first interview with an Israeli medium, Rolf Mengele, the son of 
Josef Mengele, told Yediot that he recognized his father's heavy 
guilt early on and that he is trying to empathize with the victims 
of the Holocaust. 
 
The Jerusalem Post repotted that on April 18 Hamas's Al-Aqsa-TV 
aired a documentary special according to which Jewish leaders 
concocted the mass murder of handicapped Jews in order to keep from 
having to support them, and this murder is what the Jews term the 
"Holocaust."  The Israeli organization Palestinian Media Watch 
located and translated the contents of the footage, which it 
uploaded to YouTube under the headline: "Hamas: Jews Planned 
Holocaust." 
 
Major media reported that yesterday PM Ehud Olmert met with King 
Abdullah II in Amman.  Maariv quoted sources in the royal palace as 
saying that the King asked Olmert to set a timetable for the 
Israeli-Palestinian talks.  Abdullah was quoted as saying that the 
sides should reach an agreement by the end of this year.  The 
Jerusalem Post said that the visit reflected an Israeli interest in 
keeping the monarch "in the loop" on negotiations with the 
Palestinians. 
 
The media reported that yesterday 14 Qassam rockets were fired at 
Israel.  For the first time one of them landed in Moshav Gea near 
Ashkelon.  Leading media reported that yesterday the IAF bombed a 
rocket-manufacturing plant in Gaza.  Maariv quoted a group of Gazans 
residing in high-rise buildings as saying that they are unhappy with 
Hamas and that Hamas fighters should leave their buildings, in which 
they have been positioning rockets. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday OC Southern Command 
decided to extend the deadline for the IDF probe into the cause of 
Monday's explosion in northern Gaza that killed a mother and her 
four children. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that yesterday two small unauthorized 
settler outposts were pulled down. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the UN charged that the 
number of roadblocks in the West Bank has increased by 61.4% since 
August 2005, in spite of recent measures taken by the IDF to ease 
such restrictions. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that last week National Infrastructure Minister 
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer obtained from Defense Minister Ehud Barak 
approval of construction permits for five Mekorot -- the national 
water company -- projects in West Bank settlements. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel wants to close a Hebron 
school for disadvantaged children, saying that it is run by Hamas. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Canadian Union of Postal 
Workers passed a resolution at its nation convention in April 
supporting the international campaign of boycott, divestment, and 
 
sanctions against Israel, labeling it an "Apartheid state" and 
calling on the Canadian government to increase humanitarian aid to 
the Palestinians.  The Jerusalem Post reported that a highly 
controversial publicly funded photo exhibit equating Israel' 
security fence with the Berlin wall has sparked controversy in the 
German capital. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that IBM is establishing a new Systems 
and Technology Group lab in Israel to focus on R&D of storage and 
microchip technology solutions. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the EU have agreed on 
trade concessions: 95% of processed foods will be exempted from 
levies and quotas. 
 
Ha'aretz cited a survey among 500 15- to 17-year-olds released 
yesterday, according to which a majority of teens in Israel believe 
that the country is under threat of destruction. Fifty-two percent 
believe that Israel is under somewhat of a threat, and 30% believe 
the threat is significant, 6% more than in the last survey in 2007. 
In another survey, 38% of those 18 and over said they believe Israel 
is under a significant threat of destruction. 
 
Israel Radio cited the results of a poll conducted among Israeli 
youth by Massua, the Institute for the Study of the Holocaust  - 
Memorial to Members of Zionist Youth Movements in Disaster and 
Revolt - Kibbutz Tel Itzhak: 98% believe that another Holocaust is 
possible; 90% want to help Darfur. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Instead of 
rejecting the calm and helping the gloomy forecast to come true, it 
would be better to give a chance to the hesitant step to achieve a 
cease-fire." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Hamas will continue holding the 'right to veto' the peace process, 
supported by the Palestinian resistance groups that agreed to the 
cease-fire." 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "A cease-fire with Hamas may bring us 
more security or it may not, but I don't see how it can bring us any 
less security than what we've got with the status quo." 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
U.S., wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "By now it is fairly obvious that 
by the end of this year there will not be a final agreement, and 
certainly not one that could be implemented." 
 
The Jerusalem Post editorialized: "It is an irony of history that 
delegitimization of Israel and Jewish nationalism in the name of a 
progressive 'universalism' now finds fertile ground in the very 
European soil that hosted the genocide of the Jews.... Jews learned 
that universal human rights are meaningless unless rooted in a state 
capable of enforcing them." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Moment before the Respite" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/1): "[The 
defects in the proposed cease-fire's outline] are important factors 
that must be weighed, but they are countered by other 
considerations, which should tip the overall balance to the positive 
side.  The Palestinian factions are supposed to accept the 
separation between Gaza and the West Bank in terms of Israeli 
security forces activity.  The IDF can continue to operate in the 
West Bank for the next six months against the terror organizations, 
without fearing the collapse of the cease-fire in Gaza.  Israel, for 
its part, will not be able to claim that the activity of the terror 
organizations in the West Bank is considered a cease-fire violation. 
 In other words, the state of warfare between the IDF and the terror 
organizations in the West Bank will continue as was.  Three years 
ago, this aspect was an obstacle to the success of the de facto calm 
in Gaza, in advance of the evacuation of the settlements in the 
Strip.  Even if the calm is described this time as temporary and 
limited to a few months, the Israeli-Arab conflict has already known 
cease-fires and armistice agreements that began that way and lasted 
much longer.  The cease-fire also requires the opening of the Rafah 
crossing; without it Gaza will continue to be in a state of 
agitation and to threaten both Egypt and Israeli communities.... On 
the other hand, Israel can contribute a great deal to prolonging the 
cease-fire by gradually removing the sanctions from Gaza, and 
particularly by promoting diplomatic steps vis-a-vis the PA. 
Instead of rejecting the calm and helping the gloomy forecast to 
come true, it would be better to give a chance to the hesitant step 
to achieve a cease-fire." 
 
II.  "Hamas Claims Victory" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(5/1): "Several Arab states were required to bring about the truce 
with the Palestinian factions in Cairo on Wednesday.  Egypt 
orchestrated the move, but in coordination with Jordan and Saudi 
Arabia and with Syria's assistance.  The Egyptians' resolve stemmed 
from their fear that Hamas would carry out its threats of another 
breach of the border, with thousands of Gazans spilling into 
Egyptian territory.  Hamas's rigid opening position included a 
comprehensive cease-fire both in the West Bank and Gaza, a written 
commitment for a full opening of the Rafah border crossing and a 
prisoners' release.  These required flexibility on Egypt's part, 
which is reflected in an explicit promise- - Hamas says it is a real 
commitment although apparently it was not given in writing -- to 
open the border.  This promise softened Mahmoud Zahar's stance and 
he accepted the 'Gaza first' idea.... Egypt went to a lot of trouble 
to balance Israel and Hamas's demands to prevent either side from 
claiming victory.  Israel 'received,' at least on paper, quiet in 
Sderot and the western Negev and freedom of action in the West Bank, 
while Hamas received Rafah.  Hamas is presenting the agreement as a 
victory for the Palestinian nation and for violent resistance.  But 
it cannot claim an all-Palestinian achievement because Israel has 
retained freedom of action in the West Bank.  However, Hamas will 
continue holding the 'right to veto' the peace process, supported by 
the Palestinian resistance groups that agreed to the cease-fire. 
Thus the truce has brought about a historic upheaval -- secular 
Palestinian groups seeking shelter under the wing of a religious 
movement to achieve political clout." 
 
III.  "For a Cease-Fire with Hamas" 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (5/1): "Those in [the right-wing] 
opposition say that ... an Israeli pact with Hamas would teach the 
Palestinians that terror pays.  But if Hamas agreed to a cease-fire 
with Israel and then violated it, the Palestinians would learn that 
terror didn't pay.  On the other hand, if Hamas agreed to a 
cease-fire and kept to it, and the Palestinians no longer had 
helicopters and tanks shooting at them, and they could come and go 
to Egypt and from there to the rest of Middle East, and they didn't 
live on or over the edge of destitution all the time, they would not 
learn that terror pays -- they would learn that stopping terror 
pays.   So why the hell not try it?.... I don't know whether a 
cease-fire would hold or not, and neither does anyone else.  What we 
do know, however, is that after years of us bombing Gaza and killing 
Palestinians, the Qassam rockets are still flying, Hamas has risen 
to power and the 'moderates' are nowhere.  This policy is not 
working.  This policy has failed.  A cease-fire with Hamas may bring 
us more security or it may not, but I don't see how it can bring us 
any less security than what we've got with the status quo." 
 
IV.  "Muddling Along from Annapolis to Moscow" 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
U.S., wrote in The Jerusalem Post (5/1): "In going to Annapolis, 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ignored 
one of the first rules of Israel's traditional diplomacy: Try to 
avoid international conferences at which you are bound to find 
yourself ipso facto in a minority.... Ahead of the Annapolis 
conference there apparently was very little prior coordination with 
the U.S., which has resulted in more than a few misunderstandings -- 
including on Israeli security measures and on construction in the 
supposedly agreed-on settlement blocs and in and around Jerusalem. 
But the most fundamental error of Annapolis, of course, was putting 
the Palestinian 'statehood cart' before a weak horse which could 
hardly hobble along, let alone gallop on its remaining two legs -- 
the other legs being in Gaza and Damascus.  By now it is fairly 
obvious that by the end of this year there will not be a final 
agreement, and certainly not one that could be implemented.... While 
the Palestinians enthusiastically support the Moscow conference -- 
seeing it as an opportunity to continue the pressure on Israel -- 
the government is demonstrably and rightly unhappy with it.  Olmert 
was quoted in The Jerusalem Post as saying Russian Foreign Minister 
Sergey Lavrov that 'what we need to make peace in the Middle East is 
for the two sides to sit together to talk rather than going to 
international conventions.  This going from one convention to the 
other is not something I am particularly on favor of.'  Well put, 
Mr. Prime Minister -- but why didn't you think about that before 
embracing Annapolis?" 
 
¶V.  "The Meaning of Holocaust Memorial Day" 
 
The Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/1): "It is an irony of history 
that delegitimization of Israel and Jewish nationalism in the name 
of a progressive 'universalism' now finds fertile ground in the very 
European soil that hosted the genocide of the Jews.  Many Europeans 
took from the ravages of the twentieth century a lesson concerning 
the dangers of unbridled nationalism.  Jews, however, who suffered 
not a little from that century, derived the opposite conclusion: had 
they possessed a state with which to defend themselves, had they not 
been thrown on the benevolence of other nations, the Holocaust would 
not have raged so destructively.  Jews learned that universal human 
rights are meaningless unless rooted in a state capable of enforcing 
them; that a sense of national belonging can offer not only physical 
survival, but also cultural regeneration; that the national Jewish 
mission, far from denying the universal human mission, can do much 
to encourage it -- and since the days of the biblical prophets in 
fact has.  That is the meaning, for us, of Holocaust Memorial Day." 
 
MORENO