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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001214 
 
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 
 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media reported that PM Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and 
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are scheduled to meet today to discuss 
a proposed Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Gaza militant groups or 
a military operation.  Israel Radio says that if the three reach a 
decision, it will be reviewed by senior military and intelligence 
officials tomorrow.  In its lead story, Maariv reported that Israel 
is postponing its major ground operation in Gaza.  Maariv reported 
that fearing that the opportunity to release Shalit may be missed, 
the defense establishment and PM Ehud Olmert are inclined to favor a 
truce and the possibility of a limited operation in Gaza.  Yediot 
reported that the IDF is reducing its activity in Gaza and that it 
would take two weeks to prepare a military operation there. 
 
All media reported that yesterday, two years after Gilad Shalit was 
kidnapped by Palestinian militants, his family was given a letter. 
Yediot and Israel Radio cited assessments that it was dictated by 
Hamas and that Hamas sent it through the office of the Carter Center 
in Ramallah.  Although the family has not released its content nor 
said when it had been written, Ha'aretz reported that the abducted 
soldier's father Noam told the newspaper on Monday that in the 
letter Gilad begs for his life and requests that efforts be made to 
secure his release as soon as possible.  Ha'aretz reported that Noam 
Shalit added that the new sign of life is not evidence of any 
progress in talks to free his son.  Yediot bannered an alleged 
sentence in Gilad's letter: "I am in a bad condition; save me; don't 
abandon me; I want to get home soon."  Ha'aretz quoted a senior 
Jerusalem source as saying that the letter is believed to be part of 
Hamas efforts to achieve a cease-fire with Israel in Gaza.  The 
source added that Hamas is attempting to frame the move as a 
goodwill gesture, and that the Islamic militant group hopes it will 
lead Israel to drop its demand that negotiations for Shalit's 
release be included in talks for a Gaza truce. 
 
Yesterday Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. has proposed holding 
trilateral talks with Israel and the Palestinians in order to 
accelerate negotiations on the core issues.  Both Israel and the 
Palestinian Authority have expressed reservations about this idea, 
in light of their commitment to the principle of direct bilateral 
negotiations.  Media quoted chief PA negotiator Ahmed Qurei as 
saying over the weekend that the parties have started drafting 
documents that could form the basis for a peace agreement.  The 
media reported that Qurei told Palestinian reporters: "The borders 
[of the Palestinian state] will include East Jerusalem, the Jordan 
Valley and the Dead Sea, as well as the no-manQs land that existed 
before 1967, such as the area of Latrun. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel is expected to transfer some tax funds 
to the PA today, after holding up the money for a week.  The 
transfer was stopped after Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad called on the 
EU and OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) 
not to upgrade their relations with Israel.  Israel will deduct some 
70 million shekels (around $20.7 million) from the PA's money to 
cover debts and transfer some 180 million shekels (around $53.3 
million) of the 250 million shekels (around $74 million) in taxes 
that it collects for the PA.  Ha'aretz reported that a senior 
Israeli official blasted Fayyad, saying: "He stabbed Israel in the 
back."  Relations between Israel and the PA have been tense in the 
last few days due to Israel's withholding the Palestinians' tax 
money.  Holding up the money has caused several days' delay in 
paying wages to some 150,000 Palestinians employed by the PA. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Congress is moving forward with a new 
military aid package to Israel a year after President Bush agreed to 
a 25 percent increase.   Ha'aretz reported that political and 
defense sources in Israel had said that the main reason for the 
delay stemmed from concerns among Democrats that the additional 
defense aid would be credited to the Republicans during a major 
election year.  Ha'aretz reported that it had been hoped in Israel 
that the increased assistance would begin flowing as early as 
October 2008. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Oslo Accords architect Dr. Ron Pundak as saying: 
"There is a chance, perhaps for the first time, of reaching an 
actual agreement on a declaration of principles, an [unofficial] 
agreement with general details, with the Palestinians." 
 
Leading media reported that a Palestinian woman, 57, was badly 
injured and her husband and another relative were battered, in an 
assault by masked Israeli settlers in the southern Hebron Hills 
yesterday.  Ha'aretz reported that the police are investigating 
whether the Israeli attackers hailed from the West Bank settlement 
of Susia, as the injured Palestinians claim. 
 
The media reported on an initial hike in the world price of oil 
following Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz's comment to Yediot 
over the weekend that Israel must attack Iran.  The media quoted 
Iran's Defense Minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najar, as saying that 
Iran's response would be painful.  Media reported that officials in 
the security establishment have sharply criticized Mofaz's warning. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the yesterday the PA appealed to 
the U.S. to intervene to stop Israel from attacking Gaza in response 
to the rocket attacks. 
 
Yediot reported that Kadima is freezing its primaries.  The 
newspaper quoted Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak as saying privately 
that Olmert must quit his job immediately. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media quoted diplomatic sources in Ankara and 
Jerusalem as saying that indirect negotiations between Israel and 
Syria are expected to start on Thursday in Istanbul.  Ha'aretz 
quoted Olmert as saying during discussions in recent days with aides 
and experts on Syria from academia and the defense establishment: 
"We must present the Syrians with the alternative for peace, and not 
only the possibility for war and international isolation."  Ha'aretz 
says that Olmert has decided that talks on the basis of the 
principles of the 1991 Madrid Conference represent the best possible 
scenario.  Ha'aretz reported that Olmert is convinced it is possible 
-- but also a must -- to decouple Syria from the radical axis led by 
Iran.  Ha'aretz reported that in talks with aides, Olmert reiterates 
that "Syria must be faced with a different alternative."  Olmert was 
quoted as saying that during the past year no one has offered the 
Syrians anything except international isolation, and that is why 
they stayed close to Iran and Hizbullah.  Ha'aretz reported that 
Syrian State TV likened Olmert to Hitler. 
 
All media reported that on Sunday a Palestinian youth was caught at 
a West Bank checkpoint carrying six pipe bombs and a magazine.  Over 
the weekend media reported that on Friday the IAF attacked a Hamas 
position in northern Gaza, injuring at least 15 Palestinians.  In a 
different incident, one gunman was killed and two were wounded 
during a battle with Israeli ground troops in northern Gaza.  Also 
on Friday morning, an IDF soldier who was part of a team of military 
engineers working near the Gaza border was injured when the force 
came under fire from a Palestinian sniper. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy will try to 
promote a diplomatic resolution to the Sheba Farms issue. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that today the Knesset's Constitution, Law, and 
Justice Committee will move through the final stages of legislation 
to amend the law of interrogation of suspects that would exempt 
police from documenting security investigations by video.  The 
newspaper reported that human rights organizations are wondering 
what law enforcers have to hide. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israeli Arabs will distribute 20,000 booklets 
on the Nakba outside of schools in Arab communities throughout the 
country.  A camera crew from the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television 
network will cover the handing out of the booklets tomorrow at 11 
A.M.  (04:00 EDT).  The booklets, which were written by 150 
Palestinian children in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and 
Syria and Lebanon, are part of an initiative by the Ibn Khaldoun 
Center for Development Studies (ICDS) in the northern town of Tamra 
to "reaffirm Palestinian consciousness, and maintain and reinforce 
it among future generations."  Dr. Asad Ghanem, the chairman of the 
ICDS and a senior faculty member at the University of Haifa, told 
Ha'aretz yesterday that the move carries a double message -- that 
the Palestinians are one people with one Nakba, and that the 
standing of the Palestinians in Israel supports the Palestinian 
national movement.  The booklets have been criticized by some 
Israeli Arab educators for not providing an Israeli side of events. 
 
 
Leading media quoted Ron Prosor, Israel' Ambassador to the UK, as 
saying in an opinion piece in today's Daily Telegraph that "Britain 
has become a hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views and a haven for 
disingenuous calls for a one-state solution, a euphemistic name for 
a movement advocating Israel's destruction."  Singling out the 
academia and the media, he was quoted as saying: "Israel's military 
reaction to the attacks it faces is given in depth, microscopic 
coverage.  Yet the attacks to which Israel is responding are often 
ignored.  The average British citizen is painfully unaware that 
since Hamas seized control of Gaza last year, 1,400 rockets and 
1,500 mortar bombs have landed on Israeli soil." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Dr. Mordechai Paldiel, the former 
director of the Department of the Righteous at Yad Vashem has 
expressed his dissatisfaction with Yad Vashem for an "unreasonable" 
delay in bestowing the title of Righteous among the Nations on the 
fist Arab nominated for the award. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Interior Ministry has set up a unit to 
question and investigate refugees from Africa -- the GOI's first big 
step to deal with the wave of migrants entering from the southern 
border.  The move comes after the state predicted that refugees will 
continue to arrive in the next few years and nothing can be done to 
stop them. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "A large-scale military operation in the 
Gaza Strip, despite Olmert and Barak's statements last week, does 
not appear to be likely in the immediate future." 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in Maariv: "Those 
who believe that the current talks [with the Palestinians] are a 
flight to nowhere -- and those who think otherwise -- must ask 
themselves how Israel prepares itself for the day when everything 
explodes." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Israeli 
policymakers need to enunciate a 'River-to-Sea Doctrine' declaring 
that this country will not tolerate on territory between the 
Mediterranean and the Jordan any foreign power that threatens the 
security of the Jewish state." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Collision Course" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (6/10): "Israel and Hamas are on an 
inevitable collision course; a large-scale military operation at 
present will only cause more damage than benefit; a large-scale 
military operation at present is liable to scuttle a unique 
opportunity to bring Gilad Shalit back home and could result in the 
absolute termination of all contact with his captors. Those three 
fundamental working assumptions are shared by most of the Israeli 
decision-makers and most of the security officials.... There is no 
majority in the security cabinet in favor of the truce proposal in 
its current format.... [However], judging by the looks of things, a 
large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, despite Olmert and 
Barak's statements last week, does not appear to be likely in the 
immediate future." 
 
II.  "The Third Intifada Is Coming" 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in Maariv (6/10): 
"Most Israelis view current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as 
something between an illusion and an exercise in insignificance.... 
What will happen on the day the talks blow up?  After Netanyahu is 
elected, after all cover-up attempts flounder, after even Abu-Ala 
[Ahmed Qurei] and Livni give up?  What will happen when the first 
Palestinian throws a stone at a roadblock, followed by many 
others?.... The face of the third Intifada will be different from 
the second's.  It can bring about Hamas's political takeover of the 
West Bank, the enrollment of new publics in the armed struggle, and 
many unpredictable developments.  Those who believe that the current 
talks are a flight to nowhere -- and those who think otherwise -- 
must ask themselves how Israel prepares itself for the day when 
everything explodes." 
 
 
 
 
III.  "A Unifying Doctrine" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/10): 
"Israeli policymakers need to enunciate a 'River-to-Sea Doctrine' 
declaring that this country will not tolerate on territory between 
the Mediterranean and the Jordan any foreign power that threatens 
the security of the Jewish state.  Once approved by the cabinet, 
this principled national policy statement would be brought to the 
Knesset for bipartisan ratification and enshrined not as the policy 
of a particular prime minister, but as state policy.  Fulfilling 
this doctrine, the IDF could then be directed to topple the Hamas 
regime by whatever stratagem works best.  And an exit strategy? 
Once the top echelon of the Islamist leadership is eliminated, its 
forces decimated and the structures associated with it razed, the 
way would be paved for the Palestinian Authority to resume control 
over the area; for international aid to flow more smoothly and, with 
any luck, for the process of rebuilding and rehabilitation to 
begin.... In pursuit of war or peace, a doctrine like this would 
harmonize the will of the people, the policies of the government and 
the strategy of the military.  And it would send an important 
message to the international community about where Israel draws its 
red lines." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "There is probably no way of stopping our 
politicians from exploiting [the Iranian nuclear threat], especially 
any time that Ahmadinejad gives them an opening by uttering another 
one of his threats against Israel.  But keep America out of it." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Superfluous and Harmful Talk" 
 
Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/10): "Talk [about the Iranian nuclear 
threat] is not going to avert this danger.  Whatever needs to be 
done is best done without publicity.  But the subject is 
irresistible to Israeli politicians. It is grist for their mills and 
serves internal political purposes.... This kind of talk, 
superfluous and useless, may be no more than the usual 
scare-mongering the Israeli public has become used to.  But the 
declarations from our leadership about the urgent need for the 
United States to act to avert the Iranian nuclear threat are 
downright harmful, especially when they are made in the U.S.  They 
are harmful to the crucial U.S.-Israeli relationship, because they 
create the impression that Israeli leaders are trying to drag the 
U.S. into a military adventure in Iran.... What is more, the public 
calls from Israeli leaders that it is high time for the U.S. to do 
something about the Iranian nuclear project are less than useless. 
The American leadership is well informed about what the Iranians are 
doing, and while there may be some differences between Israeli and 
U.S. intelligence on that subject, the comparisons are best made 
secretly.  It is true that nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran 
constitutes a danger not only to Israel and the Middle East, but 
also to the rest of the world, and therefore to America's interests. 
 But the Americans will do whatever they consider to be in the best 
interest of the U.S.  You can depend on that.  No amount of urging 
by Israeli politicians is going to change their decision.... There 
is probably no way of stopping our politicians from exploiting this 
subject, especially any time that Ahmadinejad gives them an opening 
by uttering another one of his threats against Israel.  But keep 
America out of it." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "Olmert is not an Israeli asset in Washington; he's an 
albatross around its neck.  The Bush administration awards him no 
preferences." 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker opined in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Obama's speech was ... simplistic ... 
but nevertheless it is second to none in terms of its importance and 
contribution to Israel in this time." 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Lord wrote in the editorial of the 
nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe: "[Obama's] unguarded 
friendship to Israel should not be doubted.... ]But] if he is 
elected in November this will be a most negative development 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Not a Gift and Not a Farewell" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (6/10): "Israelis were informed last week that Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert received a farewell gift from U.S. President 
George W. Bush: the magnificent F-35 Lightning Strike Fighter. 
Indeed, it was claimed as a huge gain by Olmert's army -- [his] team 
of [public relations] advisers.... In any case, defensive and 
economic considerations behind the sale of F-35s have no relation to 
the identity of presidents in Washington or prime ministers in 
Israel.... Olmert is not an Israeli asset in Washington; he's an 
albatross around its neck.  The Bush administration awards him no 
preferences.... His situation can only worsen during the 
 
investigations carried out in New York, which may produce more 
evidence.  In the coming weeks, the police will weigh the evidence 
and release their recommendation on whether to submit an indictment. 
 If Olmert has not stepped down or been ousted by then, it will be 
his cue to say goodbye." 
 
II.  "The Gift of the Speech" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker opined in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/10): "From any other candidate 
[Obama's] statements [at the AIPAC Conference] would be received as 
pandering for the Jewish vote, as proof of the imperious might of 
the pro-Israeli lobby and as yet another particularly jarring 
manifestation of the subordination of American politics to Israeli 
interests.  But those accusations cannot be made against Obama. 
After all, he is the admired leader, the primary model of a 
different kind of politics: clean, transparent, principled politics 
that does not capitulate to pressure groups and big money.  Obama, 
after all, was elected as the Democratic Party's candidate for 
president (even though to say he was 'elected' is an overstatement: 
Obama received fewer votes than Hillary Clinton and lost to her in 
all the major states), because he dared to say what he believed 
without a second thought.  One cannot, therefore, cast any doubt 
about the sincerity of his love of Zionism and Israel, as it was 
powerfully expressed in his speech to AIPAC, without casting doubt 
on the man himself and his entire route to the Oval Office.  And 
that is something that must not be done.  Obama's speech was 
superficial, simplistic, one-sided, comprised of points that failed 
to create a cogent argument, was rife with slogans, clichs and 
exclamation marks -- but nevertheless it is second to none in terms 
of its importance and contribution to Israel in this time -- a very 
banal yet historic speech." 
 
III.  "President Obama -- a Negative Development" 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Lord wrote in the editorial of the 
nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe (6/10): "If Barak Obama 
becomes president, this isn't just a symbolic affair.... His 
unguarded friendship to Israel should not be doubted.... [But] if he 
is elected in November this will be a most negative development.... 
This would at once lower pressure on Iran.... The pro-Iranian forces 
in Europe view America as a threat against Europe and the world. 
They apparently have a good cause to bless Obama's candidacy.  They 
will have a good cause to celebrate his accession to the 
presidency." 
JONES