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DE RUEHTV #1770/01 2261030
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P 131030Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001770 
 
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 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. administration has rejected an 
Israeli request for military equipment and support that would 
improve Israel's ability to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. 
According to the newspaper, the Americans viewed the request, which 
was transmitted (and rejected) at the highest level, as a sign that 
Israel is in the advanced stages of preparations to attack Iran. 
They therefore warned Israel against attacking, saying such a strike 
would undermine American interests.  They also demanded that Israel 
give them prior notice if it decided to strike Iran.  As 
compensation for the requests it rejected, Washington offered to 
improve Israel's defenses against surface-to-surface missiles. 
Israel responded by saying it reserves the right to take whatever 
action it deems necessary if diplomatic efforts to halt Iran's 
nuclearization fail.  Ha'aretz cited a report published last week by 
the Washington-based Institute for Science and International 
Security (ISIS) that military strikes are unlikely to destroy Iran's 
centrifuge program for enriching uranium. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday PA President Mahmoud Abbas 
rejected PM Ehud Olmert's proposal for a peace agreement in 
principle under which Israel would withdraw from 93% of the West 
Bank and provide free passage to and from Gaza.  A detailed draft of 
Olmert's proposal was made pubic yesterday in Ha'aretz.  Media 
quoted Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, as saying that the 
Israeli proposal is Qnot acceptable" because it does not envision a 
Palestinian state with geographical continuity and Jerusalem as its 
capital, in contravention of international and Arab resolutions. 
Abu Rudeineh said that the offer shows the Israeli side's "lack of 
seriousness."  Ha'aretz reported that a spokesman for Olmert, Mark 
Regev, declined to comment on the content of the negotiations, but 
told the German press agency DPA that "important progress" had been 
made on various issues including borders.  Ha'aretz quoted Likud 
party whip Gideon Sa'ar as saying about Olmert's proposal that 
Kadima, which ran in the elections as a centrist party, is advancing 
the worldview of the Zionist left.  Ha'aretz said that about 70,000 
settlers in 74 settlements would have to leave their homes according 
to the agreement, many of whom are likely to resist fiercely. 
 
Major media reported that yesterday Defense Minister Ehud Barak told 
IDF soldiers on the Golan that Israel is closely monitoring 
Hizbullah's attempts at rearming.  Media quoted Barak as saying that 
the arms flow to Hizbullah could upset the balance between the IDF 
and the Shi'ite organization, and that "it is no a coincidence that 
we are holding a large-scale intensive exercise here." 
 
All media highlighted the fighting in Georgia, and the cessation 
thereof, as announced yesterday by Russian President Dmitry 
Medvedev.  The media mentioned that Yediot reporter Tzadok Yehezkeli 
was seriously wounded while reporting from Gori. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Defense Minister as saying during a Labor 
Party conference in Dimona yesterday that Israel will have to make 
"difficult decisions" and that it will pay a "difficult price" to 
secure Gilad Shalit's release. 
 
The media reported that yesterday Finance Minister Roni Bar-On 
presented the government with the choice of cutting either defense 
or welfare in the 2009 budget proposal.  Bar-On suggested he favored 
curtailing defense expenditures.  Yediot and other media reported 
that the Shas and Pensioners parties threaten to quit the government 
coalition over possible cuts in the budget. 
 
The media reported that yesterday Internal Security Minister Avi 
Dichter started his Kadima primary campaign and criticized 
frontrunners FM Tzipi Livni and Transportation Minister Shaul 
Mofaz. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the University of Southern 
California's Annenberg School for Communication and the Getty 
Foundation announced this week that Jerusalem Post deputy managing 
editor David Brinn has been chosen to participate in their 7th 
annual Arts Journalism Fellowship. 
 
Maariv reported that yesterday old-time country-style singer Arik 
Sinai declared his candidacy for Tel Aviv mayorship. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Even if is 
too late now to reach an agreement, Olmert's successors would do 
well to learn from his experience and advance the peace process as 
soon as they take office -- not when they are about to leave it." 
 
Washington correspondent Natasha Mozgovia wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Following the bombing in Syria and the Iraq 
war, the Kremlin interprets statements by senior Americans regarding 
proper rules of conduct on the international scene as pure 
hypocrisy." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Painful Historic Miss" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (8/13): "At the 
dusk of his term, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is offering Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas a 'shelf agreement' on borders, refugees, 
and security arrangements.... Olmert's proposal is commendable as a 
basis for negotiations, even if the details are unacceptable to the 
Palestinians, who seek a much smaller land swap.  The problem is 
that like [Ehud] Barak, Olmert has reached the critical moment too 
late in his term, after losing his political and public support and 
deciding to resign.  Ostensibly he can now make decisions without 
regard for the domestic scene, but this is an illusion.... In 
foreign affairs, any delay is negative and waiting only increases 
the likelihood that the negotiations will fail.  Too much time was 
wasted before the formula for renewing the negotiations  was found 
and a framework for the talks agreed upon.  Even if it its too late 
now to reach an agreement, Olmert's successors would do well to 
learn from his experience and advance the peace process as soon as 
they take office -- not when they are about to leave it." 
 
II.  "Russia Seeking a Renewed Status" 
 
Washington correspondent Natasha Mozgovia wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/13): "Georgia is licking its wounds, but 
make no mistake: When the Kremlin looks at the Georgian President, 
who has become overly independent, it sees Washington behind him.... 
The U.S. President warned the Russians on Monday ... that Russia's 
conduct was unacceptable in the 21st century.  Following the bombing 
in Syria and the Iraq war, the Kremlin interprets statements by 
 
 
senior Americans regarding proper rules of conduct on the 
international scene as pure hypocrisy." 
 
III.  "Stupor" 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (8/13): 
"All important democracies, including Israel, seem to be suffering 
from weakness and even stupor.... [In] Israel ... the trend of the 
political system is to delve with itself and what excites a limited 
number of media and extreme organizations." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Columnist Michael Freund, who was an assistant to former prime 
minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post: "An atomic Iran, Putin realizes, would further 
expose the powerlessness of the West, as well as heighten its sense 
of vulnerability." 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"From Tbilisi to Tehran" 
 
Columnist Michael Freund, who was an assistant to former prime 
minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post (8/13): "If Putin sees that the West is a paper tiger 
and allows Georgia to be trampled, then he likely will not hesitate 
to block additional Western efforts to strip Iran of its nuclear 
ambitions.  An atomic Iran, Putin realizes, would further expose the 
powerlessness of the West, as well as heighten its sense of 
vulnerability.  Consequently he may be tempted to defy the West yet 
again, on an issue even closer to its heart, and in an effort to 
push the envelope.  The Ayatollahs know this all too well, and will 
be encouraged to continue their mad drive for atomic power, 
confident in the knowledge that they have little to fear.  It is 
therefore essential that strong and immediate measures be taken to 
punish Russia for its Georgian adventure and strip it of any 
illusions it may have about a lack of Western resolve.... Moscow 
must be made to pay a heavy economic, political and diplomatic price 
for its actions, lest it persist in causing still greater harm." 
 
MORENO