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DE RUEHTV #1831/01 2321023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191023Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8047
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
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RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 4284
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 0891
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 4622
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 5075
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 4278
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 2622
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 5040
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1902
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0115
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8887
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 6367
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 1286
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 5389
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 7350
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0298
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001831 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The media reported that PM Ehud Olmert is considering firing Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak for opposing the budget draft.  Ha'aretz 
reported that clashes over the budget could bring down the 
government.  The Jerusalem Post quoted sources close to Barak as 
saying that Barak will try to make the failures of the Kadima 
government during the Second Lebanon War the main issue of his 
general election campaign.  Israel Radio reported that Labor MK 
Avishay Braverman, Chairman of the Knesset's Finance Committee, is 
demanding that 2 billion shekels (around $560 million) be added to 
the budget for welfare purposes.  Yediot reported that yesterday 
Barak called for the establishment of an emergency national 
government -- together with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu -- 
because of the security threat posed by Iran. 
 
Leading media reported that a Palestinian responsible for at least 
one terror attack and a second who killed a yeshiva student are 
among the 199 prisoners that a small ministerial committee agreed to 
release when it met yesterday.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz gave a sole dissenting vote, 
saying that he does not believe in useless gestures.  Ha'aretz 
reported that Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin told the cabinet yesterday 
that the release of the prisoners to PA President Mahmoud Abbas 
"creates pressure on Hamas and is likely to accelerate the 
negotiations over Gilad Shalit.Q  However, Diskin added that the 
gesture will not make Hamas more flexible about their demands. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted PA officials in Ramallah as saying 
yesterday that the PA is concerned about the apparent rapprochement 
between Hamas and Jordan.  Israel Radio cited reports in the Arab 
media that Egypt is prepared to send a 3,000-strong Arab force to 
Gaza as part of peacemaking efforts between Fatah and Hamas.  The 
radio reported that Hamas has rejected the Egyptian initiative. 
 
All media reported on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's 
 
surprise resignation on Monday.  Yediot headlined: "The Islamic Bomb 
Changes Hands."  The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli sources as saying 
that his resignation has quelled any faint hopes of improving 
relations between Pakistan and Israel in the near future.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that President Shimon Peres has 
categorically denied reports that he was using his influence to try 
to help beleaguered Musharraf leave Pakistan safely and avoid 
impeachment. 
 
Major media cited assessments in Israel that Iran failed in their 
recent satellite test-launch.  The Jerusalem Post quoted a former 
senior Israeli defense industry official and missile expert as 
saying that Iran's announcement does not signify an increased threat 
to Israel. 
 
Last night Channel 2-TV reported that Syria has recently 
test-launched a series of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted visiting former presidential hopeful Mike 
Huckabee as saying that Palestinians do not have to settle in 
Jerusalem. He also touted John McCain's ability to defend Israel 
against Iran.  Ha'aretz quoted Huckabee as saying hat it is 
unthinkable to divide Jerusalem. 
 
Maariv cited a forecast by Israeli diplomatic sources that following 
the war in Georgia, Israel-Russia relations will deteriorate, mostly 
because Russia views Israel as a manifest ally of the U.S.  Maariv 
reported that four important bilateral Israeli-Russian projects are 
in danger of being canceled because of American pressure. 
 
--------- 
¶1.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If Israel is dragged into a 
war, God forbid, it is liable to find itself very much alone." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Either 
the Iranian regime must be made to go, or a strategy needs to be 
developed to ensure that Iran does not attain the military 
capability to achieve its imperial aspirations.  There really are no 
other options." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Caution: a New Reality" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/19): "If Israel is dragged 
into a war, God forbid, it is liable to find itself very much alone. 
 Israel cannot rely on the automatic involvement of America, which 
did not lift a finger to stop the brutal Russian offensive. 
President George W. Bush, in no rush to give up his summer vacation, 
made do with sending Condoleezza Rice to Georgia on a mission that 
was ultimately a condolence visit.  The summer of 2008 has brought 
Israel face to face with a new reality: Russia is back to its old 
Cold War tricks.... I wouldn't be so sure Russia is overjoyed by 
Iran's nuclear aspirations -- the number one danger now facing 
Israel -- but it hasn't said a bad word about Iran yet.... The 
president who succeeds Bush has two options: He can keep fighting 
the axis of evil, or he can focus on the serious problems that now 
face America -- the colossal credit crisis, the mortgage crisis, the 
public's mistrust of the economy, and the rising cost of gas.  To 
that, he can add a new problem: a possible resumption of the Cold 
War." 
 
II.  "Mullahs in Space" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (8/19): 
"Saturday's launching may ... have been intended to dissuade Israel 
from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities as well as announcing that 
Iran is already a regional power to be reckoned with.... Iran is 
explicitly committed to the destruction of Israel -- so Jerusalem 
must worry day and night about Tehran's nuclear program.  At the 
same time, the Iranian military industrial complex is so vast, 
advanced and diversified as to make incredibly complex any last 
resort to military action.  Europe and the international community, 
meanwhile, dawdle rather than apply the kinds of meaningful 
sanctions that could conceivably force the mullahs to reconsider 
their bellicose posture.  Thus by avoiding a confrontation with Iran 
today, the international community is setting the stage for a far 
more perilous future -- and not just for Israel.  Is it not clear 
how emboldened, empowered and belligerent the mullahs already are? 
The threat to world peace grows exponentially with each week, each 
month.  Either the Iranian regime must be made to go, or a strategy 
needs to be developed to ensure that Iran does not attain the 
military capability to achieve its imperial aspirations.  There 
really are no other options." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "[Many] Palestinians see 
the decision [to release prisoners] as an attempt on the part of 
Israel to improve its image on the international arena and extract 
political concessions from Abbas and his colleagues in Ramallah." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Prisoner Release Does Nothing for Abbas" 
 
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (8/19): "Today, Israel is 
hoping that the release of the 200 security prisoners, almost all of 
whom belong to Fatah, would again strengthen Abbas and Fatah at the 
expense of Hamas.  However, it's highly unlikely that Abbas would 
benefit from the release of the prisoners because many Palestinians 
don't give him credit for the move. Rather, these Palestinians see 
the decision as an attempt on the part of Israel to improve its 
image on the international arena and extract political concessions 
from Abbas and his colleagues in Ramallah.... Moreover, the decision 
is seen by Hamas and its supporters as an Israeli attempt to drive a 
wedge between Fatah and Hamas and deepen divisions among the 
Palestinians.  Similarly, Israel should not expect to make any 
significant gains as a result of its decision.   Even the 
"'moderates' in Ramallah who welcomed the decision were quick to 
emphasize that it was insufficient and that Israel must now free all 
the security prisoners.  Or, as a prominent academic in Ramallah put 
it, 'Israel is today releasing 200 prisoners to make room in its 
prisons for the hundreds of Palestinians who were arrested by the 
Israeli army in the past few weeks.'" 
 
CUNNINGHAM