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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002040 
 
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 the police's unanimous recommendation to Attorney 
General Menachem Mazuz yesterday, to indict PM Ehud Olmert in two 
corruption cases: the Rishon Tours double billing affair and the 
Talansky affair.  The police are expected to reach a decision 
regarding a third case, the Investment Center affair, in the near 
future.  Ha'aretz and other media reported that yesterday Olmert 
played down the police recommendation.  His lawyers and media 
adviser put out the message that the "police's recommendation is 
insignificant."  Nonetheless, Olmert decided to cancel a planned 
trip to Moscow, and is expected to call off his scheduled appearance 
at the UN General Assembly in New York at the end of the month.  The 
police also recommended indicting Shula Zaken, who was Olmert's 
right hand.  The media reported that police have recommended that 
Attorney and former Olmert confidant Uri Messer, considered a key 
witness in the Talansky affair, also be indicted.  The media 
recalled that in the past the police recommended indicting Benjamin 
Netanyahu and that the then attorney general closed his case. 
Similar processes were started against former PMs Ehud Barak and 
Ariel Sharon, but did not result in indictments. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted top Israeli defense officials as saying 
that Iran is consolidating its grip on Hizbullah and that it has 
instituted a number of changes to the Lebanese group, under which 
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah no longer enjoys excusive commands of its 
military wing. 
 
Yesterday leading media reported that on Saturday Transportation 
Minister issued a harsh attack on his main rival for the Kadima 
leadership, Tzipi Livni, accusing her of misusing funds for 
Holocaust survivors. 
 
Yesterday Ha'aretz quoted Israeli security officials as saying that 
the PA's security forces have recently shown marked improvement in 
their campaigns against Hamas and Islamic Jihad.  A particularly 
dramatic change has taken place over the past month in an area in 
which the PA had not been previously active -- dealing with the 
Islamic charity and civilian associations considered to constitute 
Hamas's civilian infrastructure. 
 
The Jerusalem Post's web site reported that Palestinian Authority 
President Mahmoud Abbas pledged on Friday to try to reach a final 
status peace agreement with Israel by the end of the year -- but he 
admitted that the goal set by U.S. President George W. Bush might 
not be achieved. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that yesterday one of Hamas's spokesmen officially 
denied reports that Hamas intends to stop Egyptian mediation between 
the organization and Israel regarding Gilad Shalit.  Yesterday Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe quoted the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi as saying 
that Hamas's security forces in Gaza arrested a man known as Abu 
Hafez, a high-ranking official with the extremist group, Army of the 
Nation, which is loyal to Al-Qaida.  Hamas's Interior Ministry, 
however, issued no statement about the arrest. 
 
Yesterday Ha'aretz quoted French officials as saying on Saturday 
that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is convinced that Syrian 
President Bashar Assad is serious about pursuing peace talks with 
Israel in the coming months.  Yesterday The Jerusalem Post quoted a 
U.S. Government official as saying on Saturday that the U.S. is not 
sending an envoy to take part in the next round of indirect 
Israeli-Syrian talks in Turkey. 
 
The media reported that yesterday the cabinet narrowly approved a 
controversial bill yesterday that would curtail judicial review of 
legislation while enabling the Knesset to reinstate laws that the 
High Court of Justice deemed unconstitutional.  However, Ha'aretz 
reported that its future remains uncertain due to the current 
political situation.  Media reported that yesterday, at a cabinet 
discussion of the bill, Olmert lashed out at his defense minister, 
Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak, calling him a saboteur, a leaker, 
brazen and a serial breaker of agreements.  Ha'aretz said that his 
outburst -- the culmination of weeks of accumulated grievances 
against Barak -- raises serious questions about how the two men can 
continue to work together to address crucial security concerns. 
 
Media reported that a bill requiring a national referendum, general 
elections, or a two-thirds majority vote by Knesset members for 
approval of the concession of any Israeli land is ready for the next 
two rounds of Knesset voting, which will decide whether it turns 
into law.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying that there is 
a need to begin discussions about evacuating some of the settlers 
from isolated areas of the West Bank.  Yesterday The Jerusalem Post 
reported that on Saturday the Prime Minister's Office denied that 
the cabinet debate was based on diplomatic considerations.  Maariv 
quoted Finance Ministry officials as saying that the plan will cost 
the Israeli economy 15 billion shekels (about $4.183 billion). 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Tal Inbar, a senior researcher at the 
Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, as saying that 
a satellite launched by Iran yesterday has no military applications 
and cannot collect intelligence on IDF installations.  The newspaper 
also quoted London's Sunday Times as saying that Russia may use 
nuclear aid to Iran as a method of responding to increased tension 
between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Georgia. 
Yesterday leading media reported that Vice President Dick Cheney 
told President Shimon Peres on Saturday in Como, Italy, that Russia 
is selling arms to Syria and Iran with the clear knowledge that they 
are being channeled to Hizbullah and terror groups in Iraq.  The 
Jerusalem Post's web site quoted Peres as saying on Friday in Como: 
"I do not support military action against Iran, but the world must 
become a united front and impose harsh economic sanctions on Iran." 
 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the U.S. will hold their 
first joint High Technology Forum this week in Arlington, Va. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Amos Oz's autobiographical novel, "A Tale of 
Love and Darkness," has been translated into Arabic thanks to a 
contribution by the family of an Arab man killed in a terror attack 
in 2004.  Two of his other books have been translated into Arabic, 
one of which, "My Michael," received favorable reviews in Egypt. 
 
The Jerusalem Post wrote that the Israeli hi-tech stocks are feeling 
the pinch of the slow U.S. market. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Catherine Griffin, who serves on the U.S. 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, visited Israel last week. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "[The Americans] want to promote [some 
kind of agreement with the Palestinians] with the Israeli 
government, but where is the Israeli government?  There is no 
Israeli government." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The most impressive 
charge in the police's recommendation is bribery.... Olmert can be 
accused of miserly conduct and ingratitude, but bribery?" 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the 
independent Israel Hayom: "When the police get [to the more severe 
clauses] -- if necessary -- the plea bargain agreement that will be 
signed with Olmert will not be able to circumvent a prison 
sentence." 
 
Giora Eiland, the former head of Israel's National Security Council, 
wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "If an 
American president comes to power who is interested in promoting 
peace between Israel and Syria, if we have already agreed to make 
concessions to the Syrians on various issues, we will not be able to 
make these concessions conditional on American compensation." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Country Comes Last" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (9/8): "This coming Wednesday, U.S. 
[envoy] General Jones is supposed to come to Israel, in an attempt 
to organize [a basic understanding] in advance of the end of George 
Bush's term, with regard to the negotiations between Israel and the 
Palestinians.  The Americans very much want to make a dramatic 
statement at the UN General Assembly session towards the end of 
September, they are talking about a presidential address, a joint 
document, a declaration of one kind or another, various formats and 
ideas.  They want to promote this with the Israeli government, but 
where is the Israeli government?  There is no Israeli government. 
There is only Armageddon, investigations, leaks, reports, clashes, 
passions, envy, hatred and conflicting interests of candidates for 
the primary and just plain candidates.  There is no law and no 
judge.  A retired Supreme Court justice recommends on television 
that cabinet ministers receive psychological therapy, and a prime 
minister all but strangles his defense minister before his astounded 
ministers, and his defense minister, the same evening, at a 
gathering of the Labor Party (there is such a thing) in Haifa, 
reminds us: 'Don't forget, we're all brothers.'  As if we had 
forgotten." 
 
II.  "CYA" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/8): "The problem with 
the police's recommendation is the very existence of the procedure 
that is nicknamed the 'police recommendation.'  In the past, the 
police recommended that Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon be 
prosecuted.  The publication of the recommendations placed unfair 
pressure on the attorneys general: When they decided against the 
police's recommendation, they were accused of being lenient towards 
high-placed figures suspected of criminal acts.  The police looked 
good publicly as fearless fighters against corruption.  The attorney 
general looked bad, cowardly, and weak.... In practice, the police's 
recommendation is a kind of CYA.  It gets them a lot of public 
relations -- with zero responsibility.  When the state attorney, the 
attorney general and their assistants discuss whether to indict, 
they examine all the investigation material.  The only paper that 
they can afford to skip is the paper known as the 'police 
recommendation.'  The most impressive charge in the police's 
recommendation is bribery.... Olmert can be accused of miserly 
conduct and ingratitude, but bribery?" 
 
III.  "Habitual Offender" 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the 
independent Israel Hayom (9/8): "About two years ago, I began to 
fear that Ehud Olmert was not just an ostentatious hedonist, but an 
offender -- then a habitual offender.  Bribe-taking.  Receiving 
funds fraudulently.  Breach of trust.  A suspicion that increased 
with every additional investigation, until becoming certainty, that 
Olmert's place was on the defendant's bench.  The investigations 
have not yet ended.  There will be an indictment in the Investments 
Center affair.  Bank Leumi, the house on [Jerusalem's] Cremieux 
Street, and the political appointments are awaiting a decision.  The 
great secret of his alleged offenses lies in the loans he took and 
failed to return.  When the police get there -- if necessary -- the 
plea bargain agreement that will be signed with Olmert will not be 
able to circumvent a prison sentence." 
 
IV.  "What Are We Actually Talking About?" 
 
Giora Eiland, the former head of Israel's National Security Council, 
wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/8): 
"Every few weeks, the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with 
Syria returns to the headlines.  Beyond the legitimate question of 
whether such a peace agreement is good or bad, it is difficult not 
to be troubled by the way we are conducting matters.  The three 
troubling issues are: The order of actions on our side, the lack of 
real clarification on the security issue and the fact that we are 
ignoring the United States.... It is no secret that the current 
administration is not enthusiastic about conducting Israeli-Syrian 
negotiations.  In the past, when the U.S. administration was 
enthusiastic (Clinton), Israel could demand compensation from the 
Americans for the 'painful concessions.'  Today, this dimension is 
missing, but in two months there will be elections in the U.S.  If 
an American president comes to power who is interested in promoting 
peace between Israel and Syria, if we have already agreed to make 
concessions to the Syrians on various issues, we will not be able to 
make these concessions conditional on American compensation.  The 
timing of accelerated talks now, if so, is very peculiar.  The way 
the negotiations with Syria are being carried out is reminiscent of 
the beginning of the Oslo process, as well as the negotiations with 
the Americans on the issue of disengagement.  There is a secret team 
that conducts negotiations, and only after it has reached a detailed 
agreement with the other side, is the document brought to the 
government for a decision.  At this stage, it is no longer possible 
to hold a principled discussion, or to back down, because 'we have 
already promised.'  This is a dangerous and undemocratic approach. 
One can only wonder why the ministers do not demand to discuss the 
questions of principle, which have been presented here only in part, 
before representatives are sent to negotiate.  Even if they do not 
reach an agreement, things that official Israeli representatives say 
become binding commitments for the future." 
 
CUNNINGHAM