VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #2903/01 3641118
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291118Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9789
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 4782
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1381
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5212
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 5588
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 4814
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 3243
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 5587
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2425
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0650
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9371
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 6864
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 1811
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 5874
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 7865
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 0702
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 1085
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002903 
 
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.  Gaza Operation 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Over the weekend all media led with the IAF strikes in Gaza, which 
have killed over 300 Palestinians since Saturday (QOperation Cast 
LeadQ).  The latest developments on Sunday were strikes at 40 
tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor as the defense establishment 
received approval to call up 6,700 reservists and that it considered 
sending ground forces deep into Gaza to burn down and destroy Hamas 
infrastructure.  The Jerusalem Post reported that the IAF used a new 
bunker-buster that it received from the U.S. -- GBU-39 -- in strikes 
against Hamas targets.  Many observers noted the paucity of Qassam 
rockets on Saturday and Sunday, yet on Saturday an Israeli was 
killed in a Qassam rocket strike in Netivot.  Also, on Monday 
morning Israel Radio reported that in Ashkelon an Arab worker was 
killed and several other people wounded in a Grad rocket strike. 
Yediot cited the claim of FM Tzipi LivniQs associates that DM Ehud 
Barak is trying to belittle her role in the operation. 
 
The media reported on protests in East Jerusalem, Israeli Arab 
towns, the Arab world, and around the world.  Gordon D. Johndroe, a 
White House spokesman, was quoted as saying that Hamas was 
responsible for the outbreak of violence and called its rocket 
attacks Qcompletely unacceptable. These people are nothing but 
thugs,Q he said. QIsrael is going to defend its people against 
terrorists like Hamas.Q  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued 
a statement that said: QThe United States strongly condemns the 
repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and holds Hamas 
responsible for breaking the cease-fire and for the renewal of 
violence in Gaza.  The cease-fire should be restored immediately. 
The United States calls on all concerned to address the urgent 
humanitarian needs of the innocent people of Gaza.Q  Israel Radio 
quoted David Axelrod, President-elect Barack ObamaQs senior adviser, 
as saying on CBS-TVQs QFace the NationQ yesterday: QThe fact is that 
there is only one president at a time. 
Leading media quoted Egyptian TV as saying that Gilad Shalit was 
injured during an Israeli attack.  Yediot and other media quoted 
Israeli sources as saying that this may be psychological warfare. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior Israeli diplomatic officials as 
saying that Israel is feeling Qno real pressureQ and that the amount 
of time the international community will sit relatively quietly on 
the sidelines depends  on how things develop. 
 
Leading media reported that this morning an Arab worker stabbed and 
wounded four people, one of them seriously, in the settlement of 
Kiryat Sefer.  Israel Radio reported that HamasQs TV station urged 
Egyptian and Jordanian workers to leave their workplaces in Israel. 
The radio links the call to previous Hamas statements that it would 
resume suicide bombings. 
 
------------------- 
¶1.  Gaza Operation: 
------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIsrael is 
entitled to exercise its right to self-defense, including via 
offensive measures.  But it must not overreach on the ground. 
 
Yoav Limor, the military correspondent of Israel TV, wrote in the 
independent Israel Hayom: QHamas yesterday paid the first price for 
its sin of hubris, and its erroneous assessment of Israel and its 
tolerance.  Now Israel needs to be careful. 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe big idea, if it 
succeeds, is to pave the way for the Palestinian President back into 
Gaza.... But Abu Mazen cannot afford to return to Gaza on the 
turrets of IDF tanks. 
 
Liberal columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: Q[The PalestiniansQ] terrible suffering is always translated 
into stronger hate for Israel and adds to their instinct of 
revenge. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: Q[The 
Islamists] may give Israel no choice but to topple their 
administration.... Hamas must be stopped. And the civilized world 
must help stop it. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Defend, DonQt Invade" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (12/29): 
QIsrael must adhere to the outline of Operation Cast Lead thus far, 
eschewing any major invasion that will end in occupation, a military 
administration and months (if not years) of fighting the local 
forces who will inevitably oppose the occupiers.... Reestablishing 
the cease-fire on better terms and with better supervision is a 
reasonable goal.  Toppling the Hamas regime, or eradicating the last 
rocket factory where the last Hamas member is making the last Qassam 
rocket, are not reasonable goals, in part because they are 
unachievable without a prolonged presence on the ground in Gaza.... 
The initial aerial assault should lead to a diplomatic move whose 
goal is a genuine cessation of fire and the return of Gilad Shalit, 
without any winking or excuses by Hamas.  Israel is entitled to 
exercise its right to self-defense, including via offensive 
measures.  But it must not overreach on the ground. 
 
II.  "The Price of HamasQs Hubris" 
 
Yoav Limor, the military correspondent of Israel TV, wrote in the 
independent Israel Hayom (12/28): QHamas yesterday paid the first 
price for its sin of hubris, and its erroneous assessment of Israel 
and its tolerance.  Now Israel needs to be careful not to err in 
terms of what Operation Cast Lead is capable of yielding.  The Prime 
Minister and Defense Minister cautiously avoided setting lofty 
goals, such as an end to the rocket fire on Israel.... HamasQs chain 
of command was severed; its leaders (those who were not hurt) went 
underground; its activists were afraid to get out into the field in 
fear that they would be picked off.  But all of that applied 
yesterday; today is another day and, from HamasQs perspective, it 
needs to be a day of revenge and restored pride.... Just one more 
warning: The military operation alone isnQt truly going to change 
the situation in the south.  It will create a platform, an 
opportunity, deterrence; but it cannot create a political 
arrangement.  To that end the government is going to have to operate 
immediately in conjunction with the sane elements within the 
Palestinian Authority, with the Egyptians and Jordanians, with the 
U.S., Europe, and the UN.  Ultimately, that is what will give the 
IDF the space necessary to achieve the unstated goals, providing 
Israel with an opportunity to achieve a real change in the reality 
that reigns in the south. 
 
III.  "The Flush in Hamas's Cheek" 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (12/29): QThe big idea, 
if it succeeds, is to pave the way for the Palestinian President 
back into Gaza.  The Air Force is bombing the Hamas security 
headquarters two week before the end of Abu Mazen's term.  Nobody, 
not even the best of the pollsters, can guess the 
results of the election, if elections are even held, but Abu Mazen 
cannot afford to return to Gaza on the turrets of IDF tanks.... 
Ultimately, as we've learned, we will return to the point of origin. 
 The Mubarak punching bag will deflate and Egypt will again conduct 
the negotiations.  The question is if Israel wants to return to a 
limited truce that is liable to blow up again, or should it strive 
for a more in-depth discussion and seek creative solutions. 
 
IV.  "Within the Warm Belly of the Consensus" 
 
Liberal columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (12/29): QThe warn consensus does not allow us to show 
empathy to the suffering of the other side.... Mothers who are 
bemoaning their children, elderly, fathers, and innocent civilians 
are paying the price of HamasQs careless cruelty.... At least we 
should know that [this pain] exists.... This is a moral issue, which 
also has a practical side: Their terrible suffering is always 
translated into stronger hate for Israel and adds to their instinct 
of revenge.  The more we think about the innocent civilian 
population and try to minimize its suffering, the better things will 
be for us, too. 
 
¶V.  QA Time to Fight 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (12/28): 
QThe IDF's mission is not to bring down the Hamas regime, but to 
bring quiet to the South.  In a sense we are asking Hamas to stop 
being Hamas.  The Islamists need to decide whether they want to go 
down in flames or are prepared to take on the responsibilities that 
come with control over the Strip.  They may give Israel no choice 
but to topple their administration.... The formula for purchasing 
the affection of those who suffer from moral relativism is 
sickeningly clear: If one Jew is killed, we get very little piety. 
If, heaven forbid, an Israeli kindergarten was to take a direct hit 
-- Israel might, temporarily, gain the sympathy of news anchors from 
Paris to London to Madrid.  At that price we would rather forgo 
their sympathy.  Nevertheless, we expect our diplomats to work 24/7 
to make Israel's case to the international community.  Foreign 
Minister Tzipi Livni has begun that process. In an English-language 
address she said, QEnough is enoughQ -- Israel would not continue to 
absorb rockets, mortars and bullets without retaliating.  At this 
newspaper, we wonder how an international community that can't bring 
itself to explicitly support Israel's operation against the most 
intransigent of Muslim fanatics expects to play a positive role in 
facilitating peace in this region.  Hamas must be stopped. And the 
civilized world must help stop it. 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Natasha Mozgovaya wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: QThis conflict does not lack marketing or 
attention, but this is a double-edged sword: The world has had 
enough of it, and small public-relations victories do not bring a 
solution closer in a situation where time works to no one's 
benefit. 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"A Moment before Stepping into the Quicksand" 
 
Washington correspondent Natasha Mozgovaya wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (12/29): QWhile work is underway to market the 
conflict to the new U.S. president in the new wrapping of the 
Annapolis process, Israel has more urgent things to do.  There is 
Gaza, there are elections.  Sources in the Israeli Embassy in 
Washington say that at the top of the agenda of issues requiring 
urgent American attention is Iran as a multidimensional threat, and 
at this stage it seems simpler to reach an agreement with Syria. It 
seems Abbas can wait.  The question is, to what extent the new U.S. 
administration will want to be the new kindergarten teacher and 
persuade the parties that the United States is a friend to both.  If 
the Bush ideology is to be replaced with a promotion of American 
interests, America will not neglect the conflict that endangers the 
stability of a region important to it.  But the new President has no 
reason to risk his prestige in a hasty involvement in a peace 
process that has tripped up a number of his predecessors.... The 
process may be upgraded by promoting an atmosphere of peace in the 
region through the Arab countries. This conflict does not lack 
marketing or attention, but this is a double-edged sword: The world 
has had enough of it, and small public-relations victories do not 
bring a solution closer in a situation where time works to no one's 
benefit. 
 
CUNNINGHAM