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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000278 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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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.  Israeli Elections 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media reported that Hamas is supposed to give an answer today to 
a cease-fire proposal.  The Jerusalem Post reported that top Hamas 
official Ahmed Yousef told the newspaper yesterday that he believes 
an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas 
is likely to be reached by Thursday.   Yousef, the Gaza-based Deputy 
Foreign Minister and former political adviser to Hamas PM Ismail 
Haniyeh, was quoted as saying that he had not yet heard back from a 
Hamas delegation in Cairo, which was scheduled to meet Egyptian 
officials about a cease-fire proposal.  But he said he was 
optimistic that a cease-fire agreement was imminent.  HaQaretz 
reported that Egypt continues to discuss a cease-fire along two 
tracks -Q with Hamas and Israel.  The Jerusalem Post quoted EU envoy 
Marc Otte as saying that Israel and the PA are ready to reopen the 
Rafah crossing. 
 
The media reported that yesterday DM Ehud Barak told an election 
rally at Beersheva's Ben-Gurion University that the best way to 
achieve territorial continuity between Gaza and the West Bank would 
be by digging a tunnel that would connect the two areas.  He said 
the tunnel would be 48 kilometers long and cost $2-3 billion.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that right-wing Knesset members quickly 
criticized Barak's proposal, saying it would only add to Israel's 
security concerns. 
 
Electronic media reported that a Grad rocket landed this morning in 
the center of Ashkelon.  No one was injured. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that GermanyQs trade with Iran has 
increased despite promises and international sanctions.  German 
exports to Iran have grown by 20%, reaching $6 billion.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli and visiting experts at the 
Herzliya conference countered IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradeiQs 
comments on CNN on Sunday, saying that he lacks reliable information 
on the time that the world has to engage Iran and the percentage of 
that countryQs uranium enrichment.  Israel Radio quoted an Israeli 
space technology expert as saying that an initial examination showed 
that the Iranian satellite had indeed gone into orbit and as such, 
Iran had joined a very small club of countries with satellite 
capability.  The expert said that the satellite that Iran launched 
was relatively small, with limited broadcast and reception ability. 
However, he said this was a technological achievement, since Iran 
had developed the satellite by itself, even if it did receive help 
from Russia, China, or North Korea. 
 
Maariv cited the claim of senior Likud members that party leader 
Benjamin Netanyahu is costing Likud five Knesset seats because of 
his weak response to the campaign of Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor 
Lieberman. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that senior defense officials told the 
daily yesterday that Israel asked the U.S. and the EU to change the 
mandate of their fleets operating in the Red Sea and the 
Mediterranean to allow them to board and detain vessels shipping 
weapons to Hamas in Gaza. 
 
Israel Radio and other media quoted Deputy Turkish PM Cemil Cicek as 
saying yesterday: "We give special importance to our bilateral ties 
with Israel and we want to preserve ties with that country.  We are 
now looking towards the future.  Turkey is not targeting Israel and 
the Israeli people."  The radio quoted Turkish FM Ali Babacan as 
saying that Turkey is prepared to resume mediation between Israel 
and Syria when the time comes.  The Jerusalem Post reported that an 
official with a leading American Jewish organization told the 
newspaper yesterday that a deterioration in Israel-Turkey relations 
might prompt his group and others to reconsider Armenian efforts to 
win recognition of the century-old Turkish massacres as a genocide. 
 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a new book by former U.S. Ambassador to 
Israel Martin Indyk that claims that Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor 
Lieberman conducted a secret dialogue with Palestinian negotiators 
at the end of the Clinton administration. 
 
Yediot (Shimon Shiffer) reported that the reason the U.S. denied 
former Israeli national security adviser Uzi Arad a visa was that he 
is suspected of QmilkingQ sensitive information from Pentagon 
officials. 
Leading media quoted FM and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni as saying 
yesterday at the 9th annual Herzliya Conference: QThe choice will be 
between a Jewish state and a binational one.  Will we be a state of 
fear or a state of hope?Q  The Jerusalem Post quoted Livni as sayng 
at the conference that if Israel fails to initiate a peace plan 
after the elections, QweQll get the Arab initiative.Q  The Jerusalem 
Post quoted Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovich as 
saying yesterday at the conference that IsraelQs chief foreign 
policy goal in 2009 will be sustain the isolation of Hamas in the 
international arena in order to make room for a peace process 
between Israel and the Palestinians.  Leading media quoted President 
Shimon Peres as saying at the conference that, whoever leads it, the 
new government must continue the peace process. 
 
Maariv quoted senior Labor Party officials as saying that their 
partyQs success at the polls will allow its entrance into a 
Netanyahu government.  Maariv cited the concern of Kadima officials 
that Russian speakers are fleeing to the right. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday an IDF unit killed a terrorist 
in the southern Hebron Hills.  Media quoted the army as saying that 
he was about to carry out a large-scale attack in southern Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Israel slammed the UN for 
sending goods to Gaza without the countryQs OK.  The newspaper 
reported that UNRWA will improve aid audits to allay Israel fears. 
 
Maariv reported that senior Syrian officers trained Hamas fighters 
in the use of anti-tank weapons.  Major media reported that 
yesterday in Tehran Hamas leader Khaled Mashal thanked Iran for its 
help in fighting Israel. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John 
Bolton as saying at the Herzliya Conference that the U.S. wasted 
five years in its handling of the Iranian nuclear program. 
 
Yediot reported that yesterday senior Israeli legal sources assessed 
that a suit at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel 
over war crimes in Gaza would have no chance of being accepted. 
Yediot reported that Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICCQs chief prosecutor, 
raised the possibility in an interview with the London daily The 
Times that he could file such a suit by defining Gaza as a Qde facto 
state.Q  Yediot cited IsraelQs strenuous opposition to OcampoQs 
claim.  The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the Justice 
Ministry briefed the seven Israeli officials possibly facing 
prosecution in Spain.  The Jerusalem Post quoted a Spanish diplomat 
as saying yesterday that the Spanish government is considering a 
proposal to amend a controversial proposal that would allow a Madrid 
court to investigate Israelis over the killing of Palestinians.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Col. (res.) Geva Rapp, who was involved 
in Operation Cast Lead, returned to Israel from Britain in haste on 
Friday, fearing arrest on charges of war crimes. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the government will impose sanctions on 
Israel-based employees of Al Jazeera-TV in response to the closure 
last month of the Israeli trade office in Qatar, which hosts and 
funds the network.  Qatar had closed the office in opposition to 
Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that EgyptQs Supreme 
Administrative Court ruled yesterday that the country must continue 
supplying natural gas to Israel.  The Cairo-based court thereby 
overturned an interim injunction issued by a lower court last 
November, which had ordered the gas supply suspended -- though in 
fact, that ruling was never implemented. 
 
HaQaretz quoted the Central Elections Committee as saying yesterday 
that it did not have legal authority to prevent Baruch Marzel, head 
of the far-right Jewish National Front party, from serving as poll 
supervisor in Umm al-Fahm, Israel's second-largest Arab city, when 
Israelis vote on February 10. 
 
Maariv ran a feature on the American JewsQ Qidentity crisis. 
Yediot reported that yesterday Black Hebrew leader Eliyakim 
Ben-Israel obtained Israeli citizenship after 40 years in the 
country.  The Black Hebrews are a sect of African-Americans who came 
to the country in the 60s. 
 
HaQaretz, Yediot, and The Jerusalem Post cited U.S. government 
documents and interviews revealing that the National Security Agency 
helped uncover a 1973 plot to bomb New York City that was meant to 
coincide with Israeli prime minister Golda Meir's arrival in the 
city. 
 
Maariv reported that Israeli-Arab actress Hiam Abbas will play the 
lead role in Julian SchnabelQs upcoming movie, QMiral,Q which is 
about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
 
---------------------- 
¶1.  Israeli Elections: 
---------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QDuring the 
short interval that is left until the elections, the voters must 
demand clear answers and unequivocal commitments on matters of 
security, politics, society, and economy. 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: QThe right wing bloc is growing, but is 
passing over Bibi's head and flowing on, toward the right, toward 
Lieberman.  Netanyahu feels pressured. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Three Mimics" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (2/3): QIn 
theory, Tzipi Livni, Ehud Barak, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the heads 
of Kadima, Labor, and Likud respectively, pose three options for the 
voters: center, left and right.  In practice, all three are putting 
forth an agenda that distorts any significant commitment or 
position.... It is hard to shake off the feeling that this sort of 
lack of clear distinction is intentional.  The three candidates, and 
the parties they lead, are not offering a political alternative to 
the current direction.  On the contrary: They are building an alibi 
for the day after the elections, when they and their political 
factions will become part of the three-part puzzle that will set up 
a coalition with Shas, the ultra-Orthodox parties, and, most likely, 
and in spite of the limp opposition of Labor, also with Avigdor 
Lieberman.  Electing the three candidates while their positions are 
not clear, in view of the extremism on the political periphery, the 
breakdown of the Knesset into small factions, and the difficult 
challenges facing the next government, is dangerous.  During the 
short interval that is left until the elections, the voters must 
demand clear answers and unequivocal commitments on matters of 
security, politics, society, and economy. 
 
II.  QFinal Week 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (2/3): QNot that long ago, the polls 
showed that the Likud and Kadima, together, had something like 60 
seats -- the Likud just over 30, Kadima just less.  In the meantime, 
the war broke out, it ended, the campaign broke out, and is about to 
end.  Kadima and the Likud together barely scrape together 50 seats. 
 They've dropped ten seats.  These were picked up by Avigdor 
Lieberman.  This phenomenon, which will be studied one day, has made 
Benjamin Netanyahu lose sleep at night.  The right wing bloc is 
growing, but is passing over Bibi's head and flowing on, toward the 
right, toward Lieberman.  Netanyahu feels pressured.  With all due 
respect, the Lieberman thing was not supposed to spin out of 
control.  Now, he may yet have to take him as a senior coalition 
partner.  That was not the intention.  But that, so far, is the 
result.  The reason for this is mainly because of the fierce battle 
that has been waged between the Likud and Kadima. 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QThe 
harsh reality may be that once a new government is formed, it will 
find it necessary to order the IDF to retake and hold the 
Philadelphi Corridor, along with parts of northern Gaza.  If the 
Arab world and the international community don't want that to 
happen, now is the time for them to lean on Hamas. 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: QBasically, Erdogan is telling us, to our 
astonishment, that Israel's acts have consequences and 
ramifications. 
 
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: QIt looks like rather than Hamas being taught 
a lesson, it is Israel that is being taught a lesson it should 
already have learned in the past. 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: Q[George 
MitchellQs mission] leaves only Syrian President Bashar Assad 
waiting in George Bush's axis of evil. 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Gaza Cease-Fire Talk" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/3): 
QThe pressure is on for another Egyptian-brokered Gaza cease-fire 
deal between Israel and Hamas.... What kind of cease-fire would 
benefit Israel's interests?  A one-year hiatus in Qassam and mortar 
attacks in return for lifting the QsiegeQ is a bad idea.  Been 
there, done that.  A good deal would give Israel a buffer zone 
between it and the Strip.  It would provide for tight control over 
the crossing points from Egypt, and from Israel, into Gaza. Our 
security is dependent on effective monitoring by reliable parties of 
who comes in and goes out, and what material is brought into the 
Strip.  An effective deal would have Egypt genuinely securing its 
side of the border; and we may be starting to see this happening.... 
Israel's outgoing cabinet must not allow itself to be stampeded into 
a bad cease-fire deal.  The harsh reality may be that once a new 
government is formed, it will find it necessary to order the IDF to 
retake and hold the Philadelphi Corridor, along with parts of 
northern Gaza.  If the Arab world and the international community 
don't want that to happen, now is the time for them to lean on 
Hamas. 
 
II.  "Listen to Erdogan" 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (2/3): QThe demonstrations in Istanbul and the 
diplomatic chill in Ankara, so the majority of Israelis are 
convinced, are indeed QemotionalQ and reflect the fundamental 
anti-Semitism or anti-Israeli-ism of most of the nations of the 
world. And if what we do doesn't matter anyway, let's use savage 
violence, which is welcomed with cheers of acclaim here at home.... 
Basically, Erdogan is telling us, to our astonishment, that Israel's 
acts have consequences and ramifications.  In the decision as to 
whether to continue the operation by a few days, three weeks, or 
until a full takeover of Gaza, such considerations as the effect on 
relations with countries such as Turkey, and not only on it - 
surprise -- should be taken into account.  The usual perception 
here, which was so disastrous in Gaza, just exactly as it was in 
Lebanon, whereby the only thing that is important is Qhow much time 
will the world give usQ -- i.e. how long until the U.S. President 
pounds on the table and tells us he's fed up -- is childish 
foolishness.   Erdogan knows what every Israeli knows while 
complaining of anti-Semitism and canceling [IsraelisQ] holidays to 
Antalya: the decision to continue the operation in Gaza, to the 
degree that this was a decision and not the outcome of compromise 
among Olmert, Barak, and Livni, took into account its implications 
for elections in Israel a lot more than it did foreign policy 
considerations.  He is not angry that the Prime Minister did not 
talk to him before opening fire, but that he continued it for weeks 
without considering what this does to the important mediator from 
the Syrian track.  He wants, how odd, for the Foreign Minister to be 
the Foreign Minister and for the Defense Minister, who frequently 
visits Turkey, to remember that Israel's security is not just about 
how hard we hammer Hamas.  Truly, a very emotional and strange man 
this Erdogan. 
 
III.  "A Missed Opportunity" 
 
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 (2/3): QIt looks like rather than Hamas being 
taught a lesson, it is Israel that is being taught a lesson it 
should already have learned in the past.... It is obvious that the 
Olmert government formulated the goal of Operation Cast Lead 
primarily out of political considerations.... Not having destroyed 
the Hamas capability to launch rockets against Israel, the 
population in the south remains at the mercy of Hamas terrorists 
even after the IDF's withdrawal.  The IDF should have been given the 
task of destroying Hamas's rocket capability and accomplishing that 
task within a short time, something that the IDF easily had the 
ability to do.  As things stand, the basic situation in the south 
has not changed, and will not change as a result of another 
cease-fire with Hamas.  Like the previous cease-fire with Hamas, it 
will be a period giving Hamas a respite for rearming and preparing 
for the next round while Israeli citizens in the south will have to 
keep listening for the sound of rocket alerts.  So here is another 
lesson for Livni and Barak: No cease-fire with terrorists.  Terror 
has to be wiped out. 
 
IV.  "The Lion in the Waiting Room" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (2/3): 
QPresident Barack Obama's new Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, 
shuttled last week between Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority 
President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Egyptian 
President Hosni Mubarak.  That leaves only Syrian President Bashar 
Assad waiting in George Bush's axis of evil.  In discussions held on 
the eve of Mitchell's departure for the region, it emerged that the 
foreign relations teams of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 
Obama don't agree on how to proceed with Damascus.  Several team 
members advised Obama not to do any favors for Assad without getting 
something in return and that Mitchell should head to Syria only when 
armed with a shopping list.  The new list would not only include 
things that Israel is seeking from the Syrians.... With all due 
respect to Washington's good intentions in promoting the peace 
process between Damascus and Jerusalem, the White House has its own 
Middle East agenda. 
 
CUNNINGHAM