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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000313 
 
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WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu told an 
audience of new immigrants in Tel Aviv: QIf you vote for another 
party, the Likud will be weakened, but if you vote for Likud, I will 
be prime minister and make Lieberman an important minister in my 
cabinet and build a strong government.Q  Yediot quoted a senior 
official in Yisrael BeiteinuQs campaign HQ as saying that Lieberman 
is interested in the defense portfolio in a Netanyahu cabinet. 
Media quoted FM and Kadima chair Tzipi Livni as saying that if 
Kadima emerges as the largest party in the elections, it will ask 
President Shimon Peres to charge it with forming a government, even 
if the right-wing block is larger.  Maariv and Israel Radio reported 
that Kadima might strive for a rotational form of government with 
Likud.  HaQaretz quoted DM and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak as 
saying yesterday: QLieberman is not my cup of tea, but we will not 
sit in any government whose guidelines are not compatible with our 
positions.Q  Major media reported that Barak told the Rabin camp Q a 
group that has monitored every election since the assassination of 
Yitzhak Rabin Q- that Labor is carrying on his tradition. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Salah Bardawil, a member of the Hamas delegation 
in Cairo, as saying that an 18-month truce agreement has been 
drafted.   It is said to include the opening of the Israel-Gaza 
crossings, but not of the Egypt-Gaza ones.  (Media cited HamasQs 
dissatisfaction over IsraelQs stated willingness to open only 75% of 
the crossings.)   HaQaretz quoted Egypt as saying that a truce 
agreement will not be reached in coming days.  On the other hand, 
Maariv reported that Egypt announced last night that it hopes for a 
breakthrough in the coming days. 
 
Yediot bannered IsraelQs domestic deficit, as tax collection dropped 
by 16% in January. 
 
The media reported that yesterday Hamas men in Gaza stole blankets 
and food from UNRWA at gunpoint.  Media reported that UN officials 
condemned the theft.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Welfare and Social 
Services Minister Isaac Herzog, who oversees humanitarian aid to 
Gaza, as saying that the theft from UNRWA was Qfurther proof that 
Hamas is continuing to make life miserable for the population of 
Gaza and will use any means to intensify its suffering. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday the IDF acknowledged that on 
January 16 two Israeli tanks mistakenly shelled the house of Dr. Abu 
al-Aysh in Gaza.  The physician, who had worked in Israel, lost 
three daughters in the incident. 
 
HaQaretz reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy told 
President Obama this week that he wants to convene an international 
peace conference in Paris this spring, after the new Israeli 
government stabilizes. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Peace Now as saying that the Defense 
Ministry is poised to authorize one of the largest West Bank 
construction projects in recent years -- 1,400 apartments in the 
Adam settlement located just north of Jerusalem.  DM BarakQs 
spokesman dismissed Peace NowQs claim as Qnonsense. 
 
HaQaretz quoted Palestinian doctors in Gaza as saying that the 
wounds of their burn victims seem to have been caused by white 
phosphorus bombs the IDF dropped during its ground offensive, but 
that only lab tests will be able to confirm this.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that the International Federation of Journalists is 
seeking a probe of IsraelQs actions in Gaza.  The Jerusalem Post 
also reported that human rights groups argued yesterday that a 
detailed probe into HamasQs firing of Qassam rockets at Israeli 
communities is not necessary, because it constitutes such a 
QblatantQ war crime.  By contrast, IsraelQs actions are more 
complex, and therefore do require such investigation. 
 
Leading media cited IsraelQs hope that a meeting on weapons 
smuggling into Gaza that began in Copenhagen yesterday will result 
in increased cooperation and intelligence sharing among different 
navies that patrol the Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean Sea. 
Yediot reported that retired Greek-Catholic Archbishop Hilarion 
Capucci, whom Israel accused in the 70s of arms trafficking for the 
Palestine Liberation Army, is on board a Lebanese ship trying to 
break the siege on Gaza.  Electronic media reported that today the 
crew of an Israel Navy vessel stopped and stormed the ship. 
The media quoted DM Barak as saying yesterday: QThe Iranian 
satellite is a technological achievement for the Iranians and a 
first step towards proving their military and intelligence 
capabilities.  This is another reason for the international 
community to tighten and increase sanctions against Iran."  HaQaretz 
reported that the development worries the West, which is nonetheless 
trying out a conciliatory approach.  HaQaretz quoted U.S. Ambassador 
to the UN Susan Rice as saying that she will hold direct contacts 
with Iran. 
 
HaQaretz reported that self-exiled former Balad (National Democratic 
Assembly) leader Azmi Bishara is urging Israeli Arabs not to boycott 
the Knesset elections. 
 
Media reported that yesterday, following increasing pressure from 
South Africa's Jewish community, the country's Deputy Foreign 
Minister, Fatima Hajaig apologized to the Republic's President for 
saying last month that "Jewish money controls America."  Yediot, The 
Jerusalem Post, and Israel Radio reported that the South African 
dock workers union is preventing an Israeli ship from unloading 
cargo in the port of Durban. 
 
Maariv reported that junior high schools, especially religious ones, 
ignore the official policy to teach Arabic.  The Education Ministry 
is dissatisfied with this development. 
 
Based on two election polls published today, the Likud currently 
enjoys a lead of 3-6 seats over Kadima, while Yisrael Beiteinu 
occupies the third slot, overtaking the Labor Party by a margin of 
1-6 seats.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe presents the following figures: 
Likud 26, Kadima 23, Yisrael Beiteinu 19, and Labor Party 13.  In 
Israel Hayom, conversely, the poll projects the following: Likud 30, 
Kadima 24, Yisrael Beiteinu 17 and Labor Party 16.  Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe interprets the results as cause for concern for 
Binyamin Netanyahu, but notes that the right wing camp enjoys a 
sizeable blocking majority.  Israel Hayom, also based on an analysis 
of political blocs, pronounces that Netanyahu remains the leading 
candidate to form the next government. 
 
--------------------- 
¶1.  Israeli Elections: 
---------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIn a war of 
the type waged in Gaza it is not enough to express criticism post 
factum, as the leaders of Meretz are doing now. 
 
Very liberal columnist Gideon Levy wrote in Ha'aretz: QNetanyahu's 
election will free Israel from the burden of deception.... Together 
with the world, we will see which direction we are facing and who we 
really are. 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom: QAt this time [Barak and Netanyahu] are the most 
constructive team that the Jewish people can present. 
 
Former Meretz leader Dr. Yossi Beilin wrote in Israel Hayom: Q[A 
right-wing] coalition ... will find itself advancing the peace 
process. 
 
Columnist Orit Shochat wrote in Ha'aretz: QWith the assistance of 
the U.S. administration, which is keen to find a [diplomatic] 
solution, and with the support of European leadership, Livni has 
more of a chance than did her predecessors to achieve results. 
 
Conservative Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: QYesterday ... a new journalistic low was 
recorded.  This happened in the article by Ari Shavit, QCautionary 
Note,Q which was published yesterday in HaQaretz.... QLivni finds it 
difficult to make decisions,Q [Shavit wrote]. 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "No Reason to Vote Meretz" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (2/5): QMeretz 
suffered a total and resounding failure with its automatic support 
for the decision to go to war in Gaza.... The only right to 
existence of a party like Meretz is in its being a courageous and 
true alternative that gives voice to clear and precise positions. 
When this voice becomes blurred and turns into nothing more than a 
weak echo of the positions of the large parties in the center and on 
the left, its role becomes redundant.  The voters of the left 
therefore have no reason to support a party whose positions are 
flaccid.  In a war of the type waged in Gaza it is not enough to 
express criticism post factum, as the leaders of Meretz are doing 
now. 
 
II.  "Let Netanyahu Win" 
 
Very liberal columnist Gideon Levy wrote in Ha'aretz (2/5): 
QBenjamin Netanyahu will apparently be Israel's next prime minister. 
 There is, however, something encouraging about that fact. 
Netanyahu's election will free Israel from the burden of deception: 
If he can establish a right-wing government, the veil will be lifted 
and the nation's true face revealed to its citizens and the rest of 
the world, including Arab countries.  Together with the world, we 
will see which direction we are facing and who we really are.  The 
masquerade that has gone on for several years will finally come to 
an end.  Netanyahu's election is likely to bring the curtain down on 
the great fraud -- the best show in town -- the lie of 
QnegotiationsQ and the injustice of the Qpeace process.Q  Israel 
consistently claimed these acts proved the nation was focused on 
peace and the end of the occupation.  All the while, it did 
everything it could to further entrench the occupation and distance 
any chance of a potential agreement. 
 
III.  "Netanyahu and Barak: the Best Option for Israel " 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom (2/5): QOn Tuesday Kadima brought this weekQs good 
tidings.  It said that Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak have 
already agreed to become partners in the next government.  If Kadima 
had been known for its reliability, I would have applauded the fait 
accompli.  This does not mean that Barak and Netanyahu can; that 
they are the best; that other parties or their own parties have 
people as worthy as they are.  But at this time they are the most 
constructive team that the Jewish people can present. 
 
IV.  "After the Election: Right-Wing Coalition Will Advance the 
Peace Process" 
 
Former Meretz leader Dr. Yossi Beilin wrote in Israel Hayom (2/5): 
Q[In the past], the leaders of the right decided to take steps in 
the peace process only when they were without the fig leaf of the 
center and the left.  It was then that they were simply exposed to 
the real world and understood that in order to protect certain 
national interests, one must compromise.  Menachem Begin gave up a 
territory three times the size of Israel when he led a right-wing 
government that Labor refused to join.  Shamir, who opposed an 
international peace conference as long as the Labor Party was in his 
government, led Israel to the Madrid Conference after Labor had left 
his government.  Netanyahu, heading a right wing government, did 
indeed prevent a final status arrangement, but withdrew from Hebron 
and agreed to give up 13.1 percent of the West Bank as part of the 
Wye Agreement.  And Sharon, leading a right wing government, left 
Gaza and explained this in terms of pressure from the left, the 
Geneva initiative and the Shin Bet directorsQ letter.  If these four 
had headed a national unity government, it is doubtful that they 
would have taken these steps.  If the leaders of Kadima and Labor 
are interested in seeing the peace process advance, it is their duty 
to say to Netanyahu: QNo!Q and to allow him to form a government 
with Shas and Lieberman, the Jewish Home, and the National Union. 
In the circumstances that will ensue, this is the coalition that 
will find itself advancing the peace process. 
 
¶V.  QWhy Livni 
 
Columnist Orit Shochat wrote in Ha'aretz (2/5): QTrue, Kadima is 
seen as an artificial party, a kind of refugee camp for those who 
left Likud, but it should not be forgotten that it broke away from 
Likud because of an ideological rift, and not for seats.  Sharon's 
decision to divide the land and to evacuate settlers so as to make 
possible the continued existence of the Jewish state is just as 
important now as it was then.  There is no leader who relates to 
this need with greater seriousness than does Livni.  That is why a 
vote for Kadima is not a compromise nor is it a gamble.  With the 
assistance of the U.S. administration, which is keen to find a 
solution, and with the support of European leadership, Livni has 
more of a chance than did her predecessors to achieve results. 
Whoever has despaired of a two-state solution has also despaired of 
the existence of a Jewish state.  Planes and bombs will not be able 
to save us from mistaken decisions. 
 
VI.  QJournalistic Low 
 
Conservative Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (2/5): QYesterday ... a new journalistic low was 
recorded.  This happened in the article by Ari Shavit, QCautionary 
Note,Q which was published yesterday in HaQaretz.... QLivni finds it 
difficult to make decisions,Q [Shavit wrote].  Excuse me?  Who 
delayed [IsraelQs] response, when many said that the delay only 
strengthened Hamas?  ThatQs right, Ehud Barak.  And who was revealed 
throughout the war as a person incapable of making a serious and 
unequivocal decision, either on a cease-fire or warfare?  ThatQs 
right, it was ShavitQs friend.  This ridiculous [writing] reaches 
the point of absurdity when Shavit writes that QLivni completely 
lacks emotional intelligence.Q  This is truly a record.  After all, 
if there is a person who is not only devoid of all emotional 
intelligence, but even bases his election campaign on the official 
lack of emotional intelligence, it is Ehud QIQm not a palQ Barak. 
Full disclosure: The writer of these lines is not a friend of any of 
the candidates, including Tzipi Livni.  Livni has also been 
subjected, in the past months, to incisive critical articles penned 
by this writer.  She will probably be subjected to such articles in 
the future as well. 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Liberal columnist Uzi Benziman wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: QHow would the public in Israel have felt, if immediately 
after the Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah had invited children from 
northern Israel to spend time in its summer camps? 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: QWe can still detach ourselves from the Egyptian 
coercion and adopt new international solutions in Gaza.  It is still 
possible.  But if the Golan should pass into Syrian hands, it would 
be irreversible. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Distorted Philanthropy" 
 
Liberal columnist Uzi Benziman wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (2/5): QIsrael attacked Gaza because it felt that this was 
the means that remained for it to exercise its right to 
self-defense.  The scale and nature of the military move, which 
severely harmed the Palestinian civilian population as well, were 
derived from operational considerations.  This model of action will 
repeat itself, judging by the statements of the leadership in 
Jerusalem (Qdisproportionate responseQ) in the future too, if there 
is no quiet.  Under these circumstances, Israel has no chance to 
convince [the Palestinians] of the purity of its intentions, when 
with one hand it pushes the buttons raining powerful bombs on Gaza, 
and with the other hand calls upon the suffering population to 
receive aid from it.  It is naivet, not to say transparent 
sanctimoniousness, to believe that shell-shocked Palestinian 
children would seek healing for their distress among those who 
inflicted the troubles upon them.  How would the public in Israel 
have felt, if immediately after the Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah 
had invited children from northern Israel to spend time in its 
summer camps?  It is reasonable to assume that in the eyes of the 
Palestinian child, Israel appears as an F-16 jet sowing bereavement 
and destruction and not as a compassionate physician or a leisure 
activities impresario. 
 
II.  "DonQt Volunteer" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the 
Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (2/5): QWe are on a collision course with Syria, and 
therefore we should make peace with it, which will of course include 
giving over the Golan Heights to Syrian hands -- this was the 
essence of the statements made by Director of the Political-Security 
Staff in the Defense Ministry Amos Gilad at the Herzliya Conference. 
 Why?  Because if we reach a military confrontation with Syria, 
AssadQs regime may fall, and we will face an extreme Sunni coalition 
against us.... We can still detach ourselves from the Egyptian 
coercion and adopt new international solutions in Gaza.  It is still 
possible.  But if the Golan should pass into Syrian hands, it would 
be irreversible.  The Syrians will settle a million citizens there, 
in order to create popular QresistanceQ from the Golan, which is now 
empty, and will then roll their eyes heavenwards saying that they 
cannot control the terror that will originate from there.  The 
meaning of such a QpeaceQ with Syria is that we will have neither 
territory nor stability. 
 
CUNNINGHAM