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P 241154Z MAR 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000695 
 
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.  Iran 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that the 1,478 convention delegates of the 
divided Labor Party will come together this afternoon in Tel Aviv to 
decide whether to join PM-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's 
national-unity government or try to bring it down from the 
opposition.  The Jerusalem Post reported that supporters and 
opponents of joining the government both expressed confidence 
yesterday that they would emerge victorious in the secret ballot 
vote, the results of which will be available as early as 8 p.m. 
HaQaretz reported that seven of LaborQs 13 Knesset members are 
opposed to joining NetanyahuQs coalition.  The media reported that 
Likud MK Moshe YaQalon, who was slated to become defense minister in 
the new government, revealed yesterday that he had reached 
QunderstandingsQ with Netanyahu regarding his portfolio if a 
national unity government is formed.   The media also reported that 
United Torah Judaism (UTJ) will not join a government that does 
Qwholesale conversions.Q  Maariv noted that Netanyahu cannot form a 
government if both Labor and UTJ do not join his government. 
 
Electronic media reported that this morning Netanyahu and Labor 
Chairman Ehud Barak agreed that Israel would draft a comprehensive 
regional peace treaty and that Israel is committed to all agreements 
it has signed so far.  The media further reported that Barak will be 
a partner in all diplomatic-security forums and that construction in 
settler outposts and by Palestinians would be monitored. 
 
Maariv quoted Palestinian sources as saying that Ofer Dekel, PM Ehud 
OlmertQs point man on the Gilad Shalit issue, is pressuring Hamas 
prisoners in Israel, saying that this is their last chance to go 
free. 
 
Leading media quoted IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi as 
saying yesterday that he does not believe that IDF soldiers harmed 
Palestinian civilians in "cold blood" during the Gaza offensive, in 
his first response to a HaQaretz expose revealing testimonies given 
by troops who served in Operation Cast Lead. 
 
HaQaretz reported that yesterday the GOI decided to allow "all 
edible goods to be delivered to the population of Gaza."  The 
decision was not announced to the media and was only briefly 
mentioned in the summary of the weekly meeting.  Leading media 
quoted Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Secretary-General's envoy for 
protecting children in armed conflict, as saying yesterday that IDF 
soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield 
during Operation Cast Lead.  The army allegedly ordered the boy to 
walk in front of soldiers being fired on in the Gaza neighborhood of 
Tel al-Hawa and enter buildings before them.  Coomaraswamy was 
quoted as saying that the incident on Jan. 15, after IDF tanks had 
rolled into the neighborhood, was a violation of Israeli and 
international law.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Alan Baker, formerly 
the Foreign Ministry's legal adviser, as saying that even though 
allegations of war crimes in Gaza are being used by some to 
delegitimize Israel, it is incumbent on Israel to investigate the 
allegations to show the world it is taking the matter seriously. 
Maariv reported that the Israel Air Force is establishing a new 
anti-aircraft battalion whose task will be to learn the Iron Dome 
system for intercepting Qassam and Grad rockets fired from Gaza at 
Sderot and at the Gaza periphery communities in the western Negev. 
The Air Force believes that within four months the anti-aircraft 
battalion will install the system and begin training, and in tandem, 
will develop a new fighting doctrine versus the launching tactics of 
the Palestinian terror organizations.  Maariv quoted a high-ranking 
security source as saying that the system would be able to handle 
the short-range rocket threats quite well and would also be able to 
deal with shells with a 155 millimeter caliber.  The future task of 
the new battalion will be to receive the Magic Wand system now being 
developed that is earmarked to provide a response to medium-range 
rockets.  Maariv cited the belief of Israeli security officials that 
these two systems will significantly change how Israel deals with 
terrorist organizations and will even prompt them to find new 
threats with which to attack IDF soldiers and residents of southern 
Israel. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Palestinian Minister for Civil Affairs 
Muhammad Dahlan as saying that the PLO never recognized Israel and 
that the PA government recognizes Israel on purely technical 
grounds.  Leading media reported that Kamal Madhat, the PLOQs deputy 
envoy to Lebanon, was killed in a car blast near the Palestinian 
refugee camp of Mia Mia.  Media reported that Hamas blamed Israel 
for the murder. 
 
The media reported that over 2,500 police will be on duty today in 
and around Umm el-Fahm, Israel's largest Arab city, where right-wing 
protesters plan to march after receiving High Court approval.  The 
media also reported that yesterday the head of the northern branch 
of IsraelQs Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, was detained for 
questioning in Jerusalem, together with his bodyguard and three 
other individuals.  Police were quoted as sayng that the five were 
arrested after they refused to leave an illegal meeting in East 
Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and attempted to assault 
police officers.  The gathering was part of the events of the 
Palestinian Culture Festival, marking the choice by UNESCO of 
Jerusalem as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2009.  Police were 
acting in accordance with a law banning demonstrations of 
Palestinian sovereignty in Jerusalem. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday the parents of critically 
wounded American protester Tristan Anderson called on the police to 
launch a criminal investigation into the border policeman who shot a 
high-velocity tear gas canister that hit their son on the forehead 
in the Palestinian village of NaQalin earlier this month. 
 
Yediot reported that Italy has ordered the deportation of three 
Palestinians whom Israel exiled in 2002 after they barricaded 
themselves in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. 
 
Leading media quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying yesterday that 
the U.K. was refusing to apologize after its statements about 
Israeli companies deceiving European tax authorities proved 
unsubstantiated.  The issue was the suspension of tariffs on goods 
from within the Green Line, but not from the territories. 
 
Maariv quoted IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi as saying yesterday that 
this year 82% of newly drafted IDF soldiers requested to serve in 
combat units. 
 
Major media reported that yesterday a court in Yemen sentenced a man 
to death for contacting and offering to spy for Israel.  Bassam 
al-Haidari, 26, was found guilty of sending an e-mail to PM Ehud 
Olmert and offering his services.  Two other defendants, aged 23 and 
24, were sentenced to prison.  The men, who are said to be members 
of the anti-Yemeni government Organization of Islamic Jihad, went on 
trial in January.  According to the court, Olmert responded to 
Haidari's e-mail, offering to support him as a foreign agent. 
Israeli military officials deny the claim. 
 
All media reported that, citing the global and local recession, 
vanishing inflation, and monetary policy moves around the world, the 
Bank of Israel lowered its overnight rate for April to a historic 
low of 0.5%.  The media reported that financial analysts were not 
impressed by the move. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported on cooperation between the Weizmann 
Institute and San Diego State University in the observation of the 
Qlargest exploding star ever seen. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a poll released 
yesterday by the dovish, pro-Israel lobby J Street: American Jews 
are evenly divided over whether the U.S. should launch a military 
offensive against Iran if it acquires nuclear weapons.  The poll 
shows that 41% of American Jews favor such an attack, 40% oppose one 
and 16% chose "neither."  The poll also showed that the overwhelming 
majority of American Jews (76%) favor a two-state solution as the 
preferred way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  According to 
the poll, some 72% support the Obama administration's first steps in 
attempting to resolve the Israeli-Arab dispute.  Also, 76% say Obama 
is a supporter of Israel, while 69% agree that he has a positive 
vision that can advance the Middle East peace process.  While 
three-fourths of American Jews supported the Gaza operation and 
Israel's right to defend itself, 59% claimed the war had no impact 
on Israel's security.  The poll also showed that 60% of U.S. Jews 
oppose settlement expansion in the West Bank while 40% are in favor. 
 Among Orthodox Jews, 80% support more building in the settlements. 
Among Jews who donate to political campaigns, 72% oppose settlement 
expansion.  Sixty-nine percent of respondents are opposed to the 
views of Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Beiteinu conditioning Arab 
IsraelisQ citizenship on their loyalty to the state. 
 
--------- 
¶1.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QWhile the 
Americans are actively seeking a way to start a dialogue, Israel is 
preaching confrontation and the toppling of the government in 
Tehran. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QIn his 
heart of hearts, Obama surely knows that Khamenei's QpriceQ for good 
relations is America's total capitulation to Persian imperial 
designs.  To point this out is not to beat the drums of war, but to 
appeal for American clear-sightedness. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "With Obama to Iran" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/24): QWhile 
Israel is preoccupied with cobbling together a coalition and with 
the ongoing incarceration of Gilad Shalit, significant changes are 
taking place in our strategic sphere.  The most significant of these 
was the public message U.S. President Barack Obama sent to the 
people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a videotaped 
message on the occasion of Nauruz, the Persian New Year.  Obama 
offered to bring about a new era of American-Iranian relations, 
after three decades of disconnect and enmity.... A few hours after 
Obama's message was broadcast, President Shimon Peres sent a similar 
message from Israel to the people of Iran, in which he harshly 
attacked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust, 
called on the people of Iran to topple their leaders, and promised 
that Israel would survive.  The contrast between the two messages -- 
one from Washington and one from Jerusalem -- says much about the 
different approaches taken by Israel and the U.S. regarding Iran: 
While the Americans are actively seeking a way to start a dialogue, 
Israel is preaching confrontation and the toppling of the government 
in Tehran.... It is clearly in Israel's interest to halt Iran's 
nuclear program, but it is no less in our interests to have close 
ties and a coordinated policy with the U.S.  The new government 
should give Obama's diplomatic initiative a chance; it must not come 
out against it or portray it as tacit acceptance of a nuclear-armed 
Iran or as American abandonment of Israel's security.  The initial 
reaction in Iran to Obama's message was far from enthusiastic, but 
this is just the beginning of the dialogue.  If Obama manages to 
reduce the rising tide of tension in the region and to introduce a 
new framework of dialogue and cooperation between nations, he will 
have made an important contribution to Israel's security and to its 
international standing.  This is the approach that should guide 
Netanyahu when he holds his first meeting with President Obama at 
the White House. 
II.  "Children of Adam" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/24): 
QEven Western QrealistsQ who reject  appeasement, talk 
paternalistically about coaxing Iran into behaving more responsibly. 
 They intuit that Iran's Qtrue interestQ lies in improved relations 
with the civilized world.  It's only that the mullahs' 
Qwell-grounded mistrustQ of the West makes them exceedingly 
cautious.  Were the stakes not so high, America's astute President, 
having inherited a calamitous economy, two wars and much else, could 
be forgiven for seeking to avoid confrontation with Iran -- even if 
he rejects the apologists' line outright and thinks the realists 
are, well, unrealistic.   In his heart of hearts, Obama surely knows 
that Khamenei's QpriceQ for good relations is America's total 
capitulation to Persian imperial designs.  To point this out is not 
to beat the drums of war, but to appeal for American 
clear-sightedness. 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Yaron London wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThere is no chance for 
peace until Palestinian society changes and the wave of Islamic 
fanaticism subsides. 
 
Conservative international Jewish leader Isi Leibler wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: QThe ambiguity of the U.S. 
stance  is highlighted by the fact that simultaneously with the 
announcement suspending its participation in Durban 2, America 
proclaimed that it  would henceforth partake in proceedings of the 
UN Human Rights Council. 
 
Liberal columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: QLiberal columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (3/24): QSomeone must prevent the establishment of 
a narrow right-wing establishment.  That QsomeoneQ can only be the 
Labor Party. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Where Will We Lead Despair?" 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Yaron London wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (3/24): QSubstantial 
questions exist: Is there a chance for peace before Palestinian 
society can govern itself?  Is the existence of the Labor Party 
essential in order to retain peace options? And is there determining 
importance in leaving defense in the hands of Ehud Barak?  I answer 
negatively to the first question.  There is no chance for peace 
until Palestinian society changes and the wave of Islamic fanaticism 
subsides.... This is true for the second question.  The Labor Party 
will not find rehabilitation by sitting in the opposition, because 
it does not possess a paradigm-changing concept.... To the third 
question I answer: QWho cares?Q  Barak, a marvelously gifted person 
who totally lacks political talent, will make no difference either 
in the government or in the opposition. 
 
II.  "Otherwise Lieberman Will Be the Dominant Factor" 
 
Liberal columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (3/24): QSomeone must prevent the establishment of a narrow 
right-wing government.  That QsomeoneQ can only be the Labor Party. 
Paradoxically, such a move would severely harm the party, 
particularly Ehud Barak, but it would be the lifeline that many have 
been yearning for. 
 
III.  "The Obama Administration, Durban, and American Jews" 
 
Conservative international Jewish leader Isi Leibler wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (3/24): QIt may be 
premature to celebrate the U.S. withdrawal [from the Durban 2 
conference].  The decision not to participate was made with a caveat 
that the U.S. would reconsider its decision if the preparatory 
committee amended its draft and deleted some of the most offensive 
sections. In fact since then, the Durban organizers have come to the 
realization that by accepting an abbreviated draft excluding the 
most offensive sections, the U.S. could conceivably still attend and 
that would encourage most of the wavering European and other 
countries to do likewise.... The ambiguity of the U.S. stance in 
this matter is highlighted by the fact that simultaneously with the 
announcement suspending its participation in Durban 2, America 
proclaimed that it had revoked the Bush administration's boycott and 
would henceforth partake in proceedings of the UN Human Rights 
Council and even seek election to the council.  U.S. legitimization 
of this bizarre body is unquestionably a retrograde step.  Contrary 
to its Orwellian title, the council is the antithesis of human 
rights, and spends most of its time demonizing Israel and promoting 
the interests of the Islamic Council.  It is totally dominated by 
Islamic and rogue states and will undoubtedly continue providing a 
platform for promoting anti-Semitism and other evil practices. 
 
CUNNINGHAM