VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0824/01 0981037
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081037Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1352
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 5268
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1860
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5778
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6079
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5306
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 3825
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6120
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2933
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1142
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9849
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7354
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2318
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6352
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8395
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1179
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 1810
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000824 
 
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 reported that last night two police officers were killed 
by shots fired at their patrol car near the settlement of Masu'a, in 
the northern Jordan Valley. Police suspect the shots were fired by 
Palestinian terrorists.  Early this morning an anonymous caller 
speaking on behalf of an organization called the "Imad Mughniyah 
Group" claimed responsibility for the shooting attack. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is on the verge 
of finalizing the terms of an exchange deal for Gilad Shalit. 
Leading media reported that PM Ehud Olmert postponed the cabinet 
meeting on the matter until tomorrow.  Yediot reported that the 
Schijveschuurder brothers, whose family was murdered in the August 
2001 Sbarro Pizzeria suicide bombing in Jerusalem, lead a group that 
will try to halt terrorists slated to be released in the Shalit 
deal. 
 
HaQaretz reported that yesterday Nabil Abu Rodeineh, an aide to 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, lambasted Olmert over his 
assertion that Israel had been prepared to sign a peace agreement 
but was held up by the Palestinians' "weakness and lack of courage." 
 "Israel did not present a single map and not a single serious 
position that could lead to a real peace on the base of two states," 
Abu Rodeineh told the French news service AFP. "The [Israeli] 
proposals did not include conditions for the creation of an 
independent Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied 
in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital."   Abu Rodeineh called 
Olmert's comments, which he made at the weekly cabinet meeting 
yesterday, "completely false."  Mere days before the end of his 
term, Olmert used the platform of the cabinet meeting to present an 
overview of his administration's achievements.  "The fact that we 
haven't reached [a peace agreement] so far is due to the weakness 
and lack of courage on the part of the Palestinian leadership," 
Olmert told the weekly meeting of his ministers. "Everything else is 
just excuses and efforts to derail the talks."  "We were ready to 
sign a peace deal but the Palestinians unfortunately did not have 
the courage to do so," he was quoted as saying. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Adm. Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned last Thursday in an interview with PBS 
that an Israeli attack on Iran might lead to escalation, undermine 
the region's stability, and endanger the lives of Americans in the 
Persian Gulf "who are under the threat envelope right now."  Asked 
by interviewer Charlie Rose what would happen if Israel attacked 
Iran, Mullen, referring to the frequent statement that "all options 
are on the table," said such an "option generates a much higher 
level of risk in terms of outcomes in the region and it really 
concerns me."  However, he also expressed concern about Iran 
acquiring nuclear capabilities, saying it would "be very 
destabilizing" to the region because "their neighbors are extremely 
concerned about it. I worry about the proliferation which would 
occur." 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu 
signed an agreement.  HaQaretz quoted Likud leaders close to the 
partiesQ coalition talks as saying on Saturday that Kadima leader 
Tzipi LivniQs insistence on a rotation arrangement is undermining 
the creation of a unity government.  Livni met with Likud Chairman 
Benjamin Netanyahu in secret on Wednesday.  Maariv reported that 
Netanyahu has offered Livni the management of the diplomatic 
negotiations.  The media quoted sources as saying that there had 
been a QnarrowingQ of differences since previous meetings, though 
gaps between them remain. 
 
Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday a senior U.S. 
official voiced Qrare criticismQ of close ally Britain in 
questioning its decision to talk to elements of Hizbullah, in a move 
that suggested the limits of AmericaQs own regional engagement 
efforts. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that activists affiliated with the 
Islamic Movement in Israel are denouncing plans to build a police 
station in the Western Wall plaza, describing it as an attack on the 
nearby Al-Aqsa mosque.  However, police were quoted as saying that 
the plans call for rebuilding a station in the exact location that 
one previously stood for some three decades. 
 
Leading media reported that Tristan Anderson, of Oakland, CA, was 
struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops in 
the West Bank.  He underwent surgery in Israel. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the Transportation Ministry as saying 
yesterday that the European Aviation Safety Agency does not intend 
to blacklist Israeli airlines. 
 
Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that Congressman Brad Sherman 
(D-CA) has announced that the first allocation under the new 
U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act was made in the federal budget 
due to reach President Barack ObamaQs desk in the coming days. The 
$2 million in funding will go to grants aimed at the cooperative 
development of alternative energy and efficient energy technologies. 
  The act, pushed by the American Jewish Congress, was signed under 
the previous administration. 
 
HaQaretz reported that last week Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman 
(CA) and Republican Congressman Nathan Deal (GA) submitted a bill to 
promote innovation with respect to life-saving drugs and greater 
accessibility to them.  William Marth, president and CEO of Teva 
North America, has welcomed the new bill -- probably because it 
sides with generic drug companies in their tough battle with 
companies that develop innovative drugs.  (In the past, the Israeli 
pharmaceuticals company Teva, a world leader in the development of 
generic drugs, clashed with the U.S. Trade Representative.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QOlmert has 
thus far failed to bring Shalit back, and he has a moral obligation 
to resolve the issue before he leaves office.... But if it is not 
finalized this week, Netanyahu must press on with it and finally 
bring the soldier's captivity to an end. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QThe 
 
thought that relatively moderate Palestinians judge even [outgoing 
Prime Minister Ehud OlmertQs] far-reaching compromises insufficient 
leaves those of us who support a two-state solution disenchanted. 
 
Europe correspondent Nadav Eyal wrote from Belfast in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: QThe implementation of a Northern Ireland-like 
solution is in effect the establishment of a binational state with 
the Palestinians.... If Netanyahu doesnQt want to be dragged into 
comparable solutions, he had better reconsider his objection to the 
establishment of a Palestinian state. 
 
Prominent liberal author A. B. Yehoshua wrote in Maariv: QIf the 
prisoner exchange reinforces quiet  for both sides, then the word 
QpriceQ will soon be forgotten, to be replaced by the word 
Qpeace. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Decide on Shalit" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/16): QIsrael 
has found itself in a strategically inferior position in the Shalit 
affair.  Lacking a credible military alternative to extract Shalit 
from his abductor's clutches, the government has had to back down 
from its original refusal to negotiate with Hamas and agree to 
exchange Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including 
QheavyweightQ terrorists.  But once this principle was accepted, it 
is difficult to understand why Olmert has repeatedly delayed the 
deal due to disputes over secondary issues like whether some of the 
freed Palestinian prisoners should be deported overseas.  Hamas did 
not soften its stance even under Israel Air Force bombardment and a 
ground invasion of Gaza during Operation Cast Lead; it is unlikely 
to present a position more palatable to Israel just because Israel's 
government changes.... Olmert has thus far failed to bring Shalit 
back, and he has a moral obligation to resolve the issue before he 
leaves office.  His designated successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, has 
urged Olmert to conclude the prisoner swap.  But if it is not 
finalized this week, Netanyahu must press on with it and finally 
bring the soldier's captivity to an end. 
 
II.  "A Sunday Confession" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/16): 
QMany mainstream Israelis might have had a very hard time going 
along with Olmert's concessions.  Yet the thought that relatively 
moderate Palestinians judge even these far-reaching compromises 
insufficient leaves those of us who support a two-state solution 
disenchanted.  There are other possible reasons, beyond the one 
offered by [Palestinian negotiator Nabil] Abu Rodeineh, as to why 
Abbas rejected Olmert's peace offer:   The Palestinians may not be 
interested in a deal if the price is giving up the Qright of return 
and/or leaving Israel with defensible boundaries.  The implication: 
Even moderate Palestinians still want to destroy Israel, albeit in 
stages.   Abbas never prepared his people for the idea that they, 
too, would have to make painful concessions for peace. Implication: 
Either Abbas doesn't think he can sway Palestinian opinion or he 
thinks accepting Israel's QexistenceQ is concession enough.  No deal 
is possible while Iran casts a shadow of rejectionism over the 
region, Hamas rules in Gaza and Hizbullah is ascendant in Lebanon. 
Moderate Palestinians expect the Obama administration to force 
Israel into making concessions even Olmert thinks are too dangerous. 
 Whatever the reason, the outcome -- Palestinian intransigence -- 
was all too sadly predictable. 
 
III.  "Northern Ireland Is Not Good for the Jews" 
 
Europe correspondent Nadav Eyal wrote from Belfast in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (3/16): QThis weekQs terrorist attacks in Northern 
Ireland and the response by both communities -Q Catholics and 
Protestants -Q reaffirmed the might of the Good Friday agreement, as 
well as its flaws.... The ability to compare the Irish conflict and 
ours is limited.... The implementation of a Northern Ireland-like 
solution is in effect the establishment of a binational state with 
the Palestinians -Q a disaster for those who see Israel as the 
national home of the Jewish people.  This is perhaps the first 
lesson from Northern Ireland: We donQt want to reach an agreement 
similar to the Good Friday one, because the meaning of such an 
agreement would be the end of the Jewish state.  If Netanyahu 
doesnQt want to be dragged into comparable solutions, he had better 
reconsider his objection to the establishment of a Palestinian 
state. 
 
IV.  "Not a Deal, a Gesture" 
 
Prominent liberal author A. B. Yehoshua wrote in Maariv (3/16): QWe 
should stop speaking in terms of a deal and start speaking in terms 
of a gesture and goodwill instead.... We and the residents of Gaza 
seek calm.... Let's look at the prisoner release as part of the 
incentive for upholding the calm and cease-fire between the Gaza 
Strip and the communities surrounding it-all this while rebuilding 
the ruins on both sides.  Therefore, if we look not only at the 
petty questions of one number versus another number, but at the 
neighborly relations we intend to build over time, then an exchange 
of POWs for prisoners will be possible, and can be done with a heart 
filled with hope.  I appeal to the bereaved families who have lost 
their loved ones in the terror attacks committed by some of the 
prisoners who may be released.  Don't think only of revenge, think 
rather of the future of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, which will 
last forever.  The Shalit family has acted with restrained nobility 
in the past three years, without extremist rhetoric or abuse. 
Handing the problem over to the next government now would require 
renewed, complicated and tangled negotiations, at the end of which, 
I believe, we would have to reach the same conclusions.  If the 
prisoner exchange reinforces quiet  for both sides, then the word 
QpriceQ will soon be forgotten, to be replaced by the word 
Qpeace. 
 
CUNNINGHAM