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P 160558Z APR 09
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
U.S. Special Envoy Sen. George Mitchell to Israel, West Bank 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on the arrival in Israel last night of U.S. 
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace former Senator George Mitchell. 
Israel Radio quoted a source in PM Benjamin NetanyahuQs bureau as 
saying that IsraelQs friendly relations with the U.S. are very 
deep.   The radio reported that DM Ehud Barak told Mitchell that it 
is possible to reach coordination and strategic understandings with 
the U.S. while maintaining IsraelQs interests.  The Jerusalem Post, 
which headlines: QMitchell Calls for QUnderstandings with Israel on 
All Regional Issues.Q reported that DM Barak told Mitchell that the 
U.S. Qcan and needsQ to Qcoordinate and reach understandingsQ on all 
the issues on the regional agenda.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
Mitchell as saying in Morocco before coming to Israel: QIn the case 
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we believe that the two-state 
solution, two states living side by side in peace, is the best 
and only way to resolve this conflict.Q  Maariv said that Mitchell 
is coming with a clear message from the U.S. administration that it 
is intent on leading a diplomatic process.  Maariv cited concerns in 
Israel that gaps in views between the two countries may lead to 
tensions.  HaQaretz reported that Mitchell is expected to ask 
Netanyahu during their meeting today to clarify Israel's position 
regarding the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians and 
Syria.  According to HaQaretz, a decision has been made in 
Washington to follow a regional peace plan that will be based on the 
Arab peace initiative, bolstered by international security 
guarantees for Israel.  Under this plan, Arab states will proceed 
with normalization of ties with Israel in parallel with progress in 
the negotiations to be held on the Palestinian and Syrian tracks.  A 
senior U.S. administration official told HaQaretz several days ago 
that the U.S. is committed to the principles of the Quartet, which 
set the acceptance of a two-state solution as a precondition for 
talks with a Palestinian unity government.  The official added that 
the U.S. expects the Israeli government to adopt the same principle, 
in line with commitments made by the previous Israeli government at 
the Annapolis conference in November 2007.  HaQaretz quoted 
Palestinian sources as saying yesterday that they intend to present 
clear demands to Israel through the U.S. envoy as preconditions for 
resuming final status talks.  In an interview with the PA daily 
Al-Ayyam, the sources were quoted as saying that PA President 
Mahmoud Abbas will ask Mitchell to press Israel to recognize the 
principle of two states for two nations.  Moreover, the Palestinians 
would like Israel to agree to talk about all aspects of a final 
settlement that will ultimately result in the establishment of a 
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Mitchell will again meet DM Barak today, 
as well as FM Avigdor Lieberman, President Shimon Peres, and 
opposition leader Tzipi Livni. 
 
Yediot Aharonot (Shimon Shiffer) reported that the Obama 
administration is sharpening its statements on Israeli-Palestinian 
negotiations, and that it is hinting to the Netanyahu government 
that the handling of the Iranian nuclear issue will depend on 
progress in negotiations and an Israeli withdrawal from the West 
Bank.  The newspaper reported that White House Chief of Staff Rahm 
Emanuel told a Jewish leader that a permanent-status agreement will 
be reached between Israel and the Palestinians, no matter what. 
Yediot Aharonot further reported that Netanyahu might postpone his 
visit to Washington because President Obama cannot find the time to 
meet him. 
 
HaQaretz quoted Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair as saying in an 
interview in TIME Magazine that in talks with PM Netanyahu, the 
Israeli premier suggested that a Palestinian state be established 
from the bottom up.  Blair said that Netanyahu's plan calls for the 
question of the borders of the Palestinian state and the fate of 
Jewish settlements and Jerusalem to be deferred to the final stage. 
The first step would concentrate on the consolidation of Palestinian 
institutions, strengthening its security forces, and reconstructing 
the economy in the territories.  Netanyahu reportedly is not opposed 
to the PA assuming attributes of statehood at this stage. 
 
Leading media quoted Egyptian FM Ahmed Abu al-Gheit as saying 
yesterday in an interview with Russia Today-TV that his Israeli 
counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, is not welcome in Egypt.  Abu 
al-Gheit said: "His feet will not step on Egyptian soil as long as 
he maintains his positions. 
 
HaQaretz quoted security sources as saying that yesterday Egyptian 
police found 900 kg of explosives near the Gaza border and that they 
detained three Palestinian youths on suspicion of crossing illegally 
into Egypt.  The media also reported that a Qassam rocket landed in 
the western Negev after a period of calm. 
 
Leading media quoted GOI officials as saying yesterday that Israel 
will not cooperate with a UN Human Rights Council investigation into 
whether war crimes were committed during Operation Cast Lead earlier 
this year. 
 
Yediot Aharonot reported that the QDurban 2Q anti-racism conference 
may fizzle, as European nations decide tomorrow whether to 
participate in the conference or boycott it. 
 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------- 
U.S. Special Envoy Sen. George Mitchell to Israel, West Bank: 
--------------------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: Qthe 
sooner Iran's toxic sway over the region is dissipated, the better 
the prospects that Mitchell can help us all move toward 
reconciliation. 
Shlomo Avineri, Hebrew University Professor of Political Science and 
former director-general of the Foreign Ministry, wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: Q[George MitchellQs] mission is 
liable to disintegrate; instead of dealing with the peace process, 
he might be sucked into resolving local crises.  It will be 
important to think creatively. 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: QIran and Hizbullah are Egypt's enemies no 
less than they are Israel's.  It behooves us to remember this, even 
when it appears that Egypt is positioning itself on the other side 
of the divide. 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: QAn almost united international coalition  is 
urging Israel to move out of its shell, break the Middle East 
stalemate, and create a new front against the real threats 
confronting it.  An elected Israeli government responds to the 
pressure by turning a blind eye. 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: 
QObama's foreign policy prestige will face its greatest test in 
[the] negotiations [with Iran]. 
 
Columnist Meir Gross wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe: QMay I suggest that the Jews be generous and give up 
Morocco -- and even Algeria. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
QHelping Mitchell 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/16): 
QWith the threat of an Iranian nuclear device hanging over us, 
emboldening this region's extremists and cowing its moderates, it is 
improbable that Mitchell will make much headway on the Palestinian 
track.  Furthermore, the Palestinian polity is paralyzed by 
divisions between an ascendant Hamas and a fading Fatah.  Yet in 
rejecting an unprecedentedly magnanimous peace plan proffered by the 
Kadima government late last year, Mahmoud Abbas's Qmoderates 
exposed themselves as unwilling to make the most rudimentary 
compromises necessary to achieve a two-state solution. And while we 
welcome Abbas's cordial pre-Passover telephone call to Netanyahu, 
what Israelis would really like to happen is for Fatah to become a 
genuine alternative to Hamas.  That means preparing its people for 
the kinds of painful concessions they will have to make -- alongside 
the painful concessions Israelis have already indicated a 
willingness to make - for peace.  So the sooner Iran's toxic sway 
over the region is dissipated, the better the prospects that 
Mitchell can help us all move toward reconciliation. 
 
II.  QFrom the Bottom Up 
 
Shlomo Avineri, Hebrew University Professor of Political Science and 
former director-general of the Foreign Ministry, wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/16): QThe Irish conflict was 
basically a religious one, fought between two communities speaking 
the same language and sharing a common history.  Here we have a 
struggle between two national movements with some religious 
aspects.  While no one in Northern Ireland casts doubt over 
Britain's right to exist, many on the Palestinian side question the 
legitimacy of the Jewish state, and some Israelis doubt the right of 
the Palestinian nationality to exist.  Despite this, some lessons 
can be learned from Northern Ireland.. Decommissioning all militias 
should be a precondition for elections.  Mitchell, meanwhile, faces 
the challenge of achieving an effective truce between Israel and 
Hamas, rebuilding Gaza and opening the crossings.  His mission is 
liable to disintegrate; instead of dealing with the peace process, 
he might be sucked into resolving local crises.  It will be 
important to think creatively.  Even those who supported the Oslo 
Accords cannot deny that the process failed for reasons beyond the 
obstacles put up by both parties. In the last two years, the 
Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair and U.S. Security CoordinatorKeith Dayton have made some successful attempts tobuild Palestinian 
institutions from the bottom u. These actions are not at all 
similar to Benjamn Netanyahu's Qeconomic peace,Q intended to serve 
as an alternative to a Palestinian state.  On the contrary, they are 
the only successful attempts s far to create infrastructure for a 
state.  True this process is gradual and bound to take time, but 
the other process -- the top-down one -- failed, and it was time to 
admit it.   One last comment, on the Syrian front. Mitchell should 
look into a sensitive issue at his next meeting with the Syrians: 
Does their position stem from merely trying to maintain their 
occupation of land in 1948, or is it something deeper -- a 
non-recognition of the Middle East's borders, claiming they were set 
by Western imperialism after World War I?  This is not merely a 
theoretical question, because it can help explain Syria's approach 
to Lebanon and other regional issues. 
 
III.  QIn the Same Boat 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (4/16): QEgypt's resolute response to the 
terror network again points to the mutual interests underpinning the 
peace between Israel and Egypt. Israel and Egypt are at the core of 
this matter.  Both countries are considered QlegitimateQ targets in 
the eyes of Hizbullah and Iran.  The two countries see eye to eye 
not only on the fight against terror organizations, but also against 
those who send and fund them.  Iran and Hizbullah are Egypt's 
enemies no less than they are Israel's.  It behooves us to remember 
this, even when it appears that Egypt is positioning itself on the 
other side of the divide. 
 
IV.  QDid Anybody Say Golda Meir? 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (4/16): QAn almost united international coalition 
-- a new, energetic U.S. administration, Europe, and the moderate 
Arab countries Q is urging Israel to move out of its shell, break 
the Middle East stalemate, and create a new front against the real 
threats confronting it.  An elected Israeli government responds to 
the pressure by turning a blind eye.  It is its full right, of 
course, since it has a fresh mandate from the public.  But almost no 
one  -- in politics, the media, or public squares -- protests, cries 
out, or warns against what this indifference will bring Israel. 
 
¶V.  QTehranQs First QYes 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(4/16): QIt appears Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun treating the 
declarations of U.S. President Barack Obama as policy, and this is a 
substantive response to the new American strategy, coordinated with 
the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran and Washington 
are now forming a joint position on Iran's right to equal treatment 
and the need to lift all preconditions for negotiations.  This way 
Obama has adopted the demand for Qmutual respectQ that Iran has 
desired as the basic principle for negotiations.  However, the new 
public rhetoric is no alternative to negotiations. Obama's foreign 
policy prestige will face its greatest test in these negotiations. 
His conduct will determine the future of nuclear arms development 
and Iran's willingness to stabilize the conflicts in Afghanistan and 
Iraq, two issues that have become central to Obama's policies. 
 
VI.  QTwo States for Two Peoples 
 
Columnist Meir Gross wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe (4/16): QYes, there are two peoples in the Middle 
East -- the Jewish people and the Arab people.  There are 22 Arab 
states that share the same mentality, language, and religion.  There 
are many more Muslim states.  This means that the plan that the 
entire world is fervently embracing is calling for a redivision of 
the entire region between Jews and Arabs.  May I suggest that the 
Jews be generous and give up Morocco -- and even Algeria.  All the 
rest will be divided in equal parts between the two peoples in the 
region.  That agreement will bring peace to the region and perhaps 
to the entire world. 
CUNNINGHAM