VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0925/01 1171026
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271026Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1529
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 5332
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1921
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5846
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6142
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5371
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 3898
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6187
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2998
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1205
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9910
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7415
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2381
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6413
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8457
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1240
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 1895
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000925 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
On Friday leading media reported that Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton warned that Israel risks the loss of Arab support in efforts 
directed against Iran if it does not advance talks with the 
Palestinians. She reportedly said that the Arab nations stated that 
Israel's willingness to renew talks with Palestinians would 
strengthen their position in this effort.  Media later published 
denials of such an American linkage. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe 
YaQalon told the newspaper that, without a clear time frame and 
clear benchmarks, the dialogue that President Obama plans to hold 
with Iran will fail to stop the Islamic Republic from obtaining 
nuclear weapons.  YaQalon also said that Qthere is nothing to talk 
aboutQ with the PA unless it recognizes Israel as a Jewish state. 
Czech PM Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating 
presidency of the European Union, told HaQaretz that the EU 
Qunderestimates the Iranian threat.Q  HaQaretz quoted FM Avigdor 
Lieberman as saying in an interview with the Austrian daily Kleine 
Zeitung that Israel will not attack Iran even if the international 
sanctions against Tehran fail to convince President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad to give up his country's nuclear program.  "We are not 
talking about a military attack. Israel cannot resolve militarily 
the entire world's problem.  I propose that the United States, as 
the largest power in the world, take responsibility for resolving 
the Iranian question," Lieberman told the Austrian paper. 
 
Leading media quoted DM Ehud Barak as saying at SundayQs cabinet 
meeting that it is of "crucial strategic interest" for Israel to 
reach a settlement with Syria.  Lieberman said earlier on Sunday 
that he was willing to negotiate peace with Syria, but only if talks 
were held without preconditions.  Israel Radio quoted a senior 
Syrian official as saying that LiebermanQs terms amounted to 
unacceptable conditions. 
 
HaQaretz reported that construction has begun on new Jewish housing 
near Arab al-Suahara (southeast Jerusalem) with permission from the 
Jerusalem Municipality, which is one of the owners of the property. 
 
The media reported that Memorial Day events begin this afternoon 
with a ceremony at the Ammunition Hill battlefield in Jerusalem in 
the presence of PM Netanyahu.  Later in the day, President Shimon 
Peres will light a memorial flame at the Western Wall plaza.  The 
total number of those who have been remembered by this Memorial Day 
is 22,570.  The dead are counted date from 1860, when Jews first 
settled outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. 
 
 
HaQaretz and Israel Radio reported that JordanQs King Abdullah II 
urged President Obama to assume a more central role in the 
Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  He warned that a new war might 
break out in the Middle East if significant progress is not made in 
the next 18 months. 
 
On Friday HaQaretz reported that NetanyahuQs candidate for the 
Washington ambassadorship, Michael Oren, supports a unilateral 
Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and an evacuation of most of 
the settlements. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that the Defense 
Ministry has come up with a new route that gives BilQin villagers 
back 700 of the 1,700 dunams, or 170 hectares, that were set to be 
located on the QIsraeli sideQ of the barrier in the original 
proposal. 
 
Leading media quoted the Egyptian newspaper El-Aosboa as saying 
yesterday that an Iranian vessel laden with weapons bound for Gaza 
was torpedoed off the coast of Sudan last week, allegedly by Israeli 
or American forces operating in the area. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Education Minister Gideon SaQar 
(Likud) has put on hold a government plan aimed at fostering 
coexistence and tolerance between Jewish and Arab children, so he 
can further examine the issue.  The Jerusalem Post and other media 
also reported that an Interior Ministry panel has recommended 
unifying the settlement of Kedar with the city of MaQaleh Adumim. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Peace Now as saying that the decision was 
aimed at ensuring that Kedar would be included inside the security 
barrier. 
 
The media quoted Shin Bet as saying yesterday that Musa Tayet, a 
Palestinian apprehended two weeks ago, is responsible for murdering 
a 13-year-old boy in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin on April 
¶2. 
 
Leading media reported that today Gilad ShalitQs father Noam will 
travel to the U.S. and meet with senior administration leaders and 
Jewish community representatives. 
 
The media reported that on Thursday PM Netanyahu and Finance 
Minister Yuval Steinitz disclosed the principles of a five-point 
economic rescue plan to halt unemployment, cut taxes, and restore 
growth in the economy. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported on the 2009 Greensboro Interfaith Study 
Mission. 
 
All media reported that Israel is on alert for the swine flu, as a 
young Netanya man returned from Mexico on Friday with minor flu 
symptoms.  Major media reported that raising the alert level to 4, 
one below that of "pandemic," would likely obligate the GOI to 
transfer responsibility for containing the disease from the Health 
Ministry to the Defense Ministry, the only state body with the 
necessary logistical resources to handle a public health emergency 
on such a massive scale. 
 
Yediot reported that Tel Aviv University has awarded its prize for 
outstanding journalism to the newspaperQs chief economic editor 
Sever Plotker. 
 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: Q[At his meeting with the President,] Netanyahu is expected 
to accept the two-state solution principle with reservations. 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QI do not believe that Israel is going 
towards an overt confrontation with the United States.... But Israel 
is losing the special influence that it holds with the U.S. 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QAs an 
experienced diplomat and statesman, Netanyahu knows there is no free 
lunch in politics.  He should listen to [Secretary of State Hillary] 
Clinton and not come to Washington with empty hands. 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: QDespite their 
different approaches, Netanyahu is encouraged by Obama's realism, 
and it gives him hope that they will be able to develop a 
cooperative and understanding work relationship. 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: 
QThe Qregional peaceQ as a means to neutralize Iran has a much more 
serious competitor.  The United States needs Iran on its main front 
in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Race for a Plan" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (4/24): QPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to present 
his new political plan to President Barack Obama in the meeting 
scheduled between the two ... on May 18th.... The plan is expected 
to contain three sections: a political section, an economic section, 
and a security section.... [Foreign Minister] Lieberman plans on 
holding an extensive Qbrainstorming sessionQ in the Foreign Ministry 
in an effort to formulate new ideas for the peace process.  The plan 
will be coordinated with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who for his 
part hopes to reach a regional peace plan.  Both Netanyahu and 
Lieberman are interested in including Egypt and Jordan in a future 
regional settlement between Israel and its neighbors.  Netanyahu is 
expected to accept the two-state solution principle with 
reservations.  In a conversation behind closed doors Netanyahu said 
this week that he sees no problem in accepting the principle as long 
as it is clear that this means Qtwo states for two peoples,Q i.e., 
that it is evident that Israel accepts the Palestinian state as the 
state of the Palestinian people, while the Palestinians, for their 
part, accept Israel as a Jewish nation state.  Meanwhile, Israel is 
formulating security guidelines which it plans to coordinate with 
the Americans.  These are intended to be limitations placed on the 
Palestinian state that are deemed necessary for Israel's security 
interests.  This discussion is currently being held with the 
American representatives, among these representatives of General 
Dayton, who currently reside in Israel.... In the meantime, various 
press agencies reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent 
a harsh signal to the Netanyahu government yesterday and warned that 
the continued standstill in negotiations with the Palestinians could 
severely thwart Israel's efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear 
program. 
 
II.  "Second Wedding" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/24): QThe inflammatory statements of 
Lieberman and other ministers are putting Israel into a dangerous 
corner.  No, I do not believe that Israel is going towards an overt 
confrontation with the United States.  The headlines on this matter 
are exaggerated.  From talks I held in Washington last week, I did 
not receive the impression that the Obama administration was 
interested in such a confrontation.  It has enough trouble that have 
been imposed upon it, first of all in economic affairs, and then in 
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, in that order.  Obama will receive 
Netanyahu with all the conventional friendly gestures, and may throw 
in a clap on the back so that we can announce that there is 
chemistry.  But Israel is losing the special influence that it holds 
with the U.S.... A Palestinian state is not on the horizon.  The 
Americans also know this.  The debate on the two-state solution is 
not a burning issue now; it is not relevant.  However, those who 
reject it should ask themselves honestly: if not two states, what 
should it be.  What is the opposite of the two-state solution, one 
state?  Absolutely not, they say.  In one state there would not be a 
Jewish majority.  The opposite of the two-state solution is no 
solution.  No solution, that is the glue that binds together the 
Netanyahu government. 
 
III.  "No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/27): QThe 
international community, headed by President Obama, expects 
Netanyahu to continue to pursue the peace process that he inherited 
from Ehud Olmert, to freeze construction in the settlements and to 
ease living conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank and the 
Gaza Strip.  Arab states, which are committed to the Palestinian 
issue, will find it difficult to cooperate with an Israeli 
government that continues the occupation and opposes an agreement. 
 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Israel will lose 
the support of the West on the Iranian issue if it fails to advance 
peace with the Palestinians.  As an experienced diplomat and 
statesman, Netanyahu knows there is no free lunch in politics.  He 
should listen to Clinton and not come to Washington with empty 
hands.  Instead of demands and nay saying, which will be met by 
American opposition, he should convey a clear commitment to the 
two-state solution, support the Arab peace initiative as the basis 
of a regional agreement, halt settlement expansion, and engage in 
efforts to strengthen the Palestinian economy.  This is the only way 
that Netanyahu can mobilize the support of the international 
community for his main goal -- stopping the Iranian threat. 
 
IV.  "Diplomatic Foreplay" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz (4/24): 
QDespite their different approaches, Netanyahu is encouraged by 
Obama's realism, and it gives him hope that they will be able to 
develop a cooperative and understanding work relationship.  The 
Prime Minister admires the President's knack for leadership and his 
well-honed political instincts. He was especially impressed by 
Obama's interest in Israel's coalition politics, in their phone 
conversation following the swearing-in of the 18th Knesset, and by 
his desire to understand all of Netanyahu's considerations.  The 
Prime Minister construed this as understanding on Obama's part for 
the political constraints faced by a fellow leader, and as a hint 
that the President will not try to impose on him moves that would be 
too difficult to digest.... Netanyahu's demands are for the most 
part reflective of the consensus: saving Israel from the nuclear 
holocaust Iran is plotting, and having the Palestinians recognize 
Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.  On these 
matters, there is no opposition in Israel, apart from in the Arab 
parties, and it will be much easier for members of Congress to back 
Netanyahu on such issues.  It's easy to see why the Prime Minister 
is downplaying his positions on settlement construction, for 
instance, telling anyone who asks that the subject is under 
discussion.... Netanyahu is assuring people that the expectation 
that he'll have terrible relations with Obama will be disappointed. 
To realize his ideal scenario, he'll have to do more than present 
the president with a list of demands.  He'll have to give him 
something in return, too -- some verbal gesture in the direction of 
the Palestinians and the Arab initiative, or some kind of concrete 
step in the field.  But that's not something Netanyahu is about to 
reveal now, for fear he will be pressed to make further concessions 
ahead of the visit.  We'll have to wait for the decisions he makes 
after a QreassessmentQ of Israel's peace policy. 
 
¶V.  QGood Thing They Invented Iran 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz 
(4/26): QThere is no end to the list of new words and phrases 
invented for the diplomatic dictionary.  The latest gimmick is 
called Qregional peace.Q  It is based on the following formula: 
Israel and the Arab states have a common enemy called Iran.  In 
order to neutralize the Iranian threat, Israel will ultimately have 
to adopt the Arab peace initiative, and then something wondrous will 
happen -- a bloc of states will rally and face down the Iranian 
nuclear threat.... But the Qregional peaceQ as a means to neutralize 
Iran has a much more serious competitor.  The United States needs 
Iran on its main front in Afghanistan and Pakistan.... Ideally, 
Iran, not Pakistan, should serve as a corridor for supplies 
delivered by NATO into Afghanistan.  Afghanistan and Iraq are the 
dowry Iran is offering to the United States.  It's hard to fathom 
that the U.S. will agree to halt the thaw in its ties with Iran, 
whether regional peace materializes between Israel and the Arab 
states or not.  The pretext for peace with the Arab world does not 
abut [IranQs] Alborz Mountains.  Regional peace is vital for Israel 
to become a normal country not apprehensive about conventional 
threats; this is the same reason it forged peace agreements with 
Egypt and Jordan.  Even a goal more modest than forming a regional 
alliance in the Middle East will be welcomed with open arms.  There 
is no need to brandish Iran as an excuse. 
 
CUNNINGHAM