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P 071007Z MAY 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001014 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  NPT Issues 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio quoted: Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair as 
saying that the U.S. administration is working on a new strategy for 
talks between Israel and the Palestinians and this would probably be 
presented in about six weeks.  Blair was quoted as saying that the 
plan was inspired hope because the most senior officials in both the 
Obama administration and the international community were working on 
it. 
 
Leading media reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to 
upgrade the diplomatic role of moderate Arab states.  Israel Radio 
reported that he will refuse to address the two-state issue during 
his meeting with President Obama.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
the GOI is keeping mum about an alleged new Arab initiative. 
HaQaretz quoted PA President Mahmoud Abbas as saying yesterday that 
he and his Egyptian counterpart planned to present the Obama 
administration with a complete formula for resolving the Middle East 
conflict.  According to HaQaretz, the PA and several Arab states are 
developing a plan to be submitted to President Obama that would 
provide for gestures to Israel in return for Israeli concessions to 
the Palestinians. The plan is designed to show Arab flexibility in 
the face of what they view as anticipated intransigence on the part 
of PM Benjamin Netanyahu.  HaQaretz quoted Palestinian sources in 
Ramallah as saying yesterday that they expect the Obama 
administration to force a new peace plan of its own on Israel and 
the Palestinians next month, which would be developed in 
consultation with the parties to the conflict but not necessarily 
with their agreement.  The sources were quoted as saying that the 
American plan would, however, have the support of the other Quartet 
members.  It would deal with a final settlement of the Arab-Israeli 
conflict, including relations with Syria and Lebanon. It would also 
mention the establishment of full diplomatic relations between 
Israel and Arab states.  A senior Palestinian official, Yasser Abed 
Rabbo, told HaQaretz by phone from Jordan on Wednesday that the 
Palestinians believe the Americans are determined to pursue peace in 
the Middle East.  HaQaretz quoted an informed source as saying that 
the Palestinians are interested in bringing the Arab countries into 
the negotiations as a "third party," in anticipation that it would 
strengthen the Palestinian position vis-a-vis the United States. 
Israel Radio quoted Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa as 
saying that, contrary to media reports yesterday, there will be no 
amendments to the Arab Peace Initiative. 
 
Electronic media reported that last night an IDF soldier was killed 
in the West Bank town of Bir Zeit, north of Ramallah.  The 
circumstances of the case are still unclear.  All media reported 
that IDF soldiers killed a Palestinian man last night near the Tomb 
of the Patriarchs in Hebron.  Earlier yesterday the IAF bombed three 
tunnels used for smuggling along the Gaza-Egypt border, injuring 
four people. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday President Shimon Peres told UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York that the UN report on 
Operation Cast Lead was one-sided.  Peres also criticized BanQs 
behavior during the Durban II conference.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
Peres as saying after his meeting with Ban: QWe donQt think we have 
to apologize because we have the right to defend the lives of our 
children and women.Q  The Post reported that he later added that the 
American army checked IsraelQs actions and found no violation of 
laws of war.  Israel Radio also quoted Peres as saying last night 
that if the talks failed between Washington and Tehran over the 
Iranian nuclear matter, there were other options.  Peres made the 
statement in the course of a meeting of the Conference of Presidents 
of Major Jewish Organizations in New York. 
 
Maariv cited IsraelQs worry about ChinaQs sales of missiles -- 
clones of the Russian S300 systems -- which might threat Israeli air 
superiority and hinder an attack on Iranian nuclear installations. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials as saying that the U.S. 
comment on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was not part of the 
new U.S. policy on Iran.  All media cited a restricted International 
Atomic Energy Agency report published yesterday that traces of 
enriched uranium were found during an environmental sample swipe 
near the Inshas nuclear research site in Egypt.  The material can be 
used for the production of nuclear weapons, but the quantity in 
which the particles were found would have been insufficient for 
that. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, as saying yesterday that the U.S. has 
stepped back from the notion of Qregime changeQ in Iran. 
 
HaQaretz reported that West Bank construction has been accelerating 
for several months, putting Israel on a collision course with a U.S. 
administration taking a hard line on settlement expansion. 
 
HaQaretz and Israel Radio reported that Regional Development 
Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud) will accompany Tony Blair to the 
Jenin industrial zone, to assist speeding up works in the area. 
Shalom and Blair are expected to attend the opening of the new 
Israeli-Palestinian chamber of commerce later this month, along with 
Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad.  HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu has 
instructed the defense establishment to transfer 50 million shekels 
(around $12.5 million) in banknotes to banks in Gaza in order to pay 
salaries and attend to current banking needs. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited IsraelQs concern about the rapid 
U.S.-Syria rapprochement. 
 
Steve Rosen, he former foreign policy chief for AIPAC who was 
charged with illegally disclosing classified information, was quoted 
as saying in an interview with Channel 10-TV that ulterior motives 
against QJews, Israel, and AIPACQ were behind the case against him. 
 
Yediot called the USAF bombing of a village in Afghanistan, in which 
around 100 died, QKafr Qana, the U.S. versionQ Q a reference to the 
IDFQs accidental killings of civilians in Lebanon. 
 
The media reported that the Treasury is preparing a plan of cuts 
that will affect the low-income public.  Some cabinet ministers are 
opposed to the cuts.  Maariv wrote that the Qold BibiQ is back. 
 
All media cited the State ComptrollerQs annual report, which was 
issued yesterday:  The report contains particularly severe criticism 
of the Agriculture Ministry (which reportedly allowed the sale of 
arsenic-tainted poultry), the health and education systems, police 
and transportation authorities. 
 
HaQaretz quoted El AlQs CEO Haim Romano as saying that the number of 
business travelers from Israel to the U.S. has fallen by 30% in the 
past six months. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Israel Airports Authority is negotiating 
to buy advanced X-ray machines from General Electric for Ben-Gurion 
Airport. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: QIf Netanyahu and Mubarak agree at Sharm el-Sheikh that 
they intend to stop Iran and build Palestine, we can reasonably 
assume they will find a partner in Obama.  If that happens, the 
three leaders will provide the Middle East with a new, correct and 
realistic agenda. 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Nation Building for Palestine" 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(5/7): QMissing now is a new diplomatic concept that weaves all the 
good news together with one scarlet thread.  Missing is a new 
strategic idea that will provide a common horizon for moderate Arabs 
and moderate Israelis.  This idea could be [Tony] Blair's: nation 
building -- an ambitious international project of Americans, 
Europeans, Japanese, Egyptians, Jordanians, Saudis, residents of the 
Gulf emirates, Palestinians, and Israelis that will build the 
Palestinian nation from the foundations.  The idea of nation 
building is not a substitute for the two-state concept; it 
complements it. It is designed to turn an impractical dream of peace 
into a serious work plan, which in the end will make the dream come 
true.  The idea is meant to build the Palestinian state properly, 
over time, from the bottom up.  It is capable of consolidating the 
coalition of the Middle East's sane nations around one mission and 
one vision.  The chances are good that the United States will be 
attentive to Blair's vision. U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy 
in Iraq is nation building.  Obama's strategy in Afghanistan is 
nation building.  There is no reason why his strategy in Palestine 
should not be nation building.  If Netanyahu and Mubarak agree at 
Sharm el-Sheikh that they intend to stop Iran and build Palestine, 
we can reasonably assume they will find a partner in Obama.  If that 
happens, the three leaders will provide the Middle East with a new, 
correct and realistic agenda. 
 
--------------- 
¶2.  NPT Issues: 
--------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: QPresident Barack Obama, who has committed in 
every possible forum to preserve Israel's security, does not intend 
to Qclose DimonaQ while Iran threatens to wipe Israel from the 
map.... [But] as far as the Americans will progress in talks with 
Iran, demands will almost certainly arise for a full 
denuclearization of the region. 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QA signal is one thing, 
but the strategic alliance between the two states will still be in 
place two weeks from now. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Dimona in Exchange for Natanz?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/7): QPresident Barack Obama, who has 
committed in every possible forum to preserve Israel's security, 
does not intend to Qclose DimonaQ while Iran threatens to wipe 
Israel from the map.  There is no reason to panic, but it must be 
understood that, unlike his predecessor, the current president 
intends to strengthen nuclear monitoring around the world, and 
Israel will be asked to contribute to this overall effort.... U.S. 
nuclear policy has long demonstrated a kind of split personality. 
Washington's public declarations urge universal compliance with the 
NPT.  This was the spirit in which Tuesday's remarks were made (and 
occasional others like it in the past).  But Israeli experts noticed 
a softer tone this time -- Israel and its fellow QrefuseniksQ were 
not called on to sign the treaty and relinquish their nuclear 
capabilities, but simply to QadhereQ to the document, a seemingly 
less threatening phrase.... As far as the Americans will progress in 
talks with Iran, demands will almost certainly arise for a full 
denuclearization of the region.  In other words: QDimona for [IranQs 
nuclear reactor at] Natanz. 
 
II.  "ItQs Not Nuclear" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/7): Q[At every first 
meeting between a new American president and an Israeli prime 
minister,] each proclaims the text provided by the script: The 
United States will continue to protect IsraelQs right to maintain 
ambiguity in everything concerning its nuclear capabilities and not 
allow any international organization to demand that it reveal what 
it has, according to international reports.  ThatQs what the 
President will say. The Israeli guest will thank his host for this 
approach and add that Israel will not deviate from the policy as 
agreed with the U.S.  This pattern of understanding between Israel 
and the U.S. owes its origin to an agreement between Prime Minister 
Golda Meir and President Richard Nixon.  The American approach is 
that as long as Israel must deal with a hostile environment and its 
neighborsQ intentions to destroy it, it must be able to defend 
itself and deter them.  In recent years efforts were made by some in 
the administration to change the rules on this sensitive matter, but 
the White House removed the issue from its agenda -- until two days 
ago... One [Israeli cabinet] minister supported the assumption that 
the Obama administration was sending Israel a message as part of the 
harsh signals being sent in advance of NetanyahuQs visit.... Most 
decision-makers in Israel are still convinced that the ritual of the 
meeting between the American president and Israeli prime minister 
will repeat itself.  A signal is one thing, but the strategic 
alliance between the two states will still be in place two weeks 
from now.  QNothing fundamental has changed in the regional map or 
in the map of 
the threats to Israel,Q said [an unnamed] former prime minister 
yesterday. 
 
CUNNINGHAM