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P 110959Z JUN 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001262 
 
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.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
HaQaretz quoted sources close to PM Benjamin Netanyahu as saying 
that he will announce in his foreign policy speech scheduled for 
Sunday the adoption of the Roadmap and the "two-state solution" for 
settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.  The sources said the 
speech will "revolve around the Roadmap."  Netanyahu will present a 
few conditions for the implementation of the Roadmap, above all a 
Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish 
people.  He will also demand that the future Palestinian state be 
demilitarized.  The prime minister will reportedly propose the 
immediate renewal of negotiations with the PA on the basis of a 
formula that will allow for self-government as long as the 
Palestinians do not endanger Israel.  In his speech at Bar-Ilan 
University, near Tel Aviv -- a bastion of Israel's 
national-religious movement -- Netanyahu will discuss at length the 
opportunity that has been created for cooperation between Israel and 
the Arab states in light of shared concerns about Iran's nuclear 
program.  Netanyahu will reportedly propose a regional process in 
which Arab states will initiate the normalization of ties with 
Israel, parallel to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.   In 
recent days, Netanyahu has asked his aides to collect data on the 
settlements.  HaQaretz quoted sources close to the PM as saying that 
Netanyahu will not announce during his speech a freeze on 
construction in the settlements, as the U.S. has insisted Israel 
must do.  Netanyahu will reportedly declare that the settlements in 
the West Bank are not an obstacle to peace. 
 
All media reported that Likud Knesset members that Netanyahu met in 
his office yesterday pleaded with him not to utter the catchphrase 
Qtwo states for two peoplesQ when he delivers his policy address. 
Cabinet minister Benny Begin declared at the meeting that Qif the 
only solution is two states for two peoples, then there is no 
solution.Q  He denied statements from Egyptian President Hosni 
Mubarak that he had already decided to endorse the formation of a 
Palestinian state in the speech.  However, The Jerusalem Post 
reported that he hinted that he would use the threat of a nuclear 
Iran to justify additional steps to meet President ObamaQs demands. 
 
HaQaretz quoted a Jerusalem source as saying that the talks between 
Netanyahu and U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell "resulted in a 
great deal of progress," as a consequence of the more flexible 
proposals put forth by Netanyahu on the settlements.  HaQaretz 
reported that a senior Washington source confirmed that progress had 
been achieved, but stressed that "our position on the need to cease 
settlement construction has not been altered at all.  The talks were 
good and we will continue in a few days."  NetanyahuQs bureau 
refused to comment.  Yediot reported that the U.S. administration is 
trying to convince Israel and the Palestinians to reach 
understandings in principle regarding land exchanges that would 
allow Israel to continue building in settlement blocs.  According to 
Yediot, Mitchell suggested that Israel retain the settlement blocs 
and hand over land within the Green Line to the Palestinians 
encompassing the same area as the blocs.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
Mitchell as sayng after his talks with opposition leader Tzipi Livni 
yesterday that peace for Israel includes Syria and Lebanon. 
 
All media reported that yesterday James Von Brunn, an 89-year-old 
linked to an anti-Semitic Web site, opened fire with a rifle inside 
WashingtonQs crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, killing a 
security guard before being shot and wounded.   Media quoted 
President Obama on Wednesday as saying he was "shocked and saddened" 
by the fatal shooting attack.   "This outrageous act reminds us that 
we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all 
its forms," Obama said at the White House. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday High Court 
of Justice President Dorit Beinisch sharply criticized the state for 
not having dismantled the unauthorized West Bank outposts of Harsha 
and Hayovel.  "We have heard about demolition orders for years," she 
said, "and nothing has happened."  Beinisch's comments came at a 
hearing by the Court on a 2005 petition by Peace Now. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) has 
instructed ministry employees to nix a master plan for Jerusalem on 
the grounds that it allocates too much territory to Palestinian 
construction. 
 
Leading media reported that PA officials expressed deep satisfaction 
with the talks they held yesterday with Special Envoy Mitchell, 
saying that the new administration of President Obama was Qone of 
the friendliest in decades.Q  HaQaretz quoted senior Palestinian 
negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying yesterday that the Palestinians are 
in a position of strength vis-a-vis Israel for the first time in 
their history.  Speaking to the BBC, Erekat said American pressure 
on Israel would probably succeed and move the peace process forward. 
 HaQaretz quoted sources close to Palestinian President Mahmoud 
Abbas as saying that the Obama administration has shifted the 
Mideast agenda, taking a tough position on settlements. Senior 
Palestinian officials add that even American Jewish organizations 
are unwilling to take a strong stance to defend Israel on the issue. 
 HaQaretz quoted Mitchell as saying after his meeting with President 
Abbas that the United States hoped negotiations on a final peace 
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would begin 
immediately, leading to an "early conclusion" of talks. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that an Israeli defense source told the 
newspaper yesterday: QIf you pay attention, there is a catch.  The 
U.S. is conditioning the opening of crossings on coordination 
between Israel and the Palestinians.Q  The source was responding to 
U.S. pressure to reopen the crossings. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that senior Hamas member Salah 
Albardawil told the paper that if his movementQs conditions are met 
and a Palestinian state is established, it will recognize Israel. 
HaQaretz reported that this week the Foreign Ministry sent Peace Now 
Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer to a meeting with senior 
Egyptian journalists.  FM Avigdor Lieberman was not informed about 
this. 
 
Media quoted the Web site of HizbullahQs Al Manar-TV as saying that 
yesterday at Beirut Airport Lebanese authorities arrested two 
Israeli Arab sisters in their sixties. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli and Georgian officials as saying 
yesterday that Israel has QdiminishedQ its military sales to Georgia 
follwing Russian pressure on Jerusalem. 
 
Maariv cite an index put out by the consulting firm ECA 
Intrnational ranking Tel Aviv as more expensive than ew York and 
Washington for foreign visitors. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Reaching Out to Islam" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/11): 
QNetanyahu, who is very well-acquainted with the way the American 
administration works, knows this time around the evasive tricks 
aren't going to help.... Netanyahu can embrace Obama's style and 
alongside his policy extend a hand for reconciliation -- 
reconciliation with the Palestinians, reconciliation with the Arabs 
in Israel who have absorbed QloyalQ blows from the partners in his 
government, and reconciliation with the Muslim world, which is 
anxiously watching Israel's attempt to take over the city that is 
holy to three faiths.  The Premier's rhetorical skills do not need 
proving.  This time they can serve him as a tool of statesmanship 
that could bring about a new atmosphere and plant hope similar to 
the hope instilled by Obama's speech. 
 
II.  "The Way to Build Lack of Trust" 
 
Liberal columnist Uzi Benziman wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (6/11): QWhether reports about the influence of [President 
ObamaQs aides David] Axelrod and [Rahm] Emanuel are correct or 
false, what is the diplomatic logic in sullying them as enemies of 
Israel?  WhatQs the object of labeling the President as someone who 
bluntly intervenes in the Jewish stateQs affairs?  In the upcoming 
period, Netanyahu and his bureau will have to conduct correct 
working relations with the White House staff and perhaps earn their 
good will.  It was proven his week that Netanyahu surrounds himself 
with not particularly successful advisers. 
 
III.  "The Seven-Word Formula" 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in Ha'aretz (6/11): QNetanyahu must make 
a grand statement [in his policy speech] on Sunday.  He must say 
words of substance and truth.... On the one hand, the Prime Minister 
must accept the two-state idea. There is no other way.  On the other 
hand, he must remove its inherent dangers.  Netanyahu must summarize 
this complexity in one brief phrase that everyone can understand and 
that will clearly reinforce the Israeli peace concept.  This is the 
phrase: a two nation-state solution.  In detail: a demilitarized 
Palestine alongside a Jewish Israel.  No more than seven words.  But 
seven words that encompass everything. Seven words that transfer the 
onus from Israel to the Palestinians.  Seven words that shift the 
burden of proof from Benjamin Netanyahu to Barack Obama.  Anyone who 
accepts these seven words is saying that he intends to end the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a responsible manner.  Anyone who 
rejects them reveals he is hostile to Israel and is not really 
committed to its security and existence. 
 
IV.  "Mashal Is Waiting for Netanyahu" 
 
Former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/11): Q[Hamas leader Khaled Mashal] will 
attentively listen to the Prime MinisterQs speech in order to 
understand what Israel intends to do about Gaza over the next 
months.... Make no mistake: Hamas wonQt adopt the three conditions 
of Obama and Israel soon. Not now, but this will come.  During his 
European tour, Obama very justly said that Israel is one of the 
strongest countries in the world.  He also expects it to behave as 
such -- sure of itself and its strength, without penetrating its 
daily existence too deeply.... Mashal already said Qtwo states.Q  He 
is not interested in Netanyahu making similar comments.  What 
Netanyahu will say about the continuation of his policy in Gaza and 
vis-a-vis Hamas will strongly influence what Mashal will understand 
and do. 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Moussavi Is Bad for Israel" 
 
Soli Shahvar, an Iranian affairs expert from Haifa University, wrote 
in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/11): QMany 
people will feel relieved if [Mor-] Hossein Moussavi is elected 
president of Iran tomorrow. There can be no doubt that Israel is 
interested to see a liberal, less hostile regime in Iran.  But, in 
view of the regimeQs structure and its determination to obtain 
nuclear weapons, it is likely that AhmadinejadQs election -- 
resulting in the continuation of domestic popular embitterment and a 
tough foreign policy stance -- would be better for Israel. 
 
CUNNINGHAM