VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1873/01 2391030
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271030Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3190
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 5871
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 2449
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 6455
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6682
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5927
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 4543
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6768
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3549
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1764
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 0439
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7952
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2955
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6944
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8996
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1768
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 2666
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001873 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Major media reported that yesterday PM Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed 
PA President Mahmoud AbbasQs willingness to meet with him in New 
York in late September. 
 
The media reported that yesterday Netanyahu and U.S. Special Envoy 
for Middle East Peace George Mitchell released a joint statement in 
London, saying that they Qhad a very productive meeting today where 
the full range of issues was discussed.Q  HaQaretz reported that 
Netanyahu presented a proposal for resolving the ongoing 
Israeli-American dispute over construction in the settlements. 
Leading media reported that, in a meeting with Mitchell, Netanyahu 
suggested a temporary freeze, reportedly for nine months, on 
construction in the West Bank.  HaQaretz reported that, as agreed 
upon in the joint statement, the Americans are slated to respond to 
Netanyahu's proposal at a meeting in Washington next week between 
Mitchell and two Israeli officials: Netanyahu's envoy, attorney 
Yitzhak Molcho, and DM Ehud Barak's chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Mike 
Herzog.  Israel Radio quoted a Washington official as saying that 
Barak himself will lead the Israeli delegation.  According to 
HaQaretz, Mitchell himself will return to Jerusalem in the second 
week of September with the goal of finalizing an agreement, as the 
new Israeli proposal will exclude some 2,500 housing units on which 
construction has already started.  Additionally, in special cases 
where it is necessary to keep "normal life" Netanyahu wants to be 
able to erect public buildings in the settlements -- mainly 
kindergartens and schools.  Finally, HaQaretz said that Israel wants 
the freeze to have a clear "exit plan."  In Israel's view, the 
freeze is a confidence-building measure that must be matched by 
reciprocal steps from the PA and Arab states.  If these fail to 
materialize, Israel wants an American guarantee that it will not 
oppose renewed building.   HaQaretz reported that Mitchell has 
recognized the fact that Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement 
freeze in East Jerusalem.  The officials were quoted as saying that 
the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but that it would 
not demand that Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze. 
 
The media reported that positive developments on a prisoner exchange 
for Gilad Shalit continued to emerge yesterday with news that Ahmed 
Jabari, the Gaza head of Hamas's military wing, had arrived in Cairo 
in recent days for talks on a prisoner swap.  Jabari, who was 
accompanied by top Hamas figure Mahmoud Zahar and two other 
advisers, is considered the leading Hamas figure on prisoner 
exchange talks.  Israel Radio quoted senior Hamas official Ismail 
Haniyeh as saying that a prisoner exchange deal is closer than ever. 
 The radio and other media cited contradictory statements by Hamas 
officials.  The media reported that Israeli negotiator Haggai Hadas 
met yesterday with relatives of the captive soldier to update them 
on recent developments in the negotiations.  After meeting with 
Hadas, Noam Shalit, the soldier's father, told HaQaretz: "There are 
no updates or developments other than what we're hearing in the 
media."  On press reports that a prisoner exchange could be sealed 
in the coming weeks, Noam Shalit said, "That's all speculation." 
Yediot quoted German sources involved with the exchange proposal as 
saying that it will take place within two months. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the PAQs chief Islamic judge, Sheikh 
Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, as saying yesterday that there was no evidence 
to back up claims that Jews had ever lived in Jerusalem or that the 
Temple ever existed. 
 
All media devoted lengthy articles to the life and times of the late 
Senator Edward M. Kennedy. 
 
Maariv reported that 118 non-aligned nations sent a letter to the 
International Atomic Energy Agency, calling it to discuss at its 
General Conference in September an Iranian proposal that would 
prevent an attack on IranQs nuclear installations. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair is 
accusing Israel of obstructing one of the West Bank's most important 
economic projects, even as Netanyahu outlines his economic peace 
vision abroad.  Blair joined the PA in accusing Israel of violating 
the agreement to allocate frequencies to operate the Palestinians' 
second cellular phone company in the West Bank, Wataniya Mobile. 
The company has threatened to pull out of the deal.  Blair wrote in 
a Quartet document that if Israel delays releasing the frequencies 
any further, Wataniya Mobile's $700 million investment in the West 
Bank could go down the drain and other investors could be deterred. 
 
Leading media quoted LebanonQs PM-designate Saad Hariri as saying on 
Tuesday that he wants to Qaffirm to the Israeli enemy that Hizbullah 
will be in this government whether the enemy wants it or not. 
 
Yediot reported that the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) 
will send a delegation to a plant of the Israeli pharmaceutical 
company Taro in Haifa to check its quality and production lines, in 
order to make sure that IndiaQs Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is not 
involved in the plantQs management.  (Sun is trying to take over 
Taro.)  Caraco, a U.S. subsidiary of Sun, was closed down around a 
month ago following an FDA claim that it found serious defaults in 
CaracoQs production line and the drugs it manufactured. 
 
Yediot reported that Israel Electric Corporation is willing to pay 
EMG, an Israeli-Egyptian company, an extra $1.5 billion to buy 
natural gas.  Yediot cited the anger of the competing company Delek, 
which says that Israel Electric has yielded to the Egyptians. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that New York CityQs 92nd Street QY 
aims to give children of expatriates a better sense of 
QIsraeliness. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "An Obstructing Condition" 
 
Mati Steinberg, who teaches at the Hebrew University and the 
Interdisciplinary Center, and is an advisor to Shin Bet, wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (8/27): QIn his attempt to 
explain why Israel should demand the Palestinians recognize Israel 
as a Jewish state (The Palestinian position is important, HaQaretz, 
Aug. 20), Prof. Shlomo Avineri presents the Palestinian positions as 
though they have not changed since November 1947 when they rejected 
the United Nations' Partition Plan.  This is not so.  In 1988 the 
Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the 
Palestinian Declaration of Independence, basing it on the principle 
of partition and citing the 1947 U.N. resolution about the 
establishment of a Jewish state alongside an Arab one.  That led to 
the PLO's recognition of United Nations Security Council Resolution 
242 of 1967.  In 1993 the Israeli Government and the PLO declared 
their mutual recognition of each other's legitimate and political 
rights.... It is no coincidence that the first demand to recognize 
Israel as a Jewish state was officially presented when the Sharon 
government commented on the Roadmap.  The more the Palestinian side 
adapted to the rules of international law and agreed to recognize 
QIsrael's right to exist in peace and securityQ (as the Roadmap 
stipulates) so grew Israel's need to present additional demands. 
This need increased still more after the Arabs launched their peace 
initiative.... The Israeli demand will foil the prospects for a 
settlement and in an area that is bi-national and with 
two-religions, will present a real danger to Israel's Jewish 
character. 
 
II.  "Criticism Is Power" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (8/27): QNetanyahu had three basic arguments 
against Breaking the Silence, [an Israeli group that denounced 
alleged IDF abuse during Operation Cast Lead].  The organization 
operates in Israel, the only democracy in the region, which is 
blessed with a legal system that investigates even the IDF without 
favoritism; the organization is funded by foreign countries, 
including that of his host, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown 
(Netanyahu did not say whether he had asked Brown to discontinue the 
funding, and if so what Brown's response was); and it does not 
direct its criticism at those who deserve it, namely the Hamas 
government in Gaza and other regimes in the Middle East.  By placing 
Israel on the same moral plane as Hamas and regimes in the Arab 
countries and Iran, Netanyahu unjustly denigrated Israeli democracy. 
 The strength of a nation depends not only on its ability to fight 
its enemies, but also on its willingness to listen to critical 
voices from within.... In the dictatorial regimes that Netanyahu 
condemns there are no organizations like Breaking the Silence, and 
anyone who questions the wisdom of the government is punished.  It 
is hard to believe the Prime Minister envies the power of other 
rulers in the region to silence their critics.  If that is how our 
most fluent speaker sounds, it's a shame that he broke his 
silence. 
 
III.  "De-Facto Deliberations" 
 
Former Legal Adviser to the Foreign Ministry and former Ambassador 
to Canada Alan Baker, who participated in the negotiation and 
drafting of the Interim Agreement between Israel and the PLO, wrote 
in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (8/27): QAccording 
to [Article XXXI of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement 
on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip], QNeither side shall initiate 
or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and 
the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent-status 
negotiations.Q  Clearly this vital provision places a reciprocal and 
parallel obligation on each of the parties -- the PLO and Israel -- 
not to unilaterally alter the status of the territories until such 
change is mutually agreed upon.  The intention of the parties during 
the negotiations was clear -- the Palestinian side will not declare 
a unilateral state, and the Israelis will not declare annexation.... 
Why is there a need to present [a unilateral proclamation of 
Palestinian independence in 2011] as if it is done deliberately 
behind Israel's back?  [Palestinian Prime Minister Salam] Fayyad's 
plan, if it is to be taken seriously by all involved, could and 
should be structured to function within the existing and agreed-upon 
framework of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, rather than to 
attempt to undermine that framework and thereby open up a Pandora's 
Box.  It could serve as a refreshing opportunity and reason for 
Israeli and Palestinian teams to return to the negotiating table and 
work out a pragmatic way of moving forward toward the 
permanent-status agreement. 
 
IV.  "Pulp Journalism" 
 
Far left columnist Gideon Levy wrote in Ha'aretz (8/27): QThe task 
of serious journalism is to document, investigate and prove -- not 
to call on others to investigate, as the Swedish tabloid 
[Aftonbladet] did.  One may, for example, accuse the Swedish 
reporter of a crime, writing that he rapes little boys or girls, all 
based on suspicions and rumors, and call on the Swedish police to 
investigate.  That's what the reporter did with his claims of 
trafficking in Palestinian organs.... The Israeli occupation is ugly 
enough without the contribution of Nordic fairy tales.  Its wrongs 
are abominable even without exaggerations and inventions.  We, a 
small group of Israeli journalists trying to document the 
occupation, always knew that we must not publish an unfounded 
report.  One mistake and the whole journalistic enterprise would 
fall into the hands of official propaganda, which automatically 
denies all suspicions and is just waiting for a mistake.... Now all 
serious researchers, journalists and human rights groups have to 
prove the accuracy of their findings.  The truth is that the 
occupation is very evil, even if not in the way Aftonbladet 
presented it. 
 
¶V.  QItQs Open Season on Israel 
 
Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in HaQaretz (8/27): QOnly due to 
the uproar that [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman fomented did 
the public become aware of the anti-Israel zealotry of many ... 
nongovernmental organizations, which are financed, inter alia, by 
donations from Arab oil powers, huge western foundations like the 
Ford Foundation, countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, and 
Switzerland, and the European Union.... Words, screamed Peace Now 
earlier this week, can kill.  That is true.  And what about the 
millions of words denouncing Israel that this organization, and 
others like it, export overseas, where they serve as weapons of 
propaganda against Israel?.... This ongoing, organized, global and 
completely unbridled campaign of demonization is liable (and who 
should know better than we?) to end in a new license for genocide -- 
against us. 
 
VI.  QThe Zionist LeftQs Red Lines 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post (8/27): 
QThere's a lot I agree with, a lot I identify with, in Neve Gordon's 
recent Los Angeles Times op-ed QBoycott Israel.Q  Like the 
Ben-Gurion University professor, I realize that Israel has become so 
right-wing that it's not going to end the occupation on its own. 
While I haven't lost all hope, as he has, that the Obama 
administration will force Israel's hand, I can't help seeing that 
Barack Obama and his team are wilting by the day.  Like Gordon, I 
look at my two sons and dread the future that's waiting for them in 
this country unless there's a radical change, which is seeming more 
and more unlikely.  But while I pretty much go along with his 
reading of where things stand, I want nothing to do with the 
solution he's chosen -- throwing in with the 
Palestinian/international campaign for boycott, divestment, and 
sanctions (BDS) against Israel.  By doing so, he's joining a 
movement that is not out to Qsave Israel from itself,Q as he writes, 
but one that simply hates Israel's guts, that sees it as 100 percent 
guilty and the Palestinians as 100% innocent.  He's standing up for 
a cause that's rotten and destructive.... Joining a movement that 
advertises its thoroughgoing malice for Israel, and that means to 
wreck it, is dishonorable. 
CUNNINGHAM