VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1980/01 2521101
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091101Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3353
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 5926
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 2503
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 6515
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6736
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5982
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 4605
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6828
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3603
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1819
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 0493
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 8006
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 3012
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6998
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 9051
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1822
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 2733
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001980 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All major media bannered copies of the first letter sent by Gilad 
Shalit in captivity in September or October 2006, two or three 
months after he was abducted.  In the missive, Shalit complained of 
physical and mental hardships and asked the then Israeli leadership 
for quick action towards his release.  Some media wondered why the 
Shalit family decided to divulge the contents of the letter at this 
point.  Israel Radio cited the official Chinese news agency Xinhua 
as saying yesterday that a Norwegian defense representative met last 
week with Hamas representatives to discuss the possibility that his 
countries -- and other European states -- would take in prisoners 
released by Israel in exchange for Shalit.  The report allegedly 
state that NorwayQs contacts with Hamas started after Germany became 
involved in the mediation efforts, and that they dealt with the 
number of prisoners to be deported to Europe. 
 
The media speculated on the reason behind a 14-hour QholeQ in PM 
Benjamin NetanyahuQs schedule on Monday.  Refuting claims in the 
Arab press that were relayed in some Israeli media that he had 
visited Arab states, Yediot revealed that Netanyahu made a secret 
visit to Russia, possibly to discuss sensitive Russian arms sales to 
Iran or Syria.  HaQaretz and other media cited press agency reports 
saying that yesterday Russian FM Sergey Lavrov rejected speculation 
that the QArctic Sea,Q a hijacked Russian-crewed freighter, was 
carrying advanced S-300 missiles possibly destined for Iran. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Husam Zaki 
as saying that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not discuss the 
Shalit affair during his meeting with PM Netanyahu on Sunday.  Zaki 
also reportedly said that Egypt does not condition NetanyahuQs visit 
on a freeze in settlement construction and that the meeting should 
not be viewed as an encouragement of continued construction. 
 
Israel Radio reported that, during a meeting with incoming U.S. 
Consul-General in Jerusalem Daniel Rubinstein, PA President Mahmoud 
Abbas urged the U.S. to continue its efforts to put an end to 
violations of the Roadmap. 
 
Yediot reported that one third of the KnessetQs Likud faction 
members are expected to take part in a meeting today that is 
intended to apply pressure on the PM on the issue of settlement 
construction.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that at least four 
Likud cabinet ministers will attend the session.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that far-Right Likud activist Moshe Feiglin will be 
prevented from speaking at the event.  Speaking on Israel Radio from 
Abuja, Nigeria, yesterday, FM Avigdor Lieberman said that the Right 
would not bring down the government and that his party, Yisrael 
Beiteinu, would not leave NetanyahuQs coalition in the face of the 
anticipated freeze on new building in the West Bank. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that a group of public 
figures on the Left will launch an initiative in upcoming weeks to 
support PM Benjamin NetanyahuQs efforts to advance the peace 
process.  The group includes former ministers Ami Ayalon and Amnon 
Lipkin-Shahak, former deputy minister Dalia Rabin, former Foreign 
Ministry Director-General Avi Gil, former IAF commander Maj.-Gen. 
(res.) Eliezer Shkedy, and former Shin Bet chief Ya'acov Perry. They 
are seeking more public figures to join the campaign.  The 
initiative, called Blue and White Peace, will try to persuade the 
public, via advertising, press interviews and parlor meetings, that 
creating a Palestinian state and pursuing the diplomatic process 
with the Palestinians and Arab countries is in Israel's interest. 
The organizers said the goal of the campaign was not to strengthen 
Netanyahu personally, but to persuade him that the public was behind 
whatever he would do to advance the diplomatic process. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers 
(R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, 
told the newspaper yesterday that the U.S. administration needs to 
stick to its stated September deadline for stricter sanctions 
against Iran if the latter fails to offer a substantive response on 
engagement over its nuclear program.  Rogers, a former FBI agent, 
was interviewed on the sidelines of the 9th Annual International 
Institute of Counter-Terrorism Conference at the Interdisciplinary 
Center in Herzliya. 
 
Leading media reported that Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu called off a 
planned trip to Israel because Jerusalem would not assist him in 
entering Israel via Gaza. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted sources close to Hamas in Gaza as saying 
yesterday that Hamas leader Khaled MashalQs recent visit to Egypt 
has brought the Islamist movement and Fatah closer to ending their 
differences. 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio reported that the U.N. Human Rights 
Council-appointed fact-finding mission to investigate international 
human rights and humanitarian law violations related to Operation 
Cast Lead, which is headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, might demand 
that Israel be put on trial for war crimes.  Maariv, The Jerusalem 
Post, and Israel Radio quoted the Israeli human rights BQTselem as 
saying that 770 of 1,400 Palestinian casualties in Operation Cast 
Lead were civilians; and 110 reportedly were children under the age 
of 10.  Maariv quoted the IDF SpokesmanQs OfficeQs response that the 
BQTselem report is tainted with extraneous interests.  Maariv 
reported that Marc Garlasco, a senior member of the NGO Human Rights 
Watch, who has composed several anti-Israel reports, collects Nazi 
memorabilia. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Defense Secretary Robert Gates as saying 
in an interview published by Al Jazeera-TV yesterday that U.S. 
allies in the Middle East should strengthen their respective 
militaries to deter Iran from continuing its suspected nuclear 
weapons program. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the Israel 
Lands Administration published tenders for the construction of 486 
apartments in the neighborhood of Pisgat ZeQev in East Jerusalem. 
 
Maariv reported that a group of experts who support the Northrop 
Grumman-developed Skyguard missile defense system have told PM 
Netanyahu and DM Ehud Barak that because of its slow response time, 
the Israeli-built Iron Dome system will not be able to protect 
Sderot and the Upper Galilee town of Kiryat Shmona from Qassam and 
Katyusha rockets. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that defense officials and IDF officers 
told the newspaper that a continued Pentagon refusal to integrate 
Israeli systems into the stealth Joint Strike Fighter will likely 
cause delays in the arrival of the advanced fighter jet to Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a one-day conference will be held 
on Capitol Hill in February (before the annual Jerusalem conference 
that will take place on February 15-17) under the banner 
QReinforcing U.S.-Israeli Ties.Q  Among the participants will be 
lawmakers from both countries and other past and present leaders. 
The key discussions will focus on the unity of Jerusalem, the 
realities of the peace process, and regional threats to global 
security and how to confront them. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau as 
saying yesterday in an address to the Brookings Institution in 
Washington that Iran is taking advantage of the Venezuelan banking 
system to bypass sanctions and purchase materials needed for its 
nuclear program. 
 
The media reported that, in its annual report on education issued 
yesterday, the OECD published negative data on Israeli investment in 
education. 
 
Leading media reported that the controversial Israeli ad campaign to 
counter assimilation of Diaspora youth was halted early this week 
after it drew angry reactions from many prominent American writers 
and even a few Israelis. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that yesterday 
the Jerusalem Municipality announced that the city will be split 
into seven operational zones in an effort to improve delivery of 
services. 
 
The Jerusalem Post published the results of the August 2009 "War and 
Peace Index" of the Evans Program for Conflict Resolution Research 
of Tel Aviv University -- conducted August 31-September 1 -- that 
shows that despite the recent streak of violent incidents throughout 
the country, Jewish Israelis' sense of security is on the rise. 
However, the survey also shows that a majority of Israelis do not 
trust their government to withstand international political pressure 
and that most see an urgent need for a political solution to the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
 
- Forty-nine percent of those surveyed define their personal 
security level as high or very high, 29% as medium, and only 19% as 
low -- compared to April 2007, when 42.5% described their level as 
high, 32% as medium and 24% as low. 
 
- In terms of national security, 38% of those surveyed felt the 
level is high, 37% said medium, and 22% said low. In 2007, the 
respective rates were 24.5%, 36% and 39%. 
 
- The survey also shows that those who define themselves as "left" 
feel less worried about the national security situation than those 
describing themselves as "center" or "right."  Fifty-one percent of 
those on the Left feel that national security levels are high, 
compared to 37% of the Center and 39% of the Right. 
 
- The same correlation between political leanings and sense of 
security extends to the question of whether or not interviewees 
feared a large-scale attack against Israel by one or more Arab 
states. Twenty percent of those on the Left fear such an attack, 
compared to 40% in the Center and 44% on the Right.   However, 
overall, a plurality of those surveyed -- 48% -- see a low or very 
low chance of such an attack in the next five years. 
 
- There is no clear trend on the way the Israeli Jewish public sees 
the country's situation on the world stage. One third think Israel 
is moderately or very isolated, another third think Israel is not at 
all or is barely isolated, and the last third have no clear view on 
the issue. 
 
- However, the survey shows a clear tendency on the part of the 
public to doubt the current government's ability to withstand 
international pressure in order to safeguard Israel's political and 
security interests. Fifty-four percent do not rely on the 
government's ability at all, or not very much, compared to 42% who 
moderately or very much rely on it. Among Left, Right and Center the 
majority do not trust the government's ability, though the 
percentage on the Left, 57%, is slightly higher. 
 
- Almost all of those surveyed -- 85% -- rely on the IDF to defend 
Israel and its citizens in the face of an attack by Arab states. 
Nonetheless, a large majority -- 72% -- believe that the need to 
find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is urgent.  This 
sense of urgency is clear all along the political spectrum, but is 
strongest on the Left.  The public trusts the IDF to deal with an 
attack, but would prefer a political solution. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "In OlmertQs Footsteps" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning HaQaretz (9/9): QThe understanding taking shape between 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration on 
the freezing of settlements makes one wonder: What was the reason 
for changing governments in Jerusalem?  Why was all that energy 
invested in an election campaign if Netanyahu was going to end up 
behaving like his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, and is willing to limit 
the Qright of Jews to live anywhere in the Land of IsraelQ?  Has 
Netanyahu also given up on the right-wing ideology on which he was 
nurtured in his father's house in return for a group photograph with 
Presidents Barack Obama and Mahmoud Abbas?.... So, what has changed 
since Olmert?  Mainly one thing: the declaration that there is a 
freeze on construction will, this time, be a public one, and it is 
meant to foster normalization efforts with the Arab states.  Which 
is also what worries Netanyahu: What will he do if, at the end of 
the period allotted for a freeze, he gets nothing in return?  Will 
he resume construction, against Obama's wishes, or will he be made 
to look like a sucker who gave up something for nothing?  This 
dilemma remains unresolved for now, and it will continue to burden 
the Prime Minister. 
 
II.  "Losing the Blocs" 
 
Dov Weisglass, who was former prime minister Ariel Sharon's top 
diplomatic advisor, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (9/9): QThe current dispute between Israel and the U.S. 
over the question of freezing construction in Judea and Samaria 
[i.e. the West Bank] is a sign that the U.S. is ceasing to recognize 
the practical format for a future territorial arrangement between 
the Israelis and Palestinians, i.e.: Israel would continue to 
maintain control over the large settlement centers in Judea and 
Samaria, and the remainder of the territory would be for a 
Palestinian state.  On the basis of the assumption that this was the 
nature of the future arrangement, Israel achieved all the 
understandings and arrangements -- written and oral -- that enabled 
the continuation of limited construction and development in the 
large settlement blocs.  The current governmentQs insistence on not 
adhering to this outline, and the fact that it is refraining from 
raising it as an Israeli demand, will ultimately cause not only a 
construction freeze -- it will lead to the loss of diplomatic 
ability to continue to hold onto the large settlement blocs. 
 
III.  "Too Late" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever Plotker wrote in 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/9): QHalf a 
million.  Half a million Jewish Israelis have made their homes over 
the Green Line, the border between Israel and Jordan from 1967.  Of 
these, 200,000 live in the territories that Israel has defined as 
part of greater Jerusalem and annexed to its sovereignty, and 
another 300,000 lives in the other areas of Judea and SamariaQor the 
West Bank.... If the number of Jews in all of Judea and Samaria, 
including the East Jerusalem areas, continues to grow at the current 
pace, the Jewish population over the QGreen LineQ that has been 
effaced from the consciousness of the Israelis will number about 
750,000 in 2025.  But today too, when the number is QonlyQ 500,000, 
the Jewish settlement in the territories has already determined 
IsraelQs fate to a large degree.... The evacuation of 8,000 Jewish 
settlers from the Gaza Strip and their absorption in Israel cost the 
taxpayers 10 billion shekels [around $2.5 billion.5 billion].  Whoever wants 
to turn the wheel back and evacuate the Israelis from the 
territories beyond the 1967 borders, will have to invest about 600 
billion shekels [around around50 billion] to do so.  This is a 
completely imaginary price.... Without the Palestinians having 
understood the process, and without most of the Israeli citizens 
having paid attention to it, the territories beyond the 1967 borders 
have become the main absorption area of new Jewish populations: 
Immigrants from the former Soviet Union, young Jerusalemites, 
ultra-Orthodox Jews in distress and more.  The QterritoriesQ have 
served as IsraelQs territorial rear and filled this role with great 
success.  The political left wing in Israel believes that it has 
gained the upper hand, and brings as conclusive proof of this the 
declaration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an integral part 
of the Likud, in support of a conditional Palestinian state.  The 
left wing is wrong: While it was dealing with the futile Qdiplomatic 
process,Q the active political right wing, with the backing and 
assistance of all of IsraelQs governments save one, engaged in 
developing the Jewish settlements in the territories.  Half a 
million Jews over the Green Line is a point of no return.  The talk 
of a Qconstruction freezeQ or Qsuspension of constructionQ in 
certain settlements are a mockery and an attempt to cover the rear 
end of leaders -- in Israel, in Palestine, around the world -- who 
know deep down inside that the die has been cast.  In the area of 
Mandatory Palestine, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean 
Sea, an inseparable tangle has been created of two peoples -- an 
omelet of Jews and Palestinians that cannot be turned into separate 
eggs.  It is too late. 
 
IV.  "ObamaQs Teachable Mideast Moment" 
 
Columnist Michael Freund, who was an assistant to Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu during his first term in office, wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (9/9): QFor a president who 
has been in office for just over seven months, Barack Obama can at 
last point to some meaningful change that he has brought about in 
the Middle East.  Thanks to his administration's arm-twisting and 
bullying of Jerusalem over settlements, Obama has unwittingly 
succeeded in galvanizing the Israeli public like never before.  The 
result is a broad coalition that extends all the way from the 
moderate left, through the center, and over to the reasonable right, 
giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plenty of political 
breathing space.... If and when a final-status deal is ever 
negotiated, it is crucial that the Americans and Palestinians go 
into the talks aware that Israel is self-confident enough to stand 
firm on issues it views as vital to its existence.  This is what 
Obama himself would likely refer to as a Qteachable momentQ on the 
Middle East -- one from which he still has a lot to learn.  In a 
short period, he has hardened the Palestinian position, strengthened 
the hand of Israel's settlement enterprise and led the Israeli 
public to reassess its blind faith in Washington.  That's quite a 
record of achievement. 
 
¶V.  QObstacle to Peace 
 
The Jerusalem Post  editorialized (9/9): QForget the settlements. 
If the world truly wants to identify an obstacle to peace, it could 
do much worse than cast its eyes toward Arab League 
Secretary-General Amr Moussa.  For nearly 18 years Amr Moussa, first 
as Egypt's Foreign Minister for a decade, and then for the last 
eight years as head of the Arab League, has worked mightily to 
poison the atmosphere against Israel.... This week, however, Moussa 
outdid himself.  With U.S. Envoy George Mitchell trying to line up 
some normalization gestures from the Arab states toward Israel as 
part of a package to relaunch the diplomatic process, Moussa did 
what he could to stand in the way.  At a press conference in Cairo 
with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, Moussa warned there would be a 
harsh response against any Arab country making gestures to Israel. 
QIt is impossible to talk of normalization when Israel refuses to 
take real steps,Q Moussa said.  QNo Arab state will offer Israel 
gifts on a silver platter.Q  What Moussa evidently has yet to 
internalize is that peace is not a gift to Israel, but rather to the 
region.... That hatred spreads.  The New York Times ran a story from 
Cairo Sunday about the refurbishing of ancient Jewish sites there as 
part of the controversial Egyptian Culture Minister's campaign to 
head UNESCO.  One man in the street, a certain Khalid Badr, was 
asked about his feeling toward Jews and Qas casually as if he had 
E 
been asked the time,Q replied: QWe hate them for everything they 
have done to us.Q  It is that matter-of-fact hatred, a hatred that 
Moussa has both stirred and benefited from, that keeps the 
diplomatic process mired in square one. 
 
VI.  QWhy Stop with Elbit? 
 
Far-left Palestinian affairs correspondent Amira Hass wrote in 
Ha'aretz (9/9): QThe question is not why Norway divested from the 
[Israeli] defense electronics giant Elbit Systems, but why only now, 
and why only from that company?.... The Norwegian Finance Ministry's 
Council on Ethics, which recommended that the pension fund pull its 
investment from Elbit, also explained why it would divest from that 
company but not, say, from the U.S. company Caterpillar.  Elbit, it 
said, developed equipment used specifically in the construction of 
the separation barrier, while the equipment sold by Caterpillar to 
the Israel Defense Forces has legitimate uses as well, and the 
company should not be held responsible for it being employed in 
another, possibly illegal, way (namely, the wholesale destruction of 
Palestinian homes).... [Anyway,] this is the first time a nation has 
adopted -- actively and not just with words -- the opinion of the 
International Court of Justice in the Hague about the separation 
barrier, 87 percent of which is built on occupied land, in 
contravention of international law. 
 
CUNNINGHAM