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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002011 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
¶3.  Anniversary of 9/11 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media quoted PM Benjamin Netanyahu as saying yesterday before an 
audience of Likud members in Tel Aviv that Israelis were ready to 
make concessions for peace, but that they will not be "suckers" in 
peace negotiations.  Media quoted him as saying that since his 
Bar-Ilan University speech, "I have been working on getting 
international recognition for two things: Israel as the Jewish 
homeland and that any peace agreement must include security 
arrangements.  We will not allow for a 'Hamastan' among us. 
Addressing the settlers, whom he called Qloyal and good citizens, he 
said: QYou deserve to live normal lives.  We will do two things at 
the same time: advance the peace process and enable you to live 
normal lives.Q  YediotQs online service Ynet reported that Culture 
and Sports Minister Limor Livnat joined the camp of the Likud 
Qrebels.Q  Some media reported that Minister Silvan Shalom also 
joined up with the dissenting Likud members. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that two senior U.S. officials told 
Jewish leaders in Washington yesterday that the U.S. is laying the 
groundwork for sanctions against Iran after having become 
increasingly disenchanted with the strategy of engagement.  Under 
Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns was quoted as 
saying that the Obama administration wants to prepare for sanctions 
now, so that it will be ready to implement them at the end of the 
year if it comes to that, and not have to start from scratch at that 
point.  Top White House Middle East adviser Dennis Ross, appearing 
beside Burns at the panel discussion with the Jewish leaders, 
explained that the administration's focus on diplomatic engagement 
had shifted following the Iranian elections, and indicated that the 
White House now had a more skeptical view of that approach which 
could give way to sanctions. 
HaQaretz reported that, less than two weeks before the U.N. General 
Assembly is to meet, PA President Mahmoud Abbas remains adamant in 
his refusal to meet with Netanyahu, potentially jeopardizing the 
Obama administration's plans to hold a three-way meeting in New York 
on September 23 or 24.  Abbas insists there will be no meeting with 
Netanyahu, nor a resumption of negotiations, unless Israel 
completely freezes settlement construction in the West Bank and East 
Jerusalem.  HaQaretz says that the U.S. and Israel are still hoping 
that an agreement on a temporary freeze in settlement construction, 
along with an Israeli announcement to that effect, will convince 
Abbas to change his mind.  HaQaretz has learned that Abbas has 
relayed messages in recent days to senior U.S. and European 
officials, as well as Israeli officials, saying he did not intend to 
participate in a tripartite meeting at the UN General Assembly and 
that he was not willing to meet with Netanyahu.  HaQaretz quoted a 
diplomatic source in Jerusalem as saying that Israel's recent 
announcement of 455 new building permits and the delay in declaring 
a freeze in settlement construction are the reasons Abbas is 
refusing to participate in the meeting. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Netanyahu's scheduled meeting 
with U.S Special Envoy George Mitchell on Monday will deal not only 
with the settlement issue, but also with a timeline and the 
parameters of talks that are expected to be launched with the 
Palestinians on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting 
later this month.  Although no formal announcement has yet been 
made, Mitchell is expected to arrive in Israel either Saturday night 
or Sunday for another round of talks.  It is not clear whether he 
will be going to other states in the region.   The Jerusalem Post 
quoted diplomatic officials in the U.S. as saying that President 
Obama is keen on some kind of foreign policy success at what some -- 
because of the intense debate surrounding his health care reform -- 
are calling a "defining period" of his young presidency. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted high-ranking Fatah official Jibril Rajoub 
as saying yesterday that Fatah welcomes a new Egyptian proposal 
aimed at solving its dispute with Hamas.  The Egyptian proposal has 
the support of Hamas as well. 
 
HaQaretz reported that France called on Russia yesterday not to 
complete the sale of advanced air defense missiles to Iran. 
 
Sunday will mark the 16th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo 
Accords in Washington.  President Shimon Peres told HaQaretz that 
the agreement is Qalive and kicking.Q  HaQaretz (Akiva Eldar) brings 
the reflections of, and a little breast-beating by, three of the 
agreementQs architects on their lasting contributions. Yossi Beilin 
is quoted as saying: QOslo changed the entire conceptual system of 
Israeli society.  It did to Israel what all the wars, including the 
trauma of the Yom Kippur War, did not.Q  Uri Savir, who is also 
unsparingly critical of Yasser ArafatQs failure to create 
institutions and fight extremist groups such as Hamas, states: QWe 
were too heavy-handed with security and we were unaware of its 
effect on poverty and terrorism in the territories.Q  Yair 
Hirschfeld comments that without a fundamental change in the 
situation on the ground, a final-status arrangement is impossible. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that this week the Jerusalem 
MagistrateQs Court ordered a halt to a number of construction 
projects in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, after 
residents and two local NGOs filed a petition claiming the projects 
were illegal. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the Israeli human rights organizations Kav 
Laoved and Gisha as saying that when permits are issued for 
Palestinians to work in construction, information on which 
contractors have received the permits, and how many, should be made 
public.  Suspicions of black market trade have arisen following the 
approval of 5,0000 new permits. 
 
HaQaretz reported that FM Avigdor Lieberman is returning today from 
a visit to five African states, where in addition to discussing 
Africa's internal problems, he and his entourage laid the groundwork 
for weapons deals.  Among other matters, the daily reported that 
Ethiopia, which has long had friendly relations with Israel, is 
willing to allow Israeli military agents operate there. 
 
The media believe that NetanyahuQs military secretary Maj. Gen. Meir 
Kalifi is likely to become a scapegoat over his false explanation of 
the PMQs clandestine trip to Russia on Monday.  The Jerusalem PostQs 
Herb Keinon speculated that the destination of NetanyahuQs travel 
could have been a different one -- Saudi Arabia for instance. 
 
The media quoted GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni as saying 
yesterday that IDF soldiers were not authorized to attack 
Palestinian civilians during arrest raids, adding that those who 
cross the army's "red lines" must stand trial.  Shamni said the IDF 
never authorized the use of such aggression during questioning of 
detainees.  Shamni's comments came during the trial of First Lt. 
Adam Malul who is accused of hitting a Palestinian during an arrest. 
 
 A difference of opinion has arisen with the IDF ranks between those 
who justify such action and those who oppose it. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli and PA police forces 
together with the IDFQs civil administration are increasing their 
cooperation, and have implemented a series of confidence-building 
measures over the past two years. 
 
HaQaretz and Yediot reported that senior Israeli jurists are 
recommending that the state fundamentally reform immigration policy 
to naturalize long-time foreign workers, draft an immigration law, 
and create an immigration ministry. 
 
The media reported that the Ofer familyQs Israel Corporation hinted 
yesterday that the Zim shipping firm may not be able to meet its 
obligations.  The corporation owns about 98.5% of ZimQs shares. 
 
Major media reported that archeologists recently discovered the 
earliest Jewish description of a Second Temple period candelabra (or 
menorah) in a dig at the site of a synagogue on the shores of the 
Sea of Galilee. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Time for Business" 
 
Columnist Shmuel Rosner, who was HaQaretzQs correspondent in 
Washington, wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (9/11): QWhen 
Netanyahu returned from London, he had already agreed to a 
moratorium on new building in the settlements.  But the duration of 
the moratorium has not been fixed.  The full picture of the Arab 
commitments has not entirely cleared up either.  The Americans view 
a split list: the commitments that have already been, and those in 
the making.  They gently hinted to the Israeli envoys that any 
bombastic announcement about the construction of 400 housing units 
in the territories, any governmental spin for domestic political 
purposes, will carry an Arab price tag.... Mitchell has already 
erased at least one item from the list of what he had apparently 
managed to receive. 
 
II.  "Tactical Victories" 
 
Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (9/11): QPublicly, the White House has 
condemned the new-old building plans, but plainly Netanyahu's deft 
build-then-freeze combination has not derailed the Obama 
administrationQs plans to broker a formal resumption of substantive 
Israeli-Palestinian talks in the next few weeks, possibly with a 
launch that coincides with the U.N. General Assembly session. 
According to some in Jerusalem, moreover, the months of talks on the 
parameters of a freeze have also gradually yielded a softening of 
the initial absolute American demand that all building come to a 
halt everywhere beyond the Green Line. What hasnQt changed [since 
the Oslo Accords], at least not for the better, is the Palestinian 
position Q the same maximalist stances, the same relentless 
anti-Israel incitement, and the same refusal by leaders to 
acknowledge and convey to their people the legitimacy of Israel.  If 
Obama and Netanyahu have found a middle ground, there is sadly no 
evidence that Abbas is traveling in the same direction.  For the 
hesitant Rabin of 1993, as a consequence, substitute a wary Israel 
in 2009 -- an Israel backing a prime minister heading into 
negotiations expecting rejection, deadlock, and worse.  How 
fervently we wish to be proved wrong. 
 
III.  "Preparing for the American Peace Plan" 
 
Shaul Arieli, member of the Council for Peace and Security, wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (9/11): QOn the 
Israeli-Palestinian track, the Americans will seek to create 
circumstances on the ground which would enable the building of the 
state-in-the-making.  In addition, they will offer their own 
bridging proposals which will be gradually presented to both sides 
in the two years allotted for the negotiations.  The American 
proposals will be laid out on the negotiating table through a 
variety of diplomatic means -- ranging from an international peace 
conference based on the Madrid model, to an exchange of letters 
based on the Oslo model, to the deposits based on the Syria model, 
to the detailed parameters for a solution to the conflict based on 
the Bill Clinton model.  One should hope that the Americans, who 
were smart enough to adopt the ... Qeither/orQ approach, will 
refrain from meeting halfway on the key issues, be they a freeze in 
settlement construction or the right of return.  At Camp David and 
Taba, we learned that halfway compromises of this nature on each 
issue individually do not bring the two sides closer, but rather 
creates a lose-lose situation.  The compromise must be aimed at a 
comprehensive package deal: Israel as the state of the Jewish nation 
which enjoys security, recognition and peace; and an independent 
Palestine alongside it. 
 
IV.  "Benjamin the Giver" 
 
Haggai Segal, who was a member of the QJewish undergroundQ in the 
1980s, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot 
(9/11): QListen, complacent Likudniks: Netanyahu is mentally capable 
of returning you to the Q67 lines Q yes, in Jerusalem too.  Three 
months ago he hummed Qtwo states for two peoplesQ according to 
ObamaQs tune; he now even freezes MaQaleh Adumim; tomorrow he will 
concede everything.  If you donQt tell him QnoQ as soon as possible, 
he will continue to say only Qyes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The PMQs Skewed Threat Perception" 
 
Political/diplomatic correspondent Gil Hoffman wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (9/11): QThe tables have 
turned and Netanyahu is doing much better in the polls than U.S. 
President Barack Obama, ahead of an anticipated meeting of the two 
men soon in New York.  Ironically, this means it will now be harder 
for Netanyahu to use political problems as a reason to say no to 
anything Obama would want him to do.  But if Netanyahu does talk 
about imminent political threats against him, Obama should not 
assume that the Prime Minister is being economical with the truth. 
The President should instead understand that whether or not the 
computer, the radio, and the television are on, Netanyahu sometimes 
truly sees internal political threats that are not that serious. 
Yet Netanyahu and Obama will not be getting together to discuss 
internal politics but grave matters of war and peace.  And when it 
comes to the external threats facing Israel, one can only hope that 
the Prime Minister correctly judges the scale of the threats, and 
responds accordingly. 
 
II.  "Countdown to Takeoff" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/11): QFor an Israeli attack [on Iran] to be 
considered, Israel would need the tacit approval of the Obama 
administration, if only in the sense that it looks the other way. 
This is due above all to the necessity of passing through the Iraqi 
air corridor, as American soldiers will still be in Iraq in 2011. 
No less important is strategic coordination for the day after: How 
will the United States react to a prolonged aerial attack by Israel 
on the nuclear sites and to the regional flare-up that might follow? 
 These are matters that would have to be agreed on directly between 
Obama and Netanyahu.  The disparity in their policy stances, 
together with the total lack of personal chemistry between them, is 
liable to prove a hindrance.  Iran is likely to respond to an 
Israeli attack by opening fronts nearby, via Hizbullah from Lebanon 
and Hamas in Gaza.  Three years after the Second Lebanon War and at 
the end of a broad process of learning lessons from that conflict, 
the IDF is quite confident of its ability to deal with Hizbullah. 
At the same time, it's clear that Israel will be subjected to 
extensive rocket attacks that can be expected to cover most of the 
country.  A key question would be Syria's behavior.  Israel has a 
salient interest in having Damascus be no more than a spectator in a 
confrontation.  If the attack on Iran is perceived to have been 
successful, that is probably how the Syrians will respond.  But an 
attack on Iran will reopen a decades-old blood feud -- and the 
Iranians have both a long memory and a great deal of patience.  With 
decisions like this looming within a year, it's no wonder that 
Netanyahu wants to get the Gilad Shalit affair wrapped up. 
 
------------------------ 
¶3.  Anniversary of 9/11: 
------------------------ 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Until the Next Surprise" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/11): QIt's bad enough that 
al-Qaida killed Americans.  It has also continued to make a mockery 
of them, which just goes to show that brains do not always go hand 
in hand with brawn.... An American commission of inquiry headed by 
Thomas Kean, the former Governor of New Jersey, blamed the Bush 
administration for the 9/11 attacks.  In response to Condoleezza 
Rice's question, in which she wondered how we could have guessed 
that they would hijack passenger airplanes with the goal of crashing 
them into buildings, Kean replied that at least two intelligence 
agencies possessed information which indicated that such an event 
would take place.  The information, however, was not passed onward, 
and the available bits of information were not added together, thus 
ensuring that the plot would not be exposed beforehand.  As such, 
the responsible agencies did not fulfill their tasks.  Now we are 
cognizant and ready, so such an event will not happen again. Until 
the next lethal surprise. 
 
CUNNINGHAM