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P 161108Z NOV 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002483 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
Over the weekend all media cited declarations by senior Palestinian 
officials that they might unilaterally seek support of the 
international community for an independent state.  PM Benjamin 
NetanyahuQs response dominated the headlines.  Senior PA negotiator 
Saeb Erekat was quoted as saying in an interview published on 
Saturday by the Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper that the PA was 
considering asking the U.N. Security Council to recognize the 
existence of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, with tits 
capital in East Jerusalem.  Netanyahu said yesterday at the Saban 
Forum in Jerusalem:  "Any unilateral path will only unravel the 
framework of agreements between us and will only bring unilateral 
steps from Israel's side."  There is no substitute for negotiations 
between Israel and the PA, Netanyahu said.  "What is needed to start 
moving forward is to begin negotiations immediately," Netanyahu 
added, and "to start off with a good spirit, one might say with a 
generous spirit. I am talking about our side, and that is what I 
also told [U.S. President Barack] Obama."  Israel Radio reported 
that the PA has dismissed IsraelQs response to its plan. The radio 
quoted senior PA official Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying that the 
Palestinians do not want to proclaim independence, but to determine 
their border as the pre-1967 one.   Major media quoted FM Avigdor 
Lieberman as saying on Saturday that a return to the pre-1967 lines, 
with a Palestinian state in the West Bank, would bring the conflict 
into IsraelQs borders.  The media reported that right-wing 
politicians propose annexing the settlement blocs to Israel.  Israel 
Radio quoted Egyptian officials as saying that a Palestinian state 
can only be established when conditions are ripe. 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz reported that last week French President Nicolas 
Sarkozy offered to host an international summit in Paris to break 
the deadlock in the Middle East peace process.  Sarkozy first raised 
the proposal in his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
on Wednesday, then with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 
Syrian President Bashar Assad.  HaQaretz said that neither Netanyahu 
nor Abbas rejected the offer, though the U.S. administration's 
position remains unclear. 
 
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who also attended the Saban 
Forum yesterday, was quoted as saying in an interview with YediotQs 
Nahum Barnea: QYou should not think that President Obama is your 
enemy."  Clinton was also quoted as saying that neither the 
geography nor the demographics had changed since the late PM Yitzhak 
Rabin signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn in 1993. 
Clinton expressed his belief that there would have been a 
comprehensive peace in the Middle East a decade ago if Rabin had not 
been assassinated.  Clinton also expressed optimism about the 
conduct of the NetanyahuQs government toward peace. 
 
Leading media published a White House picture of PM NetanyahuQs 
latest meeting with President Obama, as the two are smiling and 
chatting in the Oval Office private dining room.  The photo is 
supposedly meant to dispel rumors of a harsh meeting.  Yesterday The 
Jerusalem Post reported that State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly 
and Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley for Public Affairs 
pushed back against Iranian efforts to cause a schism in U.S.-Israel 
relations and stressed the United StatesQ commitment to continue 
pressing toward peace talks despite recent difficulties. 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz reported that last week Brig. Gen. Avichai 
Ronski, the IDFQs Chief Rabbi, told students in a pre-army yeshiva 
program that soldiers who "show mercy" toward the enemy in wartime 
will be "damned."  Ronski also told the yeshiva students that 
religious individuals made better combat troops 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz quoted the British newspaper The Guardian as 
saying on Friday that Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of 
launching an "organized campaign" of lies and misinformation against 
it in the wake of the organization's support of the Goldstone 
Report. 
 
All media reported that the Knesset is likely to grant final 
approval today to a controversial law that would set up a biometric 
database with information about every citizen of the country.  The 
database, which Israel Radio says does not exist anywhere else in 
the world, would be used to issue "smart" identity cards.  Opponents 
to the proposed law cite the Qreal threatQ to Israeli welfare and 
the possibility that foreign agents might have access to the 
database. 
 
HaQaretz reported that less than six months after two Galilee 
communities -- Manof and Yuvalim -- proposed changing their bylaws 
to make "loyalty to the Zionist vision" a condition of acceptance 
into the community, a third -- Mitzpeh Aviv -- has just followed 
suit. 
 
All media reported that on Saturday some 2,0000 ultra-Orthodox men 
violently demonstrated outside the Intel CorporationQs offices in 
JerusalemQs Har Hotzvim industrial park to protest the companyQs 
operation of its factory on the Jewish Sabbath.  The protests 
continued on Sunday.  Media reported that Sabbath work in the plant 
has been going on for 24 years.  Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was 
quoted as saying on Sunday: "I am a believer in the status quo and 
coexistence within the capital.  Intel has been working in Jerusalem 
for 24 years in this current framework, and there is no change in 
it."  Media warned of the negative consequences of a closure of the 
factory. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media quoted PM Netanyahu as saying 
yesterday at the cabinet meeting that France is IsraelQs preferred 
broker for peace negotiations with Damascus as he rejected SyriaQs 
call for Turkey to hold such talks. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that yesterday 
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Industry, Trade, and 
Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer signed a renewable energy R & D 
cooperation agreement. 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz quoted IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi 
as saying last week before the KnessetQs Foreign Affairs and Defense 
Committee that the army is willing to probe claims of wrongdoing by 
its soldiers. 
 
Yesterday Maariv reported that on Friday afternoon, five cars from 
the American Consulate-General in Jerusalem arrived at the new 
Gilboa (Jalame) border crossing between Israel and the northern West 
Bank -- a Qborder crossing that was officially opened just last week 
to motor vehicle traffic with American funding to boot.Q  Passengers 
in the convoy refused to identify themselves. As a result, their 
entry into Israel was delayed by approximately four hours.   At a 
certain stage Defense Ministry and police officers were called in to 
the border crossing, but despite their repeated requests, the 
Americans refused to roll down their windows and claimed that that 
was the arrangement with them. "What can I do?" a dismayed Israeli 
police woman asked her superior officer, "the driver doesn't want to 
give his ID."  The Israeli security personnel, who appeared to be 
unnerved by the Americans' arrogant behavior, tried to explain that 
they were afraid that the drivers were not diplomats but, rather, 
East Jerusalem Palestinian residents.  Those efforts were made in 
vain.  Ultimately, the incident ended only a number of hours later, 
when two security officials from the American Embassy in Tel Aviv 
arrived and persuaded the people in the convoy to present their 
passports as required.  Maariv quoted a security official who was 
involved in the incident as saying on Saturday:  "There are always 
provocations at the roadblocks with people from the consulate in 
Jerusalem.  Their cars are driven by drivers from East Jerusalem who 
insist not to be inspected, despite the fact that they don't have 
diplomatic immunity.  We need to make sure that the people in 
question are diplomats, but that can't be done through opaque black 
windows."  The incident resulted in the closure of the border 
crossing for the entire day, which made many Israeli Arabs who 
wanted to use the crossing to visit their Palestinian relatives turn 
back.   Maariv quoted a spokesman for the Defense Ministry as 
saying: "We operate in keeping with the procedures that were set by 
the Foreign Ministry and in keeping with the accepted rules in the 
world with respect to the bearers of diplomatic passports."  The 
daily quoted an American diplomat as saying on Saturday: "There was 
a misunderstanding that was resolved in the end." 
 
Maariv cited an Iranian opposition Web site as saying yesterday that 
retired Iranian general Alireza Asgari, who disappeared in Turkey in 
2007, had been kidnapped by the Mossad, transferred to a third 
country, and is now detained in Israel. 
 
Yediot reported that yesterday a group of teachers from Morocco 
concluded an eight-day seminar at Yad Vashem. 
 
Israel Radio reported that President Shimon Peres is slated to meet 
today in Buenos Aires with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de 
Kirchner 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
¶I.  QObamaQs Drama 
 
Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/16): QThe worst moment would be when 
Obama gives up and declares that there is no more hope.  He tried 
and failed.  This would mean that the Palestinians would do one of 
two things: unilaterally proclaim their state in the Q67 borders and 
receive recognition Q however partial Q from the worldQs nations. 
The United States nay not be the first country to do so, but it 
ultimately will.  The PalestiniansQ second option will be a passage 
to the contingency plan dreamt up by many of them and a declaration 
that the two-state solution has failed and that they are no longer 
interested in it -- they will want a single state.  They will to be 
equal citizens in one state between the Jordan River and the 
[Mediterranean] Sea.  As far as Israel is concerned, this would be 
the end of the Jewish State.  Those who do not see where this leads 
are historically and diplomatically blind.  Obama is not unsighted: 
a man who succeeded in being elected president after half a term in 
the Senate and becoming the first Black president in U.S. history 
can be farsighted.  Now is his moment of truth in the Middle East. 
This time Obama must produce drama. 
 
II.  QSave UN/SC Res. 242 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (11/16): 
Q[Saeb] Erekat and [Mahmoud] Abbas are wasting time and torpedoing a 
two-state solution with their intransigence.... It's clear why 
Erekat wants to abandon 242.  The resolution's masterfully crafted 
language insists on an exchange of land for peace using the formula 
Q Qwithdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in 
the recent conflictQ -- that deliberately does not call for a 
pullback from all territories.  So rather than bargain in good faith 
to build a viable accord, Erekat and Abbas are betting on an outside 
imposed solution.  Their way will not bring reconciliation, mutual 
security and peace, but doom yet another generation of Israelis and 
Palestinians to more bloodshed.  Would it not be better if the 
Palestinians returned to the bargaining table and the sooner the 
better? 
 
III.  QNo State and a Half 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/16): QKadima Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz's 
peace plan is a refreshing change, particularly in light of his 
past, although no peace agreement will emerge from it.... What will 
Israel do if Abbas announces that by a reasonable date, say, 
December 31, 2010, the option of a state and a half -- Israel and 
alongside it a Palestinian entity -- will go the way of the West 
Bank's Qvillage leaguesQ of the 1980s [bodies staffed by Palestinian 
collaborators appointed by Israel]?  The question therefore is not 
why Netanyahu needs Abbas and Fayyad, but why they need 
Netanyahu.... Abbas' decision to end his political career brings the 
end of the PA in Ramallah closer, along with Netanyahu's moment of 
decision on dividing the land.  While Mofaz has not given Netanyahu 
the magic political formula that will bridge the gap between the 
Bar-Ilan speech and Abbas' resignation speech, Mofaz took away 
Netanyahu's political excuse by bypassing Kadima leader Tzipi Livni 
on the left.  Netanyahu can no longer hide behind the threat that 
halting construction in the settlements and painful concessions will 
bring down his government.  If Netanyahu is serious about a 
two-state solution, he has 32 partners at his disposal: the Kadima 
Knesset members and the four Labor rebels who will be glad to 
replace the rejectors of compromise in Likud and its partners to the 
right. 
 
IV.  QA Partner in the North 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (11/15): QThe recipe for an agreement is 
known based on the talks that six Israeli prime ministers, including 
Netanyahu and Barak, have conducted with Syria over the past 18 
years.  It involves an Israeli withdrawal from all of the Golan 
Heights in exchange for security arrangements and a normalization of 
relations.  Also needed is a creative solution for the dispute over 
the final border.  The ability of Assad and his regime to carry out 
any agreement is not in question.  Netanyahu must respond to the 
renewed opportunity that Assad is presenting to him.  Instead of 
saying he is ready for negotiations Qwithout preconditionsQ but 
without committing to anything, he must move all the way to a peace 
agreement that will improve Israel's strategic situation.  He has a 
partner in Damascus. 
 
 
¶V.  QThe Usual Syrian Round 
 
Political commentator Shalom Yerushalmi wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (11/16): QFour and a half months have passed [since 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu to focus on Syria], and nothing has happened on the Syrian 
front.  There is no reason for anything dramatic to happen today. 
Netanyahu will not withdraw from the Golan Heights, and the Syrians 
will not accept a partial withdrawal, whereas the Prime Minister 
cannot offer them even that.  It is all or nothing.  Netanyahu has 
committed himself thousands of times not to withdraw from the Golan, 
and he now again faces the test of credibility that is so important 
to him.  The right wing will crucify him for any withdrawal, the 
voices of the opponents can already be heard in the government, and 
the left wing will also not applaud him.  In brief, there is no way 
it will happen.  However, indirect and non-committal talks could be 
held, even if nothing comes of them.  A political process has many 
dividends, even if it is futile.  Netanyahu can present himself as a 
peace lover, and receive a bit of vital sympathy around the world. 
Bashar Assad uses the talks to escape from the isolation and 
sanctions.  The Americans and the Quartet leaders also show that 
they are achieving something.  What could be wrong with that?.... 
Two days before the elections, Netanyahu went with his son Avner to 
the Golan Heights.  He planted a tree near the community of Aniam, 
and promised Avner that his son would see the tree, which would take 
root in the Golan under Israeli sovereignty.  So what will happen 
first?  Will my grandchildren see our house in Damascus after full 
peace reigns, or will Netanyahu's grandchildren enjoy the fruit of 
the tree under conditions of ongoing conflict?  I think the answer 
is clear. 
 
CUNNINGHAM