VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #2513/01 3231233
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191233Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4281
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 6273
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 2842
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 6880
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 7091
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 6330
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 4981
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 7187
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3951
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 2168
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 0834
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 8355
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 3360
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 7338
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 9415
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 2161
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 3207
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002513 
 
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 media quoted President Obama as saying in an interview he 
granted Fox News in China yesterday, QThe situation in the Middle 
East is very difficult and I've said repeatedly and I'll say again, 
Israel's security is a vital national interest to the United States 
and we will make sure they are secure."  The President was referring 
to the Jerusalem Municipal Planning CommitteeQs announcement that it 
would build 900 apartments in Gilo, East Jerusalem.  The President 
added that the construction hampersU.S. peace efforts.  Maariv and 
other media repoted that the international community followed suit 
 HaQaretz and other media reported that yesterday an aide to PM 
Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed U.S. anger at Israel's approval for the 
new homes in Gilo.  Netanyahu's aide said the building plan was "a 
routine process."  He said Netanyahu saw Gilo as "an integral part 
of Jerusalem. Construction in Gilo has taken place regularly for 
dozens of years and there is nothing new about the current planning 
and construction," the aide added.  The media reported that 
Netanyahu seemed keen to contain the fresh dispute with Washington 
over settlements, ordering cabinet ministers to show restraint after 
the White House criticized the plan.  Leading media quoted Geneva 
Initiative co-sponsor Yossi Beilin as saying that Netanyahu would 
soon announce a 10-month freeze on settlement building, in a bid to 
renew peace talks with the PA.  Beilin was quoted as adding that he 
believed Netanyahu would not propose a halt in construction in 
Jerusalem.  President Shimon Peres was quoted as saying in an 
interview with Israel Hayom that there Qcan be no doubt that Gilo is 
under Israeli sovereignty and the current reality there cannot be 
changed.Q  HaQaretz quoted Peres as saying during a meeting with 
French FM Bernard Kouchner in Jerusalem Israel knows that the U.S. 
and French positions is on Jerusalem but that only negotiations 
could resolve differences.  The media quoted Kouchner as saying that 
construction in Gilo is not necessarily an obstacle to 
negotiations. 
 
Maariv (Ben Caspit) reported on a budding Qgrad planQ engineered 
mostly by President Peres and DM Ehud Barak, according to which the 
Palestinians will receive a guarantee that negotiations will 
conclude within a defined period of time (between a year and a half 
and two years) as well as a guarantee that at the end of 
negotiations the Palestinians will be in possession of territory 
equivalent to what they had prior to the Six-Day War.  Israel, for 
its part, will receive a letter officially promising recognition of 
its Jewish character, thus ruling out the right of return, as well 
as security guarantees (demilitarization etc.) The obstacles facing 
this plan are many: the Palestinians are not agreeing to it and the 
Americans are yet to be convinced it is plausible.  Maariv mentioned 
the Prime MinisterQs BureauQs response that various political 
initiatives are being discussed, however no decision has been made. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that both Israel and Hamas expressed 
guarded optimism about yesterdayQs media reports of an imminent 
prisoner exchange between the parties.  Yediot quoted Hamas as 
saying that IsraelQs refusal to release Israeli prisoners is a 
stumbling block to the implementation of the deal. 
 
Major media reported that last night the IAF attacked a building in 
southern Gaza that was used for manufacturing munitions as well as 
two tunnels.  This was in response to the Qassam rocket fire 
yesterday on the western Negev.  Reports from Gaza state that three 
people were injured in the attack.  In the rocket fire yesterday no 
one was injured and no damage was caused. 
 
Major media reported on IranQs rejection of the nuclear deal. 
 
Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor 
Party) was quoted as saying in an interview with Maariv that the 
U.S. never requested a settlement freeze from Yitzhak Rabin or Ehud 
Olmert. 
 
HaQaretz quoted Kadima Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz as saying in 
Washington, during meetings at the State Department with Ambassador 
Dennis Ross and Deputy Secretary of State Jeff Feltman, that the 
territory of the future Palestinian state will be close to that of 
the territories occupied in 1967. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that FM Avigdor 
Lieberman is planning to tap veteran Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas 
for the Israeli ambassadorship at the U.N.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted a diplomatic official familiar with PinkasQ record as saying 
that Pinkas has moved from the political Left to the center. 
Maariv reported on an initiative by right-wingers to return Jewish 
presence to JosephQs Tomb near Nablus.  The IDF abandoned the site 
nine years ago during the second Intifada. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday two Border Policemen were 
arrested on suspicion of having beaten an East Jerusalem 
Palestinian. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a new study by the NGO Sikkuy that the 
social, economic, health, and educational gaps between IsraelQs 
Jewish and Arab citizens are continuing to grow, mostly as a result 
of unfair government policies and prejudice from the Jewish 
population. 
 
The media reported that the Government has authorized the purchase 
of a special aircraft for presidential and prime ministerial trips. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Block Quotes 
------------ 
 
¶I.  QGot a Bit Carried Away, Mr. President 
 
Conservative columnist Hanoch Daum QaddressedQ President Obama in 
the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/19): QFrom here, 
Mr. Obama, the whole recent move concerning Gilo seems like a 
haphazard and tragic error, which will only further entangle things 
in the region. This is such a preposterous move, Mr. President, that 
even Tzipi Livni, chairwoman of the opposition, a woman who usually 
misses no opportunity to totally miss out, has understood that she 
must openly oppose this new demand, which regards Gilo as a 
settlement.  But it is not only the demand that we halt our 
construction in Gilo -- a demand which nobody really plans on 
abiding by -- which is causing us to lose sleep.  It is also the 
tone of your words.  You say that if we build in Gilo, a legitimate 
Jerusalem neighborhood, Israel will become a less safe place to 
live.  You explain that the construction will cause Palestinians to 
perform acts of extremism.  You insinuate that terrorism is a direct 
and unavoidable result of Israeli conduct.  You are telling us, 
essentially, that just as if you water a plant it grows, so if you 
build houses in Gilo, terrorists perform suicide attacks in coffee 
shops. A natural occurrence.  So what if following our withdrawal 
from Gush Katif we received more rockets?  So what if after pulling 
out of Lebanon we got served with Katyusha rockets?  So what if 
after having offered the Palestinians everything at Camp David, we 
got a murderous Intifada in return?  This is of less interest to 
you.  After all, it is only our security that concerns you.  Because 
if we only stop building in Gilo, all will be quiet here.  Iran will 
not threaten us with nuclear weapons, Hizbullah will not seek out 
our detriment, and Hamas will choose to disarm itself for all 
eternity.  A new administration comes with no understandings.  This 
is certainly acceptable to us, Mr. President.  But you would do well 
to understand, already early on, when your approval is at an all 
time low of 46 percent, that not all of your heart's desires will 
immediately come true here.  There are some particularly 
preposterous demands -- and that which regards Gilo as a settlement 
is one of them -- which unite us, the Israelis, from right and from 
left and cause us to remember that at the end of the day we, and 
only we, hold the right to decide where we build, what we build, and 
what will happen within our sovereign state.  America is a good 
friend and such it shall remain, Mr. President, even if ever so 
often we must put it in its place. 
 
II.  QGo for It, Abbas! 
 
Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (11/19): QWhat we're seeing now in the 
West Bank is something the democratic world has been awaiting for a 
very, very long time: a non-violent Palestinian independence 
movement.  Everything that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 
Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad are threatening -- a 
unilateral declaration of statehood, an appeal to the UN for 
recognition, or, if that doesn't work, dissolving the PA and 
demanding Israeli citizenship for Palestinians -- are all tactics of 
non-violence.  They're all meant to force Israel, via international 
pressure, to give the Palestinians what every country except this 
one thinks they're entitled to: a sovereign state based on the 
pre-Six Day War borders.  Abbas, Fayyad and their people aren't 
blowing up buses, they're not shooting anybody -- with the notable 
exception of Hamas gunmen -- and they recognize the State of Israel. 
 Isn't this what everyone's been asking of them?... The way things 
stand are that the Palestinians are delivering peace while Israel 
has gone back on its offer of land; who's holding up progress here, 
us or them?  Unfortunately, the Americans and Europeans have been 
too timid to back up the PA, so Abbas and Fayyad are threatening 
unilateral, non-violent actions to embarrass the world -- which 
supports their demands -- into acting.  In response, the prime 
minister and his government are raising the roof.  Unilateral 
actions!  What about the Oslo Accords, which this government has 
always revered?  What about the U.N. resolutions, which this 
government salutes?.... If non-violence fails, it stands to reason 
that the Palestinians will return to violence.  Israel can't see 
this, doesn't want to see it.  So it's up to Obama and the West to 
make Israel see.  What are they waiting for -- an explosion? 
 
III.  QObamaQs No Wimp 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/19): QObama's fury was over not only the 
principle, but also the way Netanyahu handled the crisis [over 
construction in Gilo].  In their recent White House meeting they 
spoke about how even disagreements should be settled in a 
gentlemanly fashion.  White House officials wanted to believe that 
Netanyahu had taken to heart the message that he should never again 
portray the president of the United States as a wimp.  The 
impassioned reaction to U.S. Middle East Envoy George Mitchell's 
request to postpone the Gilo plan outraged Obama and his staff even 
more than the act itself.  They have enough to do with fending off 
the Republican ambushes, mainly on Fox, against Obama's hesitation 
on the war in Afghanistan.  U.S. embassies in Arab countries are 
reporting that Obama's charms are wearing off as it becomes clear 
that nothing has changed since his June speech in Cairo.  The Obama 
administration has recently begun discussing how to appease Abbas -- 
for example, by giving him letters spelling out U.S. support for a 
final-status arrangement based on the 1967 borders and reaffirming 
Washington's position that Jerusalem is divided into eastern and 
western parts.  Netanyahu's behavior in the Gilo affair could remove 
any remaining doubt in Obama's mind over signing such letters. 
 
IV.  QFalse Alarm and Real Threat: Unilateral Events 
 
Former Meretz leader, former Justice Minister, and chief Israeli 
promoter of the Geneva Initiative, Yossi Beilin, wrote in the 
independent Israel Hayom (11/19): Q[The Palestinians] do not want 
the implementation of the second stage of the Roadmap, which 
proposes a state within provisional borders.  From this standpoint, 
the Israeli reaction is unnecessary and even ridiculous.  However, 
the other possibility raised by the Palestinians -- a unilateral 
annulment of the Palestinian Authority -- is a practical 
possibility.  And it is also a real threat to Israel.  It is 
practical because the U.S. cannot veto such a move and Israel cannot 
prevent it: the Palestinians are entitled to announce that they did 
not intend to maintain an authority for such a long time and that 
they are returning the infant to us.  Israel will have to return to 
managing their lives and invest billions of shekels every year to 
meet their daily needs.  In addition, this move will greatly weaken 
the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state and will 
increase the danger of one state, in which the Jews will become a 
minority within a few years.  If the two sides do not return to the 
negotiating table as soon as possible and engage, instead, in making 
old and new threats towards each other -- they will both pay the 
price.  Still, they have the possibility of returning to talks.  If 
there is another violent outburst in the near future, this will 
become impossible. 
 
¶V.  QStop Playing Make-Believes 
 
Conservative columnist Erel Segal wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (11/19): QNo single Palestinian leader is prepared to sign a 
de facto concession on the right of return.  On the other stances, 
Israeli stances are being eroded one by one.  TodayQs Likud is 
yesterdayQs Meretz.  While the erosion continues, we reach 
absurdities such as Gilo.  Those who accepted to freeze construction 
in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] will today be blasted for 
building in Gilo; tomorrow theyQll be condemned for their attempts 
to make the Galilee more Jewish. Oh, sorry, it is no longer 
politically correct to talk about Judaization of the Galilee.  If I 
understand ObamaQs logic properly, it might ignite Palestinian 
resistance.  There also are Palestinians and a demographic problem 
in the Galilee.  The Palestinians know that patience pays.  They 
have grasped the message of QNetzarimQs fate is akin to Tel AvivQs. 
[Netzarim was a settlement in the Gaza Strip.]  So have the 
[rebellious pro-settler] soldiers. 
 
CUNNINGHAM