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P 241020Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002535 
 
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PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The media this morning is still dominated by reports of a possible 
and imminent prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel in 
which Gilad Shalit will be released. In light of strict censorship 
imposed on the impending deal, the Israeli media are still mostly 
basing their information on the foreign media outlets, mainly 
Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, which provide a breakdown of which 
prisoners and other demands are said to be the last obstacles to 
finalizing the deal. 
 
Ma'ariv reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu made efforts to lower 
expectations yesterday and also promised that the cabinet would have 
final say on approving the deal. The newspapers point out that there 
already appears to be a majority of 16 members in the cabinet in 
favor of a deal, even though its details are not yet known, with 
four opposed and nine ministers still uncommitted.  Alex Fishman in 
Yediot Ahronot points out that after the cabinet approves the deal 
and the list of prisoners is made public, it will be possible to 
petition the High Court of Justice against the release of one 
prisoner or another over the course of 48 hours. He notes that in 
the past, the High Court tended to reject such petitions on the 
grounds that it does not meddle in government decisions on this 
subject. 
 
Israel Hayom provides articles in favor of and against the expected 
deal.  Opposing the deal is former director of the POW department in 
the Mossad, Rami Igra, who calls it "a massive release of all the 
greatest murderers in the last and present century and, on the other 
hand, a shameless and bottomless surrender to Hamas's demands." 
Writing in favor of a deal, Amos Regev opines that since it was 
impossible to free Gilad Shalit by means of a rescue operation, a 
deal is the only option left. 
 
Barak Ravid in Haaretz reports this morning that Prime Minister 
Netanyahu has decided to freeze construction in the settlements for 
10 months and is considering bringing the matter up for a cabinet 
vote. The report says that Netanyahu informed the U.S. 
administration of his position and is hopeful that such a statement 
would bring to renewed talks with the Palestinian Authority. 
 
Block Quotes: 
----------- 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
¶I. "A Painful Test that We Will Pass" 
 
Amos Regev, Editor-in-Chief of the independent Israel Hayom opined 
(11/24): Gilad Shalit must return home to the bosom of his family. 
Period. It would have been better had this happened by means of a 
bold rescue operation. But that didn't happen. And that's why we 
have to bring him home in a deal. I have no information to judge 
whether the non-execution of a rescue operation was due to the lack 
of intelligence information... I also don't know the distance that 
IDF soldiers were from the place of Gilad Shalit's captivity during 
Operation Cast Lead... And that's why only the option of a deal is 
left. [This deal] is not the best option in the whole world... In 
contrast to arguments made yesterday, setting a few hundred 
despicable terrorists free will not change the balance of forces in 
the Middle East. The deal will be a painful test. We will pass it. 
 
II. "The Deal that Will Change the Region" 
 
Rami Igra, former director of the POW department in the Mossad wrote 
in the independent Israel Hayom (11/24):  "The deal being worked 
out... includes a number of components on which we should focus a 
bit more with more profound judgment. On the one hand... there will 
be a massive release of all the greatest murderers. On the other 
hand, this is shameless and bottomless surrender to Hamas's demands. 
The deal can lead to the following: It restores to the combat ranks 
the greatest murderers, [who] will return to activity and that the 
price will be hundreds of people killed in the future. The deal 
teaches the Palestinians that the only way to deal with Israel is by 
using force, and in their view, this is the winning method... We are 
giving an ideological seal of approval to extremists and damaging 
the Palestinian peace seekers. The Shalit deal is... a strategic 
step that will affect future events in the region. Netanyahu... must 
take an example from Olmert, who was not seduced by a momentary and 
populist approach. By the time of the next elections, the results of 
this deal will be known, and Netanyahu will not be able to latch 
onto the glory of the present." 
 
III. "Act and be heard" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (11/24): 
"Reports of significant progress toward a deal for exchanging Gilad 
Shalit have multiplied recently. All these reports, however, come 
from foreign sources... Behind the delicate term "blackout" stands 
some serious censorship. Perhaps it is best to conduct the 
negotiations... in secret to prevent the chorus of naysayers from 
paralyzing the government and halting a deal. But the details that 
have leaked out and the vigorous rumor mill surrounding the issue 
keep that scenario from happening and the potential damage caused by 
secrecy is great... it seems that a large majority of Israelis... 
are willing... to set free even the most heinous of murderers to end 
Shalit's suffering... It is unclear why Netanyahu, Barak, and other 
ministers... refrain from disclosing the data without which public 
debate on the subject is pointless... It's difficult to accept 
comprehensive censorship whose purpose - or at least its result - is 
to influence the public's position on a deal... The Israeli public 
carries a burden and responsibility. It must not settle for faits 
accomplis. It must hear, know, and make a considered decision before 
action is taken." 
 
IV. "The Shame of Capitulation" 
 
Conservative Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (11/24): "Dear ministers, after a long 
brainwashing, the decision now moves to you. It is said that there 
will be an automatic majority in the cabinet. Indeed? Will you also 
lend a hand to the disgrace? The proposal on the cabinet's table 
should be called by its real name: surrender. The Israeli government 
wishes to kneel before Hamas and to surrender to all its whims. The 
anti-Semitic terror organization will dictate the terms of surrender 
to the State of Israel... This won't happen next time, they try to 
tell you and us. Israel will set new rules. New rules? Why is the 
blood of the next soldier to be kidnapped worth less than the blood 
of Gilad Shalit?...    We can understand the family. But Gilad 
Shalit has long since stopped being a matter of one family. That is 
precisely the reason why his price went up... You, dear ministers, 
can stop the madness. You are there in order to serve the national 
interest. Not to surrender to emotional whims... Honorable 
ministers, Gilad Shalit's release is a supreme interest, deserving 
of every effort. But there is an abyss of difference between "every 
effort" and "any price." If you have any independent thinking 
ability left, then please do not confuse between the two, when you 
go to vote. 
CUNNINGHAM