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P 011143Z DEC 09
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RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3992
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002575 
 
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 reported that yesterday settler leaders threatened to ban 
IDF civil administration inspectors from their communities as they 
prepared to tell PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a face-to-face meeting 
this week that they will ignore his 10-month moratorium on new 
construction in their communities.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories declared 
that the moratorium is "illegitimate, immoral, inhuman, and 
anti-Zionist."  The Jerusalem Post reported that an official from 
the Prime Minister's Office refused to respond to that statement. 
The purpose of the meeting, the official said, was for Netanyahu to 
hear the concerns, complaints and frustrations of the settlement 
leaders with respect to the moratorium.  He is expected to explain 
his decision to freeze all new settlement projects that have not yet 
broken ground.  Netanyahu, however, had agreed that settlers can 
complete 3,000 housing units whose construction had already begun. 
The official said Netanyahu would articulate the "high regard in 
which he holds the settlement community."  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that yesterday the conservative Legal Forum for the Land of 
Israel asked the High Court of Justice to stop the moratorium until 
the Government votes in the matter.  Israel Radio quoted Likud 
cabinet minister Benny Begin as saying that settlement construction 
will resume in force after the end of the freeze. 
 
HaQaretz reported that European Union foreign ministers are expected 
to officially call next week for the division of Jerusalem, to serve 
as the capitals of both Israel and Palestine.  The newspaper cites a 
draft document authored by the current holder of the rotating E.U. 
presidency, Sweden, which implies that the E.U. would recognize a 
unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood.  HaQaretz reported 
that Jerusalem is waging a diplomatic campaign to keep the E.U. from 
issuing such an endorsement, but cited the belief of diplomats close 
to the E.U. deliberations that it is virtually inevitable.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as saying, 
in a message to mark yesterdayQs annual International Day of 
Solidarity with the Palestinian People that  Palestinian statehood 
is a "vital" component necessary for regional peace.   Palestinian 
officials were expected to use the platform to ask the Security 
Council to declare a Palestinian state along 1967 borders, with east 
Jerusalem as the state's capital, according to reports published in 
recent weeks. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israel officials as saying 
that IsraelQs Ambassador to the U.N., Gabriela Shalev, who is slated 
to address the assembly on Tuesday, is expected to reject the 
concept of a one-sided establishment of a Palestinian state, 
emphasizing that the only way to achieve peace is through 
negotiations.  Israel Radio reported the Israeli Foreign MinistryQs 
warning that the possible E.U. declaration could hamper the E.U.Qs 
ability to mediate in the current peace process. 
 
Maariv continued to cite Arab media that progress on a deal to 
release Gilad Shalit is close.  Leading media cite December 17 or 24 
as possible dates for the swap.  Yediot quoted Al Arabiya-TV as 
saying that there is a difference of opinions between Israel and 
Hamas regarding the release of 50 prisoners from the movementQs 
military branch, as Israel refuses to free them.  Israel Radio 
quoted the London-based Al Hayat as saying that Israel has agreed to 
release 17 prisoners from East Jerusalem.  Major media quoted 
Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch as saying on Sunday that it 
is too early to reveal information about the prisoner exchange. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited figures released yesterday by the GOIQQs 
central Bureau of Statistics that the number of housing starts in 
the West Bank in the West Bank dropped by 27.6% in the first nine 
months of 2009, compared to the same time period in 2008.  In 
contrast, however, the number of completed homes rose by 30% in the 
first nine months of 2009, compared to the same time period in 
¶2008. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Task Force to Save the Nation and the 
Land, the organization that offered every soldier refusing to 
evacuate a settlement, and the Kfir Brigade soldiers who publicly 
demonstrated their opposition to evacuation, 1,000 shekels (a little 
more than $250) for every day they spend in military prison, is a 
registered non-profit organization and has a license to operate. 
The group receives donations from a U.S. based group that is tax 
exempt.  No comment was available from the organization.  The group, 
established in 2003 and rising to fame during the disengagement from 
Gaza, melds positions of the extreme right wing and the messianic 
Hassidic Chabad sect. The group is headed by Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, 
a Chabad Hassid of the messianic stream, who lives in Kiryat Gat. In 
recent years the group began offering monetary rewards to soldiers 
and civilians.  In response to a question by HaQaretz, regarding the 
role of the registrar of NGOs not taking any action to disband the 
group for operating illegally, a Justice Ministry spokesman said 
that "a review of the file [of the organization] does not reveal any 
documents that support this argument.  We will be able to examine 
this claim if information available to the person making the claim 
[against the group] is given to us.  Moreover, so long as there is 
suspicion of illegal conduct, the authorized body to examine the 
matter is the police."  Like many of the extreme right-wing 
organizations receiving money from U.S. supporters, the funding for 
the group enjoys tax-free status.  Peace groups and Palestinians 
have complained to U.S. authorities, but there has been no change in 
the status of the organizationQs supporting the right wing.  The 
bureau of DM Ehud Barak told HaQaretz that it had instructed the 
legal authorities to initiate an immediate investigation into the 
role of various elements that encourage soldiers to carry out 
protest actions against orders. 
 
The Jerusalem Post writes that the planned construction of the West 
Bank city of Rawabi combines Palestinian entrepreneurialism and 
Israeli experience. 
 
HaQaretz quoted IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu as saying 
yesterday that his office is to begin drafting computer experts with 
an eye toward establishing an Internet and new media department 
unit.   Responding to criticism of Israel's ability to face hostile 
entities on the Web, Benayahu said that the new program would be 
able to deal with the problem. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, Qin the face of the growing 
missile threat against Israel,Q the IDF Operations Directorate has 
established a new department responsible for coordinating efforts to 
protect IDF bases. 
 
NATOQs Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, who 
visited Israel last week, was quoted as saying in an interview with 
HaQaretz that his organization will not play a role in the peace 
process and that Israel has a key role to play in preventing 
terrorism throughout the Mediterranean. 
 
HaQaretz reported on sharp criticism by senior Foreign Ministry 
officials of the appointment by FM Avigdor Lieberman of Qparty hack 
Dorit Golender as Ambassador to Russia since she has no diplomatic 
experience. 
All media reported that the trial of Ivan Demjanjuk, who is accused 
of involvement in the murder of 27,900 Jews in the death camp of 
Sobibor, opened in Munich yesterday. 
 
Yediot reported that the immunization of all Israelis against swine 
flu will start in two weeks.  Maariv and other media reported that 
12 patients have died over the past five days Q the number of deaths 
linked to the virus has risen to 63. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
¶I.  QTerrible Blather 
 
Senior columnist and longtime peace advocate Yoel Marcus wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz(12/1): Q[In his op-ed on the 
Middle East last month, New York Times pundit Thomas] Friedman was 
witty, as usual, but a president plummeting in the polls is not 
going to go into an election year at risk of losing his Democratic 
majority in Congress.  Indeed, Thursday's New York Times editorial 
disagreed with Friedman, a warm-hearted Jew who wants to give us a 
good shake until we say we're ready.  The New York Times, in 
contrast, says the administration lacks initiative and 
determination, and points to the failure of the President and his 
advisers to revive negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. 
 QPeacemaking takes strategic skill.  But we see no sign that 
President Obama and Mr. Mitchell were thinking more than one move 
down the board,Q the paper said.  There is no choice but to keep 
trying, lest the extremists lead to another war.  And so a freeze is 
unacceptable.  Netanyahu has not really changed.  As usual, he will 
do what needs to be done only when he is forced to.  That is 
actually what The New York Times is demanding.  The maturity of 
Netanyahu's leadership will be tested in his ability to implement 
the construction moratorium in the territories, no matter how 
QterribleQ the price is.  Nothing can be worse than renewed terror 
or war. 
 
II.  QU.S. and Israel: Lessons of 2009 
 
David Makovsky, senior fellow and director of the Project on the 
Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute, the co-author 
with Dennis Ross of the new book QMyths, Illusions and Peace,Q wrote 
in Ha'aretz (12/1): QThe announcement of a moratorium on building in 
the settlements ends the first chapter of U.S.-Israel relations 
during the Obama era.  There are lessons for all.... One lesson is 
that even if the Israeli opposition cannot say QyesQ to Barack 
Obama, the United States has lost mainstream Israelis.  A second 
lesson is that caution is required in raising expectations.  Abbas 
cannot be less Palestinian than the U.S.... There are also lessons 
for Israel.  Trust at the top is indispensable.  Obama and Netanyahu 
will both be around for some time.  Israelis have bemoaned the lack 
of trust between the two.  Israel believes it was ambushed on the 
issue of a settlement freeze.  On the one hand, Israel is correct in 
claiming that the Obama administration erred by denying the verbal 
understanding between the U.S. and Israel in 2003 on defining the 
geographic expansion of settlements.  This undermines the prospect 
of future verbal understandings with the U.S.  On the other hand, 
trust goes both ways.  Israel does not emphasize the fact that it 
never implemented the West Bank understanding of 2003 that it now 
declares to be key.... Indeed, there are lessons for Arabs, too. 
Despite Obama's speech in Cairo, which raised expectations, the 
long-standing Arab dream of the U.S. bending Israel to its will did 
not materialize.... The Arab states need to contribute their share 
to ensure that Netanyahu's gesture is not lost.  They need to 
provide Abbas with political cover and declare their unambiguous 
support for peace negotiations now between Israel and the 
Palestinians. 
 
III.  QHouse of Cards 
 
Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in Ha'aretz (12/1): 
QAt this time the Palestinian state may be no more than an 
impossible dream.  The reality is that there are currently three 
Palestinian entities -- the Kingdom of Jordan, the Hamas-ruled 
enclave in Gaza, and the area of Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West 
Bank] that is not in the control of Abbas, although his headquarters 
is there.  No law of nature prohibits the existence of three 
Palestinian states at some future date, but it seems patently 
unreasonable and not very likely.  Freezing settlement construction 
in Judea and Samaria for the next 10 months is not going to change 
that.  So why did Benjamin Netanyahu's government decide on the 
10-month settlement freeze, which is no more than a futile gesture? 
The prevailing explanation is that the Israeli government wanted to 
please President Obama.  Although personal relations between the 
leaders of nations are not completely unimportant in international 
relations, it is certainly not the first priority in conducting a 
country's foreign policy. Relations between Israel and the United 
States are not based on personal sympathy, but rather on common 
values and strategic interests.  When there are differences of 
opinion between two friendly nations they are not resolved by trying 
to please one or the other leader.  They are certainly not resolved 
through the issuance of orders by one side to the other.  Israel is 
a small country, but it is an independent country.  Netanyahu does 
not have to state, as Menachem Begin did, that we are not a banana 
republic, but he does need to make that clear.  That is of great 
importance for U.S.-Israel relations in the years to come. 
 
IV.  QCooperation with the U.S. 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
U.S., wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (12/1): QAs was 
apparently agreed in advance, U.S. and Israeli spokespeople stressed 
that the Israeli decision on a construction moratorium in Judea and 
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] was a unilateral step, and this was in 
order to spare Washington the need to relate to the question of 
whether or not this was done with the United StatesQ consent.  There 
may have been earlier understandings, but the importance of the 
official statements in praise of the [Israeli] Government's decision 
-- statements made in Washington -- is that they give the seal of 
approval.  Israel proposed a construction delay of half a year, the 
Americans demanded a year, and the compromise was ten months.... The 
avowed aspiration of the U.S. administration is to reach a permanent 
status arrangement within a set period of time.  In the meantime, it 
seems it will focus on an attempt to launch talks at relatively low 
levels between the sides, with its Qfacilitation.Q  It's hard to 
believe that this goal, i.e. reaching a permanent status 
arrangement, will be reached in the foreseeable future.  After all, 
there is no practical possibility of bridging between Israel's 
positions and those of the Arabs on the core issues, i.e. refugees, 
Jerusalem, and settlements.  The proof of that is that the 
Palestinians flatly rejected even the most far-reaching proposals of 
the Olmert government on the matter.  In fact, the famous moderation 
of the QmoderatesQ among the Palestinians is only to a degree, and 
does not even include recognition of the right of the Jewish people 
to a state of their own.  That said, Israel does not want and should 
not stand in America's way when it claims that perhaps it is 
possible to reach positive results.... Our target audience at the 
moment is not Ramallah but, rather, Washington. We should also 
remember that the U.S., under Obama, and Israel under Netanyahu, 
have unprecedented cooperation on security matters.  With the clock 
hands of the Iranian nuclear threat ticking quickly ahead, anyone 
who criticizes the Prime Minister's latest decision and anyone who 
has harsh criticism, sometimes overly harsh, of the U.S. 
E 
administration, should also take this fact into account. 
 
¶V.  QThe Gilad Shalit Deal 
 
Former Meretz leader, former Justice Minister, and chief Israeli 
promoter of the Geneva Initiative, Yossi Beilin, wrote in Israel 
Hayom (12/1): QGilad Shalit will not be the last abducted Israeli -- 
not only because his very release will increase the appetite to 
kidnap others.  As long as there is no peace between us and the 
Palestinians, there will be violent occurrences in this area , 
including abductions.... It would be better to make every possible 
effort to resolve the conflict and understand that until then we 
will need to waver in dilemmas of the Shalit affair type. 
 
VI.  QIn defense of Barack Obama 
 
Lenny Ben-David, who served as a senior diplomat in the Israeli 
Embassy in Washington and a member of AIPACQs staff in Washington 
and Jerusalem from 1992 to 1997, wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (12/1): QThe Obama administration 
certainly has committed its share of questionable activities, such 
as ignoring George W. Bush's assurances on Israeli population 
centers in the West Bank, being over-confident in the ability of 
Palestinian security forces, attempting to appointment Chas Freeman 
to a high intelligence post, and abysmally executing its campaign 
against Israeli settlements and building in Jerusalem.  Perhaps the 
biggest mistake of all, however, was the advice given by Obama 
advisors that the rules of tikkun olam [a Hebrew phrase meaning: 
mending the world] have a place in the compassionless Middle East. 
The diplomatic failures led the New York Times editorial board to 
conclude on November 28, QWe don't know exactly what happened but we 
are told that Mr. Obama relied more on the judgment of his political 
advisers -- specifically his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel -- than of 
his Mideast specialists.Q  Misguided, perhaps.  But to declare the 
Obama administration to be anti-Semitic is just wrong.  Let's keep 
the debate in the area of policy.  Unfortunately, there'll be no 
shortage of topics to discuss. 
 
MORENO