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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002643 
 
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WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  U.S. Foreign Policy 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media reported that settlers are preparing for a heated 
confrontation with security services over the construction freeze in 
West Bank settlements.  For the first time, settlers are seeking to 
organize demonstrations and block roads in several Israeli 
communities within the Green Line.  Over the weekend the media 
quoted settler leaders as saying that they have to come out in force 
against PM Benjamin NetanyahuQs QWhite Paper,Q comparing his policy 
with that of the British authorities that limited Jewish building in 
Mandate-era Palestine.  Yesterday morning, the residents of the 
veteran settlement of Kedumim demonstrated the force being used in 
the campaign against the freeze.  Major media reported that 
officials from hesder yeshivas (which combine religious studies and 
military service) have vowed to fight the IDFQs attempt to cut ties 
with the Har Bracha Yeshiva (near Nablus), whose head, Rabbi Eliezer 
Melamed, has called on soldiers to refuse to act against settlers 
and settlements.  The media reported that Netanyahu is trying to 
minimize opposition within Likud to the construction freeze. 
Yesterday Maariv reported that the Israeli defense establishment is 
considering bolstering the security detail around Netanyahu due to 
the settlersQ protests.  The Jerusalem Post reported that Likud 
Knesset Member ZeQev Elkin told the newspaper yesterday that the 
moratorium could cost the state half a billion shekels (around $125 
million). 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that Israel is pressing 
E.U. ministers to reject a Swedish draft text calling for East 
Jerusalem to become the capital of a future Palestinian state. 
 
Leading media quoted Al Jazeera-TV as saying last night that the 
German mediator in the negotiations for the release of captive 
soldier Gilad Shalit is en-route to Tel Aviv with Hamas' response to 
the latest Israeli offer.  Reports in the Arab press over the last 
few days indicate that there are still significant differences 
 
between the Israeli and Palestinian positions on a possible swap, 
making it unlikely that Hamas will accept the Israeli offer. 
According to HaQaretz, the mediator is pressing both sides to reach 
an agreement quickly. Arab media reports have said Hamas and Israel 
expect the negotiations to be completed by the end of the month, and 
the prevailing assessment in Israel is that it will take at least 
another few weeks to finalize the deal.   HaQaretz reported that PM 
Netanyahu has been consulting with only a few advisers about the 
deal, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of how it is 
progressing.  Meanwhile, HaQaretz reported that Hamas leader Mahmoud 
Zahar told the newspaper yesterday that reports in the Arab press 
that four French doctors visited Shalit were inaccurate.  (The 
reports had presented the alleged visit to Shalit by the doctors as 
a confidence building measure by Hamas.)  However, an Egyptian 
source said yesterday that French doctors had traveled from Egypt to 
Gaza.  The source said they went to Gaza to provide surgical care 
and would not confirm reports that they saw Shalit. 
 
The media reported that on Thursday President Obama again delayed 
the moving of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to 
Jerusalem. 
 
All media reported that yesterday cabinet ministers unanimously 
approved the appointment of Attorney Yehuda Weinstein as the 
countryQs next attorney general.  Weinstein will begin preparing for 
his new role in about two weeks and will formally take over from 
current Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on February 1.  Media 
reported that Mazuz and State Prosecutor Moshe Lador have begun 
discussions on whether to indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman 
on charges which include accepting bribes and laundering money. 
Media reported that LiebermanQs indictment is expected before Mazuz 
leaves office. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the State Prosecutor's Office never responded 
to some 400 High Court petitions filed by Palestinians seeking to 
save their West Bank homes from demolition orders -- which means the 
homes cannot be demolished -- according to a report released 
yesterday by the Regavim advocacy group.  The homes were classified 
by the state as being illegally built.  In an unrelated matter, 
Yediot and other media reported that right-wing activists are 
suspected of setting fire to a Palestinian house in a village near 
Nablus. 
 
Yesterday IDF Radio reported that Palestinian terrorists in Gaza 
have begun launching Russian-made S-5K rockets at southern Israel. 
 
 
Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that senior Israeli diplomatic 
officials cast doubt on an Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper story 
reporting that Turkey will resume mediating between Israel and Syria 
in the first half of 2010. 
 
HaQaretz (Hebrew Ed.) and Maariv led with the Copenhagen Climate 
Change Summit.  Maariv is one of 56 newspapers from 45 countries 
that published a global editorial today on the summit.  The media 
emphasized IsraelQs unsatisfactory record on the subject -- in 
particular its inaction on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
As IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is embarking on a 
five-day tour of the Far East, The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli 
military source as saying that Israel is vital in helping New Delhi 
make a Qvery significant transition to Western technology. 
 
Yediot cited the Jewish-American communityQs anger over the White 
HouseQs inviting only 400 guests to its Hanukkah party, instead of 
the customary 800. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  QBibi, DonQt Give In 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (12/6): QThe 
cabinet resolution to freeze construction in the settlements has in 
hindsight proved to be a slapdash affair, drafted without a thorough 
examination of the difficulties involved in its implementation.... 
This is the time to tell Netanyahu: Bibi, don't give in.  The Prime 
Minister's willingness to take a political risk and go head-to-head 
with his own supporters to advance Israel's foreign-policy interests 
was a correct, albeit small and hesitant, step on the road to 
realizing his vision of Qtwo states for two peoples.Q  He must not 
be deterred by settler protests and pressure from Likud ministers. 
Further development of the settlements is damaging and unnecessary. 
Even if Netanyahu is halting it in order to pacify U.S. President 
Barack Obama, it is important that he stick to his decision and not 
water it down.  Netanyahu is correct in demanding that the settlers 
limit their protest to legal means and respect the decision of an 
elected government.  He must serve as an example to the settlers and 
not deviate from his own decision by making sure that any new 
construction in the settlements is halted.  Moreover, he must 
tirelessly continue his efforts to renew the peace process with the 
Palestinians. 
 
II.  QThis Time, the Government Means It 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in HaQaretz (12/7): QQOne 
thing, at least, is emphatically different this time from all the 
previous rounds,Q said an Israel Defense Forces officer who has been 
intimately involved with the situation in the West Bank for over a 
decade.  QThe political echelon has finally stopped winking.  This 
is the first time we're receiving clear, detailed instructions on 
how to deal with building in the settlements,Q he said.  QNo one is 
trying to cut corners -- instructions were given and we're operating 
according to them.Q  If he is right, the inevitable consequence will 
be a more heated, potentially violent conflict between security 
services and settlers.... The past week's events represented some 
interesting phenomena: 1) The army is taking a tougher tone.... 2) 
U.S. President Barack Obama has united the settlers.... 3) The past 
few months, in which the Government delayed responding to pressure 
from Washington, gave the settlers time to organize. 
 
III.  QA Step of Sobriety 
 
Dov Weisglass, who was former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's top 
diplomatic advisor, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (12/7): QWhat is missing in the decision on the 
construction freeze?  It lacks real ability to affect what is 
happening.  It will not lead to a real stop of construction in Judea 
and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], except for a brief time span, and 
will not bring about a change in the diplomatic environment.  The 
Palestinians do not view it as a reason to renew negotiations and 
the international community, so it would appear, was not overly 
impressed by the Israeli initiative.  The Quartet refused to 
congratulate it and the U.S. and the other major countries of the 
 
world do not intend to declare that in the wake of this initiative 
the Palestinians are called upon to return to the negotiating 
table.... In this context, there is great sense in the contention of 
the settlers that the freeze is unnecessarily oppressive: they are 
being harmed, but [the freeze] is bringing no benefit.... The 
continuation of Israeli construction throughout the Judea and 
Samaria territories erodes IsraelQs main diplomatic asset -- its 
special relationship with the United States.... What Sharon 
understood, and Olmert after him, is now becoming apparent to the 
current government: good or bad, just or unjust, that is the 
reality.  No one in the world agrees to IsraelQs presence in a 
majority of the Judea and Samaria territories and the continued 
construction there.  Israeli persistence will bring upon its 
diplomatic isolation and this is something that Israel cannot 
afford.  The freeze plan is an attempt to avoid this.  It is not 
important in and of itself, but as a first sign of a process of 
understanding and sobriety it is highly meaningful. 
 
IV.  QEurope Divides Jerusalem 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (12/7): QAfter a long period of frustration, Abu Mazen 
finally has an international diplomatic achievement: apparently, the 
Israeli-Palestinian battle over the E.U. Council of Foreign 
Ministers in Brussels today will end with a clear Palestinian 
victory.  A final draft of the agreement, which reached Jerusalem 
yesterday, indicates that the Palestinians will receive an 
unprecedented European statement.  Late last night, a draft was 
passed that will evidently serve as the basis for today's 
resolution.  Barring any last-minute changes, it will include the 
following principles: Europe calls for the establishment of an 
independent, democratic, and contiguous Palestinian state in the 
West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.  Jerusalem shall be the capital 
of both states.  All settlement activity must be stopped, including 
in East Jerusalem and natural growth. The European Union will 
recognize no changes in the 1967 borders unless both sides agree to 
them.  Regarding the decision for a temporary construction freeze, 
the European statement will include a sentence along these lines: 
The council views the decision for a temporary and partial 
construction freeze positively, as a first step. Jerusalem 
officials expressed disappointment over the fact that the United 
States did not involve itself with the Europeans in any real sense 
and that the frantic telephone campaign that the Prime Minister 
himself conducted over the past several days was fruitless. 
Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem are angry mainly with Sweden, 
calling it Qthe most sanctimonious and hypocritical capital in 
Europe.Q  As far as the Israeli Foreign Ministry is concerned, Great 
Britain's conduct was also disappointing.  QLondon's positions are 
disappointing,Q a high-ranking diplomatic official said.  QIt is 
cooperating with Israel on the Iranian subject, but when it comes to 
the Palestinians, it takes a hostile line. 
 
¶V.  QBack to a Confederation -- There Is No Other Choice 
 
Settler leader Emuna Elon wrote in the independent Israel Hayom 
(12/6): QJust as there is no one who is indifferent to Gilad 
[ShalitQs] fate, there is no one, not even on the most extreme 
fringes of the right wing, who wants a binational state.  That said, 
one doesn't necessarily have to establish a Palestinian state that 
is led by Hamas in the center of the Land of Israel, and one doesn't 
necessarily have to commit suicide.  Contrary to the incessant 
brainwashing campaign of fear, it could very well be that 
strengthening Jewish settlement in the entire area between the River 
Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea could be just what is needed to 
make it clear to our enemies that we have returned to our land with 
the goal of staying in it -- and by so doing also to provide a 
countering force against terrorism and to tempt the Palestinians, 
sooner or later, to examine new solutions.  The Land of Israel is 
probably bi-national by nature and partitioning it by means of any 
fence is not going to change that.  Arabs will always be here, but 
by annexing the Arabs of Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] into 
a Jordan-Palestinian confederation and rehabilitating the residents 
of the refugee camps, Israel can still maintain its Jewish majority. 
 Instead of establishing a Palestinian state between the Jordan 
River and the Mediterranean Sea, we can establish for ourselves a 
safer future. 
 
VI.  QThe Silence of the Left 
 
Left-wing contributor Niva Lanir wrote in HaQaretz (12/7): QThe Left 
has not survived the Qwar of attritionQ it has waged since 1968. 
Its claim that its positions won the day does not hold water.  It 
doesn't matter who is more left-wing, be it [KadimaQs] Ehud Olmert 
or [MeretzQs] Haim Oron or [the Labor PartQs] Yuli Tamir.  What 
matters is whether there is a decision.  And it has yet to be made. 
Until there is an agreement stipulating two states for two peoples, 
there are no winners.  Not the Left, not Israel, and not the 
Palestinians.  In the meantime, what we have is something that may 
yet endure.  Maybe it is an examination.  Perhaps the removal of 
outposts.  Maybe a settlement freeze.  Perhaps a jumpstart of 
settlement construction.  Maybe a process.  All of these represent a 
huge question mark -- which way will Netanyahu and Barak turn at the 
crossroads?  Toward two states or toward a bi-national state?  In 
the fourth quarter of the game, the left is floundering on the 
sidelines.  What a pity that it is not summoning what is left of its 
strength in order to call on the Israeli Government and the 
Palestinians (yes, also the Palestinians) to return to negotiations. 
 These are our lives and theirs as well.  Does anyone else have a 
better option? 
 
------------------------ 
¶2.  U.S. Foreign Policy: 
------------------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
 
QObamaQs March of Folly 
 
Avraham Ben-Zvi, visiting Professor of Political Science at Haifa 
University and an expert in U.S.-Israel relations, wrote in the 
independent Israel Hayom (12/6): QJanuary 20 will mark the 
anniversary of ObamaQs swearing-in.  As far as the [American] 
foreign affairs and defense policy are concerned, a gloomy and 
worrisome picture is emerging.  Like the modus operandi of a 
previous Democratic president, Lyndon Johnson, one gets the 
impression that Barack Obama also feels at ease with an exclusive 
arena -- the domestic one.... For instance, we are witnessing the 
complete, painful collapse of the strategy of soft, appeasing talk 
against the Iranian threat.... Regarding the war in Afghanistan, it 
appears that ObamaQs America has not learned all the lessons of its 
involvement in the Vietnamese quagmire or the Iraqi valley of 
tears.... A scent of amateurism and lack of sufficient awareness of 
the social, political, ideological, tribal, regional, and national 
contexts arises from the way Obama handles Afghanistan and other 
crisis zones.  When this amateurism goes hand in hand with a narrow 
technocratic approach that believes in engineered and short-lived 
solutions to problems absolutely, in total opposition to the world 
of American values -- chances are great that the current march of 
folly will lead ObamaQs America straight into the heart of a new 
darkness. 
 
CUNNINGHAM