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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000418 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
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COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
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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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Afghanistan 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
HaQaretz reported that DM Ehud Barak will leave for the U.S. Tuesday 
to discuss Iran's nuclear program and the possible reviving of talks 
with the Palestinians.  Barak decided to make the trip despite 
rising security tensions, especially on the northern border.   Major 
media reported that yesterday Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman 
of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited widespread concern about 
IranQs nuclear program, but emphasized the importance of diplomatic 
and economic pressure, rather than military action, to stem it.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu told the Jewish 
Agency Board of Governors that the international community was 
reaching a fateful junction regarding Iran. 
 
Barak is to speak with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and senior 
Pentagon officials, followed by a meeting in New York with UN 
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.  Along with efforts to renew talks 
with the Palestinians and discussions with the U.N. over the 
Goldstone report, Barak will devote much of his visit to the Iranian 
threat and its implications for Israel's relations with its closest 
neighbors.  According to HaQaretz, sources say Jerusalem expects the 
Obama administration to lead the way next month toward harsh 
international sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program.  Israel 
is worried that its northern border could flare up if tensions with 
Tehran rise since the Islamic Republic has close links with Syria 
and Hizbullah. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that yesterday, 
speaking after a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy left open the possibility of 
recognizing a Palestinian state before negotiations with Israel are 
completed. His foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, has said in 
recent days that he would be QtemptedQ by the idea. QWe want a 
Palestinian state but we want a viable state,Q Sarkozy was quoted as 
saying.  Israel Radio said that Abbas has not yet responded to the 
U.S. administration offer of proximity talks. 
 
The media reported that yesterday European Union foreign ministers 
protested against the use of forged European passports by a hit 
squad that killed a top Hamas official in Dubai, but stopped well 
short of blaming Israel for the undercover action.  Moreover, The 
Jerusalem Post noted that the EU foreign ministersQ statement was 
softer than its original draft, with the EU observer Web site 
reporting that language referring to Qextra-judicial killingQ was 
deleted.  French President Sarkozy reiterated his condemnation of 
the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai and insisted 
"nothing positive" comes of such killings.  He added that France 
cannot accept such "executions."  At least 11 passports from 
Britain, Ireland, Germany, and France - many of them forged - were 
used by the alleged killers of Mabhouh on January 20.  Israel Radio 
reported that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded that 
Israel cooperate in his governmentQs investigation of the passport 
issue.  FM Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying in Brussels that 
there is no evidence linking Israel to the killing.  Maariv reported 
that Dubai and Hamas are trying to QenlistQ the EU -- the latter 
wishing to define Israel as a terror state. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the 
inclusion of two controversial holy places in a list of "national 
heritage sites," which Israel wants to restore and preserve, set 
Palestinian protesters hurling rocks and earned a statement of 
"concern" from the U.N. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted IsraelQs Ambassador to the U.S., Michael 
Oren, who urged American Jews to support Israel despite any 
reservations or differences of opinion regarding Israeli policy. 
Oren was addressing the Jewish Council for Public Affairs annual 
plenum in Dallas. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Palestinian security sources have told the 
daily that the PA thwarted a suicide attack about six weeks ago that 
a young woman from Nablus had planned to carry out in Israel.  The 
woman, who belongs to the Islamic Jihad, was arrested by the 
Palestinian security forces.  A spokesman for the Palestinian 
forces, Adnan Damiri, was quoted as saying that he had no 
information on the subject. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Obama administration is pressuring the 
Israeli authorities to allow four activists of the International 
Solidarity Movement from the U.S. and Britain to enter the country 
so they can testify in the civil suit brought against the Defense 
Ministry by the family of Rachel Corrie, an activist killed by an 
IDF bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003.  The Interior 
Ministry informed the family's attorney, Hussein Abu Hussein that 
the witnesses, including a peace activist expelled from Israel in 
the past, would be allowed entry into the country so they can 
testify during deliberations scheduled at the Haifa District Court 
in two weeks.  However, the Defense Ministry rejected he family's 
request to allow Dr. Ahmed Abu Nakira from the Al-Najar Hospital in 
Rafah, who treated Corrie's injuries and later confirmed her death, 
to enter Israel.  A request by Abu Hussein to question the physician 
via video conference was also rejected because "it is difficult to 
identify the witness and present him with documents." 
 
Yediot reported that the Foreign Ministry has instructed all the 
Israeli embassies worldwide  to embark on a battle to block an Arab 
initiative to again raise the Goldstone report at the UN General 
Assembly this coming Friday and to adopt a resolution that is not to 
IsraelQs liking.  Yediot quoted Foreign Ministry sources as saying 
that the proposal was phrased in a relatively moderate and balanced 
fashion with the goal of improving the voting balance for the Arabs. 
 Despite the moderate phrasing, the Foreign Ministry ordered its 
embassies to act so that the countries of the world oppose the draft 
on the grounds that addressing the subject will make it difficult to 
renew the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. 
Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Evyatar Manor was quoted as 
saying that Israel was trying to improve the voting pattern of the 
U.N. General Assembly when it adopted the Goldstone report on 
November 5 Qin order to deny the legitimacy of the Goldstone 
process. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is turning a blind eye to a 
huge poster that was unfurled from a crane in an Ankara suburb on 
Sunday, showing President Shimon Peres seemingly bowing to Turkish 
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Col. Richard Kemp, one of BritainQs top 
military commanders, as saying on Sunday that Israel was 
instrumental in forming the British forcesQ doctrine on suicide 
bombings in Afghanistan.  Kemp was speaking at the U.K. Zionist 
FederationQs annual dinner in London. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Haitian-American Mathieu Eugene, 
who is visiting Israel as part of a delegation of New York City 
lawmakers through February 26 with the Jewish Community Relations 
 
Council of New York, is looking for Israeli assistance to Haiti. 
 
HaQaretz reported that a new radio station for settlers -- QGalei 
IsraelQ (IsraelQs Waves) -- was inaugurated yesterday.  The popular 
comic actor Zeev Revah and Channel 10-TVQs regional affairs 
correspondent Zvi Yehezkeli will take part in its broadcasts. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a new report released by Hiddush, a 
religious freedom advocacy group, which describes 2009 as the Qworst 
year of the decadeQ in terms of religious freedom and equality. 
 
Leading media reported that a team of Israeli archaeologists has 
announced the discovery of a massive wall they say dates to the 10th 
century BCE in Jerusalem's Ophel Park on the slope between the 
Temple Mount and the village of Silwan.  The dig director, Dr. Eilat 
Mazar, dates the wall according to potsherds found nearby to the 
period of King Solomon and the major period of construction in 
Jerusalem in the First Temple period, as described in the Bible. 
The dig is a joint project by the Hebrew University, the Israel 
Antiquities Authority, and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is planning 
on presenting the cabinet with a proposal for a two-year budget for 
the years 2011-2012.  The finance minister will also propose 
establishing a new fiscal policy to determine the growth in 
government spending from year to year. Steinitz and PM Netanyahu 
have already reached an agreement on both proposals, and after the 
cabinet approves, they will be sent on to the Knesset.  Yediot 
reported that the Bank of Israel is opening a representation in New 
York at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  While the 
Bank says that the new office is vital for handling IsraelQs 
monetary affairs at a time of crisis, sources in the institutions 
told Yediot that the representation is not needed in the age of 
instant communications. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Israel Electric Corporation is yet again 
negotiating with energy giant BG, formerly known as British Gas, for 
the purchase of natural gas from BG's field off the Gaza shoreline. 
The newspaper says it's questionable whether the talks will go 
anywhere this time, given the chasm between the price BG wants and 
the lower price the utility wants to pay. 
 
Maariv reported that the famous American boxing champion Muhammad 
Ali is seeking treatment in Israel for the Parkinson disease from 
which he suffers. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  QOstrich Policy 
 
Senior columnist and longtime peace advocate Yoel Marcus wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/23): QThe sense is that 
the Americans have moved aside a bit.  Has anybody heard from 
special envoy George Mitchell lately?  Have Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton's metallic tones been heard?  No one can depend on 
the parties reaching an agreement.  Under these circumstances, 
either an agreement will be forced on us or they will withdraw from 
the process.  With Iran's nuclear developments threatening the whole 
world, it's more likely to assume that sooner or later they will 
force an arrangement on us.  If reports are true that Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas is ready to renew talks, with Prime Minister 
Salam Fayyad at his side -- the man who rehabilitated the West Bank 
and the most serious potential leader on the horizon -- we must 
decide how to translate Bibi's commitment in his Bar-Ilan speech 
into a two-state solution.  A precondition for the negotiations to 
succeed, if they take place, is that both sides give up on 
preconditions, because preconditions are like mines planted at the 
beginning of the road.  A second condition: Before starting talks, 
each side should figure out how many concessions they are willing to 
make, so they can come to the table partially ready, at least within 
their own camps.  Are the Palestinians prepared to be flexible 
regarding permanent borders?  Is Israel?  Or more precisely, will 
Israel be able to move some settlements to other areas? Is it 
prepared to exchange territories?  Has the Netanyahu government 
taken into consideration that the break-in to the Jericho synagogue 
is just a small sample of what the hilltop thugs are preparing for? 
Do Bibi and his government have the fortitude to use force to combat 
domestic insurrection? 
 
II.  QJericho, Again 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/23): 
QAssuming, as many in the Israeli media apparently do, that 
Palestinians will react in a violently Pavlovian way to any Jewish 
Qprovocation,Q is exaggerated and counterproductive.  There have 
plainly been marked improvements in the will and capacity of the 
PAQs security forces, many of whom have now been trained within 
U.S.-funded frameworks.  Strikingly, they helped prevent an upsurge 
of violence against Israel in the West Bank during Operation Cast 
Lead a year ago.  Senior security officials describe cooperation of 
late as relatively strong.  Just yesterday, PA forces helped foil a 
rocket attack from the West Bank, notifying the IDF of the location 
of a Qassam [rocket] positioned ready for firing near ModiQin [an 
important city bordering the West Bank].  A strategic decision by 
the PA to stamp out terrorism and incitement against Israel, of 
course, would constitute a huge step on the road to independent 
statehood.  It would also obviate the need for concern when Jews 
sought to visit holy sites in Palestinian-controlled territory -- a 
sadly improbable scenario, and hardly the one envisaged by the 
organizers of SundayQs mission to Jericho. 
 
III.  QItQs not Just 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 Jerusalem Post (2/23): 
QIn January, President Barack Obama granted an interview to Time 
magazine to mark his first year in office.  In discussing the Middle 
East peace process Obama admitted, Q ... the Middle East peace 
process has not moved forward.  And I think it's fair to say for all 
of our efforts at early engagement, it is not where I want it to be. 
 I'll be honest with you. This is just really hard.Q  This was 
hardly news in Israel. In the U.S., the similar response is QWell, 
duh.Q  Yes, making peace in the Middle East is really hard, but 
Obama's frustration may actually reflect a historical and almost 
predictable truism about American Middle East policy in the first 
year of a president's term. 
 
IV.  QAbu Mazen Is Trying to Say: Trust Me 
 
Conservative columnist and former senior IDF officer Yaakov Amidror 
wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (2/23): QLike us, the 
Palestinians know that at the end of the day the Palestinian 
AuthorityQs success in controlling the Palestinians in Judea and 
Samaria is contingent to a great extent upon continued IDF action 
against Hamas and its allies.  That understanding stems directly 
from the lessons learned in the wake of the unilateral withdrawal 
from Gaza.... Israel is concerned about a scenario in which Hamas 
develops capabilities in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] that 
resemble those it has in Gaza insofar as pertains to terror attacks 
and firepower.  This concern complements the Palestinian fear of 
HamasQs rise as a dominant political movement.  It is the 
combination of those two interests that has produced the new and 
good relations between the Palestinian security forces and Shin Bet 
and the IDF.... It appears that on the eve of the commencement of 
indirect talk with Israel, PA Chairman Abu Mazen is trying to show 
that he can be trusted with security-related issues.  The 
Palestinians understand that IsraelQs fears of terrorism are met by 
the world with understanding, and that it behooves them to dispel 
those fears.  That is the context in which one ought to see both the 
decision to turn the rocket over to Israel and the decision to leak 
that course of action. 
 
---------------- 
¶2.  Afghanistan: 
---------------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
QWhere Is Goldstone? 
 
Columnist Boaz Bismuth, who was IsraelQs Ambassador to Mauritania 
between 2004 and 2008, wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (2/23): 
QThe foreign ministers of the European Union countries, who convened 
yesterday in Brussels, issued a statement condemning the use of 
European passports in Dubai in the assassination of the senior Hamas 
official, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.  At almost precisely the same time, 
the Afghani government announced that at least 27 civilians, 
including four women and a child, were killed on Sunday in a NATO 
air strike in southern Afghanistan.... There is a question that must 
be asked -- where is Goldstone?  Could it be that there are double 
standards in our world?  The Afghani government and NATO 
headquarters announced quickly that they would investigate the 
tragic incident.  Friends, weQre in Afghanistan, not in Gaza.  A 
hypocritical world?  Heaven forbid.  A license to kill was issued in 
Afghanistan for two reasons: there is an international consensus 
about the war on terrorism in the aftermath of the attack on the 
World Trade Center, and an international coalition was built to 
include the masters of morality from Europe.  But the face of things 
in the Middle East is otherwise.  In a normal world, the 
assassination of Mabhouh would be part of the global war against 
terrorism.  In our world, Mabhouh was assassinated, according to the 
French Foreign Minister, because there isnQt a Palestinian state 
yet.  At this rate, the NATO commission of inquiry might even go on 
to declare that the death of 44 Afghani civilians in the past number 
of days occurred because a Palestinian state hasnQt yet been 
established.  In a hypocritical world, anything is possible." 
 
CUNNINGHAM