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P 161138Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001438
SIPDIS
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
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------------------------
1. Mideast
2. Iran
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Key stories in the media:
-------------------------
All media led with the shelling of Sderot with Qassam rockets and
the internecine fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The media reported that more than 20 Qassam rockets fell on Sderot
on Tuesday. Thirty people were wounded in the city, including a
woman who was wounded moderately. Another 4 rockets landed south of
Ashkelon last night.
Israel Radio reported that at a meeting convened on Tuesday by
Defense Minister Amir Peretz, it was decided that the IDF would
bolster its offensive activity in the Gaza Strip and respond to
Qassam rocket fire in a series of steps. The radio quoted an IDF
officer as saying that Hamas is tying to drag Israel into a
wide-scale response in order to unite the Palestinians' ranks.
Israel Radio quoted a senior IDF officer as saying that the Israeli
defense establishment is concerned that a wide-scale offensive would
play into the hands of the terrorist organizations and harm Israel.
The radio said that the defense establishment currently rules out a
wide-scale operation. Ha'aretz quoted GOI sources as saying that
the current rules of engagement in Gaza will remain in force, but
that if the IDF spots specific targets that exceed these limits, it
will be able to ask PM Ehud Olmert and Peretz for special approval
for a strike.
The media reported that on Tuesday at least 15 Palestinians were
killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes in the Gaza Strip. Some media
reported that one of the Palestinians was killed by IDF fire.
Leading electronic media reported that Hamas militiamen attacked the
home of Fatah security chief Rashid Abu Shbak at dawn this morning.
Media said that up to six Fatah militants may have been killed in
the attack. Israel Radio reported that the US called on all the
Palestinian factions to stop the violence in the Gaza Strip. Deputy
State Department Spokesman Tom Casey was quoted as saying that the
parties should act responsibly and allow the residents of the Gaza
Strip to live their lives in safe surroundings. Leading media
reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak spoke with PA
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday afternoon, and told
him the clashes had "crossed the line" and that both parties must
cease violence immediately.
Major media reported that on Tuesday, at the meeting of Nobel
Prizewinners hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan in Petra, PM
Olmert told reporters: "I invite the 22 leaders of the Arab states
who are interested in making peace with Israel to gather at any
location for talks." Leading media quoted sources in Olmert's
bureau as saying that there was a limit to the restraint Israel
could show in the face of the Qassam attacks and Hamas's build-up in
Gaza. Media quoted sources in Olmert's office as saying that he
told the King in Aqaba that Israel would release frozen tax money
only after it received assurances the money would be used for
humanitarian needs, and not go to terrorists. Israel Radio cited
the Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustour as saying that Olmert promised
Abdullah to look into the issue of Jordanians imprisoned in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post wrote that, in a new book that "totally
contradicts everything that has been accepted to this day" about the
Six-Day War, Israeli authors Gideon Remez and Isabella Ginor claim
that the conflict was deliberately engineered by the Soviet Union to
create the conditions in which Israel's nuclear program could be
destroyed. The newspaper reported that, coinciding with the 40th
anniversary of the war, "Foxbats Over Dimona: The Soviets' Nuclear
Gamble," is to be published by Yale University Press early next
month.
The Jerusalem Post cited a New York Times report that a confidential
document of the International Committee of the Red Cross accuses
Israel of violating international humanitarian laws in annexed east
Jerusalem, isolating Palestinians there from the West Bank and
preventing them from getting permanent residency. The Jerusalem
Post cited a response by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev that
Israel has received the report but that it did not accept its
conclusion. Regev was quoted as saying: "We reject the premise of
the report. East Jerusalem is not occupied land, it is part of
Israel. All people there were offered Israeli citizenship."
Ha'aretz cited a report published this month by the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that
donations to the PA almost tripled last year as a result of the
international boycott of the Hamas government, according to Aid in
2006 totaled USD 900 million, up from USD 349 million a year
earlier. The boycott meant that most countries refused to channel
money directly to the PA, and Israel refused to transfer the tax
revenues it collects on the PA's behalf. However, Ha'aretz wrote
that Arab and Western nations continued and even increased their
donations, channeling them through either a "Hamas bypass" mechanism
known as the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), or Abbas's
office. This money, which compensated entirely for the halt in
Israeli tax transfers, partially financed the salaries of PA
employees and was used to make welfare payments to the needy.
Ha'aretz reported that Taysir Karaki, the East Jerusalem taxi driver
who was murdered in Tel Aviv on Monday, will be recognized as the
victim of a hostile act if the police determine that the motivation
for his murder was nationalist. This will make his family eligible
for assistance by National Security Institute, the Israeli
equivalent of the Social Security Administration, including a
monthly stipend of about 10,000 shekels (approximately USD 2517).
The media said that the murder has shocked France's Jewish
community.
Israeli strategist Prof. Shai Feldman was quoted as saying in an
interview with The Jerusalem Post that President Bush could strike
Iran toward the end of his presidency, but that sanctions are having
an impact.
Major media reported that on Tuesday Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
rejected PM Olmert's request that he order a criminal investigation
against State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss.
Ha'aretz reported that Israel has been formally asked to join the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during
its two-day summit of finance ministers in Paris. The Foreign
Ministry received word from European entities last night. A public
announcement will be made today during a meeting of EU foreign
ministers.
Maariv and Israel Radio cited the British daily The Times that the
leading contender for the post of UN Special Coordinator for the
Middle East Peace Process is the British Michael Williams, in the
past a BBC journalist and currently an adviser to the British
Government.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF's National Defense College
plans to accept more foreign officers after a first successful year.
The newspaper said that a US Naval officer and a US Marine studied
in the institution last year.
The Jerusalem Post reported that a new private scientific research
institution will soon be established in the Galilee, according to
plans being developed by Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya President
Prof. Uriel Reichman.
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that the trial of Egyptian
national Mohamed Sayyed Saber began in Egypt on Tuesday. According
to DPA, Saber, a former employee of Egypt's Atomic Power Agency,
told the Supreme State Security Court that he had always admired
Israel and its universities, but that he did not spy for it.
Yediot and Maariv reported that Al-Qaida is threatening to carry out
an attack against newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy --
the "Zionist Crusader."
Ha'aretz reported that last Friday Acting President of Israel Dalia
Itzik met secretly with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the mentor of the Shas
party, for a conversation that touched on the vote for the Israeli
presidential elections, among other issues. Ha'aretz quoted sources
in Shas as saying that Itzik was looking for support from Yosef for
her own presidential bid, in the event that Peres decides not to
run. Maariv and Israel Radio reported that oligarch Arkady Gaidamak
has approached two ultra-Orthodox Knesset members with a plea to
support Itzik. The radio said that Itzik denied being a candidate
for the post. Ha'aretz reported that Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai
attempted to make Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the city's Chief Rabbi,
remove his candidacy for the presidency. Labor MK Shelly
Yachimovich had earlier tried to dissuade Lau from vying for the
position, sayng that "if he runs a number of affairs from the past
may resurface."
The Jerusalem Post cited the GOI's Central Bureau of Statistics
assaying on Tuesday that the consumer price index rose in April, the
second monthly increase in a row, lifted by word energy prices and
seasonal gains in the cost of clothing and travel. The annual
inflation rate fell the most in three years. Prices climbed 0.5
percent in the month and dropped 1.3 percent for the year. The
Jerusalem Post reported that Georgian investments pique Israelis'
interest.
Yediot reported that Prof. Reuven Yagil, a world expert on the topic
of camels, will help Ethiopian Muslim tribes living along the Somali
border develop a modern camel-raising farm. The newspaper reported
that USAID and World Bank officials attended seminars that Yagil
gave at the Ethiopian Agriculture Ministry and in Ethiopian academic
institutions.
Maariv reported that the Prime Minister's Office is in advanced
stages of negotiations with the leading French automaker Renault for
the possible establishment of a car-manufacturing plant along the
Israel-Jordan border. The plan would provide employment for 50,000
Jordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians.
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the Foreign Office and the Prime
Minister's Office are in the last stages of negotiations with
Russian President Vladimir Putin's bureau regarding the return to
Russia of the historical Russian Compound in central western
Jerusalem in exchange fore USD 100 million.
Ha'aretz reported that the total sum of Israeli billionaire Yitzhak
Tshuva's investments in Las Vegas is USD 5 billion, since he plans
SIPDIS
to invest USD 3.5 billion to build a huge complex named after his
flagship New York property, The Plaza. Ha'aretz estimated Tshuva's
personal fortune at USD 2.5 billion last year, but said that it has
increased since on asset value and new acquisitions. The Jerusalem
Post reported that Africa Israel Investments Ltd., Israeli
billionaire Lev Leviev's property company, agreed to buy the clock
tower portion of MetLife Inc.'s former New York headquarters for USD
200 million, its third purchase of a Manhattan landmark in three
months. Africa Israel announced on Tuesday that it plans to invest
an additional USD 110 million in the building to convert it into
luxury apartments.
------------
1. Mideast:
------------
Summary:
--------
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Israel cannot allow itself to be
dragged, to play into Hamas's hands, to fall into a trap laid by the
Iranians and the Syrians, and to become entangled once again in
purposeless warfare in the Gaza Strip."
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Mecca Accord that promised to bring calm
to the internecine Palestinian fighting and led to the establishment
of a unity government in the PA is increasingly being drowned in
blood as Israel debates whether to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and if
so, when."
Ha'aretz editorialized: "It would befit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
who was a senior partner to the failure when he served as mayor of
Jerusalem, to replace the slogan of unity with a reasonable and fair
policy for division of the city."
Moshe Amirav, a former Jerusalem city councilor for the Likud, and
later adviser to former prime minister Ehud Barak, wrote in Yediot
Aharonot: "What would we lose if the Old City [of Jerusalem] were to
turn into a place where we are partners rather than owners?"
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in the popular, pluralist
Maariv: "One gets the impression that the government ministers fail
to demonstrate an appropriate deep understanding of key diplomatic
issues, too."
Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center and the author of
a book on the Six-Day War, wrote in Maariv: "The alliance between
Israel and the US was forged in the flames of 1967."
Block Quotes:
-------------
I. "Unwilling, Unable"
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/16): "If no far-reaching diplomatic
change takes place in the region, Israel will have to enter the Gaza
Strip and disarm Hamas's military strength. Israel understands that
as time goes by, this challenge becomes more complex and intricate:
More tunnels are being dug, more defensive arrays are being set up,
booby-trapped pits are being dug, and anti-tank weapons are being
purchased in large quantities.... Time is not working in our favor.
Hamas is growing stronger, Fatah is becoming weaker.... Instability
is increasing. But Israel should choose the timing for such a move
carefully, discerningly, after preparing its military strength well.
Israel cannot allow itself to be dragged, to play into Hamas's
hands, to fall into a trap laid by the Iranians and the Syrians, and
to become entangled once again in purposeless warfare in the Gaza
Strip."
II. "Drowning in Blood"
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/16): "Tuesday was just another regular day
in the Middle East. The Gaza Strip took another step on the road to
becoming like Somalia, or Afghanistan, with the bloody Hamas attack
against the Fatah camp near the Karni Crossing. The Mecca Accord
that promised to bring calm to the internecine Palestinian fighting
and led to the establishment of a unity government in the PA is
increasingly being drowned in blood as Israel debates whether to
reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and if so, when.... With ... warnings [by
the military against such an operation] Olmert can continue showing
restraint while warning the international community that he is
losing his patience."
III. "Forty Years of 'Unity'"
Ha'aretz editorialized (5/16): "Ehud Barak was the first prime
minister who suggested dividing the city [of Jerusalem] based on the
principle of what the Jews have the Jews get, and what the Arabs
have the Arabs get. The Clinton plan, the Geneva Accord, and the
Arab peace initiative also propose a similar basis for dividing the
city. It would befit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was a senior
partner to the failure when he served as mayor of Jerusalem, to
replace the slogan of unity with a reasonable and fair policy for
division of the city."
IV. "From Problem to Solution"
Moshe Amirav, a former Jerusalem city councilor for the Likud, and
later adviser to former prime minister Ehud Barak, wrote in Yediot
Aharonot (5/16): "After we have tried almost everything and almost
everything failed, we should engage in national soul-searching and
ask ourselves: Perhaps it is time to rethink Jerusalem?.... How can
the 'city of dispute' of the previous century become the 'city of
peace' in the 21st century?.... What would we lose if the Old City
were to turn into a place where we are partners rather than owners?
How terrible would it be if such a small portion, less than one
percent of the capital's area, would be given an international
status? What would happen? This is what would happen: Jerusalem
would turn from a problem into a solution. If we turn Jerusalem
into the great key to the conflict, in its broader sense, not only
the political sense, new vistas will be opened to us. Jerusalem can
be the key to the heart of the Muslim world, to reconciliation with
the Arab states, to peace with the Palestinians. These are, of
course, naive thoughts, since I know that when policymakers --
Jewish, Muslim and Christian -- come to the issue of Jerusalem, they
become fixated, detached from reality, and suffer, mystically, as a
metaphor, from the 'Jerusalem Syndrome.'"
V. "What Is Tzipi Livni Striving For?"
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in the popular, pluralist
Maariv (5/16): "As foreign minister, [Tzipi] Livni has shown
activity and has aspired to move the peace process forward.... At
the time of her [recent] visit [to Egypt], she granted an interview
to the newspaper Al-Ashram, in which she found it proper to promise
that the withdrawal from Gaza will not be the last one and that the
establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel will require
further Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank. That uttering was
one of those that managed to antagonize some of her cabinet
colleagues.... The Winograd report said that the cabinet members
failed when they refrained from holding a comprehensive and
fundamental debate regarding the cardinality of the military
operation and its consequences and when they approved all the army's
recommendations. One gets the impression that the government
ministers fail to demonstrate an appropriate deep understanding of
key diplomatic issues, too."
VI. "Six Days that Changed the World"
Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center and the author of
a book on the Six-Day War, wrote in Maariv (5/16): "The [Six-Day]
War brought about an extreme change in Arab and Palestinian
politics, but the changes that it caused in Israel were of seismic
magnitude. Even if many have forgotten this, the IDF waged the
Six-Day War with French weapons, not American weapons. The United
States, even in the days of friendly presidents such as Kennedy and
Johnson, refused to sell offensive weapons to Israel and even
rejected an Israeli proposal for permanent military communication
with the IDF. The American reservations were ended in June 1967,
when Israeli fighter planes destroyed hundreds of Soviet-made Arab
fighter planes and the IDF ground forces crushed the armies of
Egypt, Syria and Iraq, which were armed with Soviet weapons. If in
the past, Israel was perceived by US policymakers as a diplomatic
burden, it now appeared to them as a strategic power center, the
ultimate ally in the Cold War. Johnson even agreed on a deal for
selling Patton tanks and advanced Phantom planes to Israel. The
alliance between Israel and the US was forged in the flames of 1967.
Deeper than the change in US-Israeli relations, however, was the
upheaval in Israel's self-perception. A basically secular state,
most of whose population lived in the coastal plain and the Negev,
now experienced a dramatic reunion with its biblical homeland.... In
the absence of Arab partners for peace, there were many Israelis who
could not resist the temptation to settle in these sacred areas."
---------
2. Iran:
---------
Summary:
--------
Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote on page one of
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Reliable information or a
diplomatic manipulation -- that is the big question surrounding the
statements on Monday by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, to the effect that Iran has achieved a
significant technological advance in its efforts to enrich
uranium."
Block Quotes:
-------------
"Reliable Intel or Dangerous Manipulation"
Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote on page one of
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/16): "Reliable information
or a diplomatic manipulation -- that is the big question surrounding
the statements on Monday by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, to the effect that Iran has
achieved a significant technological advance in its efforts to
enrich uranium. If the information, as reported in The New York
Times on Tuesday, is accurate, then Iran has reached the stage
described by Israeli intelligence as the 'point of no return'....
Either way, the moment of decision is approaching for all involved.
It is clear, therefore, that 2007, or 2008 at the latest, marks the
time when it will become clear whether Iran will have nuclear
weapons, with all its implications for Israel, the broader Middle
East and the international community."
JONES