VZCZCXYZ0030
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHTV #2422/01 2211224
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091224Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2681
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 2564
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 9278
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 2634
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 3367
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 2596
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0571
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3328
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0201
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0666
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 7261
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4683
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 9596
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 3760
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5703
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 7599
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT PRIORITY
UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002422
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:
--------------------------------
Mideast
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Key Stories in the Media:
-------------------------
PM Olmert said during a security cabinet meeting on Wednesday, "I
believe that we can look forward to a calm summer, a calm fall and a
calm winter. Israel does not intend to attack Syria, and Syria does
not intend to attack Israel either." The cabinet was convened to
discuss the situation in the north. [source: all media]
Israel has forwarded conciliatory messages to Damascus over the last
few weeks saying that Israel has no intention of starting a war
[source: Ha'aretz].
The PA has paid salaries to Hamas militiamen from tax revenue that
was released by Israel. P.A. PM Fayad's aides said that the
transfer of salaries was a computer error, while Hamas officials saw
this as a good will gesture. Representatives from Hamas in the
Palestinian Legislative Council also received their salaries on
Tuesday. [source: The Jerusalem Post, Ha'aretz]
Rafael, announced that Israel's short-range rocket based missile
interception system will become operational in eighteen months.
[source: Ha'aretz]
State Attorney Eran Shendar has given the police official approval
to investigate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert connection to the Bank
Leumi affair. Allegations have been raised that the PM had a
conflict of interest when he assisted two of his associates during
the bank's privatization. PM Olmert is expected to be summoned for
questioning in the coming days. [source: all media]
(Is this in Syria, Lebanon or Israel? That needs to be highlighted)
Israel has noticed over the past few months a massive increase in
construction in Lebanon near the northern border fence. The IDF says
that they do not know the purpose of these buildings but suspect
they are outposts in disguise. The location of some of the
buildings is close to water sources, which worries Israeli
authorities. [source: Maariv]
Employees in defense related industries are finding it difficult to
obtain US visas. They say that they need to fill out extremely long
application forms which are then thoroughly reviewed in Washington
and only after a long wait, sometimes months, are they are given
visas which are valid for only one year. They say that this is
also true for Israeli workers that have direct and regular working
relations with US companies. [source: Maariv]
Three hundred US university heads have signed a petition to denounce
the British University and College Union's call to boycott Israeli
educational institutions. [source: Ha'aretz]
IDF soldiers killed three Palestinians in two separate shooting
incidents on Wednesday. According to IDF sources all of the men were
armed [source: Ha'aretz].
Hamas has established a new naval defense force that will guard the
Gaza coast. A Hamas official said that the force's members have
already deployed several heavy machine guns and mortars along the
beaches to be used against IDF vessels if they approach the Strip.
[source: YNET]
US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer warned PA Chairman Abbas not to
reconcile with Hamas and form a new unity government since such a
government would be a cause for concern. [source: The Jerusalem
Post]
--------
Mideast:
--------
Summary:
--------
Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in the independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz: "Peres' plan will not be implemented because the
territorial concessions will not satisfy the Palestinians, and
because most Israelis, after the bitter experiences of recent years,
have lost faith in the Palestinians; in Peres, the father of Oslo;
and in Olmert, the deputy architect of the disengagement."
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The
road map's sequencing is more justified and important than ever.
Olmert, who spent much effort attempting to shore up this
sequencing, should not abandon it at this critical moment."
Block Quotes:
-------------
I. "Peres' last sabotage"
Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in the independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz (08/09): "A president is obliged to refrain from helping
form diplomatic plans, such as those that would split the
country.... Not when the president is Peres, and the plan is to
establish a Palestinian state on 100 percent of the territories. In
other words, the plan reflects the opinion of many decision makers
regarding what is and is not legitimate conduct for a president....
The plan is based on the assumption that the root of the conflict is
territorial.... Peres' plan will not be implemented because the
territorial concessions will not satisfy the Palestinians, and
because most Israelis, after the bitter experiences of recent years,
have lost faith in the Palestinians; in Peres, the father of Oslo;
and in Olmert, the deputy architect of the disengagement."
II. "Don't junk the road map"
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (08/09):
"Olmert seems to be caving in to pressure from the US to fudge the
sequencing of the road map, which clearly requires that terrorism be
fought first and a Palestinian state negotiated later. The timing
of this is strange. If it is true that for the first time ever there
is a leadership in part of the PA that is serious about ending
terrorism, dismantling militias and starting to build a peaceful
Palestinian state, why would this be the time to lift the
demand?.... The counterargument is that the PA is in fact incapable
of meeting the road map conditions, and therefore those conditions
should be removed or the present opportunity will be missed and
Hamas will take over the entire PA.... In essence, the US is taking
the State Department's approach, whereby the sequencing of the road
map should not only be relaxed, but flipped.... Under such
circumstances, it is not the Palestinians' trust that must be
earned, but Israel's. The road map's sequencing is more justified
and important than ever. Olmert, who spent much effort attempting
to shore up this sequencing, should not abandon it at this critical
moment."
JONES