Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV1460
2006-04-12 11:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001460 

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
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019

JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Please note: no Israel Media Reaction Thursday, April
13, Passover holiday.

--------------------------------
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001460

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
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019

JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Please note: no Israel Media Reaction Thursday, April
13, Passover holiday.

--------------
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------


1. Iran: Nuclear Program


2. Mideast


3. Aftermath of Italian Elections

--------------
Key stories in the media:
--------------

All media led with Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's announcement in Mashhad on Tuesday that
Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first
time and "joined the club of nuclear countries."
Israel Radio quoted American officials as saying that
the concentration of the uranium produced by Iran is
low and it cannot be used to make nuclear weapons. IDF
Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin was quoted as
saying in an interview with Yediot that Iran will have
a nuclear weapon in three years. Yadlin was also
quoted as saying in Ha'aretz that he hopes the
international community "does not fall into the new
trap that Iran has set", and that it "accelerates the
processes to stop the program." In the same interview,
he was quoted as saying that Israel and the West do not
know everything about Iran. Israel Radio quoted Shimon
Peres, No. 2 in Kadima, as saying that Israel could be
left on its own if it made hasty decisions regarding
Iran. Peres was quoted as saying that Israel should
let the US manage the Iranian issue. Israel Radio
quoted Israel's National Security Adviser Giora Eiland
as saying that Iran has an alternative nuclear program.
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio quoted White House Press
Secretary Scott McClellan as saying aboard Air Force

SIPDIS
One when en route to Missouri: "Defiant statements and
actions only further isolate the regime from the rest
of the world." Ha'aretz and Israel Radio quoted
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as saying that he
would not engage in "fantasyland" speculation about a
possible US attack on Iran, though he said that the
Bush administration is concerned about Tehran's nuclear
ambitions. He was quoted as saying: "The United States
of America is on a diplomatic track."


Israel Radio quoted Interim PM Ehud Olmert as saying in
an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he
intends to complete the shaping of his plan for a
pullout from territories in the West Bank in a year and
a half, and that during his visit to Washington next
month he will try to convince the US administration to
accept an outline of his plan.

Israel Radio reported that last night, the IAF raided
the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' office in Gaza. Major
media quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying on
Tuesday that Israel must intensify its activities in
the Gaza Strip, since the Hamas government has not
taken action to stop cells launching Qassam rockets
from the Strip into Israel. Ha'aretz reported that on
Tuesday, PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas severely
criticized Israel for the recent artillery barrage.
Ha'aretz reported that five human rights groups asked
Mofaz to reverse a decision that reduces the "safety
zone" that artillery batteries must maintain around
Palestinian communities to 100 meters, saying it
endangers civilians. The Jerusalem Post and Israel
Radio reported that on Tuesday in Tel Aviv,
approximately 100 left-wing activists from the groups
Gush Shalom and the Women's Peace Coalition
demonstrated against the shelling of Gaza communities,
ending their march opposite the US Embassy.

Leading media reported that FM Tzipi Livni's comments
in an interview with ABC-TV that suicide bombers who
target soldiers are not terrorists came under fire from
right-wing politicians. The Jerusalem Post noted that
her remarks touched a raw nerve with the IDF, and that
Justice Ministry officials claimed Tuesday that her
distinction was not based on any existing
classification.

Ha'aretz quoted US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones
as saying on Tuesday at a press conference in Tel Aviv
that the only way to determine permanent borders
between Israel and the Palestinians was through
negotiations. Ha'aretz quoted Ambassador Jones as
saying, in response to a reporter's question as to
whether the US administration supports Olmert's
convergence plan, that the US continues to support the
Roadmap and negotiations. The Ambassador was quoted as
saying that he believes this is Olmert and Kadima's
approach, too, and that they prefer a negotiated
agreement. Jones was quoted as saying that the way in
which any unilateral Israeli move would be viewed by
the US remains to be seen, but that at this stage the
US supports an agreement through negotiations and that
its policies are designed to encourage the PA to be a
partner for peace. The Jerusalem Post quoted
Ambassador Jones as saying that the US "understands"
Israel's policy of not transferring tax and customs
revenues to the PA. The Jerusalem Post said that the
Ambassador's remark places the US at odds with Europe
over this matter. Hatzofe quoted Jones as saying that
the United States' basic aid to the Palestinians will
increase by 57 percent, reaching USD 245 million this
year. Hatzofe quoted the Ambassador as saying that the
US will allot USD 42 million to strengthen Palestinian
civil society and independent Palestinian institutions,
and that the aid will be provided through USAID and
local NGOs.

Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, the US and other
permanent members of the UN Security Council rejected a
draft statement that Arab states wanted the council's
president to make, condemning Israeli military actions
in the Gaza Strip but failing to mention Palestinian
rocket fire.

Israel Radio reported that on Tuesday in Ramallah,
Luisa Morgantini, chairperson of the European
Parliament's development committee, met with
Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Abdel Aziz
Duaik. The radio reported that Duaik told Morgantini
that he recognizes the 1967 borders, and that
Morgantini concluded that he recognizes Israel.

Several media reported that Special Forces loyal to
Abbas took over the Rafah crossing between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt. Israel Radio reported that during his
upcoming visit to the PA, Egyptian intelligence chief
Omar Suleiman will tell Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh
that Egypt will act urgently to help the Palestinian
population. The radio reported that Egyptian FM Ahmed
Ali Abu al-Gheit has rejected Palestinian FM Mahmoud
Zahar's request to visit Cairo.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah
-- the most senior Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy
Land -- as saying during his Easter message Tuesday
that Israel should initiate diplomatic relations with
Hamas without preconditions.

Hatzofe and Israel Radio reported that Kadima and the
Labor Party agreed during their coalition talks that
there would be no referendum on Olmert's convergence
plan. Major media reported that on Tuesday, Olmert
told Kadima leaders that he sees no problem with
appointing Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman
as internal security minister, as long there is no
legal impediment to doing so. The media noted that
Lieberman has soured relations with the police. Yediot
wrote that AG Menachem Mazuz will oppose Lieberman's
appointment. Major media reported that Labor Party
Chairman Amir Peretz now insists on being handed the
treasury portfolio.

Yediot and The Jerusalem Post reported that two senior
Israeli diplomats -- Deputy Foreign Ministry DG for
Asia Amos Nadai and Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Yael
Rubinstein -- visited Indonesia this week. They were
invited to three UN conferences that took place in
Indonesia.

Yediot reported that Israel will spend USD 9 million to
renovate its London embassy.

Yediot cited a claim by the Islamist Mauritanian
newspaper Al-Ittihad that Israeli Ambassador to
Mauritania Boaz Bismuth is a Mossad agent.

Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Gerald Kaufman,
a British MP from the Labour Party, as saying on
Tuesday that sanctions should be imposed against Israel
if it does not hand over those suspected of being
responsible for the killing of two British citizens in
2003 -- peace activist Tom Hurndall and cinematographer
James Miller. Kaufman is a frequent critic of Israel.

Yediot quoted a Newsweek source as saying that Olmert
violated a promise to its reporter Lally Weymouth to
grant an exclusive interview to the magazine and to The
Washington Post.

Ha'aretz ran a feature on two refugees from Darfur who
spent several months in an Israeli jail and were later
"adopted" by a family in the Negev kibbutz of Tse'elim.

Yediot reported that Israeli filmmaker Haim Bouzaglo's
movie "Janem, Janem" won four prizes at the Syracuse,
New York, Film Festival.

--------------

1. Iran: Nuclear Program:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in
pluralist, popular Maariv: "In effect the Iranians are
playing a cruel game of poker against the entire world.
They are going for broke."

Senior columnist Ron Ben-Yishai wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Bush, who is
extremely entangled in Iraq, will find it hard to
receive an OK from Congress for an offensive against
Iran's nuclear and missile installations without an
explicit UN Security Council resolution."




Block Quotes:
--------------


I. "Iran's Poker Game"

Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in
pluralist, popular Maariv (April 12): "The statement by
the Iranian President on Tuesday should be viewed in
the context of its battle against the international
community. In effect the Iranians are playing a cruel
game of poker against the entire world. They are going
for broke. On the one hand they took a tough,
significant step on Tuesday, which will force the not
necessarily united international community to devise an
appropriate response. But from the other side, the
Iranian move was also a result of the powerful
international pressure which is being put on them.
Until Tuesday, the Iranians were careful to keep their
cards much closer to their chest. They possessed
planned credibility. So long as they never disclosed
what stage they had reached in their nuclear program,
the West, including Israel, always suspected that they
might be further ahead with it than Western
intelligence thought. On Tuesday, it emerged that the
intelligence estimates were right, but the moment the
Iranians showed their cards, they had to expect that
the West would react. The question is which side will
blink first."

II. "The Day Iran Gets the Bomb"

Senior columnist Ron Ben-Yishai wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 12):
"Only one power in the world -- the United States -- is
capable of carrying out and leading a complex and
dangerous offensive [against Iran].... But without the
US leading that move, this won't happen. The problem
is that Bush, who is extremely entangled in Iraq, will
find it hard to receive an OK from Congress for an
offensive against Iran's nuclear and missile
installations without an explicit UN Security Council
resolution granting legitimacy to that operation. This
is also the reason why the US won't make such a move
without many other countries actively taking part in
it. Only a broad-based coalition would grant Bush
international legitimacy for attacking Iran. The US
will also need the international community's assistance
following the offensive in order to impede the
terrorist offensive that Iran will start in response to
that operation."

--------------

2. Mideast:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in left-leaning,
independent Ha'aretz: "It looks like a slow-motion
image of a crash. Here's Ehud Olmert and Kadima
driving into a foreseeable accident."

Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz:
"The settlers have reached that point in time where
they ... must realize their role is over."

Block Quotes:
--------------


I. "A Government on a Collision Course"

Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in left-leaning,
independent Ha'aretz (April 12): "It looks like a slow-
motion image of a crash. Here's Ehud Olmert and Kadima
driving into a foreseeable accident.... Olmert is
striving for a big government.... The man who succeeded
Ariel Sharon regards it as his duty to provide the
legacy a broad base. The price is high and risky. The
convergence has been watered down, like an ink drop in
a bowl of water.... The government's difficult path ...
begins with mendacity about conducting a serious
discussion with the other side, and it will continue
with the refusal of [Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor]
Lieberman and Shas to agree to broader withdrawals
after the illusion of that negotiation is exposed....
Leaders greater than [Olmert] made huge mistakes."

II. "Pouring Out Their Rage"

Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz
(April 12): "Olmert ... correctly diagnosed the mood of
the settlers and is right to try to reach an
understanding with them before he imposes upon them the
(partial) withdrawal from the West Bank, which, he
says, will be the centerpiece of his government's
activity. The move is becoming imperative, if not
urgent, in light of the timetable he drew at the
beginning of the week: To complete the execution of the
disengagement plan within two years. But he should
know how to set a limit: to listen to the settlers, but
not fawn before them. In the winding and cruel loop
that the minister of history is drawing, the settlers
have reached that point in time where they also must
realize their role is over. Their status as the most
precious offspring of the Israeli establishment has
been turned into something else -- the accepted
convention that they are actually a bone in its throat.
That was true in Gush Katif and it is just as true in
Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]."

--------------

3. Aftermath of Italian Elections:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Former Israeli Ambassador to Italy Avi Pazner wrote in
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "From
Israel's point of view, Berlusconi was a loyal
friend.... If Prodi does indeed form the new
government, Israel will have to work hard to preserve
this level of friendly relations."

Block Quotes:
--------------

"Forecast: New Italian Government Will Be Cooler to
Israel"

Former Israeli Ambassador to Italy Avi Pazner wrote in
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 12):
"From Israel's point of view, Berlusconi was a loyal
friend and supported Israel's position consistently
throughout the years of his tenure, both in the
governing bodies of the European Union and in the
international arena. He forged strong bonds of
friendship with Ariel Sharon, and they were in the
habit of holding telephone conversations and
coordinating their positions. If Prodi does indeed
form the new government, Israel will have to work hard
to preserve this level of friendly relations. It is
possible that the new coalition will include parties
with positions less convenient for Israel than those of
the parties in Berlusconi's government. On the other
hand, among Prodi's colleagues there are people known
for their pro-Israeli views, such as Francesco Rutelli,
chairman of the Margarita party, Piero Fassino, leader
of the Democrats of the Left, and the highly
influential mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni. If Israel
is wise enough to foster lines of communication with
these people, it will certainly be possible to preserve
the good relations between Israel and Italy."

JONES