ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 001943

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


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Iran: Nuclear Program


2. Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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Leading media reported that PM Ehud Olmert has decided
to tone down his stance on the convergence plan, which
Ha'aretz said may be related to staunch opposition
worldwide to Israeli unilateral moves in the
territories. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert told
Kadima ministers on Wednesday that he plans to present
his plan to the Bush administration, but that only
after "three, or 10, months" will it be possible to
announce there is no Palestinian negotiating partner
and move on to unilateral steps. Ha'aretz quoted
Olmert as saying: "Everything depends on the situation
on the ground." Ha'aretz reported that Olmert told
Kadima ministers that the primary objective of his
upcoming trip to Washington is to create chemistry with
President Bush. Speaking on Israel Radio this
morning, Israeli Ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon said
he believes that a good atmosphere is expected during
Olmert's talks in Washington and that the US
administration will not try to "gently kill" Olmert's
convergence plan. Speaking on IDF Radio, Ayalon said
that Olmert's scheduled trip to the US presented a
wonderful opportunity for Israel's new government to
present its policies to the US president and to justify
the much-maligned convergence plan. Ayalon was quoted
as saying on IDF Radio: "The convergence plan is not a
backwards step; it is, rather, an intention of
initiative towards making progress towards a final
status solution in the conflict with the Palestinians."
Maariv quoted sources at Olmert's bureau as saying that
"the Americans are not interested in the convergence
plan right now." Ha'aretz quoted Olmert as saying that
the key issue on the table will be the Iranian nuclear
threat. The newspaper wrote that Olmert is planning to
describe the gravity with which Israel views the threat
and explain that the country is not leading the
international struggle against Iran but expects the US
and other countries to do everything they can to halt
the threat.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying Wednesday
after a meeting with French FM Philippe Douste-Blazy
that he is willing to meet with PA Chairman [President]
Mahmoud Abbas, but that he doubts that negotiations
with a Hamas-led government will get anywhere. Leading
media quoted Douste-Blazy as saying that France will
not support Olmert's convergence plan. The Jerusalem
Post quoted FM Tzipi Livni's spokeswoman as saying that
Livni will meet with Olmert today to decide if she
should meet with Abbas during an economic conference on
Sunday. The websites of Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem
Post quoted Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as
saying that Livni is set to meet Abbas in Sharm el-
Sheikh on Sunday. Israel Radio reported that Abbas
called Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to congratulate her
on her election, and expressed his hope that they will
meet.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday, ordering
the IDF to prepare an evacuation operation plan,
Defense Minister Amir Peretz signed eviction orders for
12 illegal outposts in the West Bank. The newspaper
reported that Olmert gave his approval for the eviction
orders. The Jerusalem Post reported that the orders
were originally signed by former Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz (two years ago, according to Israel Radio). The
Jerusalem Post wrote that the outposts designated for
eviction included: Mitzpeh Yitzhar near the settlement
of Yitzhar; Yitzhar Darom (South); Havat Shaked; Givat
Hadegel near Karnei Shomron; Givat Haroeh near
Ramallah; Mitzpeh Assaf near Beit El; Mitzpeh Lachish
near Hebron; and Hazon David near Kiryat Arba. Maariv
reported that in the past few days Peretz instructed
the Israeli defense establishment to prepare for the
evacuation of 124 illegal outposts.

Ha'aretz reported that Chief Justice Aharon Barak, the
President of the High Court of Justice, wrote in a
private letter this week that even though his opinion
was voted down in Sunday's High Court ruling upholding
a ban on family unification, most of the other justices
agree with his position that the law violates
constitutional rights and is not proportional. He was
quoted as saying that they also agreed that if the
Knesset were to extend the validity of the Citizenship
Law in its current format, the court would overturn it.
Hatzofe cited the Palestinian daily Al-Quds as saying
that senior Hamas members have recently debated the
option of negotiations with Israel in order to reduce
international pressure on their movement.

Major media reported that on Wednesday, PA Interior
Minister Said Siam announced that a new 3,000-strong
security unit comprised of militants would be deployed
across the Gaza Strip and start operating immediately.
Ha'aretz wrote that Siam's move was in direct defiance
of a veto by Abbas. The Jerusalem Post reported that
Abbas deployed hundreds of PA policemen in response to
Siam's move. Israel Radio reported that last night,
Fatah and Hamas representatives met at the residence of
the Egyptian Consul in Gaza to try to defuse the
tension between the factions, and quoted participants
as saying that the talks were positive. Leading
Israeli electronic media and news websites quoted
senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat as saying this morning
that Abbas has told the Hamas-led government it must
immediately remove its new security forces from the
streets of Gaza.

Yediot reported that the IDF intends to equip its bases
along the border with the Gaza Strip with buildings
resistant to direct hits by Qassam rockets, while
neighboring civilian communities will remain with
minimal protection.

Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday, Israel opened the
Karni crossing on the Gaza Strip border to merchandise
for the first time in several months, following a
decision by Peretz on Sunday. The crossing opened in
the morning for the export of goods from Gaza, mostly
produce, and beginning Wednesday afternoon, for import
from Israel. Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as saying that the
opening of the crossing was a strategic decision that
would directly impact the Gaza economy.

Maariv reported that a Kuwaiti agent of Al Qaida
recruited Gaza meat salesman Rakam Abu-Laila, whom he
instructed to murder Americans. The newspaper said
that Abu-Laila was arrested following US-Israeli
cooperation, but that the Hamas government quietly
released him two weeks ago.

Yediot and The Jerusalem Post reported that, in
defiance of the German government's policy, Atef Adwan,
a Hamas official and the PA's Minister for Refugees,
who Yediot said was invited by senior Social-Democrat
Bundestag member Detlef Dzembritzki, visited Germany
for several hours. The media wrote that German
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her annoyance about
the visit.

Yediot reported that new Italian FM Massimo D'Alema,
who in the past dubbed Israel a "terrorist state," is
expected to change his country's pro-Israeli policy.

Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday, the Jerusalem
Magistrate's court acquitted leftist activists
Yehonatan Pollak and Moshe Snitz of charges of rioting
during demonstrations against the construction of the
separation fence on lands belonging to the West Bank
village of Budrus in September 2004. Ha'aretz quoted
Judge Alexander Ron as saying: "The principle of
freedom to demonstrate is a prime constitutional
right." However, Ron also wrote in his ruling that the
court "rejects with repugnance any behavior that
appears to support events where stones are thrown at
police and soldiers ... even if perhaps under certain
circumstances the accused cannot be found guilty of a
concrete criminal act."

The media reported that on Wednesday, Knesset Member
Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List/Arab Movement for
Renewal),who was an adviser to the late Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat, was appointed as one of Knesset
Speaker Dalia Itzik's deputies. Yediot wrote that in
this capacity, Tibi could become Acting President of
Israel.

All media (banner in Maariv) quoted Olmert as saying
Wednesday at a convention of the Movement for Quality
Government in Israel that his government will fight
"organized crime." Maariv cited international data
which it said show that Israel ranks high in criminal
statistics within the Western world. Leading media
reported that Olmert hinted that Israeli leaders would
not be exempt from possible corruption investigations.

The Jerusalem Post's web site published a Jewish
Telegraphic Agency (JTA) story stating that on
Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named
Gregg Rickman, a "dogged investigator" who has tracked
the Swiss banks' role in the Holocaust, as the first
special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-
Semitism. The JTA wrote that Jewish leaders
unanimously agreed that the appointment would push the
office monitoring anti-Semitism, in existence barely 18
months, to the department's front burner.

The Jerusalem Post reported that a delegation of Jewish
community leaders from Venezuela arrived in Israel as
part of a mission intended to explore options for
Venezuelan Jews who want to leave their troubled
country and move to Israel.

Ha'aretz reported that Daniel Wultz, the 16-year-old
American who died on Sunday after being critically
wounded in the Tel Aviv suicide bombing three weeks
ago, was buried in Weston, Florida, on Wednesday.

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

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

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Israel is finding
it difficult to formulate a position on an American-
Iranian dialogue. It would be best if Olmert decides
what he thinks before he leaves for Washington."

Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a
lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[The Iranian
nuclear program] is already a global problem, and there
is no reason for Israel to turn it into an Israeli
problem by its own hand."

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


I. "Don't Be a Wimp"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/18): "[Iranian
President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's letter to U.S.
President George W. Bush was a brilliant piece of
diplomacy that surprised Jerusalem. Despite the
letter's harsh formulations against Israel and the US,
it raised pressure on the American administration to
engage Tehran in talks about its nuclear program.
Henry Kissinger called on Bush this week not to miss
the opportunity. But Israel is finding it difficult to
formulate a position on an American-Iranian dialogue.
It would be best if Olmert decides what he thinks
before he leaves for Washington, since the question
will certainly come up. What will Olmert say to Bush
next week? The recommendation he's been given was to
make clear the seriousness of the Iranian threat to
Israel, without appearing to be pushing America into a
military adventure or explicitly threatening an Israeli
operation. Olmert will need the best of his political
skills for that mission. But that won't be enough. He
has to fortify his security authority at home, lest he
end up in the position of a wimp afraid to act against
Iran. The decision on this sensitive issue has to be
made judiciously and not due to domestic weakness."

II. "What Should Be Done About Ahmadinejad?"

Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a
lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/18): "Israel
must stop serving as a tool in the hands of the Iranian
dictatorship. Any Israeli declaration that it will
destroy Iran or act against it only plays into
Ahmadinejad's hands.... Israel should respond in the
only way that will thwart his goals: by treating Iran
respectfully. The Israeli spokespersons must at every
opportunity use only one message, and repeat it again
and again: Israel has no conflict with Iran, neither
territorial, nor national nor any other kind. Israel
respects Iran and would be glad to renew the close
relations that existed between the two countries for
many years.... Israel owes a historical debt to Iran
for the fact that the Persian king Cyrus permitted the
Jewish people to return to its land and rituals in 538
BCE, about 50 years after the destruction of the First
Temple. For Iran, Cyrus is an important figure to this
day. This does not mean that Israel should abandon the
intelligence monitoring and close coordination with the
US and the Western European countries with regard to
the danger of the Iranian nuclear program. Today,
however, this is already a global problem, and there is
no reason for Israel to turn it into an Israeli problem
by its own hand. This is already for the big leagues,
and it would be best for little Israel for the US to
take care of this, as it is already doing."

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "If
[Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] instructs the security
establishment to stop insisting on a [separation] fence
that intrudes into the West Bank, brings the fence as
close as possible to the Green Line, and expedites its
construction, then he will help the war on terror."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "Merely preventing Hamas from directly
accessing international aid is not going to force it to
modify its opposition to Israel's existence any time
soon."

Former Editor-in-Chief Moshe Ishon wrote in
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: " Even if Hamas's
leaders are willing to 'talk peace,' they are still
Israel's enemies."

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


I. "Unnecessary and Lethal Delay"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(5/18): "The [West Bank separation] fence is not a
total obstacle to terrorism.... But alongside the
improvement in intelligence and operational
coordination between the IDF and the Shin Bet security
service -- and Hamas's decision to suspend suicide
bombings -- the fence has made a significant
contribution to a decrease in terror. Given these
statistics, the foolishness of delaying the fence's
construction in the Jerusalem area and the area south
of it is clear. The construction of 285 kilometers of
the fence is being delayed for legal reasons --
awaiting a High Court ruling or administrative and
planning work in the army and government ministries.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must refrain from repeating
his predecessor's mistake. If he instructs the
security establishment to stop insisting on a fence
that intrudes into the West Bank, brings the fence as
close as possible to the Green Line, and expedites its
construction, then he will help the war on terror."

II. "The Elephant in the Room"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (5/18): "In essence the EU is trying to
tiptoe around the 'elephant in the room' which is
Hamas's terrorism-supporting, anti-Israel stance.
Israel, too, is caught in the dilemma, anxious to avoid
a Palestinian humanitarian crisis but also to turn up
the 'change or fail' economic pressure on the Hamas-led
PA. The trouble is that merely preventing Hamas from
directly accessing international aid is not going to
force it to modify its opposition to Israel's existence
any time soon. Why change such policies when the
Palestinians who put it in power are being subsidized
by the rest of the world?.... So long as it is led by
an unreconstructed Hamas, of course, to even talk of a
recovery plan for the PA is pointless and misguided.
For now, the international community, and Israel, need
to concentrate on minimizing the benefits that Hamas
can derive from donors' humane instinct to alleviate
suffering -- even when those who are suffering brought
their plight upon themselves by electing a terror group
as their leadership."

III. "Negotiations, But Without Recognizing Israel"

Former Editor-in-Chief Moshe Ishon wrote in
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (5/18): "It turns out
that the economic boycott imposed on the 'Hams
government' has paralyzed its activity -- as regards
policy as well.... It has suspended its declarations
regarding the 'elimination of the Jewish state' and
started to issue statements about its willingness to
start talks toward an agreement with Israel -- without
recognizing the Jewish state.... Proposals by [Hamas]
are replacing one another. It is hard to know which of
them is valid. One thing is for sure -- no 'change'
that apparently occurred in Hamas can be relied upon.
Even if Hamas's leaders are willing to 'talk peace,'
they are still Israel's enemies. They haven't changed.
As in the past, Abu Mazen is the person with whom it is
possible to talk. We have to treat him according to
the rule: 'Respect him but suspect him.'"

JONES