ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Hizbullah-IDF Clashes


2. Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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Maariv and Israel Radio reported that last night, for
the first time since the disengagement, the IDF made an
incursion into the Beit Lahiya area of the northern
Gaza Strip. Electronic media and leading news websites
reported that today, at least seven Palestinian gunmen
were killed in a number of raids early Tuesday in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Leading media reported
that on Monday, the IDF thwarted a suicide bombing in
Jerusalem and a terrorist attack by infiltrators from
Egypt, one of whom was killed.

Hizbullah-IDF clashes dominated the weekend's
headlines. On Sunday, the IDF carried out a massive
retaliatory strike following Katyusha rocket attacks by
Hizbullah, in which two IDF soldiers were wounded. The
media reported that the fighting ended after on Sunday
afternoon, the Lebanese government requested a cease-
fire with Israel via the UN. On Monday, Yediot
reported that PM Ehud Olmert would ask Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak to convey a tough message to
Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora. The Jerusalem Post and other
media reported that many Lebanese are increasing
pressure on Hizbullah to disarm. On Monday, Ha'aretz
reported that Iran has transferred to Hizbullah rockets
capable of reaching Beersheva.

On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post wrote that in recent days
The Washington Post and The New York Times expressed
skepticism about Olmert's' "realignment" plan.

On Monday, Israel Radio quoted political sources in
Cairo as saying that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
would propose to PM Olmert at their meeting next week
that Israel transfer to the Palestinians the tax money
that Israel collects for the PA. He would also propose
that donations collected by Arab countries for the
Palestinians be transferred as well.

On Sunday, leading media reported that defense
establishment representatives told Justice Minister
Haim Ramon late last week that 486 km of the separation
fence will be completed by the beginning of 2007. This
constitutes 93 percent of the 523-km fence (which does
not include some 300km that are awaiting legal
rulings).

Ha'aretz quoted a senior GOI minister as saying that
the government plans to set aside just a few weeks for
talks with the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in
the Territories for the evacuation of 24 illegal
outposts in the West Bank, and that that if the sides
are unable to reach an agreement, PM Ehud Olmert is
likely to order the IDF and police to move in and
evacuate the locations.

Leading media reported that on Monday, Interior
Minister Roni Bar-On informed four Hamas legislators
from East Jerusalem that they must renounce their
membership in the group if they are to continue to have
residency rights in Jerusalem.

Yediot reported that on Monday, following talks with FM
Tzipi Livni, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited
Olmert to Turkey. Livni was quoted as saying during
her visit to Ankara that Israel favors a two-state
solution. Yediot quoted Erdogan as saying that the
disengagement was a big step, but that Turkey would
have preferred a Roadmap-based solution involving two
states. The Jerusalem Post reported that Turkish
Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told the
newspaper: "Turkey supports a policy that what Iran is
doing or developing should be transparent and Tehran
must convince the international community that [Iran's
nuclear development] is only for peaceful purposes."

On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that PA Chairman
[President] Mahmoud Abbas intends to expand the
Presidential Guard directly under his authority with
thousands of new members, with the ultimate goal of a
10,000-strong force.

Major media (banners in Yediot and Maariv) reported
that at the cabinet today, Defense Minister Amir Peretz
may vote against the government's proposal to make a 1
billion shekel (around USD 221 million) cut in the
defense budget -- including 500 million shekels from
Defense Ministry funds. Ha'aretz quoted Peretz
associates as saying that officials at the Prime
Minister's Office are acting against Peretz.

All media reported that on Monday, NAFTHE, the largest
union of university teachers in the UK, adopted a
resolution encouraging an academic boycott of Israel.
Ha'aretz quoted Education Minister Yuli Tamir as saying
that the boycott has marginal support and that the
British mainstream actually views Israel as a partner.
The Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe reported that the
British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Lord
Triesman condemned NAFTHE's resolution.

All media reported that on Monday, the daughter of
Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh was briefly detained for
entering Israel with false documents. She was on her
way to visit her jailed fiance.

Citing the White House's belief that the UN Security
Council will not vote for sanctions against Iran,
Yediot reported that the US administration has decided
to form, together with Japan and European states, a
plan that would impose economic sanctions on Iran.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel announced
Monday that the Israel Navy would for the first time
participate in a summertime exercise with NATO in the
face of the growing Iranian threat to obtain nuclear
power. Israeli Navy missile boats will take part in
the Black Sea drill, dubbed "Cooperation Mako."

The Jerusalem Post reported that despite assurances
given last week in testimony to the US Senate's Finance
Committee by US Deputy Trade Representative Susan
Schwab that Saudi Arabia had told Washington it was
abiding by its pledge to end the boycott of Israel, it
continues to prohibit Israeli-made goods from entering
Saudi territory.

The Jerusalem Post reported that a petition calling for
the GOI to stamp out the practice of human trafficking
has been signed by more than 3,000 Jews worldwide and
will be brought before PM Olmert this week to coincide
with the release of the State Department's annual
Trafficking in Persons report on June 1.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Tel Aviv University President
as saying Monday that the University's Jaffee Center
for Strategic Studies will be folded into the new
Institute for National Strategy and Policy established
by Australian billionaire Frank Lowy. The newspaper
reported that former US Ambassador to Israel Martin
Indyk will be deputy chairman at the Institute's
governing board.

On Sunday, Maariv's online service NRG quoted Father
Elias Shakur, the Greek-Catholic Bishop in Israel, as
saying that screening the movie "The Da Vinci Code" in
Israel is worse than an attempt early this year to set
the Church of the Annunciation on fire and it is liable
to worsen relations between Christians and Jews in
Israel.

On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that the British newspaper
The Financial Times selected the Ha'aretz journalist
Akiva Eldar as the most influential commentator in
Israel.

Globes and other media reported that Indonesia's
Sampoerna Group of Companies will buy 20 percent of the
Israeli insurance group Harel at a value of USD 900
million, and will eventually own 26 percent of the
Israeli group. The Sampoerna family is one of the
richest in Southeast Asia.

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1. Hizbullah-IDF Clashes:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "Blaming the aggressor is a novel
strategy, but it's worth a try, and it might just
work."

Block Quotes:
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"Blame the Aggressor"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (5/30): "Let there be no illusions: The
modus operandi of Hizbullah, Syria and Iran depends on
the continued hope that some stray Israeli missile will
create a situation that has occurred many times in the
past -- in which these forces can not only attack
Israel and get away with it, but can heap international
opprobrium on Israel in the bargain. The Security
Council, of course, has in the past been pivotal in
this strategy, since it could be relied upon to condemn
Israeli responses while ignoring the aggression that
precipitated them. Lately, the ability of rogues and
terrorists to rely on the UN to blame the victim has
been reduced in the sense that now it is more common to
criticize 'both sides' and issue a global call for
'restraint,' thereby merely treating aggressor and
victim as equals. What is yet to happen, however, is
for the international community to blame the aggressor
and show unequivocal solidarity with the victim, such
as in the resolutions condemning the 9/11 attack on the
United States. Blaming the aggressor is a novel
strategy, but it's worth a try, and it might just
work."







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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Sharon-Peres
government ignored the Arab League's proposal.... The
Olmert-Peres government has received ... a second
opportunity to reach an agreement. This may be the
last opportunity."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "The Palestinians must choose between
their desire for freedom and independence and their
desire to destroy Israel. They cannot have both."

Columnist Shlomo Gazit, a former head of IDF
Intelligence, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "If
it is successful, Abu Mazen's surprising [referendum]
initiative ... will turn the Palestinians into a
partner with a clear opening position."

Ha'aretz editorialized: "The government of Israel would
be well advised to allow its representatives to
maintain ongoing contacts with senior Palestinian
government officials on practical issues."

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


I. "Between Prisoners and Captives"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/29): "The Sharon-
Peres government ignored the Arab League's proposal and
preferred a targeted assassination of the Palestinian
partner and unilateral moves. The Olmert-Peres
government has received from the prisoners, from
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen) and from pragmatic groups in the territories a
second opportunity to reach an agreement. This may be
the last opportunity."


II. "The Limits of the 'Reconciliation' Plan"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (5/29): "The [Palestinian] prisoners'
statement does not openly call for the elimination of
Israel, but neither does it explicitly recognize the
Jewish state, much less explicitly seek accommodation
with it.... Even if the Palestinian public were to
ratify such a document in a referendum, Hamas and like-
minded others would be able to argue that the people
had confirmed the principle of a Palestinian state as a
basis for continuing war against Israel, rather than
ending the war with Israel. Such a referendum might be
presented as a step forward for Palestinian unity, but
it is hard to see how it would advance the cause of
peace. The Palestinians must choose between their
desire for freedom and independence and their desire to
destroy Israel. They cannot have both. The prisoners'
'reconciliation' document seeks to keep all options
open."

III. "A Brilliant Palestinian Ploy"

Columnist Shlomo Gazit, a former head of IDF
Intelligence, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv
(5/30): "If it is successful, Abu Mazen's surprising
[referendum] initiative ... will turn the Palestinians
into a partner with a clear opening position. The new
Israeli defensive position complains that the
compromise document that [Fatah leader Marwan]
Barghouti drafted in prison is unacceptable to Israel.
Without doubt, this is true. But we need to bear in
mind that it is inconceivable that the opening
positions of the Palestinians before beginning
negotiations should conform to Israel's positions,
since that is precisely why and over what negotiations
are held. Moreover, we are still a long way away from
being able to determine whether it will be possible --
even with exceptional good will on both sides -- to
reach an understanding and an agreement. The failure
of the talks will not be, therefore, the result of
there being 'no partner.' We will then face a new
problem. We are going to have to work very hard to
prove that the impasse that has evolved stems from the
Palestinian positions and not Israel's."


IV. "Contacts With Hamas"

Ha'aretz editorialized (5/30): "The attitude of the
Israeli government was and remains a total rejection of
all ties with the Palestinian government, except for
'humanitarian purposes,' such as the transfer of funds
for medicine.... It is clear, however, that residents
of the territories and Gaza are suffering the most from
this. Moreover, it turns out that the siege on the
Hamas government is not weakening it -- at least not
for now. On the contrary, it is boosting support for
it. Despite the severe suffering in Gaza, there have
been no protest actions or demonstrations against the
Hamas government there. Furthermore, cooperation on
practical issues is no less important to Israel than it
is to the Palestinian side.... Such cooperation could
help gradually normalize Israel's relations with the
Palestinian public and its leaders. On this backdrop,
the government of Israel would be well advised to allow
its representatives to maintain ongoing contacts with
senior Palestinian government officials on practical
issues such as water, electricity, health and tourism,
the promotion of which could help improve the
atmosphere and relations between the two sides."

CRETZ