ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 002157 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 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 -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. Mideast ¶2. Iran ¶3. Global War on Terror -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Ha'aretz reported that FM Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz will meet today with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David SIPDIS Welch, who is coming to the region for additional talks in the wake of PM Ehud Olmert's visit to Washington. The Jerusalem Post and Yediot wrote that in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report published Monday, the State Department determined that Israel had not done enough to fight human trafficking and thus designated it a "Tier 2 Watch List" country, the third echelon in a four-level scale, and a one-level drop from last year's Tier 2 rating. The report states: "Israel is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking, namely the conditions of involuntary servitude allegedly facing thousands of foreign migrant workers." The Jerusalem Post said that the report also notes that Israel failed to pass a law, drafted in 2003, which makes all forms of human trafficking a crime. "Israel should extend the scope of its anti-trafficking law to criminalize labor trafficking and establish a shelter for such victims," the report was cited as saying. Israel Radio also cited the State Department report. Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that Olmert will travel to Jordan on Thursday for a meeting with King Abdullah II. Ha'aretz noted that in recent weeks, the King has voiced concern that Olmert's "realignment" plan could pose a threat to Jordanian national security. The Jerusalem Post cited AP that quoted Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh as saying Monday that Jordan will close Jordanian banks' branches in the Palestinian territories should these branches be targeted by Hamas activists. Leading media reported that EU policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Israel Monday for talks with Olmert, Livni, Vice PM Shimon Peres, and Peretz. Ha'aretz reported that Solana told them that the EU was still putting together its mechanism to "bypass Hamas" and transfer aid to the PA. The newspaper quoted a political source in Jerusalem as saying that Israel is prepared to allow the transfer of funds for clearly defined humanitarian purposes, but not for the purpose of paying PA officials' wages. Ha'aretz said that Peres spoke to Solana about the need to create jobs in the PA so as to lessen its dependency on foreign aid. "If Hamas says it does not need the free world, let it approach the Arab states so that their money can serve to finance the various mechanisms," the newspaper quoted Peres as saying. Ha'aretz wrote that Livni spoke with Solana about the need to uphold "the process of the international delegitimization" of Hamas and its positions -- namely, its refusal to accept demands to recognize Israel, abandon terror, and honor existing agreements. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel made clear Monday that it views the Fatah-Hamas dispute over the proposed referendum as an internal Palestinian matter that will not change Israel's insistence that the PA fulfill its obligations under the Roadmap. The Jerusalem Post wrote that PM Olmert and FM Livni relayed this message in separate meetings with Solana. Israel Radio also noted that Israel is staying out of the intra-Palestinian dispute. Yediot reported that Israel and the PA were stops ahead of Solana's visit to Iran. Ha'aretz quoted FM Livni as saying Monday before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel may pass on the names of Hamas members to European countries in order to ease the implementation of a European decision to block Hamas members from entering those states. Tzipi was quoted as saying that Israel decided to hand over the names of Hamas ministers and Hamas parliament members after a number of them who were not included on the Europeans' current list of those Hamas members forbidden entry entered Sweden and Norway and then continued to travel across Europe. Livni was further quoted as saying: "The diplomatic freeze [between Israel and the Palestinians] is not government policy but rather a result of the current reality. It is not possible to close our eyes when we have no partner sitting opposite us." However, Livni also said, "There are developments we want to push forward with Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas]." The FM also noted that the GOI's main policy is to advance the two-state concept. All media reported on, and Ha'aretz, The Jerusalem Post, and Yated Ne'eman bannered the expected announcement today by PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas of a referendum on the so-called "Prisoners' Document." Ha'aretz reported that Hamas leaders told the newspaper that they would urge a boycott of the vote. Maariv and other media cited Hamas's allegation that Abbas is trying to carry out a coup in the PA. Leading media reported that six Palestinians were killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes Monday. A Yediot headline: "Gaza on Cusp of War." Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh was quoted as saying in an interview with Yediot: "I proposed to Abu Mazen new ways out of the crisis and new solutions for engaging in dialogue so as to reach agreements. We have no alternative but to work together. I hope that the dialogue continues." Haniyeh was further quoted as saying: "We are interested in the success of the dialogue. We need to show mutual patience and not according to a stopwatch." Haniyeh was quoted as saying that the referendum that Abbas would like to hold is not a goal unto itself, and that the "goal that we are interested in is to achieve an agreement." Yediot said that Haniyeh repeatedly underscored in the interview that the "Prisoners' Document" can serve as a basis for negotiations, but there are clauses that need to be amended and reworded." He rejected the warnings that were aired by Abbas and said that understandings could be achieved even without threats. Israel Radio reported that this morning, a Qassam rocket landed on a house in Sderot. A woman was lightly injured and another one suffered from shock. The station reported that the IDF responded with artillery fire against the northern Gaza Strip. All media reported that in an air strike on Monday evening, the IDF assassinated two operatives from the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip, Majdi Hamed and Imad Asalaya. According to the IDF, Hamed, who also served in the PA's Preventive Security Service, was involved in several attempted terrorist attacks. He allegedly played a central role in two attempts to blow up the Karni crossing, last December and this past April. Three other Palestinians were wounded in the operation. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli defense establishment has begun debating the need for a massive military operation throughout the PA territories to destroy the terror infrastructure prior to withdrawal under the "realignment" plan. The Jerusalem Post quoted Justice Minister Haim Ramon as saying Sunday that the evacuation of illegal outposts would begin in a few weeks. This morning, Israel Radio, reported that the High Court of Justice rejected a petition by Peace Now to evacuate six outposts. Maariv reported that the Gush Etzion (Etzion Bloc) Regional Council is proposing to the Palestinians a land swap which on the one hand would distance the separation fence from the settlers' homes in the settlements of Kfar Etzion, Bat Ayin and Migdal Oz, while on the other hand, would give the Palestinian state land that now belongs to the Etzion Bloc. All media reported that the state budget for 2006 is expected to pass its first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday, after agreements were reached Monday to secure the abstention of eight National Union-National Religious Party MKs (excluding MK Arye Eldad) and Yisrael Beiteinu MKs. The deal will cost the government 302 million shekels (around USD 67.5 million) to get the budget and supplementary Economic Arrangements Bill passed. This figure is beyond the 1.4 billion shekels (around USD 312.6 million) allocated through coalition agreements. Funding will come from within the budget. All media reported that Olmert and Peretz agreed on Monday to strive to stabilize the government coalition. The Jerusalem Post reported that Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to arrive in Israel today for a largely ceremonial two-day visit that both Israel and Turkish diplomats said is a "confirmation" of the "close ties" between the two countries. Sezer is scheduled to meet with Abbas, but not with any Hamas officials, on Thursday. Ha'aretz reported that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo fired his National Security Adviser Gen. Aliyu Gusau a week ago. Ha'aretz cited Nigerian media that Gusau's dismissal followed an interview he granted Ha'aretz, in which he tried to shirk responsibility from the Israeli-Nigerian security deal. Yediot reported that Jordan has asked Israel to demolish a Palestinian building that was constructed on the site that was slated for the construction of a royal palace in Jerusalem before the Six-Day War. The Yediot-associated leading news website Ynet wrote that despite the long wait, the good news for visa applicants at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv is that most of them eventually obtain visas. Yediot summarized the story, which includes an interview with Consul-General Richard Beer. Yediot and Ynet also cited a USG announcement over the weekend that visas for 2007 for hi-tech jobs have run out. Under the headline: "Pentagon Against Geneva Convention," Yediot cited a story published Monday in The Los Angeles Times that the Defense Department has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment." Media reported that on Monday, an Islamic militia claimed control of Somalia's capital Mogadishu. Media reported that former Peruvian President Alan Garcia won the presidential elections in his country. Ha'aretz headlined: "US-Backed Candidate Elected Peru's President." Erratum: The name of the Hamas militant killed in a bomb attack in the Gaza Strip on Sunday is Ahmed Yousef Sari, and not Muhammad Sadi, as erroneously printed in Monday's Media Reaction report. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Dr. Mordechai Keidar, an expert on Arab and Islamic affairs at Bar Ilan University, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "The chaos that ARAFAT created and knew so craftily how to control and manipulate for his own needs, has become too big and strong a genie for Abu Mazen to control." Palestinian affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The impression [from a demonstration in Ramallah Monday] was that Fatah is undergoing a positive change." Discussing former Vice President Al Gore, Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in Ha'aretz: "Is this what the United States and the world would have needed right now -- a president who is at his best when speaking about global warming? Is there any place today for a president whose primary concerns are not terror, Islam or Iraq?" Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "On the Edge of the Abyss" Dr. Mordechai Keidar, an expert on Arab and Islamic affairs at Bar Ilan University, wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (6/6): "The emerging picture out of Gaza is grave, since a group of 1.3 million people is standing far too close to a keg of dynamite that is enveloped by a cloud of gasoline fumes. Everyone is afraid of the one spark that will set everything on fire, from which no one will escape.... The chaos that Arafat created and knew so craftily how to control and manipulate for his own needs, has become too big and strong a genie for Abu Mazen to control.... And what will happen if [the latter] fails at the referendum? He is going for broke, since he knew from the moment he voiced the idea of a referendum ten days ago that Hamas would never agree: for two whole years they negotiated in Cairo and elsewhere a 'hudna,' a cease-fire, so in ten days they are going to overcome problems that are far more complex and difficult, first and foremost recognition -- even de facto -- of Israel? A number of security organizations have been formed in the Gaza Strip in the past number of weeks. This was done by the parties solely to prove to one another just how determined they were to dictate their agenda to the other side, by force if need be. Those security organizations are terribly on edge and their fingers on the trigger are rather itchy." II. "Fatah Solidarity: Change For the Better" Palestinian affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/6): "The demonstration Fatah organized in the center of Ramallah on Monday to mark 39 years since the 'nakhsa' -- the Six-Day War defeat -- appeared not to be unusual.... But it seemed like those who led the current Intifada and lost pride of place to the younger generation had gathered there primarily to fight for their political standing in a conflict with Hamas. The impression was that Fatah is undergoing a positive change. Perhaps it's the mistakes by Hamas, which is toughening its positions, or perhaps it's Fatah's refraining from superfluous internal strife. Fatah leaders who were at the demonstration are talking about a decision to leave the disputes behind, and work to enlist the public that has been neglected in recent years: academics and businessmen." III. "Gore's Concern" Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in Ha'aretz (6/6): "America is suddenly talking about Al Gore again -- in admiring tones and with longing, too.... This, of course, raises two interesting options with respect to the man: On the one hand, maybe he really could have been a wonderful president -- smart, inquisitive, knowledgeable, focused; perhaps he could have been successful in areas in which the president who beat him, George Bush, has failed.... But another possible conclusion can be drawn from Gore's reemergence: Is this what the United States and the world would have needed right now -- a president who is at his best when speaking about global warming? Is there any place today for a president whose primary concerns are not terror, Islam or Iraq?" -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Americans have no quarrel with the Iranian army, but only with the regime and the Revolutionary Guards. And when the conflict comes, Washington will spare the army and give it a role in the new regime." Block Quotes: -------------- "Cementing the Plans For an Assault" Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/6): "The Americans have no quarrel with the Iranian army, but only with the regime and the Revolutionary Guards. And when the conflict comes, Washington will spare the army and give it a role in the new regime.... There are three stages on the American ladder. The first is an internal change of policy. The second is an internal "regime change" with external help. As hopes emanating from the first two stages fade, an external effort will be required to change the nuclear capability.... Without an Iranian concession, even if Condoleezza Rice and [Iranian Foreign Minister] Manuchehr Motaki do speak, the results are going to be similar to those of the James Baker dialogue of the deaf with Tariq Aziz a week before Bush Sr.'s attack on Iraq in January 1991." -------------- ¶3. Global War on Terror: -------------- Summary: -------------- Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "There seems to be no limit to the willingness of Western elites to justify jihadists in acts of war against their societies." Block Quotes: -------------- "The Path to Our Destruction" Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (6/6): "There seems to be no limit to the willingness of Western elites to justify jihadists in acts of war against their societies.... Even though the apparent ringleader of the [Ontario] terror cell served as a prayer leader and a member of the board of directors of his local mosque, in the wake of Friday's arrests, Canadian and other Western commentators and editors continued to argue that the arrested terrorists bore no relationship to the larger Canadian Muslim community.... Because of the defiant, irrational, and immoral refusal of Western political, cultural, and media elites to acknowledge the threat that internal and external jihadist forces manifest to the very notion of human freedom, they make it impossible for their societies to take measures to protect themselves." JONES