ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Secretary Gates to Israel, April 18-19, 2007


2. Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post prominently covered the visit of
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to Israel. Yediot and Maariv did
not report on the first day of the Secretary's visit. The media
reported that on Wednesday Gates held two meetings with Defense
Minister Amir Peretz, one in a large forum. The Jerusalem Post
reported that last night Secretary Gates attended a reception hosted
by US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones. The Secretary is
scheduled to meet today with PM Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni.

Leading media reported that the meeting between Gates and Peretz
focused on a number of issues: the Iranian threat, the implications
of the ongoing fighting in Iraq, the recent Syrian statements that
were hostile to Israel, and the defense ties between the US and
Israel.

In their top stories, Ha'aretz and Hamodi'a quoted Gates as saying
during his meeting with Peretz that diplomatic efforts to resolve
the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program are working.
Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as telling reporters during a joint press
conference with Gates that "2007 will be a critical year for
thwarting the Iranian plans." "Iran presents a threat not only to
Israel, but to the entire free world," Ha'aretz quoted Peretz as
saying. "This problem is of concern to all of us and we are certain
that the world will not stand aside." "We expect that the U.S. and
the world will stand by us regarding the Iranian nuclear issue," he
added. "I congratulate the U.S. on the Security Council decision
regarding sanctions." Ha'aretz wrote that, while Peretz welcomed
the diplomatic efforts, the Defense Minister said Israel could not
rule out using other options. Ha'aretz appended to its lead story
an Associated Press report citing an International Atomic Energy
Agency document that Iran has started feeding small amounts of
uranium gas into centrifuges that can enrich it to weapons-grade
level and is already running more than 1,300 of the machines. This
was also reported in Maariv.

Ha'aretz wrote that Secretary Gates criticized Syria's policies and
positions. "While we have diplomatic relations with Syria, that does
not mean that we are happy with what they are doing," he was quoted
as saying. Ha'aretz said that Gates expressed concern over ongoing
weapons transfers from Syria to Hizbullah, as well as the fact that
Syria is not preventing militants from crossing into Iraq. This
issue was highlighted by Hatzofe. Ha'aretz said that the defense
secretary refused to respond to questions on how the US views the

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results of the Second Lebanon War, and whether the US administration
was disappointed by the IDF's performance during the war.
"Fortunately for me, I was not the secretary of defense last summer,
and I therefore exempted from answering," Ha'aretz quoted Gates as
saying.

In its lead story, The Jerusalem Post reported that Defense Ministry
officials walked away slightly disappointed from a round of meetings
with Secretary Gates on Wednesday night, saying he refused to
discuss non-diplomatic options on the Iranian nuclear threat. The
Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials who participated in the
meeting with Gates as saying that Gates came to Israel more to
"listen then to be heard." The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli
official as saying: "The US is busy formulating its strategy
regarding Iraq and he wanted to hear how we understood the
instability there and how it would affect us." The official added
that the assumption within the Israeli defense establishment was
that US armed forces would pull out of Iraq unilaterally and in one

wave, not gradually.

Yediot reported that Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz will head
the Israeli delegation in the Israel-US strategic dialogue that will
take place in Washington early next month. The newspaper said that
the Israeli delegation will include officials from the Defense
Ministry, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, and the IDF, and that
Under Secretary of Ste for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will
lead the American delegation.

The media reported on the beginning of talks between Israel and the
Arab League. Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday the Arab League
committee entrusted with implementing the Arab initiative of peace
with Israel decided that Egypt and Jordan will spearhead efforts to
market the scheme. The League conditioned negotiations with Israel
on the cessation of construction in the settlements. Ha'aretz wrote
that on Wednesday that Olmert spoke by phone with King Abdullah II
of Jordan on promoting the Arab peace initiative. Leading media
reported that Olmert told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee that the diplomatic process with the Palestinians would be
based on the Roadmap and direct negotiations. He was quoted as
saying that the Arab League's initiative could provide the
"envelope" for the process. Olmert also told the committee that the
U.S. had tried to promote a regional conference with the
participation of the international Quartet, the Arab Quartet --
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates -- Israel
and the PA. However, the attempt failed "and not because of us."
He was also quoted as saying that the Arab League was considering
sending a delegation to Israel. Yediot wrote that the League will
soon dispatch to Israel a delegation of Egyptian and Jordanian
diplomats, headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries. It
is expected to arrive towards the end of next week in Israel.
Yediot reported that Olmert's senior aide Yoram Turbowicz will soon
hold talks in Washington about the Arab peace initiative.

Yediot and Hatzofe reported that on Wednesday, during his appearance
before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, PM
Olmert related to a possible deal with Hamas and stressed that
Israel cannot pay the price that IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit's kidnappers
are demanding in return for his release. Olmert was quoted as
saying that Israel had received from Egypt a list of Hamas's demands
for a prisoner release. He added: "The list is disappointing
because it creates expectations that we have no possibility of
meeting. Gilad Shalit's release would make us all feel good, but it
is our duty to also act in our interests and not to act out of
emotion.Q Leading media also quoted Olmert as saying that, despite
Syrian President Bashar Assad's declaration that his country was
ready was ready for a war for Israel, the latter has "no intention"
of attacking Syria.

Ha'aretz printed a Reuters story quoting PA Finance Minister Salam
Fayyad as saying -- in interviews with Palestinian newspapers
published on Wednesday after meetings in Washington with Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior Bush administration
officials -- that he was hopeful the US would ease banking sanctions
that have paralyzed the Palestinian government for more than a year.
The Reuters wire story said that the State Department made clear it
had not intention of lifting sanctions against the Hamas-led
government but that it said that the US administration was
considering whether to make it easier for funds to flow to accounts
held by the PLO, which has signed interim peace deals.

The Jerusalem Post reported that operations at the Karni Crossing
between the Gaza Strip and Israel have been extended by at least
five hours a day, following an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to
expand traffic at the vital cargo passage for a trial period.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday Islamic Jihad denied
reports that it had agreed to halt rocket attacks on Israel.
Reports in some Arab newspapers claimed earlier that the Islamist
organization had reached an agreement with PA Chairman [President]
Mahmoud Abbas to stop the Qassam attacks.

Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday the UN
Security Council decided to dispatch a special experts' team to
investigate claims that weapons were being smuggled to Hizbullah
militants in Southern Lebanon through the border with Syria. The
Jerusalem Post said that Israel lauded the UN move. Yediot reported
that on Wednesday the Council managed to adopt a decision based on
intelligence provided by Israel, while condemning Israel for the
manner in which it was obtained. Those developments took place in a
debate about the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Hizbullah in
Lebanon.

The Jerusalem Post printed a Jewish Telegraphic Agency story that on
Monday Judge T.S. Ellis of the US District Court in Alexandria,
Virginia, threw out a motion to keep the trial of former AIPAC
staffers Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman secret.

Ha'aretz cited statistics released by the National Insurance
Institute -- the Israeli equivalent of the Social Security
Administration -- that 66 civilians were killed in hostile actions
since last Independence Day, bringing the number of civilians killed
in terror attacks since the state's establishment since the state's
establishment to 1,635. The media reported that the number of
fighters killed in Israel's wars and the pre-state period (since
1860) has reached 22,305.

Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post cited AP quoting Britain's National
Union of Journalists as saying that it will continue working with
its counterparts in Israel despite a vote on Friday by its annual
meeting to boycott Israeli goods.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Knesset officials as saying on Wednesday
that the Knesset will elect a new president by June 13 at the
latest, even if President Moshe Katsav attempts to hold on to his
post for as long as possible.

All media reported that on Wednesday State Attorney Eran Shendar
announced that he will leave office in August, after completing


three years of his six-year term.

All media reported that on Wednesday President Bush paid tribute to
Liviu Librescu, an Israeli professor who died on Monday while trying
to save students during he shooting spree at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute. The President made the remarks during a speech he
delivered at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to mark Holocaust
Remembrance Day.

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1. Secretary Gates to Israel, April 18-19, 2007:
-------------- --------------

Summary:
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Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post: "Everything we hear from Washington
points to the conclusion that if Israel and the US are going to foil
Iran's genocidal plans, there is an 18-month window of opportunity:
the time left to Bush in the Oval Office."

Block Quotes:
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"Bush Really Aims to Go Out Fighting"

Deputy Managing Editor Anshel Pfeffer wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post (4/19): "Will there really be no [US]
backing down [in Iraq]? Even if Bush, in the last quarter of his
term, manages to go out fighting, how long will his successor stay
the course? In this context, what was the purpose of Defense
Secretary Robert Gates' visit here, the first visit by a US defense

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secretary in eight years? One Israeli newspaper raised the

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possibility that Gates is here to prepare the key Middle East
players for an American pullout that would take place earlier than
expected. However, Gates, at least in public, is singing a
different tune. In Cairo, he said Iraq 'is a responsibility we will
not abandon, a trust we will not break.' Whatever assurances Gates
has brought with him, he reserved his press conference at the
Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv for taking aim at Syria. The failures
and miscalculations, the quagmire in Iraq, the obduracy of the
'insurgents,' the pusillanimity of allies, and the loss of
congressional support, none of it seems to have deflected Bush from
his course. Everything we hear from Washington points to the
conclusion that if Israel and the US are going to foil Iran's

genocidal plans, there is an 18-month window of opportunity: the
time left to Bush in the Oval Office."

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Olmert's
desired to remain in power should not disqualify his diplomatic
initiative.... But to do so, Olmert must lead the process, not look
as though he were trailing behind outside initiatives."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "To
avoid the 'far too grave' situation of which [Palestinian Finance
Minister Salam] Fayyad warns, the international community should
politely do the opposite of what he advocates, and tighten the link
between international aid and Palestinian movement toward proper
governance and peace."

Conservative contributor Prof. Gabi Avital wrote in the popular,
pluralist Maariv: "Israel is returning to Yitzhak Rabin's situation
of as chief of staff -- before he understood the seriousness of the
state of affairs -- only in much more difficult conditions."


Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in Maariv (4/19): "The
Ha'aretz newspaper ... has turned over the past 15 years into an
almost monopoly of the anti-Zionist stance and the stronghold of
those dealing with the delegitimization of Israel."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Leading, Not Being Led"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/19): "On
Wednesday Olmert signaled his desire to take part in a regional
conference, attended by SAUDI ARABIA and the members of the
International Quartet on the Middle East peace process. He hopes
the conference will provide sponsorship and backing for talks with
[PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas and put Israel on a joint front with the
moderate Arab states against the Iranian threat.... Olmert's desired
to remain in power should not disqualify his diplomatic
initiative.... But to do so, Olmert must lead the process, not look
as though he were trailing behind outside initiatives. His
ostentatious hesitations regarding talks about the final status
arrangement and his readiness to discuss only limited issues
indicate that he is having difficulty deciding, or is afraid of
undermining his coalition with Avigdor Lieberman. But the time for
making a decision is approaching and the present attempt to revive
the peace process must not be wasted on a photo opportunity and
empty talks."

II. "When Aid Hurts"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/19):
"In Washington on Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met
with Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad in his
'private capacity,' the State Department said. Does this mean they
spent the time looking at family photos? Officially, the US will
have nothing to do with the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government,
yet the US, with Israeli support, is providing some USD 59 million
in non-lethal assistance to PA security forces that ostensibly are
controlled by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The US also contributed
substantially to the USD 1.2 billion in international assistance
that flowed to the Palestinians in the year following Hamas's ascent
to power. This represents an increase over the previous year and
makes the Palestinians the highest per capita aid recipients in the
world. Even this level of assistance, evidently, is not enough....
The Palestinian message ... is this: We need record levels of aid to
avert a humanitarian crisis, but we are unwilling to abandon our
commitments either to the means of terrorism or to the goal of
Israel's complete destruction. The fact that the people asking for
the money, Fayyad and Abbas, may personally disagree with this
position does not change the nature of the government they
represent.... Both Hamas and Fatah need to learn that the US and
Europe will not continue to pour money into a dysfunctional economy
suffering under from warring 'security services' and rampant
corruption, not to mention the burden imposed by Israeli security
measures necessitated by the constant terrorist activity.... Hamas's
positions are not an academic matter; Hamas is preparing for war....
To avoid the 'far too grave' situation of which Fayyad warns, the
international community should politely do the opposite of what he
advocates, and tighten the link between international aid and
Palestinian movement toward proper governance and peace."

III. "Nothing in Exchange"

Conservative contributor Prof. Gabi Avital wrote in the popular,

pluralist Maariv (4/19): "As a result of past withdrawals and of
those planned for the impending future, Israel will remain with a
tiny vital space, without water and land resources.... Israel will
have to withstand an unbearable economic burden. At the same time,
it will 'be forced' to relocate a quarter of a million Jews.
Instead of envisaging the end of the conflict, one can see the rise
of the three-headed snake -- the elimination of Israel, Holocaust
denial, and anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Israelism. The Arab
world views Israel as a dagger in the heart of the Arab nation. In
other words, Israel is returning to Yitzhak Rabin's situation of as
chief of staff -- before he understood the seriousness of the state
of affairs -- only in much more difficult conditions."

IV. "Brutality, Zionism, and Righteousness"

Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in Maariv (4/19): "The
Ha'aretz newspaper -- in particular its literary sections -- has
turned over the past 15 years into an almost monopoly of the
anti-Zionist stance and the stronghold of those dealing with the
delegitimization of Israel. The representatives of five percent of
research have become center stage in Ha'aretz. Post-Zionists survey
themselves and their opponents. They create the impression that
this small group constitutes most of the research. So what does one
do when someone argues with that anti-Zionism? One ignores him....
A suspicion arises that many people are just afraid to open their
mouths because the power of Ha'aretz is great and that it becomes
more righteous, conceited, and violent."

JONES