ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001857 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 ICD LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL PARIS ALSO FOR POL ROME FOR MFO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. PM Olmert's Visit to US ¶2. Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media reported on Tuesday's meeting at the White House between PM Ehud Olmert and President Bush. The media quoted the two leaders as saying publicly that they would move quickly to strengthen PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas and moderates in the PA. The media quoted Olmert as saying: "The US never said not to hold talks with Syria and we have never asked for their permission. Israel will not ask permission to conduct peace talks if it feels it is right, nor defend itself if it feels it is necessary." Media quoted President Bush as saying before the meeting: "They [Israel] can handle their own negotiations with Syria. If the Prime Minister wants to negotiate with Syria, he does not need me to mediate." Ha'aretz emphasized Olmert's willingness to take "far-reaching" measures with the new PA government. The Jerusalem Post bannered his confidence that the developments in Gaza provided a "new opportunity." Maariv stressed Olmert's statement that he does not rule out military intervention in the Gaza Strip and that Israel will take action in case of a massacre. Yediot reported that the PM told President Bush that Israel does not intend to enter the "Philadelphi Corridor" (along the Egypt-Gaza border). Israel's Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor said on Israel Radio that the PM's visit was very successful. Israel Radio reported that on Tuesday President Bush expressed his commitment to increase assistance and sign a new 10-year agreement to Israel in the matter. The radio cited Bush's announcement that a team headed by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns would come to Israel in July to discuss terms. Ha'aretz and other media reported that Israel wants to transfer Palestinian refugees currently waiting to leave Gaza at the Erez Crossing, but quoted Egyptian sources as saying that Cairo is reluctant to accept them. Ha'aretz reported that 190 refugees are waiting for permission to move to the West Bank. Israel Radio reported that this morning Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered that medical treatment be immediately provided to wounded Palestinians at the crossing. Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, for the first time, the UN coordinated with Hamas the transfer of aid from Israel. The Jerusalem Post quoted Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar as saying on Tuesday that Israel has a moral responsibility as a Jewish state to stop the bloodshed between Fatah and Hamas, although it must not endanger Israeli lives in doing so. Major media reported that Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu left for the US last night for talks with senior US officials that will focus on Iran. Leading media reported that he will meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). Israel Radio also said that Netanyahu will meet undeclared presidential hopeful Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN). Leading electronic media reported that five armed Palestinians were killed and an IDF soldier moderately wounded during a clash in the Gaza Strip. Israel Radio also reported that two Palestinians were killed in a clash with IDF troops near Jenin. Ha'aretz cited an AP wire report quoting top Arab diplomats as saying on Tuesday that a meeting of the Quartet due to be held in Egypt next week will likely be put off after some partners requested a delay following Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip. Leading media reported that on Monday, in a stark sign of its rejection of Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, Egypt announced it was moving its embassy from Gaza. Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday Fatah flatly rejected a Hamas overture for dialogue, and that Mahmoud Abbas banned all contact with the Islamic group. The Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas leaders as saying on Tuesday that the US and EU are blackmailing Palestinians by aiding only Salam Fayyad's government. All media reported that the Shin Bet reveled on Tuesday that it has uncovered a suspected terrorist cell that was planning a series of attacks, including bombing a Modi'in synagogue and kidnapping American citizens in the West Bank. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that on Monday international organizations asked Israel to drop supplies on the Gaza Strip from the air should Hamas not allow to open the crossings. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted a source in IDF Intelligence as saying on Tuesday that Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip did not surprise military intelligence. Following Tuesday's Israel Radio interview of Environment Minister (and former deputy Shin Bet head) Gideon Ezra (Kadima),in which he reiterated his willingness to free Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti in order to help Abbas, the radio interviewed Internal Security Minister (and former Shin Bet Chief) Avi Dichter, who said that in no way should Barghouti be released. The Jerusalem Post reported that National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer will meet today with Israel's largest utility providers in an emergency session to discuss the continued supply of water, fuel, and electricity to the residents of the Gaza Strip. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday the UN Human Rights Council decided to make Israel's actions a permanent item on its agenda. Of the council's member states, only Canada opposed the decision. The Jerusalem Post quoted Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter (Kadima) as saying in an interview with the newspaper that Kadima must be prepared to move on without Olmert. Ha'aretz quoted Sharon Harel, a representative of the Israeli branch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as saying on Tuesday that Israel must not send Sudanese refugees back to Egypt. Ha'aretz quoted Labor Knesset Member Avishay Braverman, who heads the Knesset lobby for Darfur refugees, as saying that Israel will have no choice but to deport them. Maariv reported that president-elect Shimon Peres' swearing-in ceremony, scheduled to take place on July 15, will be one of the most grandiose held at the Knesset since the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's 1979 visit. Maariv reported that former US president Bill Clinton and renowned American artists are among the invitees. The newspaper said that high-level representatives from the Arab countries may attend the event. Yediot highlighted the scars borne by Israel's northern residents following the Second Lebanon War. Leading media reported that Zeev Schiff, Ha'aretz's famed defense editor, passed away last night in Tel Aviv at 74. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli defense electronics contractor Elbit Systems announced on Monday that it has closed a USD 14-million deal to supply their Aviator's Night Vision Imaging System/Head-Up Displays to two undisclosed NATO member nations. Maariv reported that the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer plans to set up a research center in Israel. -------------- ¶1. PM Olmert's Visit to US: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote from Washington on page one of the circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The President is friendly and has true affection for our Prime Minister.... There is only one small problem: Their entire new vision on the Palestinian issue is a tower built in the air." Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, opined in the lead editorial of Yediot Aharonot: "It would be a great surprise -- and an exceptional one for Israel -- if in his shaky political situation, George W. Bush makes any firm, weighty, fateful decisions [on Iran]." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Lip-Syncing" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote from Washington on page one of the circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/20): "Everything is perfect, really. The President is friendly and has true affection for our Prime Minister. The two speak in similar terms and have good intentions. There is only one small problem: Their entire new vision on the Palestinian issue is a tower built in the air. It is doubtful whether they believe in it. It is doubtful whether anyone does.... The talk of negotiations for a comprehensive arrangement with Abu Mazen's government is not more than talk. The gap in the positions remains, but the partner only weakens from one act to the next. What exactly will Israel negotiate with Abu Mazen about, security arrangements in Gaza?.... Both [Bush and Olmert] are in a continuing slump in public opinion polls. The point is that while Olmert's situation has improved recently, Bush's situation has worsened. [The late Israeli prime minister] Levy Eshkol was once told that there is a drought. Where, he asked?. In Israel, they said. Thank God, he said. When there is a drought in America I am much more concerned. The Bush administration is currentlIO#QQQ, he will receive what several past US presidents have received: historically speaking, people will like them more in Israel than in the United States." -------------- ¶2. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "From time to time, Israel dispatches rescue expeditions to disaster areas -- the work of nature or of man.... It is unclear, unreasonable and inhumane that here of all places, right in our backyard, Israel should insist on revealing its closed, ugly face." Liberal columnist Billy Moscone-Lerman and Professor Moshe Zimmerman of the Hebrew University wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "If we do not find a way to talk to [the moderate Palestinian leadership], we shall some day find ourselves fighting our own Hamas." Senior editor Arnon Gal wrote in Maariv: "It is the left wing that should now demand military intervention, even a strike, against the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Open the Gates Immediately" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/20): "Many Israelis are watching the television news these days with feelings of powerlessness and shame. They see hundreds of haunted and frightened women and children crowding into the corridor of the Erez crossing and asking to be allowed to flee Gaza through Israel to the West Bank in order to save their lives. But the defense establishment sees something else: It sees wanted terrorists about to blow themselves up and Iranian agents. The defense establishment apparently has its own vision, which does not let emotional or humanitarian considerations confuse it or cause it to change its rigidly made-up mind.... In the dark days before the Holocaust, it was similarly argued, not without justification, that the German and Austrian refugees fleeing for their lives could include moles seeking to assimilate into the countries through which they passed and sabotage them.... From time to time, Israel dispatches rescue expeditions to disaster areas -- the work of nature or of man. Our soldiers and civilians have extended emergency assistance in Armenia and Turkey, Rwanda and Bosnia, and many other places near and far. All these expeditions were organized by the beautiful Israel. It is unclear, unreasonable and inhumane that here of all places, right in our backyard, Israel should insist on revealing its closed, ugly face. Let the gates be opened immediately, and Israel will appear as it should be." II. "Prepare for Civil War in Israel" Liberal columnist Billy Moscone-Lerman and Professor Moshe Zimmerman of the Hebrew University wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (6/20): "Every Israeli peace-lover must understand that one of the reasons for the Palestinian civil war is the fact that Israel has not extended a stable hand to the moderate Palestinian leadership, thus directly contributing to the rise of Hamas.... He must understand that [moderate Palestinian] leaders ... represent the Israelis' last opportunity.... Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that if we do not find a way to talk to them, we shall some day find ourselves fighting our own Hamas: religious, fanatical people who believe that this piece of land belongs to Israel only and who would be glad to teach the defeatists 'good manners.'" III. "Peace Camp Demanding War" Senior editor Arnon Gal wrote in Maariv (6/20): "Most of the time I am proud to be on the left side of the political map, a fair distance from the unclear line known as the 'center,' but in rare cases, an observation of those standing next to me causes me discomfort. That is exactly what happened to me on Tuesday, when I read the article [in Maariv] by Meretz-Yahad Chairman Yossi Beilin ('Give peace a chance'),in which he called on Israel to reach a cease-fire agreement in light of the events in Gaza and Hamas's strengthening. Instead of giving this the title 'Give peace a chance' it would have been better to call it 'on blindness'.... [Beilin is mistakenly] calling for quiet and for a political arrangement at almost any price, even with the worst of our enemies. Were Beilin truly faithful to the Oslo legacy, whose role in it nobody can take away, he should have reached the exact opposite conclusion: Israel must at any price, avoid reaching an agreement with Hamas, certainly not at this point in time, when it is strong and winning while our historical partners to the peace process look at us beaten and battered.... A real and sane left wing must continue to believe that there is a solution and political horizon for the difficult situation in which we are found, but not to prefer it at all costs. It is the left wing that should now demand military intervention, even a strike, against the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, the arms smuggling, and the humiliation of the PA's security services. Yes, even at the cost of public condemnations on the part of the Arab world and a temporary postponement of the chance to reach a final status arrangement with the Palestinians and the Syrians. In any case, at this point in time neither Abu Mazen nor any of his few potential successors have a real chance to lead towards a long-term, painful arrangement with Israel, when he can no longer even rule over his own offices..... Yes, sometimes it is the peace camp that should lead the call for war." CRETZ