ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002642 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. Mideast ¶2. Iran ¶3. Turkey -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Leading media reported that three Palestinian children from one family were killed in a strike against rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip. The media quoted the IDF as saying that it "wishes to express sorrow for the use of teenagers in terror attacks." Media quoted a relative of the children as saying: "We are victims of the occupation and victims of the misbehavior of some of the fighters, who are randomly choosing our area to target Israel." The media quoted Hamas as saying that the attack reaffirms Israel's aggressive intentions and its disinterest in reaching an understanding with the Palestinians. It called on PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas to stop meeting with PM Ehud Olmert. Ha'aretz reported that chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the killing of the children, predicting that violence would breed more violence. Ha'aretz reported that a new plan by the US security coordinator in the territories, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, calls for the deployment of five new Palestinian battalions throughout the West Bank. The newspaper quoted political sources in Jerusalem as saying on Wednesday that the plan, whose aim is to bolster Chairman Abbas, requires the approval of Israel if arms and equipment are to be transferred to the new forces. The plan, which is still in its early development, is likely to call for the staged creation of the force, with relatively small units undergoing the necessary training. Maariv cited Israel's belief that Russia has greatly contributed to tensions between Israel and Syria over the past few weeks. According to the newspaper, Russia passed on to Syria inaccurate information about Israel's intention to start a war. Maariv reported that Israel is unable to find an explanation for Russia's move, except for the fact that it is Syria's main arms supplier. The Jerusalem Post quoted senior Israeli defense officials as saying on Wednesday that, contrary to various news reports, the IDF had not reduced its level of forces on the Golan Heights. However, The Jerusalem Post noted that "certain messages" had been received by both Israel and Syria indicating that neither was interested in going to war. The Jerusalem Post reported that Chairman Abbas has appointed a special adviser on Jerusalem affairs -- Adnan Husseini, the former director-general of the Waqf department in Jerusalem. Husseini was quoted as saying in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that one of his first tasks would be to persuade Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions in the city that were closed down by Israel over the past seven years. One of these institutions, Orient House, served as the unofficial headquarters of the PLO in Jerusalem. Maariv reported that on Wednesday Strategic Affairs Minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman informed PM Olmert that he was empowering Israel Hasson, a Knesset member from his party and a former deputy director of the Shin Bet, to supervise the negotiations with senior Palestinian officials. Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu confirmed on IDF Radio on Wednesday a report published on Friday by The Jerusalem Post that he was interested in recruiting Lieberman to run on a joint list for the next Knesset. Israel Radio reported that Michael Williams, the UN envoy for the Middle East process, has asked Hizbullah to provide signs of life from the two IDF soldiers it abducted last year. The Jerusalem Post cited Lebanese news reports that Hizbullah is setting up an independent wireless phone network throughout southern Lebanon and in Beirut. Israel Radio quoted a senior Lebanese official as saying that this represents a blow to Lebanese sovereignty. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that over the past few weeks the Israeli defense establishment has significantly slowed down the construction of the security fence along the Green Line for financial reasons. The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday the High Court of Justice rejected conflicting petitions against the security barrier proposed by the IDF to protect the Alfei Menashe settlement, located in the northern West Bank just four kilometers east of the Green Line. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the Shas party is considering quitting the government, following PM Olmert's intention to sign an agreement of principles with Chairman Abbas. The newspaper reported that the Yisrael Beiteinu party is also opposed to the diplomatic moves but cited its belief that no agreement will be signed. Leading media quoted President Bush as saying on Wednesday at the Annual Convention of the American Legion in Reno: "Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." The Jerusalem Post reported that Kadima and Likud politicians reacted negatively to Defense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak's call on Tuesday for general elections in 2008. The media reported that on Sunday the IDF will award commendations to soldiers who served in the Second Lebanon War. Major media ran features about some casualties and heroes of the war. Israel Radio reported that Saloum Don, an Israeli Arab who was wounded in a Katyusha rocket attack on his home in Haifa, passed away on Wednesday. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as saying on Wednesday that Chairman Abbas has agreed to solve the crisis between Fatah and Hamas. The Jerusalem Post reported that a group of Israeli law professors has submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court on behalf of prisoners who have been held at the Guantanamo Bay naval prison for several years without access to courts or lawyers. The authors of the brief explain the Israeli system for guaranteeing the rights of security suspects without sacrificing national security. Two of the signatories told The Jerusalem Post about this on Wednesday. Ha'aretz reported that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told the Israeli Foreign Ministry that the 48 infiltrators Israel sent back about 10 days ago will not be returned to Sudan. The newspaper reported that the Foreign Ministry has embarked upon a worldwide PR campaign, mainly in the US, saying that Israel has done a lot for Darfur refugees but that it must take its own security considerations into account. The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that a cabinet subcommittee has unanimously recommended ending a visa requirement for Russian visitors to Israel, a step that could lead to millions of dollars in additional annual revenue for the country's tourism industry. The Jerusalem Post quoted Tourism Ministry spokesman Amatzia Bar-Moshe as saying that FM Tzipi Livni might pursue a parallel modification that would cancel the visa requirement for Israelis visiting Russia. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Oslo Accords architect Uri Savir wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The [Israeli-Palestinian] accord will eventually be signed -- even if it is called the Pardes Hanna accord [after an insignificant Israeli town], it will still be Oslo." Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The next time the Syrians accuse us, as they always do, of not wanting peace ... we should stand up and announce in the clearest way possible a declared change in policy: No, with this Syrian regime we do not want any peace." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Still the Only Solution" Oslo Accords architect Uri Savir wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/30): "Without political compromises, this country would have been torn to pieces by terrible bloodshed -- just as happened in Yugoslavia. The Oslo Accords should have gradually led to this country's partition into two nations to prevent the creation of a binational state, by gradually transferring civilian powers to the Palestinians and freeing Israel from the burdens of occupation.... Like any compromise agreement, this is no ideal accord. However, it grants the Palestinians a diplomatic horizon of freedom and allows Israel to continue to exist as a national, Jewish state that will also bring security to the region.... I know every word in those accords and can attest to the fact that both sides have violated them countless times; the harshest blow the agreements suffered was the result of Jewish terror -- the Rabin assassination. Further problems were Arafat's failure to establish a proper, non-corrupt regime; the failure of the Palestinians to fight the terrorist organizations ... Israel's failure to fight transgressors of the law against settlements; and so forth.... However, it should be remembered that this is about weaknesses in the implementation of a just and correct agreement, of a historic decision that is most crucial to those who hope for the continuation of the existence of a Jewish, national, and democratic state.... The accord will eventually be signed -- even if it is called the Pardes Hanna accord [after an insignificant Israeli town], it will still be Oslo." II. "To Sing a Different Song" Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (8/30): "The next time the Syrians accuse us, as they always do, of not wanting peace, instead of stammering we should stand up and announce in the clearest way possible a declared change in policy: No, with this Syrian regime we do not want any peace. We want no relations with the tyranny of the Alawite minority, and certainly not peace. Syria is an important country and a central neighbor. Once it is democratic, it will understand the meaning of peace and will concede its demand for territories, behind which lie no peaceful intentions. Then we will have peaceful relations with them. But with the regime that is responsible for the brutal murder of tens of thousands of Syrians in the 1982 events at Hama, the murder of the Tadmor prison inmates, the murder of dozens of Lebanese politicians and leaders, harsh incitement over many years against Israel and the Jews, and the people in Damascus who are responsible for the murder of the Lebanese prime minister and are soon to be indicted -- with those people we want no relations.... From the Syrians' point of view, such a new Israeli position would be a source of embarrassment, since if they try to cast it as Israeli intransigence they will be turning the spotlight on the list of their crimes and failures. Here is a paradox for you: When we claim that we want peace, the senior officials of the Alawite regime attack us; when we simply say that we don't want peace with them, theyQll relent. And another comment: Syria does not have relations of peace with any Arab country. At best Damascus' relations with the Arab states, and certainly with its neighbors, are somewhere between hostility and reciprocal loathing. Syria's relations are somewhere between hostile and cold with Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, and so forth. So what about Israel? Are we beginning to understand just how absurd our belief was?" -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Sarkozy has shown that he recognizes the seriousness of the Iranian threat and is willing to stand up to it, and is not trying to pass on the problem to Israel's doorstep." Block Quotes: -------------- "A Realist at the Elysee Palace" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (8/30): "For Israelis, the most important part of Sarkozy's [inaugural diplomatic] address was his statement that Iran's nuclear program is the central problem on the international agenda today.... Sarkozy's assessment is similar to the view of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his colleagues in the Israeli leadership, who have made similar statements and have presented the Iranian bomb as an international problem that requires an urgent diplomatic solution. Sarkozy has shown that he recognizes the seriousness of the Iranian threat and is willing to stand up to it, and is not trying to pass on the problem to Israel's doorstep.... It is too early to tell how his approach will shape relations with Israel. It should not be expected that France will withdraw its traditional objections to the occupation and Israel's actions in the territories, but it is possible that France will not appear at the head of the line of its critics, as in the past. Regarding the US, Sarkozy has stuck to the adamant opposition of his predecessor regarding the war in Iraq, and has called for a timetable for an American withdrawal. This way, he has kept his distance from the views of President George W. Bush. Sarkozy's statements about Iran and Iraq, and his criticism of Russia and China, leave no doubt: He considers France under his leadership a leading player on the international scene. This will certainly find expression in the Middle East as well." -------------- ¶3. Turkey: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "What is required in facing down those who would commit genocide ... is an alliance of all enlightened nations, taking concerted action to thwart such ambitions long before they are implemented. Striving for a better future, however, also requires acknowledging and internalizing the crimes of the past." Block Quotes: -------------- "Facing Up to the Past" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (8/30): "While Israel is acutely and understandably sensitive to its relationship with the current Turkish government, a key ally, the Jewish state, which rightly protests Holocaust denial wherever it occurs, cannot possibly be complicit in the denial of genocide elsewhere.... To denounce the Armenian Genocide is not to denounce Turkey and its current government: It did not perpetrate these killings. But its responsibilities are those of a successor government, and must not be ducked. Our global tragedy is that what the former Canadian justice minister has described as a 'genocide in the making' is being perpetrated, right now, in Darfur, in an era of globalized communication where no nation can claim to be unaware of what is unfolding. And the next potential tragedy is developing before our eyes as well, similarly unobstructed by the international community. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime openly call for Israel's destruction and are seeking the means to achieve it -- in open breach of the UN's post-World War II 'Never Again' convention.... What is required in facing down those who would commit genocide, of course, is an alliance of all enlightened nations, taking concerted action to thwart such ambitions long before they are implemented. Striving for a better future, however, also requires acknowledging and internalizing the crimes of the past." JONES