ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003271 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 -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Israel Radio mentioned that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to the United Jewish Communities (UJC) General Assembly in Nashville and quoted her as saying that "Now the opportunity before us does not obviate the need for hard, even unprecedented choices by all parties involved. Israelis and Palestinians alike need to recognize that peace will require difficult, painful sacrifices to some of their longest-held aspirations." Major media (banner in Ha'aretz) reported that ISRAEL will announce a freeze on settlement construction and declare its willingness to dismantle illegal West Bank outposts. Leading media reported that last night PM Olmert aides Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turgeman, along with Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovitch, flew to Washington to clarify the details of this move with administration officials. Ha'aretz reported that in recent weeks the US has demanded significant movement on the issue of settlements and outposts to compensate for Israel's refusal to discuss "core issues" until after the Annapolis meeting. Ha'aretz quoted GOI sources as saying: "Of the two [options presented by the U.S.], a settlement freeze is easier than evacuating the outposts, because this only involves a declaration, not a confrontation with settlers in the field." The settlement freeze is also meant to help persuade Arab and Muslim countries, including SAUDI Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, to attend the Annapolis meeting. Ha'aretz reported that PM Ehud Olmert intends to present this move to the Israeli public as a mere reconfirmation of the commitments Israel took upon itself when it accepted the Roadmap. All media reported that on Tuesday Olmert met with leaders of the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories for the first time since taking office, and told them that the "first stage of the roadmap speaks of dismantling outposts and freezing settlements, and that's a document that all Israeli governments, including Likud ministers, have accepted." Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Olmert admitted during the MEETING that the issue of construction in the settlements was raised in his talks with US officials. Ha'aretz and other media quoted the settler leaders as saying after the meting that they feel as if a "tsunami" is approaching. Ha'aretz noted that Olmert would like the large settlement blocs of Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, and the settlements around Jerusalem to be exempted from this freeze. Ha'aretz (Aluf Benn) reported that the joint declaration for the Annapolis MEETING will focus on the format and goals of negotiations for a permanent agreement. The declaration will reference previous decisions, such as UN Security Council resolutions and the Roadmap. It will also present the sides' goals for a solution, and mention the "core issues." Media reported that the two negotiating teams, headed respectively by FM Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei Abu Ala),met again on Tuesday and disagreed on most issues. Ha'aretz reported that ISRAEL has asked the US to pressure the Palestinians into being flexible and to go ahead and hold the Annapolis MEETING as planned on November 26-27. The Jerusalem Post reported that Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, told the newspaper that not "a single word" of the joint declaration has yet been written. Ha'aretz quoted Abu Rudeineh as saying that the Palestinians want the US to "pressure ISRAEL so as to be able to reach an agreed-on declaration." He was quoted as saying that FM Livni and Defense Minister Barak were both creating obstacles. Major media quoted President Shimon Peres as saying on Tuesday before the Turkish Parliament in Ankara that ISRAEL wants a two-state solution and that Annapolis cannot be allowed to fail. Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying at the same venue that the Palestinians will never give up East Jerusalem. Major media (lead story in Yediot) quoted diplomats as saying on Tuesday that Iran has met a key demand of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by delivering blueprints that show how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads, in an apparent concession meant to stave off new UN sanctions. However, Yediot quoted the diplomats as saying that Tehran has failed to meet other requests made by the IAEA. Yediot quoted Western intelligence sources as saying that Iran was forced to divulge the blueprints only after evidence of their existence had accumulated. The Jerusalem Post's web site reported that the newly formed Genocide Prevention Task Force, indicated on Tuesday that it will not examine whether ISRAEL has committed genocide in the Palestinian territories. The newspaper had earlier quoted former Defense Secretary William Cohen, a member of the Task Force, as saying that SIPDIS the body would consider looking into the issue. Leading media quoted Science, Culture, and Sport Minister Raleb Majadele as saying at the Knesset on Tuesday that Israeli law does not apply to the Temple Mount. He said he was entitled to express his private views. Leading media quoted Defense Minister Barak as saying on Tuesday that Washington and Jerusalem agree that Syrian participation at Annapolis would be "positive." Ha'aretz quoted Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter as saying that Syria is the only country among Israel's neighbors that keeps a quiet border and meets its obligations to prevent smuggling. Maariv cited the concern of the Israeli defense establishment that Syria might try to retaliate over Israel's attack in September by hitting Israeli airliners. Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday Israeli sources denied Hamas claims that new proposals for freeing Gilad Shalit were recently given to Hamas. All media quoted IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as saying on Tuesday during a visit to a conference of NATO commanders in Belgium that the "war in Lebanon achieved a few important accomplishments for the security of ISRAEL and strengthened Israel's deterrence [capability]. At the same time, I am now just as convinced, that these accomplishments -- and possibly even greater ones -- could have been achieved more quickly and at a lower cost." Ha'aretz reported that the state is reusing to hand over the list of properties belonging to the Waqf -- Muslim property trust -- in Tel Aviv and Jaffa, claiming that revealing such information could possibly damage Israel's foreign relations. Israel Radio reported that 2,073 Italian intellectuals have signed a petition comparing ISRAEL to the Nazis. They are demanding that the Italian government cut diplomatic ties with ISRAEL and repeal the Berlusconi government's declaration of Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Jerusalem Post presented the results of a poll sponsored by the Israel Policy Center for Promoting Parliamentary Democracy and Jewish Values in ISRAEL Public Life and conducted by Maagar Mohot: Some 55% of respondents said that the Knesset should remove PM Olmert because of the investigations. Some 65% of respondents said that due to the results of 2005 disengagement from Gaza, they opposed a large withdrawal from the West Bank. Some 61% said they opposed removing IDF soldiers from most of the West Bank and giving control over the territory to the Palestinians. Maariv presented the results of a TNS/Teleseker poll conducted on Monday: Do you support the [Israeli government's] intention to release 400 Palestinian prisoners? No: 70%; Yes: 22%; Undecided: 8%. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Peres Center President Uri Savir wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Now is the time for the Palestinian side to bite the bullet, to set forth realistic positions in order to find a common platform with Israel." Dan Patir, who was the late prime minister Menachem Begin's media advisor and took part in the first Camp David summit, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The Camp David summit ended successfully and with a signed agreement -- with an agreed-upon agenda ... without early commitments to priorities, solutions or concessions. Success may have resulted from that." The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (11/14): "It is not (only) from the police [a reference to the investigations Olmert is going through] that the government is fleeing to Annapolis, but mostly) from the problems with which it is supposed to -- and cannot -- deal with." Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "When it comes to SAUDI Arabia, Washington tends to close its eyes." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "What the Palestinians Must Do" Peres Center President Uri Savir wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (11/14): "To insist that strengthening Fatah is the task of ISRAEL alone is paternalistic. Only an internal political process can strengthen the Palestinian peace camp so that it can better manage Palestinian affairs. And nothing can strengthen Abu Mazen more than success at Annapolis. To that end, the Palestinian leadership must aim for a substantive Annapolis declaration with Israel, offering a timeline for declarations -- say, about one year. So now is the time for the Palestinian side to bite the bullet, to set forth realistic positions in order to find a common platform with Israel.... It is time for both Israelis and Palestinians to pursue a policy of Realpolitik. ISRAEL must make painful concessions, and so must the Palestinian side.... But I genuinely believe that both Abu Mazen and Olmert understand the importance of this opportunity, and I hope -- for the sake of both peoples -- that our leaders will act accordingly. Annapolis must be successful. It must provide a solid and implementable basis for real peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and act as an impetus for regional peace." II. "Making Peace Without Planning" Dan Patir, who was the late prime minister Menachem Begin's media advisor and took part in the first Camp David summit, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/14): "The extreme differences separating those who hope that Annapolis will lead to solutions and those who already consider it a failure ... should not come as a surprise.... The first Camp David conference was not planned ahead of time; it was not built or conducted according to previous plans. There were no precedents or recipes. It was born as a timely necessity, as a constraint, in order to get Egyptian-Israeli contacts out of the rut.... Some valuable lessons can be learned: The Camp David summit ended successfully and with a signed agreement -- with an agreed-upon agenda ... without early commitments to priorities, solutions or concessions. Success may have resulted from that." III. "A Government That Senses Failure" The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (11/14): "Our government is deeply immersed in a failure dictated ahead of time and a lack of trust in Israel's ability to cope with the existential issues it faces. It is not (only) from the police [a reference to the investigations Olmert is going through] that the government is fleeing to Annapolis, but mostly) from the problems with which it is supposed to -- and cannot -- deal with." IV. "The King of the Castle" Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/14): "It was [current SAUDI King] Abdullah, as crown prince, and not King Fahd, who articulated the idea of the 'Saudi initiative' that became the 'Arab initiative' -- an initiative that promises peace and normalization with the entire Arab world if in return ISRAEL withdraws to the 1967 armistice lines.... This is the position that has transformed SAUDI Arabia from a 'country that joins' initiatives by others into a country that initiates. In fact it has been establishing its position as the Arab world's hegemon over the diplomatic discourse in the Middle East....Its support for the Annapolis conference -- although it is not yet clear whether it will send a senior representative -- and the financial backing it is providing and will continue to provide to the Palestinian Authority are turning SAUDI Arabia into President George W. Bush's most reliable ally when it comes to managing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his Middle East policy as a whole..... The upshot of this is that when it comes to SAUDI Arabia, Washington tends to close its eyes. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, for example, has no problem publicly chastising Egypt for human rights violations. Bush has unhesitatingly called for the release of the leader of the opposition Al Raad party, Ayman Nour, from Egyptian prison. Yet apart from the periodic State Department reports on the human rights situation in SAUDI Arabia, no presidential or other governmental statement has been heard from Washington concerning the state of human rights in the kingdom. Today, too, despite Abdullah's promises to revise the curriculum, one can still read in SAUDI textbooks about the need to hate Jews and Christians, about the Jews' evil plans and about how some Jews -- true, not all of them -- are devil-worshippers. But what is all this compared to a handshake between a senior SAUDI representative and an Israeli prime minister?" -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "It's not necessarily the stance of the [Democratic] candidates [towards Iran] that has changed, but rather their political standing. That will become increasingly common as the Iowa caucus approaches." Block Quotes: -------------- "Between Tehran and Des Moines" Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/14): "It is clear that Democratic voters -- especially those who will be voting in the primaries -- are in the camp that fears any hint of another confrontation in the Middle East. That is exactly the case for the Democratic voters of Iowa, too. That may explain the huge gap between the tough tone taken by [John] Edwards when he spoke about Iran at the Herzliya Conference in ISRAEL and the conciliatory tone he used two weeks ago in the last debate. It could also explain the gaps found by an American columnist between what Obama told Ha'aretz a few months ago and what he now says about making overtures to Iran. It's not necessarily the stance of the candidates that has changed, but rather their political standing. That will become increasingly common as the Iowa caucus approaches." JONES