ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003314 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: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- At midday today, the electronic media broadcast live comments by PM Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh. Both leaders wished for success at Annapolis. Ha'aretz reported that PM Olmert was expected to tell Mubarak that Egypt must stop weapons smuggling to Gaza. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Egypt demands a greater involvement in the diplomatic process ahead of Annapolis. Leading media reported that negotiating teams, led by FM Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala),continued their talks until late last night. Ha'aretz reported that the two sides managed to bridge a number of differences and agreed that the Annapolis declaration will concentrate on the process and not on the core issues. Ha'aretz quoted an official source in Jerusalem as saying: "There is optimism compared with recent days, and there is a good chance of reaching a mutually agreed upon text of the declaration in coming days." The media reported that Livni and Vice PM Haim Ramon voiced disagreements at a special cabinet session on Annapolis, as Ramon questioned Livni's willingness to make concessions, and Livni criticized Ramon's readiness to raise expectations for Annapolis, which may lead to violence. The media reported that PM Olmert and PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas met on Monday in Jerusalem. Maariv reported that Olmert and Abbas have agreed on a diplomatic draft ahead of Annapolis. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert and Abbas discussed the day after Annapolis, and agreed that follow-up talks would be intensive. On Monday Olmert told the cabinet that an agreement should be reached within a year. Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian sources as saying that that no breakthroughs or significant advances were made at the Olmert-Abbas meeting. The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that the PA has set conditions for participating in Annapolis, which include an end to settlement construction, the dismantling of outposts, the removal of IDF checkpoints, and the reopening of closed PLO institutions in East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post quoted a PA official in Ramallah as saying that two PA envoys, Yasser Abed Rabbo and Akram Haniyeh, have been dispatched to Washington to relay the new demands to U.S. officials. Ha'aretz reported that at Monday's cabinet meeting PM Olmert announced that Israel will not build any new settlements in the territories, will stop expropriating land, and will dismantle illegal outposts, all according to the state's commitments in the first stage of the Roadmap. However, Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying: "We have no intention of strangling the existing settlements." Yediot attributed this sentence to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who referred to the residents of the blocs of settlements. Yediot also quoted Barak as saying that he appreciates settlers residing in unauthorized outposts. The Jerusalem Post quoted "senior diplomatic sources" as saying on Monday that Syria would take part in Annapolis after being assured that "Syrian issues" will be addressed in some fashion at the meeting. Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that on Monday Syrian President Bashar Assad warned against the negative consequences of Annapolis. Leading media quoted IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as saying on Monday that he objects to freeing 16 Fatah members from the Gaza Strip ahead of Annapolis. Media reported that Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet: "A wholesale release of prisoners is a mistake. In reality, where Gilad Shalit is in the hands of Hamas, all the releases until now have not helped Israel at all." Ha'aretz quoted PA Minister for Prisoners Affairs Ashraf al-Ajrami as saying on Monday that Israel's decision to release 441 Palestinian prisoners was a public relations move. Leading media reported that on Monday Quartet envoy Tony Blair unveiled a series of projects aimed at strengthening PA institutions and the Palestinian economy. He earmarked four projects for immediate implementation; the "Peace Valley" project in Jericho, which involves establishing a joint Palestinian-Israeli-Jordanian agricultural and industrial park with Japanese funding; the repair of a sewage system in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip; the "Ankara Forum" plan for building industrial locations in the West Bank; and a plan to boost tourism to Bethlehem. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post said that Blair also has several ideas in mind for the medium term. Major media reported that a settler was killed last night in the northern West Bank in an apparent drive-by shooting. A splinter of Fatah's military branch claimed responsibility for the attack. Israel Radio reported that the settler leadership blamed the Olmert government for the violent event. The media reported that IDF forces killed two of three terrorists who tried to infiltrate the community of Netiv Haasara, north of the Gaza Strip. Ha'aretz reported that the Industry, Trade, and Employment Ministry intends to dismantle Elad, the NGO whose primary aim is to make Jerusalem Jewish. Ha'aretz reported that Elad refuses to disclose the identity of the five bodies that have contributed USD 7 million to the association. Elad had bought Palestinian properties in the area of the village of Silwan. Leading media reported that on Monday State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss presented Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik with his report in which he claims that Olmert, when he was Industry and Trade Minister, granted 7.6 million shekels [in 2004, a US dollar was worth over 4 shekels] in business-related aid to Likud activist Rahamim Ben-Shoshan. Leading media quoted West Bank settlers as saying that there has been a recent spate of Palestinian vandalism on property belonging to Jewish farmers. Israel Radio reported on the founding of a new right-wing party -- Hatikva (The Hope). The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that on Monday in Tel Aviv Ambassador Richard Jones attended a joint session of the Knesset's Committee for Foreign Workers and of the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women's Subcommittee on the Trafficking in Women with the findings of the State Department's 2007 annual Trafficking in Persons report, which was published in June. The Jerusalem Post quoted Jones as saying: "Israel has made significant progress in combating trafficking into the country but there are still many steps that can and should be taken to improve the situation." The media quoted the Ambassador as saying that trafficking in persons was a serious threat to Israel's national security. Israel Radio cited Meretz Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On's concurrence with him. Gal-On is the Chairperson of the Knesset's subcommittee. In an unrelated development, Ha'aretz quoted Meretz sources as saying that Gal-On will try to wrestle Meretz chairmanship from Yossi Beilin at the party's primaries. The Jerusalem Post lengthily described increasing hardships for Jewish students from Europe to get an H-1B work visa for the U.S. Ha'aretz ran a feature on Israeli architect Michael Arad -- the son of Moshe Arad, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico --, who won the competition to design the memorial to the victims of September 11, 2001, in Manhattan. Ha'aretz said that Arad became caught up in an imbroglio of politicians, architects, public officials, and interest groups. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Prominent liberal author Amos Oz wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "We need to go to Annapolis and to continue from Annapolis onward with the recognition that the two peoples already know more or less what the final agreement is going to look like." Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Each side wants the declaration to be formulated in a way that will make it easier to persuade Washington, and the rest of the world, of the other's culpability." Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in Ha'aretz: "Whereas the Annapolis process is in no way injurious to the Palestinian case, it weakens Israel's position when and if we finally sit down with some real, and not virtual, Palestinian representatives to negotiate." Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post:" Assad has a price for his attendance [at Annapolis] and for moving away from Iran, a price that -- sooner or later -- Israel will be asked to pay." Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz: " Just as Anwar Sadat leveraged the Yom Kippur War to achieve peace with Jerusalem (and Washington),the General Staff believes that this is an opportune time to leverage the IDF's power to achieve peace with Bashar Assad." The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "To say the least, it is irresponsible to engage in a diplomatic process that will affect Israel for decades from a position of haste and weakness." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Time Is on the Extremists' Side" Prominent liberal author Amos Oz wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/20): "The extremists on each side await failure and pray for an impasse. Time is on neither the Israeli nor the PalestiniansQ side; rather, it is only on the extremistsQ side. The burden of progress lies principally on the shoulders of the Israeli government and Israeli public opinion, since Israel is the one that is holding the Palestinian territories and not the other way around.... Abu Mazen is weak only as long as we weaken him by not giving him any tangible achievement. What will happen if the current negotiations fail? The two-state solution is liable to collapse irrevocably in the event of such a failure, and we will be forced to choose between two historic catastrophes: a joint state (that is nearing an Arab majority) between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea -- or an Israeli apartheid regime that will continue forcibly to oppress the occupied Palestinians, who will continue to resist the occupation forcibly. We need to go to Annapolis and to continue from Annapolis onward with the recognition that the two peoples already know more or less what the final agreement is going to look like: Palestine within the 1967 borders, alongside of Israel, with mutual border revisions, without the return of refugees to Israel and with two capitals in Jerusalem. Everyone knows that -- even the opponents on both sides already know that: The patient -- the Israeli-Palestinian patient -- is almost ready for surgery. Will the doctors be able to muster enough courage?" II. "Blaming the Other Guy" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/20): "Why all the fuss about the wording of a declaration that will never be implemented? Very simple: Each side is preparing for the day after Annapolis, by seeking to ensure that the inevitable breakdown is blamed on the other. The Palestinians will claim that Israel is still building in the settlements; Israel will claim that the PA is not fighting terror.... Thus each side wants the declaration to be formulated in a way that will make it easier to persuade Washington, and the rest of the world, of the other's culpability. But despite the difficulties, a declaration probably will be formulated before next week's summit -- if only because U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will decide any disputes that SIPDIS have not been resolved by then. Both sides warned, via the media, of a crisis this week, and Israel, as always, pulled out the shopworn threat of 'switching to the Syrian track' -- a tactic it used even during the original Oslo talks. But, again as always, it seems that a joint declaration will ultimately emerge. The only problem will be how to implement it." III. "Syria Becomes the Annapolis Prize" Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (11/20): "Bush cannot afford to be seen now as someone who cannot even succeed in bringing two parties heavily dependent on the U.S. to a U.S.-sponsored meeting. That would be a slap in the face, and another sign of U.S. weakness in the region. And this is where Syria comes in. While there is no love lost in Washington for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Syria's presence at the meeting is something that in a matter of months has gone from something that the U.S. indicated it would tolerate, to something that the U.S. now wants badly.... The U.S. wants to see Syria at Annapolis because it will be proof that it may very well be possible to peel Syria out of Iran's orbit and into the arm embrace of the 'normative' Arab direction.... Assad has a price for his attendance and for moving away from Iran, a price that -- sooner or later -- Israel will be asked to pay." IV. "Waiting for Annapolis" Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in Ha'aretz (11/20): "Here comes Annapolis. Now the line is that nothing should be done that might disturb the atmosphere in the period leading up to the Annapolis summit. Isn't this far more important than the peace of mind of the citizens of Sderot? Mahmoud Abbas is clearly not capable of implementing any agreement. We know it. He knows it. And Condoleezza Rice knows it. To the stupid claim that there is no harm in trying, the answer is that whereas the Annapolis process is in no way injurious to the Palestinian case, it weakens Israel's position when and if we finally sit down with some real, and not virtual, Palestinian representatives to negotiate. Everything will have already been conceded, and another lame excuse will have been added to the list explaining why the government is not fulfilling its duty to protect the citizens of the western Negev." ¶V. "This Time, the IDF Favors Syria" Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz (11/20): "Ehud Olmert is superfluous at Annapolis. And not only superfluous, but detrimental.... But with or without Olmert, Israel cannot improve either its security or its diplomatic situation by storming the Palestinian front. All the alternatives are bad, from tolerating the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks and the strengthening of Hamas to attacking built-up areas of Gaza.... It is not only the Egyptians who are to blame for the sieve that their border with Gaza has become. The Americans share the blame, as they have not exerted their full force to solve the problem. After all, it does not really affect them.... After 60 years of fighting, the IDF's top brass does not delude itself that military successes are an end in themselves. Without diplomatic follow-up -- 'leverage' is the fashionable term -- military operations, regardless of whether they succeed or fail, will continue forever. Just as Anwar Sadat leveraged the Yom Kippur War to achieve peace with Jerusalem (and Washington),the General Staff believes that this is an opportune time to leverage the IDF's power to achieve peace with Bashar Assad." VI. "A Position of Weakness" The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (11/20): "Comments by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister at Monday's cabinet meeting that Israel is going to Annapolis knowing that 'time is not playing in Israel's favor' is like entering a bid and saying that you will buy at any price. To say the least, it is irresponsible to engage in the diplomatic process that will affect Israel for decades from a position of haste and weakness.... Were it not for [Israel's] commitments [to the United States], we would not have had dozens of 'unauthorized' outposts: Their illegality is a direct result of the Israeli governments' will to comply with those commitments, thus playing the very unrespectable game of building while turning a blind eye." JONES