ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003341 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: -------------- Annapolis Conference -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- The Jerusalem Post banners: "Peace Summit around the Corner, but Deep Rifts Still Remain." All media (banners in Ha'aretz and Maariv) quoted PM Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying on the eve of the Annapolis conference that a joint declaration with the Palestinians is not needed. Ha'aretz quoted sources close to Olmert as saying that the theme of Olmert's address on Tuesday at Annapolis will be the necessity of the implementation of the Roadmap and terminating terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip, as it is an inseparable part of the plan's first stage. The sources were quoted as saying that Olmert will also say that the time has come to move forward with peace talks and reach an agreement. According to the sources, Olmert will call on the Arab nations to establish diplomatic relations with Israel as Jordan and Egypt have. He will also call on them to actively advance negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Leading media reported that on Sunday the Palestinian delegation abruptly ended a meeting with FM Tzipi Livni at the residence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Commenting on Syria's decision to send a delegation to the conference -- all media reported that it is sending its Deputy FM, Faisal Mekdad -- sources close to PM Ehud Olmert told Ha'aretz that the decision "is demonstrative of which camp the Syrians want to belong to: moderates, as opposed to radicals." Maariv summed up Syrian President Bashar Assad's understanding with the U.S. that "the Syrians will talk and the Israelis -- shut up." Maariv quoted the Iranian news agency as saying on Sunday that Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed during a phone conversation that Annapolis will fail. Leading media cited the belief of PM Olmert and FM Livni that Syria should attend the Annapolis meeting but that the word "Golan" should not be uttered at the conference. On Sunday, Ha'aretz quoted U.S. officials as saying that the Bush administration has decided to invite Syria to Annapolis due to Israel's September air strike on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility. The officials were quoted as saying that the strike had weakened Syria. Banners read in Ha'aretz (English Ed.): "Olmert to Tell Bush: We Will Not Allow Iranians to Develop Nuclear Weapons" and Yediot: "Olmert: Let Us Unite against Iran." All media reported that the police and IDF forces have been placed on the highest Level of alert for the duration of the conference. Ha'aretz quoted Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa as saying that the league's decision to send its foreign ministers to Annapolis does not mean normalizing relations with Israel. Yediot and other media reported that Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and IDF Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin have recently warned the political echelon that the schedule they say the U.S. wants to dictate to Israel and the Palestinians -- reaching a permanent-status agreement within a year -- is dangerous for Israel. Leading media quoted former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon as saying on Sunday before the right-wing group "One Jerusalem" that an Israeli concession of neighborhoods in Jerusalem would leave the Knesset building and the Western wall exposed to Qassam rocket fire. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized the timing of Annapolis and said the Palestinians have not taken the steps necessary for peace. On Sunday Channel 10-TV reported that former Labor Party head and former defense minister MK Amir Peretz twice visited imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. The TV station reported that Peretz spoke to him about the Annapolis conference and a possible peace agreement with the Palestinians. Ha'aretz reported that four Palestinians were killed in clashes with the IDF on Sunday in the territories. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yawm as saying that in recent days Russia, Iran, and the U.S. have offered Egypt help in developing a nuclear program. On Sunday Yediot reported that Israel's credit rating by Standard & Poor's and Fitch, two of the biggest international credit rating companies, will almost certainly be raised at the beginning of 2008, for the first time in 13 years. Yediot and Maariv reported on a predicted 6.1% growth in Israel's economy for 2007 (6.6% in the business sector) -- the largest growth in the West. -------------- Annapolis Conference: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The main message of this week's summit at Annapolis will be that the United States is back as a leader in the Middle East.... Now Israel is once more on the side of the powerful." Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the popular, pluralist Maariv: "The Annapolis conference is already behind us. George Bush can put a check mark in his diary, a lone, rare diplomatic victory in a miserable, unproductive presidential record." Deputy diplomatic correspondent Uri Yablonka wrote in Maariv: "[Annapolis] will be a conference at the end of which the good old Roadmap will be waiting, because anything beyond that will only tie Israel's hands in the future." Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: " If the so-called 'moderate' Arab states now consider blocking Iran an existential matter, they must fundamentally change their attitude towards Israel." Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in Yediot Aharonot: "On Tuesday the United States will declare the end of the conflict: The conflict between it and the Arab world, which has lasted for almost all of Bush's term of office. The other conflicts can wait, as far as they are concerned." Ha'aretz editorialized: "The inclusion of Syria [in the Annapolis conference] under Arab pressure is an important move, and so is the necessity of viewing the Arab countries as holding a promise of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East." Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one of the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Syria is still skillfully sitting on the fence, likely to benefit from just coming to the conference, but at the same time not going to the conference in a manner that would cut it off from their friends in Gaza City, Beirut and -- most importantly -- Tehran." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Back on the Block" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (11/25): "The main message of this week's summit at Annapolis will be that the United States is back as a leader in the Middle East. When President George W. Bush stands before an audience of representatives of Middle Eastern countries at a summit he is hosting to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, the message will be that when the U.S. calls, the world sides with it. Only a year ago, a pessimistic theory of America's decline as a leading power in the Middle East dominated Washington.... Now Bush is launching a counterstrike.... If [Syria] shows up [at Annapolis], this will be a major victory for U.S. diplomacy, which will have restored Syria to legitimacy after several years of pressure and isolation. From Israel's point of view, the impressive representation of the Arab states and international community at Annapolis is encouraging. Israel is supremely interested in America appearing as the strongest power in the region, not Iran. The American losses in the Middle East reflected badly on Israel, which suddenly appeared weak and exposed to Iranian threats. Now Israel is once more on the side of the powerful." II. "Bush Has Already Won" Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the popular, pluralist Maariv (11/26): "The Annapolis conference is already behind us. George Bush can put a check mark in his diary, a lone, rare diplomatic victory in a miserable, unproductive presidential record.... All eyes here are turned to the President's speech, on Tuesday at 6 P.M. Will he utter the 'rude words' that everybody is talking about inside the room but not outside? Will he explain what he meant when he spoke about 'two states,' will he define the Palestinian state, will he desecrate the holy and declare that 'greater Jerusalem will be the capital of two states?' It is reasonable to assume that at the last minute the President of the U.S., a true and deeply-rooted sympathizer of Israel, will not overly embarrass Olmert.... The person who has been making great efforts over the past few days to create a joint declaration nonetheless is Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. As this is her mission, she is trying to fulfill it. Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak have been saying for some time that no one has to rack their brains, or break up the coalition, for such a declaration. They care more about Bush's speech -- what it will include, and mainly what it won't. Therefore, the declaration is almost extraneous." III. "Israel: Back to the Roadmap" Deputy diplomatic correspondent Uri Yablonka wrote in Maariv (11/25): "The Palestinians demanded a peace conference in Annapolis where they would hear about far-reaching, historic concessions which would make it possible for the conflict to be ended within six months. Olmert and Livni, who saw this as a threat to eliminate Israel itself, preferred to stay at home in Jerusalem. In the end the two sides met in the middle of the road. Israel and 39 other states will take part in the meeting with the Palestinians in Annapolis, but in practice it has been ensured that the event will be of a purely declarative nature, without unconditional commitments and without signing of papers. It will be a conference at the end of which the good old Roadmap will be waiting, because anything beyond that will only tie Israel's hands in the future. Official Israel is participating in Bush's festivity, but in effect all it wants is to return home safely." IV. "Annapolis, the End of all Ends" Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, opined on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/25): "A glance at the files in the cellars of history will reveal that we could have remained with a reasonable, moderate and friendly regime, albeit Jordanian, in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], and with all of Jerusalem Jewish, or almost all of it, and with a full peace with Syria (probably without the Golan Heights, or with the Golan Heights leased for generations) and so on and so forth. Many questions will then be asked, and the hardest question of all will be: If this is what we have accomplished in 40 to 45 years, for what purpose did we kill and -- in particular -- get killed? Why did we waste so much of the resources of two generations in human capital and money? What appears today to a substantial part of the population as a 'national tragedy,' will be the heart's desire of the same population in one year, five years or a decade. That is what Menachem Begin, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ehud Barak understood, and apparently Bibi Netanyahu and Arik Sharon also, that same Arik Sharon, the 'greatest of all' in the eyes of many, who created the 'settlement miracle,' and that is what Ehud Olmert also understands today, and that is what everybody understands when he sits in that high throne at number 3 Balfour Street, Jerusalem. And therefore Annapolis this week is another step up, just one, in the multi-storey building, where the dead bodies of the holy and pure are lying on each step, illuminating and warning like the glow of the heavens." ¶V. "Djellabah Chase" [NB: A djellabah is a robe worn by men in the Middle East and North Africa.] Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (11/26): "The most important state at the Annapolis conference is the one that is not participating: Iran.... The consent of several dozen Arab and Muslim governments to participate in the conference is less related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and much more to their fear of the Iranian nuclear program and the threat of Islamic movements to their regimes.... In the past, the Saudis, like other regimes in the oil states, preferred to buy off their enemies rather than fight them.... Iran cannot be bought by the Saudis. In order to block it, they need America.... Israel does not need such empty gestures. If the so-called 'moderate' Arab states now consider blocking Iran an existential matter, they must fundamentally change their attitude towards Israel.... When they need to, the Saudis know how to show flexibility.... The time has come for them to openly acknowledge Israel's existence, its status in the region and its balancing power against Iran. If they do not do so -- it is their problem. There is no need, and no point, to the Israeli djellabah chase." VI. "Condi's Party" Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in Yediot Aharonot (11/26): "Now, after all the invitees have confirmed their attendance, the Bush administration can take pride in the show of strength it has put together. Washington considers the conference a real achievement: Annapolis has returned the US to the center of the map as a strong world power that cannot be disregarded. On Tuesday the United States will declare the end of the conflict: The conflict between it and the Arab world, which has lasted for almost all of Bush's term of office. The other conflicts can wait, as far as they are concerned." VII. "The Price of Arab Inclusion" Ha'aretz editorialized (11/26): "The inclusion of the Arabs [in the Annapolis conference] requires Israel to deal seriously with the Syrian track. This is a significant Arab attempt to pull Syria out of the circle of 'rejectionist states,' as the U.S. administration calls them, and bring it into the fold of nations ready to team up with moderate Arab states, against the Iranian threat. It is advised not to mix these two matters.... The Annapolis summit per se may not produce more than a declaration of intent. But placing it firmly on the Arab agenda, and not only on the Israeli-Palestinian agenda, is essential for it to continue. The invitation of the parties to carry on the dialogue in Egypt is a proper first step. The inclusion of Syria under Arab pressure is an important move, and so is the necessity of viewing the Arab countries as holding a promise of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East." VIII. "Syrian Mugwumps in Chesapeake Bay" Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one of the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (11/26): "By sending [Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal] Mekdad [to Annapolis], Damascus is trying to dance at all weddings. Syria is signaling to the U.S. that it wants to be within the mainstream Arab consensus and should be taken off the 'axis of evil' list.... But the Syrians are also sending a message to the Iranians, to Hamas and Hizbullah -- all of whom did not want to see the Arab countries attend the Annapolis conference -- that by sending a lower-level representation, their heart is really not in the conference. In other words, a day before the long-awaited Annapolis event, Syria is still skillfully sitting on the fence, likely to benefit from just coming to the conference, but at the same time not going to the conference in a manner that would cut it off from their friends in Gaza City, Beirut and -- most importantly -- Tehran." MORENO