ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000387 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. Lebanon -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Yediot reported that PM Ehud Olmert, PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet on February ¶19. Maariv (Ben Caspit) reported that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations toward a final-status agreement are supposed to resume soon, following recent protracted contacts involving the US and Sunni countries concerned about intensive Iranian involvement and the "Shi'ite revolution" developing on their doorstep. The newspaper said that Olmert, Abbas, and Secretary Rice will start "theoretical" negotiations over all issues, without entering the implementation stage. Maariv wrote that the talks would be regional, US-sponsored, and include an upgrading of Israel's relations with regional Arab and Muslim states. Relations might even be established between ISRAEL and countries with which it does not yet have official ties. Ha'aretz reported that sources close to Abbas told the newspaper on Monday that the summit between Abbas and Khaled Mashal, the head of Hamas's political bureau, which begins today under SAUDI auspices in the city of Mecca, is likely to result in an agreement on the formation of a Palestinian unity government. Ha'aretz said that the optimistic message emerging from Fatah circles was echoed by Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip on Monday, which said that the summit will likely result in a final agreement on a unity government. The Jerusalem Post reported that ISRAEL is concerned that a Hamas-Fatah unity government will create international pressure to negotiate with it even if it does not adopt the Quartet's preconditions. Leading media quoted Shin Bet chef Yuval Diskin as saying on Monday that he is opposed to ISRAEL rushing into a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Media quoted Diskin as saying that the Gaza Strip is going back to the rule of clans. Leading media quoted Diskin as saying that 10 tunnels are being dug from the Strip to the Negev for kidnappings or terrorist attacks. Yediot quoted senior Palestinian officials as saying that the abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit had been detained at Gaza City's Islamic University, and that last week's PA raid on the institution was connected to that fact. All media reported that on Monday IDF troops discovered five large explosive devices near the Lebanese border, in the vicinity of Moshav Avivim. ISRAEL Radio reported that Dan Gillerman, Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN, has filed a complaint with the UN on the matter. Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday Olmert will hold a special consultation about the security situation along the northern border. Yediot cited assessments among the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli defense establishment that Hizbullah will become the dominant force in Lebanon in the next decade and that it may rule the country. Leading media quoted Defense Minister Amir Peretz as saying on Monday that he hoped to reach an agreement with Olmert regarding a timetable for the evacuation of illegal outposts. Peretz was speaking at a MEETING of the Labor Party's Knesset faction. The Jerusalem Post quoted Kadima Knesset Member Otniel Schneller, one of the mediators on the issue and a former settler leader, as saying that the Prime Minister's Office is still trying to reach agreement on the outposts with the settlers. Hatzofe quoted a senior GOI source as saying that there is neither US nor Quartet pressure to evacuate outposts. The Jerusalem Post reported that defense officials told settlers on Monday that it was still likely that the security fence would be constructed in the Judean Desert, even though work there had been halted last month due to environmental concerns. Yediot reported that the Peres Center for Peace will soon give away laptop PCs to dozens of Palestinian children. Ha'aretz reported that Iran has inaugurated a new, underground uranium-enrichment plant in Natanz. Maariv reported that on Monday Olmert told a visiting delegation of French Senate members that they must take a nonpartisan view and act resolutely against the nuclear arming of Iran. Maariv and The Jerusalem Post cited a report presented on Monday to British PM Tony Blair by liberal British experts according to which an American or Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear installations would have grave consequences. Yediot reported that Egypt has asked Interpol to arrest three alleged Mossad agents. Ha'aretz reported that Jerusalem's Old City's Jewish Quarter Development Company is planning a roof promenade to link the Jewish and Muslim quarters. Israel Radio reported that the foreign aid included in the budget proposal that President Bush presented to Congress is 12 percent higher than last year. The Jerusalem Post and the radio said that the proposed assistance to ISRAEL amounts to USD 2.4 billion -- which The Jerusalem Post says represents a USD-100 million decrease. Major media reported on the founding of a new British organization -- "Independent Jewish Voices" -- critical of Israel's policies in the territories. Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, actor Stephen Fry, and director Mike Leigh are members of the group. Ha'aretz quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on Monday, during a press conference about Russia's expansion of activity in the energy sector, that ISRAEL is certainly a possible client for receiving Russian gas. Leading media reported that Olmert is expected to name a new justice minister today. Yediot and other media cited another possible candidate for the position -- Law Prof. Daniel Friedman. Maariv and other media reported that, preceding his rivals, Knesset Member Reuven Rivlin (Likud),a former Knesset Speaker, announced his candidacy for the presidency of Israel. Leading media cited police claims that six senior officials at the Defense Ministry have accepted bribes in exchange for directing valuable infrastructure contracts to private contractors. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "[Secretary] Rice's trip will be accompanied by vocal pronouncements about resuming the peace process.... However, neither President George Bush nor Prime Minister Olmert is enthusiastic about all this activity." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "So long as Arab leaders are too fearful to set their own example of moderate behavior toward Israel, they should not be surprised when Palestinian moderates remain weak, embattled or nonexistent." Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: "Ehud Olmert has apparently learned from Ariel Sharon that it is easier for a prime minister to maintain a hawkish policy if he has a minister or two to his left presenting dovish positions." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Bush and Olmert Don't Believe In a Peace Process" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/6): "[Secretary] Rice's trip will be accompanied by vocal pronouncements about resuming the peace process.... However, neither President George Bush nor Prime Minister Olmert is enthusiastic about all this activity, which they see as a futile move leading nowhere. Bush and Olmert object to their respective foreign ministers, Rice and Tzipi Livni's joint initiative to begin negotiations over a Palestinian state before carrying out the first step in the road map.... The White House regards Rice's optimism with contempt. Bush is up to his neck with Iraq and to a lesser extent with Iran. He has no interest in getting involved with ISRAEL and the Palestinians. His aides have come to understand by now that during Bush's term no Palestinian state will be set up next to Israel, and the president's vision will not be realized.... Bush has good reason to let Rice carry on with the political process. First, the Egyptians and Saudis are pressuring Washington to show progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front. Second, Washington believes that American activism would keep away less friendly parties, like European mediators, who would only annoy ISRAEL and the Americans." II. "Show the Way" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/6): "Unfortunately, [in the Palestinian in-fighting], we are not witnessing a conflict between ideological opposites, where one side is clearly committed to peace and the other to terrorism.... Unless Abbas, still regarded by many in ISRAEL as a potential partner, begins to consistently and publicly push a message and a policy of conciliation among his own people, the international community should not be trying to prop up one radical, corrupt and delegitimized faction against another. It should, rather, be trying to steer the entire Palestinian polity away from terrorism and toward peace with Israel.... If [the moderate Arab] states are as deeply concerned about the growing Iranian-led radicalization in the region as they privately say they are, they should be pressed to put in motion an opposite trend. So long as Arab leaders are too fearful to set their own example of moderate behavior toward Israel, they should not be surprised when Palestinian moderates remain weak, embattled or nonexistent." III. "Olmert's Shelter" Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (2/6): "Ehud Olmert has apparently learned from Ariel Sharon that it is easier for a prime minister to maintain a hawkish policy if he has a minister or two to his left presenting dovish positions.... He granted Amir Peretz the empty title of 'Defense Minister' and turned him into a significant player to his left. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who often talks of peace and influences Olmert as much as forecasters affect the weather, has also done her part.... Under the cover of the sound of explosions in Gaza and Olmert's nice words to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Kadima-Labor government is proceeding with a settlement strategy that explains why the minister of strategic affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, is so quiet." -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Bush will see his presidency as a failure if he doesn't put an end to the Iranian nuclear threat." Block Quotes: -------------- "A Challenge Named Bush" Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/6): "This lame duck [President Bush] can get ready for takeoff, fly and even go on a bombing spree. Bush will see his presidency as a failure if he doesn't put an end to the Iranian nuclear threat.... Bush is a stubborn and determined man, and he believes in his mission. The Gulf states, and every country in this neck of the woods, from SAUDI Arabia to Egypt, are seeking his protection, but to Bush, ISRAEL is the fulfillment of a prophecy, and Ahmadinejad's Iran is a threat to the Holy Bible and the New Testament.... It is critically important for ISRAEL to avoid any kind of overt involvement in a U.S. offensive. At the same time, ISRAEL must defend itself, whether that means preparing the home front for bigger missiles, or sitting with the Americans and quietly coordinating the building of a sophisticated defense system that can intercept Iranian missiles on their way to Israel." -------------- ¶3. Lebanon: -------------- Summary: -------------- The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The struggle over Lebanon is a battle in the war being waged by Iran, Syria, and their allies seeking to control the Middle East.... It is imperative that Lebanon's government and majority be given international support." Block Quotes: -------------- "Lebanon's Next Round" The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (2/6): "Round One of Hizbullah's attempt to take over Lebanon has failed. Watch out for Round Two. The struggle over Lebanon is a battle in the war being waged by Iran, Syria, and their allies seeking to control the Middle East.... It is imperative that Lebanon's government and majority be given international support so they can resist this campaign, whose ultimate power rests on a base of terrorism and subversion." JONES