ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000523 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: -------------- Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, February 17-20, 2007 SIPDIS -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Ha'aretz's headline on the three-way meeting read: "PM's Talks With Rice, Abbas End With Vague Promise." A Yediot headline summed up thus Monday's trilateral parley: "Two Hours of Immaterial Talks, a Short Statement to the Press, and Home They Went." Maariv's headline on the talks read: "Abu Mazen Will Not Be Boycotted -- His Government Will." Hatzofe wrote: "Olmert: Link With Abu Mazen to Continue." The media reported that on Monday, following a private meeting with PM Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas that lasted for more than two hours, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice alluded to stepped-up efforts to get other regional players involved in the process. She was quoted as saying, during a brief 90-second statement, that Olmert and Abbas reiterated their desire for "American participation and leadership in facilitating efforts to overcome obstacles, rally regional and international support, and move toward peace." Media quoted Secretary Rice as saying: "All three of us affirmed our commitment to a two-state solution, agreed that a Palestinian state cannot be born of violence and terror and reiterated our acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap." Ha'aretz reported that Rice expressed interest in Olmert's domestic "political horizon." The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli sources as saying that the trilateral meeting highlighted the "differing opinions on major issues" between Israel and the PA. Olmert, the officials were quoted as saying, "clearly and openly" expressed his "frustration" that Abbas was not showing leadership and authority. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials as saying that Olmert said in the meeting that rather than showing leadership, Abbas bent over backwards to satisfy the extremists. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert demanded in the talks that the Palestinian unity government recognize Israel, renounce terror, and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. He was quoted as saying that Israel would reject alternatives to the three conditions that are meant to make the unity government appear acceptable in the eyes of the world. Olmert was quoted as saying that Israel will not have any contact with Palestinian figures who are considered moderates, if they serve in a government that does not accept the Quartet's conditions. Olmert also demanded that the Palestinian government release captive soldier Gilad Shalit. Hatzofe reported that Shalit's jailers are opposed to a Palestinian national unity government. The media reported that Abbas told Olmert and Rice that the Mecca Agreement on the formation of a unity government was reached because there was no other choice if the violent clashes between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza were to come to an end. Media cited Palestinian disappointment over the outcome of the talks. The Jerusalem Post quoted senior diplomatic officials as saying on Monday that, following Monday's inconclusive and what Israeli officials termed "frustrating" trilateral meeting, diplomatic efforts over the next few weeks will focus in part on getting Saudi Arabia to play a more significant role in the process. The Jerusalem Post quoted these officials as saying that the Saudis could play a role in two key ways -- by pressing Hamas to accept the international community's three conditions and by giving the Israeli public a view of a political horizon that it could expect if there were a reinvigorated diplomatic process. According to these officials, the Saudis could do this by holding public or even private discussions with Israel, or by relaunching their diplomatic initiative of 2002. However, The Jerusalem Post said that the officials admitted that US leverage on Saudi Arabia was limited, as the results of the Mecca Agreement demonstrated. Maariv reported that the establishment of a Palestinian unity government is delaying a new diplomatic plan by Jordanian King Abdullah II that allegedly includes: direct secret talks between Israel and Abbas; Abbas would proclaim elections based on the arrangement with Israel; toppling Hamas and signing an Israeli-Palestinian agreement; establishing diplomatic relations between the moderate Arab countries and Israel; calming down the Middle East and reducing the level of terror; and curbing the Shi'ite revolution. The Jerusalem Post quoted visiting US Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) as saying that President Bush places the utmost priority on stopping a nuclear Iran but that he needs help from Europe. The Jerusalem Post quoted that opposition to the excavation of the Mugrabi Gate near the Temple Mount has sparked an increase in anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric in the Muslim world. The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday border policemen scuffled with Hebron settlers in abandoned Palestinian property. Hatzofe reported on the establishment of a new terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip: the Al-Aqsa Liberation Brigades. Yediot reported that women demonstrating in favor of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard succeeded in getting close to the Secretary's hotel room in Jerusalem, and that three of them were arrested. Ha'aretz reported that 62 Knesset members have signed on to one of the most expensive bills currently in legislation. The bill, initiated by two Knesset members from Kadima and National Union, is an amendment to the Evacuation-Compensation Law that determined the compensation that Gaza Strip evacuees would receive. The Disengagement Authority (Sela) estimates that the bill will cost a mind-boggling 3-7 billion shekels (around USD 717 million-1.67 billion) -- making it, according to Ha'aretz, a macro-economic event that casts a threat on the budget itself. Leading media quoted Yossi Baidatz, head of research at IDF Intelligence, as saying that Hizbullah has recouped its losses. The media quoted Defense Minister Amir Peretz as saying that it is not so. Yediot and reported that Russia is delaying construction of the Iranian nuclear rector at Bushehr because of unpaid Iranian debts. Likud Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz, former head of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was quoted as saying in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Iran has lately become a little more fearful of the Americans, and that it is all for the good. Maariv cited Israeli-Iranian cooperation in the field of olive growing. Leading media reported that Labor Party leaders increasingly favor Vice PM Shimon Peres (Kadima) for president of Israel. The party's official candidate is Labor Knesset Member Colette Avital. All major Hebrew-language media led with Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter to go ahead with the submission of Yaakov Ganot as police commissioner to the cabinet for ratification as soon as possible, despite a chorus of protests. -------------- Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, February 17-20, 2007: SIPDIS -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "It is the responsibility of Israel's leadership to prepare itself and the nation that elected it for a daring and far-reaching political plan, even if the conditions for its implementation have not yet been created." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Today's three-way summit represents a living contradiction to its original purpose: to help separate 'moderate' Fatah from 'radical' Hamas." Palestinian affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "For many in the Palestinian camp [Secretary Rice's] statement [to a Palestinian newspaper] was regarded as a slap in the face for Abbas, and raised much concern about the future of negotiations." Foreign News Editor Arik Bachar wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "Far from international attention ... a decision was made last month that should greatly worry Israel." Gershon Baskin, the Co-Director of the Israel-Palestine Center for Information and Research (IPCRI),wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "These two issues are inextricably linked -- peace making and Olmert' political career. If he does not advance peace, he will not last politically." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Israel Must Prepare to Say 'Yes'" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (2/18): "Even if the local Hamas leaders are displaying moderate trends relative to the movement's basic extremism, they remain subject to the rigidity of the overseas leadership. Thus, the agreements Rice hopes to achieve at the tripartite meeting will depend on the approval of Haniyeh, who will depend on the backing of Khaled Mashal. The good news is that the immediate onus is not on Israel. However, that is small consolation, for Israel stands to lose the most from the absence of peace.... Therefore, it is the responsibility of Israel's leadership to prepare itself and the nation that elected it for a daring and far-reaching political plan, even if the conditions for its implementation have not yet been created. The key to the locked political door may be in the Palestinians' hands at the moment. This key is the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. His release is to be carried out as part of a deal consisting of the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.... Bush's telephone calls over the weekend with Olmert and the Saudi King imply that external Arab pressure, of the kind that brought about the Mecca agreement, could serve as a possible lever on Hamas. Israel's government must be ready for the moment in which the Palestinians will stop saying 'no' to it." II. "A Contradictory Summit" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/19): "Today's three-way summit represents a living contradiction to its original purpose: to help separate 'moderate' Fatah from 'radical' Hamas. It was scheduled before the Mecca agreement on forming a unity government, which sets out terms that can only be described as an abject defeat for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.... The Mecca Agreement was the latest stage in a drawn out game of chicken, in which Hamas tries to prove that it has a greater ability to impose suffering on Palestinians and Israelis than the Quartet has to adhere to its principles. The international community has no choice in this context other than to redouble its determination, and find new ways of convincing Hamas that it must comply. Ending direct aid to the PA government, while flooding the Palestinians with indirect assistance, has evidently not produced sufficient pressure on Hamas. While the financial pressure could be increased by reducing indirect assistance, pressing Arab states to undermine Hamas's diplomatic position is at least as important. Even Saudi Arabia should be pressed to clarify to the Palestinians that unity is not enough. The unity must be for the purpose of ending terrorism, abandoning the 'right of return' to Israel, and building the state alongside Israel that Palestinians claim to want. The Palestinian refusal to abide by the Quartet's conditions does not invalidate those demands; it does mean that insufficient pressure has been brought to bear to bring those conditions about." III. "Slap in the Face" Palestinian affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in Ha'aretz (2/20): "Several hours after the [trilateral] meeting, Al-Ayyam, a Palestinian daily, published an interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in which she said that there is no certainty that a Palestinian state would emerge during the tenure of President George ¶W. Bush. For many in the Palestinian camp this statement was regarded as a slap in the face for Abbas, and raised much concern about the future of negotiations. This was proof to them that the US administration was giving up on the two-state vision and on efforts to reach a final status agreement. The summit also appeared to have been forced.... In the view [of the Palestinian leadership], the Americans were going through the motions to appease the Arab world to receive support in Iraq, and to appease the European Union so that the Quartet's unity would continue." IV. "The Kosovo Allegory " Foreign News Editor Arik Bachar wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (2/20): "Far from international attention ... a decision was made last month that should greatly worry Israel, especially in light of attempts to incite a domestic Arab Intifada. For the first time since World War II, the international community has decided on the modification of an international boundary without the assent of both sides.... The Kosovo case is important to Israel from two points of view. First, the demographic aspect crucial, because it is easy to claim that an ethnic majority in a certain area is entitled to determine its fate independently. Second, behaving forcefully with a minority population grants international organizations legitimacy to intervene ruthlessly in the maternal affairs of a country that does not conduct those affairs according to reasonable norms." ¶V. "The Ball Is in Olmert's Court" Gershon Baskin, the Co-Director of the Israel-Palestine Center for Information and Research (IPCRI),wrote in The Jerusalem Post (2/20): "Before her trip to the region this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said her purpose was 'to recommit to existing agreements, but also to begin to explore and probe the political and diplomatic horizon.' Exploring horizons means defining the end game -- the creation of the Palestinian state alongside Israel as the main element of a permanent status agreement.... We ... know how anxious Abbas is to move forward; however he will not be a partner in any process that appears to be a charade akin to the Oslo process. No number of photo-ops will allow Abbas to be made a fool of to serve Israeli political needs. If this process does not move forward it will be because Olmert will not allow it to move forward. That is the bottom line. Olmert must decide. Time is running out, both for peace and his own political career and ambitions. These two issues are inextricably linked -- peace making and Olmert' political career. If he does not advance peace, he will not last politically." JONES