ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Mideast


2. Iran-Britain Crisis

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Key stories in the media:
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All media reported that PM Ehud Olmert, at a press conference on
Sunday evening in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
proposed a "meeting of all the heads of the Arab states, including
-- obviously -- the Saudi King, whom I see as a very important
leader, to have discussions with us." On Sunday Ha'aretz quoted
Olmert as saying in an interview with TIME Magazine: "I can tell you
that if I had had an opportunity to meet with King Abdullah of the
Saudis -- which I have not -- he would be very surprised to hear
what I have to say. I look very favorably at the active role Saudis
are now playing in the Middle East for many years." Olmert called
the Saudi peace initiative "a very interesting approach." When
pressed by interviewer Joe Klein to elaborate on what would surprise
Abdullah, Olmert responded coyly, "If he reads about it in TIME, he
wouldn't be surprised." Today The Jerusalem Post reported that
Israel was unfazed by some of the immediate negative Arab responses
to Olmert's call for a regional summit, with senior diplomatic
officials saying Tuesday night that efforts to push for such a
conference would continue.

On Monday Ha'aretz reported that, on her penultimate visit to
Jerusalem six weeks ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
discovered upon her arrival that Olmert had informed the media about
his telephone conversation with Bush the previous day. "The Prime
Minister and President see eye-to-eye," said a high ranking
political official in Jerusalem. Ha'aretz said that the message was
unmistakable: What Rice had to say barely mattered. Olmert had it
all worked out with the President. Rice did not like it, but
proceeded according to plan in convening the triple summit in
Jerusalem with Olmert and Abbas. The summit came and went with no
real effect. Ha'aretz said that Olmert behaved similarly during the
Secretary's subsequent visits.

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Ha'aretz and other media reported that on Tuesday Arab League
Secretary-General Amr Moussa announced that the foreign ministers of

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10 Arab states will meet in Cairo in two weeks to call on Israel to
accept the peace initiative approved at the Arab League summit in
Riyadh last week. Moussa was quoted as saying that the foreign
ministers "will call on the government of Israel and on all Israelis
to accept the Arab peace initiative and use the existing opportunity
to renew the direct negotiations." The 10 countries that will be
represented are members of the Committee for Furthering the Arab
Peace Initiative. Moussa heads the committee, which includes Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Tunisia,
Bahrain and the PLO. Yediot reported that Olmert's conciliatory
remarks in Passover interviews he granted Israeli dailies were not
received well among the Saudi leadership. Yediot quoted a senior
Saudi official as saying on Tuesday: "Olmert's remarks are an
attempt to modify the Arab peace initiative. Olmert is talking
about a public meeting that does not offer anything, just a
'willingness to listen' on his part. The Arab peace plan clearly
talks about an equation: Israeli assent to a full withdrawal for the
occupied territories in exchange for full peace." The official was
quoted as saying that Olmert seeks normalization without committing
himself to concessions. Yediot quoted other Saudi official as
saying that Olmert's declaration that peace could be reached in five
years means that "Israel is postponing the talks by a few years and
refuses to adopt the Arab plan."

Yediot quoted State Department Sean McCormack as saying on Monday:
"We believe that it could be positive to have an interaction between
the Israelis as well as potential Arab partners because ultimately
if you're going to bring peace to the region you need to have that
reconciliation between Arab states and Israel.... How exactly they
use this potential opening is going to be up to them. We encourage
them to explore the possibilities." Yediot quoted McCormack as
saying that he expects that Rice will be going back out to the
Middle East probably some time in May but hat "we don't have a date
set yet."

On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that the Prime Minister's
Office expressed its displeasure on Saturday over an EU decision to
meet with a number of moderate non-Hamas ministers in the PA's new
unity government. Today Israel Radio reported that Norway has
requested that the EU recognize the new Palestinian government.

On Monday Ha'aretz and Yediot led with reports that Israel has
delivered a calming message to Syria and that it has no plans to
attack its northern neighbor. According to information Israel
received, the Syrians are concerned that the US will carry out an
attack against Iran's nuclear installations in the summer, and in
parallel Israel would strike Syria and Lebanon. On Monday The
Jerusalem Post reported that IDF Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Amos
Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday that Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah
are preparing their defense for a war in the summer and that they
are more worried by an attack by the US that from Israel.

Ha'aretz reported that Palestinian sources told the newspaper on
Tuesday that Egypt is considering intensifying its cooperation with
Israel in countering the smuggling of arms from Sinai to the Gaza
Strip. The Egyptians will also cooperate on intelligence in tracking
down Palestinian fugitives who reach the Sinai side of the Rafah
crossing. During the weekend, senior delegations from Israel,
Egypt, the US, and the PA met in Cairo. The meeting was chaired by
US Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the security coordinator between Israel
and the Palestinians. Representing Israel at the meeting was Amos
Gilad, the head of the political-defense department at the Ministry
of Defense. The Palestinians were represented by the head of
Internal Security, Rashid Abu Shbach. Egypt's chief of intelligence,
Omar Suleiman, did not attend, but his aides were present. Ha'aretz
quoted the sources as saying that the meeting was positive, but that
criticism was directed at the level of Egyptian involvement to date.
Special focus was given to Egypt's unsatisfactory activities in
countering the smuggling of arms to the Gaza Strip through tunnels
running under the border area with Sinai. The Egyptians were also
asked to broaden their efforts in countering cells of extremist
Islamic groups that have set up bases there. Ha'aretz also reported
that four months ago Jordan transferred to the Palestinian security
forces -- units answerable to Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas -- a total of 3,000 M-16 rifles. At the same time,
Egypt delivered 2,500 AK-47 rifles to Abbas loyalists through the
Rafah crossing. In total, Egypt and Jordan also delivered more than
3 million bullets for the rifles. Ha'aretz wrote that Abbas
recently asked the Israelis and Americans to agree to the transfer
of more weapons from Arab countries to his forces, both in the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank. However, Israel and the US rejected the
request.

Israel Radio reported that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is meeting
this morning with Syria's President Bashar Assad in Damascus. Major
media quoted Pelosi as saying that it was "an excellent idea" to
lead a Congressional delegation for talks with the Syrian
leadership. She was responding to President Bush's criticism of her
visit to Syria. Pelosi was also quoted as saying that she will
discuss the US-Syrian relationship, Damascus' support to
rejectionist Palestinian groups, and the situation in Iraq with
Assad. Leading media reported that, during her visit to Israel
earlier this week, she promised to raise the issue of the kidnapped
IDF soldiers with Assad.

The Jerusalem Post reported that PA officials have accused German
Chancellor Angela Merkel of "offending the Palestinians' feelings"
during her visit earlier this week to Ramallah, where she met with
Abbas. The accusations, the first of their kind against a European
leader, were made by top PA officials only hours after Merkel and
her entourage left Ramallah on Monday. "She did everything to
provoke the Palestinians during her visit," one official was quoted
as saying. "She showed no understanding for the plight of our
people. On the other hand, she appeared to be very biased toward
Israel." The official claimed that while Merkel refused to meet
with families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, she focused
during her talks with Abbas on the need to release kidnapped IDF
Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who has been held in the Gaza Strip since last
June. In addition, he noted, Merkel met with the families of
missing IDF soldiers during her visit to Jerusalem.

Israel Radio reported that an IDF soldier was moderately wounded in
Jenin. Ha'aretz and the radio reported that on Tuesday a Fatah
militant was seriously injured by IDF troops in Nablus.

Ha'aretz reported that the defense establishment is currently
considering to abandon the plan to include bulges in the separation
fence, aimed at keeping major settlements blocks such as Ariel,
Immanuel, and Kedumim within the Israeli side of the divide.
Officials are considering an alternative plan, which proposes to
seal the fence near the settlements of Elkana and Beit Aryeh. The
proposal includes the construction of a new parameter fence around
the settlements, which would be left on the Palestinian side of the
fence.

Yediot and Israel Radio reported that the operational fitness of 20
percent of the IDF's reserve troops is low.

All media (banner in Maariv) reported that on Tuesday British PM
Tony Blair warned that Britain will take a tougher stance vis-a-vis
Iran if there is no progress in the efforts to release the abducted
British sailors and navy personnel.

Hatzofe reported that Fatah is reorganizing its armed branches into
one body -- Al-Asifa (The Storm). Hatzofe also quoted Said Siam,
former PA interior minister (Hamas) Siad Siam as saying in Algeria
that Hamas will not dismantle its "operational force."

Leading media reported that on Monday the High Court of Justice
released a conditional order to the Winograd Commission probing the
Second Lebanon War, requiring the committee to explain within eight
days why it will not publish the testimonies of Olmert, Defense
Minister Amir Peretz and former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz before
the release of its interim report. In addition, the court ordered
the commission to explain why it will not publish a predetermined
schedule for the release of the minutes of all the discussions and
testimonies it heard. The court order was issued following a
petition by Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On, filed after the committee
informed the High Court of Justice on Sunday that it will not
release any more transcripts of witness testimonies on the Second
Lebanon War and said it will resume deliberations on the matter only
after issuing its interim report, due later this month. This was in
violation of the committee's agreement with the High Court,
requiring it to publish the testimonies before the Passover
holiday.

Maariv reported that the state prosecutor's office is considering
indicting senior officials at the Dimona nuclear reactor for
receiving millions of shekels in bribes from suppliers.

Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that American billionaire Sheldon
Adelson donated USD 25 million to Taglit - birthright israel, a
program that offers young Jews aged 18-26 an opportunity to Israel
for free. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Friends of the
Israel Defense Forces raised a record USD 18 million at its annual
gala dinner held last week in New York City. Transportation
Minister Shaul Mofaz, who heads the strategic dialogue with the US,
addressed more than 1,300 attendees and remarked on the key security
challenges facing Israel. Mofaz warned that Iran intended to carry
out its threats to destroy Israel.

The Jerusalem Post cited a new book by historian and biographer of
President Kennedy Robert Dallek -- "Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in
Power" -- that reveals that former US Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger initially kept the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War a secret
from then-President Richard Nixon.

On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported: "Intel's Israelis Work to
Rescue Company From Profit Plunge."

Ha'aretz presented the results of The Aviv University's Peace Index
poll conducted among Israelis on March 26-27: About half the Jewish
Israeli public had thought that the Arab peace initiative could at
least serve as a basis for negotiations on a regional peace
agreement. The other half thought the proposal should be rejected
out of hand. Among those who had heard of the proposal -- nearly
two-thirds of the public -- there is a clear majority of supporters
for responding to the Arab initiative, while among those who had not
heard of it, a majority opposes responding. At the same time, an
overwhelming majority, cutting across the political camps, says that
in light of the current unstable status of the Olmert government, it
cannot enter negotiations on a comprehensive peace settlement. In
the Israeli Arab public, fewer had heard of the Arab peace proposal
(56 percent vs. 44 percent who had not heard of it). However, after
the main points of the plan were presented to them, there was
near-unanimity -- 92 percent -- that this proposal offers a basis
for negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "It can
... be surmised that the Saudis are, at best, unsure about whether
the regional winds are blowing in favor of Iran or the US, and are,
as usual, hedging their bets."

Contributor Zeev Tzahor wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist
Yediot Aharonot: "The Saudi initiative now offers the Middle East a
new, rare opportunity, and the Israeli leadership is once again
facing an historic test."

Prof. Uzi Arad, the Director of the Institute for Policy and
Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center, who was a senior advisor
to former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in Yediot
Aharonot: "A different Israeli approach was required from the very
beginning -- one that ... includes no short-lived appeasement and
focuses on Israel's interests, not on sacrificing them.".

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox
Hatzofe: "Decisions made last Saturday by the foreign ministers of
the European Union have again exposed Israel's isolation vis-a-vis
the Hamas government."

Senior military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Putin's Russia is
returning to playing its dirty game in the Middle East."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Olmert's Serious Proposal"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/4):
"The real impediment to [holding meetings between Prime Minister
Olmert and Arab leaders] is an evident Saudi decision not to go
beyond the absolute minimum gesture toward peace with Israel. The
Saudis could have attempted to reissue their original plan, before
negative elements were introduced by Syria at the 2002 Beirut
summit. They could have endorsed a 4-plus-4-plus-2 meeting. They
could have taken some baby steps toward normalization with Israel.
They did none of these things. From this we may conclude that the
Saudis are not seriously interested in achieving peace, as opposed
to looking like they want peace. It can also be surmised that the
Saudis are, at best, unsure about whether the regional winds are
blowing in favor of Iran or the US, and are, as usual, hedging their
bets. The upshot is that so long as it is unclear whether the US
will beat a hasty retreat from Iraq or whether Iran will succeed in
its race to nuclearize, the Arab states will not materially soften
their stance toward Israel. This should be kept in mind by those
who think these three arenas can be separated, or see the pursuit of
Arab-Israeli peace as the primary means of isolating Iran."

II. "Between Golda and Olmert"

Contributor Zeev Tzahor wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist
Yediot Aharonot (4/1): "The validity of historical comparisons is
limited, but there is nevertheless a fascinating degree of
similarity between the Egyptian initiative a generation ago and the
Saudi initiative at present. Like then, the top tiers of our
leadership are comprised of people with scant political vision, the
government is dependent on parties with narrow interests, there is a
significant disparity between the bragging done by the army's
commanders and the IDF's real readiness for war. Today too the
ethos of controlling the occupied territories is stronger than the
bill of human rights.... When put to the test of leadership, Golda
Meir and Moshe DayanQs staunch opposition resulted in the failure of
the Egyptian initiative. From there it was a short distance to the
Yom Kippur War. [Then Secretary of State William] Rogers and
[former Israeli prime minister David] Ben-Gurion [who favored talks
with Egypt] were not alone in their generation. A glance at the
newspapers from those days shows that many Israelis understood that
the Egyptian initiative provided an opportunity to establish peace
between Israel and Egypt, and that rejecting it would lead to war.
But a study of history will teach you that the blindness of the
leader who heads the march of folly to war is a far more common
spectacle than the appearance of a sober captain who is capable of
identifying political options and of leading to a breakthrough that
results in peace. Golda and Dayan were among the blind, and even
the great Ben-Gurion failed to open their eyes. The Saudi
initiative now offers the Middle East a new, rare opportunity, and
the Israeli leadership is once again facing an historic test."

III. "The March of Folly Concessions"

Prof. Uzi Arad, the Director of the Institute for Policy and
Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center, who was a senior advisor
to former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in Yediot
Aharonot (4/4): "When you hear the Prime Minister optimistically
predict a peace agreement in a short amount of time, be aware that
further diplomatic yielding is near at hand.... How can it be that,
while the Arabs and Palestinians adhere to their stances and even up
the ante, Israel leaps from initiative to initiative -- defining
yesterday's as essential?.... With its positions, the current
Palestinian government takes us back to the pre-Oslo days. The
meaning of Palestinian-Israeli demands, which join up with external
ones, is not the end of the conflict but the end of the Jewish
state. This is not how peace is built. A different Israeli
approach was required from the very beginning -- one that ...
includes no short-lived appeasement and focuses on Israel's
interests, not on sacrificing them.".

IV. "Israel's Isolation"

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox
Hatzofe (4/4): "Decisions made last Saturday by the foreign
ministers of the European Union have again exposed Israel's
isolation vis-a-vis the Hamas government. The decisions were based
on four principles, two of which are uncomfortable for Israel. The
main decision concerns holding contacts with ministers who do not
belong to Hamas -- something that Israel rejects entirely....
Another EU decision is uneasy for Israel -- the recognition of the
Arab initiative. Olmert is prepared to discuss the Saudi
initiative. Europe accepts the Arab initiative, which is the Saudi
initiative plus the right of return [for Palestinian refugees].
Only on one point is there identity between the Israeli position and
those of Europe and the United States: The direct connection will be
with Abu Mazen, not with the Hamas government."

V. "Russia is Warmongering Again"

Senior military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/2): "Putin's Russia
is returning to playing its dirty game in the Middle East. As
always, the Russians have no problem heating up sectors and setting
fires just in order to screw over the Americans and gain a foothold
in the region once again. The Syrian delegations that have recently
been making frequent trips to Moscow do not go there just for
acquisitions. They undergo brainwashing there. The Russians are
persuading the Syrians that the US will attack Iran in the summer,
whereas a second front will be opened against Syria at the same
time: An American-Israeli [front].... The Russian hypothesis about
an American-Israeli war on two fronts falls on willing Syrian
ears... The situation is highly volatile. It would be enough for
somebody to misunderstand the intentions of his rival for fighting
to flare up on Israel's northern border. It is true that war will
not serve the interests of any of the parties, but with such a
quantity of fuel in the air, and pyromaniacs from Moscow playing
with matches, things could get out of control."

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2. Iran-Britain Crisis:
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Summary:
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The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in
International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "From the Iranian side, of
course, humiliation of the West is precisely the goal."

Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote in the
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Whoever wishes to force Iran to
back away from its nuclear program should further tighten the
economic blockade on it."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Once Britain Ruled the Waves. Now Iran Does"

The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in
International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/4): "If in, say 1807 or
1907, an Iranian ruler had dared trample unbidden on the decks of
one of his or her majesty's ships -- he would have been made to feel
very sorry about it.... This era is long gone, and to a large extent
that is a good thing. But perhaps the pendulum has swung too far
into a failure to appreciate that power and force are often
required, especially against 'haughty tyrants,' an apt description
of Iran's rulers.... What is this latest incident in retaliation
for? The mutilation of a sea captain, or murder of a merchant on
his way to appreciate the beauties of a Japanese temple? No, the
British navy personnel were taken hostage in retaliation for the
arrest of Iranian government-sponsored terrorists caught in the act
in Iraq. From the Iranian side, of course, humiliation of the West
is precisely the goal. Iran is not, moreover, striving for
equality, but superiority for its own side.... In contrast, the West
seeks to prove that it is nice. It seeks to apologize, to make
reparations, to act as the weaker party. But, you see, the West is
running the equivalent of a school for Middle Eastern politicians,
intellectuals and revolutionaries. And the lesson it is teaching
them is: You are strong and we are weak; you have ideas to believe
in, we merely seek maximum comfort and expediency; if you hit us we
will yield or look the other way; we are ready to confess our
wrongdoing, you only speak of your being absolutely in the right.
Like good students, they follow what they are being taught."

II. "The Hidden Soldiers"

Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote in the
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/4): "Western logic is not
necessarily Iranian logic. In capturing the British soldiers, in
refusing to release them and in deciding to bring them to trial,
Iran is seeking to signal to the world that it is determined to
continue to advance its nuclear program, and not give in to
international pressures, and to act resolutely against anyone who
tries to harm it. Nonetheless, it is also possible the case of the
British soldiers reflects the power struggles that have been waging
for many months in the top echelon of the Iranian government.... In
its refusal to accede to the UN Security Council's demand to suspend
its uranium enrichment activity, Iran is ostensibly trying to show
the world that the sanctions imposed on it are not weakening its
hand. But Iran's moves attest to panic and weakness more than
strength.... These sanctions are mainly driven by secret activity by
the US Department of Treasury, designed to pressure companies in the
US, Europe, and Asia to refrain from commercial ties with Iran, or
at least to reduce them.... The Bush administration is keeping
pressure on the world's governments to cut back their commercial
relations with Iran.... The boycott -- both the overt one and mainly

the hidden one -- is intended to strike at the 'soft underbelly' of
Iran's economy: the oil and gas industries, which provide 80 percent
of the state's revenues.... When the supreme leader realizes that
Ahmadinejad's policy threatens the regime's survival, he will have
to exercise his influence and authority, even at the price of
painful concessions. The continued existence of Iran as an Islamic
republic is the highest imperative guiding Khamenei. Whoever wishes
to force Iran to back away from its nuclear program should further
tighten the economic blockade on it."

JONES