ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001161 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 -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media reported that Israel has denied that Hizbullah's handover of the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War was part of a prisoner exchange deal. The Prime Minister's Office said it was surprised by the handover, which took place after Israel returned Lebanese spy Nasim Nisr to Lebanon. But some Israeli sources said Hizbullah's handover and Israel's release of Nisr were both agreed upon, confidence-building steps that constitute the first phase of a more extensive swap that would include Hizbullah's release of abducted IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Other Israeli sources, however, said the transfer of the remains was orchestrated to win over public opinion in Lebanon by giving the impression that it was part of a prisoner exchange. The Jerusalem Post reported that a Hizbullah official told the newspaper that Nisr's release and the return of body parts of IDF soldiers are part of a "framework of an exchange of captives between the resistance in Lebanon and the Zionist entity." Leading media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying yesterday that Kadima would not be pressured into changing the election schedule, in a barb aimed at the Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak who has threatened to force early elections if Olmert is not ousted. Olmert also indirectly criticized FM Tzipi Livni. Yesterday major media reported that Olmert agreed to primaries in Kadima, but that he asked that the process begin only when he returns from the U.S. next weekend. Maariv reported that a majority of cabinet ministers is opposed to a truce deal with Hamas. Yesterday Yediot reported that senior officials in Fatah are afraid that a cease-fire will bolster Hamas's strength in Gaza, weaken Abbas even further, and deepen the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Over the weekend media reported that Egyptian police in Sinai have discovered 30 anti-aircraft missiles. They were said to be destined for Gaza. Yesterday Yediot reported that the Chief of Staff of Olmert's Bureau, Yoram Turbowicz, left a number of days ago for an unscheduled visit to Washington in order to prepare the ground for OlmertQs visit to the United States that is to begin on Monday night. Turbowicz returned to Israel before dawn on Thursday. One of the purposes of his trip was to reach an understanding with the Americans about the security package that Israel is to receive in order to improve its ability to cope with Iran. Turbowicz was accompanied by a number of representatives of the Mossad and other security officials. The trip was also linked to the dramatic statement about the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, which was received with displeasure by the U.S. administration. Turbowicz passed on assurances from Olmert that the Syrian track would not be promoted at the expense of the Palestinian track. Ha'aretz reported that PA President Mahmoud Abbas told senior Israeli officials recently that there were still major gaps between Israel and the PA in negotiations. Abbas was quoted as saying that the parties do not appear to be moving toward closure on core issues, although the gaps were becoming more clearly defined; he added that more time was needed. The media reported that PM Olmert and Abbas will meet this afternoon at Olmert's official residence in Jerusalem ahead of Olmert's visit to Washington this week. Ha'aretz quoted a senior Israeli negotiator as saying behind closed doors last week that the parties were still far from the type of concessions that would lead to a breakthrough. He added that the Palestinians wanted Israel to first fully recognize Palestinian rights, and only then would the Palestinians agree to make compromises. Media reported that Vice PM Haim Ramon is urging PM Olmert to publicize agreements reached between Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams and that he said yesterday in the U.S. that the differences on final status issues are "minor." His goal reportedly is to make sure that neither the time nor the efforts that were invested by the two parties on their way to a final status arrangement were wasted. Israel Radio quoted senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying that Abbas will ask Olmert to invalidate the tender to build 800 apartments in East Jerusalem. The radio quoted senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying in an interview with the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that Israeli negotiators have not presented maps of Jerusalem, which proves their lack of seriousness in the matter. Yesterday Maariv reported that it has learned from Turkish officials that the foreign ministers of Israel and Syria are due to meet for the first time at the end of August for a summit meeting that will give the signal for the start of direct negotiations in the peace process between the sides. Yesterday Ha'aretz reported that Israeli diplomatic missions in Europe were issue instructions from Jerusalem to ask European capitals to exercise "caution" in their contacts with Damascus, because it has yet to prove the seriousness of its intent regarding the negotiations. Ha'aretz reported that yesterday the State Prosecutor's Office told the High Court of Justice that Israel would not allow two Gaza Strip students to leave the Strip for the U.S., where they had received Fulbright scholarships. Despite pressure from the State Department, Israel maintained that it was allowing people in or out of Gaza for humanitarian reasons only, which according to international law did not include studying abroad. The inter-senate committee of Israel's universities protested the decision in a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, calling it a blow to freedom of research and suggesting it might have been a mistake by lower governmental echelons who did not understand the scholarship's significance. Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that officials in the Prime Minister's Office expressed "suspires" at State Department criticism of Israel in the matter. The Jerusalem Post quoted the Knesset's Education Committee chair Michael Melchior as saying that Israel's policy contravened international conventions and the values of the Jewish state. The Jerusalem Post reported that an IDF soldier was moderately wounded on an IDF operation in southern Gaza over the weekend. Grad rockets were launched at the western Negev. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on suspicions that former Argentine president Carlos Menem whitewashed the findings of the investigation of the 1994 blast of the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires. Several media cited London's Sunday Times as saying that FM Livni was a Mossad agent in early 1980s when it ran a series of missions to kill Palestinian terrorists. Most media marked "Jerusalem Day," which celebrates 41 years of the reunification of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post reported on a "massive 60th birthday party" in Washington that was held for Israel yesterday, followed by an AIPAC conference today. Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that members of Congress are urging the Bush administration to remove Israel from an intellectual property watch list the harms its international standing and could make it harder for the country to join the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The media reported that Yad Vashem Council Chairman Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, a former justice minister, journalist, and outspoken critic of the ultra-Orthodox religious establishment, died yesterday at ¶77. The Jerusalem Post quoted a senior IAF officer as saying lat week that Lockheed Martin should take responsibility for formaldehyde found in the cockpit of F-16I planes. The officer was quoted as saying that the company fears that an admission would impact sales. The Jerusalem Post reported that Bank Hapoalim agreed to buy a majority stake in New York wealth-management firm NuVerse Advisors LLC for $34 million to expand the private banking business. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "It's still not too late to cancel Olmert's superfluous and damaging trip to Washington, which is reminiscent of a similar trip by president Richard Nixon to Israel (and Egypt) in the summer of 1974." Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "The man who always calls Israel the 'enemy' and promises that the countdown toward its vanishing from the map has begun -- this same Nasrallah forced on Israel a humanitarian gesture from him." Intelligence affairs reporter Ronen Bergman wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "A European source told Yediot Aharonot last night that as part of the dialogue, the U.S. asked Iran for a confidence building gesture between the sides.... Nasrallah wants to again brand himself a pan-Lebanon leader ... therefore, today's bottom line is cautious optimism that [abducted IDF soldiers] Regev and Goldwasser will soon return home." The ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized: "Those who returned the coffin are not human and didn't intend to carry out a human gesture." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "A Damaging and Superfluous Trip" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/2): "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to leave tonight for Washington on a trip that just might be his farewell visit as prime minister to the American capital.... Wherever he goes, he will be shadowed by the cloud of suspicions of public and criminal corruption that hovers above him.... It will be an embarrassing spectacle that will last several days and add to Israel's disgrace.... This is especially true of the White House, where Olmert will meet with President George W. Bush. Olmert's associates have been hinting that fateful issues - a code name for the Iranian nuclear program - will be discussed at this meeting. It is possible that the two will discuss this issue again, but it is hard to believe that there have been any dramatic changes since their previous meeting in Jerusalem just a few weeks ago.... By refusing to resign, or at the very least declare himself incapacitated for the coming months, Olmert is sentencing his government to a slow death, instead of granting it the grace of departing in one fell swoop. If it is important to him how he goes down in Israeli history, he must also consider what this last chapter will look like. It's still not too late to cancel Olmert's superfluous and damaging trip to Washington, which is reminiscent of a similar trip by president Richard Nixon to Israel (and Egypt) in the summer of 1974, a few weeks before he was forced to resign in disgrace....The meeting with Bush should be left for the next prime minister, who will be able to make decisions that Olmert is currently incapable of making." II. "When Nasrallah Wants to Give" Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (6/2): "Something strange happened to Hassan Nasrallah yesterday: The polished rhetorician from Beirut, the man who always calls Israel the 'enemy' and promises that the countdown toward its vanishing from the map has begun -- this same Nasrallah forced on Israel a humanitarian gesture from him.... Nasrallah needed this staged deal today more than ever before. A month after igniting Lebanon in blood and fire, and subjugating his political rivals by force, Hizbullah needs points among the public after showing that its guns, unlike its statements, are also aimed at the Lebanese themselves. And not only that: Nasrallah too, like Olmert, is committed to the families of the Lebanese prisoners, headed by the Kuntar family, which is waging a public campaign for his release. Furthermore, the Hizbullah leader hopes that even though this wasn't coordinated with his enemies, his gesture will still soften IsraelQs position in the negotiations. YesterdayQs absurd show in Nakura [the western border crossing with Lebanon] attests to the cynicism in which the negotiations are held and the bitter and painful reality of the families, in which even body parts become legal tender. However, more than anything else, it shows that Nasrallah has no real achievement to sell to his public in this affair. Had he something valuable in his hands, he would have prepared his audience for a grand show, and not this minor exhibition." III. "Iran Exerted Pressure" Intelligence affairs reporter Ronen Bergman wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/2): "According to knowledgeable international sources, two parallel processes led to progress in the negotiations [with Hizbullah], even though its end will be under conditions that are less good for Hassan Nasrallah. The first process is the indirect dialogue between the U.S. and Iran in the multi-national forum discussing IraqQs future. A European source told Yediot Aharonot last night that as part of the dialogue, the U.S. asked Iran for a confidence building gesture between the sides, and that as a result, Tehran put pressure on Hizbullah to conclude the affair of the captives. In tandem, says the European source, Hizbullah has been suffering from relative weakness this past year, and the latest outbreak of violence in Lebanon should be seen in this light. The Israeli Mossad and European intelligence agencies disagree on the question whether the Doha conference that ended the political crisis in Lebanon and the recent events there is good or bad for Hizbullah. The Mossad claims that reaching agreement on the appointment of a new president in Lebanon and strengthening the Shi'ite bloc is a sign of Hizbullah's gaining in power, and that these events are of great concern. Their European colleagues interpret the events in precisely the opposite manner. The progress in the negotiations should be seen against the backdrop of Hizbullah's weakening, says the European source. Nasrallah wants to claim quick achievements for himself, even at the price of relinquishing some of his first demands. The excessive festivities that Nasim Nisr received should also be viewed in the same way. Nasrallah wants to again brand himself a pan-Lebanon leader, someone who not only looks out for the Shi'ites but also for Druze Samir Kuntar, and therefore, today's bottom line is cautious optimism that [abducted IDF soldiers] Regev and Goldwasser will soon return home." IV. "Facing the Devoid of Humanity" The ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized (6/2): "The very human act that occurred yesterday along the Lebanese border -- the return of a coffin containing body parts that Hizbullah says are of Israeli soldiers -- should fool no one. Those who returned the coffin are not human and didn't intend to carry out a human gesture. What they want is to continue playing on the feelings of bereaved families and add to their suffering. They did not do it before they learned that the Israeli side doesn't intend to let them [trade with body parts]; they did it on the very day a Lebanese spy was released from Israeli jail, in order to make the coffin's return appear as part of a prisoner exchange." -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: " Obama is so scary and is accused of appeasement not because he wants to meet enemies in person, but because he doesn't want to meet to meet them in struggle.... That's why Obama is both a dangerously naive amateur, and a leftist posing as a liberal." Block Quotes: -------------- "Broken Engagements" The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global Research in International Affairs Center, columnist Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (6/2): "[Senator Obama] favors direct presidential diplomacy with Iran, without preconditions. A normal liberal concept of foreign policy is alien to him. What he should be saying is: ... 'If Iran gives up its extremism, we are ready to offer friendship'.... But Obama has never said anything like this. He has no concept of toughness as a necessary element in flexibility, nor of deterrence as a precondition to conciliation. Nor does he indicate that he would be steadfast if engagement failed. He defines no U.S. preconditions foe meeting or conditions for agreement. He offers to hear Iran's grievances, but says nothing about American grievances. Radical Islamists interpret this strategy as weakness -- of which they will take full advantage.... Obama is so scary and is accused of appeasement not because he wants to meet enemies in person, but because he doesn't want to meet to meet them in struggle.... That's why Obama is both a dangerously naive amateur, and a leftist posing as a liberal." JONES