ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001585 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 a Palestinian terrorist from East Jerusalem, Ghassan Abu-Tir, went on a rampage with a bulldozer in central Jerusalem. One of his relatives is senior Hamas member Mohammed Abu-Tir. Twenty four Israeli civilians were injured, one seriously, before the driver was shot and killed by a Border Police officer and a civilian. The attack occurred close to 2 P.M., near the King David Hotel, where Barack Obama stayed Tuesday night. The media reported that Israeli authorities are keen to expedite procedures that would authorize the resumption of punitive measures, such as the razing of terrorists' homes. Leading media reported that a group of yeshiva students assaulted two East Jerusalem Palestinians. Major media reported that speaking at a gathering of activists at the Kadima branch in Hadera, FM Tzipi Livni declared yesterday that after winning the race for Kadima chair, she will immediately work to form a national unity government with Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor's Ehud Barak. She promised there would be room for members from Meretz to Yisrael Beiteinu. Maariv reported that Israel is considering releasing Fatah/Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti before the release of Gilad Shalit. The newspaper reported that the freeing of Barghouti would be presented as a gesture to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, in order to strengthen the PA and moderate Palestinian elements, and thwart Hamas's intention to claim Barghouti's release as its own. Ha'aretz reported that this morning the diplomatic-security cabinet will discuss the threat of global jihad on Israel, the first time the Olmert cabinet has debated this issue thoroughly. The ministers will hear reports from Mossad, Shin Bet, and IDF Intelligence focusing on Al-Qaida and affiliated cells operating against Israeli targets and Jewish targets around the world. Maariv reported that at his meting with President Shimon Peres yesterday, President Abbas conveyed a message of peace, agreeing that Shalit should be released. Peres was quoted as saying that Abbas is a "man of peace." The Jerusalem Post quoted Abbas as saying that the Palestinians were troubled by Israeli activity in the territories, and that it was time to complete negotiations on Jerusalem, settlements, water, and the refugee situation. Israel Radio reported that yesterday UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released details of a letter he received from Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who outlined his group's conditions for further prisoner deals with Israel. Israel is due to release Palestinian prisoners in the future, at its own discretion, as a gesture to Ban. The radio quoted Nasrallah as saying that he is willing to provide information and humanitarian "aid" connected with Israeli soldiers who have been missing since the 1980s. Israel Radio said that Nasrallah demanded that Israel release the highest possible number of minors, women and elderly Palestinians from Israeli jails in the framework of the exchange deal with his organization. Yediot disclosed transcripts of the main police probe of Attorney Uri Messer, a former associate of PM Ehud Olmert. Messer reportedly said that Olmert knew that he was keeping money for him and that the funds were not meant for election purposes. Media reported that yesterday a video recording of Talansky's police investigation screened during his cross-examination showed that he claimed to have given money to the late PM Yitzhak Rabin. The Jerusalem Post reported that for the second time this year, Israel has decided to act against Aljazeera-TV, after Al-Jazeera-TV held a party for released Lebanese child-killer Samir Kuntar, the Government Press Office said it would impose sanctions and demand an explanation from the station. All media reported that a rally to support Shalit's release, which was attended by thousands, was held in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv last night. Shalit's comrades-in-arms initiated the event. The Jerusalem Post reported that a bill that could force the Interior Ministry to continue evaluating the rights of some 10,000 Falash Mura -- Ethiopians whose Jewish ancestors converted to Christianity -- to immigrate to Israel will be presented to the Knesset plenum for a preliminary reading today. Lawmakers and advocates hope the move will prompt the government to reverse its policy on the matter. Major media reported that today Likud MK Gilad Erdan will introduce a bill forcing judges to ban publications in the media. Prominent journalists and legal experts protested against the proposed legislation. All media reported that Israel's most comprehensive environmental legislation to day, the Clean Air Act, passed into law yesterday. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Israelis don't interest McCain and Obama. Rather, it is their Jewish voters and contributors at home." Former Labor Knesset Member and former cabinet minister Uzi Baram wrote in the independent Israel Hayom: "We need a [U.S.] president who will combat the settlements, which endanger any solution, but who would also show a deep commitment to an Israel that is marching towards an agreement with its neighbors." Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "A new Intifada breaks out without anyone planning it. Afterwards, with hindsight, people will characterize it and find motives and historical processes for it.... [But] things should be called by their name: There is weakness of will here and weakness of government." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "What [the Israeli government] must not do is cave in to populist sentiment, throw open the prison gates, and let legions of terrorists out to wreak more bloody havoc." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Just a Sideshow" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/23): "Israelis don't interest McCain and Obama. Rather, it is their Jewish voters and contributors at home.... [But] to the Israeli establishment, McCain seems like the natural choice. With his white hair, expression lines and combat experience, he embodies the Israeli concept of leadership -- a kind of American version of Yitzhak Rabin or Ariel Sharon. If McCain continues Bush's policies, Israel will benefit from the term of another U.S. president who understands its needs. Obama represents an exciting option, albeit a more dangerous one: If he manages to rehabilitate America's international stature, reduce its dependence on oil and push through peace between Israel and the Arabs, Israel's strategic situation will improve dramatically. But on the way, he might have to pressure Israel. If he fails, Israel will have to pay the price without reaping any returns.... An even more worrisome clause on Obama's agenda is his embracing the initiative for global nuclear disarmament.... Those worried might see the budding of a deal: Natanz for Dimona. Israel will certainly bring all its influence to bear in the U.S. to thwart it." II. "No Need to Fear Obama" Former Labor Knesset Member and former cabinet minister Uzi Baram wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (7/23): "It is Obama who is likely to form a unified front against Islamic fundamentalist extremism, by continuous dialogue with different countries in Europe and the Middle East.... As for Israel, Obama will be a friend, simply because no American president can behave otherwise.... We need a president who can create a different atmosphere which will grant, together with its ally Europe, economic guarantees, and a policy favoring the axis of states which would prefer peace with Israel. We need a president who will combat the settlements, which endanger any solution, but who would also show a deep commitment to an Israel that is marching towards an agreement with its neighbors..... And what about the planes, that according to all the news media, are on their future way to Iran? In all probability they will never make the trip. A different American commander-in-chief will know how to extinguish the torches in another way, before the planes set out for their targets. III. "Signs of an Intifada" Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (7/23): "The first Intifada, in the late 1980s, also started this way, in a series of unexplained incidents, unconnected to terror organizations, phenomena of 'spontaneous violence'.... 'Atmospheric terror attacks,' it was called on our side, and officials insisted that these were people with psychological problems, incited, influenced by religious extremism.... There is a link between all the 'atmospheric terror attacks' that have been taking place right before our eyes, between all the Qmad bulldozer operators.Q This link has a name: Weakness of government. From here, the deterioration is inevitable, because weakness of government and inability to enforce [the law] lead to lack of deterrence, criminal activity and anarchy.... Today one no longer has to go to the mosque in order to inject the poison into one's veins. The mosque arrives at the person's home -- via the Internet.... One isolated incident after another create a sequence and an atmosphere, particularly in Jerusalem. For Jewish extremists this is grounds for acts of revenge, and so a new Intifada breaks out without anyone planning it. Afterwards, with hindsight, people will characterize it and find motives and historical processes for it. But there is no new historical process here. Things should be called by their name: There is weakness of will here and weakness of government." IV. "Not at Any Price" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/23): "The emotional blackmail, media frenzy, and leadership vacuum that set Samir Kuntar free now threaten to unleash an even greater 'prison escape.' Hamas is demanding 1,000 terrorists, including the masterminds and facilitators of some of the most heinous bloodbaths of the second Intifada -- including the Dolphinarium, Sbarro, and Netanya Seder massacres. The expertise these luminaries of the Palestinian 'resistance' could provide in a third Intifada is too frightening to contemplate.... The strategic challenge the government of Israel faces is not Hamas's custody of Cpl. Shalit, but its suzerainty over Gaza. Of course Israel must strive to bring Shalit home, but not at any cost. For instance, Israel could reasonably offer to trade for its IDF captive the Hamas 'parliamentarians' it took into custody within days of Shalit's capture. The government could also debate Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman's proposal to capture the most senior Hamas leaders in Gaza to use as fresh bargaining chips. Or it could weigh a rescue attempt. What it must not do is cave in to populist sentiment, throw open the prison gates, and let legions of terrorists out to wreak more bloody havoc." -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz "addressed" Barack Obama in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "As someone who was born and spent his childhood in Iran, I know the Iranian people very well. I can tell you that they are a people who support peace. Their problem is their leadership, which misuses Islam and turns it into an extreme message of hate." Block Quotes: -------------- "An Open Letter to Senator Obama" Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz "addressed" Barack Obama in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (7/23): "The consistent language of the Iranian President and the arrogant words of Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah prove that today, as before, there are those who wish for the total annihilation of the Jewish people, and work day and night to achieve that goal. To us this is very clear, and we hope the rest of the world sees it with the same clarity. As someone who was born and spent his childhood in Iran, I know the Iranian people very well. I can tell you that they are a people who support peace. Their problem is their leadership, which misuses Islam and turns it into an extreme message of hate and violence, assisting every worthless, negative player in the region. Having dedicated the past 40 years of my life to Israel's security and defense, and as someone who is very well acquainted with the regional system, I can tell you that the only language that can be used in this case is the language of strength. " MORENO