ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001607 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: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- The Jerusalem Post quoted the Prime Minister's Office as saying yesterday that it has not signed off a Jordan Valley project that would create a new settlement in Maskiot, even though the Defense Ministry approved plans this week for a 20-home building project there. The newspaper quoted an IDF source as saying that approval could now be retroactively granted for the modular homes illegally place there in November 2007 by families evacuated from the former Gaza settlement of Shirat Hayam. Israel Radio quoted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as, urging Israel to heed the Quartet's call to "freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001." Ha'aretz reported that this week the U.S. filed an official protest with Israel for harming Palestinians, including the eviction of the Palestinian Khurd (or al-Kurd) family from the Shimon Hatzadik complex in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Ha'aretz quoted a diplomatic source as saying that that the Foreign Ministry responded that the decision to evict the al-Kurd family was made under civilian jurisdiction, so the state has no standing to intervene in a matter still being heard by the Supreme Court. Regarding harassment of Palestinians, Israel replied that the state regards this seriously and that law-enforcement officials are taking all necessary steps to prevent it and bring the perpetrators to trial. The source was quoted as saying that Washington expressed surprise at criticism from Jerusalem that the U.S. administration is dealing with "localized incidents" such as the case of the al-Kurd family and students could not leave Gaza for studies abroad. The daily reported that the U.S. administration recently received detailed reports of increased activity by a settler organization in East Jerusalem working to increase the Jewish presence in Arab neighborhoods such as Sheikh Jarrah, Jebel Mukaber, Silwan, and the Mount of Olives. Ha'aretz said that the U.S. Consulate-General in Jerusalem has been tracking new construction plans in those neighborhoods for the Jewish population and reporting on them to Washington. Leading media reported that yesterday settlers clashed with IDF troops and Palestinians in the aftermath of the evacuation of a structure at the unauthorized Adei Ad outpost in the northern West Bank. The media quoted settlers as saying that this was part of a new policy to react harshly to any attempts by security forces to remove Jewish structures in the West Bank. Israel Radio quoted Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy Elliott Abrams as saying on Wednesday at a private meeting with Jewish-American leaders that PM Ehud Olmert does not at this time have the political weight to bring about an agreement with the Palestinians and that Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas will not accept any accord reached between the teams of FM Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei. The radio noted that conversely Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has faith in the Livni-Qurei talks. Israel Radio reported that in view of the stalled negotiations with Israel, the PA envisions three options: a) stopping the talks; b) proclaiming Palestinian statehood; or c) removing all PA institutions from West Bank cities. Israel Radio cited UNRWA as saying in a report issued yesterday that IsraelQs blockade of Gaza is a major factor in the increase in poverty there. UNRWA said that aid granted to Gaza has failed to stop more than half of the population in the territory from sliding below the poverty line. UNRWA was quoted as saying that conditions in the occupied West Bank, however, have improved, where the poverty level in 2007 dropped by nearly five per cent from the previous year, to 19.1 per cent. UNRWA cited movement restrictions by Israel in the West Bank. Ha'aretz reported that yesterday Attorney General Menachem Mazuz criticized PM Ehud Olmert saying that he was deliberately obstructing the corruption investigation currently underway against him. The media reported that the police made similar accusations. Major media reported that Olmert attacked the State Prosecutor's Office and the police, claiming they were out to topple him. Media reported that Olmert will again be probed next Friday. In another development, the media reported that Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann intends to split the attorney generalQs government and prosecution functions. Outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman was quoted as saying in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that UNIFIL soldiers assigned to maintain the cease-fire that ended the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006 are not carrying out their mandate and are potentially laying the groundwork for another round of violence between Israel and Hizbullah. The Jerusalem Post also quoted a Beirut-based Western journalist as saying that Hizbullah is recruiting members for "resistance battalions" in southern Lebanese Sunni villages opposite the Sheba Farms. Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. is preparing a new intelligence report on Iran's nuclear program, which is to be published in November. A GOI source was quoted as saying that the U.S. now believes that Iran is trying to produce a nuclear weapon, contrary to the National Intelligence Estimate's assessment that Iran had halted its military nuclear effort in 2003. Ha'aretz reported that Israel is trying to alert the American intelligence community to Iran's nuclear ability and to have an impact on the report's contents. Ha'aretz reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Gabi Ashkenazi warned yesterday in Washington that Israel would not rule out any course of action regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, "We are all united in the view that Iran needs to be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon. There is no doubt that diplomatic activity and sanctions are preferable, but we all understand -- we and the Americans -- that we need to prepare all options." Ha'aretz reported that Barack Obama told Olmert that Iran should be given a chance to modify its nuclear program. The Jerusalem Post cited reports that Israel and Syria's next round of talks will deal with issues such as borders, water rights, security, and the normalization of ties. Leading media reported that yesterday Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen awarded the Legion of Merit to Lt. Gen Gabi Ashkenazi for his contribution to the war on terror, his work for Israel's security ,and his contribution to improving the security dialogue between the U.S. and Israel. Major media reported that yesterday, for the first time since he became defense minister, Ehud Barak updated opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on security issues. The Jerusalem Post reported that "taking the protest against the Gaza blockade to a new level," two boats packed with foreign left-wing activists will attempt to sail from Cyprus to the sealed Gaza harbor in two weeks' time. Ha'aretz reported that the inspection that the Federal Aviation Administration conducted this week in Israel exposed malfunctions in flight safety supervision. The newspaper cited Israel's concern that the U.S. will restrict the activity of Israeli airlines. Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that yesterday the relatives of terror victims filed a 450-million shekel (around $129.1 million) class-action lawsuit against the PA, the PLO, and jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. The plaintiffs, who filed the suit in the Jerusalem District Court, are the families of two Givat Zeev residents, who were killed some four years ago in two separate shooting attacks near their home. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert will ask the government to approve the cessation of the immigration of Falash Mura -- Ethiopians whose Jewish ancestors converted to Christianity. Ha'aretz reported that El Al has canceled several flights to the U.S. in July due to high fuel costs, and that Israir will end its New York flights in the winter for the same reason. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli combat veterans are preparing to train a Jewish paramilitary group ("Konenut") in rural New York. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "While Obama promises to dedicate himself, from the 'first minute' of his presidency, to solving the conflict, his apparent sanguinity over an Israel shrunk into the 1949 Armistice Lines is troubling." The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "The embrace of the Democratic candidate does not reflect the longing for a different America, but a mood of surrender to totalitarian forces." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Obama's Whirlwind Visit" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/25): "While Obama promises to dedicate himself, from the 'first minute' of his presidency, to solving the conflict, his apparent sanguinity over an Israel shrunk into the 1949 Armistice Lines is troubling. Half the Palestinian polity is today in the clutches of the Islamist rejectionists in Gaza. If the IDF precipitously withdrew, the other half, ruled by the 'moderate' Ramallah-based leadership, would quickly fall under Islamist control. And that is something no American president would desire. But he sounded definitive in his outlook on this immensely sensitive issue -- more so, indeed, that did McCain when we interviewed him in March -- even though he was making only his second visit to Israel. He owes it to Israelis and Palestinians -- and to himself -- to return here for a deeper look." II. "The Danger in the Adulation of Obama" The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (7/25): "At best, Obama reminds one of John Kennedy, but without Kennedy's definite values and the ideological resolve.... The embrace of the Democratic candidate does not reflect the longing for a different America, but a mood of surrender to totalitarian forces. It means giving up the principled, resolute stance in defense of human rights and freedom. Those yearning for an Obama-style presidency are the same as those enthusiastic about the prominent, insulting presence of Bashar Assad in Paris on the day of 'liberty, equality, and fraternity.'" MORENO