ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001806 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. Georgia -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Israel Radio quoted UNIFIL Force Commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano as saying that Israel violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in at least three areas: overflights of Lebanon; the conflicts outside of Ghajar, which straddles the Israeli- Lebanese border; and through the issue of cluster bombs. Graziano said that Hizbullah's weapons smuggling did not constitute a violation, since the State of Lebanon has not formally complained about it. Leading media quoted Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as saying yesterday evening, in a speech marking two years since the end of the Second Lebanon War, that Israel's defense minister and army chief's "failures" in the past meant they did not scare his Lebanese militant organization today. He was also quoted as saying that Israel exported failed generals to train the Georgian army, referring to Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, who resigned his command after the Second Lebanon War. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Syrian FM Walid Muallem as saying that his country will not define a border at the Sheba Farms before they are liberated. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli diplomatic officials that Syria's announcement on the Sheba Farms is an obvious attempt to keep the issue alive and give Hizbullah a continued justification for its existence. The Jerusalem Post and other major media reported that yesterday the state informed the High Court of Justice that the leaders of the settlement movement in the West Bank will choose a new site for the unauthorized outpost of Migron of Migron within 30 days and build permanent housing there for the Migron settlers. Leading media reported that some key Religious Zionist leaders support the relocation of the unauthorized outpost of Migron. Speaking on Israel Radio this morning Talia Sasson, who published a report in March 2005 on unauthorized outposts, said that she cannot support anything involving Migron, which she said was built on Palestinian land. The Jerusalem Post commented that in order to legalize outposts, the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories has shifted the language from "evacuation," with all the implied visions of IDF soldiers forcibly pulling families away from their homes, to a "voluntary removal," to "moving" the outposts, and finally to "legalized construction." Ha'aretz reported that police, soldiers and military officers prefer to "turn the other cheek" instead of handling incidents in which settlers attack Palestinians in the West Bank. In a meeting held by West Bank precinct operations officer Ronen Yefet last week, participants -- including a Shin Bet representative and senior police and army officers -- reported a recent increase in the number of violent incidents involving settlers. In the first half of 2008, particularly in the Samaria (northern West Bank) and Binyamin (north of Jerusalem) districts, there has been an increase in "disturbances of the peace" -- the term used for harm caused by Israeli citizens to Palestinians and their property, as well as harm to Israeli security forces. Data presented in the meeting indicated that there were 429 such incidents in the first half of this year, compared with 587 incidents in all of 2006 and 551 in 2007." All major media reported that yesterday Morris Talansky announced that he will not return to Israel for the August 31 continuation of a corruption probe into PM Ehud Olmert. Media quoted Olmert's associates as saying that this is evidence of the TalanskyQs unreliability. Leading media quoted Talansky's U.S. lawyers, Bradley D. Simon and Neal M. Sher, as saying that Talansky's choice stems from their client's desire not to incriminate himself in a grand jury investigation being conducted against him in a New York court. Ha'aretz quoted one of Talansky's Israeli attorneys, Yehoshua Reznik, as saying that it was State Prosecutor Moshe Lador's duty to defend Talansky from the legal proceedings against him in the U.S. He said that the prosecution must make it clear to the Americans that Talansky was promised that no harm would befall him if he testified in Israel. Maariv quoted sources associated with the negotiations to release Gilad Shalit as saying that Egyptian intelligence head Omar Suleiman is determined to conclude the deal within three months. However, Maariv reported that Hamas is toughening its stand and is looking for a new mediator. The Jerusalem Post quoted a Hamas official in Gaza as saying that the Egyptian government has informed Hamas that it will not reopen the Rafah border crossing until the movement releases Shalit. Yediot reported that Israel is to release 200 Palestinian prisoners, including two with "blood on their hands," as a good will gesture to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The government is expected to approve the decision at Sunday's cabinet meeting. Ha'aretz cited the Prie Minister's Office's denial yesterday of a Ha'aetz report that Olmert has proposed to Abbas that Irael will take in 20,000 Palestinian refugees. The Jerusalem Post reported that hours before deprting for Turkey yesterday, in an interview withTurkey's NTV-TV and CNN Turk channels, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a "vicious" verbal attack against Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli diplomatic officials, who relayed their disappointment to Ankara last week at the invitation extended to Ahmadinejad, said that Israel's Ambassador to Turkey, Gabi Levy, would again raise the issue with Ankara in light of Ahmadinejad's latest comments. The Jerusalem Post reported that former Israeli ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon told the daily yesterday that former Egyptian ambassador Muhammad Bassiouny took part in espionage activities against Israel during his 18-year-term. Ayalon was quoted as saying that Bassiouny overstepped the bounds of the normal information-gathering carried out by all ambassadors, and strayed into spying. Yediot cited new statistics released yesterday by the GOI's Central Bureau of Statistics that show that in 2006, 22,400 people emigrated from Israel -- more than the number of new immigrants who came to Israel that year. The Jerusalem Post reported that researchers from the Weizmann Institute, the University of Maryland, and NASA have created the first analytical model to assess soot's effect on the climate. The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a Smith Research Poll among registered Kadima members: 48% said they would support Livni, 38% Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, 10% Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, and 5% Interior Minster Meir Sheetrit. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Israel needs to define, finally, the boundaries of the Jewish state in the context of its vision for a viable two-state solution -- and to place the onus for failing to achieve 'two states for two peoples' squarely where it belongs on 100 years of Palestinian intransigence." University of Haifa Law Professor Emmanuel Gross wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "Talansky's failure to arrive in Israel to complete his cross-examination may detract from the weight of his testimony, but this does not invalidate the proceedings to this point." The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "Livni has demonstrated helplessness regarding Israel's status. She has neither the proper personal nor intellectual qualifications to shift the current." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Boundaries for Israel" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (8/15): "Beyond the intriguing question of why the story of [Olmert's comprehensive offer to the Palestinians] was leaked by the Israeli side, what impresses is how faithfully and unwaveringly [Palestinian spokesmen] Erekat and Abu Rudeineh adhere to the Palestinian line. They demand an Israeli withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 boundaries; territorial contiguity; the 'right of return'; Jerusalem as their capital and the removal of all Jewish communities beyond the 1949 Armistice Lines. By contrast, to this day Israel has yet to officially declare which territories it insists on retaining in any deal with the Palestinians. This black hole in Israeli diplomacy explains why international public opinion believed, wrongly, that Israel should be, and even would be, prepared to withdraw to the 1967 'borders' assuming the details can be worked out. It will be an uphill battle to disabuse the world of the notion that Israel can safely return to the indefensible 1949 Armistice Lines -- and to make a clear and unequivocal case for the borders the Jewish state can live with.... That's why Israel needs to define, finally, the boundaries of the Jewish state in the context of its vision for a viable two-state solution -- and to place the onus for failing to achieve 'two states for two peoples' squarely where it belongs on 100 years of Palestinian intransigence." II. "Small Chance of Deal with the Americans" University of Haifa Law Professor Emmanuel Gross wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (8/15): "Morris Talansky's dramatic announcement that at the present stage, he does not intend to return to Israel at the end of the month to complete his cross-examination by Ehud Olmert's attorneys, raises a number of legal questions, first and foremost: How does this affect the preliminary testimony? Will it now be impossible to use the parts of the preliminary testimony that have already been given? The answer that the Israeli law gives is simple: The ability to use the testimony of a person who has been questioned in a preliminary examination is not contingent on the fact that the suspect or defendant has been given an opportunity to be cross-examined.... In summary, Talansky's failure to arrive in Israel to complete his cross-examination may detract from the weight of his testimony, but this does not invalidate the proceedings to this point. Moreover, those who criticized the state attorney for hurrying to request a preliminary testimony for fear that the witness would not show up, now understand the state attorney's concern and the justification for the decision." III. "Too Meek for the Role" The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (8/15): "Barak is focusing on one of Livni's failures..... He does not count her other biggest ones in Israeli foreign policy: Israel's deportment on the Iranian issue; the sole preoccupation with nightly negotiations with Abu Ala on the Palestinian issue; and Israel's diminishing status in the world, as some circles begin to question the legitimacy of Israel's existence as a state.... Livni has demonstrated helplessness regarding Israel's status. She has neither the proper personal nor intellectual qualifications to shift the current." -------------- ¶2. Georgia: -------------- Summary: -------------- Dr. Brenda Shaffer, a lecturer on Central Asia and the Caucasus region at the University of Haifa, wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/15): "Unless the U.S. makes a significant move soon, it (and Israel) will lose credibility among numerous states in the post-Soviet region and beyond." Block Quotes: -------------- "It's a Short Way from Tbilisi to Jerusalem" Dr. Brenda Shaffer, a lecturer on Central Asia and the Caucasus region at the University of Haifa, wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/15): "Unless the U.S. makes a significant move soon, it (and Israel) will lose credibility among numerous states in the post-Soviet region and beyond.... Israel could -- and still can do more -- for its ally Georgia, even without affecting its relations with Moscow. Georgia needs massive humanitarian aid, airborne medical teams and declarations by President Shimon Peres. Israel is always demanding that Europe 'do the right thing' -- give up large economic deals in the Middle East and expose itself to terror and the Iranian threat, in order to prevent harming Israel's security. By sitting on the fence when Georgia is under attack, Israel is undermining the legitimacy of these requests. To Jerusalem's credit it must be said that at the beginning of the crisis it (together with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations) declared recognition of Georgia's right to preserve its territorial integrity, this implies the separatist areas South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well" MORENO