ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001831 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: -------------- The media reported that PM Ehud Olmert is considering firing Defense Minister Ehud Barak for opposing the budget draft. Ha'aretz reported that clashes over the budget could bring down the government. The Jerusalem Post quoted sources close to Barak as saying that Barak will try to make the failures of the Kadima government during the Second Lebanon War the main issue of his general election campaign. Israel Radio reported that Labor MK Avishay Braverman, Chairman of the Knesset's Finance Committee, is demanding that 2 billion shekels (around $560 million) be added to the budget for welfare purposes. Yediot reported that yesterday Barak called for the establishment of an emergency national government -- together with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu -- because of the security threat posed by Iran. Leading media reported that a Palestinian responsible for at least one terror attack and a second who killed a yeshiva student are among the 199 prisoners that a small ministerial committee agreed to release when it met yesterday. The Jerusalem Post reported that Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz gave a sole dissenting vote, saying that he does not believe in useless gestures. Ha'aretz reported that Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin told the cabinet yesterday that the release of the prisoners to PA President Mahmoud Abbas "creates pressure on HAMAS and is likely to accelerate the negotiations over Gilad Shalit.Q However, Diskin added that the gesture will not make HAMAS more flexible about their demands. The Jerusalem Post quoted PA officials in Ramallah as saying yesterday that the PA is concerned about the apparent rapprochement between HAMAS and Jordan. Israel Radio cited reports in the Arab media that Egypt is prepared to send a 3,000-strong Arab force to Gaza as part of peacemaking efforts between Fatah and Hamas. The radio reported that HAMAS has rejected the Egyptian initiative. All media reported on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's surprise resignation on Monday. Yediot headlined: "The Islamic Bomb Changes Hands." The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli sources as saying that his resignation has quelled any faint hopes of improving relations between Pakistan and Israel in the near future. The Jerusalem Post reported that President Shimon Peres has categorically denied reports that he was using his influence to try to help beleaguered Musharraf leave Pakistan safely and avoid impeachment. Major media cited assessments in Israel that Iran failed in their recent satellite test-launch. The Jerusalem Post quoted a former senior Israeli defense industry official and missile expert as saying that Iran's announcement does not signify an increased threat to Israel. Last night Channel 2-TV reported that Syria has recently test-launched a series of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets. The Jerusalem Post quoted visiting former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee as saying that Palestinians do not have to settle in Jerusalem. He also touted John McCain's ability to defend Israel against Iran. Ha'aretz quoted Huckabee as saying hat it is unthinkable to divide Jerusalem. Maariv cited a forecast by Israeli diplomatic sources that following the war in Georgia, Israel-Russia relations will deteriorate, mostly because Russia views Israel as a manifest ally of the U.S. Maariv reported that four important bilateral Israeli-Russian projects are in danger of being canceled because of American pressure. -------------- ¶1. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If Israel is dragged into a war, God forbid, it is liable to find itself very much alone." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Either the Iranian regime must be made to go, or a strategy needs to be developed to ensure that Iran does not attain the military capability to achieve its imperial aspirations. There really are no other options." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Caution: a New Reality" Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/19): "If Israel is dragged into a war, God forbid, it is liable to find itself very much alone. Israel cannot rely on the automatic involvement of America, which did not lift a finger to stop the brutal Russian offensive. President George W. Bush, in no rush to give up his summer vacation, made do with sending Condoleezza Rice to Georgia on a mission that was ultimately a condolence visit. The summer of 2008 has brought Israel face to face with a new reality: Russia is back to its old Cold War tricks.... I wouldn't be so sure Russia is overjoyed by Iran's nuclear aspirations -- the number one danger now facing Israel -- but it hasn't said a bad word about Iran yet.... The president who succeeds Bush has two options: He can keep fighting the axis of evil, or he can focus on the serious problems that now face America -- the colossal credit crisis, the mortgage crisis, the public's mistrust of the economy, and the rising cost of gas. To that, he can add a new problem: a possible resumption of the Cold War." II. "Mullahs in Space" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (8/19): "Saturday's launching may ... have been intended to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities as well as announcing that Iran is already a regional power to be reckoned with.... Iran is explicitly committed to the destruction of Israel -- so Jerusalem must worry day and night about Tehran's nuclear program. At the same time, the Iranian military industrial complex is so vast, advanced and diversified as to make incredibly complex any last resort to military action. Europe and the international community, meanwhile, dawdle rather than apply the kinds of meaningful sanctions that could conceivably force the mullahs to reconsider their bellicose posture. Thus by avoiding a confrontation with Iran today, the international community is setting the stage for a far more perilous future -- and not just for Israel. Is it not clear how emboldened, empowered and belligerent the mullahs already are? The threat to world peace grows exponentially with each week, each month. Either the Iranian regime must be made to go, or a strategy needs to be developed to ensure that Iran does not attain the military capability to achieve its imperial aspirations. There really are no other options." -------------- ¶2. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "[Many] Palestinians see the decision [to release prisoners] as an attempt on the part of Israel to improve its image on the international arena and extract political concessions from Abbas and his colleagues in Ramallah." Block Quotes: -------------- "Prisoner Release Does Nothing for Abbas" Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (8/19): "Today, Israel is hoping that the release of the 200 security prisoners, almost all of whom belong to Fatah, would again strengthen Abbas and Fatah at the expense of Hamas. However, it's highly unlikely that Abbas would benefit from the release of the prisoners because many Palestinians don't give him credit for the move. Rather, these Palestinians see the decision as an attempt on the part of Israel to improve its image on the international arena and extract political concessions from Abbas and his colleagues in Ramallah.... Moreover, the decision is seen by HAMAS and its supporters as an Israeli attempt to drive a wedge between Fatah and HAMAS and deepen divisions among the Palestinians. Similarly, Israel should not expect to make any significant gains as a result of its decision. Even the "'moderates' in Ramallah who welcomed the decision were quick to emphasize that it was insufficient and that Israel must now free all the security prisoners. Or, as a prominent academic in Ramallah put it, 'Israel is today releasing 200 prisoners to make room in its prisons for the hundreds of Palestinians who were arrested by the Israeli army in the past few weeks.'" CUNNINGHAM