ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002854 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: -------------- Leading media quoted PM Olmert as saying yesterday in London that he hopes for peace with Syria. Media reported that on Monday he will travel to Ankara for a meeting with Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan to -- according to Yediot Q pave the way for direct Israel-Syria talks that will obligate the future government to continue them. Media quoted Olmert as at a conference of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv as saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad is Qriper than ever for a peace deal with Israel.Q Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said in Paris the he is not committed to concessions on the Golan. HaQaretz reported that Vice PM Haim Ramon, one of the founders of Kadima, was demoted yesterday to the 17th slot on the partyQs list. The Jerusalem Post reported that Idan Ofer, chairman of the Israeli Better Place company, told the newspaper that the incoming Obama adinistration is Qclosely monitoringQ the innovative electric car project being developed by the company and that it may adopt it. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying that the UN Security Council Resolution to recognize Annapolis is a significant achievement for Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that a Russian defense official, who was quoted this week as saying that arms sales to Iran created regional stability, told the newspaper yesterday that he had not been referring to the sale of the advanced S-3000 anti-aircraft missile system. The Jerusalem Post reported that visiting former CENTCOM commander Adm. (ret.) William Fallon told the newspaper that Israel is one of the strongest countries in the Middle East and needs to stop giving into a Qfear factorQ with regard to the prospect of a nuclear Iran. HaQaretz reported that a new report from the U.S. Army College warns that the American military must learn the lessons of the Second Lebanon War, in which Hizbullah operated more like a conventional army than a guerrilla organization. The newspaper also reported that conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the IDF received an Qunprecedented shot in the armQ from North American Jewry, when demonstrators protested again their detention by presenting 20,000 letters demanding their release. The media reported that journalist Nitzan Horovitz was placed in the third spot of the new Meretz Knesset list. The media reported that yesterday the newly formed rightist party, Habayit Hayehudi (the QJewish Home),lost two of its founding factions Moledet and Achi. Maariv and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that United Torah Judaism might split. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the Arab parties might split as well. Maariv reported that Prof. Uzi Arad is NetanyahuQs candidate for the post of head of the National Security Council. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that part of the security fence in the Judean Desert area was moved into the Green Line The Jerusalem Post and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that a coin from the Antiochus period Q the time of the great revolt against the Romans -- was found in the Temple MountQs rubble Maariv reported that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman are among the contributors to the William J. Clinton Foundation. Yediot reported that yesterday QJewishQ former DCM at American Embassy Tel Aviv Gene Cretz was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Libya. Maariv presented the results of a TNS/Teleseker poll on voting intentions for the Knesset elections, which show a tie between Likud and Kadima: Likud:30; Kadima 30; Labor Party: 12: Yisrael Beiteinu: 12; Arab parties: 10; Shas:9; Meretz:7; National-Religious Party/Jewish Home 5; United Torah Judaism and assimilated: 5. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: QInstead of military action, Israel has opted to pressure Hamas via an economic blockade. But its freedom to do so is liable to decrease once Barack Obama assumes the U.S. presidency. Intelligence affairs commentator Amit Cohen wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: QAt such moments, HamasQs unity is revealed. Once a decision has been made, no one will deviate from it.... None of the opponents would dare say that the decision that has been made is incorrect. Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: QEven if it were to sign a peace deal with Israel -Q and really meant to keep it -Q the deal would be a dead letter because he Palestinian people themselves want neither peace with Israel nor Fatah. Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "BarakQs Gamble" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (12/18): QInstead of military action, Israel has opted to pressure Hamas via an economic blockade. But its freedom to do so is liable to decrease once Barack Obama assumes the U.S. presidency. Already, international patience with the blockade is wearing thin, and Israel has been under increasing pressure to allow more goods into Gaza. Just last week, with George Bush still in office, America joined the other members of the Middle East Quartet.... in demanding that Israel completely lift the blockade with regard to humanitarian goods (food, fuel, medicine, etc.). And if even the Bush administration, which has largely supported Israeli measures against Hamas, takes such an approach, Obama's administration can be expected to take an even harder line, arguing that it is wrong to punish 1.5 million Palestinians over a few rockets.... However, this approach is liable to strengthen those in Israel who favor a large-scale military operation. II. "No Leader, No Need for Truce" Intelligence affairs commentator Amit Cohen wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (12/18): QWe should remember that in the past months, the military wing has gained in strength, and this includes building bunkers and acquiring arms. They appear to believe, more than in the past, that they have the ability to protect the senior leaders against a renewal of the targeted killings. This is the Hizbullah model.... At such moments, HamasQs unity is revealed. Once a decision has been made, no one will deviate from it. As opposed to Fatah, we will never see a deviation from the organizationQs official line. All the spokespersons, all the senior figures, adopt the decision, memorize the message sheet, and aggressively convey it to Arab and Palestinian public opinion. This unity is also maintained in off-the-record conversations, where all that can be heard is that the status quo will be maintained. None of the opponents would dare say that the decision that has been made is incorrect. III. "Betting on a Dead Horse" Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (12/18): QFatah is a dead horse. Even if it were to sign a peace deal with Israel -Q and really meant to keep it -Q the deal would be a dead letter because the Palestinian people themselves want neither peace with Israel nor Fatah.... To date, IsraelQs strategy for contending with FatahQs demise has been to deny it. After Hamas renewed its war against Israel this week, Prime Minster Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Barak have all threatened to take action against Hamas. But at the same time, they have sent emissaries to Egypt to beg Hamas to reconsider its decision. -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: QIf [Obama] fails [in his arms-control bid], and the nightmare of a nuclear Iran comes true, no one will be able to pressure Israel. Block Quotes: -------------- "Is Obama on the Way to Dimona?" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (12/18): QIn their campaigns, Obama and [Hillary] Clinton promised that arms control would once again play a central role in American diplomacy. Their associates and supporters, some of whom are candidates for positions in the new administration, have repeated this message relentlessly to Israeli colleagues and acquaintances.... In Israel there is a public consensus that nuclear capability is important for the country's survival and shouldn't be tampered with. There is not a single Israeli among the signatories of Global Zero. The initiatives are not directed against Israel, but as the Obama administration takes shape and establishes its objectives, Israel will have to decide how to act. Ten years ago, Bill Clinton's administration demanded that Israel not raise any obstacles with respect to this treaty. The prime minister at the time, Benjamin Netanyahu, acquiesced unenthusiastically to the pressures. A few months later, when he signed the Wye agreement with the Palestinians, Netanyahu asked for and received from Clinton a written commitment that American moves toward weapons control would not harm Israel's deterrent capability.... During the Bush years, Israel enjoyed relative quiet in this realm.... Now Israeli officials are expecting that Obama will return to the Qfreeze treaty,Q even if not immediately.... The prevailing view in the Israeli establishment is that everything depends on what Obama achieves vis-a-vis the Iranians. If he stops them before they have built a bomb, and maintains the world order with regard to nuclear armament, there will be more legitimacy for making demands of Israel. But if he fails, and the nightmare of a nuclear Iran comes true, no one will be able to pressure Israel. In that case, the discussion will revolve around ways to strengthen Israel -- not about good intentions and arms-control treaties. CUNNINGHAM