ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000824 SIPDIS 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: -------------- Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. is keen on holding a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to coincide with President Bush's visit to Israel next month for the country's 60th anniversary celebrations. According to the newspaper, Bush would like to use the event to follow up on the Annapolis conference and boost efforts to reach an agreement by the end of the year. Ha'aretz reported that senior political sources in Jerusalem confirmed this development, which Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported was first revealed by Knesset Member Yossi Beilin at a press conference on Tuesday. Beilin said that President Hosni Mubarak and Bush would host the summit, and will invite Jordan's King Abdullah, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel Hayom reported that Geneva Initiative Director-General made the announcement alongside Beilin. According to Ha'aretz's Israeli sources, the American initiative is still in the early planning stages, but has been raised with Israeli officials. Ha'aretz quoted sources in the Prime Minister's bureau as saying yesterday that "we have not received any requests for a summit, but if such a request is made we will consider it." The Jerusalem Post quoted a U.S. Embassy official as saying that he saw "no indications whatsoever" that such an event was being planned. Leading media quoted the Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Jazeera as saying that FM Livni will reportedly travel to Qatar in the near future where she is expected to meet with Syrian officials. According to the report, which was filed by the newspaper's reporter in Israel, the meeting will conclude two years of secret meetings between officials from Israel and Syria, whose purpose was to evaluate the chance of a peace agreement.. The report also said that Livni would raise the issue of Gilad Shalit. This morning Israel Radio cited a Foreign Ministry denial of FM Livni's trip to Qatar. Ha'aretz reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke by telephone yesterday with Abbas and was briefed on his Monday meeting with Olmert. Abbas will visit Washington in 10 days time and meet President Bush. Ha'aretz reported that the above mentioned summit proposal will be a central topic on his agenda. Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli and PA negotiating teams, headed by FM Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qurei, met in Jerusalem yesterday. The Jerusalem Post quoted Syrian Deputy FM Faisal Mekdad as saying yesterday in an interview with the Syrian government-controlled daily Al-Thawra that Syria would be prepared for all possible scenarios as soon as the "language of understanding" with Israel over the peace process ended. Electronic media reported that an IDF soldier was killed and two others moderately wounded by Palestinian gunfire in southern Gaza last night. Media quoted Palestinian sources as saying that a Palestinian was killed and two others wounded. All media, except the ultra-Orthodox papers, highlighted former Israel president Moshe Katsav's last-minute renouncement of a plea bargain on multiple counts of sexual misconduct. In a much criticized move, prosecutors had let Katsav plead down the original rape charges to lesser sexual offenses that would have allowed him to avoid jail time. The media quoted Katsav as saying that he intends to face the charges in court and will fight to clear his name. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz responded by saying that the ramifications of this decision are clear and indicated that a new indictment including the original rape charges will be brought. The trial will be the first for an Israeli head of state, past or present. Israel Hayom quoted Hamas's spokesmen as saying yesterday that a flare-up with Egypt was close because Hamas has not succeeded in reopening the Rafah crossing. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert visited the Hebron area yesterday and met with IDF commanders. The PM stressed that "preserving security in the West Bank is very important in order to create an atmosphere that will support the diplomatic process." Olmert toured areas where the IDF had removed some of the 60 roadblocks and dirt obstacles that had been set up in the West Bank, and said that the "matter of easing the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank is important because only this way will they be able to sense change on the ground, and that there is a chance that the peace process will succeed and that there is a reason to reject the extremists." All media quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying yesterday that his country will operate 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium. Leading media quoted Olmert spokesman Mark Regev as saying that the world must stop Iran's aggressive nuclear development. The Jerusalem Post cited AP as saying that Moshe Kantor, the head of the European Jewish Congress, urged European countries yesterday to cease doing business with Iran entriely, saying that current EU sanctions are 'Not sufficient at all." Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, who is in charge of the home front, was quoted as saying yesterday on Israel Broadcasting Authority-affiliated Channel 33-TV that the Israeli public is ready to deal with the threats facing it. Media quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying that the home front's preparedness will lead to victory. Leading media reported that National Guard staff in U.S. Homeland Security watched the exercise in Upper Nazareth, which involved simulating a rescue effort from a collapsed building. Ha'aretz quoted Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, as saying that he is interested in bilateral cooperation in the field of homeland security. Media reported that an LBC-TV team from Lebanon also watched the Upper Nazareth drill and broadcast it live. The Jerusalem Post reported that President Shimon Peres expressed optimism yesterday about economic solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- which he staunchly believes will ease the way for political solutions -- during a meeting with ambassadors of EU member countries. The Jerusalem Post quoted UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry as saying yesterday that international aid donors are looking to breathe fresh life into the gasping Palestinian economy when they meet with PA and GOI representatives in London next month The Jerusalem Post reported that Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) told hundreds of Peace Now members gathered in Tel Aviv last night to mark the group's 30th anniversary that Israel should open immediate negotiations with the Arab League on the basis of the 2002 Saudi initiative. Yediot and other media reported that former Northern Command OC Gen. Udi Adam, who was forced to resign from that position during the Second Lebanon War, will be the next Director-General of the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona. Israel Hayom cited the fear of Israel's Water Authority that the water crisis will worsen to the point of a dearth of drinking water in Israel by September. Leading media reported that Israeli historian Prof. Saul Friedlander, 75, has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for "The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945." Ha'aretz reported that MKs Eliahu Gabbay (National Union - National Religious Party) and Shai Hermesh (Kadima) are sponsoring a bill proposal that would ban state funding of films that "could harm the foundations of Israel's existence." Hermesh named a series of movies -- among which "Machssomim" (Roadblocks) (2003),"Paradise Now" (2005),and "Lemon Tree" (2008) -- that were partially financed by Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL),which harvests minerals from the Dead Sea to make fertilizers and chemicals, has won a one-year contract to supply 1.1 million tons of potash to its Indian customers for $700 million. The order represents a $355 per ton increase from previous agreements. ICL said last Sunday it would expand its potash and phosphate output this year following rising demand for farm products, as China and India lead growing global food consumption. Leading media reported that American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has resumed negotiations to purchase Maariv. Adelson is the founder and owner of Israel Hayom. Yediot reported that famed American filmmaker Woody Allen will attend the 6th International Red Sea Film Festival in Eilat next month. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Tel Aviv University Professor of Economics Ariel Rubinstein, a signer of the 1978 'Officers' Letter' that gave birth to Peace Now, wrote in an editorial of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "It seems to me that Peace Now has overstated the cost of war and the benefits of peace, and underestimated the principled stance of rejecting the rule over another people." The ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: "When a 'cold war' situation exists between states, any apprehension may light the fire of war, however unintentional." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Peace Now Turns 30" Tel Aviv University Professor of Economics Ariel Rubinstein, a signer of the 1978 'Officers' Letter' that gave birth to Peace Now, wrote in an editorial of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/9): "Peace Now's focus on the occupation and the settlements has been no political whim, but the expression of the view that the Jewish people per se identifies with the occupied and the sufferers, and despises the occupiers and the oppressors. To us, dominating another people is 'not kosher.' This stance makes me recognize the failure of Peace Now. We have not convinced the public that the topics close to our hearts are as important as the settlements ... are engraved in the hearts of the students of the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and the settlers from Kedumim. A part of Israeli society views us as a band of hedonists and defeatists, not as an ideological group. It seems to me that Peace Now has overstated the cost of war and the benefits of peace, and underestimated the principled stance of rejecting the rule over another people." II. "Sounds of War" The ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (4/9): "Even though everybody knew that this was only an 'exercise,' the sirens that were sounded on Tuesday all over Israel instinctively caused anxiety for a few seconds.... When a 'cold war' situation exists between states, any apprehension may light the fire of war, however unintentional. The other side reads the headlines, hears the voices, harbors suspicions, and speculates. Thus its apprehension is growing. After it has 'cooked in its own juices,' sometimes without any real justification, it considers waging a 'preventive war' in order to 'act ahead' of the other side, which in reality was not looking for war.... Let us not forget that the Middle East can be likened to sitting on a powder keg. We must pray to the Creator that there is no violence in this Land." JONES