ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000835 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: -------------- ¶1. Mideast ¶2. Iran -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Ha'aretz reported that PM Olmert has called on IDF commanders in the West Bank to understand that the roadblocks are causing suffering to the Palestinians, whose needs should be taken into consideration to avoid a worsening of relations. Olmert made these comments during a closed-door meeting with the brigade commanders of Central Command. Ha'aretz reported that more than half of the roadblocks Israel committed to lifting as part of measures meant to ease restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank are temporary obstacles that the state had promised the High Court a month ago to remove. The Jerusalem Post reported that the GOI and politicians sent mixed messages yesterday regarding plans by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in Damascus next week. On the one hand, senior Israeli diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said they were "outraged" at Carter's decision. PM Olmert and FM Tzipi Livni have declined to meet with him when he visits Israel, citing "scheduling conflicts," while sources close to Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu said he was refusing to see Carter because of the Mashal meting. But President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Shas chairman Eli Yishai and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman have all agreed to see Carter. Israel Radio quoted State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack as saying that the U.S. would assist Carter in Damascus, but not to meet with Mashal. The radio reported that all three U.S. presidential candidates expressed reservations about such a meeting. The media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying yesterday at a pre-Passover toast for Kadima activists that Hamas would be held accountable for every infiltration, shooting, and rocket attack in the South, no matter which terrorist organization actually carries it out. While Olmert said he believed an agreement could be reached with PA President Mahmoud Abbas this year, he was quoted as saying that due to the situation in the PA and Hamas's control of Gaza, no deal could be implemented any time soon. All media reported that two Palestinians have been arrested only days before they planned to poison diners at a Ramat Gan restaurant at which they worked. Under interrogation, the pair admitted being recruited by an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades cell that received funding and instructions from Hizbullah. Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying that two Hamas activists were killed in an IAF raid in Gaza. The radio reported on a land incursion by the IDF in the Strip. Maariv reported that Histadrut Labor Federation Chairman Ofer Eini and Israeli Manufacturers Association President Shraga Brosh are mediating between Olmert and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak in order to unite the two parties and form a bloc that could counter Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud in the next elections. The media reported on persisting tensions between Olmert and Barak. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted former CIA Director Porter Goss as saying at a congress of Evangelical Christians in Jerusalem that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is capable of anything. Goss was quoted as saying that it will take generations to fix the harm done by Islam to young people. Yediot reported that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has started a Hebrew-language blog and that he intends to visit Israel. The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he is in the "common sense camp" on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Yediot (Alex Fishman) reported that Israel is preparing a list of "gifts" that it wishes to receive from President Bush, such as weapons systems and compensation for the Saudi arms deal. Maariv (Ben Caspit) filed a similar story. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli and Palestinian sources as sayng that Hamas seizes half the fuel Israel sends to the Gaza Strip and uses it in part for its military wing's vehicles. The Jerusalem Post reported that officials announced yesterday that Defense Minister Barak will ask the government to increase the quota of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel from the West Bank. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on a "momentum of Palestinian development" in the West Bank The Jerusalem Post cited a report by the Intelligence and Terrorism, Information Center as saying that Hamas has 20,000 armed men. The think tank's report shows a formidable military force in Gaza that uses Hizbullah as its role mode. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited the report that Hamas has set up a suicide-bombe unit in case the IDF invades Gaza. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the Palestinian Parliament is launching a law to prosecute "Israeli war criminals." Yediot reported that on Thursday the Security Chief for the defense establishment ("Malmab") ordered all employees of the IDF, the Shin Bet, to refrain from publishing what can be construed as classified information on the popular Internet social networking site Facebook. Ha'aretz reported that a legislating process banning sale of Jewish National Fund land to Arabs might resume. Ha'aretz reported that the head of the Turkish Parliament has requested the intervention of Olmert's bureau to annul a Knesset committee debate on the recognition of the Armenian genocide during World War I. Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton was quoted as saying in an interview with Globes that the growth potential in the U.S. is low, whereas the opportunities lie in Asia. Ha'aretz (English Edition) reported that U.S. philanthropist Anne Heyman, who heads the Heyman-Merrin foundation in New York, has applied the Israeli youth village model to help Rwandan orphans. Ha'aretz reported that IBM is buying the Israeli start-up FilesX for an estimated $70-80 million, though the sides have refused to disclose the price. Ha'aretz printed the results of a Dialog poll conducted on April 9: Were elections held today, for whom would you vote? (Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of a February poll and 2006 elections results. Possible discrepancy in current Knesset configuration.) Likud: 29 (35, 12); Labor Party: 18 (17, 19); Kadima: 15 (14, 29); Yisrael Beiteinu 12 (12, 11); Shas: 10 (9, 12); Meretz: 7 (6, 5); United Torah Judaism: 6 (7, 6); National Union-National Religious Party: 6 (4, 9); Arab parties: 10 (10, 10); Social Justice (under Arkady Gaidamak) 4 (3.,0); Pensioners Party: 0 (3,7). What worries you the most these days? Iran's nuclear program: 34%, the economic situation: 22%; the security tension in the North: all of the above equally: 14%; none of the above: 4%; 4% were undecided. Next month, Israel will celebrate 60 years of independence. Will the state exist 60 years from now? Yes: 77%; no: 11%; 4% were undecided. The Jerusalem Post published the results of a poll conducted among Israeli Arabs on April 2-6 by Keevon Research, Strategy and Communications: They favor Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Clinton as the Democratic candidate for U.S. president by a margin pf 37% to 26%. Thirty-seven percent were undecided. The results contrasted with the opinions of Jewish Israelis, who prefer Clinton to Obama, 61%-12%, according to a poll taken by the same company two weeks ago. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Every released Hamas prisoner is a risk, but when we weigh the risk against other values of the state, it seems to be a risk Israel should take." Block Quotes: -------------- "Free Gilad Shalit" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/11): "This summer, two years will have passed since Gilad Shalit was abducted and, as far as we know, negotiations for his release have yielded no results. As time goes by, it has become clear that Hamas cannot be deterred or brought to heel by power cuts, closed crossings, international boycotts, kidnapped parliamentarians nor fierce military action. The more casualties and prisoners Hamas suffers, the stronger it gets. It is also continuing to arm itself. One may assume that every prisoner Israel releases in the Shalit deal would add to Hamas' prestige and strength. Hence Israel's difficulty in deciding on the release.... Every released Hamas prisoner is a risk, but when we weigh the risk against other values of the state, it seems to be a risk Israel should take.... A 20-year-old prisoner cannot carry on his back the deterrence of a state that is armed to its teeth, and if he disappears or is killed, abandoning him could harm morale in a manner whose effect on deterrence is hard to measure.... The assumption that Shalit would not be executed is not an evaluation but a risk. If anyone understood the goals of Hamas in the war against Israel, we could assess Shalit's chances of survival. But since we are dealing with incoherent terrorism, it would be prudent to take the worst-case scenario into consideration." -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "Before he leaves the White House, George W. Bush, a failed president who leaves a war of deception and an economic crisis as his legacy decides to change everything in one go, strikes Iran's nuclear installations and redeems Israel and the world." Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "As Iran progress forward with its grand strategy for regional hegemony, the West dithers, and so assists it. No wonder Ahmadinejad is always smiling." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "This Would Fit the Bush Administration" Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (4/11): "In the United States an open debate is bursting. The call it the 'October surprise': a pre-election dramatic move.... There can only be one October 2008 surprise: before he leaves the White House, George W. Bush, a failed president who leaves a war of deception and an economic crisis as his legacy decides to change everything in one go, strikes Iran's nuclear installations and redeems Israel and the world.... Such an operation is not conducted in a fog of secret, which would be followed by keeping mum in front of the cameras. In the mean time there is a debate in the U.S., and in Israel one doesn't need particularly sharp ears to hear the winds of war." II. "Ahmadinejad's Smile" Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/11): "Through its proxy strategy, Iran has taken control of Syria, has paralyzed and is increasingly calling the shots in Lebanon, and has effective control over Gaza, from which it can attack Israel and Egypt at will. And of course, it is the primary sponsor of the insurgency in Iraq. Led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the Sunni Arab states are well aware of Iran's proxy strategy for attaining regional dominance, and they are not pleased. The partial boycott of the Arab Summit in Damascus last month was the Sunni Arab states' way of showing their displeasure with Iran's domination of Syria and Lebanon.... In the absence of a strategy of confronting Iran either directly or through its proxies, the only coherent course that remains is one of containment. But this option is raft with danger. With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement this week that Iran is introducing 3,000 upgraded centrifuges to its Natanz nuclear installation, it is clear that international sanctions have had no impact on Iran's quest for nuclear weapons. It is also clear that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it will be impossible to confront its proxies, who will operate under Iran' nuclear umbrella. So as Iran progress forward with its grand strategy for regional hegemony, the West dithers, and so assists it. No wonder Ahmadinejad is always smiling." JONES