ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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Aftermath of Obama-Netanyahu Meeting

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Key stories in the media:
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HaQaretz quoted an American official as saying during PM Benjamin
Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week that the U.S. expects
Israel to make concrete concessions to the Palestinians before
President Barack Obama's visit to Cairo on June 4. The cabinet is
due to discuss the situation in Gaza this Sunday, and one concession
the U.S. would like to see is for Israel to decide at this meeting
to ease its restrictions on imports and exports of goods to Gaza.
It also wants Israel to ease restrictions on movement in the West
Bank. The American official was quoted as saying that this would
ease Obama's efforts to persuade Arab states to begin taking steps
toward normalization, without waiting for a full-fledged
Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. To Netanyahu's pleasure, Obama
favors this idea, recognizing that it would soften Israeli public
opinion on the peace process. However, American sources were quoted
as saying that senior Saudi officials have so far rejected outright
the idea of gradual normalization. HaQaretz reported that Saudi
Arabia, for its part, has been pressing Obama to present a detailed
plan for an Israeli-Palestinian final-status agreement and then urge
the parties to begin negotiations on its implementation. Senior
Saudi officials have proposed that Obama present a plan similar to
that offered by former president Bill Clinton. Israel Radio
reported that U.S. and Israeli teams have started discussing
security and strategic aspects stemming from the PMQs visit to
Washington. IDF Radio quoted political officials in Jerusalem as
saying that this was the first time that an American peace plan has
been put forward without advance coordination with Israel, and that
this was unprecedented and worrisome.

Both Yediot and Maariv (the latter cited Arab sources) led with
reported outlines of President ObamaQs Mideast peace plan -- the
establishment of a contiguous demilitarized Palestinian state with
East Jerusalem as its capital, the internationalization of the Old
City of Jerusalem, the PalestiniansQ renouncement of the right of
return, and normalization of diplomatic and economic relations with
the Arab states.

The media reported that Congress and the White House are united in
their demand that Israel stop building in the territories and
demolish unauthorized outposts. Yediot noted that Jewish officials
and Congress members lead this Qoffensive.Q The Jerusalem Post
reported that Netanyahu refused to make any commitments concerning
settlements during his trip to Washington.

Leading media reported that the President vowed to maintain IsraelQs
nuclear ambiguity policy.

Leading media reported that yesterday Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton made clear that President Obama's administration expects not
only Israel and the Palestinians to uphold their commitments, but
also Arab nations and other countries. In her meeting with
Netanyahu, Clinton stressed Washington's backing of the two-state
solution. She also emphasized the White House's demand that Israel
halt all construction in West Bank settlements. The Secretary was
quoted as saying in a conversation with foreign journalists in
Washington: "The President was very clear yesterday in his statement
that he wants to see a stop to the settlements.

Maariv reported that Netanyahu told associates that he did not
promise not to attack Iran. Israel Radio quoted CIA Director Leon
Panetta as saying in an interview with Global Viewpoint that knows
that if Israel attacks the Iranian nuclear installations on its own,
this would create a giant problem. Panetta acknowledged having
visited Israel and talked with Netanyahu. Israel Radio quoted
Kurdish leaders in Iraq as saying that they are opposed to letting
Israeli warplanes fly over their region on their way to Iran.

The media reported that yesterday the IAF bombed targets in Gaza,
including smuggling tunnels and a weapons factory, in retaliation
for the launching of a Qassam rocket on Sderot, in which a house was
damaged and a resident injured.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF may allow PA forces to
police the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

All media reported that yesterday, ignoring warnings from Hamas and
his own Fatah faction, PA President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new
government headed by PM Salam Fayyad. Several media said that this
would prevent Palestinian national unity.

Leading media reported that yesterday, in a landmark decision, the
High Court of Justice ruled that the principle of equality obliges
the state to give financial support to private conversion programs
belonging to non-Orthodox as well as Orthodox groups. The ruling
was issued in response to a petition by the Reform movement, which
until now has received state funding only for nonreligious purposes,
such as educational activities or helping new immigrants.
Yesterday's decision grants it funding for a clearly religious
activity.

Maariv reported that five cabinet ministers (from Yisrael Beiteinu
and the Labor Party) will visit Russia over the next month.

Major media reported that yesterday Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin told
the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that his service
had recommended Israel overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza while Ehud
Olmert was prime minister. He was quoted as saying that this would
not require occupying the entire strip, and would enable Israel to
advance the peace process. Diskin was quoted as saying that the
central question in an operation to overthrow the Hamas regime is
the timing. "There is no room for an effective peace process" as
long as Hamas rules Gaza, Diskin was quoted as saying. If PA
elections were held today, Hamas would very likely win in the West
Bank as well as Gaza, he added.

Electronic media reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
announced Wednesday that Iran has successfully test-fired a new
advanced missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to
strike Israel and southeastern Europe as well as U.S. bases in the
Gulf. Israel Radio commented that Iran no longer bothers to conceal
its military achievements.

Yediot reported that Israel will reopen its embassy in New Zealand
after a seven-year hiatus. FM Avigdor Lieberman also announced that
Israel will open a diplomatic representation in Sao Paulo.

The Jerusalem Post reported that attracting and retaining young
people in the Negev was the focus of the two-day United Jewish
Communities conference that opened on Monday in Miami.

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Aftermath of Obama-Netanyahu Meeting:
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Block Quotes:
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I. "Prepare for Round Two"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/20):
QNetanyahu's return from his first meeting at the Obama White House
without having reached any understandings with the president on the
most central issues means that Israel has missed an important
opportunity. It is to be hoped that in his forthcoming visit to the
Middle East, Obama will not leave Jerusalem off his itinerary, but
will give Netanyahu another chance to formulate a joint action plan
for Israel and the United States, in accordance with the solution
that is accepted by most of the world: partition of the land on the
basis of the 1967 borders, security guarantees and normalized
relations with neighboring countries.

II. "Seeing Linkage, Plainly"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/20):
QSaeb Erekat, the hard-line chief PLO negotiator, is described as
QdiscouragedQ and QdisappointedQ in The Washington Post by the
outcome of Monday's White House meeting between Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama. He started out in a
bad mood, telling The Jerusalem Post he opposed any friendly
gestures by the Arab League toward Israel even if the Netanyahu
government put a total freeze on settlement construction in Judea,
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] ... and metropolitan Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has foolishly allowed himself to be perceived as an
obstacle to progress by making an issue over Palestinian statehood,
when he could so easily have found an Qin principleQ formulation
that would in no way have undermined his legitimate concerns about
the dangers Palestinian sovereignty poses. On Monday, Obama in
effect told Netanyahu: You want our help in stopping Iran getting
nuclear weapons? Ease your grip on the West Bank so the
Palestinians can create their state there. Exerting leverage in
this way is nothing new What makes the current situation unique is
the gravity of the Iranian threat and the ascendency of Hamas and
Hizbullah, combined with the fact that a charismatic American
president, capable of using the Qpower to persuadeQ in a coherent
and determined manner, is apparently becoming convinced -- in part
by ostensible Qfriends of IsraelQ -- that Israeli intransigence is
at the root of Palestinian and wider regional tension.... Netanyahu
has failed to define Israel's Qred lines,Q or say unequivocally what
he's for. Nevertheless, no one whose lobbying platform is
indistinguishable from Erekat's should get away with telling you
he's Qpro-Israel.

III. "Politics and Practicality"


Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz (5/20): QU.S.
administrations that want to distance themselves from Israel have
always put settlements on the agenda. Israel has always managed to
evade this American pressure, and it has expanded the settlements
under the pretext of natural growth.... The Obama administration
wants to show that, unlike the previous U.S. administration, it does
not dote on Israel, so it is no surprise that the settlements have
once again taken center stage. This poses a problem for Netanyahu,
since his coalition has a firm majority of right-wing Knesset
members.... The settlements will pose a far greater problem for
Netanyahu than the two-sate solution, since on that issue, the
Americans are ready to demonstrate understanding of his political
constraints.

IV. "It Will Be Gloriously Bad"

Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime
minister Yitzhak Rabin, opined in an editorial of the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/20): QObama wants to
separate the Siamese twins that have been connected for a generation
-Q the U.S. and Israel. What to do, he doesnQt like the pictures
that arrived over the last decades from Jakarta and Tripoli showing
the Israeli and U.S. flags always being burned together. Speeches
in Tehran and Karachi always talked about American-Zionist
imperialism.... Make no mistake -- no one knows this better than
Netanyahu -- words of praise and courtesy are part of known American
hypocrisy... At this stage America is moving away from Israel....The
window of opportunity in the decades-long special relationship is
beginning to close.


V. "An American Message"

Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz
(5/20): QThe public dialogue between U.S. President Barack Obama and
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was intended partly as an American
monologue for Arab states, and particularly Iran. Obama further
clarified his Iran policy Monday when he explained that he does not
intend to limit discussions with Tehran by setting a date in
advance, and said he is willing to include Iran as a partner to
diplomatic negotiations in the region. The nuclear issue has taken
on a softer tone, with Obama hinting an Iranian nuclear weapon would
be a danger to the Islamic Republic itself, as it could lead to
nuclear technology spreading to neighboring Arab states. Obama
QforgotQ all about Syria, not mentioning it by name and only
implicitly including it in the hoped-for peace agreement between
Israel and its Arab neighbors. For now, these messages may calm the
nerves of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak -- who is scheduled to
visit Washington next Tuesday -- and Saudi Arabia, which is closely
watching Obama's intentions on the Palestinian issue and Iran.

VI. "Dispute Management Strategy"

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Uri Elitzur, who was director of the prime
ministerQs bureau during Netanyahu's first term, wrote in the
editorial of the nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe (5/20):
QIn the foreseeable future, there will be unfriendly relations
between Israel and the U.S., and quite a bit of friction. This does
not stem from the Prime Minister's personality, and it would not
have been significantly different had Olmert still been prime
minister. It stems mainly from the change in U.S. policy. What the
prime minister must do now is draw up a dispute management strategy
with the U.S. -- how to maintain ongoing relations with the U.S.
without reaching a rift. A great deal of wisdom is needed here, and
an understanding of the U.S. and the forces operating in it, and
Netanyahu has both of these more than any other Israeli leader.

MORENO