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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All media (banner in HaQaretz) quoted PM Benjamin Netanyahu as
saying yesterday at a Jerusalem Day celebration that Jerusalem Qwill
never be again be partitioned or divided.Q Netanyahu continued QThe
new U.S. administration informs us with intolerable ease that we
will have to give up Jerusalem, with all due respect, the U.S.
president sees the American interest and does not know that
Jerusalem is not a territorial issue, but a much deeper one.
Netanyahu said that he emphasized these points to Obama during their
meeting earlier this week.

In its lead story, Yediot reported that in internal government
discussions Netanyahu pledged to Obama not to build new settlements.
However, contrary to the position of the U.S. administration,
construction in existing settlements and settlement blocs in the
West Bank will continue. The media reported that immediately
following yesterdayQs destruction, settlers began rebuilding
structures in the unauthorized outpost of Maoz Esther. Media quoted
Defense Minister Barak as saying that the Qevacuation was not
related to U.S. pressure.Q The Jerusalem Post reported that defense
officials told the daily yesterday that DM Ehud Barak has ordered
the IDF to complete a contingency plan for the forced evacuation of
illegal West Bank outposts. The officials were quoted as saying
that Barak intends to begin removing the outposts in the coming
weeks but that he has instructed his settlement adviser Eitan Broshi
to first try to reach an agreement with the settlers under which
they will leave of their own accord. The Jerusalem Post also
reported that the Civil Administration in the West Bank informed the
High Court of Justice yesterday that it issued stop-work orders
against the construction of 11 homes being built in the Neveh Tzuf
Halamish settlement. The move follows a petition filed by Peace Now
earlier this month.

The Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. officials and Middle East
diplomats are tamping down expectations that President Obama will
unveil a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan during his June trip to
Cairo. Instead, they are painting the visit as one aimed at
outreach to the wider Muslim world, with any new Middle East
initiative coming later in the summer at Obama finishes
consultations with regional leaders and other key players.

The Jerusalem Post cited assessments received this week in Jerusalem
that President ObamaQs engagement policy with Iran has led to a Qnew
spirit in Europe and a growing consensus for stringent sanctions
against Tehran if ObamaQs policy does not yield results. The media
also reported that Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, warned yesterday that it would be QcalamitousQ for Iran to
attain nuclear weapons, and that world power had to prevent this.

Electronic media reported that IDF troops killed two Palestinian
terrorists who tried to cross the Gaza-Israel border near the Kerem
Shalom Crossing.

The Jerusalem Post bannered: QNew York Muslim Terrorists Plotted
QJihadQ against Jews.Q Maariv notes that many African-American
inmates convert to Islam during their detention. Israel Radio
reported that Brazilian police thwarted an attempt by two neo-Nazi
groups to blow up synagogues in the southern city of Porto Alegre.

Major media reported that yesterday the Israel Air Force conducted a
major drill simulating a war between Israel and Arab states Q-
perhaps also against Iran -- and terrorist groups.

Citing the AP, The Jerusalem Post reported that Lebanon has
complained to the UN about alleged spying by Israel. HaQaretz and
The Jerusalem Post speculated that recent arrests of Israeli Qspies
in Lebanon may have exposed Mossad and IDF Intelligence gathering
methods. The media generally believe that the assumed affairwill
aid Hizbullah in the upcoming Lebanese elections.

Leading media reported that, on the anniversary of the unification
of Jerusalem, Knesset members from five factions representing both
the coalition and the opposition submitted a bill yesterday that
would require a supermajority vote in the Knesset -- 80 MKs -- to
enact any change to JerusalemQs borders. The Jerusalem Post quoted
Yakir Segev, the Jerusalem Municipal official put in charge of the
cityQs Arabs, as saying that treating them fairly will strengthen
IsraelQs claim to the entire city, and that he is seeking ways to
legalize thousands of unlicensed Arab homes vulnerable to
demolition.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Vice PM Moshe YaQalon will present
diplomatic proposals at a conference on QAlternatives to the
Two-State OutlookQ that will take place on Tuesday. The meeting is
organized by Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely.

HaQaretz reported that Mossad Director Meir Dagan is displeased with
the Defense Ministry decision to shut down the unit dealing with
Iran and headed by Uri Lubrani, a former ambassador to Iran.
DaganQs anger stems from the decision being made at a time when
there is growing belief that Iran is moving closer to the
development of nuclear weapons. Another aspect irking Dagan is that
Defense Ministry officials tried to insinuate that the request to
close down the unit originated with Mossad.

HaQaretz reported that disagreements between DM Barak and IDF Chief
of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi are delaying a decision on senior
IDF appointments. The two still disagree over which officers will be
appointed chef of staff and IDF Intelligence head.

Yediot reported that Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni recently called
Kadima Knesset Member Yoel Hasson to inform him of her reservations
about the possibility that he may be appointed to the PMQs team on
the Gilad Shalit issue, perhaps to replace Ofer Dekel. However, she
clarified to him that she would eventually not oppose his
nomination. Hasson is a former deputy Shin Bet head.

HaQaretz reported that yesterday the northern branch of IsraelQs
Islamic Movement blasted a proposal for the Palestinian Authority to
relinquish sovereignty over the Temple Mount in exchange for
international Islamic control of the site. "The proposal to
transfer sovereignty to a third state stems from the attempt to
internationalize the Al Aqsa Mosque, and actually this is a proposal
whose significance is the continuation of the occupation; therefore,
such a proposal must be aggressively rejected," the Israeli-Arab
group said in a statement.

The media reported on the rapid drop of the U.S. dollar against the
shekel -Q 3.985 shekels to the dollar yesterday.

HaQaretz cited the results of a poll conducted on behalf of the
Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University: Some 23 percent
of Israelis would consider leaving the country if Iran obtains a
nuclear weapon. Some 85 percent of respondents said they feared the
Islamic Republic would obtain an atomic bomb, 57 percent believed
the new U.S. initiative to engage in dialogue with Tehran would
fail, and 41 percent believed Israel should strike Iran's nuclear
installations without waiting to see whether or how the talks
develop. HaQaretz quoted Prof. David Menashri, the head of the
Center, as saying: "The findings are worrying because they reflect
an exaggerated and unnecessary fear. Iran's leadership is
religiously extremist but calculated and it understands that an
unconventional attack on Israel is an act of madness that will
destroy Iran. Sadly, the survey shows the Iranian threat works well
even without a bomb and thousands of Israelis [already] live in fear
and contemplate leaving the country."

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Aftermath of Obama-Netanyahu Meeting:
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Block Quotes:
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I. "When Obama Says No"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea and diplomatic correspondent Shimon
Shiffer wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot
(5/22): Q[President] Obama and [Secretary] Clinton have been
careful, since their term began, to be interviewed on Arab media
outlets. Obama promised that he would begin his term by speaking in
a Muslim capital. He kept his promise, twice: he spoke in Istanbul
at the beginning of his term, and on June 4, he will make a very
important speech in Cairo. Both times he passed on going to Israel.
This does not show hostility toward Israel but rather that the
White House, at the moment, is taking Israel -- and Jewish voters in
AmericaQfor granted.... According to the Arab peace plan, which was
passed by the Arab summit in Beirut in 2003, the Arab world will
have normalization with Israel after Israel reaches a permanent
status arrangement with the Palestinians. Obama is trying to
persuade the Arab rulers to move this up and to make normalization
steps in tandem with the negotiations that resume with the
Palestinians. He believes he can achieve this, both because of his
persuasion skills and his willingness to enlist in solving the
conflict, as well as because of the Arab fear of Iran. King
Abdullah of Jordan, who was in Washington before Netanyahu, told him
that it was possible.

II. "Netanayhu Has a Plan: Foot-Dragging"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the

popular, pluralist Maariv (5/22): QIf Obama demands a Qyes-or-no
answer [to his plan] -Q like James Baker in his time, who demanded
that Yitzhak Shamir come to Madrid -Q Benjamin Netanyahu will find
himself in an impasse. QYesQ would mean the fall of his government.
QNoQ would mean a dramatic change in IsraelQs status in the United
States. It would no longer be an only son, not even a favorite
one. Netanyahu would have to ask himself what is more important to
IsraelQs security: the settlements or relations with the U.S.
Netanyahu knows the answer. The question is whether he has the
inner power to cope with it.

III. "Israel Is Yet Another File"

Correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv
(5/22): QIsraelis will attentively listen to [President ObamaQs
Cairo speech] and carefully pore over its contents, but it is
already difficult to assume that the speech will please Israeli
ears, since Israel isnQt its target audience. Obama is trying to
make the address an instrument of conciliation with the Arab and
Muslim world -- a lofty objective to whose achievement Israel is but
a small obstacle and a hindrance.

IV. "Curtain Raiser"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/22): QThe American summation, as described
by columnist David IGNATIUS in The Washington Post, was that Obama
was Qupping the anteQ on Netanyahu. The Prime Minister had wanted
progress with the Palestinians to be conditional on progress with
Iran; he was forced to accept progress on both tracks and give a
chance to Obama's planned dialogue with the Iranians....
Obama's stance is realistic: He repeated the word QinterestsQ 13
times. America's interests, Israel's interests, regional interests,
even Iran's. He did not mention the Qoccupation,Q QPalestinian
rights,Q or advancing democracy and freedom in the Middle East.
From his perspective, the two-state solution speaks to U.S.
interests, and Israel is being asked to accept this, just as Israel
expects American support for its security interests.... Netanyahu's
visit to Washington should be seen as the first act: He wanted to
understand the extent to which Obama seeks to advance peace and deal
with Iran, and Obama wanted to understand how far Netanyahu can go
on both tracks, and how far he wants to. The answers will become
clear in the following acts. In the meantime, Obama will try to
extend a hand to the Iranians, and Netanyahu will be weighing what
to do about the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in the
Territories.


V. QThe Week that Was

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/22):
QIt is unlikely in the extreme that the PLO will accept Obama's
blueprint, despite the moderate-sounding tone lately adopted by
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman. Fatah is horribly
fragmented: The old guard doesn't want to loosen its grip on power.
Its pragmatists and hard-liners are arguing over how to negotiate
with Israel. And the younger generation wants to officially reverse
Fatah's commitment to end terror if Israel doesn't capitulate to its
demands. Meanwhile Hamas, ever more popular, bides its time,
waiting for the West to reconstruct Gaza for it. Rather than get
into a huff over Obama's demands, which are basically in harmony
with the policies of his predecessors, Israel needs to ensure that
it does not allow itself to be depicted as the obstacle to peace.
The good news is that Netanyahu is making a beginning at stressing
what we are for -- letting the Palestinians rule themselves. And
by trying to get the Palestinians to acknowledge Israel's legitimacy
as a Jewish state, he is correctly addressing the root cause of the
conflict.
VI. QObama: An Innocent Abroad

Jonathan Spyer, a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center,
wrote in The Jerusalem Post (5/22): QThere were those in Israel who
suspected Obama of being a kind of wolf in sheep's clothing,
preparing with a friendly smile to offer up Israel as a sacrifice to
its regional enemies. The picture emerging from the alleged details
of his plan suggest a different, though not necessarily more
comforting characterization: When it comes to the Middle East, Obama
is an innocent abroad.... The Obama plan, it would appear, simply
fails to take into account the fact of Hamas-run Gaza's existence.
Yet the decision this week by West Bank PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to
form a narrow government is testimony to the Hamas-led statelet's
durability. There is no Palestinian force able, or other force
willing, to destroy it. It has made clear that it does not intend
to negotiate itself out of existence. For as long as it is there,
armed by Iran and opposed to all moves toward reconciliation, all
plans based on authoritative peace negotiations between Israel and
the PA are divorced from reality. It seems more likely, however,
that the President remains enthralled by the sunny illusions of the
peace process of the 1990s, and is about to give them another run
around the block. He has four years to follow the well-trodden path
from innocence to experience. The problem is that further afield,
there are other, more urgent clocks ticking.

VII. QDaytonQs End Date

Military correspondent Alex Fishman assessed in Yediot Aharonot the
policy implications of continued Israeli support for U.S. General
DaytonQs efforts to build Palestinian security forces: QAs long as
Israel was officially speaking in terms of a two-state solution --
there was also a political rationale for cooperation with Dayton.
But today, when Israel no longer officially speaks of a Palestinian
state, it is no longer clear what kind of interest it has to
continue to cooperate with the establishment of Palestinian
battalions which will eventually be united into three or four
brigades. Israel can no longer continue to exist in a state of
multiple personalities. Either it flows with the American policy
that leads to a Palestinian state, or it ceases cooperation with
Dayton. You canQt have it both ways. This is the perfect example
of lack of any planning on the part of the Prime Minister or those
surrounding him. If you donQt want to go with the American flow,
and their regional policy is unsuited for you, why wait for the
battalions to form into an army which will eventually turn its
weapons against you?

MORENO