ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001181 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: -------------- The media highlighted rising tensions between the U.S. and Israel over West Bank settlements. Yediot bannered: QThe American Threat and Maariv: QQPressure.Q HaQaretz reported that senior Obama administration officials told the newspaper that PM Benjamin Netanyahu found out that the U.S. is serious about a settlement freeze. The media reported that yesterday Netanyahu told Knesset members that Israel would continue to build in existing Jewish enclaves in the occupied territories. "Freezing life would not be reasonable," Netanyahu was quoted as saying. The media cited The New York Times as saying that the U.S. might take additional steps to pressure Israel, including not always vetoing UN Security Council resolutions opposed by Israel, a report denied by Deputy State Department Spokesman Robert Wood. Maariv quoted a senior Israeli diplomatic source as saying that that the U.S. administrationQs moves could make Netanyahu face a reality in which he would have to decide between new elections or including Tzipi LivniQs Kadima in the government. Israel Radio quoted President Obama as saying yesterday in an interview with National Public Radio, in which he reiterated his adherence to the Qtwo-stateQ principle and his opposition to settlement expansion: "Part of being a good friend is being honest. And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region." The President was also quoted as saying: QOver time, in the absence of peace with Palestinians, Israel will continue to be threatened militarily and will have enormous problems on its borders.Q Yediot expects DM Ehud Barak to propose to senior U.S. administration officials today that Israel stop construction in isolated settlements. Yediot reported that Barak told special envoy George Mitchell in New York: QAvoid a confrontation and do not worsen the tone with Netanyahu. Leading media quoted GOI spokesmen as saying that previous administrations made promises to Israel. The leading Internet news service Ynet reported that a GOI official told it that in the case of the settlements, the Israeli government was maintaining policies set by its predecessors. "It's the Americans who have changed their policies," he was quoted as saying. He said that Israel would stress three key points to the U.S. administration in light of the dispute between the two countries. The first, he said, was the public support for the expansion of settlements due to Qnatural growthQ. He said the Labor Party also supported this move. QThe second is the Israeli government is continuing the policies of previous governments and honoring the obligations they took upon themselves, the official said. The third is that the U.S. Government is not honoring the commitments of previous administrations, such as George BushQs obligation to allow the continuing construction in the settlements. HaQaretz cited the United StatesQ anger over the Interior Ministry's anticipated approval of a plan to build a new hotel in East Jerusalem, just 100 meters from the Old City's walls. The plan, which would see the demolition of a wholesale market and kindergarten, is slated to be approved today. The newspaper reported that in conversations with Israeli officials, senior American officials have made it clear that they want Israel to freeze all plans for expanding the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, and especially in the Holy Basin -- the area adjacent to the Old City. The regional planning and building committee for Jerusalem will discuss the plan today. The media reported that yesterday, as a protest against the planned evacuation of outposts, settlers stoned Palestinians and set fire to Palestinian fields. Police arrested MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union). Disturbances also took place at the main Western entrance to Jerusalem. Major media reported that yesterday Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of IDF IntelligenceQs research division, warned the KnessetQs Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that, by the end of the summer, Tehran could have enough low-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon. All media reported that yesterday Attorney General Menachem Mazuz criticized Avigdor Lieberman's appointment as foreign minister, saying that the Yisrael Beiteinu chairman would never have been given this job in a "properly run country." Police have said recently that they believe it will be possible to indict Lieberman on several serious charges, including taking bribes, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Mazuz made his remark at the Israel Bar Association's annual Eilat conference. Mossad veteran Rami Igra told media yesterday that the appointment of Haggai Hadas to head the Gilad Shalit dossier may suggest future efforts to free the captive soldier will proceed at the operational level, with less of a focus on diplomacy. HaQaretz reported that over the past few months the right-wing association Elad, which promotes settlement in East Jerusalem, has held weekend seminars for soldiers and officers, including tours and propaganda about Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas. HaQaretz quoted Lebanese security sources as saying on Sunday that a Lebanese army colonel and a senior retired customs officer have been detained on suspicion of spying for Israel. Lebanese authorities were quoted as saying that the army officer is the second colonel arrested in less than a week in an espionage investigation that has produced charges against at least 21 suspects and several confessions. Israel has not commented on the arrests. The Jerusalem Post quoted DM Barak as saying in New York yesterday that Israel would not cooperate with a UN probe into alleged war crimes by both the IDF and Hamas during Operation Cast Lead earlier this year. Barak told reporters that he thought that investigators would not be objective. Leading media assessed that the collapse of General Motors would have a negative impact on Israeli automotive companies. HaQaretz reported that Likud is hoping to prevent Kadima Knesset Member Roni Bar-On from filling the opposition slot in the Knesset Judges Appointments Committee, instead pushing for right-wing Knesset Member Uri Ariel of the National Union. The move comes after Netanyahu gave Yisrael Beiteinu control over the justice and public security ministries as well as the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and could affect the composition of the High Court of Justice. Ariel is a staunch opponent of Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and to what is known as "judiciary activism." Yediot mentioned the favorable impression that Israel made on 80 visiting Harvard Business School students. The media reported that the American singer Madonna will perform in Tel Aviv on September 1. Tickets will sell for 500-2,500 shekels (around $125-600). -------------- Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "WeQve Lost Our Spark" Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/2): QU.S. governments were ... pro-Arab because of the country's dependence on oil. But over time they came to see Israel as a strategic asset -- which then gradually turned into a strategic burden because of its settlements, its policy of annexation and its opposition to the principle of two states for two peoples. We went through difficult periods under presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, but during the good periods we managed to create the impression that it was our adversaries who were the rejectionists. Now the wheel has turned, and Bibi's rightist government is the one viewed as rejectionist. II. "The Games Are Over" Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/2): QThe Defense Minister's departure for Washington two days ago is not just an important state visit, but a crucial one. Ehud Barak left to minimize the damage and to halt the erosion and he is counting on his personal relationship with many top American officials, mainly in the defense sphere. People like Defense Secretary Robert Gates, National Security Adviser James Jones, special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, and others. The Americans, for their part, view Barak as the moderate in the government -- the man who represents Israel's commitment to Qtwo states for two peoples,Q the man directly responsible for reinstating order in the territories, for freezing construction and for removing illegal outposts.... The Americans expect of Barak not only straight talk, but action. They have no interest in more empty promises.... In a recent meeting between White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Jewish leaders in Washington, he said: My name is Rahm Yisrael Emanuel. I served as a volunteer in the IDF. My father is a native Israeli. We will never give up on Israel's security. But you have to listen well and to understand that this story of the settlements has to stop. You can't play games any more. III. "Netanyahu Has a Month to Decide" Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the popular, pluralist Maariv (6/2): Q[Israeli-Arab] Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi, one of the most knowledgeable people about the peace process (since it began in 1992),told Maariv yesterday in response to a question that the American demands of Netanyahu had a deadline. QBarack Obama,Q said Tibi, Qpresented Netanyahu with a target date for answering two clear and firm questions: the demand for a complete settlement freeze and acceptance of the two-state principle. That date is the beginning of July. In other words, he has a month from now.Q If Tibi is right, and there are clear signs that he is, the Americans intend to launch their grand plan in the course of this summer. They are working on a tight schedule. General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Army CENTCOM, who is responsible for the activity and wellbeing of American soldiers in 20 countries in the region, most of which are Muslim, made an astounding comment in the course of an interview to Al-Hayat this week: The resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will make things far easier for me and will greatly improve the security of U.S. troops in the region, said Petraeus. In other words: The Americans are determined to promote this issue -- either with Netanyahu or without him. Now, the only thing that he needs to do is to decide whether he wants to prove that heQs a man, make history, and enter a collision course with the largest superpower in the world -- which is also IsraelQs only strategic ally -- or to stay alive. IV. "We May Build, with a Proviso" Dov Weisglass, who was former prime minister Ariel Sharon's top diplomatic advisor, wrote in Yediot Aharonot (6/2): QSince the mid-nineties Israel has pledged not to allow the establishment of new settlements in Judea, Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], but claimed it was entitled to develop settlements based on Qnatural growthQ. Until 2002 the Israeli claim was based on QunderstandingsQ reached between then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Secretary of State Colin Powell. However, the Americans strenuously denied their existence.... In the [Roadmap] clause regarding Qsettlements, Israel was required, Qin accordance with the Mitchell Report,Q to Qfreeze all settlement activity, including natural growth in settlements.Q Israel objected to the phrase, which was deleted from the counter-draft that was presented to the administration.... The United States is committed to the Roadmap and I donQt believe it deviated from it on its own initiative.... It is the Israeli government that recently raised doubts regarding its intention to abide by the Roadmap; thus, one can understand the American version, which states that without removing the commitments inherent in the Roadmap, Israel is not entitled to demand the QrightQ to build within existing settlements. The quicker Israel confirms its adherence to the Roadmap, the speedier it will be able to promote the possibility of ending the dispute [with the U.S.]. ¶V. QSo WhatQs Your Solution? Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in Ha'aretz (6/2): QLet's agree on a few axioms that any proposed [diplomatic] solution should not violate. Axiom No. 1. Jews have a right to settle and live in the Land of Israel.... Axiom no. 2. There is a limit to the size of the minority population that can be included within the borders of the State of Israel without endangering the Jewish state's ethnic coherence.... Axiom no. 3. No populated region on this earth will remain permanently without some national sovereignty.... Axiom no. 4. Jordan is a Palestinian state.... So what are the possible alternative solutions that do not violate these axioms? Here are four. 1. Judea, Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], and Gaza become a Palestinian state -- the Qtwo-state solution. 2. Judea and Samaria become a Palestinian state, and the Gaza Strip becomes another Palestinian state -- the Qthree-state solution. 3. Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip are incorporated into Jordan. 4. Judea and Samaria are incorporated into Jordan, and the Gaza Strip is incorporated into Egypt.... The withdrawal of the IDF from Judea and Samaria would turn the area, much of it next to Israel's major cities, into bases for acts of terror against Israel's civilian population, whether by suicide bombers or rockets. Inevitably the IDF would have to respond against the areas from which these acts of terror originated. In other words, neither the Qtwo-stateQ nor Qthree-stateQ solution can be implemented before Palestinian terrorism has been suppressed. VI. QWorse than a Crisis Editor-in-Chief Amnon Lord wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe (6/2): QThe developments of the past few days in the relations between Israel and the United States cannot be described as a crisis. A diplomatic and media assault against Israel is not a crisis. It is an assault that was launched by the Obama administration, without any Israeli provocation. It is worse than a crisis.... The Americans' insistence on demanding of Israel a comprehensive freeze of settlement including natural growth is not about the issue itself but, rather, its intention is to create an atmosphere against Israel in the international arena.... Taking a similar tactic, Barack Obama's staff members have been attacking Benjamin Netanyahu personally. The displeasure that they have taken pains to display for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in addition to insulting comments, are geared to foster that very same international anti-Israel effect. It is also a form of making Israel's political blood forfeit, in advance of making its literal blood forfeit, paving the way to terrorism and understanding the Palestinians' motives for murder. Worst of all, the personal attacks on Netanyahu impede Netanyahu's efforts to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat. Obama and his aides know that personal attacks on Netanyahu will be received well in many quarters in Israel. They have the capacity to manipulate the Israeli media against the government and its prime minister's policies. The opposition and the media become members of the anti-Israel coalition that is being formed by Barack Obama. VII. QWelcome to Our Reality The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/2): QThough Muslim extremists struck in Spain, Britain and the United States, the sense that any further danger looms is not widespread. That's why no one undergoes a security check to enter a supermarket, department store or cinema. And why armed guards are not posted outside schools. We Israelis live in a very different reality [as the country holds a week-long nationwide emergency drill].... Efforts to reach an accommodation with a violently fragmented Palestinian polity have thus far proven fruitless. The Qmoderates appear no less unyielding than the fanatics. We caught the Syrians, to our north, building a clandestine nuclear facility under North Korean tutelage. They make no secret about hosting Hamas's politburo, pressuring it to resist even a tactical timeout in its anti-Israel belligerency. Hizbullah dominates Lebanese affairs and provides Iran with shock-troops along our border. Then there is Iran, which may have enriched enough uranium to manufacture a nuclear bomb by year's end. Even as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatens our obliteration, he insists that the Nazis did not systematically destroy European Jewry. Yet he is feted at UN forums, while Europeans shamelessly subsidize trade with his country. That is our reality. CUNNINGHAM