ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001360 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: -------------- The media reported that yesterday in Paris PM Benjamin Netanyahu continued to refuse to yield ground on the settlement construction issue, even though French President Nicolas Sarkozy squarely backed the U.S. position and called for a complete halt to the construction. (At his meeting with Netanyahu in Rome on Tuesday, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi had also insisted on a settlement construction freeze. Maariv reported that Netanyahu suggested to Berlusconi that Israel build towers in settlements, akin to those rising above the medieval Tuscan city of San Gimignano, in order to solve the issue of natural growth, a proposal that Maariv said that Israel discussed with the U.S. and that Sarkozy rejected.) Netanyahu, speaking with reporters after his meeting in Paris with Sarkozy, said that Israel and the U.S. had an "unbreakable bond," but that "there can be differences of opinion between friends." The Jerusalem Post reported that the PM reiterated what he has been saying for the last few weeks, that Israel would not build any new settlements or expropriate land to expand existing ones, but at the same time would allow for natural growth to let Jewish residents of the West Bank live normal lives. "I hope it will be possible to solve the problems with the U.S.," Netanyahu said. "I believe it is possible." HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu and his aides are trying to formulate a compromise solution that will appeal to the U.S. administration. The proposal that the prime minister is now considering, which Ariel Sharon had previously put forward, is to carry out a "territorial freeze" to settlement activity. In other words, the settlements would not expand onto more territory, in an effort to meet the growing needs of settler population without leading to new "facts on the ground" that would be obstacles to the creation of a future Palestinian state. Under this proposal, the only new structures in settlements would be for public use, like kindergartens or schools. All media marked the third anniversary of Gilad ShalitQs captivity. HaQaretz and other media cited a report filed yesterday by the Palestinian news agency MaQan that Shalit would be transferred soon from Gaza to Egypt. Israel Radio quoted PLC Speaker Abdel Aziz Dweik, whom Israel released yesterday, as saying that the process of ShalitQs release will last for at least six months. The Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas as saying yesterday that Dweik should be treated as acting president of the PA. HaQaretz reported that the Obama administration is examining a proposed Israeli-Syrian peace plan that is based on demilitarizing the Golan Heights and transforming it, along with a strip of the Jordan Valley, into a nature preserve, or "peace park," that would be open to visitors during the day. The newspaper says that the decision to send an American ambassador to Damascus after a four-year absence, along with the recent visit to the Syrian capital by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, were meant to prepare the ground for a resumption of Israeli-Syrian talks under American auspices. HaQaretz reported that a senior diplomatic source told the daily yesterday that Washington has concluded that including Syria in the peace process is a key to the effort to bring about an internal Palestinian reconciliation, without which the chances of progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track are small. The Americans believe that the crisis in Iran has created an opportunity for the U.S. to draw Syria closer and resume Israel-Syria negotiations, the source added. The Jerusalem Post noted that yesterday, in a move representing a considerable warming in relations between the two countries, the State Department praised Syria for its Qconstructive role to promote peace and stability.Q Yediot quoted FM Avigdor Lieberman as saying yesterday that the reinstatement of an ambassador to Damascus is an QAmerican decision. We never intervene in decisions made by the Americans or by anyone else. What is important now is to see some change in Syrian policy. Unfortunately, we have not seen such a change. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, was quoted as saying in an interview with Maariv that the only thing that Israel can do at this time is help the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and equality. Maariv cited vigorous denials by the PMQs bureau and the office of U.S. special envoy George Mitchell of media reports that the U.S. allegedly conveyed a message to Israel that Qthere is nothing to talk about with Netanyahu. Citing Reuters, HaQaretz quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying yesterday that his country cannot make peace with Israel because the latter is not committed to reaching a deal. HaQaretz reported that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced yesterday that Israeli authorities had somewhat eased travel restrictions for Palestinians to and from four cities in the West Bank: Jericho, Ramallah, Nablus, and Qalqilya. However, OCHA also said that IDF claims that there are only 16 manned roadblocks in the West Bank are incorrect. According to OCHA there are 69 manned roadblocks. On the other hand, this number includes 37 roadblocks between the West Bank and Israel, or roadblocks that are part of the separation fence, which the IDF does not include in its total number. Not including the 37, OCHA's count is still 32, which is double the number of manned roadblocks the IDF says there are. According to OCHA, there are also 521 unstaffed roadblocks throughout the West Bank, including earthen barricades, gates, concrete blocks, etc, as well as 23 "partial" roadblocks, a designation for roadblock structures that are staffed some of the time. The media reported on a speech delivered yesterday to a Muslim student group at the University of Haifa by Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Some 100 Jewish student protesters were not allowed into the auditorium, because of security concerns. The Jerusalem Post cited the outrage expressed by members of the Knesset Education Committee over the contents of SalahQs speech -- namely his insinuation that the government had plans to build a third temple on the Temple Mount and his encouragement that Muslims martyr themselves in their struggle against the Jewish state. Maariv reported that Kadima Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz told associates that he cannot imagine his party leader Tzipi Livni as PM. He reportedly expressed his desire to head the party, not to dismantle it. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk was quoted as saying in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that, in spite of past failures, there is still hope for achieving peace in the Middle East, but that America cannot do it alone. His recently released book, QInnocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East,Q just came out in Hebrew. HaQaretz reported that a soldier from the Kfir Brigade recently refused to serve in the West Bank because his complaints about abuse of Palestinian civilians went unheeded. The soldier told his commanders that soldiers from his unit had brutally beaten Palestinian civilians and looted their belongings. The soldier, whose unit is now under Military Police investigation, was not charged, but went home in frustration and was then put on trial for going AWOL. He was sentenced to 17 days in prison. Earlier this week, HaQaretz reported on another soldier who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for refusing to take part in the brigadeQs operations in the territories. That soldier said Palestinian prisoners had been abused during an operation. Nearly all major media led with the sentencing of former finance minister Avraham Hirchson (Kadima) -- to five-and-half years' imprisonment -- and former cabinet minister Shlomo Benizri (Shas) -- to 4 years in jail -- in separate corruption cases. Major commentators stressed the need to impose public punishments on corrupt officials and others. Leading media reported on the visit to Israel of Jewish-American actor Jason Alexander, who is promoting the activities of the pro-peace movement One Voice. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Obama Handcuffing Negotiations" Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one of the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (6/25): QIt is instructive to ask at this point what exactly U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to achieve by pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the wall on [the] issue [of construction in the settlements]. If, as some maintain, it's a way to build his credentials in the Arab world, then -- okay -- the policy can be understood.... But if Obama is being so forceful on the settlements out of a belief that this will push the negotiation process forward, then he is mistaken.... If Obama thinks that by pressing this issue real hard, the Israeli public will revolt against Netanyahu, or that Netanyahu will go gently into the good political night, then he is misreading both the public and Netanyahu. Netanyahu, currently flirting with Kadima's Shaul Mofaz, will not be felled so easily. II. "Brave Decision Needed" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (6/25): QIt's as if there had been no public debate during the past three years; as if with Benjamin Netanyahu's government assuming office, it's now necessary [for the cabinet] to reevaluate the Qethics of the [Gilad Shalit] dealQ.... No less troubling is the thought that Israel's security depends on whether we release prisoners to the West Bank or Gaza Strip, or on the difference between releasing 1,000 or 900. Gilad Shalit cannot wait for the prime minister's popularity ratings; he can't wait for the adjustment period that [NetanyahuQs point man on the prisoner issue Haggai] Hadas needs to familiarize himself with the matter. Hamas' terms are known; any improvements that Netanyahu might gain will not alter the substance of the terms, and certainly do not justify keeping Shalit imprisoned another day. Meanwhile, one gets the painful impression that Netanyahu's obtuse statements on Shalit are not intended to hide effective action. They more seem like the smoke and mirrors used by magicians. III. "JerichoQs Stasi" Bassem Eid, the founder and director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group based in East Jerusalem, wrote in The Jerusalem Post (6/25): QI would like to suggest that [Lt.] Gen. [Keith] Dayton, [the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority], not just train agents in the use of weapons, beatings, and torture (eight prisoners have been tortured to death in Palestinian prisons so far this year: five in Gaza, three in the West Bank),but also train them how to behave among their own people. However, I don't believe that ranks high on Dayton's list of priorities. Whenever someone is beaten or tortured, the justification given is that the person either "opposed d the peace process" or Qbelonged to Hamas.Q At the end of the day, people return to their routines and shut their eyes to the reality around them. -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- "A Lesson in Proper Judgment" Columnist Ron Maiberg wrote from Maine in the popular, pluralist Maariv (6/25): QThe CIA has a dismal history in Iran. Obama is too clever and cautious to repeat past mistakes. Even the crocodile tears of Reza Pahlavi, the ShahQs son, have not made him swerve from his way. ObamaQs inexperience in foreign policy was the most prominent trait associated with him during the election campaign. Over the past ten days, this diplomatic midget actually turned into a shining example of conduct vis-a-vis a rogue, cruel regime that provided the world with scenes that destabilized the sane world and maintained a policy of good sense and restraint.... As America is involved in two wars and warily observes the North Korean madness and IranQs nuclear insatiability, Obama has let his supporters and adversaries release steam on the domestic Iranian issue without turning it into a drums-of-war band. CUNNINGHAM