ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001547 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: -------------- HaQaretz and other media reported that, in an interview with CNN, President Obama hinted that the Iranian elections and the ensuing violent demonstrations could adversely affect the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. HaQaretz also reported that American Jewish leaders who met with Obama on Tuesday expressed great satisfaction with their discussion. Conversely, The Jerusalem Post quoted several Jewish leaders -- from the Orthodox Union and mainstream groups -- who participated in the meeting as saying yesterday that the PresidentQs efforts to reassure them on U.S. policy towards Israel had not assuaged their concerns. The Post quoted an official from one such organization, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying: QI am concerned that the Obama administration is falling into the trap of blaming all the problems with the peace process and region generally on Israel. The media reported that police are nearing the end of their investigation into FM Avigdor Lieberman and that they are considering charging him with several offenses, including bribery. Officials were quoted as saying yesterday that they have completed their investigation into accusations of money laundering, fraud, and breach of trust, and have also collected evidence of obstruction of justice. If the probe is completed in the coming days as planned, the team will hand their recommendations to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz next week, including recommended indictments. The indictment taking shape suggests Lieberman managed a well-oiled business machine through front men even after taking public office, and made millions of dollars. Maariv and Israel Radio reported that Haggai Hadas, PM NetanyahuQs point man on the issue of Gilad ShalitQs release, met with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman in Cairo yesterday. Media reported that yesterday, for the second time in as many weeks, two Israel Navy gunboats openly sailed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. The media said that the move, which was apparently coordinated with Egypt, is seen as a warning message to Middle Eastern radicals, first and foremost Iran. Media reported that Egyptian FM Ahmed Abu al-Gheit, when asked Tuesday about the boats' passage through Suez, confirmed the report and said that Egypt's agreements with Israel permit Israeli military ships to transit the canal. He declined to speculate on whether the voyage was meant as a warning to Iran or anyone else. Israel Radio reported that the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi harshly condemned EgyptQs approval of the boats' passage. Major media quoted a Golani Brigade soldier as saying that the IDF used Palestinians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead last January despite a 2005 High Court ruling outlawing the practice. He was quoted as saying that he did not see Palestinians being used as human shields but was told by his commanders that this occurred. The soldier was quoted as saying that his unit employed a variation of the practice, the so-called "neighbor procedure," when it checked homes for Palestinian militants. The soldier's testimony appears in a collection of accounts being published this week by Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects IDF soldiers' testimony on human rights abuses by the military. HaQaretz reported that the soldier gave similar testimony in an interview with the newspaper. Israel Radio cited the report as saying that soldiers opened fire in order to hit innocent Palestinians in order to avoid being harmed. One of the soldiers was quoted as saying that it is better to harm innocent people than to hesitate to fire at the enemy. The media quoted the IDF as saying that the report lacked details and reliability, and that the IDF was not given the opportunity to respond to the allegations before publication. The Jerusalem Post quoted the IDF as saying that it was committed to investigating every complaint based on information that allows a thorough probe. The Jerusalem Post quoted sources in the IDFQs Central Command as saying yesterday that the army has started using undercover elite border policemen to quell anti-fence demonstrations in the West Bank. In an unrelated matter, leading media quoted the State Prosecutor as saying yesterday that it was dropping charges against Ze'ev Braude, a resident of the settlement of Kiryat Arba who was caught on film shooting at two Palestinians in Hebron last December. The prosecution said it made the decision not to try Braude because such a move could expose classified information that might harm state security. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday, under the slogan, QNot ObamaQs. Not the worldQs. Settlement activity is an Israeli problem,Q Peace Now launched a new campaign designed to show how the settlements are a stumbling block to peace. Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer was quoted as saying that the group plans to take out billboard and newspaper ads against the settlements, presenting them as a financial, diplomatic, and security problem. Such a paid ad already appeared in HaQaretz today. Maariv reported that the Netanyahu government is giving a green light to hold a referendum on the future of the Golan. A special Knesset committee will convene tomorrow to revive the issue. The newspaper notes that the move is a signal to Obama, as Washington-Damascus relations are warming up. HaQaretz reported that the Foreign Ministry is furious over news that Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official based in Gaza, recently headed a Hamas delegation to Switzerland for talks with Swiss diplomats. A senior Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying that the visit will further destabilize already shaky relations between Jerusalem and Bern, after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Switzerland in April for the "Durban II" UN anti-racism conference. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Israel accused Lebanon of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 after a Hizbullah arms cache hidden inside a southern Lebanese town accidentally exploded. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday, Qin the opening shot of a battle Jerusalem has decided to wage with NGOs it deems biased against Israel,Q the Prime Minister's Office slammed a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) fundraising delegation to Saudi Arabia as evidence the organization has lost its "moral compass." PM Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev was quoted as saying on Monday: "A human rights organization raising money in Saudi Arabia is like a women's rights group asking the Taliban for a donation. If you can fundraise in Saudi Arabia, why not move on to Somalia, Libya and North Korea? For an organization that claims to offer moral direction, it appears that Human Rights Watch has seriously lost its moral compass." Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa Division, responded by telling The Jerusalem Post that there was a need to distinguish between a government and its people, and to conflate the two was "misguided at best." Leading media cited a Pentagon announcement yesterday that Israel will soon test an Arrow interceptor missile on a U.S. missile range in the Pacific Ocean in a joint exercise that also will involve three U.S. missile defense systems. HaQaretz and Maariv quoted U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, as saying the test will allow Israel to measure its advanced Arrow system against a target with a range of more than 1,000 km, too long for previous Arrow test sites in the eastern Mediterranean. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Israel has given up on placing electronic systems manufactured by the Israeli company Elisra and other equipment in the F-35 stealth fighter planes it will purchase from the U.S. The newspaper recalls that the U.S. has allowed Israel limited access to the planesQ software systems. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the World Bank announced plans to spend an additional $33.5 million on Palestinian infrastructure initiatives, including $21.5 million for Gaza projects. Yediot cited the concern of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors that Iran is trying to conceal banned building at its nuclear reactor of Arak, which is under construction. Citing Reuters, The Jerusalem Post quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying yesterday that Moscow would not impose tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in exchange for a new nuclear arms cuts deal with Washington. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that a senior source in the PMQs Bureau told the newspaper that, contrary to media reports that National Security Adviser Uzi Arad might soon resign his position, he will be retained. Leading media reported that Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger appealed to JordanQs King Abdullah II in a letter sent this week to stop his countryQs policy of preventing Israeli tourists from crossing the border with religious books and other artifacts. The Jerusalem Post reported that, in a new study, Prof. Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University claims that the Islamic tradition of the Prophet MuhammadQs night journey and ascension to heaven were invented to legitimize Arab presence in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that former Shas leader Aryeh Deri has hinted to confidants that he will soon form a new socioeconomic movement that will work to bridge gaps between rich and poor and among Jews of all levels of religious observance. HaQaretz quoted police as saying that the Interpol request concerning Micky Louis Mayon, Qone of the FBI's 100 most wanted criminals,Q who was arrested in Tel Aviv on Sunday, does not include charges of neo-Nazi crimes. The Jerusalem Post reported that MayonQs pregnant girlfriend was the one who turned him in to police. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Speak to Us, Mr. President" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (7/15) QIn QclosedQ talks with associates and foreign visitors, Netanyahu has blasted Obama, asserting that the President's pressure on Israel is aimed at placating the Arabs at Israel's expense.... Netanyahu is erring twice: by entering into an unnecessary and harmful conflict with the U.S. administration, and by rejecting Obama's fundamental desire to break through the stalemate in the peace process and complete the process of Israel's acceptance into the Middle East. The election of Obama and his popularity in the Arab world create a unique opportunity for a breakthrough in the peace process, and it would be a shame to miss it. Now the U.S. administration must convince the Israeli public that it has a friend in the White House, and that the administration's positions correspond with Israel's national interests. The President promised the Jewish leaders that he will speak to the Israelis candidly, Qas a true friend,Q so they will understand where he is coming from. After talking to the Arabs, the Muslims and the Iranians, in speeches and on television, it is only right that Obama address the Israeli public and persuade the people to support reviving the peace process with the Palestinians and Syrians and halting the destructive settlement enterprise in the West Bank. II. QWhat He Needs to Hear The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/15): QWe're not suggesting that Obama is substantively less pro-Israel than most of his predecessors. But we are concerned over his refusal to embrace the 1967-plus strategy enunciated by his predecessor, at a time when his administration is demanding a freeze even to Israeli construction in Jerusalem areas captured in 1967. The furthest he seems willing to go is to hint that changes which have occurred since 1967 will inevitably influence final-status negotiations. If the administration feels it faces no countervailing pressure, it will go on deepening the erroneous perception that settlements are the obstacle to peace. This alienates Israel's majority, which is willing to make painful territorial concessions, yet believes that ill-tempered calls for an unconditional freeze everywhere only encourage Palestinian intransigence. Pro-Israel Americans should caution Obama not to lose the Israeli QstreetQ as he seeks favor with the Arab one. They need to say, loud and clear, that the principles enunciated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Bar-Ilan University -- essentially supporting Palestinian statehood within parameters that do not endanger Israel -- deserve the administration's strong backing. III. "After OlmertQs Last Peace Proposal to the PA" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz (7/15): QPolitical debate aside, the essential lesson from Olmert's [peace] proposal [to Mahmoud Abbas] is that the parties' stances have hardly changed since the failures of Camp David and Taba.... Apparently a compromise can be reached on borders, but Israel does not want Palestinians to return to its territory and the Palestinians want the Temple Mount. Neither side is prepared to give up its national symbols and tell its people that the pledges of the past -- QWe will return to our villages in PalestineQ and QUnited Jerusalem in Israel's hands foreverQ -- were just illusions. The second lesson is procedural. Left to their own devices, the parties cannot reach an agreement. They need close oversight by an external mediator, preferably American, to bridge the gaps and propose incentives in exchange for painful concessions. That needs to be the role of U.S. President Barack Obama and his emissary, Mitchell. IV. "A National Consensus?" Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in Ha'aretz (7/15): QQWe have achieved a national consensus on the concept of two states for two peoples,Q announced our prime minister at the opening of last week's cabinet meeting As a matter of fact, a national consensus is not in the nature of things in a democratic society, except at a time of national emergency and mortal danger.... As for past commitments by American and Israeli governments, written or unwritten, on settlements and Qsettlement blocsQ in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], they do not carry the weight of international agreements and are liable to change as new governments take office following elections. This is the case in the United States, where a Democratic candidate has won an election after promising a change from the policies of his Republican predecessor, and is equally true in Israel, where a Likud candidate has won an election on a promise that he will not follow the policies of the previous Kadima-led government. The fact of the matter is that there is no national agreement in Israel on the establishment of a Palestinian state at this time.... [Palestinian statehood] may or may not become a practical option in the future, and it would be appropriate for the Israeli government to make clear that it does not preclude the establishment of a Palestinian state if and when this becomes possible. By the looks of it, a lot of water will flow down the Jordan River before that happens. ¶V. QFor Our Own Good Yossi Alpher, Co-Editor of the bitterlemons.org family of Israeli-Palestinian Internet publications and former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (7/15): QDespite [Mahmoud] Abbas's avowed refusal, Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations will resume even without a settlement freeze if and when Washington and Ramallah are convinced that Netanyahu is serious about negotiating a final-status agreement with the Palestinians. Thus far they are not convinced and for good reason. Perhaps of greatest importance, precisely because the entire settlement enterprise since 1968 constitutes a major strategic blunder on Israel's part, Obama is justified in presenting the settlement freeze idea to the Arab world in strategic terms. When a succession of Israeli prime ministers who are negotiating peace allow settlement expansion to go on, the message the Arab world is getting is that Israel really seeks to swallow the territories and erase the Palestinian issue from the Middle East agenda. True, that is not the message Rabin, Barak or Olmert sought to project. But it is the message the Arabs got. When Israeli leaders who purport to be concerned with the demographic existential threat to Israel as a Jewish state mindlessly allow the proliferation of hilltop settlements that lock three million West Bank Palestinians in Israel's embrace, our Arab neighbors can be forgiven if they get confused regarding our true intentions. VI. QObama: Unilateral Objectivity Columnist A. Ben Aharon wrote in the ultra-Orthodox Yated NeQeman (7/15): QIt is only with one country that Obama is demonstrating extra obduracy. It is not Russia, as Obama has relinquished the positioning of anti-ballistic defense devices in Eastern Europe. It is not Iran, which brutally and blatantly anti-democratically represses its protesters, and pursues nuclear development. It is not Syria, which was declared a terror[-sponsoring] state and has not changed since. American envoys constantly visit that country, making new proposals. What happens with Hamas is unclear, but Obama has already made clear that he will be willing, under certain circumstances, to recognize it and bring it to the negotiations. Obama views everybody as okay. The only country of which Obama and his representatives are demanding unheard-of concessions is Israel, of course. CUNNINGHAM M