ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001997 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: -------------- Major media reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu has shortened his planned visit to the U.N. from four days to two. Officials in NetanyahuQs bureau are quoted as saying that the central reason for that decision was the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the fact that the two are supposed to sit just two seats away from one another. Israel Hayom quoted a high-ranking Israeli diplomatic source as saying: QIn an historical perspective, Netanyahu does not want to be in the same auditorium and certainly not to have his picture taken with a Holocaust-denier, who openly declares that he wants to destroy the State of Israel,Q The media also quoted officials in the PMQs bureau as saying that despite the tight schedule, the three-way meeting among President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen is likely to be held. Netanyahu is not going to be present when President Obama makes his introductory statements to the U.N. Israel Hayom quoted a highly-placed official in the PMQs bureau as saying: QWe have informed the Americans the reason for his absence, and they showed understanding.Q Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan. The media reported that a QsmokescreenQ continues to surround PM NetanyahuQs QmysteryQ trip on Monday. Media quoted his military secretary Meir Kalifi as saying: QFor state security one may sometimes not tell the whole truth.Q HaQaretz said that Netanyahu aides are Qmired in anarchy, turf wars, and lies. Yediot reported that the QLauder documentQ outlining a report on a possible withdrawal from the Golan, which the daily says is being published for the first time, exposes some of what was discussed behind closed doors. The document, which Ron Lauder, a close confidant of PM Netanyahu, gave to President Bill Clinton, contains an Israeli commitment to withdraw from the Golan to the June 4, 1967 lines. In return, the Syrians reportedly undertook to permit an American-French early-warning station to be established on Mt. Hermon. Speaking on Israel Radio this morning, Danny Yatom, who was head of Mossad during PM Netanyahu's first term, said that the Premier then agreed to withdraw from the entire Golan in a future peace deal with Syria. Yatom told the radio that although Netanyahu's agreement didn't bind him now, "he has to admit" that he did agree to withdraw from the territory. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) denied Yatom's claim, but told the radio that anyway, there was no reason to bring up the past. Yediot reported that Netanyahu continues to deny at present that he agreed to a complete withdrawal from the Golan. Leading media quoted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as saying yesterday that Israel's plans to continue building settlements in the West Bank were "contrary to international law." According to AFP, Ban "noted with deep concern" DM Ehud Barak's approval of 455 new housing units in West Bank settlements on Monday. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Education Minister Gideon SaQar (Likud) told a group of visiting Conservative British parliamentarians that Israel will continue to build schools, kindergartens, and class rooms in West Bank settlements as they are needed. SaQar cited Qnatural growth. Leading media reported that yesterday Iran presented world powers with a proposal for new talks with the West, although Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ruled out negotiations over uranium enrichment. Israeli spokesmen were quoted as saying that Ahmadinejad is only playing for time. Media quoted Glyn Davis, the U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, as saying yesterday that ongoing enrichment activity is moving Iran "closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity." Davis spoke of "serious concerns" in Washington that Iran is now either very near or already has enough low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon. This could happen if Iran made a decision to further enrich the material to weapons grade. The Jerusalem Post reported that several hundred Jewish leaders and activists are planning to arrive in Washington tomorrow to urge top Obama administration officials and U.S. congressmen to take action on Iran. They are pushing for Congress to quickly pass an Iran sanctions bill sponsored by U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and otherwise take serious economic and diplomatic steps to pressure Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear capabilities that threaten Israel. Leading media reported that yesterday only four QrebelQ Likud Knesset members attended the protest meeting against PM NetanyahuQs reported acceptance of a settlement freeze in the territories. The media cited NetanyahuQs pressure in the matter. The Jerusalem Post reported that for the first time, the High Court of Justice yesterday ordered the state to demolish illegal structures built by Palestinians in the West Bank. Until now, the court had only ordered the state to implement demolition orders against illegal construction by Jewish settlers, since these were the only kinds of petitions that had been filed. All media reported that yesterday former PM Ehud Olmert vindicated the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, saying the disengagement was "the right thing at the right time" and did not set back Israel's security. Olmert blamed false hopes and officials for the failures of disengagement and resettlement of Gaza evacuees. Olmert was appearing before a state inquiry commission regarding how the authorities handled the former Gaza settlers. Testifying for three hours, Olmert dismissed the argument that the pullout led to increased terror. Olmert reminded the commission that after the unilateral evacuation, former U.S. President George W. Bush wrote a letter to Israel stating that the Palestinian leaders were responsible for solving the Palestinian refugee problem. He also reportedly said that Israel's borders do not necessarily have to return to the 1967 borders in order to reach an agreement. HaQaretz reported that the Gush Katif council of Gaza settlers slammed Olmert's comments, saying, "The former prime minister blamed everyone but himself for the judicial failures preceding the withdrawal." Yediot reported that PM Netanyahu as decided to bring Shas Party Chairman and Inteior Minister Eli Yishai into the QsextetQ forum of ministers that makes the most sensitive decisions. Yediot reported that senior members FM Avigdor LiebermanQs Yisrael Beiteinu criticized the move, saying it is turning the forum into Qcoalition gifts. Yediot reported that yesterday the IDF held maneuvers simulating fighting on both the Syrian and the Lebanese fronts. This is the third large exercise conducted in the north this year. Yediot quoted the BBC as saying yesterday that for the first time an Israeli source -- a Qsenior figure close to Israeli intelligenceQ -- acknowledged his countryQs involvement in the affair of the Russian ship QArctic Sea,Q which was allegedly transporting weapons destined for Iran. Yediot reported that some senior Israeli officials are trying to thwart the appointment of Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni to the post of secretary-general of UNESCO, despite NetanyahuQs promise to President Hosni Mubarak that Israel will not disrupt HosniQs nomination. HaQaretz reported that earlier this week Jerusalem District Court Judge Noam Sohlberg ordered the Jerusalem Municipality to stop work on an infrastructure project that the city has undertaken in the City of David area of the Silwan neighborhood, south of the Old City. Sohlberg ordered the work halted in response to a petition filed by Palestinian residents of Silwan with the support of two non-profit groups, Bimkom and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The petitioners contended the project was not designed to benefit the 7,000 Palestinians who live in the neighborhood and were not involved in the plans, but would instead benefit the right-wing non-profit organization Elad and the tourists who visit the area. Sohlberg rejected most of the petitioners' arguments but ruled that some of the work was carried out illegally and without proper permits. The Jerusalem Post quoted the Environmental Protection Ministry as saying yesterday that it has hired the international consulting company McKinsey to map IsraelQs emissions sources and provide technological and behavioral recommendations for reduction. The report will form the basis of IsraelQs national emissions reduction strategy. The Jerusalem Post reported that Honest Reporting, the Jerusalem-based media watchdog that campaigns on behalf of Israel, has claimed success in its drive to force Facebook to allow users in the Golan to list themselves as living in Israel. Leading media reported that yesterday Israeli archeologists unveiled historic artifacts from a cave in the Judean Hills believed to have been used by Jewish refugees during the Bar Kochba rebellion in132-135 CE. The discovery includes a large assortment of coins from that era. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday FM Lieberman signed the first agreement between Israel and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria. ECOWAS is comprised of fifteen West African states, and three member states -- Guinea, Mali and Niger -- do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Jean de Dieu Somda, Commission Vice President, signed the agreement on behalf of ECOWAS. The agreement is for cooperation in the fields of education, agriculture, culture, economic relations and other fields to be agreed upon by the two sides. In addition, Lieberman and Somda signed an agreement between ECOWAS and MASHAV-Israel Center for Economic Cooperation, which states that the two sides will work together to initiate projects, with an emphasis on reducing poverty and preservation and protection of the environment. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Israeli Tourism Minister Stats Misezhnikov and Mongolian Tourism Minister signed a tourism cooperation agreement in Jerusalem. The accord focuses on desert tourism. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli travel agency Yambateva, which specializes in organized tours to exotic locations, has announced a merger with Maroc Tours and that it will open local offices in Marrakesh. The Jerusalem Post quoted Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz as saying that officials from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development criticized the countryQs policy of buying dollars to weaken the shekel. HaQaretz reported that yesterday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Israel of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians. HaQaretz quoted Dr. Matthew Tarosky, Deputy Director of the U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationQs Division of Bioresearch Monitoring, as saying that the FDA intends on opening a Middle East office, and that it most likely will be located in Israel. Tarosky spoke yesterday at a conference in Tel Aviv sponsored by the Israel Life Science Industry and the Industry, Trade, and Labor Ministry on "Regulatory Pathways to Medical Device Marketing in the U.S." The conference was designed to help Israeli firms meet U.S. medical equipment regulations. Maariv reported that foreign workers in Israel are forming a union. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Netanyahu DoesnQt Have to Say a Word" Yitzhak Klein, Director of the Israel Policy Center, whose mission includes reinforcing IsraelQs character as a Jewish, democratic state, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (9/10): QFew Israelis now believe there are genuine prospects for peace, and they blame the Palestinians. Washington doesn't share this Israeli consensus, so shouting it from the rooftops would be unwise. But Netanyahu doesn't need to lecture his people about anything. He, his chief cabinet members from Ehud Barak to Benny Begin, and the broad Israeli mainstream are all in tacit agreement. As long as Barack Obama is in the White House they're all willing to pay lip service to a Palestinian state, just so long as nobody seriously contemplates creating one. If Israelis didn't share this view, they would have elected Tzipi Livni in February.... [In a September 7 op-ed article, former Jerusalem Post managing editor] Jeff Barak praised President Obama's posturing on peace and settlements. Alas for the President, Obama's initial positions on this and other foreign policy issues, such as Iran, aren't surviving in the real world very well. Support for the President's foreign policy is eroding within his own party. Obama's anti-settlement policy is likely to fade out quietly before too long. That would be a good thing. Israelis have a serious problem with the Palestinians, and the kind of policy advocated by Jeff Barak and Barack Obama is not going to solve it. The real obstacle to peace is Palestinian intransigence on Israel's very right to exist. That's the issue that's holding up progress, and nothing can happen until it's resolved. II. "BibiQs Semester Report" Senior commentator Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/10): QWhile the U.S. President's wings melt, the Israeli Prime Minister is slowly growing his own. Day by day and week by week, Netanyahu is moving away from the demonic image that had been attached to him and is fortifying his status as the legitimate Israeli captain of this time.... Three months after being announced to the world, the Bar-Ilan formula is clearly working. It unites the Israelis in support of a sober, realistic two-state solution. It is bringing many in the West to support recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and demilitarizing the Palestinian state. It obliges the Palestinians to decide whether they want real peace or a step-by-step plan for the destruction of Israel. Within a very short amount of time, Netanyahu has managed to redefine the peace process. Now it is clear to all that the burden of proof and contribution not only rests on Israel's shoulders, but also on the Palestinians, the Arab states and the international community. After Olmert and Livni gave everything without receiving anything, Netanyahu is conducting a reasonable, mature policy. But these achievements [including the political and economic ones] are not enough. Netanyahu's government still lacks the main thing -- vision. It is still not clear where it is really heading. III. "The Emotional Blackmail Returns" Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in HaQaretz (9/10): QIf the thousands who demonstrated in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv in favor of releasing terrorists in exchange for Shalit would demonstrate in favor of denying the rights of these imprisoned terrorists, and would keep it up as they did with the demonstrations and rallies in favor of closing the transaction at any price -- no government, certainly not a right-wing government, would be able to withstand the pressure. When family visits to the Hamas murderers are no longer allowed and other perks are canceled, the Palestinian families who miss their loved ones will go into action. The main demonstrations for the release of Shalit would then move from Rabin Square to Palestine Square in Gaza. IV. "The Mother of All Missed Opportunities" Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in The Jerusalem Post (9/10): QThe Palestinians in the West Bank are doing what we've dreamed the Palestinians would do for more than a century -- and we refuse to see it. They've effectively stopped terrorism. They're building up their economy. They're enforcing the law. They're being trained by the Americans and they're cooperating with Israeli military and intelligence. They're arresting Islamic militants by the thousands, and they're not hesitating to shoot it out with them. This hasn't been going on for a week or a month, either; it's been going on for over two years.... [Salam] Fayyad was favored by the Bush crowd even more than [Mahmoud] Abbas, possibly because he got his MBA and PhD degrees at universities in the great state of Texas. These are the people whom Israel ignores. These are the Palestinian leaders whom Israel persists in considering hopeless, intransigent, utterly undeserving of trust. Meanwhile, even Roni Daniel, the gloom-and-doom military affairs reporter for Channel 2-TV, has been talking about the Qnew atmosphereQ in the West Bank -- the safety, the commerce, the sense of freedom that's come with the IDF's removal of so many checkpoints and barriers -- a policy that began under pressure from Bush. -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- "The Missile Crisis Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote on the online service Gplanet.co.il (9/10): QThe worst part about the whole affair [of the hijacked Russian ship] is the absolute absence of any international coordination about the Iranian nuclear program. Israel is operating almost alone, the United States is barely in the picture (with the exception of rhetorical participation),France, Germany and England are operating alone, Russia is operating alone, and China is operating alone. The immediate and clear lesson to be learned from this missile affair is that an international summit meeting is needed so that the world might finally unite and form a firm and joint policy against Iran, which has been playing the entire international community. It is clear that Ahmadinejad is enjoying this international isolation or, what might better be called the pathetic international weakness. CUNNINGHAM