SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002324 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: SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- Ambassador Susan Rice to Israel -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- The Jerusalem Post and HaQaretzQs Web site quoted U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice as saying last night in a speech during President Shimon PeresQ QFacing TomorrowQ Conference in Jerusalem -- which The Jerusalem Post said was warm and empathetic toward Israel -- that it is not enough just to pay lip service to peace and urged the government to immediately relaunch negotiations without preconditions, aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state and address the permanent-status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. HaQaretz noted that Rice assured Israelis -- many of whom are wary of President Obama's Mideast agenda -- that her government is committed to their security. The media also remarked upon RiceQs mention of a Jewish state of Israel, with relation to the rest of Ambassador RiceQs remarks and the tenor of current U.S.-Israeli talks in Washington. Meanwhile, HaQaretzQs Web site quoted Israeli officials as saying yesterday that U.S. Special Envoy to Middle East Peace Senator George Mitchell is close to a deal with Israel on terms for resuming peace talks with the Palestinians. "There appears to be a meeting of the minds and hopefully the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue will be able to re-start in the near future," an Israeli official was quoted as saying, summing up talks held by negotiators for PM Netanyahu in Washington. Under the prospective deal, on which Palestinians have not yet commented, the negotiations could be held on the basis of two decades-old U.N. Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, another official was quoted as saying. Such a formula could be acceptable to Israel since it interprets those resolutions as falling short of a demand to withdraw from all of the West Bank territory it captured during the 1967 Six Day War. (The Jerusalem Post made a similar comment.) Israel Radio reported this morning that in a phone call yesterday to U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, FM Lieberman said that Israel is working to strengthen the PA but that its leaders continue to act against Israel in the international institutions. Most media led with the draft agreement between Iran and the West regarding uranium enrichment in Russia. HaQaretz reported that Uzi Arad, head of IsraelQs National Security Council, has instructed all government officials involved in the Iranian nuclear issue not to respond to media reports on the draft agreement. Arad issued the directive to officials in the Foreign Ministry, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Defense Ministry, and the IDF. HaQaretz quoted a senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem as saying that the directive was issued because Israel wishes to ascertain the details of the draft agreement and to ensure media reports on the deal are accurate. HaQaretz quoted Deputy DM Matan Vilnai as saying yesterday that despite Arad's instructions, the campaign to pressure the Islamic Republic seems to be bearing fruit. "This proves how important international pressure is," Vilnai told IDF Radio. "Iran is more susceptible to pressure than we may believe." Even if Iran agrees to the plan to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium, world powers need to keep pressure on Tehran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapon capabilities, he said. Vilnai said Israel would examine the UN draft agreement cautiously, "paying attention to every detail," to make sure Iran was not just trying to buy time. Israel would also like to verify whether the deal reflects the positions of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.S., and European countries. Yediot reported that DM Ehud Barak told Ambassador Susan Rice that the military option should not be removed. Media reported that Rice also discussed the Iranian nuclear program with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. HaQaretz reported that a representative of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and a senior Iranian official met last month in Cairo to discuss the chances of declaring the Middle East a nuclear-free zone. This is the first direct meeting between official representatives of the two states since the fall of the Shah in ¶1979. Meirav Zafary-Odiz, director of policy and arms control for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, and Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met several times over September 29 and 30 and, together with representatives of other countries, conversed, presented questions, and gave replies. During the meetings, Zafary-Odiz explained the Israeli policy of being willing, in principle, to discuss the Middle East as a nuclear-free zone. She also detailed Israel's unique strategic situation, saying regional security must be strengthened, security arrangements must be agreed upon, and a peace agreement must be sealed before Israel would feel at liberty to discuss this topic. Zafary-Odiz said Israel lived in a complex geopolitical reality, noting that in three decades, four countries in the region broke their commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Syria. She said Israel takes a responsible approach to the nuclear issue as a whole and that the far horizon of its vision does include the possibility of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, even if the chances for this are slim. Soltanieh defended his country's policy and said Iran was not striving for nuclear armament and did not endanger Israel. He said Israel did not understand the mentality and ideology of the Tehran regime. He said the regime did not oppose or hate Jews, but was merely politically opposed to Zionism. He said Iran's growing arsenal of missiles was for defensive, not offensive purposes. The meeting was held under the auspices of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND). Also attending were representatives of the Arab League, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, along with European and American officials. The ICNND was set up by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and it is chaired by a former foreign minister of Australia, Gareth Evans, and a former foreign minister of Japan, Yoriko Kawaguchi. Former FM Shlomo Ben-Ami sits on the advisory committee of the organization. Israel Radio reported that last night the Israel Air Force bombed two tunnels and a storage facility in Gaza in response to the launching of a rocket into Israel. HaQaretz reported that the U.S. and a number of important EU countries are pressing Israel to establish an independent commission of inquiry into the findings of the Goldstone report on last winter's Gaza offensive. The daily reported that yesterday President Shimon Peres harshly condemned the Goldstone report, telling Ambassador Susan Rice that it "is outrageous that a respected institution like the United Nations provides a platform to spread lies and stories about Israel." He was quoted as saying that the "U.N. provides a stage for Ahmadinejad, who threatens to annihilate Israel, and lets him stand judge. This is nothing short of ridiculous." Rice promised that the U.S. would continue to stand by Israel as a loyal friend in the fight against the Goldstone report. HaQaretz also quoted Human Rights Watch as saying that the Hamas authorities in Gaza should immediately launch a "credible investigation" into allegations of serious violations by its fighters during Operation Cast Lead. The call came in a letter the international NGO sent on Tuesday to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. Hamas said in response that while it would launch an investigation, the appeal by Human Rights Watch would be better directed toward Israel. -------------- Ambassador Susan Rice to Israel: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. QU.S. Envoy to U.N.: Time for All to Put an End to Peace QLip Service Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (10/22): QIn a warm and empathetic speech toward Israel, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said Wednesday night it was necessary to Qdecide whether we are serious about peace or whether we will lend it only lip serviceQ.... Her comments seemed to split the difference in issues of contention between Israel and the Palestinians. While seeming to side with the Israeli position that the negotiations should start without preconditions -- in contrast to the Palestinian call for a complete settlement halt -- and that it should lead to an Qend of the conflict,Q or a Qcomprehensive peace,Q she nodded toward the Palestinian position in saying that all the core issues should be on the table: borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. Her comment that the agreement should end the occupation that began in 1967 is generally agreeable to Israel, since it does not call for a withdrawal to the 1967 lines, a position Israel has been concerned the U.S. would adopt. Also, Rice's call for a QJewish State of IsraelQ is important for Jerusalem, which wants the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, just as Israel has declared that it would recognize a demilitarized Palestinian state. A Jewish state is also generally seen as diplomatic code for denying a Palestinian refugee Qright of returnQ.... In light of comments such as Rice's, and the tenor of the talks in Washington, government officials said Wednesday it was unlikely U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would point an accusatory finger toward Israel when she reported on the status of the talks to U.S. President Barack Obama, as she is expected to do next week. One Israeli official said that Qthere are a lot of different issues that have to be addressed,Q and that Qit is not clear we have gotten overQ all the obstacles. The official said that while Israel had shown a willingness to come to Qsome sort of middle groundQ on a number of issues, there had been no softening of positions among the Palestinians. As a result, the official said, there was no certainty inside the Prime Minister's Office that the Palestinians were indeed interested at this time in pursing negotiations, thinking that it may perhaps be in their interest to hold out for a better offer. QThe Palestinians are not going to get everything they want,Q the official said. QThey are not going to be able to fix the end game in advance. II. QThe Threat Has Just Been Postponed Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (10/22): QOur region is a far cry from peace, as exciting as the reports from Vienna might appear. The actual deal between the world powers and Iran is yet to come, but the draft agreement proposed by the IAEA is a serious move forward, as is the positive reception of it by the sides at the table. This compromise slows the Iranian race for nuclear capability by a year or two. It certainly doesn't stop the nuclear project and Iran is not giving up the bomb. Quite the contrary: it gets international recognition of its right to enrich uranium, ostensibly for peaceful purposes, while other, slower channels toward obtaining nuclear weapons remain open.... However, few would be surprised if Tehran brings up some more last-minute reservations to try and drag some more concessions from the international community. If the Iranian regime does take the IAEA draft as it is, it may well be motivated by internal political calculations.... Refusing a deal could lead to sanctions, which would encumber the Iranians' daily lives to a degree the regime considers dangerous. Assuming that staying in power is its top priority, even the nuclear program can wait a while. Some loopholes certainly arise from reading what we know so far about the draft. What will happen to the enriched uranium staying in Iran? And, as Donald Rumsfeld once poignantly observed, QThere are things we don't know we don't knowQ. The threat against the Israeli home front remains, with or without Vienna. This makes the timing of the joint American-Israeli QJuniper CobraQ exercise all the more interesting. [The impressive drill] sends a clear message about America's commitment to Israeli security. III. QWeQll Pay the Price Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (10/22): QThis isnQt the light at the end of the tunnel. If anything, this is the headlight of the locomotive rapidly rushing toward Israel -- the harbinger of a disaster. This is how Israel should treat the agreement with Iran over the enrichment of uranium outside its territory, which the outgoing Chairman [sic] of the International Atomic Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, has proclaimed. The agreement waved by ElBaradei has a price tag. This man, whom Western intelligence agencies identified long ago as a collaborator of Iran, is going to complicate our lives. Washington has already started to brace for the possibility that one of IranQs ultimate demands in exchange for the agreement will be international supervision of the Israeli nuclear installations. We shouldnQt be surprised if a parade of senior Israeli officials is soon invited to Washington for QconsultationsQ over that price. IV. QImplausible Belief Liberal columnist and television anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (10/22): The Iranian nuclear program has long forsaken the domain of clear judgment and considerations of cost-efficiency, and turned into a kind of mystique. Most Israelis donQt believe that anything has been done in earnest to stop the bomb until the Israel Air Force takes off, whatever the price. The agreement that is shaping up is postponing that day, because Israel will have no legitimacy to attack while Iran fulfills its commitment. In the consciousness that has been formed in Israel in recent years, this is an obstruction of the only way Israelis believe in. ¶V. QAmerica Is Not Sweden Liberal columnist Gideon Eshet wrote in Yediot Aharonot (10/22): QA body belonging to the [United States] Government bribed a suspected citizen in exchange for confidential information he acquired on his government job. To sell to whom? The same government sent a man posing as an agent of the Israeli Mossad to pay money received the goods. The rest will be told in the treason trial. That government was not reprimanded by [IsraelQs] foreign minister. Like Netanyahu, Lieberman is afraid of the U.S. administration. The silence regarding the U.S. administrationQs trick, which also abused the reputation of Israel and the Mossad, teaches first and foremost about Israeli hypocrisy. The Swedish Government is responsible for the contents of a private newspaper, but the U.S. Government is not responsible for a grave act carried out by the FBI? The Israeli GovernmentQs hypocrisy is unequalled. CUNNINGHAM