ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Mideast


2. Anti-Terrorism Efforts

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Key stories in the media:
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Major media reported that, following PM Benjamin NetanyahuQs
conversation with Kadima leader Tzipi Livni yesterday, Kadima is
likely to reject his offer, spurring a possible split in LivniQs
party. Media cited the pivotal role of Kadima Knesset Member Otniel
Schneller, a former settler leader, in the possible move of Kadima
MKs to Likud.

The media reported on the murder on Thursday in the West Bank of
Rabbi Meir Avshalom Hai and the subsequent Saturday operation in
Nablus that liquidated three Fatah terrorists who reportedly killed
Hai. The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Netanyahu told his
ministers yesterday that the killing of Hai by a terrorist who sat
in an Israeli jail shows the difficulty of the Gilad Shalit deal.
Yesterday Maariv reported that senior U.S. administration officials
have demanded clarifications from ISRAEL regarding the operation,
arguing that the Palestinians have complained that ISRAEL has
liquidated innocent people. Various media reported that Fatah
officials warned yesterday that the killing could trigger a third
Intifada.

HaQaretz reported that former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin told the
Meretz party leadership yesterday that the PM is close to finalizing
an agreement with the U.S. administration for peace talks between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority, lasting two years, that will
discuss the Palestinian demand for borders based on the 1967 lines
and will include an exchange of territory and suitable security
arrangements. Beilin was quoted as saying that these are the terms
of the agreement being hammered out between Netanyahu and the U.S.
government on Israeli negotiations with the PA -- that Netanyahu is
willing to agree that the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations will last
for two years. The Prime Minister's Office was quoted as saying
that Beilin's comments were "unfounded," adding that discussions
were ongoing but no agreement has been reached. However, HaQaretz
reported that when asked about Beilin's statements, a senior U.S.
administration official said: "Things are moving in this direction,
but the deal isn't done yet. There are several issues still
outstanding." HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu leaves tomorrow for
talks in Cairo and appears set to present the agreements to Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.
Michael Oren told the newspaper yesterday that President Obama has
not exerted any real QphysicalQ pressure on Israel, nor does he see
that as a goal.

The media quoted Avigdor Lieberman as saying that as long as he is
foreign minister and his party Yisrael Beiteinu is in the government
coalition, there could only be direct talks between ISRAEL and
Syria.

Media reported that the Ministry of Construction and Housing has
issued a tender for building 692 housing units in East Jerusalem
Qbehind the Green Line.Q Yediot reported that PM Netanyahu welcomed
the move and that the U.S. was QupdatedQ about it. HaQaretz also
reported that the state plans to confiscate Palestinian land around
the veteran settlement of Ofra.

Yediot quoted Hamas sources in Lebanon as saying that ISRAEL is
behind the killing of two of its men in Beirut.

Leading media quoted police as saying that Police Commissioner David
Cohen has received death threats over the last few days. Security
sources believe the threats came from extreme right-wing activists,
targeting Cohen because of his criticism of protesters breaking the
law in demonstrations against the settlements construction freeze.

Yediot reported that ISRAEL is likely to approve the establishment
of a commission of inquiry into Operation Cast Lead.

Leading media noted the bad performance of ICTS, the Israeli-owned
company in charge of security for Delta Flight 253 at AmsterdamQs
Schiphol Airport.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano will arrive on Saturday for a visit.

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1. Mideast:
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Block Quotes:
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QAnother Month, Another Year

Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the
independent, left-Ha'aretz (12/287): QThe only achievements Barack
Obama can claim on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are in extorting
a declaration from Netanyahu that he is amenable to the two-state
vision and a temporary and limited suspension of settlement
construction. Nonetheless, without even noticing, we have entered
the freeze's second month, and in less than nine months this
perilous situation will pass us by. It looks as if Netanyahu will
blithely clear this hurdle put up by the U.S. President without
breaking a sweat. From the grand vision of a year ago only
fragments remain within reach, fragments not even fit to appear on
Obama's CV.... It's true, not even a year has passed since Obama
entered the White House, but the rules have already been set.
Circumventing Obama is no longer such a complex act. For a
reasonable price, Washington can be sedated and all sides can buy
themselves an everlasting conflict.










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2. Anti-Terrorism Efforts:
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Block Quotes:
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I. QThe FBI Has Fallen Asleep on Its Watch

Columnist Shmuel Rosner, who was HaQaretzQs correspondent in
Washington, wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (12/28): QThis
would have been an insignificant had is not been evidence of an
amazing routine. Shamai Leibowitz, an Israeli who has few good
words to say about Israel, was arrested on suspicion of leaking
confidential documents. He has been traveling around the U.S. for a
few years, devoting time and energy to convince the Washington
establishment that ISRAEL is the guilty side in many of the
MideastQs Q and the worldQs Q ills. Thanks to his name and heritage
Q he is one of the many grandchildren of [the late strident
anti-occupation] Yeshayahu Leibowitz Q he earned too much attention
in Israel, too. This did not deter the FBI from recruiting him and
signing him up on a special contract. His choice obliges one to
assume that the organizationQs recruiters either abhor ISRAEL and
were looking for someone who would help them hate ISRAEL or were
simply negligent almost to the point of stupidity.... Only by chance
did a slipshod terrorist try during the same period to blow-up the
Beirut-bound Delta flight.... Once again it turns out that the U.S.
services in charge of information gathering and terror prevention
have not yet cleaned the plumbing that conveys them vital
information from the Middle East.

II. QExpect Avoidable Delays

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (12/28):
QOne way to reduce inconvenience and increase security at busy
airports is by a greater use of profiling. Farouk Abdulmutallab
should not have been free to try and blow up Northwest Airlines
Flight 253 with 289 people on board over Detroit on Christmas
Day.... In response to the Abdulmutallab affair, U.S. and European
authorities are initiating more stringent and time-consuming
searches of all passengers.... Rather than adding profiling to
security procedures, thereby identifying possible Islamist
terrorists -- protecting the rights of the many while infringing
minimally on the rights of the very few -- all passengers will be
subjected to unnecessary, sometimes painful, inconvenience. The
alternative to profiling is requiring all passengers to go through
whole-body imaging scanners that can reveal objects beneath a
person's clothes. But these devices are pricy and raise all sorts
of civil liberties issues. Unless Western decision-makers reverse
course, their adamant and misguided refusal to utilize profiling
will senselessly subject millions of air passengers to a form of
collective punishment.

CUNNINGHAM