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. Israeli Elections


2. Iran


3. Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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The Jerusalem Post reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
announced yesterday that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will
return to the region at the end of the month.

Israel Radio quoted a senior Israeli diplomatic source as saying
that Israel might attack Hamas despite the current calm. The radio
said that Hamas is signaling that there will be no cease-fire this
week. HaQaretzQs web site and Israel Radio quoted Hamas official
Salah Bardawil as saying in an interview with the Palestinian News
Agency Ma'an that his movement would be ready for a prisoner
exchange with Israel starting Thursday. Bardawil said that Israel
has offered to allow in 75 percent of the goods it currently bans
from entering Gaza in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit. The
remaining 25 percent are goods Israel says could be used to make
weapons. Israel Radio reported that Israel is concerned that Hamas
might let concrete and iron into Gaza. HaQaretz reported that
Bardawil added that Hamas would, as part of a cease-fire, agree to
stop firing projectiles into Israel, and said Hamas had asked for
Egypt's help in convincing other factions to show restraint. Maariv
and other media reported that senior Hamas official fled to El-Arish
in the Sinai, which might influence HamasQs contacts with Egypt.
Maariv quoted the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram as saying that Israel has
asked Egypt for a demilitarized 500-meter-wide zone around Gaza.

The media reported that yesterday the IAF hit Hamas targets
throughout the Gaza Strip after the Grad rocket strike in Ashkelon.
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Defense Minister Ehud
Barak warned Hamas that Israel will QcrushQ and QsmashQ it if it
continues to fire rockets on southern Israel.

HaQaretz, Israel Hayom, and The Jerusalem Post reported that DM
Barak warned yesterday that if Syria gives Hizbullah weaponry it
would change the current balance of power and Israel would have to
take action. Barak, who was touring the northern border, declined
to specify which types of weaponry he meant. In the past, however,
Israeli officials have cited sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles as
one such weapon. "I want to say, here on the border, that I advise
Hizbullah not to test us," Barak said. "And I want to tell the
government of Lebanon that we see it as responsible, especially
since Hizbullah sits at the cabinet table in Beirut." The Jerusalem
Post quoted Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, who heads the Defense
MinistryQs Diplomatic-Security Bureau, as saying that a military
confrontation with Syria is likely to occur in the near future.

HaQaretz reported that the Obama administration is considering
announcing the appointment of a new ambassador to Syria soon, the
first since the U.S lowered the status of its Damascus envoy four
years ago. The newspaper quoted a senior European diplomat as
saying that the U.S. administration was interested in using the
appointment of an ambassador as a "confidence-building measure" as
part of a framework to warm up the dialogue between the countries.

A senior American diplomat was quoted as saying that the State
Department and the NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL have discussed changing
the United StatesQ policy toward Syria, saying there has been a
change in Washington's approach to Syria, though no final decision
has been made. The diplomat did say that such a decision was
expected soon.

The Jerusalem Post reported that, in a briefing for the newspaper,
Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed the hope that
President Obama will limit his engagement with Iran to a set time
and insist on a final outcome of dismantling its nuclear program.
Netanyahu noted that his "positive" meetings with Obama in
Washington and Jerusalem had been mostly devoted to the Iranian
issue. He said that when Obama told him he wanted to engage Tehran,
he told the president that the way Iran's nuclearization would be
stopped was less important than the result. Yediot reported that
the West and Israel view the launching of an Iranian satellite this
week as dangerous escalation. Leading media quoted Acting State
Department Spokesman Robert Wood as saying yesterday: QDeveloping a
space launch vehicle that could put a satellite into orbit could
possibly lead to the development of a ballistic missile system, so
thatQs of great concern to us.

HaQaretz reported that Likud is seeking a subtle way to warn
rightist voters against voting for Yisrael Beiteinu, for fear that
if Avigdor Lieberman's party keeps stealing seats from it, Kadima
could wind up forming the next government. The party with the most
seats is usually given first chance to form a government, and so far
polls show Likud in this slot. But Kadima is close enough behind
that even a few seats moving from Likud to Yisrael Beiteinu could
put Kadima in first. All media cited LikudQs dissociation from
Yisrael Beiteinu. HaQaretz reported that Avigdor Lieberman was once
a member of the outlawed far-right party Kach (in 1979). Maariv
named Far-right politician Avigdor Eskin as the source of this
information. Media quoted Yisrael Beiteinu as saying that this is
an Qorchestrated fabrication.Q Yediot reported that Netanyahu
prefers Ehud Barak as his defense minister, leaving an expanded,
especially tailored, economic ministry to Lieberman. Maariv
reported that Labor will demand the justice portfolio. The
Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Yisrael Beiteinu rejected a
claim in former U.S. Ambassador Martin IndykQs book that Lieberman
had conducted a secret dialogue with Palestinian negotiators at the
end of former U.S. President Bill ClintonQs administration.

HaQaretz reported that DM Ehud Barak has agreed to approve the
establishment of a new settlement in the Binyamin region, north of
Jerusalem, in return for settlers' agreement to evacuate the illegal
outpost of Migron. The Migron settlers will move into the new
250-house settlement after leaving the illegal one they built on
private Palestinian land.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Diaspora Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog as
saying yesterday at the Herzliya Conference that the Treasury
blocked a plan for a QJewish Al-Jazeera.

All media reported that yesterday NATIONAL Workers Organization
Chairman and former finance minister Abraham Hirchson admitted in
court to having stolen a considerable amount of money. A day after
Hirchson sent the union post-dated checks totaling 1.6 million
shekels (around $400,000),the organization declared that the move
"did not smell right."

Yediot reported that Cyprus sent a report to the UN that the Iranian
ship currently anchored along a Cypriot shore contains explosives
and rocket engines.

Israel Radio quoted Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told him on Monday that he should
continue to mediate between Israel and Syria.

HaQaretz and Israel Radio reported that the UN has reversed its
stance on one of the most contentious and bloody incidents of the
recent IDF operation in Gaza, saying that an IDF mortar strike that
killed 43 people on January 6 did not hit a United Nations Relief
and Works Agency (UNRWA) school after all. Yediot reported that
the Norwegian doctor who reported from Gaza on Israeli atrocities is
a member of Rodt, an extremist Marxist party, and had praised the
9/11 attacks.

HaQaretz printed a Letter to the Editor signed by prominent
intellectuals and artists from the Western world, who call for a new
initiative for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Maariv reported that yesterday Finance Minister Roni Bar-On declared
that the historic QSergeyQs CourtyardQ in central west Jerusalem has
officially been returned to the Russian government.

Maariv reported that the Immigration Police is closing down and will
be replaced by a supervisory unit of the Interior Ministry. Maariv
reported that the authorities suspect that a refugee from Sudan was
enlisted in Al-Qaida.

Maariv presented the results of a TNS/Teleseker poll on voting
intentions for the Knesset elections, which shows a strengthening of
Yisrael Beiteinu and a narrowing of the gap between Likud and
Kadima:
In brackets: Maariv's previous poll):
Likud:27 (28); Kadima 23 (23); Labor Party: 17 (17): Yisrael
Beiteinu: 17 (16); Shas: 10 (10); Arab parties: 8 (8); Meretz: 6
(6); United Torah Judaism: 5 (5); NATIONAL Union: 4 (3);
National-Religious Party-Jewish Home 3 (4).

HaQaretz cited recent polls for internal use by the New
Movement-Meretz that show that approximately eight Knesset seats
worth of voters who define themselves as leftist are considering
voting for Kadima, or more precisely, for Kadima chairwoman Tzipi
Livni. The polls also show that most of the undecided are women --
their choice could represent five Knesset seats. The finding is
contrary to what had previously been believed -- that the party's
potential voters would find themselves deciding between it and
Labor.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Monday the ambassador of U.S.
and China attended a unique Jerusalem concert featuring famed
cellist Yo Yo Ma.

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1. Israeli Elections:
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Summary:
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The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QLikud Knesset
Member Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Defense
Minister Ehud Barak must disassociate themselves from [Avigdor
Lieberman] and his slogans, and soon. If not, the three of them
will bear the full responsibility for the entrenchment of dangerous
racist politics in Israel.

Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in Ha'aretz: QIran's nuclear program is
what turned Livni's term as foreign minister into a colossal
failure.... There is a black flag waving above her journey to the
Prime Minister's Office.

Block Quotes:
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I. "Reject Lieberman"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (2/4): QThe
[Yisrael Beiteinu] slogan QWithout loyalty there is no citizenship
is not illegal, but has its roots in a dark conceptual world and is
contrary to the lifeblood of democracy, which never makes civil
rights contingent on performing duties. The other slogan, QOnly
Lieberman understands Arabic,Q stinks of crude racism, against which
a society that affirms life and freedom is obligated to fight.
Lieberman's plan for an Qexchange of territories,Q which is being
marketed as a part of legitimate negotiations between two equal
sides, is nothing but polite packaging that does not succeed in
concealing its real aspiration: delegitimizing all the Arab citizens
of Israel.... There is no doubt that the atmosphere in which
nationalism became more extreme during the war in Gaza has
strengthened Lieberman. In mock elections at schools he has won
high popularity, and the number of Knesset seats predicted for him
is rising steadily in the public opinion polls. Presumably his
success will only increase as the SECURITY threat looms larger and
the economic crisis worsens. This is a tale foretold, which is
becoming exacerbated in light of the ideological flabbiness of the
candidates for prime minister. Likud Knesset Member Benjamin
Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Defense Minister Ehud
Barak must disassociate themselves from him and his slogans, and
soon. If not, the three of them will bear the full responsibility
for the entrenchment of dangerous racist politics in Israel.

II. "A Cautionary Note"

Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in Ha'aretz (2/4): QKadima's chairwoman
(Tzipi Livni] is a principled, patriotic, exemplary human being.
She is intelligent and a quick study. But there is one fault that
no one disputes: Livni is short-tempered. Her more serious critics
believe she has an attention deficit.... Nor is there any disputing
a second flaw of Livni's: She finds it very hard to make decisions.
Her third flaw is her total lack of emotional intelligence. Livni
neither understands people nor likes them. That is why she has no
inner circle of confidants.... She recites a series of correct
statements about dividing the country but does not know how to
translate them into policy. That is why her negotiations with Ahmed
Qurei failed and why her faith in Annapolis was proved false. But
Livni's Palestinian failure is tiny compared to her Iranian error.
Livni did not understand the Iranian challenge in advance, did not
take it on board and effectively did nothing in the international
arena to deal with it. Iran's nuclear program is what turned
Livni's term as foreign minister into a colossal failure.... There
is a black flag waving above her journey to the Prime Minister's
Office.


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2. Iran:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
QPresident Barack Obama says that if Iran is willing to unclench its
fist, it Qwill find an extended hand from us.Q But the mullahs are
playing hard to get.

Block Quotes:
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"Dark Anniversary"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/4):
QThe Islamic Republic of Iran was established 30 years ago... On
Monday, when Iran launched into orbit its first domestically made
satellite - reportedly a civilian version of the Shihab 3 ballistic
missile -- the supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] obtained
further, tangible proof that international sanctions are little more
than a nuisance to Iran's imperial aspirations. President Barack
Obama says that if Iran is willing to unclench its fist, it Qwill
find an extended hand from us.Q But the mullahs are playing hard
to get. Today, diplomats from the U.S., Russia, Britain, France,
Germany, and China are scheduled to meet in Frankfurt to discuss
Iran's drive for nuclear weapons. The U.S. needs to convince them
that -- whatever the new administration's tactical differences from
the previous one -- Washington will not tolerate a nuclear-armed
Iran.

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3. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe vigorous and
justified response of the European leaders to the war in Gaza and
the visit by five of them to Jerusalem in order to help in signing a
cease-fire agreement, should be the signal marking the start of an
era of hope for European-American partnership in the Middle East
peace process.

Uri Savir, Oslo Accords architect and President of the Peres Center
for Peace, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post:
Q[A European-American] coalition should ... initiate a peace
conference in the Middle East, based on the Madrid formula and the
Saudi Initiative, to advance comprehensive peace, economic
development, and SECURITY in the region.

Block Quotes:
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I. "War, Memory, and Diplomacy"

Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (2/4): QEurope's role in
making peace and establishing international norms of behavior will
undoubtedly become the core on the basis of which Barack Obama will
seek to rebuild the trans-Atlantic alliance, which suffered a severe
blow in the days of his predecessor. The Europeans were surely
glad to see how quickly the new U.S. President addressed the
Israeli-Arab conflict. After all, for them Jerusalem was always
more important than Baghdad.... The aging continent suffers from a
dual sense of guilt, both aspects of which are directly related to
Israel: the colonialist complex and the Jewish complex. The
Palestinian tragedy is directly affected by this dilemma.... For
Europe to play its proper role in establishing a peace arrangement
in the Middle East, it must first of all restore its credibility in
the eyes of the Jewish state. The vigorous and justified response
of the European leaders to the war in Gaza and the visit by five of
them to Jerusalem in order to help in signing a cease-fire
agreement, should be the signal marking the start of an era of hope
for European-American partnership in the Middle East peace
process.

II. "Trans-Atlantic Relations"

Uri Savir, Oslo Accords architect and President of the Peres Center
for Peace, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
(2/4): Q[The United States and the European Union] can, by working
together, have a positive influence in the Middle East peace process
in the following way: The two sides should dialogue with the new
Israeli leadership after the election, with the leadership of the
Palestinian Authority, i.e. Mahmoud Abbas, the leadership of Syria,
and other regional leaderships. Together, this Trans-Atlantic
coalition should also begin a dialogue with Iran to make it clear
that both the U.S. and Europe will not allow the development of
nuclear weapons and to offer incentives, in case there is a
verifiable stop of the development of nuclear weapons. Also, the
Trans-Atlantic coalition should coordinate a gradual withdrawal from
Iraq, fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and its Pakistani
border, as well as partake in a nation-building process in the two
countries. The coalition should then initiate a peace conference in
the Middle East, based on the Madrid formula and the Saudi
Initiative, to advance comprehensive peace, economic development,
and SECURITY in the region.

CUNNINGHAM