ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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President ObamaQs Mideast Remarks in Turkey

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Key stories in the media:
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The media reported and commented on President ObamaQs remarks in
Ankara: Orly Azolai and other Yediot commentators as well as Maya
Bengal of Maariv and colleagues and analysts from other media, opine
that Obama sent a clear message from Ankara to FM Avigdor Lieberman:
QThe U.S. strongly supports the goal of two states,Q Obama was
quoted as saying. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe highlighted what it says was
ObamaQs call on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians in
order to form a front vis-`-vis Iran. Professor Avraham Ben-Zvi
commented in Israel Hayom that this might herald the beginning of a
more soured American-Israeli relationship in order to facilitate
improved relations between the United States and the Muslim world.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Environmental Protection Minister (Likud),
Gilad Erdan, as saying: QIsrael does not take orders from Obama.

HaQaretz reported that an American official told the newspaper over
the weekend that Obama does not oppose the inclusion of Hamas in a
Palestinian unity government as long as Hamas agrees to the criteria
and preconditions set by the Quartet. According to HaQaretz, the
Americans also ask that Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad return to head
the next Palestinian government and be responsible for the PA's
finances. A Palestinian source told HaQaretz yesterday that in the
coming days PA President Mahmoud Abbas is likely to ask Fayyad to
form a new government, without the participation of Hamas.

HaQaretz and Israeli TV reported on a possible June visit to Israel
and the PA by President Obama. HaQaretz and Israel Radio also
reported that U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell
will arrive in Israel on Monday.

Palestinian sources were quoted as saying in an interview with
Maariv that PA President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to meet with PM
Benjamin Netanyahu until Israel freezes all settlement construction
and recognizes all agreements it is a signatory of, and the
two-state solution.

The Jerusalem Post reported that senior defense officials have told
the newspaper that Israel fears that Hamas is working to build
unprecedentedly large tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor that
will be used to smuggle long-range rockets into Gaza in one piece.

Leading media reported that last night Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak called Netanyahu to congratulate him over the formation of
his government and invite him to a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Leading media reported that, ten months after the bulldozer terror
attack in Jerusalem in which three Israelis were killed, police and
army forces are now demolishing the apartment of the attacker in Sur
Bahar, East Jerusalem. Israel Radio reported that a Palestinian who
attempted to run over members of the security forces at the spot
slightly wounded three policemen and was shot and killed by a border
policeman.

Leading media reported that EU special envoy Marc Otte, unfazed by
the policy review currently under way in the new Netanyahu
government and comments by Lieberman against the Annapolis process,
recommended patience, saying the new government had been in power
less than a week.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Defense Secretary Robert Gates
announced yesterday that the Pentagon plans to end production of the
F-22 Raptor, a top-of-the-line stealth aircraft that Israel has long
coveted. At the same time, Gates said he would nearly double the
allocation to $11.2 billion for the F-35 Lightning II, another
stealth plane that Israel would like to acquire, as part of a budget
plan he will be taking to President Obama. Obama is expected to
review the budget and submit his own version for Congressional
approval in early May. Gates' announcement, part of what he termed
a holistic strategic shift in the Defense Department's priorities,
decreases the likelihood that Israel would ever be able to obtain
the F-22, foreign sales of which are currently banned by Congress.
Some Israeli defense officials are hoping that the end of U.S.
orders for the plane will provide enough pressure that Congress --
which doesn't want to lose the thousands of jobs that the airplane's
production provides -- will reverse the ban on foreign exports.
However, The Jerusalem Post quoted Andrew Krepinevich of the Center
for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments as saying that while
Lockheed Martin would be sure to make that argument, he would expect
that with the US ending its program, the jet manufacturer would
start to shut down production.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Danny Zamir, the head of the Rabin
Pre-Military Academy in Kiryat Tivon, told the daily yesterday that
Operation Cast Lead was completely justified, that isolated acts of
vandalism do not make the IDF an army of war criminals, and that
religious graduates of the military preparatory programs add to the
morality of the IDF. The Jerusalem Post and other media reported
that IDF reservists have asked Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz to
launch a criminal investigation against HaQaretz for publishing
"testimonies" by soldiers of alleged misconduct and serious human
rights violations during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip
earlier this year. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli and
Palestinian human rights groups as saying yesterday that they had
collected evidence hat Israeli troops attacked Palestinian medical
workers and delayed the evacuation of wounded people during the
recent offensive in Gaza. The Jerusalem Post reported that Dr.
Izzeldin Abuelaish, a physician, three of whose daughters were
accidentally killed by the IDF during the operation, was nominated
for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Israel Radio reported that this morning Israel successfully tested
an improved version of the Arrow anti-missile system.

Mako.co.il, a Web site associated with Channel 2-TV, reported that a
new play in Gaza casts Jews as drinking Muslim blood.

Israel Radio reported that this morning the Knesset voted to allow
the government to present a two-year budget. The Jerusalem Post and
others quoted opponents as saying that the plan constitutes a Qpower
grab.

All media devoted considerable space to the earthquake in central
Italy, where an Israeli-Arab medical student is missing.

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President ObamaQs Mideast Remarks in Turkey:
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Summary:
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The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIntense
American involvement in solving the conflict ... will compel the
Israeli government, the Palestinians and the Syrians to decide if
they share Obama's vision or if they prefer to take the road of
confrontation with the United States.

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: QThe
Democratic President did not only publicly adopt the documents
entirely associated with the Bush administration, he promised to
breathe life into them during his tenure at the White House.

Washington correspondent Orly Azolai and other wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QObama was ... obliged
to cite Annapolis because of the storm that Foreign Minister
Lieberman stirred up with his statements.

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: Q[President Obama believes that] the
government change in Israel does not free it of its Bush-era
commitment in the Annapolis declaration and Roadmap.

Diplomatic correspondent Maya Bengal and others wrote in the
popular, pluralist Maariv: QThe great question that diplomatic
sources asked was whether Israel and the United States will enter a
confrontational track given the gaps regarding the road leading to
the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Visiting Professor of Political Science at Haifa University Avraham
Ben-Zvi, an expert in U.S.-Israeli relations, wrote in the
independent Israel Hayom: QOne cannot fail to ask whether the
explicit mention of the Annapolis understandings heralds the
beginning of a negative approach to Israel.





Block Quotes:
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I. "A Clear Message from Obama"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/7): QThe
clear, unequivocal American message delivered from Turkey, the first
Muslim state [that President Obama] visited, was aimed at all Arab
and Islamic countries no less than Israel. The message was one of
conciliation, understanding, appreciation and a sincere desire for
cooperation, not just with America's friends in the region but also
with Iran, whom Obama invited Qto take its rightful place in the
community of nationsQ.... This is a change that Israel must
internalize, and it could not have come at a better time, just after
the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu's new government. On the podium
in Ankara, Obama, who committed to protect Israel's security, made
clear his views on this security when he declared: QThe United
States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and
Palestine, living side by side in peace and securityQ.... These
messages now await implementation. Intense American involvement in
solving the conflict, based on principles already enunciated, will
compel the Israeli government, the Palestinians and the Syrians to
decide if they share Obama's vision or if they prefer to take the
road of confrontation with the United States.

II. "Obama Signals to Lieberman"

Washington correspondent Orly Azolai and other wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/7): QUntil now,
President Obama and his special envoy, George Mitchell, have
refrained from citing the Annapolis conference, which symbolized the
legacy of President Bush and his Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, and instead focused on the two-state vision. Obama was now
obliged to cite Annapolis because of the storm that Foreign Minister
Lieberman stirred up with his statements. Indeed, Obama's
statements were perceived around the world as the American response
to Lieberman's inaugural speech. Foreign Minister Lieberman
personally refused to respond to President Obama's statement. But,
in closed conversations he said that he was unwilling to accept the
Annapolis process and was only prepared to recognize the Roadmap.
He said that while he had been opposed to the Roadmap, once the
agreement was accepted by Israel he was bound to uphold it. People
in Lieberman's circle also said: QObama underscored that that the
two-state vision was agreed to both in the Roadmap and at Annapolis,
but that doesn't mean that he's in favor of Annapolis as a route or
a course. We have no problem with the two-state objective.

III. "Breathing Life into BushQs Vision"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (4/7): QThe
Democratic President did not only publicly adopt the documents
entirely associated with the Bush administration, he promised to
breathe life into them during his tenure at the White House. We can
assume Obama knows that Bush promised to fulfill the vision of two
states for two peoples while he was president. Perhaps this is why
Obama announced that what Bush considered a vision, he considers a
realistic goal. While Bush blended the Arab peace initiative into
the road map, to throw Saudi Arabia a bone, Obama is making it one
of the pillars of his Middle East policy.

IV. "Speeches Make It Clear: Palestine First"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/7): QObama conveyed four messages to
Netanyahu in his address in the Turkish parliament: Don't waste my
time trying to revoke the Qtwo-state solutionQ and replace it with a
new vision that would not include an independent Palestinian state
beside Israel.... The government change in Israel does not free it
of its Bush-era commitment in the Annapolis declaration and Roadmap
-- a Palestinian state with territorial contiguity in the West Bank,
freezing settlements and evacuating outposts, economic and security
assistance to the Palestinian Authority and continuous negotiations
on all core issues.... Israeli officials noticed that Obama's people
didn't mention the Annapolis process and interpreted this as the
burial of Bush and Condoleezza Rice's ideas.... The president said
this interpretation was unacceptable and that the Annapolis
declaration was alive and well.


V. QObama: IQll Validate Annapolis

Diplomatic correspondent Maya Bengal and others wrote in the
popular, pluralist Maariv (4/7): QYesterday U.S. President Barack
Obama conveyed a sharp signal to Israel during his visit to Turkey.
It implied that no matter what statements come out from Israel, the
U.S. will act to promote the solution of two states for two peoples.
The great question that diplomatic sources asked was whether Israel
and the United States will enter a confrontational track given the
gaps regarding the road leading to the resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Foreign Minister Avigdor LiebermanQs
pronouncements and the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has made no statement so far that he is committed to a two-state
solution annoy the White House.

VI. QIsrael Is Liable to Pay

Visiting Professor of Political Science at Haifa University Avraham
Ben-Zvi, an expert in U.S.-Israeli relations, wrote in the
independent Israel Hayom (4/7): QThe central message that emerges
from [President Barack ObamaQs] multiple statements [in Ankara] is
that it is his aspiration to turn over a new leaf in relations
between the United States and Islam and, by so doing, to replace the
narrow strategic vantage point of the Bush administration with a
broader and more conciliatory approach. This new approach is based
on the President's desire to build a bridge of understanding as well
as cultural, economic and political cooperation with the Muslim
world on the basis of respect, empathy, and tolerance. Obama
envisions Turkey as serving as that bridge. Among others, the fact
that Turkey has direct lines of dialogue with Syria and the various
Palestinian factions is of great significance to Obama. In his
eagerness to enlist Ankara as a central mediator between the West
and Islam, Obama is prepared to cross a number of red lines. Even
though Obama did not deviate from the well-known American position
in his speech before the Turkish parliament, one cannot fail to ask
whether the explicit mention of the Annapolis understandings heralds
the beginning of a negative approach to Israel. The coming weeks
and months will prove whether Israel, the traditional ally, will be
the one that is obliged the pay the cost of laying down these tracks
to Ankara, Damascus, Ramallah and Gaza.

CUNNINGHAM