ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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All media reported that last night two police officers were killed
by shots fired at their patrol car near the settlement of Masu'a, in
the northern Jordan Valley. Police suspect the shots were fired by
Palestinian terrorists. Early this morning an anonymous caller
speaking on behalf of an organization called the "Imad Mughniyah
Group" claimed responsibility for the shooting attack.

HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is on the verge
of finalizing the terms of an exchange deal for Gilad Shalit.
Leading media reported that PM Ehud Olmert postponed the cabinet
meeting on the matter until tomorrow. Yediot reported that the
Schijveschuurder brothers, whose family was murdered in the August
2001 Sbarro Pizzeria suicide bombing in Jerusalem, lead a group that
will try to halt terrorists slated to be released in the Shalit
deal.

HaQaretz reported that yesterday Nabil Abu Rodeineh, an aide to
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, lambasted Olmert over his
assertion that Israel had been prepared to sign a peace agreement
but was held up by the Palestinians' "weakness and lack of courage."
"Israel did not present a single map and not a single serious
position that could lead to a real peace on the base of two states,"
Abu Rodeineh told the French news service AFP. "The [Israeli]
proposals did not include conditions for the creation of an
independent Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied
in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital." Abu Rodeineh called
Olmert's comments, which he made at the weekly cabinet meeting
yesterday, "completely false." Mere days before the end of his
term, Olmert used the platform of the cabinet meeting to present an
overview of his administration's achievements. "The fact that we
haven't reached [a peace agreement] so far is due to the weakness
and lack of courage on the part of the Palestinian leadership,"
Olmert told the weekly meeting of his ministers. "Everything else is
just excuses and efforts to derail the talks." "We were ready to
sign a peace deal but the Palestinians unfortunately did not have
the courage to do so," he was quoted as saying.

HaQaretz reported that Adm. Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned last Thursday in an interview with PBS
that an Israeli attack on Iran might lead to escalation, undermine
the region's stability, and endanger the lives of Americans in the
Persian Gulf "who are under the threat envelope right now." Asked
by interviewer Charlie Rose what would happen if Israel attacked
Iran, Mullen, referring to the frequent statement that "all options
are on the table," said such an "option generates a much higher
level of risk in terms of outcomes in the region and it really
concerns me." However, he also expressed concern about Iran
acquiring nuclear capabilities, saying it would "be very
destabilizing" to the region because "their neighbors are extremely
concerned about it. I worry about the proliferation which would
occur."

Leading media reported that yesterday Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu
signed an agreement. HaQaretz quoted Likud leaders close to the
partiesQ coalition talks as saying on Saturday that Kadima leader
Tzipi LivniQs insistence on a rotation arrangement is undermining
the creation of a unity government. Livni met with Likud Chairman
Benjamin Netanyahu in secret on Wednesday. Maariv reported that
Netanyahu has offered Livni the management of the diplomatic
negotiations. The media quoted sources as saying that there had
been a QnarrowingQ of differences since previous meetings, though
gaps between them remain.

Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday a senior U.S.
official voiced Qrare criticismQ of close ally Britain in
questioning its decision to talk to elements of Hizbullah, in a move
that suggested the limits of AmericaQs own regional engagement
efforts.

The Jerusalem Post reported that activists affiliated with the
Islamic Movement in Israel are denouncing plans to build a police
station in the Western Wall plaza, describing it as an attack on the
nearby Al-Aqsa mosque. However, police were quoted as saying that
the plans call for rebuilding a station in the exact location that
one previously stood for some three decades.

Leading media reported that Tristan Anderson, of Oakland, CA, was
struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops in
the West Bank. He underwent surgery in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post quoted the Transportation Ministry as saying
yesterday that the European Aviation Safety Agency does not intend
to blacklist Israeli airlines.

Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported that Congressman Brad Sherman
(D-CA) has announced that the first allocation under the new
U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act was made in the federal budget
due to reach President Barack ObamaQs desk in the coming days. The
$2 million in funding will go to grants aimed at the cooperative
development of alternative energy and efficient energy technologies.
The act, pushed by the American Jewish Congress, was signed under
the previous administration.

HaQaretz reported that last week Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman
(CA) and Republican Congressman Nathan Deal (GA) submitted a bill to
promote innovation with respect to life-saving drugs and greater
accessibility to them. William Marth, president and CEO of Teva
North America, has welcomed the new bill -- probably because it
sides with generic drug companies in their tough battle with
companies that develop innovative drugs. (In the past, the Israeli
pharmaceuticals company Teva, a world leader in the development of
generic drugs, clashed with the U.S. Trade Representative.)









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Mideast:
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Summary:
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The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QOlmert has
thus far failed to bring Shalit back, and he has a moral obligation
to resolve the issue before he leaves office.... But if it is not
finalized this week, Netanyahu must press on with it and finally
bring the soldier's captivity to an end.

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QThe

thought that relatively moderate Palestinians judge even [outgoing
Prime Minister Ehud OlmertQs] far-reaching compromises insufficient
leaves those of us who support a two-state solution disenchanted.

Europe correspondent Nadav Eyal wrote from Belfast in the popular,
pluralist Maariv: QThe implementation of a Northern Ireland-like
solution is in effect the establishment of a binational state with
the Palestinians.... If Netanyahu doesnQt want to be dragged into
comparable solutions, he had better reconsider his objection to the
establishment of a Palestinian state.

Prominent liberal author A. B. Yehoshua wrote in Maariv: QIf the
prisoner exchange reinforces quiet for both sides, then the word
QpriceQ will soon be forgotten, to be replaced by the word
Qpeace.

Block Quotes:
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I. "Decide on Shalit"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/16): QIsrael
has found itself in a strategically inferior position in the Shalit
affair. Lacking a credible military alternative to extract Shalit
from his abductor's clutches, the government has had to back down
from its original refusal to negotiate with Hamas and agree to
exchange Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including
QheavyweightQ terrorists. But once this principle was accepted, it
is difficult to understand why Olmert has repeatedly delayed the
deal due to disputes over secondary issues like whether some of the
freed Palestinian prisoners should be deported overseas. Hamas did
not soften its stance even under Israel Air Force bombardment and a
ground invasion of Gaza during Operation Cast Lead; it is unlikely
to present a position more palatable to Israel just because Israel's
government changes.... Olmert has thus far failed to bring Shalit
back, and he has a moral obligation to resolve the issue before he
leaves office. His designated successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, has
urged Olmert to conclude the prisoner swap. But if it is not
finalized this week, Netanyahu must press on with it and finally
bring the soldier's captivity to an end.

II. "A Sunday Confession"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/16):
QMany mainstream Israelis might have had a very hard time going
along with Olmert's concessions. Yet the thought that relatively
moderate Palestinians judge even these far-reaching compromises
insufficient leaves those of us who support a two-state solution
disenchanted. There are other possible reasons, beyond the one
offered by [Palestinian negotiator Nabil] Abu Rodeineh, as to why
Abbas rejected Olmert's peace offer: The Palestinians may not be
interested in a deal if the price is giving up the Qright of return
and/or leaving Israel with defensible boundaries. The implication:
Even moderate Palestinians still want to destroy Israel, albeit in
stages. Abbas never prepared his people for the idea that they,
too, would have to make painful concessions for peace. Implication:
Either Abbas doesn't think he can sway Palestinian opinion or he
thinks accepting Israel's QexistenceQ is concession enough. No deal
is possible while Iran casts a shadow of rejectionism over the
region, Hamas rules in Gaza and Hizbullah is ascendant in Lebanon.
Moderate Palestinians expect the Obama administration to force
Israel into making concessions even Olmert thinks are too dangerous.
Whatever the reason, the outcome -- Palestinian intransigence --
was all too sadly predictable.

III. "Northern Ireland Is Not Good for the Jews"

Europe correspondent Nadav Eyal wrote from Belfast in the popular,
pluralist Maariv (3/16): QThis weekQs terrorist attacks in Northern
Ireland and the response by both communities -Q Catholics and
Protestants -Q reaffirmed the might of the Good Friday agreement, as
well as its flaws.... The ability to compare the Irish conflict and
ours is limited.... The implementation of a Northern Ireland-like
solution is in effect the establishment of a binational state with
the Palestinians -Q a disaster for those who see Israel as the
national home of the Jewish people. This is perhaps the first
lesson from Northern Ireland: We donQt want to reach an agreement
similar to the Good Friday one, because the meaning of such an
agreement would be the end of the Jewish state. If Netanyahu
doesnQt want to be dragged into comparable solutions, he had better
reconsider his objection to the establishment of a Palestinian
state.

IV. "Not a Deal, a Gesture"

Prominent liberal author A. B. Yehoshua wrote in Maariv (3/16): QWe
should stop speaking in terms of a deal and start speaking in terms
of a gesture and goodwill instead.... We and the residents of Gaza
seek calm.... Let's look at the prisoner release as part of the
incentive for upholding the calm and cease-fire between the Gaza
Strip and the communities surrounding it-all this while rebuilding
the ruins on both sides. Therefore, if we look not only at the
petty questions of one number versus another number, but at the
neighborly relations we intend to build over time, then an exchange
of POWs for prisoners will be possible, and can be done with a heart
filled with hope. I appeal to the bereaved families who have lost
their loved ones in the terror attacks committed by some of the
prisoners who may be released. Don't think only of revenge, think
rather of the future of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, which will
last forever. The Shalit family has acted with restrained nobility
in the past three years, without extremist rhetoric or abuse.
Handing the problem over to the next government now would require
renewed, complicated and tangled negotiations, at the end of which,
I believe, we would have to reach the same conclusions. If the
prisoner exchange reinforces quiet for both sides, then the word
QpriceQ will soon be forgotten, to be replaced by the word
Qpeace.

CUNNINGHAM