ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000925 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: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- On Friday leading media reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Israel risks the loss of Arab support in efforts directed against Iran if it does not advance talks with the Palestinians. She reportedly said that the Arab nations stated that Israel's willingness to renew talks with Palestinians would strengthen their position in this effort. Media later published denials of such an American linkage. The Jerusalem Post reported that Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe YaQalon told the newspaper that, without a clear time frame and clear benchmarks, the dialogue that President Obama plans to hold with Iran will fail to stop the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons. YaQalon also said that Qthere is nothing to talk aboutQ with the PA unless it recognizes Israel as a Jewish state. Czech PM Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, told HaQaretz that the EU Qunderestimates the Iranian threat.Q HaQaretz quoted FM Avigdor Lieberman as saying in an interview with the Austrian daily Kleine Zeitung that Israel will not attack Iran even if the international sanctions against Tehran fail to convince President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give up his country's nuclear program. "We are not talking about a military attack. Israel cannot resolve militarily the entire world's problem. I propose that the United States, as the largest power in the world, take responsibility for resolving the Iranian question," Lieberman told the Austrian paper. Leading media quoted DM Ehud Barak as saying at SundayQs cabinet meeting that it is of "crucial strategic interest" for Israel to reach a settlement with Syria. Lieberman said earlier on Sunday that he was willing to negotiate peace with Syria, but only if talks were held without preconditions. Israel Radio quoted a senior �00A;Syrian official as saying that LiebermanQs terms amounted to unacceptable conditions. HaQaretz reported that construction has begun on new Jewish housing near Arab al-Suahara (southeast Jerusalem) with permission from the Jerusalem Municipality, which is one of the owners of the property. The media reported that Memorial Day events begin this afternoon with a ceremony at the Ammunition Hill battlefield in Jerusalem in the presence of PM Netanyahu. Later in the day, President Shimon Peres will light a memorial flame at the Western Wall plaza. The total number of those who have been remembered by this Memorial Day is 22,570. The dead are counted date from 1860, when Jews first settled outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. HaQaretz and Israel Radio reported that JordanQs King Abdullah II urged President Obama to assume a more central role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He warned that a new war might break out in the Middle East if significant progress is not made in the next 18 months. On Friday HaQaretz reported that NetanyahuQs candidate for the Washington ambassadorship, Michael Oren, supports a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and an evacuation of most of the settlements. The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that the Defense Ministry has come up with a new route that gives BilQin villagers back 700 of the 1,700 dunams, or 170 hectares, that were set to be located on the QIsraeli sideQ of the barrier in the original proposal. Leading media quoted the Egyptian newspaper El-Aosboa as saying yesterday that an Iranian vessel laden with weapons bound for Gaza was torpedoed off the coast of Sudan last week, allegedly by Israeli or American forces operating in the area. The Jerusalem Post reported that Education Minister Gideon SaQar (Likud) has put on hold a government plan aimed at fostering coexistence and tolerance between Jewish and Arab children, so he can further examine the issue. The Jerusalem Post and other media also reported that an Interior Ministry panel has recommended unifying the settlement of Kedar with the city of MaQaleh Adumim. The Jerusalem Post quoted Peace Now as saying that the decision was aimed at ensuring that Kedar would be included inside the security barrier. The media quoted Shin Bet as saying yesterday that Musa Tayet, a Palestinian apprehended two weeks ago, is responsible for murdering a 13-year-old boy in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin on April ¶2. Leading media reported that today Gilad ShalitQs father Noam will travel to the U.S. and meet with senior administration leaders and Jewish community representatives. The media reported that on Thursday PM Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz disclosed the principles of a five-point economic rescue plan to halt unemployment, cut taxes, and restore growth in the economy. The Jerusalem Post reported on the 2009 Greensboro Interfaith Study Mission. All media reported that Israel is on alert for the swine flu, as a young Netanya man returned from Mexico on Friday with minor flu symptoms. Major media reported that raising the alert level to 4, one below that of "pandemic," would likely obligate the GOI to transfer responsibility for containing the disease from the Health Ministry to the Defense Ministry, the only state body with the necessary logistical resources to handle a public health emergency on such a massive scale. Yediot reported that Tel Aviv University has awarded its prize for outstanding journalism to the newspaperQs chief economic editor Sever Plotker. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: Q[At his meeting with the President,] Netanyahu is expected to accept the two-state solution principle with reservations. Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QI do not believe that Israel is going towards an overt confrontation with the United States.... But Israel is losing the special influence that it holds with the U.S. The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QAs an experienced diplomat and statesman, Netanyahu knows there is no free lunch in politics. He should listen to [Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton and not come to Washington with empty hands. Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: QDespite their different approaches, Netanyahu is encouraged by Obama's realism, and it gives him hope that they will be able to develop a cooperative and understanding work relationship. Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz: QThe Qregional peaceQ as a means to neutralize Iran has a much more serious competitor. The United States needs Iran on its main front in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "The Race for a Plan" Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (4/24): QPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to present his new political plan to President Barack Obama in the meeting scheduled between the two ... on May 18th.... The plan is expected to contain three sections: a political section, an economic section, and a security section.... [Foreign Minister] Lieberman plans on holding an extensive Qbrainstorming sessionQ in the Foreign Ministry in an effort to formulate new ideas for the peace process. The plan will be coordinated with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who for his part hopes to reach a regional peace plan. Both Netanyahu and Lieberman are interested in including Egypt and Jordan in a future regional settlement between Israel and its neighbors. Netanyahu is expected to accept the two-state solution principle with reservations. In a conversation behind closed doors Netanyahu said this week that he sees no problem in accepting the principle as long as it is clear that this means Qtwo states for two peoples,Q i.e., that it is evident that Israel accepts the Palestinian state as the state of the Palestinian people, while the Palestinians, for their part, accept Israel as a Jewish nation state. Meanwhile, Israel is formulating security guidelines which it plans to coordinate with the Americans. These are intended to be limitations placed on the Palestinian state that are deemed necessary for Israel's security interests. This discussion is currently being held with the American representatives, among these representatives of General Dayton, who currently reside in Israel.... In the meantime, various press agencies reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a harsh signal to the Netanyahu government yesterday and warned that the continued standstill in negotiations with the Palestinians could severely thwart Israel's efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear program. II. "Second Wedding" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/24): QThe inflammatory statements of Lieberman and other ministers are putting Israel into a dangerous corner. No, I do not believe that Israel is going towards an overt confrontation with the United States. The headlines on this matter are exaggerated. From talks I held in Washington last week, I did not receive the impression that the Obama administration was interested in such a confrontation. It has enough trouble that have been imposed upon it, first of all in economic affairs, and then in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, in that order. Obama will receive Netanyahu with all the conventional friendly gestures, and may throw in a clap on the back so that we can announce that there is chemistry. But Israel is losing the special influence that it holds with the U.S.... A Palestinian state is not on the horizon. The Americans also know this. The debate on the two-state solution is not a burning issue now; it is not relevant. However, those who reject it should ask themselves honestly: if not two states, what should it be. What is the opposite of the two-state solution, one state? Absolutely not, they say. In one state there would not be a Jewish majority. The opposite of the two-state solution is no solution. No solution, that is the glue that binds together the Netanyahu government. III. "No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/27): QThe international community, headed by President Obama, expects Netanyahu to continue to pursue the peace process that he inherited from Ehud Olmert, to freeze construction in the settlements and to ease living conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Arab states, which are committed to the Palestinian issue, will find it difficult to cooperate with an Israeli government that continues the occupation and opposes an agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Israel will lose the support of the West on the Iranian issue if it fails to advance peace with the Palestinians. As an experienced diplomat and statesman, Netanyahu knows there is no free lunch in politics. He should listen to Clinton and not come to Washington with empty hands. Instead of demands and nay saying, which will be met by American opposition, he should convey a clear commitment to the two-state solution, support the Arab peace initiative as the basis of a regional agreement, halt settlement expansion, and engage in efforts to strengthen the Palestinian economy. This is the only way that Netanyahu can mobilize the support of the international community for his main goal -- stopping the Iranian threat. IV. "Diplomatic Foreplay" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz (4/24): QDespite their different approaches, Netanyahu is encouraged by Obama's realism, and it gives him hope that they will be able to develop a cooperative and understanding work relationship. The Prime Minister admires the President's knack for leadership and his well-honed political instincts. He was especially impressed by Obama's interest in Israel's coalition politics, in their phone conversation following the swearing-in of the 18th Knesset, and by his desire to understand all of Netanyahu's considerations. The Prime Minister construed this as understanding on Obama's part for the political constraints faced by a fellow leader, and as a hint that the President will not try to impose on him moves that would be too difficult to digest.... Netanyahu's demands are for the most part reflective of the consensus: saving Israel from the nuclear holocaust Iran is plotting, and having the Palestinians recognize Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. On these matters, there is no opposition in Israel, apart from in the Arab parties, and it will be much easier for members of Congress to back Netanyahu on such issues. It's easy to see why the Prime Minister is downplaying his positions on settlement construction, for instance, telling anyone who asks that the subject is under discussion.... Netanyahu is assuring people that the expectation that he'll have terrible relations with Obama will be disappointed. To realize his ideal scenario, he'll have to do more than present the president with a list of demands. He'll have to give him something in return, too -- some verbal gesture in the direction of the Palestinians and the Arab initiative, or some kind of concrete step in the field. But that's not something Netanyahu is about to reveal now, for fear he will be pressed to make further concessions ahead of the visit. We'll have to wait for the decisions he makes after a QreassessmentQ of Israel's peace policy. ¶V. QGood Thing They Invented Iran Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in Ha'aretz (4/26): QThere is no end to the list of new words and phrases invented for the diplomatic dictionary. The latest gimmick is called Qregional peace.Q It is based on the following formula: Israel and the Arab states have a common enemy called Iran. In order to neutralize the Iranian threat, Israel will ultimately have to adopt the Arab peace initiative, and then something wondrous will happen -- a bloc of states will rally and face down the Iranian nuclear threat.... But the Qregional peaceQ as a means to neutralize Iran has a much more serious competitor. The United States needs Iran on its main front in Afghanistan and Pakistan.... Ideally, Iran, not Pakistan, should serve as a corridor for supplies delivered by NATO into Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Iraq are the dowry Iran is offering to the United States. It's hard to fathom that the U.S. will agree to halt the thaw in its ties with Iran, whether regional peace materializes between Israel and the Arab states or not. The pretext for peace with the Arab world does not abut [IranQs] Alborz Mountains. Regional peace is vital for Israel to become a normal country not apprehensive about conventional threats; this is the same reason it forged peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. Even a goal more modest than forming a regional alliance in the Middle East will be welcomed with open arms. There is no need to brandish Iran as an excuse. CUNNINGHAM