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. Iran


3. U.S.-Israel Relations

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Key stories in the media:
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HaQaretz cited the concern of PM Benjamin Netanyahu's aides that
President Obama will "surprise" the Prime Minister with
unanticipated ideas and demands at the leaders' upcoming meeting in
Washington on May 18. A political source in Jerusalem was quoted as
saying that Netanyahu's associates have been recently discussing a
scenario in which Obama makes unequivocal demands on issues like
West Bank settlement construction, illegal outposts, and
negotiations with the Palestinians. The aides also reportedly fear
a public clash between the two leaders, such as during a news
conference or in comments the pair make, in which their differences
will be aired. A number of Netanyahu's aides are set to head to
Washington and Europe next week for meetings with senior White House
officials to prepare the ground for the PMQs visit. Netanyahu's
strategic adviser Ron Dermer will meet with senior White House and
State Department officials when he is in the U.S. next week for the
annual AIPAC conference. The source's comments came after officials
in Jerusalem were themselves surprised by a report in the Los
Angeles Times on Monday that the Obama administration has asked
Congress to amend U.S. law to enable the Palestinian Authority to
receive federal aid even if Hamas joins a unity coalition.

The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Defense Secretary Robert
Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee that use of the
military option to force Iran to halt its nuclear program would only
yield temporary and ineffective results, and that sanctions make
more sense. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Iranian nuclear
program will be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming AIPAC
conference.

Leading media reported that Netanyahu will meet with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak in a week.

Maariv led with private comments by PM Benjamin Netanyahu praising
Mossad Director Meir Dagan, mostly for his efforts to counter the
Iranian nuclear threat. The newspaper reported that Dagan has been
asked to stay at his post for an eighth year.

The media reported that seven Israeli Arabs, including two minors,
were indicted yesterday for planning terror attacks and attempting
to kidnap IDF soldiers. HaQaretz cited a claim of responsibility
for the groupQs actions by a QmysteriousQ organization -- QAhrar Al
JaleelQ [Free People of the Galilee].

The Jerusalem Post reported that today the IDF will begin to
sanction Palestinian workers who stay in Israel beyond the time
allotted to them by military-issued permits.

Major media reported that House of Representatives Speaker Nancy
Pelosi pledged to continue to fight for the release of Gilad Shalit,
welcoming his father, Noam, to Congress as part of efforts to help
his cause.

HaQaretz reported that the UNQs Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs demands that Israel freeze all pending
demolition orders against Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.
Maariv and The Jerusalem Post cited a 2008 report issued by the
Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) stating
that the state has carried out more demolition orders of illegal
buildings in Jewish settlements in the territories than in
Palestinian communities. The Jerusalem Post quoted Hagit Ofran of
Peace Now as saying that the numbers in the report were misleading
and that if those demolitions were significant, the settlers would
have complained and protested over each one.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Foreign Ministry has blasted
the World BankQs report on the alleged water shortage in the West
Bank and Gaza which held Israel party responsible. The Ministry
said the author QignoredQ IsraelQs position. The newspaper also
reported that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace
Process Robert Serry called the situation in Gaza QalarmingQ after
he visited the area yesterday.

Maariv reported that the United Israel Appeal, the strongest
fundraising organization in the U.S., is opposed to the appointment
to chairman of the Jewish Agency of former minister Natan Sharansky,
who is NetanyahuQs candidate. The daily quoted a source involved in
the nomination process as saying that Sharansky has accumulated too
much strength and that institutions are afraid of him.

The Jerusalem Post cited AFP as saying yesterday that Turkey dropped
its genocide claims against Israel.

A Yediot reporter who visited Iraq said that the American troops
Qare having funQ between the bombings and Qdo not really want to go
home.

All media continued to focus on the swine flu epidemic: The Health
Ministry has opened a health clinic at Ben-Gurion International
Airport to test travelers returning from Mexico -- one of several
steps the government decided on yesterday to counter the swine flu
outbreak. The government acted as two additional suspected cases of
the disease came to light. Two 3rd-grade classes were shut down in
RaQanana because a student who returned from Mexico is suspected of
having come down with symptoms of the virus.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QThough
Fatah and Hamas continue squabbling, they agree on two things: a
rejection of Israel as a Jewish state, and a refusal to share this
land with non-Muslims. If any plan presented by Netanyahu to Obama
is going to matter, those attitudes have to change.

Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe Americans and the Egyptians are even
willing to warmly embrace NetanyahuQs Qeconomic peace.Q The main
thing is for there to be a sense of relief on the ground, for the PA
to gain strength, and for the calm to be maintained both in the West
Bank and in Gaza.

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist
Maariv: QAmong top Israeli security officials, some believe that
Obama, unlike his predecessors, will go for broke. He will set a
timetable and will try to meet it.

Meretz founder and former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni wrote in
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: QWhen a major general and a
philosopher justify -- out of a sense of moral superiority -- our
acts of injustice toward the other ... they cast a very heavy shadow
on all ... hopes.

Block Quotes:
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I. "Waiting for Netanyahu"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/1):
QThe plan Netanyahu will be taking to the White House next month
needs to offer a sensible way forward on the Palestinian track, even
if truly substantive progress may be difficult until the Iranian
crisis is contained. He will garner the support of Israel's
majority -- and of the pro-Israel community worldwide -- if he
broadly enunciates the country's Qred linesQ on defensible
boundaries, strategic settlement blocs, the parameters of
Palestinian sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza, [and] the issue
of Jerusalem and Arab refugees. Furthermore, his government's
credibility would be immeasurably enhanced by the dismantling of
unauthorized settlement outposts, demonstrating that the West Bank
is not the Wild West. The Palestinians have just shown how Qlaw
works in the territory under their jurisdiction: On Wednesday, a
Hebron court sentenced a man to be hanged for selling a parcel of
land to a Jew. Though Fatah and Hamas continue squabbling, they
agree on two things: a rejection of Israel as a Jewish state, and a
refusal to share this land with non-Muslims. If any plan presented
by Netanyahu to Obama is going to matter, those attitudes have to
change.


II. "Allied Forces"

Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in the mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/1): QEgypt has no illusions. It is
clear to it that a final status arrangement will not be signed
between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future. But it
expects minor Israeli steps that will give the PA oxygen, such as a
commitment to remove settlements within a year or two. This oxygen,
say the Egyptians, is vital for maintaining stability and empowering
the emerging new coalition. This is also what U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton was referring to when she pointed last week in
Congress to a direct relationship between the success of the battle
against Iran and positive Israeli steps vis-`-vis the Palestinians.
The Americans are also not demanding anything dramatic from Israel.
They want symbolic measuresQeven a semblance of activityQsuch as
dealing with illegal settlement outposts, assisting General Dayton,
who is in charge of building the Palestinian AuthorityQs police
force, and removing roadblocks. The Americans and the Egyptians are
even willing to warmly embrace NetanyahuQs Qeconomic peace.Q The
main thing is for there to be a sense of relief on the ground, for
the PA to gain strength, and for the calm to be maintained both in
the West Bank and in Gaza, which is a necessary condition for
maintaining the Arab coalition against Iran.

III. QThere Is an Agenda

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist
Maariv (5/1): QAbu Mazen, who will also submit an outline for
regional peace (in cooperation with the Arab states),will try to
warn Obama of the greatest danger posed by Netanyahu, as he sees it:
The time element. Bibi, Abu Mazen will tell Obama, is a world
champion in wasting time. Suddenly you will discover that in order
to remove an illegal settlement outpost in Israel, it takes many
months, including a High Court of Justice ruling and appeals of the
ruling, and attempts to reach a compromise with the settlers, and
from one thing to the next, before you know what happened, your term
of office will be over -- just as it ended for many presidents
before you. Obama will listen. He has no intention of falling
into these pitfalls. Among top Israeli security officials, some
believe that Obama, unlike his predecessors, will go for broke. He
will set a timetable and will try to meet it.



IV. "Not Just and not Really Democratic"

Meretz founder and former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni wrote in
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/1): QMaj. Gen. Amos
Yadlin, [the head of IDF Intelligence,] and philosopher Asa Kasher,
two respected men around here, published an article entitled: QA
Just War of a Democratic State,Q (Yediot Aharonot, April 24)....
Democracy exists in the State of Israel today only in the formal
sense: There are parties and elections and a good judicial system.
But there is also an omnipotent army that ignores legal decisions
that restrict the theft of land owned and held by people who have
been living under occupation for the past 42 years. And since 1992,
as we mentioned, we also have the definition QJewish state,Q which
means an ethnocracy -- the rule of an ethnic religious community
that strictly determines the ethnic origin of its citizens according
to maternal lineage.... We are currently celebrating IsraelQs 61st
anniversary. We fought the War of Independence out of a great hope
that we would build a Qmodel societyQ here, that we would make peace
with our neighbors, work the land and develop the Jewish genius for
the benefit of science, culture and the value of man -- every man.
But when a major general and a philosopher justify -- out of a sense
of moral superiority -- our acts of injustice toward the other in
such a way, they cast a very heavy shadow on all those hopes.

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2. Iran:
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Summary:
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Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: QIts strong commitment to Israeli security
will not allow America to forcibly prevent a military operation
designed to prevent a second Holocaust. That is the message
Netanyahu will try to implant in the minds of the members of
Congress.

Block Quotes:
--------------


I. "Staving Off a QSecond HolocaustQ"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/1): QIsrael will find it difficult to
attack Iran alone without a Qgreen lightQ from America, even if it
is only implied and if America ostensibly turns a blind eye. But
once the moment of truth arrives, it is doubtful Obama would give
the order to take down the Israeli planes heading to Iran -- or for
that matter to declare an end of aid to Israel or to sever
relations. Obviously, the U.S. will want to remain somewhat
distanced from any operation that is launched, so as not to be
vulnerable to the anticipated Iranian response. But its strong
commitment to Israeli security will not allow America to forcibly
prevent a military operation designed to prevent a second Holocaust.
That is the message Netanyahu will try to implant in the minds of
the members of Congress.

II. "Clear and Present Danger"

The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (5/1):
QThe AmericansQ vile blackmailing vis-a-vis Israel is taken straight
from the book of World War II: If you donQt give up everything to
the Palestinians, it will be impossible to deal with the Iranian
nuclear project. On IsraelQs side, this conception has another
layer: The strategic partnership with their Americans is so
important that Israel must not make any move without coordination
with them. This means that Israel had better live with a nuclear
Iran but not lose American security aid, and not the other way
around, which reminds one of the Yom Kippur War surprise.

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3. U.S.-Israel Relations:
--------------

Summary:
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Washington correspondent Hilary Leila Krieger wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: QIn the case of Israel,
being jealous of other countries and insecure about U.S. interest
only strains a relationship that needs no additional stressors. It
is, in short, counterproductive.

Block Quotes:
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"Justified Paranoia?"

Washington correspondent Hilary Leila Krieger wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (5/1): QHow smoothly the
parties[Obama and Netanyahu] proceed could depend significantly on
how much the two leaders develop the necessary personal rapport,
i.e. trust: Does Netanyahu trust that Obama will do whatQs needed on
Iran when push comes to shove? Does Obama trust that Netanyahu will
work as hard for peace as his coalition will allow? And paranoia
doesnQt help trust. One Israeli official compared the situation to
that of a suspicious boyfriend questioning his girlfriendQs
feelings, to the point that nothing becomes something, driving the
two apart. In the case of Israel, being jealous of other countries
and insecure about U.S. interest only strains a relationship that
needs no additional stressors. It is, in short, counterproductive.
By way of example, one shrewd Washington observer pointed out that
the Obama administration had no particular allegiance to the
Annapolis process -Q a Bush-era initiative loaded with baggage -
until Avigdor Lieberman began his tenure as foreign minister by
declaring Annapolis had Qno validity.Q That then compelled Obama to
explicitly back the process, for the first time publicly referring
to it in a high-profile speech during his address to the Turkish
parliament.

CUNNINGHAM