ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000966 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: -------------- ¶1. Mideast ¶2. Iran ¶3. U.S.-Israel Relations -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- 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. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- 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: -------------- ¶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. -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- 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. -------------- ¶3. U.S.-Israel Relations: -------------- Summary: -------------- 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: -------------- "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