ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000418 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. Afghanistan -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- HaQaretz reported that DM Ehud Barak will leave for the U.S. Tuesday to discuss Iran's nuclear program and the possible reviving of talks with the Palestinians. Barak decided to make the trip despite rising security tensions, especially on the northern border. Major media reported that yesterday Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited widespread concern about IranQs nuclear program, but emphasized the importance of diplomatic and economic pressure, rather than military action, to stem it. The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu told the Jewish Agency Board of Governors that the international community was reaching a fateful junction regarding Iran. Barak is to speak with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and senior Pentagon officials, followed by a meeting in New York with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Along with efforts to renew talks with the Palestinians and discussions with the U.N. over the Goldstone report, Barak will devote much of his visit to the Iranian threat and its implications for Israel's relations with its closest neighbors. According to HaQaretz, sources say Jerusalem expects the Obama administration to lead the way next month toward harsh international sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program. Israel is worried that its northern border could flare up if tensions with Tehran rise since the Islamic Republic has close links with Syria and Hizbullah. The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that yesterday, speaking after a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy left open the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state before negotiations with Israel are completed. His foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, has said in recent days that he would be QtemptedQ by the idea. QWe want a Palestinian state but we want a viable state,Q Sarkozy was quoted as saying. Israel Radio said that Abbas has not yet responded to the U.S. administration offer of proximity talks. The media reported that yesterday European Union foreign ministers protested against the use of forged European passports by a hit squad that killed a top Hamas official in Dubai, but stopped well short of blaming Israel for the undercover action. Moreover, The Jerusalem Post noted that the EU foreign ministersQ statement was softer than its original draft, with the EU observer Web site reporting that language referring to Qextra-judicial killingQ was deleted. French President Sarkozy reiterated his condemnation of the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai and insisted "nothing positive" comes of such killings. He added that France cannot accept such "executions." At least 11 passports from Britain, Ireland, Germany, and France - many of them forged - were used by the alleged killers of Mabhouh on January 20. Israel Radio reported that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded that Israel cooperate in his governmentQs investigation of the passport issue. FM Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying in Brussels that there is no evidence linking Israel to the killing. Maariv reported that Dubai and Hamas are trying to QenlistQ the EU -- the latter wishing to define Israel as a terror state. HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the inclusion of two controversial holy places in a list of "national heritage sites," which Israel wants to restore and preserve, set Palestinian protesters hurling rocks and earned a statement of "concern" from the U.N. The Jerusalem Post quoted IsraelQs Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, who urged American Jews to support Israel despite any reservations or differences of opinion regarding Israeli policy. Oren was addressing the Jewish Council for Public Affairs annual plenum in Dallas. HaQaretz reported that Palestinian security sources have told the daily that the PA thwarted a suicide attack about six weeks ago that a young woman from Nablus had planned to carry out in Israel. The woman, who belongs to the Islamic Jihad, was arrested by the Palestinian security forces. A spokesman for the Palestinian forces, Adnan Damiri, was quoted as saying that he had no information on the subject. HaQaretz reported that the Obama administration is pressuring the Israeli authorities to allow four activists of the International Solidarity Movement from the U.S. and Britain to enter the country so they can testify in the civil suit brought against the Defense Ministry by the family of Rachel Corrie, an activist killed by an IDF bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003. The Interior Ministry informed the family's attorney, Hussein Abu Hussein that the witnesses, including a peace activist expelled from Israel in the past, would be allowed entry into the country so they can testify during deliberations scheduled at the Haifa District Court in two weeks. However, the Defense Ministry rejected he family's request to allow Dr. Ahmed Abu Nakira from the Al-Najar Hospital in Rafah, who treated Corrie's injuries and later confirmed her death, to enter Israel. A request by Abu Hussein to question the physician via video conference was also rejected because "it is difficult to identify the witness and present him with documents." Yediot reported that the Foreign Ministry has instructed all the Israeli embassies worldwide to embark on a battle to block an Arab initiative to again raise the Goldstone report at the UN General Assembly this coming Friday and to adopt a resolution that is not to IsraelQs liking. Yediot quoted Foreign Ministry sources as saying that the proposal was phrased in a relatively moderate and balanced fashion with the goal of improving the voting balance for the Arabs. Despite the moderate phrasing, the Foreign Ministry ordered its embassies to act so that the countries of the world oppose the draft on the grounds that addressing the subject will make it difficult to renew the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Evyatar Manor was quoted as saying that Israel was trying to improve the voting pattern of the U.N. General Assembly when it adopted the Goldstone report on November 5 Qin order to deny the legitimacy of the Goldstone process. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is turning a blind eye to a huge poster that was unfurled from a crane in an Ankara suburb on Sunday, showing President Shimon Peres seemingly bowing to Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Jerusalem Post quoted Col. Richard Kemp, one of BritainQs top military commanders, as saying on Sunday that Israel was instrumental in forming the British forcesQ doctrine on suicide bombings in Afghanistan. Kemp was speaking at the U.K. Zionist FederationQs annual dinner in London. The Jerusalem Post reported that Haitian-American Mathieu Eugene, who is visiting Israel as part of a delegation of New York City lawmakers through February 26 with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, is looking for Israeli assistance to Haiti. HaQaretz reported that a new radio station for settlers -- QGalei IsraelQ (IsraelQs Waves) -- was inaugurated yesterday. The popular comic actor Zeev Revah and Channel 10-TVQs regional affairs correspondent Zvi Yehezkeli will take part in its broadcasts. The Jerusalem Post cited a new report released by Hiddush, a religious freedom advocacy group, which describes 2009 as the Qworst year of the decadeQ in terms of religious freedom and equality. Leading media reported that a team of Israeli archaeologists has announced the discovery of a massive wall they say dates to the 10th century BCE in Jerusalem's Ophel Park on the slope between the Temple Mount and the village of Silwan. The dig director, Dr. Eilat Mazar, dates the wall according to potsherds found nearby to the period of King Solomon and the major period of construction in Jerusalem in the First Temple period, as described in the Bible. The dig is a joint project by the Hebrew University, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. HaQaretz reported that Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is planning on presenting the cabinet with a proposal for a two-year budget for the years 2011-2012. The finance minister will also propose establishing a new fiscal policy to determine the growth in government spending from year to year. Steinitz and PM Netanyahu have already reached an agreement on both proposals, and after the cabinet approves, they will be sent on to the Knesset. Yediot reported that the Bank of Israel is opening a representation in New York at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. While the Bank says that the new office is vital for handling IsraelQs monetary affairs at a time of crisis, sources in the institutions told Yediot that the representation is not needed in the age of instant communications. HaQaretz reported that the Israel Electric Corporation is yet again negotiating with energy giant BG, formerly known as British Gas, for the purchase of natural gas from BG's field off the Gaza shoreline. The newspaper says it's questionable whether the talks will go anywhere this time, given the chasm between the price BG wants and the lower price the utility wants to pay. Maariv reported that the famous American boxing champion Muhammad Ali is seeking treatment in Israel for the Parkinson disease from which he suffers. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. QOstrich Policy Senior columnist and longtime peace advocate Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/23): QThe sense is that the Americans have moved aside a bit. Has anybody heard from special envoy George Mitchell lately? Have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's metallic tones been heard? No one can depend on the parties reaching an agreement. Under these circumstances, either an agreement will be forced on us or they will withdraw from the process. With Iran's nuclear developments threatening the whole world, it's more likely to assume that sooner or later they will force an arrangement on us. If reports are true that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is ready to renew talks, with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at his side -- the man who rehabilitated the West Bank and the most serious potential leader on the horizon -- we must decide how to translate Bibi's commitment in his Bar-Ilan speech into a two-state solution. A precondition for the negotiations to succeed, if they take place, is that both sides give up on preconditions, because preconditions are like mines planted at the beginning of the road. A second condition: Before starting talks, each side should figure out how many concessions they are willing to make, so they can come to the table partially ready, at least within their own camps. Are the Palestinians prepared to be flexible regarding permanent borders? Is Israel? Or more precisely, will Israel be able to move some settlements to other areas? Is it prepared to exchange territories? Has the Netanyahu government taken into consideration that the break-in to the Jericho synagogue is just a small sample of what the hilltop thugs are preparing for? Do Bibi and his government have the fortitude to use force to combat domestic insurrection? II. QJericho, Again The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/23): QAssuming, as many in the Israeli media apparently do, that Palestinians will react in a violently Pavlovian way to any Jewish Qprovocation,Q is exaggerated and counterproductive. There have plainly been marked improvements in the will and capacity of the PAQs security forces, many of whom have now been trained within U.S.-funded frameworks. Strikingly, they helped prevent an upsurge of violence against Israel in the West Bank during Operation Cast Lead a year ago. Senior security officials describe cooperation of late as relatively strong. Just yesterday, PA forces helped foil a rocket attack from the West Bank, notifying the IDF of the location of a Qassam [rocket] positioned ready for firing near ModiQin [an important city bordering the West Bank]. A strategic decision by the PA to stamp out terrorism and incitement against Israel, of course, would constitute a huge step on the road to independent statehood. It would also obviate the need for concern when Jews sought to visit holy sites in Palestinian-controlled territory -- a sadly improbable scenario, and hardly the one envisaged by the organizers of SundayQs mission to Jericho. III. QItQs not Just Barack Obama Lenny Ben-David, who served as a senior diplomat in the Israeli Embassy in Washington and a member of AIPACQs staff in Washington and Jerusalem from 1992 to 1997, wrote in The Jerusalem Post (2/23): QIn January, President Barack Obama granted an interview to Time magazine to mark his first year in office. In discussing the Middle East peace process Obama admitted, Q ... the Middle East peace process has not moved forward. And I think it's fair to say for all of our efforts at early engagement, it is not where I want it to be. I'll be honest with you. This is just really hard.Q This was hardly news in Israel. In the U.S., the similar response is QWell, duh.Q Yes, making peace in the Middle East is really hard, but Obama's frustration may actually reflect a historical and almost predictable truism about American Middle East policy in the first year of a president's term. IV. QAbu Mazen Is Trying to Say: Trust Me Conservative columnist and former senior IDF officer Yaakov Amidror wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (2/23): QLike us, the Palestinians know that at the end of the day the Palestinian AuthorityQs success in controlling the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria is contingent to a great extent upon continued IDF action against Hamas and its allies. That understanding stems directly from the lessons learned in the wake of the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.... Israel is concerned about a scenario in which Hamas develops capabilities in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] that resemble those it has in Gaza insofar as pertains to terror attacks and firepower. This concern complements the Palestinian fear of HamasQs rise as a dominant political movement. It is the combination of those two interests that has produced the new and good relations between the Palestinian security forces and Shin Bet and the IDF.... It appears that on the eve of the commencement of indirect talk with Israel, PA Chairman Abu Mazen is trying to show that he can be trusted with security-related issues. The Palestinians understand that IsraelQs fears of terrorism are met by the world with understanding, and that it behooves them to dispel those fears. That is the context in which one ought to see both the decision to turn the rocket over to Israel and the decision to leak that course of action. -------------- ¶2. Afghanistan: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- QWhere Is Goldstone? Columnist Boaz Bismuth, who was IsraelQs Ambassador to Mauritania between 2004 and 2008, wrote in the independent Israel Hayom (2/23): QThe foreign ministers of the European Union countries, who convened yesterday in Brussels, issued a statement condemning the use of European passports in Dubai in the assassination of the senior Hamas official, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. At almost precisely the same time, the Afghani government announced that at least 27 civilians, including four women and a child, were killed on Sunday in a NATO air strike in southern Afghanistan.... There is a question that must be asked -- where is Goldstone? Could it be that there are double standards in our world? The Afghani government and NATO headquarters announced quickly that they would investigate the tragic incident. Friends, weQre in Afghanistan, not in Gaza. A hypocritical world? Heaven forbid. A license to kill was issued in Afghanistan for two reasons: there is an international consensus about the war on terrorism in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, and an international coalition was built to include the masters of morality from Europe. But the face of things in the Middle East is otherwise. In a normal world, the assassination of Mabhouh would be part of the global war against terrorism. In our world, Mabhouh was assassinated, according to the French Foreign Minister, because there isnQt a Palestinian state yet. At this rate, the NATO commission of inquiry might even go on to declare that the death of 44 Afghani civilians in the past number of days occurred because a Palestinian state hasnQt yet been established. In a hypocritical world, anything is possible." CUNNINGHAM