Cablegate: Israel Media Reaction
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 006911
SIPDIS
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
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Iranian Nuclear Program
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Key stories in the media:
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Major media reported on the Mehlis report, which was
delivered yesterday to the UN Security council,
claiming that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence knew
about the plot to assassinate Hariri, though at this
stage, according to Ha'aretz, no sanctions are to be
imposed on Syria. According to a report published in
Yediot Aharonot, Israel assisted UN special
investigator Mehlis and gave him material that ties
Syrian intelligence organizations with the Hariri
murder. All media also reported on the killing
yesterday, by a car bomb, of journalist Gibran Tueni,
editor of an anti-Syrian publication, the latest in a
string of assassinations of anti-Syrian figures in
Lebanon.
A related report in Yediot Aharonot says Israel will
not encourage US and EU decisionmakers to take steps
toward removing Syria's Assad from power. This emerged
in a discussion Prime Minister Ari'el Sharon held with
the foreign minister, defense minister, the NSC head,
and the heads of the the intelligence community. PM
Sharon instructed the intelligence officials to avoid
contact with mediators who offer to launch a secret
track of contacts with Syria, which Sharon maintained,
are only meant to lift international pressure off
Syria. A security source reportedly said yesterday
that the Syrians will try to increase tension on the
northern border in an attempt to divert the world's
attention from them, and the Northern Command was
instructed to deploy accordingly.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the European Union on
Monday, chose not to endorse or publish a draft report
highly critical of Israel's activity in East Jerusalem,
particularly of the security barrier and "illegal
settlement" activity. Israeli officials welcomed the
decision of the EU's 25 foreign ministers, who
considered whether to accept the report at a meeting of
the General Affairs and External Relations Council of
EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Israeli diplomats
objected to the report, calling its language "very
unpleasant" and suggesting its formal adoption could
threaten relations between Israel and the EU. Foreign
Ministry spokesman Mark Regev described the move not to
adopt the report as "the right decision." Yediot
Aharonot added that the publication of the report was
prevented due to an Italian veto, showing once again
that "Italy is one of Israel's closest friends in
Europe."
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel decided on
Monday night to partially ease the closure around the
West Bank. The more lax restrictions would permit
passage of 28,000 workers from Judea and Samaria into
Israel. An additional 9,500 Palestinians from the Gaza
Strip were allowed to enter Israel. Israel Radio
reported that the more relaxed travel conditions were
not extended to Jenin and Tulkarm, which remain under
closure since the suicide bombing in Netanya last week.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that in a recently
held joint Shin Bet and IDF operation in the West Bank,
a "Hizballah gun-for-hire" who led a seven-man cell was
detained in the Nabulus area.
The IDF Radio cited Palestinian sources as saying that
a Gaza farmer was shot and killed last night by IDF
soldiers, but an army spokesman said IDF soldiers did
not fire at any targets in Gaza. The radio added that
three Palestinians and two IDF soldiers were wounded in
a Nabulus clash last night.
Reporting on a Dahaf poll of Likud Party members, held
six days before the primaries and after Shaul Mofaz
quit Likud and joined Kadima, Yediot Aharonot says that
while Netanyahu keeps his 39% of the vote, leading as
candidate for Likud chairman, Silvan Shalom went up
from 14% to 29%, apparently gaining from Mofaz's move.
The poll shows Feiglin gaining too, going from 8% two
weeks ago to 11% yesterday, and Minister Yisra'el Katz
advanced from 2% to 6%. Maariv poll results show the
same trend, with slightly different results: Binyamin
Netanyahu receives 45.5% among those who intend to vote
and 35.3% among all respondents; Silvan Shalom: 22%
among those who intend to vote and 22.5% among all
respondents; Moshe Feiglin: 15.5% among those who
intend to vote and 11.8% among all respondents; and
Yisrael Katz: 2.7% among those who intend to vote; 2.5%
among all respondents.
1. Iranian Nuclear Program
Summary
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Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el writes in
independent, left-leaning Haaretz: "International
organizations such as the International Atomic Energy
Agency and the UN Security Council are bound by two
fundamental understandings that accompany its treatment
of Iranian nuclear power. The first is that there is
no military option, certainly not while the war in Iraq
teaches a daily lesson to those who support this
option; and the second is that in light of Iran's
strong economic standing and its special ties with
China and Russia, it would be unrealistic to threaten
it with economic sanctions. To these basic
understandings we should add the American attempt to
get Iran involved in pacifying Iraq so that it could
finally start considering a pullout date.. Meanwhile,
it seems that the more Israel raises the Iranian issue,
the more distant a solution becomes. The double trap -
that of the United States against its partners, Russia
and China, and that of Israel, which seeks to convince
others that Iran poses a world threat - plays right
into Iranian hands."
Bloc quotes
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"Ahmadinejad Can Keep Smiling"
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el writes in
independent, left-leaning Haaretz: "The following
statistics will help explain the difficulty of imposing
economic sanctions on Iran: In the beginning of 2006,
total trade between Iran and China will reach some $8
billion, and by the end of 2006 it will rise to $10
billion; the gas pipeline between Iran and India will
cost some $10 billion, and is meant to provide for a
significant portion of India's gas needs; and Russia is
set to sign an agreement to sell Iran $1 billion-worth
of weapons. Iran, which is becoming transformed by
world oil prices into an ever wealthier state and one
that can pay for its deals primarily in cash, is
economically prosperous. It appears that it's
leadership thinks its in such a good position that it
can reject a Russian compromise proposal on the nuclear
issue, and that it can depend on China to veto any
sanction the United Nations may decide to impose..
This standing of Iran, and particularly the dependence
of Russia and China on Iran (along with other countries
like Japan, India, and Pakistan, which have no veto
power in the UN Security Council), creates the
impression that the West does not have a real option of
dealing with the threat of Iran's nuclear weapons -
whether it is true or false. This impression is very
close to reality, as long as international
organizations such as the International Atomic Energy
Agency and the UN Security Council are bound by two
fundamental understandings that accompany its treatment
of Iranian nuclear power. The first is that there is
no military option, certainly not while the war in Iraq
teaches a daily lesson to those who support this
option; and the second is that in light of Iran's
strong economic standing and its special ties with
China and Russia, it would be unrealistic to threaten
it with economic sanctions. To these basic
understandings we should add the American attempt to
get Iran involved in pacifying Iraq so that it could
finally start considering a pullout date. In the last
two weeks, US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has
been trying to find an Iranian interlocutor on the
issue, so far unsuccessfully. These attempts further
strengthen the feeling of Iranian power. Moreover, an
Iranian nuclear weapon is viewed by Europe, Russia, and
China only as breaching the world balance of power, not
as a direct threat to them. This is in complete
opposition to the position of Israel, which is not
particularly impressed by breaches of the world balance
of power, as it doesn't protest the development of
Indian or Pakistani nuclear power (and itself never
endorsed the NPT). Israel sees Iranian nuclear power
as a direct threat to it, and only to it. That's where
another reason for the international shoulder shrugging
comes in: Iranian nuclear power is considered almost
exclusively an Israeli problem, and this fact makes it
even more difficult to get the world to act jointly
against Iran. Meanwhile, it seems that the more Israel
raises the Iranian issue, the more distant a solution
becomes. The double trap - that of the United States
against its partners, Russia and China, and that of
Israel, which seeks to convince others that Iran poses
a world threat - plays right into Iranian hands. Even
if Iran does not end up producing a nuclear weapon, it
will be able to continue holding the whip of the threat
of producing it and rely on global disagreements to
rescue it."
JONES