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Cablegate: Israel Media Reaction

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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001802

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD

WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
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SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA
HQ USAF FOR XOXX
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JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA
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COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019

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JERUSALEM ALSO ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS

SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------------------------

1. Iran

2. Mideast

-------------------------
Key stories in the media:
-------------------------

The media reported that Israeli and Hamas spokespeople have
presented conflicting reports on progress in the talks about the
possible release of Gilad Shalit. YediotQs Arab affairs
correspondent Smadar Perry quoted a senior Egyptian source as saying
that the U.S. is involved Qbehind the scenesQ in the negotiations,
mainly on the Syrian track. (One of the Hamas sources who talked to
Israel Radio said that an (unspecified) Qthird partyQ is involved in
the parley.) According to Yediot, should Bashar Assad show
Qpositive involvementQ he would get a Qbonus in the form of a new
American ambassador to Syria,Q the first after 2004. Yediot said
that the American premise is that a prisoner exchange deal will
remove a political obstacle and will facilitate the introduction of
President Obama's plan for implementing the Arab peace initiative.

All media reported that a special prayer gathering was held last
night at the Western Wall to celebrate Gilad ShalitQs 23th birthday
-- his fourth one in captivity.

Leading media reported that two Israelis were lightly wounded
yesterday evening when Palestinians opened fire on their car north
of Ramallah. Israel Radio reported that an organization called the
QAl-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades-the Imad Mughniyah GroupsQ claimed
responsibility for the attack. The radio reported that settlers
blamed the lifting of roadblocks in the area for the incident.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Bill Van Esveld, the
Jerusalem-based researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), told the
newspaper that there is evidence to indicate that war crimes were
committed by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who allegedly used
civilians as "human shields" during Operation Cast Lead. The Post
says that this is the first time an international human rights
organization has publicly made such a statement. However, the
newspaper cited HRW as saying that the PalestiniansQ action does not
justify the armyQs response. The newspaper reported that HRW is due
to hold a press conference to present its new report on Cast Lead
and specifically the alleged killing by IDF soldiers of 11
Palestinians who were holding white flags.

Maariv and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Sunday U.S.
Republicans, headed by former Arkansas Governor and presidential
hopeful Mike Huckabee, a candidate in the 2008 presidential
elections, will attend a festive dinner at the controversial
Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem to signal President Obama that
construction in East Jerusalem will continue. Cabinet members and
Knesset members will be among the 100 attendees.

HaQaretz reported that Israel has recently been putting up more
obstacles for foreign nationals who enter the country if they have
family, work, business, or academic ties in the West Bank. It now
restricts their movements to "the Palestinian Authority only." The
people concerned are citizens of countries that have diplomatic ties
with Israel, mainly Western countries. HaQaretz noted that, in
imposing such restrictions, Israel is in breach of the Oslo
Accords.

The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday senior Fatah leaders in
Gaza demanded an investigation into alleged fraud in this weekQs
election for the factionQs Central Committee.

The Jerusalem Post and Maariv reported that yesterday the Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA) condemned the World Archeological
Congress for holding an international conference in Ramallah
dedicated to Qovercoming structural violenceQ and the negative
impact of politics on archeology. The IAA also complained about
Israel being excluded from the conference.

Maariv and other media reported that DM Ehud Barak has boosted the
number of IDF Civil Administration inspectors from 40 to 60, in
order to tighten supervision of construction in the unauthorized
settler outposts.

The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that the IDFQs Civil
Administration has issued stop-work orders on 12 modular homes that
it claims have been illegally placed at the edge of a street on a
hilltop within the Kochav YaQakov. (Yesterday, Israel Radio had
cited Peace NowQs criticism about construction there.) The
Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday MaQaleh Adumim Mayor Benny
Kashriel protested a sudden governmental freeze on a planned
19-dunam (4.7-acre) industrial project in his settlement city. The
newspaper quoted Kashriel as saying that Netanyahu Qis playing into
the hands of the Americans. He is doing above and beyond what they
want.

Leading media quoted Deputy FM Danny Ayalon as saying yesterday that
Syria should deal directly with Israel and not insist on indirect
negotiations through Turkey as if Israel had a plague or was a
pariah.

Maariv reported that the Iranian government has requested that the
U.N.Qs International Atomic Energy Agency pass a resolution next
month forbidding an attack on nuclear installations.

Yediot (Shimon Shiffer) quoted a senior Israeli defense source as
saying that Hizbullah has established an advanced base in Venezuela,
from which it is gathering intelligence in South America --
especially in Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. The source was quoted as
saying that the group is planning a terrorist attack in retaliation
for the February 2008 assassination of its top operative Imad
Mughniyah.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Central Conference of American
Rabbis, the largest rabbinic organization of Reform Judaism, has
urged Israelis to reject Qproposed laws that would limit the
citizenship rightsQ of Israeli Arabs and has called on the Israeli
government to increase funding for Israeli Arab infrastructure and
education.

The Jerusalem Post reported that American, German, and Israeli
students are working together in an archeological project at Ramat
Rachel, south of Jerusalem (inside the Green Line). The daily says
that the 21 American students come from Moravian College and the
associated Moravian Theological Seminary in eastern Pennsylvania.

HaQaretz reported that the swine flu is rapidly spreading in Israel:
The Health Ministry said yesterday that the number of people who
have caught the disease rose 3.6% in the past two weeks. Half of
the cases are patients under 30.

Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited the results of a Rasmussen Reports
survey:
- 70% of Americans view Israel as an ally.
- 80% of Americans say that the Palestinian leaders should recognize
IsraelQs right to exist.

The Jerusalem Post cited the results of an international survey
conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross about the
60th anniversary of the ratification of the Geneva Conventions. The
Israeli poll, carried out by the local polling firm Geocartography,
shows the vast majority of Israelis have heard of the treaties but
that 46% don't think they have contributed anything to preventing
wars from escalating.

---------
1. Iran:
---------

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

"The Secret Sextet"

Senior commentator Ari Shavit wrote in the independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz (8/13): QAs everyone knows, Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet is
a mess. Big, bloated and mediocre, it is stressed out and
flip-flopping, running scared and fundamentally flawed. However,
this wretched cabinet contains one apparatus worthy of special
mention -- the sextet. This is the supreme strategic team consisting
of Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Avigdor Lieberman, Moshe Ya'alon, Dan
Meridor, and Benny Begin. The most disturbing information on the
sextet's agenda regards Iran. National Security Adviser Uzi Arad
was right -- the earth is scorched The sextet will have to make
fatal decisions in the near future. The world is talking about plan
A (dialogue) and preparing for plan B (sanctions). But the dialogue
is a joke and the sanctions could be too little, too late. If the
United States doesn't come to its senses the dilemma will be in plan
C (to bomb or not to bomb). This dilemma does not bode well. So
the sextet faces a double challenge -- it must think of an
alternative creative idea on the one hand, and get America to sober
up on the other. The democratic rebellion against Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has created a golden opportunity. Begin,
Meridor, Ya'alon, Lieberman, Barak, Netanyahu, and Obama must use it
swiftly and resolutely.

------------
2. Mideast:
------------

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

I. "Regards from Bethlehem"

Regional correspondent Ronni Shaked wrote in the mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (8/13): QThe new Fatah leadership, which
is much younger and dynamic, and which is comprised mainly of
residents of the territories, is the most important achievement that
was made by the Fatah Central Conference in Bethlehem.... But
victory at the conference is still not victory on the Palestinian
street. In order to win back the public's faith, to restore Fatah's
lost glory as a national liberation movement, the new leadership is
going to have to prove first and foremost the absence of
malfeasance. The challenges facing this new leadership are on the
verge of the impossible.... Let no one harbor any illusions. One
certainly must take into account the possibility that the new
leadership of Fatah will be more militant and extreme in its
demands. Netanyahu must understand that improving the economy and
introducing relief measures that ease daily life will not serve as a
substitute for progress in the negotiations and the establishment of
an independent Palestinian state. Ghnaim, Dahlan, Rajoub, Tirawi,
and Barghouti (irrespective of whether he is released from prison)
are likely to overcome the enmity among them and to rally around
them the Palestinians, who currently don't have the energy for
another Intifada, to join in another round of violence, in the event
that they should be convinced that they will not be able to get
Israel to budge by any other means. Business can be done with the
new Fatah leadership. The ball is in our court (as well).


II. "Outflanking Olmert from the Left"

Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in the independent, left-leaning
HaQaretz (8/13): QAccording to the hints that [Gilad ShalitQs]
captors have been leaking by way of the Arab media, the Likud
government (Likud, of all parties) is planning to pay -- with a few
cosmetic changes here and there designed to paper over the shame --
the price that Ehud Olmert refused to pay.... Putting an end to the
Shalit stand-off, some say, would allow Israel to focus on the
really important issue -- Iran. Yet capitulating to Hamas would
harm Israel's primary peacetime weapon -- deterrence. Deterrence is
now Israel's main weapon against Iran, against a terrorist
escalation by Hamas or Hizbullah, and against the Qbelligerent
optionsQ entertained by the leaders of Fatah, both Qold guardQ and
Qyoung guard,Q at their convention. Surrendering to Hamas would
deal a grievous blow to this deterrence. It would also harm the
government's image in the eyes of the region's other pot-stirrers,
including the United States, Russia and the European Union.... Gilad
has to be brought home -- it is our duty. And he will be brought
home. But under no circumstances through capitulation.

III. "The Palestinians ArenQt Suckers, Either"

Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post (8/13): Q[Netanyahu] just can't expect
Abbas, as president of the Palestinian Authority, to cooperate....
Why should he want to negotiate a new deal when he's being told it
won't be anywhere near as fair as the one he turned down last year,
or even the one his predecessor turned down nine years ago? Yes,
Palestinian leaders are an obstinate breed. While I don't blame
Abbas or Arafat for rejecting Israel's offers -- we're pretty
exacting when it comes to land disputes, too -- I blame them for
refusing ever to acknowledge publicly that Israel was sincerely
trying to reach an agreement. Such an acknowledgment could have
improved the climate for peacemaking tremendously. However, while
Abbas, like Yasser Arafat before him, has been obstinate, he has
never done what Netanyahu is doing now -- wiped the slate clean and
presented a new offer that marks a wholesale retreat from what his
side was offering before.... The sad thing is that Netanyahu and
most Israelis think we're being reasonable and Abbas is being
radical, or rejectionist, or maximalist or something. I wish Abbas
would take my advice and negotiate with us in kind, treating Israel
as Qdisputed territoryQ just as Netanyahu treats the West Bank. It
might be a learning experience for us. It might teach us a little
humility, show us that we're not the only people who can claim
rights to land around here. It's not going to happen, of course.
We are at a stalemate in the peace process. I just hope that in
trying to break this stalemate, the Obama administration doesn't
flinch from the truth that today, the main obstacle to peace is not
in Ramallah, it's in Jerusalem.

MORENO

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