Cablegate: Israel Media Reaction

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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The leading Internet news service Ynet reported that, Qin a subtle
overture to the U.S.,Q PM Benjamin Netanyahu, DM Ehud Barak and
Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed upon a de facto moratorium on
new building in the settlements. According to the estimates of
officials involved, the freeze will be in effect until the beginning
of 2010. The objective is to provide an opportunity for a Mideast
peace process to gain momentum in hopes that the new "waiting"
tactic will allow international recognition of Israel's sovereignty
in Jerusalem and the large settlement blocs.

All media reported that yesterday four cabinet ministers pressed PM
Benjamin Netanyahu to stand firm against U.S. pressure to freeze
settlement activity, and urged him to continue to build in the West
Bank. Vice PM Moshe Ya'alon and Public Diplomacy and Diaspora
Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, both from the Likud, even went as
far as to advise Netanyahu to ignore Israel's previous commitment to
the U.S. to remove 26 unauthorized outposts and said that some of
those, as well as many of the other 79 could and should be
legalized. Their statements put them at odds with the Prime
Minister's Office and the Defense Ministry, which said that when it
came to the outposts, the law would be enforced. The other cabinet
ministers who toured West bank outposts and the evacuated settlement
of Homesh were Interior Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai and
Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home) party leader Daniel
Herschkowitz.

The media (lead story in HaQaretz) cited an interview granted by
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over the weekend to PBS. Mubarak
was quoted as saying that Egypt, aided by German intelligence, is
working hard to secure the release of Gilad Shalit -- whom Mubarak
dubbed Qour prisonerQ -- but that Israel has added Qterms and
conditionsQ that are impeding progress. The Jerusalem Post reported
that, at a meeting with American Jewish leaders in Washington,
Mubarak pointed to the issue of the repatriation of Palestinian
security prisoners as a key sticking point, as whether they would be
E
returned to the West Bank, Gaza, or sent abroad has yet to be
resolved. HaQaretz quoted participants in that meeting as saying
that Mubarak was Qsurprisingly positiveQ about the leadership of
Netanyahu, DM Ehud Barak, and President Shimon Peres. Mubarak
reportedly said that the current Israeli leadership was committed to
moving the peace process forward with the Palestinians. Israel
Hayom and other media expect Mubarak to clarify to President Obama
that the normalization process between the Arab states will be
possible only after the signing of a peace treaty.

Israel Radio cited the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi that President
Obama and Mubarak will today discuss a new initiative put forward by
former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State James
Baker, and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, which
reportedly provides for a possible renunciation by Palestinians of
the right of return in exchange for full compensation. Israel Radio
quoted the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram as saying that Jimmy Carter
suggested that President Obama name him mediator between Israel and
the Palestinians.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Monday, at the weekly PA cabinet
meeting, PA President Mahmoud Abbas Qappeared to adopt a softer line
than his Fatah factionQ when he said that Qnegotiations were the
only way to achieve peace.Q He added: QWe want peace based on
international justice and legitimacy through negotiations.

The media quoted former Arkansas governor and presidential hopeful
Mike Huckabee as saying during a visit to Israel yesterday that the
U.S. has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of
settlements, hindering peace negotiations. The media quoted him as
saying: QIt concerns me that some in the U.S. tell Israelis they
can't live where they want in their own country." The Jerusalem
Post reported that Eytan Gilboa, an expert on Israeli-American
relations at Bar-Ilan University, told the newspaper yesterday:
QHuckabee has the ability to show Obama that he doesnQt have
bipartisan support for his policies toward Israel, and that if he
wants to depart from tradition, heQs going to be opposed.

Maariv cited the Foreign MinistryQs condemnation of a recent visit
to Saudi Arabia of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) delegation. Aviv
Shiron, the MinistryQs Deputy Director-General, was quoted as saying
that HRW is an Qorganization that receives contributions from a
country that infringes human rights itselfQ and is hostile to Israel
On Sunday Maariv (Ben-Dror Yemini) revealed that John Stork, the
author of the HRW report on IDF abuses during Operation Cast Lead,
had publicly exported his support for the 1972 massacre of Israeli
athletes in Munich and that he had befriended Saddam Hussein.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Izhak Melzer, the lawyer of Ouda
Suleiman Tarabin, an Israeli Bedouin who has been imprisoned in
Egypt nearly a decade in an alleged espionage case that has been
shrouded in secrecy, has recently faxed a plea to President Barack
Obama, asking him to intervene in the matter ahead of the
PresidentQs meeting with President Mubarak. The newspaper reported
that Likud Knesset Member Ayoub Kara is also active in the case.

Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on the joint U.S.-Israel-Turkey naval
maneuvers in the Mediterranean.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the swift delivery by Israel of
vital drinking water systems to Taiwan, in the wake of Typhoon
Morakot, has drawn praise from Taiwanese and local media.

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Mideast:

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Block Quotes:
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I. "While Obama Tarries"

The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (8/18): QThe
battle with the U.S. administration over continued building in the
settlements, and the failure to immediately dismantle illegal
outposts, have become the focus of Israeli policy on the peace
process. This policy is misleading because it creates the false
impression that a compromise on this issue would be enough to
forestall further American pressure for progress in the
negotiations. This view has succeeded in gaining a foothold in part
because the U.S. administration has tarried in drafting its own
comprehensive diplomatic initiative, which would make clear to both
Israelis and Palestinians where it is headed and how it plans to
achieve its goals.... Barack Obama has an opportunity to clarify his
intentions in his meeting today with the president of Egypt. Hosni
Mubarak, like the Palestinians and leaders of the other Arab states,
is expecting to hear from the U.S. President about an action plan to
extricate the region from the diplomatic deep freeze that
characterized his predecessor's time in office. These are the vital
partners without whom the Arab peace initiative -- which Obama sees
as a solid basis for advancing the process -- cannot get off the
ground. Without an orderly plan, plus American involvement to
guarantee its implementation, the Arabs' willingness to harness
themselves to the peace process will lapse. And the settlements will
continue to expand.

II. "Better Not to Help Mubarak"

Veteran journalist and television anchor Dan Margalit wrote in the
independent Israel Hayom (8/18): QFrom the outset there wasn't any
real balance between the Americans' demand to stop construction in
the settlements and the demand that the Arab states extend a few
good-will gestures to Israel on the eve of renewed negotiations with
the Palestinians. To have a medical clinic in [the settlement of]
Beit El is a need, whereas having a route open to El Al planes over
Saudi Arabia is a convenience. But the U.S. is so important a
player in the arena that Attorney Yitzhak Molcho is off to
Washington once again for talks in an attempt to smooth matters over
and to prevent a rift from forming in the relations between Barack
Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama's assessment was that the Arab
gestures were a minor thing. He bowed before the King of Saudi
Arabia -- and returned without a gesture; now he is hosting Mubarak.
Once again, no gesture. After there is peace, said the Egyptian
President, there will be normalization. Where are the gestures in
the wake of the Israeli-Egyptian peace from 1979? Nothing. No such
gestures were made. Mubarak is dissembling. But worse than that:
even if he means what he says, his promises are not going to come
true in the foreseeable future. Either because the regime in Egypt
(as well as in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority)
will refuse or they will hide behind the hackneyed slogan of 'we
can't because the extremists are threatening us.' Mubarak's blunt
statement in America might now shake up and motivate Israel's
friends in the White House and on Capitol Hill, but almost as a
rule, some unexpected incident pushes its way in and blocks the
achievement from being made.... [Unfortunately, a statement made
yesterday by Vice Prime Minister Moshe YaQalon] balances out the bad
impression that Mubarak left on his American hosts. It plays into
the hands of the radical Left in Israel.

III. "Again ThereQs No Partner"

Business correspondent Nehemia Shtrasler wrote in HaQaretz (8/18):
QThe Gaza withdrawal was the right decision. It relieved us of a
huge burden and could have been a significant step leading to a
permanent peace agreement. But the withdrawal was wasted because we
carried it out negligently and poorly. But maybe all this was
planned in advance, because when al-Qaida people from Pakistan and
Afghanistan take over Gaza, we will be able to say with full
confidence that there is no one to talk to. Then we can live by the
sword until the end of days, because, in the words attributed to
early Zionist leader Yosef Trumpeldor, Qit's good to die for our
country.

IV. "Demilitarization Is Not Feasible"

Gabriel Siboni, Director of the IDF Force Structure program at the
Institute for National Security Studies, wrote in HaQaretz (8/18):
QSpeaking at the conclusion of a course for senior officers at the
National Defense College last month, the Prime Minister spoke of the
importance of demilitarizing a future Palestinian state and stated
that no one was interested in having a repeat there of what happened
in Gaza and southern Lebanon. He also stressed the need for
international recognition of demilitarization.... But the threat
against Israel has changed and what is required now is the
crystallization of an up-to-date strategic concept according to
which Israel can fix its future security mechanisms.... The coming
months will be a test period for the Israeli government. The attempt
to base an arrangement with the Palestinians on an archaic security
discourse will merely intensify the danger rather than lessen it....
Israel is facing international pressure to reach an agreement
quickly for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The
conditions the prime minister has posed for its establishment cannot
prevent Iran and Hamas from trying to turn the QdemilitarizedQ West
Bank into a missile base. American defense will also turn out to be
pointless, and past experience in Gaza and Lebanon has proven this.
The desire to alleviate international pressure in the short run
could cost us dearly. It is difficult to see how it would be
possible to achieve a sustainable agreement so long as Iran and
Hamas are busy undermining it.
V. QDrawing Borders Is the First Step

Gershon Baskin, Co-Director of the Israel/Palestine Center for
Research and Information (www.ipcri.org), wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post (8/18): QThe rumors floating around
suggest that Obama's plan will aim to focus first on setting borders
between the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine, now
that Netanyahu has accepted the two-state solution. Focusing on
borders makes good sense, because once borders are agreed upon,
Israel can continue its settlement activities in those areas that
will be annexed to Israel and begin to construct new housing for the
settlers that will have to leave their homes in areas that will
become part of the State of Palestine.... Palestinians will never
accept the possibility that Israel will control their external
borders. Every offer made the Palestinians so far, including the
latest Olmert Qtake-it-or-leave-itQ offer to Mahmoud Abbas fell on
the Israeli demand to control access of Palestinians to the outside
world. No Palestinian leader will ever accept a Palestinian state
which is a sovereign cage. This too should be easy for Israel to
understand because Israel would never accept having its outside
borders controlled by someone else. In fact, there is perhaps no
better definition of sovereignty than this.

VI. QNo Second Thoughts

Jonathan S. Tobin, executive director of Commentary magazine, wrote
in The Jerusalem Post (8/18): QFriends of Israel, especially those
Jewish Democrats who have been doing their best to ignore the White
House's increasingly belligerent tone toward the Jewish state, would
do well to note what happened with [Presidential Medal of Freedom
recipient and former President of Ireland Mary] Robinson. Obama
honored a virulent enemy of Israel, someone who bore a great deal of
responsibility for Durban, one of the most disgraceful episodes in
the history of an institution -- the U.N. -- that is no stranger to
disgrace. And he has gotten away with it with hardly a scratch on
his reputation.... What Obama and his advisers may take away from
this incident is how easily they were able to dismiss a nearly
universal Jewish dismay.... As Robert Malley, the former Clinton
administration staffer who is a prominent critic of Israel, wrote in
The New York Times last week, for either [Fatah of Hamas] Qto accept
Israel as a Jewish state would legitimize the Zionist enterprise
that brought about their tragedy. It would render the Palestinian
national struggle at best meaningless, at worst criminal.Q Thus,
the only possible purpose of the Obama initiative will be to attempt
again to bludgeon Israel into making concessions to Palestinians
that are uninterested in peace.... Far from serving as a warning to
the White House to tread carefully in the future when it comes to
Israel or the Jews, Mary Robinson's medal may turn out instead to be
a trial run for far worse outrages yet to come from this
president.

MORENO

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