It ain't liveblogging, but the roundup of Wikileaks-Israel material continues.
• Reporters will have a harder time with government sources. So predicted Prime Minister Netanyahu in a meeting with editors and journalists:
Netanyahu said that as a result of the huge cache of diplomatic cables that were released Sunday, leaders and diplomats will be more reticent in what they say, and to whom they say it . . .
According to Netanyahu, as a result of the Wikileaks revelations there will now be efforts to reduce the number of people who have access to information, and as a result there will be fewer revelations.
"I'm not sure that this helps you do your job, or us do ours," he told the journalists . . .
• Egypt's role as a regional mediator takes a big hit — especially President Mubarak's efforts to broker Hamas-Fatah reconciliation:
For years, Mubarak's regime has presented itself as the only diplomatic actor capable of resolving the 2007 split between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah that left Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah in control of the West Bank. Palestinians deem reconciliation critical to the success of any peace deal with Israel, but many accuse Egypt of being a biased mediator and therefore unfit for the job. The disclosed documents appear to leave little doubt as to where Egypt stands.
• I was impressed with the reaction from this Chicago Tribune staff-ed:
American diplomats may be embarrassed by these leaks. And WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes no secret that one of his missions is to expose and curb American power around the world.
But this time his method has backfired. These documents reveal an important truth: The U.S. and its allies, including Israel, are not alone in standing against Iran's nuclear bull rush.
Much of the Middle East is rooting for America to stop Iran before it gets the bomb. And blocking Iran's nuclear ambitions also means stopping whatever assist Tehran gets from North Korea. There's no secret about any of that anymore.
See also part 1, which I posted earlier today.
