ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 001125

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD

WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
NSC FOR NEA STAFF

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


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Mideast


2. Iran: Nuclear Program

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Key stories in the media:
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All media reported on, and Maariv bannered, an
"inciting gathering" held last night in Jerusalem by
the "hard-core, extremist opponents to disengagement"
(according to Ha'aretz, members of the messianic
faction of the Chabad-Lubavitch group),under the
slogan: "Arik Sharon, you are bringing a holocaust upon
us." A sign read: "Despite attempts to limit the
quantity of weapons and ammo, each settlement has more
weapons and ammo than the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto
insurrection had." Aryeh Bibi, who led the police in
the 1982 Yamit pullout, told Jerusalem Post: "The
security forces need to prepare themselves for all
worst-case scenarios that might erupt during the
evacuation. The police have hard days before them and
they had better prepare accordingly." Ha'aretz
reported that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will ask the
cabinet at its weekly meeting on Sunday to establish a
new unit in her ministry to deal with incitement,
sedition, and violence related to the disengagement
plan. Livni told Ha'aretz: "The threat is not confined
to implementing the disengagement; the rule of law
itself is now at stake." Hatzofe bannered: "Sharon's
Dictatorship: Thought Police For 'War on Incitement.'"

Ha'aretz quoted Israeli defense sources as saying that
the Palestinian security services have recently located
and sealed 12 arms-smuggling tunnels along the
Philadelphi route, on the Gazan-Egyptian border. The
newspaper cites the IDF's satisfaction over the
Palestinian efforts, which were ordered by PA Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas. Ha'aretz says that at the same time,
however, the Palestinian successes have strengthened
the long-standing opinion in Israel's defense
establishment that the arms-smuggling tunnels depend on
the PA's tacit cooperation for their existence. Israel
Radio reported that eight Damascus-based leaders of
Palestinian opposition factions have been invited to
Cairo in early March. The radio quoted the head of
Hamas' Damascus bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk as saying that
the talks would center on the truce with Israel and on
reforms in the Palestinian Authority. The radio quoted
Hamas leader Hassan Yousef as saying that there would
be no formal truce unless Israel frees more prisoners
and pulls back more troops.

Israel Radio reported that this morning IDF forces
captured three Palestinian activists who tried to
infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip. One of them was
wounded. The radio also reported that two mortar
shells were launched at Israeli settlements.

Yediot reported that the IDF will replace reserve
soldiers on guard duty at settlements with civilian
guards.

Leading media (banner in Jerusalem Post) reported that
President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin
agreed on Thursday in Bratislava that Iran should not
be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons and pledged to
combat the proliferation of missile technology.
However, the media note that the U.S. and Russia remain
at odds over how to prevent Tehran from achieving
nuclear weapons capability.

Yediot reported that Tunisian President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali has invited Sharon to the World Summit on the
Information Society, and that Sharon intends to accept
the invitation. The newspaper reported that the first
commercial flight from Israel to the Tunisian resort
island of Jerba will take place in May.

All media reported that on Thursday, the Palestinian
Legislative Council approved PM Ahmed Qurei's cabinet
following a complicated, five-week-long process.
Seventeen of the government's twenty-four members are
new. Ha'aretz reported that FM Silvan Shalom praised
the appointment of the cabinet as a "positive step,"
but said he would withhold final judgment until the
Palestinian government's approach to militant groups
becomes clear. Maariv reported that Vice Premier
Shimon Peres congratulated Qurei and PA Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas over the formation of the cabinet.

Jerusalem Post quoted Arieh Sintronovich, chairman of
the northern West Bank settlement of Mevo Dotan, as
saying he is convinced that 90 percent of the residents
of his community want to be compensated and evacuated
from the territories. Mevo Dotan is not one of the
West Bank settlements to be evacuated under the
disengagement plan.

Leading media cited an announcement by the Syrian
government Thursday that Damascus was ready to work
with the UN to implement Security Council Resolution
1559 demanding a full withdrawal of its 14,000 troops
from Lebanon. No date was given. Israel Radio cited
Israel's satisfaction over the announcement, and quoted
GOI sources as saying that Israel supports the
implementation of Resolution 1559, including the
disarming of Hizbullah.

Leading media reported that Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz ordered senior defense officials on Sunday to
prepare a shortened timetable for implementing the
disengagement plan, saying, "Eight weeks is too long."
Yediot revealed that the GOI is planning a building
boom in the West Bank, including authorizing 120
illegal outposts that the U.S. demands that Israel
dismantle. Ha'aretz reported that the heads of the Nir
Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba (next to Hebron) told settler
leaders on Thursday that their yeshiva will soon move
to Sa-Nur, one of the four northern West Bank
settlements slated to be evacuated under the
disengagement plan.

Hatzofe reported that Palestinian incitement has
decreased in the media, but that it has remained the
same in the mosques.

Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that Brian Avery, an
American activist in the International Solidarity
Movement (ISM),who was wounded in the face by gunfire
in Jenin in April 2003, arrived in Israel on Thursday
to submit a High Court petition demanding that the
Israeli military authorities investigate the incident.

In an account of her second visit to the Guantanamo Bay
detention facility in a year and a half, Yediot
Washington correspondent Orly Azolai presents cases of
alleged abuse.

Yediot reported that the U.S. Embassy to Israel will
make it easier for Israelis to obtain U.S. visas:
during the coming two months, applicants will be able
to come to the Embassy on their own, not only through
travel agencies. Maariv cited a press release issued
by the U.S. Embassy on Thursday: "Beat the peak-season
rush; apply early for nonimmigrant visas to the U.S."

Yediot reported that for the first time, Jewish and
Christian groups in ten countries, including the U.S.,
will celebrate an "International Israel Day" on
Israel's Independence Day [May 12].

Leading media note that PM Sharon will turn 77 on
Sunday.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "[In Brussels,]
Bush spoke of the importance of territorial contiguity
for Palestinians in the West Bank.... Bush's words are
at odds with Sharon's map of the [West Bank separation]
fence in Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim."
Diplomatic correspondent Alexander Maistrovoy wrote in
popular, pluralist Russian-language Novosty Nedely:
"Israel will most likely have to accept the peace
parameters proposed by the U.S., which would
nonetheless be much more favorable than before, since
they would include the neutralization of Syria,
Hizbullah, and Hamas."


Block Quotes:
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I. "Bush's Contiguity"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (February 25): "[In
Brussels,] Bush spoke of the importance of territorial
contiguity for Palestinians in the West Bank. 'A state
of scattered territories will not work,' he said. His
speechwriters sought to correct remarks made by
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Senate, who

SIPDIS
spoke of 'Palestinian contiguity,' without offering
details. Her statement raised a wave of criticism from
the American Jewish right: if Palestine is contiguous,
and the West Bank is linked to Gaza, then Israel will
be split into parts. Bush was compelled to explain
that this was not the intention. Bush's words are at
odds with Sharon's map of the [West Bank separation]
fence in Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim. The two largest
settlements are also 'contiguity breakers' between
parts of the West Bank, which is why the Americans were
against having them included within the confines of the
fence. Officials in Sharon's office insist that the
route was presented to the Americans last summer, and
was accepted without comment. The Foreign Ministry
believes that the argument is far from over."

II. "The White House's 'New Course'"

Diplomatic correspondent Alexander Maistrovoy wrote in
popular, pluralist Russian-language Novosty Nedely
(February 25): "The President of the U.S. has said that
achieving peace in [the Middle East] ranks first among
the United States' priorities worldwide. This new ...
course of the White House marks a significant departure
from George W. Bush's previous term in office.... The
latest Bush speech, it would seem, marks a turning
point in U.S. foreign policy. From now on the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict takes top priority in the United
States' strategy, and its resolution is a primary task.
... Like every president, George Bush is trying to use
his second term to realize his vision for the balance
of power in the world. Creating a new Middle East has
become Bush's enormous task after 9/11; he will fully
devote his attention to it during the next four years.
According to President Bush and his advisors, the
Middle East has to reinvent itself, from a hotbed for
despotic regimes, corruption, and Islamic fanaticism,
into if not an oasis of democracy, at least a stable
region with predictable ... pro-Western regimes and
comparatively friendly populations. The feasibility of
this task is another question, but it is well known
that the more difficult a task, the more attractive it
is.... The White House believes that in the event of
success with both the Iraqi experiment and the
Palestinian one, a new dynamic will appear in the
Middle East and change the face of the region....
Clearly, the U.S. will insist on the establishment of a
sustainable Palestinian state ... and strive for the
final resolution of the conflict.... Israel will most
likely have to accept the peace parameters proposed by
the U.S., which would nonetheless be much more
favorable than before, since they would include the
neutralization of Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas."

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2. Iran: Nuclear Program:
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Summary:
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Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote in conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post: "Underpinning that
premature hysteria of 10 days ago [when a mysterious
detonation occurred near the Bushehr nuclear reactor]
is the fact that there is only one answer to the
question of whether Israel is reconciled to a nuclear
Iran. And the answer is no."

Block Quotes:
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"Iran: The Moment of Truth"

Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote in conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post (February 25): "For a few
frenzied hours on February 16, TV news shows worldwide
carried hysterical reports of an apparent attack on an
Iranian nuclear facility, with speculation focusing
primarily on the U.S. and secondarily on Israel as the
responsible party. Only hours earlier, Foreign
Minister Silvan Shalom had asserted that Tehran would
have the know-how to build a nuclear bomb within six
months. Within a very short time, the reports were
being corrected.... The panic, plainly, was over.
Except that the panic isn't over. It was merely
premature. The moment of truth hasn't yet arrived.
But it's not far off now.... Under the outdated 1960s
rules on non-proliferation, nations can legitimately
get exceptionally close to nuclear arms -- three weeks
to three months from the bomb. That's where Japan is
right now.... Iran is the most dangerous beneficiary of
this untenable state of affairs.... Iran is clearly not
solely an Israeli problem, and Israel can derive no
benefit from expropriating it. The fact is that if
Iran goes nuclear, the Middle East goes nuclear because
other countries jump in. The 1960s nuclear order goes
down the tubes altogether and the world becomes a
hugely more dangerous place.... Underpinning that
premature hysteria of 10 days ago is the fact that
there is only one answer to the question of whether
Israel is reconciled to a nuclear Iran. And the answer
is no."

KURTZER