Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV1535
2005-03-15 12:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 001535

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

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

Mideast

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

Ha'aretz reported that Israel has still not kept a
promise that it made the U.S. last April to demarcate
the built-up areas of every West Bank settlement, for
the purpose of setting limits on the settlements'
growth. The newspaper says that as a result, the U.S.
has halted the work of the Israeli-American task force
that was supposed to deal with this issue.

Leading media reported that Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz met with PA Interior Minister Nasser Yousef in
Herzliya last night, and that they agreed that Jericho
be handed over to PA security control on Wednesday.
Security responsibility of Tulkarm will be transferred
next week, and that of Qalqilya later. The radio
quoted senior Palestinian sources as saying that the
agreement on the handover of Palestinian cities is a
retreat from the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings.
Israel Radio quoted PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as saying
that Israel has agreed to the release of Ahmed Sa'adat,
the PFLP leader who was behind the 2001 assassination
of cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi, and of Arafat
associate Fuad Shubaki, whom Israel found guilty of
weapons smuggling. The station, which said that this
is probably a trial balloon by the Palestinians, cited
denials by Israeli military and government officials.

Hatzofe quoted senior Israeli military officials in the
Gaza Strip as saying that PA officials are not blocking
the continued arming by terror organizations, that the
production of Qassam rockets has continued in recent
weeks, and that the Palestinian security organizations
have made no attempts to prevent this.

All media reported on, and Yediot and Maariv led with,
last night's demonstration on the Ayalon Highway, Tel
Aviv's main artery, during which disengagement
protesters blocked rush-hour traffic with burning tires
for an hour. Eighteen demonstrators were arrested.
Jerusalem Post reported that the settler leadership
denounced the demonstration and stressed that it was
not connected to the event. Maariv reported that
thousands of right-wing activists plan to storm the
Temple Mount during the evacuation of the Gaza Strip
settlements, producing bloody riots.


Jerusalem Post reported that PM Sharon reiterated
during a meeting Monday with Dutch PM Jan Peter
Balkenende that in Israel's eyes, an intra-Palestinian
declaration of truce is not enough. Sharon demanded
that the PA dismantle the terrorist organizations, not
make agreements with them. All media cited London-
based Asharq Al-Awsat's report that Abbas is expected
to tell Palestinian factions at a meeting in Cairo
today that the refugees' right of return should be
viewed "realistically," and that not all Palestinian
exiles will return to former homes in Israel and the
territories. The media say that Abbas will present
"painful concessions" to the factions. Israel Radio
reported that Muhammad Nazal, one of Hamas's leaders,
told the PA newspaper Al-Ayyam that his organization
will not join a Palestinian government even after the
elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, and
that it will not take part in negotiations with Israel.

Jerusalem Post reported that Israel has doubled its
efforts in recent weeks to neutralize American Jewish
opposition to the Gaza Strip disengagement plan,
calling on organizations to butt out of its domestic
affairs and respect its decisions. The newspaper
quoted Consul-General in New York Arye Mekel as saying
Monday that he holds almost daily meetings with
American Jewish leaders in an effort to create "one
voice in the U.S., which supports Israel and its
policies without second guessing." Jerusalem Post
reported that settler leaders will be in the New York
area this week to do the exact opposite and enlist
support in the fight against the plan. All media
reported that on Monday, American Jews who came on a
solidarity trip with Katif Bloc settlers were briefly
detained at Ben Gurion Airport.

Jerusalem Post quoted UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
as saying in Ramallah Monday that the UN is
establishing a register of property damage caused by
the West Bank security fence.

Leading media reported that despite pressure from
Algerian, Syrian, and Libyan delegates, the speaker of
Egypt's parliament, Ahmed Fathy Sorour, decided Monday
to allow Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin to deliver the
opening address at a convention of parliamentary
leaders from Mediterranean and European nations taking
place in Cairo. Rivlin cited the lack of warmth toward
Israel among Egyptians, and the "dark forces of
fundamentalism and terror" that he said "are now the
biggest challenge facing us all as free nations."
Rivlin added that Israel had its hand stretched out in
peace toward its neighbors -- Egypt, Jordan, the
Palestinians, and Syria.

All media reported that 800,000 to 1 million supporters
of the Lebanese opposition, depending on the sources,
demonstrated in Beirut on Monday.

Leading media reported that on Monday, 200 tons of
apples produced by Golan Druze crossed the border to
Syria. Altogether, 7,000 tons of apples will be
exported to Syria. Yediot writes that Israeli apple
growers will indirectly benefit from the deal.

Leading media reported that Interior Minister Ophir
Pines-Paz announced Monday that that he intends to ask
the government to approve the appointment of Oskar Abu
Razek as director general of his ministry. This is the
first time an Israeli Arab would serve as a ministerial
director general.

All media reported on the inauguration of Yad Vashem's
new museum, the largest Holocaust museum in the world,
which will be attended by an unprecedented number of
foreign dignitaries today. Yediot reported that the
Foreign Ministry decided not to invite a Japanese
representative to the ceremony, fearing that he would
compare the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima to the
Holocaust.


--------------
Mideast:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote on
page one of popular, pluralist Maariv: "The settlers
will lose. [But] it may take the national rift caused
by disengagement a long time to heal."

Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The report [on
illegal settler outposts] submitted by Talia Sasson
proves that Ariel Sharon has a more solid, long-term
plan than anyone imagined."

Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in
Ha'aretz: "The revolutionary change in Hamas's position
signifies a degree of acceptance of the peace
process.... Having decided to participate in the
municipal elections, Hamas now has no choice but to go
all the way and become a political party."


M. J. Rosenberg, director of policy analysis for the
progressive U.S.-based Israeli Policy Forum, wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Taking
actions like the House [Appropriations] Committee did
last Tuesday profoundly damages Israel. Israel wants a
strong PA that can and will liquidate the suicide
bombers and build a democracy that will live in peace
with Israel. That is what Bush wants."

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

I. "Bonfire of Despair"

Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote on
page one of popular, pluralist Maariv (March 15):
"'Love will prevail' [the original slogan adopted by
the anti-disengagement movement] lost last night big
time. The settlers' borrowed slogan went up in smoke
yesterday on the [major] Ayalon freeway. It was
neither an accident nor the act of a crazed fringe
group. Everything ran like clockwork. It was a clear
statement of profound significance: the settlers have
given up on their effort to win the public's heart....
More than anything else, this attests to the despair
that is beginning to sink in among the settlers. It
attests to the absence of a means of persuasion, to the
end of dialogue. They can't beat Ariel Sharon.
Neither polemics nor Knesset votes will work. Now they
are trying their hand at force.... The Palestinians and
their press vociferously protest the IDF roadblocks in
the territories and demand that they be removed because
they restrict the population's freedom of movement and
encumber it. What the settlers did last night was to
create a burning roadblock for half the people of
Israel. The Palestinians hate the slow crossing at
roadblocks. So do Israelis. The settlers will lose.
It may take the national rift caused by disengagement a
long time to heal. That is a shame because, despite
everything and in spite of everything, they are beloved
brethren, and I am terrified by the possibility that
the fire might burn the connective sinews."

II. "A Dream Pulled Off the Shelves"

Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 15): "Years
of terror, two Intifadas, global pressure and American
arm-twisting in particular had to happen for this
unpredictable man [Ariel Sharon], the father of the
settlements, to change azimuth. At first people
thought that disengagement from Gaza was a trick. Then
they said it was the first and last step in withdrawal
from the territories. Now the picture has changed.
The report submitted by Talia Sasson proves that Ariel
Sharon has a more solid, long-term plan than anyone
imagined. Like a court lawyer who never asks a
question to which he doesn't know the answer, Sharon
knew exactly what Sasson's findings would be. Now he
has put these 105 unauthorized outposts on the national
agenda, as the next stage in the pullout from Gaza. In
so doing, Sharon has made it clear that in a two-state
solution to the conflict, Israel will be gone from
Gaza. That dream has been pulled from the shelves."



III. "Hamas Has No Choice"

Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in
Ha'aretz (March 15): "This evening, under Egyptian
auspices, and presumably in the presence of Syrian
representatives, the various Palestinian factions will
meet in Cairo for what may well be remembered as one of
the most important gatherings in the history of the
Palestinian national movement. The gathering will
center on a dialogue between the Palestinian Authority
-- or more precisely, the Palestinian ruling party,
Fatah -- and the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas....
The revolutionary change in Hamas's position signifies
a degree of acceptance of the peace process. One can
certainly point to international and regional
developments that have led to this change, but there is
also a direct cause: Hamas made a very strong showing
in the local elections that took place in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip a few weeks ago. After these elections,
one of its representatives said: 'We now have a
responsibility toward the masses who voted for us, and
we cannot uphold this responsibility if we don't play a
part in all the governmental institutions in the
territories.' In other words, having decided to
participate in the municipal elections, Hamas now has
no choice but to go all the way and become a political
party."

IV. "Congress Won't Let Arafat Die"


M. J. Rosenberg, director of policy analysis for the
progressive U.S.-based Israeli Policy Forum, wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (March 15):
"With Arafat gone and Mahmoud Abbas in Arafat's old
job, Bush feels that at last he has a Palestinian
leader he can work with.... To demonstrate his
commitment -- and his view that it is a new day -- Bush
has asked Congress to immediately provide USD 200
million in aid to the Palestinian Authority. For Bush
that aid would constitute a U.S. down payment toward
implementation of his vision of 'two states, Israel and
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.'
Too late in the fiscal year for a regular congressional
appropriation, he 'requested' what is known as a
'supplemental.' He said it was a top priority. And
what has been the congressional response to that
request? We found out on Tuesday. The answer was
'yes, but.' There were so many 'buts' that they
rendered the 'yes' almost meaningless.... At the
Appropriations Committee session in which the aid was
decided upon, one member of Congress after another got
up and talked about Arafat. The late PLO chairman
would be pleased. Most people do not continue to be
major players on the Washington stage after their
death, but Arafat is.... Taking actions like the House
Committee did last Tuesday profoundly damages Israel.
Israel wants a strong PA that can and will liquidate
the suicide bombers and build a democracy that will
live in peace with Israel. That is what Bush wants.
It is what Sharon wants. What, in heaven's name, does
Congress want?"

KURTZER