ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 001631 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: -------------- All media reported on the Cairo talks and their conclusion with an agreement on a temporary state of calm, known in Arabic as tahdia. According to a report in Yediot, PA Chairman Mahmud Abbas sought to achieve a long-term cease-fire, or hudna, but the Palestinian factions refused, preferring to maintain their freedom to engage in militant action. This morning Israel Radio cited PM Sharon as saying, in the course of a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Mubarak, that the agreement reached in Cairo is an initial positive step; however, Palestinian factions should be disarmed in the interest of the continuation of the peace process. Yediot reports that as of next week, the security establishment has decided to ban settlers from moving to Gush Katif in order to block a massive move of residents to Gaza with the purpose of disrupting the disengagement move. All media reported on a mass prayer yesterday in Neve Dkalim, attended by some 10,000 people, to stop the disengagement plan. The rift between settlers advocating an all-out struggle against the pull-out and those who want to campaign for a better compensation deal was also covered. Leading media reported that U.S. President George W. Bush has invited PM Sharon to his Crawford, Texas ranch in April for the first time for talks on boosting the Middle East peace process. U.S. government sources were cited as saying that the decision to move the location from Washington to the ranch is meant to help advance the peace process, and as expressing President Bush's support of Sharon. Maariv bannered this morning that Jewish investors from overseas have secretly purchased from the Greek Orthodox church in Jerusalem the Ibn al-Hitab compound in the Old City, between the Jaffa Gate and the Arab market, including the Imperial Hotel and the Palace Hotel. Palestinians are said to be in shock at this development. All media reported on the arrival of the new Egyptian Ambassador, Mohammed Assem Ibrahim, in Israel, after the four-year absence of an Egyptian Ambassador. Yediot quoted Finanace Minister Netanyahu as promising that the vote on the budget will have sufficient support by the deadline at March 31 at 23:59. Meantime, Haaretz reported this morning that the vote in the Knesset Finance Committee on the budget has been postponed to next Wednesday, since the coalition appeared to lack the necessary votes. Maariv led with the headline: "Shinui and Am Echad said "no" to Sharon." Israel Radio reported this morning on a rift among Shinui party leadership with regard to their vote on the budget. Shinui Chairman Tommy Lapid slandered a few of his colleagues, accusing them of hindering their party's platform by saying in public that their lack of support for the budget will interrupt the disengagement move. According to Teleseker's poll published in today's Maariv, 40% of Israelis (including 28% of Likud constituencies) support the immediate evacuation of the illegal outposts. Only 20% (30% of right wing voters) are categorically against any evacuation. 20% agree to evacuation, however, only following the disengagement. -------------- 1.Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior Arab Affairs op-ed writer Zvi Bar'El wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The more important aspects of the agreements reached yesterday lie in the new relationship between the PA and the Palestinian opposition groups, including their participation in the local elections, scheduled for May, and those for the Legislative Assembly, set for July, as well as their political cooperation in the future." Senior columnist and long time dove Yoel Marcus wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Anyone who thinks that the pullout will end with disengagement from Gaza should pay attention to what President Bush is saying about a Palestinian state being established on contiguous territory. " Correspondent Efraim Ganor wrote in popular, pluralist Russian-language Novosty Nedely (March 17): "Apparently PM Sharon has problems not only with the rebels in his own [Likud] party and the state budget, but ... also with the U.S. - Israel's main ally. ... The White House is very upset with Sharon for not fulfilling his obligations. One can only guess what would happen should Israel not make the serious and painful concessions Washington is to demand in the nearest future." Columnist Caroline Glick wrote in conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The only thing left for the Israeli public to do is to demand new general elections. " Block Quotes: -------------- ¶1. "The start of a new relationship" Senior Arab Affairs op-ed writer Zvi Bar'El wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz : "The gathering of the Palestinian factions and the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in Cairo... not in a crisis, but in an agreement that was well-known in advance for the most part.... The more important aspects of the agreements reached yesterday lie in the new relationship between the PA and the Palestinian opposition groups, including their participation in the local elections, scheduled for May, and those for the Legislative Assembly, set for July, as well as their political cooperation in the future. This is a significant change in the attitude of Hamas, which refused in 1996 to participate in the elections that it regarded as the result of the Oslo process. It is also a withdrawal from terms initially posed by the group, when they asked for a 40 percent quota of parliamentarians, before the elections were held. But the continuation of the hudna is not merely a tactical ploy to bring calm to the area, but a return for the commitment of Mahmoud Abbas to carry out structural reforms in the Palestinian leadership." ¶2. "8 comments on the situation" Senior columnist and long time dove Yoel Marcus wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Everyone knows that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. The government's decision to appoint a ministerial committee to study Talia Sasson's report on the unauthorized settlements is a stalling tactic at best and an attempt to turn the horse into a kosher camel at worst. But anyone who thinks that the pullout will end with disengagement from Gaza should pay attention to what President Bush is saying about a Palestinian state being established on contiguous territory, i.e., land that is basically settlement-free. Friendship is all very nice, but Bush is the redhead type. I wouldn't want to get him mad." ¶3. "When the White House Gets Upset" Correspondent Efraim Ganor wrote in popular, pluralist Russian-language Novosty Nedely (March 17):"Apparently PM Sharon has problems not only with the rebels in his own [Likud] party and the state budget, but ... also with the U.S. - Israel's main ally... Israel has not fulfilled part of the obligations it committed itself to (establishment of a joint U.S.-Israeli committee that would define the borders of Jewish settlements in the West Bank; Israel has to pass the Americans a list of unauthorized outpost settlements in 30 days, including the date for their dismantling; build the security fence as discussed; an assurance to forward a map with all the check-posts in the West Bank.) ... The GOI seems to avoid the obligations it committed itself to. It seems like PM Sharon personally stands behind this. Since his disengagement plans aroused protests among the right wing in general and Likud party in particular, PM Sharon decided not to stop construction in the Jewish settlements. He also prefers not to provide the U.S. with a list of unauthorized outpost settlements which are subject to dismantling. ... The White House is very upset with Sharon for not fulfilling his obligations. One can only guess what would happen should Israel not make the serious and painful concessions Washington is to demand in the nearest future." ¶4. "Sharon's Terror Masters" Columnist Caroline Glick wrote in conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Unfortunately, the answer to all these questions - unasked by the Israeli media - is internal Israeli politics. Once Sharon abandoned his natural support base and preferred instead the embrace of the Left, he has boxed himself into a situation where he can do nothing except advance the Left's agenda of appeasing terrorists. ... Given this state of affairs, the inevitable conclusion is that the only thing left for the Israeli public to do is to demand new general elections. With Sharon now fully committed to a policy that is manifestly dangerous to the state, he must be replaced by a leader who has not so committed himself. It is the only chance that Israel has to prevent the establishment of a new base for global terror on the outskirts of Ashkelon [in Gaza]." KURTZER