Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV1759
2005-03-23 11:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
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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 001759 

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:
--------------------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 001759

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:
--------------


1. Gaza and West Bank Disengagement Plan


2. Global War On Terrorism


3. Israel-China Arms Deals

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

Leading media reported that last night the state budget
bill passed the hurdle of the Knesset's Finance
Committee, with 10 members in favor and 9 against.
(Jerusalem Post reported that in a surprise move
Tuesday, the Finance Ministry included 2.2 billion
shekels -- around USD 510 million -- for disengagement
in the 2005 budget discussed by the committee.)

This morning, Israel Radio and other media reported
that the Knesset's Constitution, Justice and Law
Committee approved, 9-8, a bill that would allow a
national referendum on the disengagement plan. The
bill will now be presented to the Knesset plenum for
voting, although it seems unlikely that it will muster
majority support. Jerusalem Post reported on a deal
the 13 Likud "rebels" will offer PM Sharon today,
according to which they will vote in favor of the
budget in return for all Likud Knesset members voting
for the referendum. Jerusalem Post expects Sharon to
reject the deal.

Ha'aretz quoted a State Department spokesman as saying
Tuesday that during their visit to the region this
week, Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Elliott
Abrams and A/S David Welch are expected to ask the GOI
about its plans to add some 3,500 housing units to
Ma'aleh Adumim. The newspaper quoted the spokesman as
saying regarding the construction plans: "U.S. policy
is clear -- settlement construction must cease."

All media reported (lead stories in Yediot and Maariv)
that last night far-right protesters blocked the Tel
Aviv-Haifa highway near Netanya, blocking the traffic
for 20 minutes. The police arrested 33 demonstrators
at the site and another 66 at the Glilot junction north
of Tel Aviv. (Numbers vary according to the media.)
Several other demonstrations in different locations
were also reported.

Jerusalem Post reported that Anna Kajumolo Tibaijuka,
the visiting head of the UN agency charged with
promoting sustainable urban planning, was noncommittal
on whether she thinks the PA should use settlements
evacuated by Israel to permanently house Palestinian

refugees.
All media quoted remarks made by participants in the
Arab League Summit in Algiers on Tuesday that Israel
cannot expect peace and normalized ties with the Arab
world if it does not make concessions and give up
occupied land. Maariv's headline reads: "Conditional
Normalization." The media noted that only 13 heads of
state from the league's 22 members attended the summit.
Gideon Kutz, Channel 2-TV's Paris correspondent,
reported on the summit from Algiers. Maariv reported
that in a speech he gave at a university in Qatar, MK
Ahmed Tibi (Hadash-Ta'al) called on the Arab states not
to hurry to improve relations with Israel.

All media (banner in Ha'aretz) quoted King Abdullah II
of Jordan as saying in a meeting with Jewish American
leaders in Washington Tuesday that Syria and Hizbullah
are encouraging Palestinian activists to carry out
terror attacks against Israel, trying to divert
attention from the situation in Lebanon and Syria. The
King also said that Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are the
greatest threats to stability in the Middle East.
Ha'aretz quoted him as saying that he recently told
Sharon that in case of a terrorist attack, Sharon
should check carefully who is behind it to avoid
Israeli retaliation against the wrong target.
According to the newspaper, Abdullah was implying that,
should a terrorist attack occur, Sharon would find that
Hizbullah is responsible.

Ha'aretz quoted IDF Intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Yossi
Kuperwasser as saying Tuesday before the Knesset's
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that PA forces
are foiling as many terror incidents as Israeli forces.
However, Ha'aretz remarked that Kuperwasser, like
Ya'alon who spoke after him, noted that the PA is not
yet taking proactive steps to collect arms from the
gunmen of the armed organizations. Leading media
reported that Mofaz has ordered a closure on the
territories during the Purim holiday, which will be
celebrated this weekend.

Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz reported that the Jerusalem
Magistrate's Court handed down a guilty verdict Tuesday
in the case of American-born Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who
tried to prevent Israeli bulldozers from demolishing
illegally built Palestinian homes.

British Ambassador to Israel Simon McDonald was quoted
as saying in an interview held with Jerusalem Post
Tuesday that Britain is actively trying to persuade EU
member states to freeze all of Hizbullah's assets,
following a change in government policy.

Ha'aretz and other media reported that this week a
delegation from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),a
group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to
contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons
through the implementation of guidelines for nuclear
exports and nuclear-related exports, visited Israel for
the first time and discussed with officials from the
Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) and the Foreign
Ministry ways to further cooperation in containing the
dissemination of nuclear equipment and materials to
"problematic" countries.

All media reported that on Tuesday, before the
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Chief
of Staff Moshe Ya'alon harshly censured Sharon and
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz over the conditions of his
apparent dismissal. Ya'alon said that the decision was
"unjustified." The media noted that politicians across
the board demonstrated sympathy for Ya'alon's comments,
and that the committee has requested clarifications
from Mofaz on the matter.

All media quoted Israeli officials as saying Tuesday
that Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to
arrive in Israel on April 27 for a two-day historic
visit as a guest of President Moshe Katsav.

Jerusalem Post reported that as of Tuesday a press club
for Israeli and Palestinian journalists, the Mideast
Press Club, will operate at Jerusalem's American Colony
Hotel. The club was founded by Felice Friedson, CEO of
The Media Line Ltd., an American nonprofit multimedia
news agency that covers the Middle East.

--------------

1. Gaza and West Bank Disengagement Plan:
--------------

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

Yahad party leader and Geneva Accord co-initiator Yossi
Beilin wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "A joint
abstention [in the Knesset's vote on the 2005 budget],
of both Shinui and Yahad, will ensure the
implementation of the withdrawal from Gaza without the
two parties having to support the budget."

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

"Shinui, Let's Vote Together"

Yahad party leader and Geneva Accord co-initiator Yossi
Beilin wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (March 23):
"Yahad's enthusiasm concerning the withdrawal from Gaza
is far less than that of Shinui. According to the
testimony of Sharon himself (New York Times, April 16,
2004),his decision to leave Gaza was made in light of
the Geneva initiative and his fear that this initiative
-- which he deems dangerous -- will be imposed on the
parties. Therefore, we should have been the first to
oppose his unilateral plan.... A joint abstention [in
the Knesset's vote on the 2005 budget], of both Shinui
and Yahad, will ensure the implementation of the
withdrawal from Gaza without the two parties having to
support the budget. This is a proposal I raised a few
weeks ago, and it still stands. This will be the most
responsible and wise path for the two opposition
parties, who wish to make the withdrawal possible --
not to obstruct it by toppling the budget, but also not
to lend a hand to this bad budget. I propose to make
this joint decision immediately, put an end to the
turmoil in the system, prevent problematic payments
from being made to various random supporters, and put
behind us the affair of hunting for supporters for the
budget, and look forward to the difficult challenges
that await us. But I have some difficulty
understanding the logic that guides the present
government."

--------------

2. Global War On Terrorism:
--------------

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

Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist
Maariv: "A review of the lessons produced by [the late
American statesman George] Kennan teaches that today,
his legacy is as important as ever. In the same way it
helped win the Cold War, it can now help win the war on
terror."

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

"Cold War, Then and Now"

Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist
Maariv (March 23): "[The late U.S. statesman George]
Kennan will be forever remembered as the man who laid
the foundations of the U.S. foreign policy that won the
Cold War.... A review of the lessons produced by Kennan
teaches that today, his legacy is as important as ever.
In the same way it helped win the Cold War, it can now
help win the war on terror.... Kennan foresaw the
current challenge in Iraq: it is not enough to build
democratic institutions. It is more important to
instruct [local people] to make a correct use of those
institutions and to teach them to overcome
obstacles.... Kennan's most important prediction may
have been his recognition of the factor that eventually
brought down the Soviet Union: 'Communism is akin to a
cancerous leech that only feeds on sick tissues,' said
Kennan, 'thus bearing the factor that will cause its
collapse.' In accordance to that view, it would be
difficult to ignore the destructive character of
Islamic extremism, which equally holds the key of its
fall -- its utter reliance on distress, envy,
oppression, and frustration in the Arab world. The
moment it will be prevented from harboring those
feelings, the extremist legitimacy goading terror will
cease."

--------------

3. Israel-China Arms Deals:
--------------

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

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "A
high-ranking Pentagon official has declared that Israel
has to choose between the U.S. and China, an outlandish
comment that deserves no response."

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

"The Americans Are Going Too Far"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(March 23): "[European newspapers] doggedly insist that
Israel is the second-biggest seller of arms to China,
after Russia, and that the Israeli arms sales total USD
1.25 billion a year. It sounds like an impressive
accomplishment for the state, but a through examination
in Israel reveals different numbers. Since 2000,
Israel has sold to China, through 164 Israeli
companies, defense equipment at an approximate value of
only USD 35 million. Since 2003, when the U.S.-Israel
mechanism for disclosure of weapons sales to China was
set up, total sales from Israel to China have amounted
to some USD 20 million. The lesson is that one should
take reports of the 'professional' press with a grain
of salt.... The transaction that is now the bone of
contention between Israel and the U.S. is the sale of
about 100 Harpy combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
in 1999, for about USD 70 million. The Americans
allege that Israel is also engaged in upgrading these
UAVs, and that it concealed facts about the transaction
from the U.S. This is not the first time Israel has
found itself in a crisis related to arms sales to
China.... One of the crises, which involved the
ostensible sale to China by Israel of Patriot missile
secrets, was occasioned by a hysterical American

SIPDIS
attitude. High-ranking Israel Air Force officers now
say they are coming up against furious allegations by
the Americans, who contend that Israel is ostensibly
training Chinese combat pilots. A high-ranking
Pentagon official has declared that Israel has to
choose between the U.S. and China, an outlandish
comment that deserves no response."

KURTZER