ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 001805 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 major media led with various disengagement-related issues. Last night, Israel Radio reported that Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Shas party mentor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in an attempt to make him reconsider his ruling against the proposed referendum bill. The radio reported that Rabbi Yosef conditioned his assent on obtaining an assurance that 50 Knesset members would vote in favor of a referendum. (Jerusalem Post prints a similar report.) The station cited an unofficial response by PM Sharon's bureau that Netanyahu is acting behind Sharon's back, and not for the first time. Ha'aretz bannered attempts by Sharon to find Shinui Knesset members prepared to defy their party leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and vote in favor of the 2005 state budget. All media reported that Sharon met with the 13 "rebel" Likud members Wednesday. Yediot leads with a "rare insight" into the modus operandi and the world of young far-right activists determined to stop the disengagement move. Maariv cited the GOI's belief that the PA is not interested in coordinating the civilian aspects of disengagement with Israel and that it has decided to let Israel carry it out unilaterally. The newspaper says that in exchange for coordination, the Palestinians are demanding Israel or U.S. guarantees regarding the "day after," as well as a detailed list of further areas Israel is prepared to pull out from, or an Israeli pledge to resume negotiations toward the final-status agreement. Maariv writes that Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei is not prepared to meet with Vice Premier Shimon Peres at this time, and that the GOI's main concern is the fate of the efforts to hand over evacuated houses of settlers to the PA. Jerusalem Post reported that Israel dismissed as a "reiteration of old and anachronistic positions" the Arab League's decision to relaunch the 2002 Saudi peace initiative. The newspaper quoted an official Jordanian source as saying Wednesday that fear of being shortchanged caused Syria to torpedo the original Jordanian peace proposal last week. Jerusalem Post reported that FM Silvan Shalom told the Knesset that Jordan's "welcome" initiative was blocked by countries such as Syria and Algeria, and by Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa, "the same Moussa who as foreign minister of Egypt blocked during his tenure all attempts at normalization with that country." Ha'aretz reported that U.S. envoys Elliott Abrams and David Welch have expressed their objections over the planned construction of 3,500 housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim. Jerusalem Post says they sought clarifications about the plan. Ha'aretz reported that Sharon told the envoys that he is strongly opposed to "shortcuts" in the diplomatic process and to proceeding directly to final-status talks. Ha'aretz further reported that Sharon told the envoys that Israel will not leap over any stage of the road map, and that he knows this is President Bush's view as well. The newspaper reported that Abrams and Welch discussed the handover of security responsibility in five Palestinian cities with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Abrams and Welch are scheduled to meet with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas today. Ha'aretz reported that FM Shalom gave his ministry the challenge of having 10 Arab countries open legations in Israel. The media reported that Shalom Cohen, the Foreign Ministry's Deputy D-G for the Middle East and the Peace Process, was appointed ambassador to Egypt. Leading media quoted security officials as saying today that an Israeli Arab from Baka al Gharbiya who transported the suicide bomber who blew up at the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv on February 25 was also involved in deciding on the location where the attack would take place. Yediot reported that hundreds of Israeli visa applicants every day do not manage to enter the U.S. Embassy building in Tel Aviv, since the Embassy has set a limit of 150 applicants per day. The newspaper quoted the Embassy spokesman as saying that the number of applicants is tremendous, and that the Embassy will improve its services. Erratum: Wednesday's Tel Aviv Media Reaction Report referred to Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser as IDF Intelligence chief. He is the head of IDF Intelligence's research department. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "American slackness, due to lack of interest or a change in attitude, could bring about more destructive results in the Middle East than the preexisting ones -- in this case, the radical and extremist elements could win." Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The inventors of the 'unilateral' strategy don't need the agreement of the other side, just a wink from the Americans." Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Once again, the governments meeting in Algiers missed an opportunity to lead toward the peace they insist they want, and to assuage Israeli concerns about their true intentions." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Bush Has Fled" Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (March 24): "Is it possible that after all the warnings concerning a 'sheriff' looking for someone to shoot at in the Middle East, President George Bush, in his second term, is much softer than during his first term? This suspicion is increasingly entering the consciousness of the Arab rulers, following their scrutiny of U.S. policy in recent weeks. This surprises them and even revives their spirits.... The new American policy grants the European bloc diplomatic freedom when facing Tehran.... [King Abdullah of Jordan] has warned the Americans that should Bashar [Assad] win, the credibility of Washington's staunch supporters, like himself, would plummet. As it currently appears, the U.S. has practically renounced the disarming of Hizbullah and the expulsion of Hamas and Islamic Jihad headquarters from Syria, and it is not pressing Abu Mazen to disarm the terrorist organizations or to unite his security branches as he has pledged.... American slackness, due to lack of interest or a change in attitude, could bring about more destructive results in the Middle East than the preexisting ones -- in this case, the radical and extremist elements could win." II. "Even Fewer at the Next Demonstration" Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 24): "The minute the administration in Washington accepts the Israeli claim that the construction freeze does not cover 'planning procedures,' it will accept the argument when the planning is over that the construction in Ma'aleh Adumim is only meant 'to strengthen the Jewish settlement blocs,' as President Bush has already affirmed.... Since no serious Palestinian will accept a plan for a state without territorial contiguity, it is clear that the plan to link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem will torpedo any chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state as laid out by the road map. But Sharon and Mofaz aren't worried. The inventors of the 'unilateral' strategy don't need the agreement of the other side, just a wink from the Americans. And in general, who cares about Plan E-1 when in front of our eyes the vision of peace is once again unfolding? And most of all: why wake up suddenly, 'when the plan is not new and was approved by Rabin?' There is no doubt that when the "peace camp" calls for a demonstration against the tying of Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem and the strangulation of the Palestinian state, even fewer demonstrators will show up than showed up for last Saturday night's rally. Sharon has already tamed them." III. "The Arab Summit" Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (March 24): "Arab League summits can hardly disappoint, since expectations are so low to begin with. This time, however, there was some hope that the leaders gathered in Algiers on Wednesday would adopt a Jordanian proposal to begin normalization with Israel. Instead, they opted to readopt the 'Saudi plan' passed in Beirut in 2002.... What Egyptian and Jordanian diplomats profess not to understand is why Israelis did not appreciate an element in the plan that, in their eyes, was a significant olive branch: 'A just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.' The great concession, we are told, is that the solution to the refugee problem must be 'agreed upon' with Israel.... Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect the Arab states to show leadership on this issue when Europe and even the United States have been reluctant to unequivocally state that there is no 'right of return' to Israel and that demanding such a right conflicts with the two-state solution. President George W. Bush tentatively made such a statement in his exchange of letters with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last spring, but he has not repeated it since. The fact is that, once again, the governments meeting in Algiers missed an opportunity to lead toward the peace they insist they want, and to assuage Israeli concerns about their true intentions. There is a simple measure of leadership: will these states take steps that encourage the Palestinians to moderate their demands, most importantly concerning the 'right of return'? Will they encourage the Palestinians to take more realistic positions that are fully consistent with Israel's sovereignty and right to exist? The answer from Algiers was, unfortunately, a resounding no." KURTZER