ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 002087

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. Pope John Paul II

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Key stories in the media:
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In disengagement related stories, Maariv reported that
a broad meeting was held at the Prime Minister's bureau
yesterday on settlers' relocation, in which Sharon
called on the parties involved to expedite their work.
Yediot Aharonot and other media reported that Sharon is
examining the possibility of moving all the national
religious settlements of the Katif Bloc to the Nitzanim
region in one piece. Maariv reported that Sharon met
the Neve Deqalim rabbi yesterday, and that incoming
chief of staff Halutz visited Ganey Tal and met
settlers there. Both meetings were reportedly held to
calm the settlers' spirits.

Maariv quoted senior U.S. officials as saying in the
last few days tyhat they will demand from PM Sharon
clarifications regarding the construction in Ma'ale
Edumim. The paper also cited these officials as saying
that the U.S. is interested that Israel will take steps
to strengthen Abu Mazen. Yediot Aharonot reports that
Minister of Communications Dalia Itzik held a secret
meeting yesterday with PA Civilian Affairs Minister
Muhammad Dahlan upon his request that Israel grant
another cellular phone operator license. At the
meeting, Dahlan complained that Israel is not helping
Abu-Mazen, claiming that ahead of the 17 July
elections, the PA chairman does not have an achievement
to show.

Ha'aretz reported that PA Chairman Abbas is promoting a
move for elections for the Legislative Council to be
relative rather than regional, contrary to early
agreements with Hamas, whose representatives told
Haaretz they might reconsider the decision to run in
the elections. Abbas also ordered an investigations
against four PA officials on suspicion of corruption.

Ha'aretz carries a GSS report on the capture of three
members of a Palestinian terror cell who planned to
carry out a triple bombing attack at the Latrun
junction, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and a
shooting attack on soldiers in the Ramallah area.
Security forces arrested the three members of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine cell some
three months ago, the Shin Bet announced Monday
evening. In a separate incident, Shin Bet agents have
arrested a Hamas activist in Jerusalem. On Monday in
the West Bank, IDF paratroopers arrested two 15-year-
old Palestinians carrying homemade bombs at a
checkpoint south of Nablus. One of the youths pulled a
knife in an attempt to stab a soldier.
Ha'aretz reported that Minister of Environment Shalom
Simhon announced yesterday that he has asked his
officials for a detailed briefing within 24 hours on
the process leading to the establishement of the West
Bank dump. Simhon said he will instruct the Civil
Administration not to allow absorption of household
garbage at the dump except for construction waste, and
also announced he will enable Palestinians to dump
building waste there. The Civil Administration
announced it would tighten oversight of the dump. MK
Ran Cohen (Yahad) raised the matter at yesterday's
meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
and was told by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that "the
matter troubles him."

The Jerusalem Post cites IDF officers addressing the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as saying
that Palestinians are test firing Kassam rockets, that
now have a 9km range, into the sea. Intelligence
Branch's Brig. Gen. Kupperwasser said Hamas and Islamic
Jihad are looking for excuses to renew attacks on
Israeli targets. Referring to Syria, he said that
despite plans to pull out of Lebanon, Syria was
increasing its cooperation with Hizbullah. He said
Syria was liable to demand linking its withdrawal with
an Israeli withdrawal according to UN Resolution 242,
while trying to create a rift between the Lebanese
opposition and the US and France.

Ha'aretz headlined that an emissary on behalf of NATO
Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will arrive

SIPDIS
soon in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other senior PA officials.
According to reports reaching Jerusalem from informed
sources, the purpose of the visit by Scheffer's
emissary will be to explore options for
institutionalizing ties between the PA and NATO.

Yedi'ot Aharonot reported that ahead of the Passover
holidays, the Antiterror Staff at the Prime Minister's
Office issued a travel advisory calling on Israelis not
to travel to the Sinai as terror threats against them
in Egypt are very high.

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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 (April 5): "Election
year has already begun, and the political establishment
is behaving accordingly.. All these ploys mean just one
thing -- the government's political maneuverability
will come to an end after the disengagement."

Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote in
popular, pluralist Maariv: "The possibility that
Israeli nuclear facilities would be subject to the IAEC
supervision is not on the agenda at all.... When there
are no more totalitarian states in the Middle East;
when not a single country calls for the annihilation of
Israel; when it is proven that no country between the
Mediterranean and the Gulf holds nuclear weapons or
plans for their production -- Israel would agree to
discuss its status on the issue, not a moment sooner."

Block Quotes:
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I. "The Elections Are Already Here"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (April 5):
"Election year has already begun, and the political
establishment is behaving accordingly. Even if Ariel
Sharon remains in office and makes it through to
November 2006, his attention and actions have already
turned toward politics -- to the Likud primaries
against Benjamin Netanyahu,.... All these ploys mean
just one thing -- the government's political
maneuverability will come to an end after the
disengagement. The expectation for a rapid move that
would wash Israel out of the territories won't come to
pass in the near future. Mahmoud Abbas will have to
find a way to survive without too many Israeli
gestures, because the Arabs get no concessions in an
election year. True, Sharon's promises to keep half of
the West Bank in Israel's hands don't hold much water;
if he remains in power, he will do whatever he pleases
in any case. But as he prepares for his final showdown
in the Likud, even Sharon will have to act somewhat
like a Likudnik."

II. "No to Nuclear Supervision"

Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote in
popular, pluralist Maariv (April 5): "The American
democracy is nothing like the Israeli anarchy. An
American secretary who does not coordinate his remarks
with the White House will soon become a 'has-been.'
This is even truer with lower level officials. This is
why Israel must carefully listen to a recent call by
mid-level State Department officials on Israel to agree
to the IAEC supervision of its nuclear weapons.... The
possibility that Israeli nuclear facilities would be
subject to the IAEC supervision is not on the agenda at
all. It is a red line. Forever? Yes and no. In
practice -- yes; as a vision -- no. When there are no
more totalitarian states in the Middle East; when not a
single country calls for the annihilation of Israel;
when it is proven that no country between the
Mediterranean and the Gulf holds nuclear weapons or
plans for their production -- Israel would agree to
discuss its status on the issue, not a moment sooner.
The absence of an Israeli reply to the unusual remarks
in the U.S. might be viewed as tacit or conditional
consent on its part, but no such consent exists."

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2. Pope John Paul II:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (April
5): "The pope not only recognized Israel's sovereignty,
but also put an end to a 1,500-year-old Christian
doctrine that viewed the Jews' continuing exile as a
key proof of the validity of the Christian faith.. The
Vatican is expected to play a role in any future
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
primarily on the issue of Jerusalem. And its attitude
toward Israel and the Jews will dictate its policy."

Block Quotes:
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Anti-Semitism is a Sin, He Said"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (April
5): "Forty years ago, during the papacy of Paul VI,
the Vatican published a revolutionary Nostra Aetate
that spoke for the first time of the deep connection
between Judaism and Christianity and the importance of
opening a dialogue between the Catholic Church and the
Jews. But John Paul II was the one who translated the
dead letters of a document accepted only by a minority
into an open, warm and personal statement toward the
Jews and the State of Israel.... The establishment of
relations between the Vatican and Israel in 1994 had
significance far beyond its diplomatic import. With
this act, as with his visit to Israel afterward, the
pope not only recognized Israel's sovereignty, but also
put an end to a 1,500-year-old Christian doctrine that
viewed the Jews' continuing exile as a key proof of the
validity of the Christian faith.... In Europe, which is
undergoing a process of secularization, a new anti-
Semitism is sprouting, while in Russia, the old anti-
Semitism is reemerging in full force. In this
situation, the views of John Paul II, who defined anti-
Semitism as 'a sin' and 'evil,' were a source of hope.
The question of continuity and the fear of a retreat
from the path he blazed also have diplomatic
significance. The Vatican is expected to play a role
in any future resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, primarily on the issue of Jerusalem. And its
attitude toward Israel and the Jews will dictate its
policy."
KURTZER