ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 000245

SIPDIS

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TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal


2. Mideast


3. Iraq

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Key stories in the media:
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Ha'aretz and Maariv led with, and all media extensively
reported on, Israel's concerns that a planned Russian
weapons sale to Syria could reach Hizbullah and
Palestinian terror groups. The deal includes advanced
shoulder-held anti-aircraft SA-18 missiles; some media
say it also includes ground-to-ground "Iskander E"
missiles -- an advanced, precise version of the Scud.
Israel Radio cited IDF sources as saying that the
Israel Air Force knows how to cope with anti-aircraft
missiles; on the other hand, Ha'aretz quoted Uzi Rubin,
a former head of the Homa missile defense project in
the Defense Ministry, as saying before the Knesset's
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, that Iskander E
missiles could tip the power balance in favor of Syria,
and that they pose a threat to American forces in Iraq
as well (Rubin also cited the threat posed to Israel
and the U.S. forces in Iraq by Iran's Shihab 4 missile,
which is currently under development). Maariv and
Israel Radio reported that PM Sharon has written to
President Vladimir Putin, asking him not to put Israel
at risk. The media reported that Israel has recalled
its ambassador from Moscow, perhaps for consultations.
Yediot quoted Russia's Deputy FM Alexander Saltanov,
who met last week with FM Silvan Shalom and Shimon
Peres, as saying: "Russia will take Israel's interests
into account." Leading media reported that Wednesday
the State Department expressed strong opposition to the
deal, and that it hinted at threats of sanctions on
Syria should the deal take place. Spokesman Richard
Boucher said Washington is against the sale of deadly
military equipment to Syria, which is a "state sponsor
of terrorism." Incidentally, several media quoted
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov as saying that
the U.S. and Russia may be close to signing an
agreement to help control the trafficking of shoulder-
fired aircraft missiles, a weapon highly prized by
terrorists.

Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials are
expected to tell visiting EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana today that Israel will not begin
diplomatic negotiations with the PA simply because
Abbas was elected PA chairman.

Israel Radio reported from Washington that the U.S.
administration intends to deepen its involvement in the
region and that it is considering naming either a
permanent envoy to the Middle East, who would be
secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice's direct

SIPDIS
subordinate and reside in the region, or a State
Department coordinator who would exclusively devote his
work to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Citing
recent pressure by European and Arab officials on the
U.S. to alter its strategy -- they reportedly told the
U.S. administration that otherwise PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen) would resign and a civil war erupt in
the territories -- Ha'aretz (English Ed.) also mentions
the possibility of President Bush appointing a
presidential envoy in the Middle East, saying that
former secretary of state James Baker is the preferred
candidate for the position; the newspaper also brings
the name of former U.S. representative to the UN John
Davenport (sic: read Danforth). The radio reported
that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Sharon
could be invited separately to the White House in
March.

Ha'aretz (Aluf Benn) reported that the Israel-U.S.
dispute concerning the Harpy drones Israel sold to
China is on the verge of resolution.

Jerusalem Post writes that right-wing activist leaders
told the newspaper that radical elements in the anti-
disengagement camp have "agents" in the security forces
helping them in their struggle.

Yediot and Jerusalem Post highlighted the "heavy price"
Sharon is willing to pay to add Shas to his government
coalition -- 1 billion shekels (around USD 230 million)
for social welfare in exchange for support of the
disengagement plan.

Rashid Abu Shabak, the commander of the PA's
Preventative Security in the Gaza Strip, was quoted as
saying in an interview with Maariv that the PA will do
everything to prevent violence. Jerusalem Post
reported that the independent Gaza newspaper Donia Al-
Watan on Wednesday published a story about a civil
lawsuit filed by a local resident against PA Foreign
Minister Nabil Shaath over alleged corruption.

The media reported that the Haifa Magistrate's Court on
Wednesday sentenced Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of
the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, to three
and a half years in prison for security offenses.
Salah was also slapped with a three-year suspended
sentence. Jerusalem Post quoted Salah as saying that
Israel would last less than 20 years if another group
of Israeli Arabs was "unjustly" arrested and put on
trial as his group had allegedly been.

Leading media reported that on Wednesday, the High
Court of Justice ordered to release Staff Sergeant
Yossi Pilant, a resident of the settlement of Yitzhar,
who was sentenced to 28 days in military jail for
calling on soldiers to refuse to serve orders to
evacuate two caravans in his settlement. The High
Court said that the military court's sentence was
flawed, and that the IDF was entitled to put Pilant on
trial a second time.

Under the headline, "Carter Presents: Hypocrisy,"
Yediot reported that while Sharon and Shalom received
former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who headed the
international Palestinian election monitoring team,
Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a
"harsh interview" that Sharon is opposed to the road
map.

Ha'aretz cited the Amman registration center for the
January 30 parliamentary elections in Iraq as saying
Thursday that Israelis of Iraqi origin may take part in
the voting. The newspaper quoted Shlomo Hillel, former
Knesset speaker and winner of the Israel Prize for his
activity on behalf of Iraq's Jews, as saying Wednesday
that if former Iraqis living in Israel may vote in the
elections, "it would be a very significant step
signaling Iraq's willingness to change direction."
Conversely, Ha'aretz quoted National Infrastructure
Minister and former defense minister Binyamin Ben-
Eliezer, who immigrated to Israel from Iraq at age 12,
as saying that he does not believe Israelis will vote
"because anyone who sees Israel as his country will not
vote in the Iraqi elections."

Yediot reported that incoming Interior Minister Ophir
Pines-Paz has instructed that the question about
religion in the form distributed to all tourists
entering Israel be removed.

Ha'aretz reported the Foreign Ministry will set up a
department to fight anti-Semitism and to commemorate
the Holocaust.

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1. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal:
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Summary:
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Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 13):
"The key to the limitation of the Russian-Syrian
missile deal is to be found in Washington."


Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker wrote in an editorial of mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "What are the Russian arms
dealers seeking there? The main factor behind all
these strange developments is the situation in
Chechnya."
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one
of popular, pluralist Maariv: "[As the Israeli
leadership sees it,] the main thing is that we do not
surrender to Assad's peace maneuvers and negotiation
spins."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Washington Has the Key to Defusing the Crisis"

Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 13):
"The key to the limitation of the Russian-Syrian
missile deal is to be found in Washington. U.S.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who hosted his
Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanov on Tuesday, talked
with him about the Russian commitment to avoid
disseminating anti-aircraft shoulder-fired missiles,
which could reach terrorists seeking to down civilian
airliners. At a joint press conference, Ivanov said
that the Russians had completed their version of a
draft of a treaty providing for the mutual transfer of
information about such missiles (MANPADs).... Ivanov
stressed that scrupulous supervision and that the
signing of the treaty can be expected soon.... Despite
the fact that Ivanov's announcement was released even
before the deal with Syria became known, it matches the
Russian will to minimize Israel's concern about the
trickling of ground-to-air missiles to terrorist
elements in Lebanon and the territories."

II. "Russian Crisis"

Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker wrote in an editorial of mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 13): "Something bad
is happening in Russia. The behavior of its president,
Vladimir Putin, has been incomprehensible of late,
contradictory and illogical.... Now, the renewal of
arms deals between Russia and Syria, a small and poor
Arab country, which angers the U.S. and which gives
support and immunity to terror organizations has been
added to the dismal picture. What are the Russian arms
dealers seeking there? The main factor behind all
these strange developments is the situation in
Chechnya. The Putin administration is not only unable
to stabilize the pro-Russian government there, it
stands exposed and powerless in face of the anticipated
wave of murderous terror attacks. The failure in
Chechnya, along with the deaths of tens of thousands of
civilians and soldiers, has undermined the balance of
the Russian leadership; it has raised to the surface
dark political forces and is sowing a storm of
irrationality in the Kremlin. A Russian crisis is
developing, which constitutes a real danger to the
stability of the entire world."

III. "Pressure"
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one
of popular, pluralist Maariv (January 13): "If the
[Russian-Syrian arms] deal really goes through in the
end, the IDF will have to rethink fundamental
assumptions that no longer apply. It is already
impossible to fly freely over the Gaza Strip, and soon
it will be impossible to fly freely over Lebanon,
Syria, the northern border. Army intelligence will
have to work hard in order to spot the tiny missiles
being removed from their vehicles (the Russians will
sell the Syrians the motorized version),turning into
their miniature version and somehow getting into
Nasrallah's hands. And then, anything is possible. It
looks like we will learn to live with that, too. [But,
as the Israeli leadership sees it,] the main thing is
that we do not surrender to Assad's peace maneuvers and
negotiation spins."

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Prof. Uzi Arad, who was a senior strategic advisor to
former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Fulfilling the
American expectations is ... a clear-cut Israeli
interest."

Block Quotes:
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"No Automatic Pilot For Disengagement"

Prof. Uzi Arad, who was a senior strategic advisor to
former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 13): "There
are those who treat the disengagement as if it is
operating on 'automatic pilot.' However, a pragmatic
approach requires demonstrating sensitivity to changing
circumstances, and those who support the plan must take
action to improve the problematic equation between its
risks and opportunities.... [Among other conditions,]
Israel cannot dismiss the American demand, which has
also been made to the Europeans, to work for deepening
democracy in Palestinian society. Fulfilling the
American expectations is also a clear-cut Israeli
interest. It is where to find the long-term answer to
Palestinian acceptance of the Jewish state and a
permanent agreement. But above all, the most important
thing is to do everything possible to reduce the
'democratic deficit' that has built up in the decision-
making process toward the disengagement."
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3. Iraq:
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Summary:
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Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "American
mistakes are leading Iraq and the region into a
worrying direction."

Block Quotes:
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"Iraq's Slippery Slope"

Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 13):
"The Americans have erred in some strategic decisions
they made concerning a proud and despondent nation
[Iraq], which had in the past been the intellectual
heart of the Arab world. One of those mistakes was the
dismantling of the 'Arab Army,' i.e. the Iraqi army....
The 'democratic constitution' that was dictated to the
Iraqis has turned into a farce; no community intends to
carry it out.... It is too bad that Iraq was not
immediately split into three different countries....
Lastly, how were the Americans been so foolish in
organization those proportional elections?.... It
surely is too much to expect a country that has always
been controlled by the fear of the other to immediately
become a democracy that protects minorities. Those
American mistakes are leading Iraq and the region into
a worrying direction. The unending wave of terror, the
looming elections, and the loss of the ability to
govern, could bring down Iraq in the next few weeks to
the edge of a civil war."

KURTZER