ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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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. Mideast


2. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal


3. Stanley Fischer's Bank of Israel Nomination

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Key stories in the media:
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All media reported that six Israeli civilians were
killed and five others were wounded in a combined
double suicide attack at the Karni Crossing at the
border with the Gaza Strip, the vital channel for trade
between Israel and the Strip. The attackers first blew
up the separation wall between the Palestinian and
Israeli sides of the passage. Hamas, the Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades, and the Popular Resistance Committees
(PRC) claimed joint responsibility for the operation,
which was allegedly carried out in response to Israel's
killing of a West Bank militant and other Palestinians
in recent days. Yediot quoted associates of PM Sharon
as saying that the attack is a "warning bell" to
recently elected PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
that if he does not wake up in the face of terror, he
will fail. Yediot further quoted them as saying: "If
the Palestinians will not take any steps against
terror, it will be impossible to make any progress."
Maariv writes that the attack was Hamas's "resounding
response" to Abbas, who has in recent days delivered
unambiguous messages to the Palestinian organizations,
demanding that they stop attacks against Israel.

Israel Radio reported that this morning, at a high-
level meeting, Sharon decided to close all crossing
points with the Gaza Strip until the Palestinians take
relevant measures. Writing before Thursday night's
attack, Ha'aretz reported that the IDF is disappointed
with Abbas's attitude toward the militant Palestinian
organizations.

In a feature story by its Washington correspondent on
the life and politics of secretary of state-designate
Condoleezza Rice, Jerusalem Post quoted one official
with an American Jewish organization as saying that she
is expected to maintain her special relationship with
Israeli officials.

Leading media reported that on Thursday, PM Sharon held
a special high-level debate on enforcing the law during
the Gaza pullout, both in cases of soldiers refusing to
obey orders an in instance of violence toward the
security forces during the evacuation of illegal
outposts. Israel Radio quoted Sharon as saying that
the various enforcement branches of the GOI are not yet
ready for the withdrawal. Ha'aretz reported that
settlement rabbis have been warning in recent days
against giving a literal interpretation to a speech
about civil war made 31 years ago by the late Rabbi Zvi
Yehuda Hacohen Kook, who is considered the spiritual
father of the settlement movement. Leading media
reported that Ami Ayalon, the co-initiator of the
Peoples' Voice petition and a new member of the Labor
Party, discussed the phenomena of disobedience and
violence with settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein on
Thursday. Hatzofe quoted Ayalon as saying that
"empathy and dialogue" with the settlers are missing in
the government's approach to disengagement.

Leading media quoted FM Silvan Shalom on Thursday that
Jerusalem has asked Moscow not to go through with a
sale of sophisticated weapons to Syria. Shalom's
statement was the first public GOI acknowledgement of
the deal. Ha'aretz reported that Russian Defense
Minister Sergey Ivanov and U.S. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld agreed Thursday on the details of a
treaty limiting the sale of mobile ground-to-air
missiles. Ha'aretz quoted Ivanov as saying that he had
not heard an explicit request not to sell missiles to
Syria from his American interlocutors. Leading media
reported that on Thursday, Russia and Syria blamed
Israel for the crisis over the planned weapons deal.

Jerusalem Post reported that Sharon told visiting EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Thursday that
Israel is willing to move directly from the
disengagement plan into implementation of the road map
if the PA fulfills its commitments to fight terror.

Leading media reported that on Thursday, Sharon and
Vice Premier Shimon Peres agreed that Peres would be
entrusted with concentrating international efforts to
develop the Gaza Strip's economy after Israel's
pullout. Maariv reported that Peres asked Sharon not
to include the Shas party in his coalition before it
supports the disengagement plan. Maariv cited the
response of Sharon associates that the government would
not be able to survive without Shas.

Ha'aretz and Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday,
the High Court of Justice ordered a halt to
construction of large sections of the West Bank
separation fence between Jerusalem and Maccabim after a
petition was filed by Palestinian villagers.

Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that, in its annual report
released on Thursday, Human Rights Watch said that
human rights conditions remained grave in Iraq and
Israel, and have shown little improvement.

All media reported that former Yahad (Meretz) party
leader Yossi Sarid, who abstained at the Knesset vote
that endorsed Sharon's new government on Monday, and
party leader Yossi Beilin sharply squabbled at the
party's convention on Thursday.
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) quoted Larry Garber, former
USAID mission director for Gaza and the West Bank, an
international monitor who has overseen some 25
elections around the world, as saying: "The PA
elections were the best organized and most professional
I have ever seen." The newspaper also reported that
members of the Palestinian-American community
celebrated this week's elections with guarded optimism,
as they marked an important democratic process that
they said was particularly significant to their dual
identity.

Prof. Shai Feldman, the outgoing director of Tel Aviv
University's Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies (JCSS),
was quoted as saying in an interview with Yediot that
Iran is not an "adventurous adversary," that "it would
not be prepared to sacrifice one third of its
population on the altar of a nuclear conflict," and
that Israel has the capability to produce deterrence
against a nuclear Iran in the future. Feldman also
said that if Iran has nuclear weapons, Egypt and Saudi
Arabia will also aspire to nuclear capability.

Jerusalem Post cited a petition filed Thursday with the
High Court of Justice by Arieh King, a far Right
activist, according to which the Arab chairman of a
committee that serves as an intermediary between police
and East Jerusalem residents is selling burial plots to
Muslims in an area classified by the state as an
archeological site and national park.

Ha'aretz cited figures released by Nefesh B'Nefesh,
which together with the Jewish Agency facilitates
almost all American immigration to Israel, as saying
that less than 4 percent of American immigrants to
Israel last year settled over the Green Line.

A Ha'aretz/Dialogue poll found that Sharon's
"disengagement government" enjoys the support of the
majority of voters. However, the poll also shows that
while 38.3 percent of the public supports
implementation of the disengagement plan, 37.5 percent
back a referendum, and 17.1 percent want new elections.
7.1 percent are undecided.
The poll, taken following the formation of the new
government, shows that were elections to be held now,
Shinui would lose four of its 15 seats in the Knesset,
while Yahad would strengthen from six to eight MKs.
The Likud would lose three of its 40 MKs and the Labor
Party's political strength would remain unchanged at 19
seats in parliament.
A Maariv/Teleseker poll:
-"In view of the latest developments, do you believe
that Sharon will eventually succeed in evacuating the
settlements in the Gaza Strip and the northern West
Bank?" Yes: 69 percent; no: 28 percent.
-"Do you believe that Israel should help Abu Mazen
establish his status by making a gesture such as
facilitating passage at roadblocks and the release of
security prisoners?" Israel should make such a gesture
when Abu Mazen acts to prevent terror: 59 percent;
Israel should not make such a gesture: 23 percent;
Israel should make such a gesture: 17 percent.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Regional correspondent Ronni Shaked wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Abu Mazen
cannot go to a meeting with Sharon now, and cannot look
Israel in the eye, unless he can prove that he, the new
'rais,' is implementing his statements about disarming
and halting terror."

Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yediot
Aharonot: "The Bush administration, as far as the
Europeans are concerned, will be tested by its measure
of involvement in resolving the bloody conflict between
the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "What if the
doomsday scenarios we hear on a daily basis, arguing
that Israel is about to be overrun by the Arab womb,
are ... part of an ingenious Palestinian plan to
psychologically manipulate Israel into capitulating?"

Block Quotes:
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I. "Abu Mazen's Test"

Regional correspondent Ronni Shaked wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 14):
"Abu Mazen is highly embarrassed. On Thursday, he was
dealt the first blow below the belt, and from his own
men -- the members of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
This is a particularly painful blow, since in recent
days he has been holding talks with Hamas in an attempt
to secure a cease-fire, and those acting against him
are his own people. Abu Mazen cannot go to a meeting
with Sharon now, and cannot look Israel in the eye,
unless he can prove that he, the new 'rais,' is
implementing his statements about disarming and halting
terror.... He has no choice: He must act
immediately.... If he does not act immediately, he will
lose all the confidence that top Israeli officials have
in him -- not only on the part of the Prime Minister,
but also in the Israeli public, which has pinned its
hopes on him. If he does not act, he will undermine
his standing in the U.S., and here too, it will
ultimately hurt the Palestinians themselves. The
terror attack at the Karni crossing is also a severe
blow to Gaza's economy.... The Palestinians in Gaza
must understand this time that terror is a double-edged
sword, and the suffering will be theirs."

II. "New 'Rais,' Old Operating Disk"

Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yediot
Aharonot (January 14): "The Israeli side continues to
absorb terror attacks....'The old Arik Sharon,' says a
senior aide in the Prime Minister's bureau, 'would have
already aimed threats at the Palestinian Authority.
The new Arik holds back.... Sharon is careful not to
make threats at the present time. He does not want to
spoil the optimistic atmosphere. On Thursday, EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana came to Ramallah and
Jerusalem. Solana wanted to be the first statesman to
meet with Abu Mazen after his victory in the elections.
The Europeans believe the arrangement between Israel
and the Palestinians to be the most acute issue in the
region -- even more than ending the war in Iraq. They
intend to place the matter at the top of their agenda
[in their talks with] the Americans. The Bush
administration, as far as the Europeans are concerned,
will be tested by its measure of involvement in
resolving the bloody conflict between the Israelis and
the Palestinians.... More or less, what has been is
what will continue to be: the Palestinians, with
European backing, will apply pressure to launch
negotiations on the comprehensive, final status
arrangement; whereas the Israeli side will continue its
preparations for evacuating the Gaza Strip and northern
Samaria, and no more."

III. "The Demographic Bomb Is a Dud"

Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (January 14):
"While terrorism is the outward face of the post-modern
aggressor, social psychology is perhaps his greatest
weapon. If the target population can be manipulated to
view itself as the aggressor, if it can be brought to
view its position as untenable, then it will sue for
peace and surrender.... What if the doomsday scenarios
we hear on a daily basis, arguing that Israel is about
to be overrun by the Arab womb, are all based on
fraudulent data -- part of an ingenious Palestinian
plan to psychologically manipulate Israel into
capitulating? This week a team of American and Israeli
researchers presented a study of the Palestinian
population statistics at the American Enterprise
Institute and the Heritage Foundation in Washington....
All of the team's comparative analyses led to the
conclusion that the Palestinian population forecasts
upon which Israel is basing its current policy of
withdrawal and uprooting of Israeli communities in the
territories are faulty in the extreme."

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2. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"Israel must act to solve the crisis in close
cooperation with the Americans.... [But] neglecting
[the diplomatic channel with Syria] ... is liable to
turn out to be a double-edged sword."

Block Quotes:
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"Strained Relations With Russia"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(January 14): "It seems that the Russian-Syrian
rapprochement is directed mainly at the Americans and
the Europeans, who recently worked together against the
Kremlin's candidate for the Ukrainian presidency.
Israel found itself involved in this wrestling match,
to its detriment.... Political figures in Jerusalem
made it clear that in its attempt to prevent the arms
deal, Israel will be careful not to ruin relations with
Moscow. This approach is justified mainly because of
the importance of ties with Russia. Israel must act to
solve the crisis in close cooperation with the
Americans -- who are afraid that the Russian weapons to
be sold to Syria will fall into the hands of hostile
elements in Iraq. In addition, Israel should look into
the nature of the Syrian channel. Neglecting it -- one
reason being the groundless claim that there is no
point in negotiating with a weak partner -- is liable
to turn out to be a double-edged sword."

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3. Stanley Fischer's Bank of Israel Nomination:
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Summary:
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Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker "advised" Bank of Israel governor-designate
Stanley Fischer in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot: "Your glory as a leading international
economist won't allow you to hide behind the walls of
the Bank of Israel.... [Nonetheless,] feel at home ...
this is your home as well as mine."

Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz: "Israeli society and Israeli democracy are
not capable of bearing the moral costs of this
unacceptable postmodern appointment."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Advice to a New Immigrant"

Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker "advised" Bank of Israel governor-designate
Stanley Fischer in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot (January 14): "Shortly after you successfully
go through immigration procedures, arrange a meeting
with the chairman of the Histadrut labor federation.
He is the second most important person in Israel's
economy. You'll see how much you'll need his quiet
support.... The percentage of Israelis living in
poverty is the highest one in the Western world --
twice of that in America.... Your glory as a leading
international economist won't allow you to hide behind
the walls of the Bank of Israel and to claim that your
only interest is monetary policy management and banking
supervision. More, much more is required of you....
Break with the treasury. The Finance Ministry under
Binyamin Netanyahu has accumulated a huge power....
Relinquish American citizenship -- neither immediately,
nor with a suspicious delay.... Don't take everything
to heart. Rough, strident Israelis are only immigrants
or children or grandchildren of immigrants. Feel at
home, Stanley Fischer, this is your home as well as
mine."

II. "A Postmodern Governor"

Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz (January 14): "With all due respect to [Bank
of Israel governor-designate Stanley] Fischer, he has
not been a partner to our destiny until now. The vice
president of Citigroup accompanied us from Wall Street,
and empathized with us from Wall Street, but did not
take an active part in our lives. He was not with us
during our military service. He was not with us during
the trials of Israeli civilian life. He was not with
us during our aliyah (immigration) or our absorption of
aliyah. Not in peace and not in war. Not in the sweat
of reserve duty, and not in the exasperation of trying
to obtain a mortgage. Therefore, in the most profound
sense, the man who was a candidate for the U.S. Federal
Reserve Bank is not part of our glory. Nor can he
become one of the leaders of our community
overnight.... It's true that the Israeli economy is
likely to profit from Fischer's appointment. But
Israeli society and Israeli democracy are not capable
of bearing the moral costs of this unacceptable
postmodern appointment."
KURTZER