ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 002719

SIPDIS

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WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
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JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
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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. Syrian-Lebanese Track


3. Visit of Turkish PM Erdogan to Israel, May 1-2

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Key stories in the media:
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Israel Radio reported that an IDF soldier was killed
and another was wounded in an operation near Tulkarm,
in which a senior Islamic Jihad activist was also
killed. Israel Radio reported that a mortar shell was
launched at a northern Gaza Strip settlement last
night. Leading media reported that on Sunday, the IDF
raided a house in Tulkarm and arrested Mohammed
Shalhoub, a suspected suicide bomber -- the first such
arrest since Israel transferred the city's security to
the PA five weeks ago. Israel Radio reported that the
police have arrested Shireen Tarazi, a 19-year-old
female student from East Jerusalem, on suspicion of
planning a terrorist attack. Maariv reported that at
least 600 Kalashnikov rifles have been smuggled from
Egypt into the West Bank during the past two weeks.

Ha'aretz reported that the GOI is likely to abandon the
plan to relocate settler evacuees to the Nitzanim dunes
near Ashdod and areas around Ashkelon. Maariv reported
that the IDF has suggested that settlements to be
evacuated in the northern West Bank be turned into
camps for the Palestinian police.

During the weekend, the media highlighted the visit of
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Israel. Erdogan,
who expressed his desire to play a role in the peace
process and proposed setting up a Turkish-Palestinian
working team to examine "how to combat terrorism,
preserve the calm, and make peace," asked that Israel
be patient and give PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud
Abbas time to fulfill his security commitments. The
media quoted PM Sharon as saying that Israel was
interested in Turkish assistance in the economic
development of the Gaza Strip after disengagement.
Leading media reported that the two countries will set
up a hotline in order to fight terrorism. On Sunday,
Ha'aretz reported that Israel and Turkey would sign a
new deal to upgrade about 30 F-4 Phantoms belonging to
the Turkish air force, at a cost of USD 400-500
million.

On Sunday, all media reported that an Israeli couple
was among nine people wounded in terrorist attacks in
Cairo on Saturday.

Leading media reported that on Friday, UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan called for the disarming of
Hizbullah.

Israel Radio reported that Diaspora and Jerusalem
Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky tendered his
resignation to PM Sharon this morning. In his
resignation letter, Sharansky wrote: "We are drawing
close to a terrible rift in the nation, and to my
sorrow I see no effort on the government's part to
prevent it." Sharansky says that Israel refuses to
understand that the key to creating peace in the Middle
East is by encouraging democracy in the region.

Leading media reported that settlers were arrested on
Friday following the wounding of a senior IDF officer
in the West Bank.

Yediot reported that several weeks ago, the FBI
questioned former senior Mossad official Uzi Arad in
the U.S. about his ties with alleged "Pentagon mole"
Larry Franklin, who has been suspected of passing
information to Israel. The newspaper quoted Arad as
saying he had been happy to assist the interrogators,
but that he is not suspected in any wrongdoing.

All media (banner in Maariv) reported that on Sunday,
outgoing IDF C-o-S Moshe Ya'alon again voiced veiled
grievances against Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz.

In economic news, Yediot reported on Sunday that Israel
is included on the USTR blacklist of the fourteen
leading countries in the area of IPR violations.
Israel was absent from this list in the past two years
because of its promises to pass appropriate laws to
protect copyrights. In an unrelated development,
Israel Radio reported that two Israelis are suspected
of defrauding the American pharmaceutical company
Pfizer of USD 2 million.

All media reported that Stanley Fischer was sworn in on
Sunday as Governor of the Bank of Israel by President
Moshe Katsav.

Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that Senate Majority
leader Bill Frist arrived in Israel Sunday as part of a
fact-finding tour of the Middle East. He will meet
with Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Sharon, and Abbas.

Leading media reported that FM Silvan Shalom leaves
today for his first visit to Mauritania, the only
member of the Arab League in North Africa that has
maintained diplomatic relations with Israel throughout
the Intifada. Discussions will cover developing
bilateral relations, promoting diplomatic relations
between Israel and Arab countries, and the threat of
Islamic fundamentalism.
Leading media reported that the government will today
discuss upgrading the status of the Judea and Samaria
College in Ariel (West Bank) and combining northern
colleges into a Galilee university. Leading media
quoted Education Minister Limor Livnat as saying:
"Upgrading the colleges into universities is designed
to support the settlement vision, out of the national
interest of the State of Israel." Several media say
that this was a reference to Britain's Association of
University Teachers (AUT) boycott of two Israeli
universities. The media quoted Construction and
Housing Minister Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) as saying that
establishing a university in a "problematic" area would
"take away precious resources that do not meet Israel's
priorities, first and foremost the development on the
Negev and Galilee.

Ha'aretz quoted Sheikh Mouaffac Tarif, the leader of
the Druze community in Israel, as saying that Peres and
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt have recently met
in Paris. Ha'aretz quoted Likud MK Ayoub Kara as
saying that Israel is active in Lebanon in efforts to
allow the return of former South Lebanon Army fighters
to their country, as part of the general conciliation
moves in Lebanon. The newspaper reported that Kara is
due to meet with U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer to
advance the matter.

The media highlighted First Lady Laura Bush's humorous
remarks at the annual White House Correspondents'
Association dinner on Saturday.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in left-leaning,
independent Ha'aretz: "All [members of the Clinton
peace team] agreed that if Bush prefers to concentrate
on the democratization of the Middle East instead of
restarting the peace process and helping Abu Mazen make
real headway in the upcoming Palestinian elections, the
President will end up with no peace and no democracy.
And what about us?"

Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in
Ha'aretz: "[As far as the Palestinians are concerned],
without Jerusalem there is no Palestinian state and no
solution."

Dr. Yoram Meital, Chair of Ben Gurion University's
Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy,
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "The relentless
struggle against [Egypt's] extremist Islamic factions
will continue to dominate the regime's agenda under the
elected president."





Block Quotes:
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I. "Learning From Past Mistakes"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in left-leaning,
independent Ha'aretz (May 2): "The self-criticism
voiced by the four members of President Bill Clinton's
peace talks team at last week's seminar organized by
the Middle East Institute in Washington competed with
their criticism of President George W. Bush's peace
policy. Dennis Ross, Martin Indyk, Aaron Miller and
Rob Malley took a large chunk of the responsibility for
the collapse of the peace process on themselves. The
majority of the mistakes and flaws that they pointed
out are also true of the Bush administration today.
Learning the lessons of the failure that ended in the
outbreak of the second Intifada could perhaps, even
now, prevent the third Intifada.... Miller reminded
Bush of three Americans -- Henry Kissinger, Jimmy
Carter and James Baker -- who exhibited resoluteness
toward Israel, but also secured its trust and actually
produced agreements. All agreed that if Bush prefers
to concentrate on the democratization of the Middle
East instead of restarting the peace process and
helping Abu Mazen make real headway in the upcoming
Palestinian elections, the President will end up with
no peace and no democracy. And what about us?"

II. "Eliminating Any Chance of a State"

Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in
Ha'aretz (May 2): "From the Palestinians' point of
view, expanding the Jewish hold on the eastern part of
the city [of Jerusalem] and completing the separation
wall means the perpetuation of the violent conflict.
If the Israeli public agrees that recognizing the right
of return means liquidating the Jewish state -- so it
is universally acknowledged among the Palestinians that
the 'Judaization of Jerusalem,' as they call it, means
eliminating the possibility of establishing a
Palestinian state. In other words, without Jerusalem
there is no Palestinian state and no solution.... It
could ... be said with a large degree of certainty that
Mahmoud Abbas' leadership would be capable of coping
with internal and external difficulties in the near
future. However, it does not have much chance of
surviving if Israel continues to establish 'facts on
the ground' in East Jerusalem, which will leave no room
for negotiations over the city's future."

III. "Egypt's Soft Belly"

Dr. Yoram Meital, Chair of Ben Gurion University's
Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy,
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (May 2): "The
extremists do not enjoy wide support among the Egyptian
public. The terrorist attacks are severely condemned
and criticized. However, neither does the regime enjoy
much sympathy.... The relentless struggle against the
extremist Islamic factions will continue to dominate
the regime's agenda under the elected president."

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2. Syrian-Lebanese Track:
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Summary:
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Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "It
would be ridiculous to claim that Syrian intelligence
has gone with the military units."

Block Quotes:
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"Syria's Still There"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (May
1): "The withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon is
seen by Israel as a first and important step, but
behind the scenes Damascus will continue to control
intelligence, including within the Lebanese army....
Israel does not believe that with the withdrawal of its
troops from Lebanon, Syria has withdrawn entirely from
a country it controlled in almost every vital sphere.
It would be ridiculous to claim that Syrian
intelligence has gone with the military units. Israel
is convinced that Syrian intelligence will continue to
exert control in Lebanon's pro-Syrian government. The
Lebanese army is thoroughly infiltrated with Syrian
intelligence, which gives financial aid to many
Lebanese officers. And Syrian intelligence penetration
of Hezbollah runs deep. Some of Hezbollah's rocket
array is manufactured in Syria and came its way after
the Syrian general staff decided to view Hezbollah as
an organic part of its deployment of forces. Only
truly free elections can bring about internal change,
and for that Lebanon needs international observers.
Only a free government could send the Lebanese army to
take responsibility for security in the south of the
country.... Israel's main concern is how to treat
Hizbullah if it remains an armed militia that does not
take orders from the Lebanese government. From
Israel's point of view, there has been no real change
in the array of enemy forces."
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3. Visit of Turkish PM Erdogan to Israel, May 1-2:
-------------- --------------

Summary:
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Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"The fact that Erdogan decided to embark on a high-
profile state-visit despite last year's bitterness is a
testament to his desire not to yield to Arab pressure
and not to make vehement anti-Israeli rhetoric his
administration's calling card. This can only be
regarded as a hopeful development."

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

"Erdogan's Well-Timed Visit"

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(May 2): "Israeli-Turkish relations rest on a bedrock
of solid mutual interests, which perhaps augurs well
for future cooperation.... Israel offers a
sophisticated research-industrial infrastructure in
spheres ranging from the vanguard of hi-tech to
agriculture, while Turkey -- the sole Muslim NATO
member -- offers Israel its only strategic regional
ally. Both already boast considerable cultural,
academic and commercial connections. Both are also
threatened by extremists. If there can be
understanding, indeed symbiosis between two states,
it's between Israel and Turkey. Turkey can become a
beacon of progress, tolerance and enlightenment in a
region that cries out for reform. It's a historic
opportunity that mustn't be missed. The fact that
Erdogan decided to embark on a high-profile state-visit
despite last year's bitterness is a testament to his
desire not to yield to Arab pressure and not to make
vehement anti-Israeli rhetoric his administration's
calling card. This can only be regarded as a hopeful
development."

KURTZER