Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV321
2005-01-19 10:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 000321 

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:
--------------------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 000321

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:
--------------


1. Mideast


2. President Bush Inauguration

--------------
Key stories in the media:
--------------

All media reported that last night, a Shin Bet agent
was killed and seven other security personnel were
wounded when a suicide bomber from Hamas blew himself
up at the IDF's Orhan outpost at the Katif Bloc
junction. A Palestinian passer-by was also wounded.
The media reported that earlier on Tuesday, PM Sharon
told the IDF commanders in the Gaza Strip to "do
whatever it takes" to stop Qassam rocket and mortar
attacks at once. Israel Radio reported that Sharon
will convene the diplomatic-security cabinet today.
All media reported that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen) arrived in the Gaza Strip Tuesday for scheduled
meetings with armed factions of Fatah, Hamas and
Islamic Jihad. Leading media reported that senior PA
officials are pessimistic regarding the success of
Abbas's talks. Leading media quoted Fatah sources as
saying that the group has reached an agreement with
Hamas and Islamic Jihad to stop mortar attacks against
Israel proper. Jerusalem Post reported that an initial
group of 45 PA security officials is to go to Egypt for
security training in February.

Jerusalem Post reported that on Tuesday, Israel accused
Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria of being behind the recent
wave of terror. The newspaper reported that on Tuesday
night, senior GOI officials threatened action "here and
elsewhere" against those responsible.

All media reported that at her confirmation hearing
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday,
Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice reminded

SIPDIS
Israel and the Palestinians of their responsibility at
this "moment of opportunity." Leading media quoted NSA
Rice as saying that she expects to be deeply involved
in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
but that there are no immediate plans to send a special
envoy to the Middle East. The media emphasized Rice's
comment: "The new Palestinian leadership in word is
devoted to fighting terror; it needs to be devoted in
deed to fighting terror." She added that the
administration had pressed the Palestinians hard to

control the militants. Israel Radio reported that NSA
Rice warned Syria that it faces new sanctions and "long-
term bad relations" with the U.S. because of its
suspected interference in Iraq and ties to terrorism.
Ha'aretz cited an AP report on the Middle East portion
of NSA Rice's testimony.
Israel Radio reported that Palestinians opened fire on
IDF troops on the Karni-Netzarim road in the Gaza Strip
on Wednesday and fired a mortar shell at a Gaza
settlement. There were no casualties. The radio also
reported that security forces arrested 13 senior wanted
Palestinians in Nablus last night.

All media reported that FM Silvan Shalom has appointed
Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, who resigned the day before as
spokesman and political secretary and spokesman of the
Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories,
to be his media adviser. The media have recently cited
Mor-Yosef's disapproval of the council's active
opposition to the disengagement plan and its moderate
support for soldiers refusing evacuation orders, which
he said contradicted its formal stance of opposing such
actions. A senior Hatzofe columnist criticizes Mor-
Yosef's change of mind.

Under the headline, "A Settler Turned Me Into a
Cripple," Maariv prominently front-paged the picture of
a Border Police officer who became hemiplegic following
an injury he sustained last May during the evacuation
of an outpost near the settlement of Yitzhar. The
officer urges the settlers to restrain themselves;
otherwise, "there will be many more like me on both
sides."

All media reported that a Knesset committee slammed
Israeli banks on Tuesday for "severe negligence" in
handling the accounts of thousands of Jews who perished
in the Holocaust, the assets of which totaled some 1
billion shekels (USD 230 million).

Leading media reported that the U.S. has imposed
economic penalties on several Chinese companies it says
helped Iran in its effort to improve its weapons
programs.

Yediot reported that President Bush has decided that
Vice President Dick Cheney will head the U.S.
delegation to the official commemoration of the
liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Former U.S.
presidents Jimmy Cater, George H. W. Bush, and Bill
Clinton will also be part of the delegation. President
Moshe Katsav will head a 200-strong Israeli delegation.

All media reported that the Bach Committee on Senior
Civil Service Appointments has endorsed Stanley
Fischer's nomination to the post of governor of the
Bank of Israel, and that the government is expected to
appoint him shortly.

--------------

1. Mideast:
--------------

Summary:
--------------
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"Israel's goal should not be cutting off contact with
Abu Mazen even before he begins his term in office, but
to make him take energetic, quick steps that will win
the support of the Palestinian people."

Contributor Dr. Gadi Taub, a Hebrew University lecturer
in Israeli society, wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "What is troubling is that
beneath everything that can be dismissed as rhetorical
flourish that is geared to meet domestic needs, the
issue of the right of return was and remains a
principal tenet in [Abbas's] worldview."

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"Europe ... should not be lecturing Sharon, but telling
Abbas that he had better show results quickly or Israel
will have no choice but to take drastic steps to
provide for its own security."


Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "The
cunning Abu Mazen is ... most likely to convince the
terror organizations to stop striking at the Katif
Bloc, Sderot, and so on, in exchange for generous
financial aid."

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


I. "No More Killing"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(January 19): "Israel's goal should not be cutting off
contact with Abu Mazen even before he begins his term
in office, but to make him take energetic, quick steps
that will win the support of the Palestinian people.
The ambition is not to push the Palestinians into a
civil war but to establish, together with them,
stability that will enable a cease-fire and diplomatic
negotiations.... If the Palestinians and their new
leaders want to protect their families, they must help
Abu Mazen and the new leadership overcome the madness
of the terror and the self-destruction that has
infected some Palestinian groups. That is the proper
response for the situation now -- measured, and passing
the ball over to Abu Mazen and the Palestinian
population. There's no way to know if this reaction
will work and at what pace, but it is clear that if it
fails, the deterioration to the use of far-reaching
means will become inevitable."
II. "Disengagement From the Right of Return"
Contributor Dr. Gadi Taub, a Hebrew University lecturer
in Israeli society, wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 19): "It is not Abu
Mazen's remarks about the glory of 'shahids,' which
recently began to make their way into his statements
(for instance, at the annual ceremony commemorating the
establishment of Fatah) that are troubling. What is
troubling is that beneath everything that can be
dismissed as rhetorical flourish that is geared to meet
domestic needs, the issue of the right of return was
and remains a principal tenet in his worldview.... Time
is on the side of those who employ those tactics.
Those who are banking on a Palestinian victory by means
of demography are not in a rush to get anywhere. On
the contrary: they have time for endless talk....
Partitioning the land is the sole means at our disposal
to prevent a bi-national state with an Arab majority
from evolving, and the disengagement plan must not be
made contingent upon the hidden motives of the new
'rais.' Otherwise we could find ourselves negotiating
disengagement for another ten years without actually
disengaging. That is why Israel must not change its
unilaterally established timetable. It needs to make
it clear to the Palestinians that we are leaving Gaza.
If they want to reach a peaceful settlement before
that, good. If not, we will see them from the far side
of disengagement, and then we will see. Peace, perhaps
not at present. Disengagement in any event, yes."

III. "Asselborn's 'Arafat Excuse'"

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(January 19): "Luxembourg's foreign minister and
president of the European Union Council, Jean
Asselborn, visiting the region on Tuesday, called for
an 'urgent meeting' between Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, saying 'I ask Israel to give him [Abbas] a
chance.' Earlier, Asselborn reportedly said that 'The
"Arafat excuse" no longer exists ... with Arafat gone
the problem of the peace process's dead end
disappears.' Thank goodness the word has come down
from Luxembourg: our problems are over, if only we
would open our eyes and see.... Israel has proved
repeatedly that the scope and pace of its military
actions are directly related to the terror threats we
face. The Palestinian side knows full well that if it
stops terror, Israeli military incursions will stop, so
long as it is clear that terrorist groups are not using
the respite to rearm and reorganize.... Europe,
accordingly, should not be lecturing Sharon, but
telling Abbas that he had better show results quickly
or Israel will have no choice but to take drastic steps
to provide for its own security. Asselborn should
further tell Abbas that the Palestinians' 'Arafat
excuse' is gone: either they stop terror and incitement
or their financial and diplomatic honeymoon with Europe
will be over."

IV. "An Anticipated Decision"
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (January
19): "On the eve of his arrival in the U.S., where he
will be welcomed as someone who opposes terror and
applauded by both houses of Congress, Abu Mazen had to
make the 'bold decision' to fight Hamas and Islamic
Jihad. [Palestinian factions] are most likely to
exchange fire; some may even be killed and wounded, but
all this will happen before and during his trip to the
U.S., until the first shipment of money arrives -- from
the U.S. and Europe. The cunning Abu Mazen is also
most likely to convince the terror organizations to
stop striking at the Katif Bloc, Sderot, and so on, in
exchange for generous financial aid, while turning a
blind eye from the quantity of weapons that will be
produced, smuggles and upgraded during the quiet period
that Abu Mazen deems necessary."

--------------

2. President Bush Inauguration:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

U.S. expert and Middle East lecturer Professor Eytan
Gilboa wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot: "In order to earn a good place in history,
[Bush] will need to design a policy recognizing the
limitations of the U.S. -- actually during an era when
it is considered the only superpower."

Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker wrote in an editorial of Yediot Aharonot: "Only
by putting his house -- the U.S. economy -- in order
will George Bush succeed in fulfilling his ambitious
plans during his second term."






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


I. "Bush and the World, Chapter Two"

U.S. expert and Middle East lecturer Professor Eytan
Gilboa wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot (January 19): "The changes Bush has made in
his government cannot herald changes in his policy.
What he did was to replace Secretary of State Colin
Powell, who opposed his war strategy, with his loyal
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. He didn't
touch the Pentagon leadership, which is responsible for
the world war on terror -- and this isn't because he
believes the Defense Department staff did a good job.
Continued failure in Iraq will certainly cause the
replacement of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and his
Deputy Wolfowitz.... The tasks Bush is facing are
colossal; in order to fulfill them, he'll need
international cooperation, even with hostile and
reticent elements such as the UN and the EU. Most
paradoxically, in order to earn a good place in
history, he will need to design a policy recognizing
the limitations of the U.S. -- actually during an era
when it is considered the only superpower."

II. "Clouds in America's Skies"

Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever
Plotker wrote in an editorial of Yediot Aharonot
(January 19): "When he swears to serve the American
nation for four more years. George Bush will not only
have to fight a phenomenon that dogs U.S. presidents
during their second term -- fatigue of the fighting
spirit -- but, first of all, to remove the heavy cloud
marring all the inaugural ceremonies. That cloud is
not the situation in Iraq, but the situation --
economic conditions -- in America itself. The American
economy is in a quagmire.... It isn't the American
taxpayer who pays for the U.S. Government's huge
deficits, but China's central bank, which buys hundreds
of billions of dollars in U.S. bonds. This is an
absurd and dangerous dependence: the world superpower
will cease to be a power if it continues to live above
its means and to rely upon the whims of foreign
capital.... Only by putting his house -- the U.S.
economy -- in order will George Bush succeed in
fulfilling his ambitious plans during his second term."

KURTZER