ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 000370

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. Prospect For Second Bush Administration


2. Mideast


3. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal

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Key stories in the media:
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All media underscored Thursday's inauguration of
President Bush in Washington. The three national TV
stations broadcast the ceremony live. The media noted
that Bush abundantly mentioned world freedom in his
speech, but not Iraq or Israel.

All media (banners in Maariv and Jerusalem Post) quoted
Vice President Dick Cheney as warning Israel on MSNBC-
TV Thursday not to attack Iran, noting that any such
strike would leave a "diplomatic mess afterwards" and
should be avoided. Jerusalem Post and Maariv quoted
senior Israeli officials as saying that Cheney's
comment was more a warning to the Europeans and the
international community that they have to take a more
concerted action to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear
power, than a warning to Israel not to act. Jerusalem
Post quoted one official, who stated that Cheney "never
misspeaks," as saying that it was telling that the fist
part of Cheney's remark gave a justification to Israeli
action, since he said that Iran has as a stated
objective the elimination of Israel.

Ha'aretz and other media reported that the PA plans to
deploy some 500 security personnel in the northern Gaza
Strip to prevent the launching of Qassam rockets into
Israel. This morning, Israel Radio said that 3,000
Palestinian police are deploying in the area. Leading
media note that not a single Qassam rocket or mortar
shell was fired on Thursday. Ha'aretz quoted IDF C-o-S
as saying that a "positive trend" can be discerned in
the PA. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim made similar
remarks on Israel Radio this morning. Israel Radio
reported that the girl from Sderot who was critically
injured on Saturday died of her wounds this morning.

Leading media reported that two 12-year-old Palestinian
boys were killed by IDF gunfire -- one near Jenin (who
was playing with a plastic rifle) and one in the
southern Gaza Strip.

All media reported that a Danish tourist of Lebanese-
Palestinian descent has been under arrest in Israel
since January 6. The police and the Shin Bet have also
arrested two Israeli Arabs in the affair. All three
detainees are suspected of committing unspecified
security offenses. The media reported that the Danish
Embassy was informed of the arrest soon after the
tourist was taken into custody, but that Danish
officials were not allowed into the courtroom. The
media note that the next day, the Danish Foreign
Ministry summoned Israel's Ambassador to Copenhagen and
demand explanations. It also demanded that Danish
Embassy personnel in Israel be allowed to meet with the
detainee. The media cited Danish claims that Israel
has violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations.

Leading media reported on migration from Israel to
settlements slated for evacuation, especially Sa Nur in
the northern West Bank, the population of which has
doubled since Sharon launched the disengagement plan.
Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday, the World
Bank denied claims that it may purchase hothouses and
farming equipment from evacuated Katif Bloc settlers
and hand them over to Palestinians living in the area.

Ha'aretz reported that members of the Likud "rebels"
asked Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin last week to join
them in quitting the Likud and forming an independent
Knesset faction. However, Rivlin refused, reportedly
saying, "You must always fight from the inside. The
Likud is still alive and breathing, even if the Likud's
chairman has strayed from the path." Leading media
reported that the National Religious Party has split
up, with chairman MK Effi Eitam and former chairman MK
Yitzhak Levy teaming up with the National Union,
following months of talks.

Leading media reported that UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan announced on Thursday that Peter Hansen, who
heads the United Nations Works and Relief Agency
(UNRWA),will not be reappointed and will leave the job
at the end of March. Ha'aretz cited the British daily
The Guardian as saying that the decision was taken
against Hansen's will, as a result of pressure from
Jewish and politically conservative groups in the U.S.
and from Israel, which accused Hansen of being an
"Israel hater."

Yediot reported that Emily Amrussi (phon.) has been
appointed spokesperson of the Yesha Council of Jewish
Settlements in the Territories.

Ha'aretz and Jerusalem Post reported that Sharon called
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday, telling him
that Israel is opposed to Moscow supplying advanced SA-
18 missiles to Syria. Sharon reportedly said that the
deal endangered Israel's security as well as the
leadership of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

Last night, Channel 2-TV and Israel TV reported that
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has decided to indict
PM Sharon's son, Knesset Member Omri Sharon, in
connection to illegal donations to his father's
campaign for the Likud Party leadership (Yediot's lead
story). This morning, Israel Radio cited Mazuz's
bureau as saying that the decision has not yet been
made.

Peter Erban, the director of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM),which has been
registering Iraqi expatriates toward the January 30
elections for the Iraqi parliament, as implying in an
interview with Ha'aretz that Israelis of Iraqi origin
can participate in the election. Ha'aretz cited
official reservations in Jordan to Israelis registering
in that country -- a procedure still possible in the
next two days.

Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that American Jewish
peace activist Kate Raphael Bender was deported
Thursday after five weeks in Israeli detention
facilities. It was Bender's second deportation in a
year.

Jerusalem Post reported that a top-level delegation of
17 U.S. law enforcement, fire and medical emergency
personnel arrived in Israel on Wednesday at the start
of a seven-day visit sponsored by the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) aimed at learning from Israel's experience
in dealing with security and attacks with mass
casualties. The delegates are primarily from Long
Beach, CA.

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1. Prospect For Second Bush Administration:
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Summary:
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Inside Pages Editor Shmuel Rosner wrote in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Bush and his administration are
caught in a bind between [their] driving ambition to
change the world and resigning themselves to the
limitations of power."

Columnist Rafi Mann wrote in an editorial of popular,
pluralist Maariv: "If Bush wishes ... to rescue the
North Atlantic alliance from a veritable rupture, one
of the first currencies he will have to disburse for
doing so is the Middle East."

Liberal columnist B. Michael wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The most bitter, the most
disappointing, the most eye-opening lesson lies in the
fact that the Bush administration has efficiently and
cruelly exposed the brittleness and the thin veneer of
... the cultural aspect of the 'largest democracy.'"
Block Quotes:
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I. "Speak Softly -- or Carry a Big Stick"

Inside Pages Editor Shmuel Rosner wrote in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 21): "While the world is
looking for signs of a shift in U.S. foreign policy --
for dialogue, for a respite from tension -- it is
Bush's determination to act that stands in the way. If
Bush wants to do, he can't speak softly; if he speaks
softly, there is not much he can do. Bush and his
administration are caught in a bind between this
driving ambition to change the world and resigning
themselves to the limitations of power.... Tempting as
it may sound to European statesmen, the diplomatic
scenario is not a likely choice today, and for one very
potent reason: it goes against Bush's instincts and
activist temperament. Most of the people who surround
the president strongly believe that military might, and
not diplomacy, is the best way to handle a crisis."

II. "A Celebration With a Limited Warranty"

Columnist Rafi Mann wrote in an editorial of popular,
pluralist Maariv (January 21): "If Bush wishes to
rehabilitate his relations with 'blue Europe,' in a
hope to rescue the North Atlantic alliance from a
veritable rupture, one of the first currencies he will
have to disburse for doing so is the Middle East -- not
only to the supporters of a traditional pro-Palestinian
line in the European Union, but also to his friend and
ally Tony Blair. As the date of the British elections
is approaching, Blair is expanding his courting of
Muslim voters ion his country, including with promises
of substantial aid to the Palestinians. What will Bush
do about this? A serious handling of the Middle
Eastern problems worrying Israel -- principally Iran
and Hizbullah, will require serious Presidential energy-
spending, not just shuttle diplomacy by the new
Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who will come and

SIPDIS
go. As the old-new President is celebrating in the
palaces of Washington, there is still no answer to the
following question: Will Bush, from the depths of the
Iraqi quagmire, be able not only to save himself, but
also to do something useful in his close entourage?"

III. "The World According to Bush"

Liberal columnist B. Michael wrote in mass-circulation,
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 21): "The lessons
learned from Bush's terms -- the one that was and the
one that will be -- go far beyond the borders of daily
events, political account-settling and the feverish
Israeli angle. In the days of his reign -- I beg
forgiveness for my bombastic words -- there have been
universal and edifying lessons. It looks as if the
most bitter, the most disappointing, the most eye-
opening lesson lies in the fact that the Bush
administration has efficiently and cruelly exposed the
brittleness and the thin veneer of enlightenment,
democracy, human rights, in fact the cultural aspect of
the 'largest democracy. It took that society,
supposedly the beacon of freedom, no longer than one
and a half years to brutally crush much of its
principles. Not only did it mercilessly pound distant
countries, but it did so at home, too. It turns out
that an awful disaster, several years of frustration
and violence, a power-thirsty leader devoid of
intellectual inhibitions, were enough to crush like an
egg-shell a nice wrapping laboriously shaped during
over two centuries."

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Prime Minister's overriding
interest now is to carry out the disengagement plan in
coordination with the Palestinians."

Ha'aretz editorialized: "It is impossible not to deem
the cabinet's decision theft, as well as an act of
state stupidity of the highest order."

Block Quotes:
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I. "A Free Hand, With Shackles"

Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 21): "The Prime
Minister's overriding interest now is to carry out the
disengagement plan in coordination with the
Palestinians. Withdrawal under fire, accompanied by
clashes with right-wing opponents of disengagement in
Israel, will mean many losses for the country. And to
achieve disengagement that is coordinated with the
Palestinians, it is essential to reach July with Abu
Mazen still in power -- and to be wary of undermining
his control, which is in any case only partial, over
the Gaza Strip. This is the source of the disparity
between Sharon's declarations about 'giving the IDF a
free hand' and the military activity on the ground,
which is limited.... The army understands the
constraints of the prime minister, who must provide
answers to the complaints voiced by the mayor of
Sderot, Eli Moyal. This is why there is no true
tension between Sharon and the General Staff in the
present round, with the IDF ready to absorb the
criticism about helplessness in the face of the
continuing shelling. The Prime Minister also has
another problem.... Abu Mazen is the embodiment of the
longings for a sane Palestinian leadership after the
death of Yasser Arafat. The expectation is that Israel
will show patience in the face of his difficulties and
give him more time."

II. "Injustice and Stupidity in Jerusalem"

Ha'aretz editorialized (January 21): "In July 2004,
Israel's cabinet adopted a decision that was neither
made public nor even published in the official
government gazette, Reshumot: to apply the Absentee
Property Law to East Jerusalem, and thereby to
confiscate thousands of dunams of land from owners who
live in the West Bank. The reason for the decision was
security-related: since in practice, West Bank
residents are barred from entering East Jerusalem
because of the Intifada, the cabinet decided to enact
an official measure that would prevent any use of these
lands by their owners in the future as well, and would
explicitly state that henceforth their property belongs
to the State of Israel.... It is impossible not to deem
the cabinet's decision theft, as well as an act of
state stupidity of the highest order.... It is also
impossible to accept the secrecy with which the cabinet
makes fateful decisions of this nature, which
unnecessarily damage the fabric of relations between
Israel and the Palestinians. The Absentee Property
Law, which might have been tolerable at the time of the
state's establishment and the War of Independence, is
inappropriate 55 years later."



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3. Proposed Russia-Syria Arms Deal:
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Summary:
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Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"Russia's planned sale of SA-18 missiles to Syria looms
ominously as a throwback to the Brezhnev era's most
misguided attitudes."

Block Quotes:
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"Big Russian Mistake"
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(January 21): "Russia's planned sale of SA-18 missiles
to Syria looms ominously as a throwback to the Brezhnev
era's most misguided attitudes. Economically, Syria is
a basket case whose debt-return record must make one
doubt its financial commitments. Ideologically, Syria
remains part of the terrorist internationale which has
repeatedly victimized Russia. And diplomatically,
arming Damascus while Washington suspects it of fueling
the war on its troops in Iraq brings to mind memories
of Russia's role in the Vietnam and Korea wars.
President Vladimir Putin has earned himself a
reputation as a rational man out to restore Russia's
global stature. In itself, this is a worthy goal.
However, by pandering to regimes such as Assad's, not
only will Putin not have restored Russia's clout, he
will convince people that he has learned nothing from
his Soviet predecessors' downfalls. He will also make
people reconsider their impression of his rationalism."

KURTZER