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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Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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Israel Radio reported that Israel is resuming its
diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians, as Sharon
aide Dov Weisglass will soon meet with a Palestinian
team headed by Saeb Erekat. The station quoted Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying in Paris Tuesday that PM
Sharon will soon meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen). Speaking on Israel Radio this morning,
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said the disengagement plan
is becoming a bilateral one, and that Israel would
eventually have to pull out from the "Philadelphi
route."

The media reported that the quiet is continuing in the
Gaza Strip. Israel Radio reported that PA forces
thwarted the launching of a rocket in the northern Gaza
Strip. However, a Qassam rocket was fired at the
western Negev, causing no casualties. Leading media
reported that last night the IDF's Gaza division
commander, Brig. Gen. Aviv Cochavi, met with Gaza
security chief Musa Arafat. Israel Radio says that the
army has authorized in principle the deployment of PA
forces in the southern Gaza Strip, pending governmental
approval. Leading media (banner in Maariv) reported
that Israel has frozen its assassination policy, except
in the case of "ticking bombs."

Ha'aretz (banner) quoted sources involved in talks
Abbas held with Hamas as saying that Abbas has reached
an agreement in principle with Hamas leaders in Gaza on
the organization's participation in PA diplomatic
decision making and in a future Palestinian government.
The newspaper quoted the sources as saying that the
main focus of the talks is to establish a "supreme
diplomatic authority" to replace the PLO as the body
responsible for approving any diplomatic agreement with
Israel. This authority would include all Palestinian
organizations, both in the territories and abroad.
Groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not part of
the PLO.

Ha'aretz reported that the IDF plans to build an
electronic fence along the Israeli-Egyptian border,
from Eilat all the way to Kerem Shalom, on the southern
tip of the Gaza Strip. The newspaper also reported
that the IDF has asked A-G Menachem Mazuz for
permission to clear completely a 300-meter-wide strip
along the Gazan-Egyptian border (the "Philadelphi
route"). This would require the demolition of hundreds
of Palestinian houses in Rafah.
Retired judge Uri Struzman, who serves as chairman of
the world Likud's elections committee, said on right-
wing radio Arutz Sheva (Arutz 7) Tuesday that from a
legal point of view, Sharon has breached a contract
with his voters by initiating the disengagement plan.
(Lead story in Hatzofe.)

The media extensively reported and commented on the
60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death
camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Jerusalem Post quoted State Department Spokesman
Richard Boucher as saying Tuesday that the trip of A/S
William Burns to the region was triggered by the recent
Palestinian election: "It's a good moment to be there,
and Burns is certainly one of our people who can work
with both of the parties in a lot of detail to try to
achieve progress."

Yediot reported that the U.S. has prepared a list of
demands it will present the PA in the next few weeks, a
first draft of which it has asked Israel to review.
Those demands reportedly include: steps to be taken by
the PA to enforce order in the Gaza Strip and some West
Bank cities; the deployment of forces at the Gaza-Egypt
border to prevent arms smuggling; and barring the
bearing of arms by Palestinians, except members of the
security forces. Yediot says that the U.S. is also
considering demanding of Abbas that he arrest people
illegally bearing arms, deploying forces in areas from
which rockets are launched and naming a "strong"
minister who will reduce the number of Palestinian
security branches from twelve to three or four
efficient security divisions. The newspaper also
reported that the U.S. will ask the Palestinians to act
against the Qassam rocket factories, and that Abbas
will be required to publish a condemnation of
incitement.

The media reported that addressing the Knesset Tuesday,
Sharon called on the nation to respect the democratic
decision of the majority of the Knesset on the
disengagement plan, adding that if the plan were
transferred to a public referendum, Knesset members
would be "betraying their public duty." Sharon also
expressed concern over the recent rise in "threats
against democracy" by the minority that is refusing to
accept the Knesset's decision. Leading media reported
that the date set for the beginning of the
implementation of the disengagement plan has been
postponed to July 10. The media reported on
exceptional preparations by the police in advance of
the anticipated opposition by right-wing militants.
Yediot led with the high price tag of Sharon's
protection, as every event he attends in the country
costs at least 100,000 shekels (about USD 22,700) -- in
some cases, as much as 1 million shekels. The
newspaper cited Sharon's bureau as saying that the Shin
Bet determines the level of Sharon's security and that
the present situation dictates this.

Leading media reported that on Tuesday in Moscow,
Syrian President Bashar Assad defended his country's
right to acquire surface-to-air missiles from Russia,
saying: "These are weapons for air defense, meant to
prevent aircraft from intruding in our airspace."
Yediot reported that Assad told President Vladimir
Putin that all that Syria is asking is that Israel
respect the commitments made by the late PM Yitzhak
Rabin. The media reported that Russia has erased USD
9.8 billion from the USD 13.4-billion debt Syria owed
it.

Hatzofe reported that on Tuesday Finance Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Bush's younger
brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and that the two
men discussed bilateral economic cooperation.

Channel 2-TV last night broadcasted excerpts from a
drama series screened on Iran's Sahar-TV showing how
Israeli doctors supposedly remove the eyes of healthy
Palestinian children, under orders from the Israeli
government, so that blind Israeli children can regain
their sight.

Leading media reported that all 19 Russian parliament
members who asked the General Prosecutor of the Russian
Federation to investigate Jewish organizations withdrew
the support for the letter on Tuesday. Some 450
Russian academics and public figures also signed the
letter. Ha'aretz cited the Israeli Embassy in Moscow as
saying that the letter is a "classic example of anti-
Semitism," and quoted a senior Foreign Ministry
official as saying that Israel expects an unambiguous
official condemnation of the letter by Putin.

Yediot reported that Belgian FM Karel De Gucht
apologized to FM Silvan Shalom Tuesday over the meeting
of the Belgian Ambassador in Lebanon with Hizbullah
chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

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Mideast:
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Summary:
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Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The cease-fire
hangs by a thread.... Israel will make a mistake if it
makes do with the minimum. It must seek a permanent
solution."
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz:
"Abu Mazen acted without waiting for Israel to respond
to a list of Palestinian complaints.... That won him a
hefty credit line in the international arena."

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist,
Orthodox Hatzofe: "Abu Mazen's strategic goals are no
different from those of Arafat."

Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: "How useful
are all the slogans coming out of the Israeli Left
about the importance of the diplomatic track, while the
Palestinians have picked the anti-Semitic track?"

Block Quotes:
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I. "Not the Time For Chest Beating"

Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 26): "The
cease-fire hangs by a thread.... Israel will make a
mistake if it makes do with the minimum. It must seek
a permanent solution and not take comfort in a period
of calm for a few months or, at most, an interim
agreement for a few years. Arafat's departure, the
disengagement initiative, the deeper involvement of the
Americans in the region (in Iraq, Iran and Syria),and
the intensified awareness of the international
community of the Palestinian demand for independence
all reflect the opportunities and constraints now
facing Israel. Now is the time to break free of the
delusions about the Greater Land of Israel and to
accept the fulfillment of the Zionist vision inside the
borders delineated by the Green Line. It would be
terrible if Israeli society only reaches this sober
conclusion after another round of bloodshed."

II. "Giving Abbas Some Space"

Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz
(January 26): "The events of the last week raise
serious questions about the Israeli leadership. It's
not difficult to guess what would have happened if it
had behaved with routine reflexes and sent the army
into Gaza for another punitive raid after the attack at
Karni and the Qassam barrage at Sderot. The
Palestinians would have counted their dead, and the
government would have explained there was simply no
alternative.... Abu Mazen acted without waiting for
Israel to respond to a list of Palestinian complaints,
like freezing the fence, freeing prisoners and lifting
checkpoints. That won him a hefty credit line in the
international arena. Sharon understood that there's no
point now in demanding an absolute elimination of
terror before any progress and that it would be best to
let Abbas do what he can. Those are good signs ahead
of the renewal of the negotiations between the two
leaders."
III. "A Look at Abu Mazen's Strategy"

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist,
Orthodox Hatzofe (January 26): "According to Israeli
defense sources, the [current] cease-fire blends in
with Abu Mazen's readiness to cooperate with Israel
during the disengagement [process], and to turn it from
a unilateral one to a coordinated one. Abu Mazen views
the disengagement expected for the summer of 2005 as a
further stage in the road map. He will try to bring
about toward the end of the year ... an international
conference with the Quartet ... and particularly with
the U.S., which will lead him to a permanent-status
agreement. As a reminder, there is such a clause in
the road map. Speaking of a permanent-status
agreement, Abu Mazen's strategic goals are no different
from those of Arafat in their four components:
Palestinian statehood; Jerusalem as the capital of the
Palestinian state; full withdrawal to the 1967 or land
swap in a 1:1 ratio that will amount to a 100-percent
withdrawal; and the attainment of the right of return."

IV. "Diplomatic Track vs. Anti-Semitic Track"

Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (January
26): "A special report released on Tuesday by ...
Palestinian Media Watch brings particularly worrying
data about the increase in anti-Semitic incitement in
the Palestinian Authority.... The report's compilers
say that all stories and broadcasts in the Palestinian
media are fraught with portrayals of the Jew as
essentially inferior and as an existential threat to
Muslims and the rest of the world. The proposed
solution to the problem is the annihilation of the Jews
-- as simple as that.... The proponents of
disengagement point at efforts being made by the
Palestinian leaders, headed by Abu Mazen, to prevent
dozens or hundreds of Palestinians from carrying out
terrorist attacks and launching rockets and missiles at
Israel. But what value do these efforts, which are
positive per se, have as at the same time the
Palestinian media directs the increase in anti-Semitic
incitement among the next generation? How useful are
all the slogans coming out of the Israeli Left about
the importance of the diplomatic track, while the
Palestinians have picked the anti-Semitic track?"

KURTZER