ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 004711

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. Mideast


2. U.S.-Israel Security Exports Crisis

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Key stories in the media:
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All major newspapers, except Yediot, led with PM
Sharon's ongoing cordial visit to France. Maariv
bannered: "Embrace From France." Ha'aretz and Israel
Radio reported that Sharon urged French President
Jacques Chirac to restrain Hizbullah during the
disengagement move, and that Chirac stated that Syria,
and not Iran, is the factor interested in escalation at
the Israel-Lebanon border. Still, the media reported
that Chirac stressed the nuclear threat posed by Iran.
Ha'aretz quoted Chirac as saying that the USG had asked
him to bring up the issue of strengthening PA Chairman
[President] Mahmoud Abbas's "defenseless" security
forces with Sharon. Ha'aretz reported that Chirac
asked that Israel allow France to supply the
Palestinian forces with ammunition.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying in an
interview with Ha'aretz that he hopes that the pullout
from the Gaza Strip will take two, or at most three
weeks. Mofaz expressed his belief that the Gaza Strip
settlers are beginning to come to terms with the idea
of evacuating their settlements. Yediot reported that
a battalion of Egyptian border guards is supposed to be
deployed along the Philadelphi route during the second
week of August.

Yediot led with secret efforts by settlers to thwart
the disengagement. The newspaper quoted Israeli
defense sources as saying that, while the settler
leaders have proclaimed a march from Sderot to Gush
Katif on Tuesday, they are planning two other secret
mass protests along other routes, in order to wear out
the security forces. Yediot reported that the IDF and
police fear that tens of thousands of right-wingers who
intend to go to Sderot could stay in places considered
within the closest range of the Qassam rockets. Israel
Radio reported that on Wednesday, security forces ran
through the "abduction" of an IDF soldier by settlers
during the disengagement. Hatzofe disclosed that the
Israel Navy has rented barges in a European country,
which will transport buses carrying evacuated settlers
from the Gaza coast to Ashdod, in order to bypass pro-
settler land blocks.

Ha'aretz reported that the FBI is demanding that Naor
Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli
Embassy in Washington, be interrogated in connection to
the Pentagon spy case. Israel 10-TV reported that FBI
agents are planning to come to Israel. Ha'aretz quoted
Israeli sources as saying that no federal agents had
arrived here. The newspaper writes that the American
request was discussed a few weeks ago at an
interministerial meeting in Jerusalem. Ha'aretz says
that the consensus was that neither Gilon nor other
officials should be allowed to undergo investigation by
the FBI, but that Israel would be prepared to respond
in writing to questions. The newspaper says that the
U.S. demand is the clearest indication that the U.S.
believes Israel is involved in the Larry Franklin case,
which until now has been presented as an internal
American affair.

Yediot reported that warning systems against Qassam
rockets will be installed in Ashkelon following
assessments that such weapons could soon reach the
city. Israel Radio reported that rockets were launched
at Israeli communities in and around the Gaza Strip
last night and this morning, causing no casualties.
Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian sources as saying that
Israel Defense Forces troops killed a 17-year old
unarmed Palestinian and wounded seven Palestinians, one
seriously, during a gun battle in the West Bank city of
Jenin on Wednesday.

Maariv reported that on Wednesday, the Hadassah-Ein
Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem refused to admit an
ambulance carrying a severely ill Palestinian patient,
in contravention of a law providing for universal
treatment.

Ha'aretz quoted Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as
saying on Wednesday that the U.S. should not be able to
extend its oversight of Israeli defense exports to
third countries, such as India and Turkey, as it may
harm Israel's military industries. Steinitz's comments
came in response to a report in Wednesday's Ha'aretz
about the mounting crisis between the U.S. and Israel
over Israel's sale of replacement parts for attack
drones sold to China. Steinitz was quoted as saying
that this was the worst crisis in U.S.-Israeli
relations.

Ha'aretz reported that on Wednesday, the Knesset passed
substantial, stringent amendments to the proposed
"Intifada Law," which minimizes the ability of
Palestinians injured in the Intifada to sue the state
for damages. The amended bill was approved in its
final readings by 54 Knesset members from Likud, Labor,
Shinui, National Religious Party, and National Union.
It was opposed by 15 Knesset members from Meretz-Yahad
and the Arab parties, as well as MK Yuli Tamir (Labor).
Leading media also reported that the Knesset voted 59-
12 on Wednesday to grant citizenship to Palestinians
married to Israeli citizens only if the Palestinian men
are 35 and older and if the women are 25 and older.

Ha'aretz reported that a special delegation of UN
experts met with representatives of the GOI and Israeli
defense companies this week to investigate suspicions
that Israeli businessmen and companies may have
violated the UN Security Council embargo prohibiting
arms sales to the Ivory Coast. The newspaper says that
this is the first time Israel has cooperated with a
panel of this kind.

Jerusalem Post reported that, for the second time in
less than two months, Israel was tapped Tuesday to fill
a significant role inside the UN bureaucratic apparatus
as deputy chair of the UN Disarmament Commission
(UNDC). Meir Itzchaki, the Foreign Ministry's deputy
director for arms control, will take up the post and be
part of the Commission's eight-member presidency.

Yediot reported that the Foreign Ministry was surprised
to hear that the UN General Assembly will once again be
requested to condemn Israel's raid on Iraq's Osirak
nuclear reactor on June 7, 1981. The newspaper cited
the ministry's belief that the new Iraqi government had
raised the issue this year.

Jerusalem Post reported on the role of the non-profit
organization, Children of Abraham, which was honored at
President Moshe Katsav's residence on Wednesday. The
organization was founded in 1996 by a group of
Palestinian and Israeli educators.

Maariv reported that NASA has asked the Tel Aviv-based
company Fabo Web (phon.) to help fix a series of
glitches discovered in the space shuttle Discovery
before its launching.

Yediot reported that a group of Chinese bankers and
investors linked to the Chinese government, who are
interested in competing for control of Bank Leumi,
Israel's second largest bank, arrived in Israel last
week and held talks with GOI officials.

Yediot reported that the American International School
in Kfar Shmaryahu was sold this week for USD 21 million
to private entrepreneurs who intend to turn the plot
into a housing project.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "This
is a declaration of war on the part of a defined group
of settlers against the regime and its democratically
elected institutions."

Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz:
"The 'unilateralism' is an attempt to turn back the
wheel to the period when Israel tried to rob the
Palestinians of the ability to decide their future on
the grounds that they were not a legitimate collective
entity but rather 'terrorists.'"

Nationalist writer Uri Dan commented in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "There is a danger that the Arabists
in Washington are returning to the position they held
before the U.S. war campaign in Afghanistan, i.e. that
there are two kinds of terror."

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"Too often where the region is concerned ... Paris has
interpreted 'leadership' in terms of opposing the
United States. This is a shame, because France, with
its particular history, ties and credibility in the
Arab world, truly could play a much more prominent
role."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Moving Toward War in Gush Katif"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (July
28): "[Recent acts of defiance by disengagement
opponents] can no longer be considered acts of protest.
This is a declaration of war on the part of a defined
group of settlers against the regime and its
democratically elected institutions. Such a
concentrated series of violations of the law,
provocations and hostility would not be permitted
anywhere within Israel, and it is not necessary to use
one's imagination to envisage what would happen to
Palestinians or Israeli Arab citizens were they to
trample the law so arrogantly.... Indeed the historic
mission imposed on the IDF and the police, to evacuate
and be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, will not end with
the mere physical pullout. It is necessary to try to
limit not only the chance of a violent confrontation
during the evacuation but also to make efforts not to
leave scars that are too deep when the evacuees are
resettled. Only a policy of an uncompromising iron fist
toward relatively small groups of lawbreakers, rebels
against the state, can assist in this."

II. "90 Years of Unilateralism"

Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz
(July 28): "It is clear why Ariel Sharon (and his yes-
men) stress the 'unilateral' aspect, for in this way he
destroys the last vestige of the Oslo process, which is
based on recognition of the Palestinians as a
legitimate entity that represents a collective with the
right to determine its own needs and aspirations and
the ways of obtaining them. The 'unilateralism' is an
attempt to turn back the wheel to the period when
Israel tried to rob the Palestinians of the ability to
decide their future on the grounds that they were not a
legitimate collective entity but rather
'terrorists'.... It appears that the slogan of
'unilateralism' based on the "lack of a partner" is
meant to free [groups that have traditionally espoused
dialogue] of the need to wrestle with the legitimate
claims of the other side and to justify the use of --
immeasurably greater -- force by the Israeli side."

III. "A Double Loss"

Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (July 28):
"Astonishingly, it turns out that Israel's decision-
makers have recently agreed to the opening of
independent seaport and airport in the Gaza Strip. At
that very moment, the discussion about the Philadelphi
route and the Egyptian security strip evaporated, since
the Palestinians will no longer have a need to smuggle
weapons in unfeasible ways through tunnels in the
Sinai; they'll be able to do so directly, openly, and
elegantly using their own planes and ships. As far as
Israel is concerned, this situation is absurd: Egypt
has succeeded in eroding the demilitarization of the
Sinai Peninsula in exchange for a promise to protect
the Gaza Strip's southern exits -- bringing significant
strategic damage to Israel for generations -- while the
Palestinians will no longer need an exit route to
Egypt. Thus, Israel will pay a double price for its
folly, and in the future reassume security
responsibility for the Gaza Strip, in the absence of
any other responsible element."

IV. "Peril of an American Trap"

Nationalist writer Uri Dan commented in popular,
pluralist Maariv (July 28): "There is an unpleasant
feeling of a concern of an American trap. The
administration knows well that Abu Mazen hasn't made
any serious step against Hamas or the other terror
groups. Conversely, not only Abu Mazen, but also the
United States, don't care whether a civil war erupts in
Israel -- the important being that the disengagement
takes place, because it apparently is the only
achievement that the U.S. can present in its Middle
East policy.... There is a danger that the Arabists in
Washington are returning to the position they held
before the U.S. war campaign in Afghanistan, i.e. that
there are two kinds of terror: the international one --
against which the U.S. conducts an all-out war,
including in Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- and the
'national' one, such as the continuing one between
Israel and the Palestinians. That supposedly is a
different type of terror, to which the Jews must
surrender.... What is interesting is that when Rice
served as national security advisor in the White House,
she made sure that Israel wouldn't fall into the trap
of the twisted conception advocating appeasement."


V. "The PM in Paris"

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(July 28): "France has much it can contribute to
contain the Islamist menace that threatens its own
population as well as other Europeans. Few countries
are better positioned to press Lebanon to combat
Hizbullah. France is likewise in an excellent position
to persuade Iran to desist from its nuclear ambitions
before it's too late. Too often where the region is
concerned, and especially in the Israeli-Palestinian
context, Paris has interpreted 'leadership' in terms of
opposing the United States. This is a shame, because
France, with its particular history, ties and
credibility in the Arab world, truly could play a much
more prominent role if it were genuinely ready now to
switch from the role of spoiler and onto a more
constructive tack. This would be genuinely
appreciated by Israelis and would go much farther than
the million-euro PR campaign Paris has announced to try
and facelift its image in this country. And apart from
helping Israel and the cause of Middle East harmony, it
would be rather good for France."




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2. U.S.-Israel Security Exports Crisis:
--------------

Summary:
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Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: "At this
time too, the Western power [the United States] is
demanding that the Israeli government acknowledge ...
that it not pretend to demonstrate independence in its
foreign relations."

Block Quotes:
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"The Crisis With Washington"
Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (July 28):
"Despite ... affirmations that it wouldn't give in to
American demands, the Israeli government can't afford
sanctions that would harm bilateral defense deals,
joint projects, and information exchanges concerning
advanced weapons systems, particularly when those
sanctions would be directed at all of [Israel's]
defense industries.... If someone thought that the
implementation of the disengagement plan would ensure a
forgiving attitude on Washington's part, it turns out
that, at this time too, the Western power is demanding
that the Israeli government acknowledge its proper
place and that it not pretend to demonstrate
independence in its foreign relations."

KURTZER