ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000499

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. Iran: Nuclear Program


3. Iraq

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Key stories in the media:
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Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice will leave next week for a tour of
Europe and the Middle East, which will include nine
countries and the PA. (According to Jerusalem Post,
Secretary Rice will start her trip early next month.)

SIPDIS
The radio quoted. Deputy A/S David Satterfield as
saying that Israel must cease settlement activities in
the territories because they impede application of the
principle of two states for two peoples. He expressed
satisfaction with the actions of PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen),but explained that there is no room
for flexibility, and Abbas must confront all those who
wish to continue on the path of terrorism. All media
reported that outgoing A/S William Burns held separate
meetings with PM Sharon and Abbas on Thursday.
(Ha'aretz reported that Burns has been appointed U.S.
ambassador to Moscow.) Ha'aretz wrote that Burns told
Sharon that the Bush administration has been favorably
impressed by Abbas and by the measures undertaken by
Israel to facilitate the elections in the territories.
Ha'aretz reported that Shin Bet head Avi Dichter met
with National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on
Thursday in Washington, and updated him on the steps
taken by the PA to curb terrorism, and the role of
Hizbullah in fostering militant activities in the
territories. Ha'aretz reported that senior U.S.
administration officials have told their Israeli
counterparts that Abbas is the "best man in the
foreseeable future and he must be given a chance." The
U.S. officials reportedly also asked that Israel "give
time" to Abbas in order for him to gradually deal with
terrorism, without ignoring the responsibility of the
Palestinians to combat terrorism. Ha'aretz reported
that the new Bush administration is organizing for
dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian file: it includes
Secretary Rice, NSA Hadley, Elliott Abrams, a White

SIPDIS
House official who will be moved up to the number three
spot in the NSC, and current U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
David Walsh, who will move to head the Middle East
section.

All media (lead story in Ha'aretz) quoted Sharon as
saying Thursday that "the conditions have been created
that will enable us and the Palestinians to reach a
historic breakthrough in our relations." Sharon
further said, "It is apparent that there is a positive
approach [in the PA] to the fight against terrorism and
to the furthering of the diplomatic process. Yediot
reported that Abbas has suggested that Israel and the
PA jointly declare a cease-fire.

In an interview conducted in Krakow on Thursday with
Jerusalem Post, Russian President Vladimir Putin
refused to rule out his country's sale of anti-aircraft
missiles to Syria, insisting that such weapons serve
"defensive" purposes only and would not affect the
balance of forces in the region.

Leading media reported that citing in crime and
lawlessness in PA-controlled areas, the PA on Thursday
issued an order banning Palestinians from carrying
"unlicensed" weapons. Israel Radio reported that Hamas
was the big winner in the PA's municipal elections.

All media extensively reported on the ceremony marking
the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi
death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. A headline on
Yediot's front page: "60 Years Too Late: The World Bows
Its Head at Auschwitz." President Moshe Katsav said
that a Jewish state was the answer to the Holocaust.
Jerusalem Post notes that Putin's failure to mention
Jews in his speech upset Israeli officials. Leading
media quoted Vice President Dick Cheney as saying: "The
story of the camp reminds us that evil is real, must be
called by its name and must be confronted."

Yediot reported that from this week, all arrests in the
territories must be approved by the Shin Bet head or
his deputy, and that in each case it must be a wanted
person about to carry out a terrorist attack. The
number of arrests has already decreased by 40 percent.
The newspaper quotes Israeli defense sources as saying
that the new policy is meant to encourage the
Palestinians to cooperate in the thwarting of attacks.

Ha'aretz reported that the organization Breaking the
Silence has collected new testimony from IDF soldiers
on harsh actions carries out during the course of the
fighting in the territories. Two of the testimonies
pertain to a military doctor who gave medics lessons in
anatomy using the bodies of Palestinians killed by
Israeli forces. Yediot reported that in his annual
report, John Dougard, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian
Territories, wrote that Israel's demolition of homes in
the territories constitutes a war crime.

Leading media reported that IDF soldiers killed an
unarmed Palestinian civilian at the Netzarim Junction
in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and that another
Palestinian, a security prisoner held by Israel, died
Thursday in a fire that broke out at the IDF prison at
Megiddo. The media reported on clashes and rocket
launchings in the Gaza Strip.

Leading media reported that the Foreign Ministry has
been making a diplomatic effort in recent weeks to
convince the EU to include Hizbullah on its list of
terrorist organizations. Israeli representatives are
highlighting the threat Hizbullah poses to Abbas.

Jerusalem Post cited the Interior Ministry as saying
Thursday it will appoint accountants to review the
books of nine local authorities in the West Bank
accused of illegally contributing to the settlers'
campaign to derail the government's disengagement plan.

Leading media reported that Egypt and Jordan are
shaping a joint peace plan modeled after the "Saudi
initiative." Yediot reported that Egypt has decided to
establish an embassy in Ramallah.

Leading media reported that the Jewish National Fund
(JNF) and the Finance Ministry are currently trying to
draft a new agreement that would separate the JNF from
the state, thereby allowing it to continue selling land
to Jews only. Maariv reported that right-wing Knesset
members have called for the dismissal of A-G Menachem
Mazuz over his decision to allow sales of state land to
Arabs.

Leading media reported that on Thursday, Tourism
Minister Abraham Hirschson and his Palestinian
counterpart, Mitri Abu Eita, signed a joint letter
requesting a meeting with Pope John Paul II to discuss
promoting Christian tourism to Israel and the PA.

Jerusalem Post quoted Massachusetts Congressman Michael
Capuano (D) as saying that city councils across the
U.S. are vulnerable to being manipulated and adopting
divest-from-Israel petitions.

Maariv reported that the families of three IDF soldiers
who were killed during the Intifada intend to sue the
Arab Bank's branch in New York City for receiving large
sums from terror groups posing as Islamic charity
organizations. The newspaper quoted Mark Werbner, lead
legal counsel for the prosecution, as saying that U.S.
law "allows us to sue in the name of soldiers who were
murdered during their service." Maariv reported that
two Israelis who were wounded in the suicide bombing at
Tel Aviv's Doplhinarium discotheque three and a half
years ago are suing the PA at the Tel Aviv District
Court for 40 million shekels (around USD 9 million).
The plaintiffs claim that evidence that the bomber
received financial assistance from the PA was
discovered during the IDF's 2002 Defensive Shield
operation in Jenin.

Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that
U/S of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith announced on
Wednesday that he intends to resign for personal
reasons. The media recall that Feith has been one of
Israel's closest allies in Washington, but that he has
been behind the crisis between the two countries over
the supply of Israeli-made UAVs to China.

Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli pianist Daniel
Barenboim compared Zionism founder Theodor Herzl to
Richard Wagner and Israeli soldiers to Nazis during a
lecture this week on "Wagner, Israel and Palestine" at
Columbia University.

A Maariv/Teleseker poll:
-"Against the background of the quiet in the Gaza
Strip, what should Israeli do in case an easy
opportunity to eliminate terrorist leaders presents
itself?" Exercise restraint: 62 percent. Eliminate
them: 35 percent.
-"What do you believe should be done with the houses in
the settlements after the evacuation?" They should be
demolished: 55 percent. They should be handed over to
the Palestinians: 37 percent.

Yediot cited the results of a poll conducted by the
German newsmagazine Der Stern: 74 percent of Germans
claim that the Germans should not feel shame over what
happened in the Nazi death camps.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"Given the current fragile situation ... the U.S.
Secretary of State ought to exploit the momentum that

SIPDIS
has been created and provide immediate assistance,
thereby injecting a little more goodwill and motivation
into both sides."

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "Abu Mazen will apparently succeed in
reaching a cease-fire. The situation on the ground
will calm down."

Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
Ha'aretz: "[Sharon] has all the public support he needs
to crush this unholy alliance between the Land of
Israel zealots and Hizbullah, who are working in the
name of God and Allah to destroy the State of Israel."
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in Ha'aretz: "Israel will ... discover
that what it has done recently in East Jerusalem is
contrary to the road map it adopted.... This is not the
way to begin negotiations for peace."
Block Quotes:
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I. "Stop Shooting"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(January 28): "The sense that each individual soldier
in the field could end the partial lull between the
Palestinian Authority and Israel -- a lull that has
created a positive atmosphere between the parties and
enabled talks aimed at arranging a meeting between
Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) -- is no
illusion. Regrettably, it seems that uncontrolled
outbursts of shooting are not confined to the
Palestinian side.... Upon Condoleezza Rice's assumption
of her new job as U.S. secretary of state, she
announced that she would become personally involved in
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and even agreed to
consider American involvement in the Israeli-
Palestinian mechanism that will resolve disputes
between the parties during implementation of the
disengagement plan. Given the current fragile
situation, in which the cease-fire could be shattered
by loss of control, military caprice, or insufficient
coordination between the sides, the U.S. Secretary of
State ought to exploit the momentum that has been
created and provide immediate assistance, thereby
injecting a little more goodwill and motivation into
both sides."

II. "The Good Bang"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (January 28): "Arafat has gone; the
U.S. and France are joint applying heavy pressure on
Syria to curb terror; Egypt is acting in favor of the
[disengagement] move; the Palestinians are exhausted
and hope for something else; and Ariel Sharon is ripe
for big moves. Everything is flowing in desirable
directions. Bush is serious, so are Sharon and Abu
Mazen; [Egyptian intelligence chief] Omar Suleiman is
very serious. By the way, an official agreement will
soon be signed between Israel and Egypt, including an
exact definition of the Egyptian terror-fighting task
force, which will provide protection at Israel's
southern border. A new galaxy has been forming before
our very eyes.... There is a reasonable chance that the
worst is behind us (giving way to a different sort of
unpleasantness: an accelerated road map with the
cessation of terrorist attacks, but without the
crushing of terror). Abu Mazen will apparently succeed
in reaching a cease-fire. The situation on the ground
will calm down."
III. "An Unholy Alliance"
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
Ha'aretz (January 28): "Every morning we open our eyes
and can't believe it. Is this for real? Another day
without mortars, rockets, and suicide bombings? It
makes us want to stretch out in bed and heave a sigh of
relief at the thought that we're on the verge of a
turning point in our relations with the Palestinians.
Only we're not sure that it's really happening or that
it will last.... [Mahmoud Abbas] has not only silenced
the guns, but also managed to rein in Sharon and stop
the gunfire on this side.... Sharon has embarked on a
historical move, and he is more determined than ever to
complete it. He has all the public support he needs
to crush this unholy alliance between the Land of
Israel zealots and Hizbullah, who are working in the
name of God and Allah to destroy the State of Israel."

IV. "A Property Theft That Must Not Be Allowed"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in Ha'aretz (January 28): "The
government's decision from July 2004 to confiscate
lands and infrastructures in East Jerusalem that belong
to Palestinians who live in the West Bank is odd, to
say the least.... Israel will ... discover that what it
has done recently in East Jerusalem is contrary to the
road map it adopted. The map's first phase explicitly
states that the government of Israel will not
confiscate property and houses that belong to
Palestinians. It is worth reminding the government
ministers that the first phase of the road map contains
an Israeli commitment to reopen the Palestinian
institutions and their chamber of commerce in East
Jerusalem. All of this is in direct contradiction to
what Sharon's government did in July 2004, in the
matter of the Palestinian property in East Jerusalem.
This is not the way to begin negotiations for peace."

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2. Iran: Nuclear Program:
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Summary:
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Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "If Europe
and the U.S. together side with the people in the
streets against the thieves of their government, the
mullahs will not be able to retain power."

Block Quotes:
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"What the Realists Don't Realize"
Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (January 28):
"What the realists don't realize is that if there is a
problem with Bush's [inaugural] speech, it is neither
utopianism nor excess ambition. If anything, Bush has
made the goal of securing the world seem more daunting
than it really is.... It is ridiculous to assert that
the Iranian regime is stable or permanent. In a month,
a year, or a decade, it will collapse under its own
weight, with much help from the Iranian people.... How
long this takes is determined less by the ample bravery
and desire for freedom of the Iranian people, than by
the entirely optional hypocrisy of the West.... If
Europe and the U.S. together side with the people in
the streets against the thieves of their government,
the mullahs will not be able to retain power.... It is
absurd to argue that it makes no difference which
finger is on the nuclear button, the mullahs or their
much more democratic, pro-Western successors. The best
would be neither, but the latter is vastly preferable.
Realists should get this: unless they have an idea how
to stop the coming Islamist nuke, they have nothing to
offer."


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3. Iraq:
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Summary:
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Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "On the way to
achieving [their] goals, the Americans and those being
aided by them are sustaining daily tactical losses, but
not a strategic defeat, because Bush and Rumsfeld have
remained in office and their determination to persist
with their policy has not slackened."

Block Quotes:
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"Iraq Is Not Vietnam"

Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 28): "In
the Americans' profit-and-loss balance sheet in Iraq,
the price -- reported every day -- is threatening to
blur the achievement that is being accumulated from a
broader angles. It is an expensive, protracted,
bleeding intervention, but all in all worthwhile,
better than the realistic alternative. Contrary to the
nonsense sometimes voiced, Iraq is not Vietnam.... On
the way to achieving [their] goals, the Americans and
those being aided by them are sustaining daily tactical
losses, but not a strategic defeat, because Bush and
Rumsfeld have remained in office and their
determination to persist with their policy has not
slackened."

KURTZER