ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 005562

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COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
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PARIS ALSO FOR POL
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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. Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

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Key stories in the media:
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer was quoted as
saying in a farewell interview broadcast this morning
on Israel Radio that the U.S. administration is still
waiting for the dismantling of settler outposts ("We
have no reason to believe that Israel will evade its
responsibility.") Kurtzer also said that, in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina, it would be up to Israel to
decide whether to postpone its request for aid for the
Negev and the Galilee. (Yediot reported that on
Thursday, a special Finance Ministry and Prime
Minister's Office delegation that was supposed to leave
for the U.S. in ten days to discuss Israel's aid
request canceled its trip.) Regarding Israel's weapons
sales to China, Kurtzer said that it has taken some
time for Israel to understand that the U.S. is a "two-
ocean power." As in other interviews, Kurtzer
expressed his optimism, despite the fact that his term
in the country was marred by terror. Ambassador
Kurtzer was quoted as saying in an interview with
Ha'aretz's Aluf Benn that implementation of the
disengagement was "just remarkable." In the interview,
Kurtzer praised Sharon for his "incredible decision."
Kurtzer told Ha'aretz and Maariv that, as he left
Israel in the mid-1980s, he told a friend that Sharon
was the person he thought most likely to bring about
peace in Israel. The Ambassador told Maariv that the
understandings reached between Sharon and President
Bush regarding the settlement blocs are clear and have
been adopted by the U.S. Congress.

All major media, except Maariv, led with the last
stages of Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
The media reported that the High Court of Justice ruled
on Thursday that the synagogues there can be destroyed.
Leading media reported that the government is delaying
the demolition, as Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is
objecting to it.

Ha'aretz reported that Israel is preparing for the
creation of an extensive system of border crossings and
terminals for the passage of people and goods from and
into the territories. According to the newspaper, when
it is completed, it will consist of 36 crossing points
between Israel and the West Bank and two or three
between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Israel Radio
reported that this morning, Israel, the PA, and Egypt,
will start operating joint coordination headquarters of
the pullout at Kerem Shalom.

Ha'aretz (Amir Oren) discusses the enmity IDF
leadership allegedly feels toward U.S. security
coordinator Lt. Gen. William Ward. IDF leaders are
said to perceive him as having fallen in love with the
Palestinians.

Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday, a Palestinian was
killed and another wounded by IDF gunfire in an attempt
to infiltrate the evacuated Gaza Strip settlement of
Atzmona. Yediot reported that the Sharon communities,
including Kfar Sava, Hod Hasharon, and Kochav Yair, are
demanding that the Defense Ministry and the police
install alarm systems against Qassam rockets in their
areas. The newspaper also cited Hamas threats on
Ashkelon.

Ha'aretz and Yediot cited FM Silvan Shalom's denial
Thursday of any Israeli interference that could have
caused the death of former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.
Ha'aretz reported that the differences between Ha'aretz
and The New York Times' reports on the cause of
Arafat's death resulted from use of different medical
evaluations by the two newspapers. Jerusalem Post
quoted Bassam Abu Sharif, an aide and advisor to
Arafat, as saying: "No way Arafat had AIDS ... unless
somebody infected him with the AIDS virus."

Jerusalem Post reported that the Austrian Justice
Ministry has appointed a state prosecutor to conduct an
independent investigation into allegations that PM
Sharon received a bribe from an Austrian businessman
with business interests in Israel via the Vienna-based
bank BAWAG.

Jerusalem Post reported that Mofaz attempted Thursday
to refute a report published that day in Yediot,
according to which the defense establishment would
order that the IDF be used as a tool to aid Sharon
politically.

Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that on Thursday,
Israel handed over the corpse of a Hizbullah gunman who
was killed two months ago in a clash with the IDF on
the northern border. Israel Radio quoted an Israeli
official as saying that Israel made that decision
because Israel does not bargain over bodies and because
Lebanon addressed Israel directly for the first time.

In an interview broadcast on Israel TV last night,
Jordan's King Abdullah II stated his belief that Al
Qaida has planted cells in Israel. Jerusalem Post and
other media reported that Muhammad Mutlak Waridat of
Dahariya, southwest of Hebron, was charged in the Judea
[southern West Bank] Military Court on Thursday for
undergoing military training in Pakistan and
Afghanistan with Al Qaida.

Leading media cited Prison Service data that show the
PA is making monthly payments of 300 to 400 shekels
(around USD 66-90) to Tali Fahima, who is suspected of
having provided intelligence information to terrorists
to assist in the planning of terror attacks.

Leading media reported that Eliran Golan, who was due
to stand trial for a series of bombings against Israeli
Arabs in 2001-2003, died Thursday as the result of a
suicide attempt earlier this week.

Ha'aretz reported that support for Binyamin Netanyahu
among leaders in New York has plummeted recently. The
newspaper quoted a senior American Jewish leader as
saying that the current ties with the White House are
ideal for the Jewish community.

Maariv reported that Shas party mentor Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef's remarks that Hurricane Katrina is retribution
for President Bush's support of disengagement, which
were broadcast by many U.S. radio stations, have
angered the U.S. public. Saying that Foreign Ministry
representatives in the U.S. are trying to limit the
flak, Maariv quoted Israel's Consul General in New
York, Arye Mekel, as telling a popular New York radio
station that the Rabbi's comments do not reflect
Israeli public opinion.

Yediot featured the personal tragedy of the Levenhar
family, whose head Shay disappeared from the 103rd
floor of the North Tower in the 9/11 attack in New York
City.

The banner of Yediot's weekly magazine featuring Nahum
Barnea's report from New Orleans reads "Decline of the
Empire." Maariv's matching heading reads: "The Storm
Is on Its Way to Washington."

Ha'aretz (English Ed.) quoted Dr. Gerald Fischbach, the
dean of the Columbia University faculty of medicine, as
saying this week at a conference held at Bar-Ilan
University that American scientists are looking to
Israel for guidance on the scientific and ethical
issues related to embryonic stem cell research.

Leading media reported that Google has chosen a general
manager for Google Israel -- Meir Brand, who until last
week served as small business manager at Microsoft
Israel. One of the purposes of the establishment of
Google Israel is to "pose a threat" (Ha'aretz) to
Israeli search and portal sites.

A Ha'aretz/Dialogue Institute poll among Likud Party
members found that 53.6 percent of respondents said
that a scenario in which Binyamin Netanyahu is chosen
to lead the party and Sharon resigned to create an
independent list would increase the chances of Likud
losing power. Some 27.5 percent said that such a
scenario would increase the party's chance of winning a
national election. 18.9 percent were undecided.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "If Bush does
not lift a finger to save Sharon in the next few weeks,
it will be hard to argue with those who said that the
President's April letter was worthless."

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"After mid-September 2005, free Gaza will become the
Palestinian national laboratory. If management allows
the lab to blow up, it will have no hope of success,
either in the January elections or in its efforts to
persuade the Israeli public that it should support
additional withdrawals."

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote from New
Orleans in Jerusalem Post: "Bush can no longer afford
to center his attention on foreign policy. A shift is
inevitable and it will be felt especially in the Middle
East, where American intervention both in Iraq and in
Israel are at crucial stages."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Saving Sharon"

Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (September 9):
"It is wrong for the U.S. to act as if the Palestinians
can have their cake and eat it too. They cannot be
allowed to reject a state, start a terror war, and then
complain when Israel, against all odds, begins to
implement the two-state solution on its own.... If Bush
does not lift a finger to save Sharon in the next few
weeks, it will be hard to argue with those who said
that the President's April letter was worthless and
therefore disengagement produced nothing meaningful for
Israel. The lesson will certainly not be lost on
Netanyahu, who will in any case have returned to office
on the basis of opposing disengagement."

II. "New Disorder in Gaza"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(September 9): "Next week, something of great moment
will take place in the Middle East: the State of Israel
will leave the Gaza Strip. Although this will not be
the first Israeli withdrawal from Arab territory, it is
nevertheless unique: it will be Israel's first full
withdrawal from Palestinian territory, and an important
stage on the road to establishing an independent and
sovereign Palestinian state that will live in peace
alongside Israel. If one accepts the view that the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the heart of the
Israeli-Arab conflict, then the transfer of Gaza to the
Palestinians, free of settlements and Israeli troops,
goes far beyond a mere shortening of the lines or a
tactical move a few kilometers eastward. There is
something that cannot be denied: Israel is giving.
What is less clear is the other side of the equation:
whether the Palestinians are taking.... This week's
murder of Moussa Arafat indicates that Gaza is liable
to degenerate into chaos if Mahmoud Abbas and his
security services do not pull themselves together, with
American and Egyptian support, and firmly hold the
reins of government.... The Abbas government has been
shown to lack any ability to impose law and order and
to meet the challenge posed by the armed groups, which
are working to advance personal interests, even at the
expense of the general welfare. When it suits them,
these groups also operate against Israel, to pressure
Abbas to give in to their demands. After mid-September
2005, free Gaza will become the Palestinian national
laboratory. If management allows the lab to blow up,
it will have no hope of success, either in the January
elections or in its efforts to persuade the Israeli
public that it should support additional withdrawals."

II. "Tempest in a Teacup"

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote from New
Orleans in Jerusalem Post (September 9): "History has
shown that when the U.S. budget becomes tight and
American domestic needs grow, the voices in Congress
calling to cut foreign aid become louder and more
influential. And it's not only about money. America
may now be entering a period of introspection -- of
healing its physical and social wounds and of focusing
on recovery. President Bush, criticized heavily for
his belated response to the disaster, is facing tough
political times.... In other words, Bush can no longer
afford to center his attention on foreign policy. A
shift is inevitable and it will be felt especially in
the Middle East, where American intervention both in
Iraq and in Israel are at crucial stages."


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2. Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
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Summary:
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Editor-in-Chief Lutfi Mashour wrote in independent,
moderate Arabic-language Assennara: "Without comparing,
this reminds us of the fall of the Berlin Wall or the
collapse of the Soviet Union, which revealed back then
that the shiny Soviet Union's pomegranate was nothing
but rotten from the inside."

Block Quotes:
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"Unbelievable"

Editor-in-Chief Lutfi Mashour wrote in independent,
moderate Arabic-language Assennara (September 9): "In
the recent history we have never seen a natural
disaster such as New Orleans'. That French city, which
was sold by Napoleon to the Americans and was
considered the pearl of the southern U.S. coast, was
flooded, and thousands of people were killed.... It was
first announced that the city would be torn down, and
later, however, that it might not be possible to
rebuild it.... All of this happens in the great United
States -- the most powerful entity in the world! Could
that be?? The central authorities abandoned an entire
major city as if it wasn't an American city, and we
don't want to get into ... reasons related to the skin
color of its inhabitants and their economical
condition. It's unbelievable! What shocks us most is
the childish and stupid response to such a disaster and
the fact that the city is destined to vanish! What's
really a shock, furthermore, is that the 'greatest and
powerful' country is to receive huge donations of basic
products from poor counties.... Without comparing, this
reminds us of the fall of the Berlin Wall or the
collapse of the Soviet Union, which revealed back then
that the shiny Soviet Union's pomegranate was nothing
but rotten from the inside."

KURTZER