ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 005801 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM NSC FOR NEA STAFF SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA HQ USAF FOR XOXX DA WASHDC FOR SASA JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 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 -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. Mideast ¶2. Iraq -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media continued to lead with issues related to infighting within the Likud. Ha'aretz, Maariv, Jerusalem Post, and this morning's Israel Radio bulletins led with statements by senior members of PM Sharon's camp. For instance, Ha'aretz bannered a comment by Sharon that voting for Binyamin Netanyahu is suicide. Leading media reported that Netanyahu and his associates are holding talks with Knesset members from the Likud and other parties in order to gather around him 61 Knesset members who would recommend that President Moshe Katsav ask Netanyahu to form a new government. While Yediot assesses that Netanyahu's move would not garner a majority in the Knesset, Maariv's count predicts a 61-59 majority in favor of Sharon's opponents. Israel Radio reported that the move was not initiated by Netanyahu, but by other Knesset members. Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio quoted President Bush as saying, during his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Washington on Thursday, that he had asked the King to "visit with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas, to help in the peace process there, and that he's graciously agreed to go." Maariv features incoming U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones, who it says will try to convince the Israelis that he is not an "Arabist," and the Palestinians that they must fight terror. Yediot quoted former U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer as saying about the Palestinians, in an interview with The New York Times, "Victimization gets you on 'Oprah,' but you want to be taken seriously enough to get on 'Meet the Press.'" Jerusalem Post writes: "Despite intense Israeli lobbying efforts, neither the U.S. nor the rest of the Quartet ... are as adamant as Israel about Hamas not taking part in the upcoming Palestinian Legislative Council elections." Jerusalem Post reported that A/S David Welch told a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that a statement issued by the Quartet on Tuesday was "an important step forward." The newspaper says that a careful reading of the statement indicates that the Quartet had "not precisely" backed Israel's position in its meeting on Tuesday. Israel Radio reported that Egypt and the Palestinians opened the Gaza-Egypt border this morning. Ha'aretz had reported that on Thursday, PA officials hinted that Egypt had reneged on its agreement to keep the border with Gaza open to passage of people, apparently due to Israel's objections. The newspaper had reported that thousands of Palestinians were stranded at the Rafah checkpoint. Israel Radio quoted Palestinian FM Nasser al-Kidwa as saying, in a speech before the UN General Assembly, that Israel has left a totally destroyed Gaza Strip. Al-Kidwa was further quoted as saying that Israel and some of its friends are trying to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state and to dodge UN resolutions. The radio quoted a senior Egyptian official as saying that Egypt is interested in rebuilding the Strip, but that it is concerned about the cost of such an operation. Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday, the UN launched an agency to bolster Palestinian shippers, traders, and consumers in a step toward institution- building ahead of possible Palestinian statehood. Israel Radio reported that this morning, three armed Islamic Jihad activists were killed in a clash with IDF forces in the village of Seda near Tulkarm. Leading media reported that on Thursday, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted Abbas al-Sayed, a Hamas leader from Tulkarm, of masterminding two deadly terror attacks, including the Passover 2000 suicide bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanya, in which more than 30 people were killed. Israel Radio quoted Saudi FM Saud al-Faysal as saying that his country is not yet prepared to sign a peace treaty with Israel. He was speaking with reporters in Washington. Jerusalem Post and Yediot quoted former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter as saying, in a speech he delivered to the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Washington's Brookings Insitution, that the U.S. briefly embargoed the sale to Israel of helicopter spare parts during the first year of the latest Intifada. Leading media reported that Peace Now and the Geneva Initiative will hold a peace rally opposite Sharon's residence on Saturday night. A similar demonstration, led by PA Chairman [President] Abu Mazen will take place in Ramallah. [Those events were originally planned for last Saturday, and later canceled.] Leading media reported that the cabinet is expected to approve on Sunday a proposal to compensate Israeli-Arab terror victims. Ha'aretz reported that Peace Now petitioned the High Court of Justice on Thursday, demanding the demolition of structures in the illegal settler outposts of Harsha and Hayovel. Leading media reported that Britain, Germany, and France have decided to adjourn a UN Security Council debate over the Iranian nuclear program, due to pressure from China and Russia. Ha'aretz reported on the "Follow the Women" peace ride, in which some 120 women from around the world intend to bike from Beirut to Ramallah, through Damascus and Amman, to draw attention to the peace process. The newspaper printed a picture of the ride passing through Jericho. Ha'aretz reported that Jewish American leaders have launched a new campaign aimed at pressuring Eastern European countries to live up to their promises to compensate Holocaust survivors and to return stolen property to the families of those who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Israel Radio and Ha'aretz's web site reported that Earl Krugel, a Jewish Defense League member, was sentenced Thursday in California to 20 years in prison for his role in a plot to bomb a mosque and a Lebanese-American congressman's office. Ha'aretz, Yediot, and Jerusalem Post reported that the long-running conflict between Israeli cardiac stent- maker Medinol and U.S. medical device giant Boston Scientific came to an end in an out-of-court settlement in the U.S.: Boston Scientific will pay Medinol USD 750 million in cash. In addition, Boston Scientific will return its 21 percent stake in Medinol. Maariv reported that the "green-card rush" has started. The newspaper explains how to apply on the Internet. The media continued to cover the advance of Hurricane Rita toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Ha'aretz filed a story about Raphael Izraelov, a 28-year-old Israeli, who "is being hailed as a hero for his work with victims of Hurricane Katrina." This week's Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll found a substantial discrepancy between Likud Central Committee members and the general public: -Question asked of committee members: "Will you vote in favor of, or against moving up the Likud primaries?" In favor: 49 percent (46 percent last week); opposed: 46 percent (49 percent last week). -Question asked of general public: "Will a decision by the Likud Central Committee to move up the primaries be justified?" No: 60 percent; yes: 29 percent. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Anyone who claims Sharon has hoodwinked Likud members in the past cannot now make a similar claim. Sharon's path is clearer and more decisive than that of his opponent." Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in Ha'aretz: "If this is what the President believes, how is it possible that officials respond so differently?" Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Just as Yasser Arafat resorted to terror to escape diplomatic pressure after scuttling the 2000 Camp David summit, the PA will bet that a deteriorating security situation will ultimately be blamed on Israel." Veteran conservative journalist Meir Uziel "addressed" President Bush in nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "Perhaps, after your bonding with Sharon, who totally surrendered to terror, your voters will start to understand that you actually are a weak leader." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Irrational Politics" Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (September 23): "After reaching the belated understanding that the Palestinian demand for sovereignty is justified, after accepting that the State of Israel must bring its borders back toward the Green Line, and after proving by means of the disengagement that he is serious it is impossible to demand that Sharon give up on the opportunity to put all of the above into practice simply because some Likud members, or perhaps even most of them, don't agree with him. Sharon is putting his beliefs on the line and if he fails to convince the other members of his party, he will have to quit and try to find another political outlet for his policies. Anyone who claims Sharon has hoodwinked Likud members in the past cannot now make a similar claim. Sharon's path is clearer and more decisive than that of his opponent. The choice of path and the candidate who will lead the country is in the hands of every Likud member. This is what is at stake. This is not about ousting Sharon, as the prime minister himself claimed, but about distracting the public's attention from the main point." II. "Ideology, Not Nuances" Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in Ha'aretz (September 23): "[The State Department and Condoleezza Rice] were angry with Israel for leaving the [synagogues in Gaza] to the Palestinians instead of demolishing them, and then for complaining when the Palestinians destroyed them. But Bush, as one Israeli diplomat put it this week, 'is not an official who sees nuances. He is an ideologue.' And the ideologue went far with his statements this week. In a eulogy to Simon Wiesenthal, Bush said the Nazi-hunter had 'insisted we remember that hatred prepares the way for violence and the failure to expose and confront intolerance can lead to atrocities beyond imagining. As we saw in the recent desecration of the synagogues in Gaza, the ancient hatred of anti-Semitism still burns in people's hearts.' This comparison is amazing, and especially difficult to place in the context of the administration Bush heads. If this is what the President believes, how is it possible that officials respond so differently? And is it possible that there are other places down the road in which essential differences of opinion will be revealed between the President and those who carry out his policies? 'Perhaps,' an Israeli official said hopefully, 'this is also what will happen with Hamas." III. "Unmotivated Abbas" Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (September 23): "Motivation ... seems to be what Abbas lacks.... The international community has praised Ariel Sharon for his political courage in pulling out of Gaza. Pats on the back aside, if the Quartet really wants to seize the opportunities Israel has created, it must demand a similar level of courage from Abbas. Sharon, it seems, was self-motivated; Abbas is not. Throwing more money in Abbas's direction will not motivate him; quite the opposite. Europe's open aid pipeline signals to Abbas that whatever the Quartet says, or whatever is written in the road map, does not matter, because he can continue to both ignore his part of the bargain and make demands of Israel without consequences.... In the end, the failure to hold the PA accountable will likely, ironically, hasten its collapse. It also invites a resumption of terrorism, because it signals that disengagement has not shifted the burden of accountability onto Palestinian shoulders. Just as Yasser Arafat resorted to terror to escape diplomatic pressure after scuttling the 2000 Camp David summit, the PA will bet that a deteriorating security situation will ultimately be blamed on Israel." IV. "Bush, Excuse Me For Putting You Right" Veteran conservative journalist Meir Uziel "addressed" President Bush in nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (September 23): "Yes, if the U.S. takes care that quiet reigns in Gaza, this will help Sharon. But there won't be quiet in Gaza -- neither now nor later, and certainly not after the huge show of support for terror that Sharon has performed.... [Following 9/11], you, the free world's raging leader, uttered clear words: 'There is no good terror and bad terror. There is no middle.' I heard your words then and told myself: 'That's it. It's final. Terror is about to end. The genius in Bush's plan is that it leaves no option to the Palestinians.' The Palestinian groups, which really had no option, decided: 'So what? We're going on with terror.' So they did. The expulsion of all Jewish souls from every inch of Gaza Strip land has proven that terror has won -- not what the President of the U.S. unwaveringly said after the twin towers were destroyed. Just a moment, Bush. Maybe you're just saying you're a strong leader, which is why people love you? Perhaps, after your bonding with Sharon, who totally surrendered to terror, your voters will start to understand that you actually are a weak leader. And then -- maybe they'll stop loving you? -------------- ¶2. Iraq: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Among the many scholars preoccupied with the war in Iraq, not a single one has discussed the possible outcome of an American withdrawal, in the wake of faulty handling of the war.... A failed American withdrawal in Iraq would increase the threats to the Jewish state." Block Quotes: -------------- "Concern Over a Chain Reaction" Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (September 23): "It is no wonder that voices are being heard in Washington about the need to plan an 'exit strategy' from Iraq, but President George W. Bush says he has no intention of doing so before he achieves a victory over terror in the country.... To those who say a hasty withdrawal from Iraq will not harm the United States, the reply is that chain reactions to such a withdrawal are liable to be dramatic for many countries, and in the end will affect U.S. security, as well. What is interesting is that among the many scholars preoccupied with the war in Iraq, not a single one has discussed the possible outcome of an American withdrawal, in the wake of faulty handling of the war. Such a withdrawal would certainly have an immediate effect on Iran's plans in the Middle East, and on Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas. Iran would definitely be the leading nuclear power. The shake-up would affect Saudi Arabia and the small oil-producing nations in the Gulf. In Israel, the relatively optimistic intelligence assessment regarding strategic threats to the country would be eroded. A failed American withdrawal in Iraq would increase the threats to the Jewish state." JONES