ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 006186 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: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media stories follow the Qassam attacks from Gaza and the IDF's retaliation over the past two days. The Qassam fire came following the killing of Luai Saadi, the commander of Islamic Jihad's armed wing in the West Bank on Sunday. Saadi was responsible for two suicide bombing attacks in Natanya and Tel Aviv this year, causing the death of 1- Israelis. Islamic Jihad spokesman responded with threats of "painful revenge" of Saadi's death. A total of six rockets were fired from northern Gaza strip into Israel, causing neither casualties nor damage. The last of these rockets was fired last night. All media reported on President Bush's speech at U.S. Air Force Base, accusing Syria of enabling terror and radical Islam. Leading media intensively covered Secretary Rice's remarks in a joint press availability with the Canadian Foreign minister, on issues involving crossing between Israel and the PA, and the freedom of movement with in the West bank, which would facilitate the economic programs initiated by the Wolfensohn plan and the G-8. Ha'aretz and other media reported that an Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at an open field in the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, about two hours after Palestinian militants launched a homemade rocket into the Negev town of Sderot, but caused no damage or injury. The air strikes, which landed in the Beit Hanun area, caused no injuries nor damage, Israel Radio reported. An IDF source said the strikes were "warning shots" into an open area from where Qassam rockets were launched in an effort to prevent further attacks. The PA said Tuesday it had deployed troops to areas in northern Gaza to stop rocket fire into Israel. Unnamed Israeli officials are cited as pointing a finger at Damascus, blaming Syria for encouraging Palestinian attacks. IDF troops arrested three wanted Tanzim and Islamic Jihad militants in the West Bank before dawn Wednesday, IDF Radio reported. Ha'aretz carries an extensive interview with Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, HAMAS leader in the Gaza Strip, who says his organization "will increase the number of kidnappings of Israelis if Israel does not release Palestinian prisoners." He added that the group will not extend its participation in a cease-fire among Palestinian organizations beyond the end of 2005, if the PA reneges on its promise to hold elections in January. Al-Zahar stated that the present cease-fire is not a change of position, noting that though "there is Palestinian consensus regarding the 1967 borders and some people think this is a strategic alternative and the end of the story, Hamas regards these borders only as a stage in the struggle." Ma'ariv and other media report that Defense Minister Mofaz is leaving this morning for Egypt, where he will meet with President Mubarak and other officials. While there, Mofaz will raise issues such as security arrangements along the border and attempts to prevent HAMAS from taking part in PA elections. Having settled differences between them, Mofaz and Shim'on Peres devided responsibility over the Gaza crossings so that the defense establishment is in charge of the land crossings from the Gaza Strip to Israel and Egypt, while Peres' office will be in charge of the Gaza-West Bank transportation project, the seaport, and regional development. In a related story, Kol israel and Ha'aretz Internet edition reported that ahead of the visit, MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud),chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, called on Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Wednesday to tell the Egyptians that Cairo was not meeting its obligation to keep Palestinians from smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. "Egypt is, in effect, assisting the strengthening of Hamas, not just regarding Israel," said Steinitz. Ha'aretz reports that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested Tuesday that Israel must loosen controls at border crossings to allow free passage for Palestinians and economic development in areas that would one day be an independent Palestinian state. She did not specifically call on Israel to change its border policies, but did not dispute the findings of envoy James Wolfensohn that Israel was stalling in the restoration of movement across the borders. Ha'aretz reported that Israel is worried about possible new Russia-Syria arms deals. Israel has expressed concern over Russia's intention to sign new arms deals with Syria, following the already completed deal to provide Syria with SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday in Israel, will tell him of Israel's objection to the sale of more weapons to Syria, a political source in Jerusalem said Tuesday. He added that Syria was undermining the stability in the area. "We believe sanctions should be imposed on any state that supports terror," he said. Israel welcomes pressure on Syria, which may change its conduct and even lead to the closure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus. However, Israel's leadership is at odds over whether Syrian President Bashar Assad's continued rule would serve Israel's interest or whether Israel should strive to topple his regime, Ha'aretz said. Ha'aretz said James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's special envoy for the disengagement, has criticized Israel for holding up agreements on opening Gaza Strip border crossings to the passage of people and goods and on improving Palestinian mobility in the West Bank. In a letter sent last week to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and the foreign ministries of Britain, Russia and the United States, Wolfensohn wrote: "The Government of Israel, with its important security concerns, is loath to relinquish control, almost acting as though there has been no withdrawal, delaying making difficult decisions and preferring to take difficult matters back into slow-moving subcommittees." The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Ha'aretz, indicated that Israel is preventing the implementation of a proposal by Wolfensohn and the World Bank to introduce a temporary system for allowing people and goods to move between Gaza and the West Bank in convoys. The letter also criticized the Palestinian Authority - for worsening the economic crisis by deciding on a salary hike in the public sector, for the internal anarchy and the decline in the PA's functioning. He warned that these factors, combined with the lack of Palestinian mobility, will take a toll on donor countries' willingness to honor their pledges. Sources in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau said in response that Wolfensohn's letter would be studied after the Sukkot holiday. Other government officials said that the letter points to poor functioning by the defense establishment in conducting negotiations with the Quartet envoy. "It's nothing to get worked up about," a senior defense official said. Ma'ariv reported that two Israeli Arabs have been arrested on suspicion of joining Hamas in the 1990s, while they were studying dentistry in Romania, and then carrying out assignments for the armed group, the police and the Shin Bet security service said yesterday. The two, who were arrested about a month ago by the Shin Bet and the Central Unit of the Galilee Police, are said to have confessed to Hamas involvement. The Jerusalem Post reported that lawyers representing Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, the two former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffers accused of communicating classified information, wish to call to the stand three Israeli diplomats that received information from the defendants as well as from the third defendant in the case, Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin. All three Israelis mentioned in the Rosen-Weissman indictment are no longer in Washington and all have diplomatic immunity, which prevents them from being subpoenaed by either side in the case. All media report on Microsoft CEO Bill Gates 24-hour visit to Israel. Gates was quoted as praising in his media interviews the local high-tech community for its achievements and talents, calling Israel part of Silicon Valley in the U.s. Ha'aretz and Israel Radio noted that the Defense Ministry's travel advisory against the Sinai peninsula is still in effect. -------------- Mideast -------------- Summary: Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: ".Wolfensohn's letter took a dramatic tone, intended to wake the decision-makers from their apathy.. Arrogant responses" by the Prime Minister's Office and the Defense Ministry "do not evince an overabundance of diplomatic wisdom. When it comes to the relationship of Israel with the Palestinians, Israel's primary interest is a significant improvement in the standard of living of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank." Right-leaning Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The United States is calling for urgent UN Security Council action following a UN report implicating senior Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri on February 14. That such action is warranted should go without saying...This time, we hope, Damascus may have taken its 'misunderestimation' of the international community one step too far." Pluralist Yedi'ot Aharonot carries a commentary by military correspondent Alex Fishman who, referring to the most recent Qassam rockets fired into Israel and the IDF's use of a "psychological package" in retaliation," says that "in the absence of a political lever and the lack of an effective, long-term military solution, the political-security leadership think hard to find a way out of the trap that the Gaza terror is leading us to once more." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Lift the siege of Gaza" Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: ".Wolfensohn's letter took a dramatic tone, intended to wake the decision-makers from their apathy, warning that 'if we miss this opportunity for change, we will regret it for the next decade.' The Prime Minister's Office responded that the letter 'would be studied after Sukkot,' while the Defense Ministry said there was 'no need to get excited.' These arrogant reponses do not evince an overabundance of diplomatic wisdom. When it comes to the relationship of Israel with the Palestinians, Israel's primary interest is a significant improvement in the standard of living of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. If Wolfensohn's letter prompted Shaul Mofaz and Shimon Peres to divide up their responsibilities in this matter, it will have served a purpose. The Sharon government might mistakenly think that fences, targeted killings and shootings are a recipe for calm. It might also be tempted to think that cutting off Gaza from the West Bank is possible. However, the Qassams fired at Sderot in response to the killing of the Islamic Jihad activist in Tul Karm shows that the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are one entity. If normalcy is desired with this entity, the basic conditions must be created for economic recovery that will strengthen the moderates and make terror less popular. The task of disengagement from Gaza has not been completed, let alone been successful. Only half the work has been done so far. Lifting the economic embargo from Gaza is a necessary precondition to this success." II. "Catching Rogues" Right-leaning Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The United States is calling for urgent UN Security Council action following a UN report implicating senior Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri on February 14. That such action is warranted should go without saying. It is critical that this become just the first step on a long road toward holding rogue states accountable for egregious acts of international aggression.. The United States and Israel know full well that Iran and Syria have for years either supported or directly organized terror attacks and bombings against the military personnel of both countries. The level of evidence implicating these regimes in such barbaric acts must, in some instances, be no less than that implicating the Syrian regime in the Hariri case. Yet the United States, let alone Israel, has never - except in the Lockerbie case against Libya - bothered taking these regimes to court, so to speak, in the Security Council. We and the United States have never bothered because we knew that the forum that was created to protect innocent nations against international aggression instead could be counted on to protect the aggressors themselves. The critical question now is whether this situation is finally changing.. Syrian protestations regarding flimsy evidence and the presumption of innocence are, of course, risible coming from a brutal police state whose idea of justice has infamously included carpet- bombing its own citizens. Yet the fact that the regime would even attempt such a defense shows that it still believes that there are no limits to Western gullibility and weakness. This time, we hope, Damascus may have taken its "misunderestimation" of the international community one step too far." III. "Qassams on Damascus' Orders" Writing in pluralist Yedi'ot Aharonot, Military correspondent Alex Fishman states that the order to fire Kassam rockets at Israel came from Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus. From the moment top Islamic Jihad wanted man in the West Bank Luai Saadi was assassinated, the Damascus headquarters put heavy pressure on its activists on the ground to step up the mortar shell fire and Kassam rocket fire at any price and within a short time. The administration in Damascus could not even pretend it had no idea what was going on under its nose, after Israel relayed to the Syrians-by means of various channels-a message that this was exactly what was about to happen. Neither does the Palestinian Authority take us seriously. A few hours before the fire two days ago, Israel informed the PA that Kassam rockets were about to be fired. PA officials were asked to take a number of steps to prevent the fire. The Palestinian security organizations did not even bother to pretend they were doing something...What we learned from the last round of shooting in the Gaza Strip is that in fact, there are no means of putting effective pressure on terror. Israel was unable to create a situation in which it is "worth it" for persecuted Damascus and for the PA to become the address to which Israel appeals to prevent terror. And the second lesson: once again the limitations of Israel's force have been revealed. When there are no real targets-we make a lot of noise. This is exactly what happened: helicopters hit two buildings, eight artillery shells fell in the northern Gaza Strip, the Navy fired flares from the sea, and the Air Force caused five sonic booms over the Gaza Strip. This psychological package can work once, twice, three times. After that the population gets used to it. Without diplomatic leverage, and without an effective military response over time, the security-police echelon must sit down and figure out what to do: how to get out of the trap to which terror from Gaza Strip is again leading us. JONES