ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 006197

SIPDIS

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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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Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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All media lead with the terror attack in the town
Hadera on Wednesday, where a suicide bomber from the
West Bank town of Kabatiya blew himself up in the
marketplace, claiming the lives of five Israelis,
leaving 30 people wounded. All media lead with the
expected IDF reaction.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Islamic Jihad claimed
responsibility for the attack, saying it was in
retaliation for the killing by IDF troops of the
organization's top military commander, Luay Sa'adi, and
one of his aides in Tulkarm on Monday." In response to
the suicide bombing, Israel has decided on a series of
measures to be taken against terrorist infrastructure,
specifically Islamic Jihad, the Post said.
Ha'aretz added that at a meeting of the IDF General
Staff on Wednesday, officers said the Palestinian
public must be made to understand that Israeli measures
to ease Palestinian life, such as reopening border
crossings, do not mesh with suicide bombings inside
Israel. Ma'ariv reports that the defense minister last
night gave a green light to a large scale operation in
northern Samaria, which will include seizing large
territories, wide-scale detentions, and targeted
killings of HAMAS and Islamic Jihad leaders in the West
Bank and Gaza. The Israeli defense establishment again
held Syria responsible and will ask the US
Administration to increase pressure on Syria, Ma'ariv
reported. The paper cited "prime minister's bureau
sources" as blaming Abu-Mazin for PA inaction, and that
"lengthy deliberations" were held last night between
Sharon's bureau and the State Department, mainly in the
wake of HAMAS leaders' threats to kidnap Israelis."
The article says, "the Americans got the message."
Also in the wake of the attack, the Karni crossing of
the Gaza Strip, which opened yesterday morning after
being closed for several days due to the Qassam
shelling of Sderot, closed again yesterday afternoon,
Ha'aretz said. The Jerusalem Post reported that
Communications Minister Dalia Itzik canceled a meeting
with her PA counterpart Sabri Saidam in the wake of the
attack.
Radio and leading media quoted White House Press
Secretary McClellan condeming the suicide boming "in

SIPDIS
the strongest ossible terms," sending condolences to
the families of victims, urging the PA to do more to
end violence and prevent terrorist attacks from eing
carried out.

Israel Radio reports that the Israeli National Police
is deploying large numbers in the wake of the terror
attack and warning of other possible terror attacks.
Deployments include roadblocks, increased partrols in
crowded places and the public transport system.

Israel Radio reported that before dawn this morning,
the Israeli Air Force attacked an open area used for
launching Kassam rockets in Gaza, including a road
leading to the town of Beit Hanoun.

Yediot and Israel Radio quote a senior IDF officer as
saying that the separation fence does not have complete
security value because the crossings have become weak
points, that there is no effective supervision of the
crossings,that soldiers are not trained, and that
monitoring equipment is missing.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres will use a meeting Thursday
with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to
seek information on a new Iranian satellite, Israel
Radio reported. According to the report, Iran plans to
send up a Russian-manufactured satellite in the near
future, which it says is for research purposes, but
which Israel suspects will be used for espionage.

Ha'aretz reported that Lavrov on Wednesday "brushed
off" Israel's call for quick international action
against Iran over its nuclear program, saying the
matter is "too serious to be guided by politics."
Lavrov also suggested that Russia will not pursue UN
sanctions against Syria. At a joint news conference
with Lavrov, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel
believes Iran is "very close" to obtaining the
knowledge to produce a nuclear bomb. "That is why all
of us should be very determined to move the Iranian
(issue) to the Security Council," he said. Lavrov said
that Russia will follow the lead of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, which is investigating the
Iranian nuclear program, and believes that talk of
sanctions is premature.

Ha'aretz reported that in the wake of a meeting in
Cairo yesterday between Defense Minister Mofaz and
President Mubarak, the parties agreed that there will
be no Israeli presence at the Rafah crossing into
Egypt, that a yet unnamed international force will
supervise it, and that Israelis will supervise the
Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel. The parties also
agreed to start a dialogue on the global terror threat.

Yediot reported on hilltop youth resumed yesterday four
new settlement outposts in Judea and Samaria. The
outposts that were established yesterday simultaneously
are in Hebron, the Etzion Bloc, Kedumim and Elon Moreh.
The decision to establish the settlement outposts was
not made by the Settlers Council, but rather by
teenagers who received the encouragement of adults such
as Daniela Weiss and Nadia Matar. Kol Israel reported
this morning that last night the police removed three
sukkas built by these teenagers. Three settlers who
resisted were arrested.

The media also extensively covered reactions to remarks
by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called
for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map" and "a
world without Zionism." Ha'aretz cited Vice Premier
Shimon Peres as saying that Iran should be expelled
from the United Nations. "I don't see such a crazy
declaration being done by a head of state, a member of
the United Nations; it is unbearable. He cannot remain
a member," Peres said. The report added that the
United States, Britain, France, Spain, and Canada
condemned the Iranian president's remarks.

Ha'aretz and other media reported that Foreign Minister
Silvan Shalom yesterday announced the reopening of the
Israeli Embassy in Wellington and invited his New
Zealand counterpart to visit Israel. Shalom met in
Jerusalem on Wednesday with New Zealand Ambassador to
Israel Jan Henderson for the first time since the
crisis in diplomatic relations between the two states.
Henderson is based in Ankara rather than in Israel. A
government statement noted that the meeting would be
the first of its kind "since the incident with the
Mossad."
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Mideast
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Summary:
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Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yedi'ot Aharonot on the expected
IDF operation in northern Samaria, saying: "In the
short range, the volume of terror attacks is liable to
rise" in acts of revenge; "in the medium range, the
volume of terror attacks is likely to drop," as Israel
eliminates terrorists; but "in the long run, the
assassination operations won't change much" because
"terrorists who are killed will be replaced by a new
generation of terrorists, not less murderous than their
predecessors."
Mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot carries a
commentary by military correspondent Alex Fishman in
the wake of the Hadera terror attack, saying: "Israel
built a spectacular fence, invested millions, but built
into it no fewer than 30 crossings...A day will come
when someone is going to go to jail for that fiasco."

Pluralist Ma'ariv carries a front page article by
diplomatic correspondent Ben Kaspit saying, "We have to
get used to it: this will happen occasionally. One
organization or another (almost always Islamic Jihad)
will manage to carry out a terror attack inside Israel,
hitting it in its soft underbelly, reminding us from
where we've come and where, apparently, we're headed."
The maximum we can expect, in this situation, is to
maintain a tolerable rate of terror attacks, one every
few months instead of a few every month. and the time
has come to realize that the separation fence is not a
magic solution."
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post carries an
article by former cabinet member Natan Sharansky saying
that "The central feature of Bush's policy in our
region is his passionate belief in the possibility of a
democratic Middle East. but in Israel this policy is
viewed with deep skepticism." By Israel's silence on
Syria and by "withholding our support for the American
policy of democratization in our region and by adhering
to a shortsighted policy aimed at propping up strong
and friendly dictatorships, or weak and antagonistic
ones, we are committing a grave strategic error. Again
we are missing a historic opportunity to bring peace
and security to the region."


Block Quotes:
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I. "The Lessons of Hadera"
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot: "In the short range, the
volume of terror attacks is liable to rise: as we
learned yesterday in the Hadera market, Islamic Jihad
knows how to exact revenge; in the medium range, the
volume of terror attacks is likely to drop: the
handlers will either be killed or arrested. In the
long range, the assassination operations won't change
much, and that is what is so very frustrating. The
terrorists who are killed will be replaced by a new
generation of terrorists, no less murderous than their
predecessors .... No one promised the citizens of
Israel that tranquility would reign the day after the
withdrawal from Gaza. If there was anyone who harbored
hopes of that kind, those hopes were in vain. The
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza rectified a distortion.
It did not make peace. The problems remain as they
were. One, terrorism that is maintained by external
sponsors, first and foremost Iran. Iran is gradually
becoming Israel's number one problem. Regretfully,
Iran is a problem that Israel cannot solve on its own.
We need America's strong arm, but America's arms are
tied down in Iraq. The American administration
resolved to go on the offensive in the Middle East.
What a shame that it lost its way and attacked the
wrong country....The second problem is the Palestinian
Authority, which is gradually disintegrating. The
catastrophe of the matter is that it is disintegrating
on us.... The third problem is [that] the fence. is
permeable. But that isn't the fence's fault: it was
built to be deliberately porous. Officials in the
security establishment prefer to suppress that scandal,
for political reasons. Israelis, both Jews and Arabs,
continue to cross back and forth across the fence
without any real form of inspection ....'We built a
concrete wall,' one high-ranking officer said to me,
'but fitted it with paper doors.' That is not a
tragedy; it's stupidity."

II. "The Great Fiasco"

Mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot carries a
front-page commentary by military correspondent Alex
Fishman: "Yesterday, after the terror attack in
Hadera, we found ourselves back at square one, back in
the same place we were in 2004. the army is going back
at full force and without a time limit to northern
Samaria, from which it withdrew just two months
ago....To combat terrorism successfully. one needs to
be, physically, in the place where the infrastructure
is formed and to dismantle it before it sets in motion
a 'ticking bomb,' and that is what is going to happen
from now on. but that all is contingent upon the
political echelon being strong enough to withstand the
international pressure that is certain to follow...This
escalation of Israel's offensive tactics is being
launched, actually, to cover up for the ongoing fiasco
of the separation fence. Instead of being a buffer, it
is more like Swiss cheese.. Israel built a
spectacular fence, invested millions-but built into it
no fewer than 30 crossings. The Palestinians have
already learned that the security inspection at the
crossings for Israelis is abysmal, unprofessional,
turning them into a highway for terrorists and illegal
aliens into Israel. Why look for a hole in the fence
when you can take the king's road? A day will come
when someone is going to go to jail for that fiasco.
Someone is going to pay the price for the stupid
decision that produced a situation in which after four
and a half years of enormous investment-the citizens of
Israel still do not have adequate protection against
terrorism."


III. "Start Getting Used to It"

Pluralist Ma'ariv carries a front page article by
diplomatic correspondent Ben Kaspit: "We have to get
used to it: this will happen occasionally. One
organization or another (almost always Islamic Jihad)
will manage to carry out a terror attack inside Israel,
hitting it in its soft underbelly, reminding us from
where we've come and where, apparently, we're headed..
And still, after all these justifications, the sterling
logic, and the war against the Islamic Jihad
infrastructure in Tulkarm. it's hard not to remember
one man, Fathi Shakaki, who was the head of Islamic
Jihad when it was still a small, odd organization, and
who was assassinated, so foreign sources say, ten years
ago yesterday by the Mosad in Malta. His
assassination made us all happy. and made Islamic Jihad
wane. but from all of this waning we got the most
lethal terror organization around.. Islamic Jihad
today is the most dangerous organization, because it
has no God. It does not take part in the elections,
it cares not for Palestinian public opinion, it has no
rules or constraints, and the only thing motivating it
is to kill as many Jews in as short a time possible.
So long as comrade Ramadan Shalah, who lives in
Damascus, is satisfied. What can we understand from
all this? Nothing in particular, except that this is a
constant headache for the security establishment
leaders on the one hand, and those in charge of it
(Sharon and Mofaz) on the other.. The maximum we can
expect, in this situation, is to maintain a tolerable
rate of terror attacks, one every few months instead of
a few every month. and the time has come to realize
that the separation fence is not a magic solution."

IV. "Silence on Syria"

Cpmservatove. independent Jerusalem Post carries an
article by former cabinet member Natan Sharansky who
says: "It is axiomatic that the bond between the
United States and Israel is built not merely on common
interests, but also on the shared values of our
citizens, in particular our mutual love of freedom and
democracy. Because of this strong bond, our alliance
can weather many disagreements between our governments
- whether over issues such as the potential
construction of the E1 corridor between Ma'aleh Adumim
and Jerusalem, or divergent interpretations of
President George W. Bush's April 2004 letter to the
Israeli prime minister....Unfortunately, upon closer
scrutiny, the axiom of shared values has an exception
when it comes to promoting democracy among our
neighbors. The central feature of Bush's policy in
our region is his passionate belief in the possibility
of a democratic Middle East, a belief buttressed by his
conviction that democratization is the only sure path
to peace in the region. In Israel this policy is
viewed with deep skepticism, with most policymakers in
Jerusalem considering it at best naive, at worst
dangerously misguided. Our government's rejection of
Bush's democratic vision for the region has already had
profound consequences. The road map is a case in
point. When on June 24, 2002, Bush delivered his
revolutionary speech about the democratization of the
Palestinian Authority being the critical condition for
advancing the peace process, the Israeli government did
absolutely nothing. We produced no initiative. We
formulated no plans. We didn't even hold a meeting.
With our government silent, the State Department
shifted into high gear....That is how an Israeli
leadership which thought it was gaining time by doing
nothing was actually forced to accept the road map.
And what is Israel's position on this issue? Does it
support changes that could replace a dictatorial,
hostile and aggressive regime with one that is more
peaceful and democratic? Hardly. In fact, anonymous
voices coming from the highest government quarters
express strong reservations concerning the idea. Why?
Because these officials fear that change in Syria would
bring "chaos" to the region or, what they see as even
worse should Syrian democracy take root, Israel's being
forced to negotiate the future of the Golan Heights....
By withholding our support for the American policy of
democratization in our region and by adhering to a
shortsighted policy aimed at propping up strong and
friendly dictatorships, or weak and antagonistic ones,
we are committing a grave strategic error. Again we
are missing a historic opportunity to bring peace and
security to the region."
JONES