ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 007098

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


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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Mideast


2. Syria

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Key stories in the media:
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All media, except Maariv, led with Wednesday's suicide
bombing near Tulkarm, in which IDF officer Uri Binamo
and two Palestinians were killed. Three soldiers and
seven Palestinians were also wounded in the blast. The
media quoted army sources as saying that the suicide
bomber was apparently planning to blow himself up at
one of many children's events taking place in Tel Aviv
during this week's Hanukkah holiday. Leading media
cited the IDF's belief that Binamo was Islamic Jihad's
24th victim this year. Israel Radio reported that
security forces found and detonated an explosives
charge southwest of Hebron.

In its lead story, Maariv reported that former Shin Bet
chief Avi Dichter, who is expected to take up a key
security portfolio if PM Sharon forms the new
government, said in private meetings that a further
disengagement would put Israel's security at risk. He
was quoted as saying that the Palestinians should not
be rewarded for thwarting the Roadmap.

Maariv reported that in recent days, Israel decided to
reexamine its firm opposition to holding the PA
elections in East Jerusalem. Maariv wrote that one of
the explanations for the change in the political
echelon's firm stance is that Israel does not want PA
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas to use its refusal
to permit elections in East Jerusalem as an excuse for
postponing them. Maariv reported that a senior
Israeli political source told the newspaper yesterday:
"We are opposed in principle to holding elections in
East Jerusalem in which Hamas will participate, but we
will examine our position according to developments."

Israel Radio reported that the security forces and the
Civil Administration dismantled three illegal,
uninhabited settler outposts in the northern West Bank
-- Shvut Rachel, Beit El (next to the settlement of
Beit El),and Horesh Yaron.

Leading media reported that Defense Minster Shaul Mofaz
has decided to set up an investigative team comprised
of IDF, police, and Shin Bet personnel, to elucidate
the destruction of Palestinian olive groves in the West
Bank. The media reported that Mofaz termed the
phenomenon a "scandal" and quoted him as saying that it
is inconceivable that Israel should accept it.

IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was quoted as saying on
Thursday in an interview with IDF Radio that he does
not think the IDF will act against the Iranian nuclear
program. Halutz was also quoted as saying that because
Iran does not yet have a nuclear bomb, it does not
constitute an existential threat to Israel.

IDF Intelligence chief Maj. Gen Aharon Zeevi-Farkash
was quoted as saying in a farewell interview with
Yediot that Hamas will get 35 percent or even 50
percent of the votes in the Palestinian legislative
elections. Zeevi-Farkash was also quoted as saying
that Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti should not be
released from jail, because this would strengthen
terror and definitely eliminate Abbas. Zeevi-Farkash
did not rule out a military operation against Iran's
nuclear program.

All media reported that on Thursday, the Labor Party
kicked off a new campaign aimed at stopping its slide
in recent public opinion polls, which will run under
the slogan "Labor - The Time Has Come." The media
reported on a Geocartographia survey released by IDF
Radio on Thursday that found the Shinui party failing
to gain any seats in the next Knesset. Israel Radio
reported that Likud Chairman Knesset Member Binyamin
Netanyahu is playing down his efforts to ban Moshe
Feiglin, the head of the party's Jewish Leadership far-
right faction, from presenting his candidacy in the
Likud's list for the Knesset.

Ha'aretz reported that the whereabouts of three Britons
kidnapped in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon were
still unknown last night, as were the identities of the
kidnappers and their demands. The newspaper reported
on the huge deployment of Palestinian security forces
in Rafah. Israel Radio reported that this morning, "in
an embarrassing development for the PA," Palestinian
policemen angry over the killing of a fellow police
officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt crossing, firing in the
air and forcing European monitors to close the border
and flee. Maariv reported that at the beginning of
the week, East Jerusalem "turned into Ramallah" for a
few minutes. The daily wrote: "The displays of anarchy
that are so familiar from the Palestinian cities,
reached the Dahiat el-Barid neighborhood of East
Jerusalem. Dozens of Fatah operatives, some armed,
surrounded the building of the Palestinian Central
Elections Committee, and lay siege to the site. They
sprayed the word "Closed" on the door, and to make the
point clear -- fired shots in the air."

Israel Radio reported that in two weeks, a ceremony
will be held in Egypt to commemorate the 32nd
anniversary of the Chinese Farm Battle during the Yom
Kippur War, which took place on October 15-17, 1973.
The radio reported that more than 120 Israelis who
fought in the battle will participate in the ceremony,
including those who were injured, as well as families
of the fallen. The station said that recently secret
talks took place between senior officials in the
security establishment and figures in the Egyptian
government about holding the ceremony.

Yediot cited allegations made by members of the Civil
Service Commission that Danny Ayalon, Israel's
Ambassador to the U.S., attempted to obstruct the
investigation against him.

Yediot reported that an El Al plane has been equipped
with Flight Guard protection against shoulder-fired
missiles, which is made by the Israeli manufacturer
Elta. Additional planes will be outfitted with the
system in the coming months. The decision to protect
the airliners was made three years ago. Maariv and
Hatzofe reported that the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan's
Cairo correspondent wrote that Egypt's air defense
almost downed an Israeli Chieftain plane that had
strayed from its scheduled Tel Aviv-Cairo route.

A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll found that
the Labor Party lost the equivalent of 7 Knesset seats
in the paper's public opinion polls between November 18
(28 seats) and the end of December (21 seats). Kadima
remained stable at 39 Knesset seats, while Likud gained
2 Knesset seats (12 to 14) since last week.
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling
Institute survey, which found that Kadima would garner
40 Knesset seats, the Labor Party 19, and Likud 16.

The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a survey on
territorial concessions, security, and the peace
process, conducted by Dr. Mina Zemach and commissioned
by the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs' Defensive
Borders Project, which indicated that a majority of
Israelis believe that the pullout from Gaza was the
"right step," but that less than one out of five
support a policy of unilateral disengagements.
-Almost 80 percent of those surveyed said that they
opposed "conceding the Jordan Valley" -- an area viewed
as a buffer zone between Israel and Jordan -- as part
of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
-Similarly, 93 percent of respondents said: "In the
context of a peace agreement, Israel must not give the
Palestinians the territories that topographically
dominate Ben-Gurion Airport."
-In contrast, a slim majority, 53 percent to 47
percent, responded that as part of a peace agreement
with the Palestinians, they would be willing to pass
the Temple Mount to international control, as long as
Israel maintained control of the Western Wall.

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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"The forecast on the matter of the Qassam rockets is
not good.... In such a situation, escalation will be
inevitable."

Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
Ha'aretz: "If [Amir Peretz] succeeds in coming up with
a political program for demarcating permanent borders,
dismantling settlements, ending the occupation and
stopping the bloodshed, he may soar again. Poverty is
not going to run away."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Escalation Is Inevitable"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(December 30): "The firing of the Katyusha rockets on
Kiryat Shmona this week, as the launching of Qassam
rockets on Ashkelon and the Negev continues, testifies
to a failure of Israeli deterrence.... The forecast on
the matter of the Qassam rockets is not good. Sooner
or later the Palestinians will improve their range, or
will succeed in smuggling long-range Katyusha rockets
from Sinai. At that point we will see that Ashdod,
too, is within the range of the rockets. There is also
the possibility that they will succeed in smuggling
similar weapons into the West Bank territories. In
such a situation, escalation will be inevitable. The
way to deal with it will not be another unilateral
withdrawal. In the unilateral move Israel in effect
caused the elimination of the disarmament by agreement
of the Gaza Strip."




II. "Can Peretz Soar Once More?"

Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in
Ha'aretz (December 30): "Amir Peretz is one of the best
things that has happened to Israeli politics -- young,
Moroccan, sharp of mind and sharp of tongue, and most
of all, full of self-confidence. Even those who are
not fans of his socio-economic views will find it hard
not to admire how passionately he embraces them. Shimon
Peres's defeat by someone from outside the tribe has
been a great political catalyst and done wonders for
[Israel's] political metabolism.... [But] Peretz has
erred in not separating himself from his decades as a
trade unionist. Not that poverty and the social agenda
don't require serious attention, but the main concern
of most Israelis today is the need for a political
solution that will put an end to the Qassam rockets and
terror before the whole region is dragged into all-out
war.... Like the conductor of an orchestra, a person
who aspires to become a national leader must be
familiar with all the instruments. Peretz is too busy
in his own narrow niche as a trade union boss. This
doesn't mean that he's crash-landed. He still enjoys
the intriguing status of a promising leader with
extraordinary talent. If he succeeds in coming up with
a political program for demarcating permanent borders,
dismantling settlements, ending the occupation and
stopping the bloodshed, he may soar again. Poverty is
not going to run away."

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2. Syria:
--------------

Summary:
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Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The current
standstill may indicate that Assad is much more
difficult to deal with than any other leader."






Block Quotes:
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"From Flames to Embers"

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (December 30):
"While the international community is putting pressure
on Syria to cooperate with the Hariri investigation --
something that could endanger high-ranking officials in
the regime -- heating up the Israeli-Lebanese border
puts Assad in a bargaining position. He can tell the
world, in effect, 'Ease the pressure and I'll restrain
Hizbullah. U.S. officials dealing with Syria have
acknowledged that 'things have slowed down' where
pressure on Syria is concerned. But they are concerned
this is only a temporary hiatus.... Some sources in
Washington believe Syria will eventually follow
suit.... On the other hand, the current standstill may
indicate that Assad is much more difficult to deal with
than any other leader. Evidence of this lies in the
fact that both the U.S. and Europe have exhausted
practically all their options with him. Military
action is not feasible at the moment; nor are economic
and diplomatic sanctions against Syria considered to be
effective. The only thing left is isolating the
country and hoping Assad really cares.... Such a lack
of options where Assad is concerned is another reason
for putting Syria on the back burner with the conflict-
management approach: putting out fires when they erupt;
applying a degree of constant pressure; and hoping for
better days."

CRETZ