ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 000786 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM NSC FOR NEA STAFF 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 bannered public pledges by PM Sharon and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) at the summit meeting held in Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday to put an end to four years of violence. Jerusalem Post noted that, in a private meeting, they expressed their determination to make these declarations stick this time. Leading media reported that, in their session together, Sharon and Abbas agreed to coordinate efforts on the disengagement, and to step up security coordination efforts that have already begun in the few weeks since Abbas assumed office. Yediot reported that next week Israel would hand over the security control of Jericho to the PA. The media reported that Egypt and Jordan will soon return their ambassadors to Israel. Banners in Yediot: "The Intifada Is Over," and Maariv: "Maybe This Time." Above the recurrent photo of a Sharon-Abbas handshake, skeptical Hatzofe bannered: "Release of the Murderers." Leading media quoted Sharon as saying that he will come to Ramallah, and reported that he has invited Abbas to visit his Sycamore Ranch. Ha'aretz reported that Sharon's announcement at the summit that Israel would halt offensive military operations in the territories has not yet been implemented on the ground. The newspaper quoted Hamas and Islamic Jihad representative as saying that their groups are not bound by the cease-fire. Yediot quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying Tuesday that the U.S. is about to dispatch another envoy to the region, in addition to Lt. Gen. William E. (Kip) Ward. Yediot reported that Tuesday, at her foreign policy speech at Paris's Institute of Political Studies (Institut d'Etudes Politiques),Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Sharon and Abbas as both of them said that this is a time of opportunity which must not be lost. The newspaper quoted Secretary Rice as saying that the U.S., Europe, and the Middle Eastern nations must "make clear to Iran and Syria that they must stop supporting the terrorists who would seek to destroy the peace that we seek." Jerusalem Post quoted Rice as saying Tuesday that she believes the cease-fire will hold since there was now "a new Palestinian leadership that is devoted to a peaceful resolution of the conflict," and that it has been "categorical in rejecting violence as a way toward achieving peace." Israel Radio quoted Syrian Ambassador to Washington Imad Mustafa as saying in Houston that Damascus supports Abbas's efforts to reach an agreement with Israel, and that it hopes that the process will lead to just, comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The radio reported that Mustafa criticized the United States' attitude vis-a-vis his country, quoting him as saying that he was astounded to hear President Bush's remarks that Syria is an obstacle to peace. Israel Radio quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying that 1,000 Palestinian workers would be allowed into Israel, and that the Erez Crossing would be reopened. All media reported that after over a week of delays due to the government not having a majority, the evacuation- compensation bill passed the Knesset Finance Committee Tuesday in a 10-9 vote. The media cited an uproar among the Right that the vote of Israeli-Arab Hadash- Arab Movement For Renewal (Ta'al) Knesset Member Mohammed Barakeh allowed the passing of the bill, which will only reach the plenum next Wednesday, because the Knesset's Constitution, Justice and Law Committee must review the various elements in the bill referring to criminal activity in the context of refusal to evacuate. The bill is expected to pass in the plenum. On a popular talk show on Channel 2-TV last night, FM Shalom said he intends to lead a public campaign for a national referendum on the disengagement plan, because he is concerned about a "rift in the people." Shalom acknowledged that there could be no referendum without Sharon's assent. Yediot cited a response by Sharon associates that the supporters of a referendum are opposed to disengagement. Israel Radio reported that Minister-without-Portfolio Tzachi Hanegbi is trying to get the support of the Likud Central Committee for a referendum. Yediot reported that 10,000 IDF soldiers in regular and reserve service have signed a petition initiated by the right-wing organization Defensive Shield, in which they pledged not to take part in an evacuation of settlements. Citing AP, Jerusalem Post reported that the Jordan- based Arab Bank will gradually close its branch in New York, where it faces lawsuits on the grounds that it allegedly supported terrorism by funneling donations to Palestinian suicide bombers and their families. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In one way, the Sharm summit may have already served [Sharon]: it produced the death certificate for the referendum plot." Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of popular, pluralist Maariv: "So many wise people ... warn against sinking into euphoria and express great skepticism and fear that everything will immediately crumble, until a desire arises to be optimistic despite everything." Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The stronger Ariel Sharon becomes on the outside, the weaker he becomes at home. Every step toward the evacuation leaves in its wake scorched political earth." Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "[The Israelis'] perception of a Palestinian state has flipped from being regarded as a mortal threat to being seen as a historic necessity. The Palestinians, by contrast, have not begun the parallel evolution that must take place for a two-state solution to have a chance." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Requiem For a Referendum" Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (February 9): "Yasser Arafat died on November 11, but he was finally buried Tuesday at the Sharm summit. At an elegant, focused and businesslike ceremony, the bloody Al-Aqsa Intifada, which he sparked, was also interred.... More than anything else, [Sharon] has been transformed in the eyes of the Arabs into the only Israeli leader who can lead to a permanent agreement.... As Sharon was delivering his speech at Sharm, the slogans were going up on walls in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv: 'We killed Rabin, we'll kill you too,' and 'Death to traitors.' But just as in 1948, when Ben- Gurion determined the date for the establishment of the state in opposition to his fellow leaders, so Sharon is going against his own camp, but with the majority of the people behind him.... Sharon intends to advance the titanic enterprise that he began in the face of opposition from all those striving to bring him down. It will pass in the cabinet and in the Knesset, and by the end of the year not one Jew will be left in Gaza. In one way, the Sharm summit may have already served him: it produced the death certificate for the referendum plot." II. "It's All Right to Believe" Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of popular, pluralist Maariv (February 9): "So many wise people write and speak cautiously, warn against sinking into euphoria and express great skepticism and fear that everything will immediately crumble, until a desire arises to be optimistic despite everything. Because most of these wise people have been wrong and misled us so many times -- admittedly, usually in the other direction -- so why not this time too.... The greatest contribution of this change in Ariel Sharon's approach, aside from the concrete issues, lies in enabling us to understand that if this steadfast rock, this advocate of adhering to every inch of land, can behave so differently now, it is a sign that a lot of other things in the region can change. If things have really changed, if the two peoples really calm down somewhat in a period of relative quiet and prosperity, it will be possible to slowly and cautiously advance to the next stage. It is advisable to be balanced and not hope for great things, since those who read the road map realistically see it ending not in a full peace and final status arrangement, but rather in a long-term interim agreement that includes a Palestinian state with non-final borders, which will leave much work for the coming generations of state leaders and military commanders. Much will depend, of course, on the degree of quiet that exists here, meaning the level of terror, which will not disappear completely, regrettably enough. In fact, this leads us back to square one of the Oslo accords, in other words, the idea that quiet and a scarcity of violence will build mutual trust, which will smooth the way to the final status arrangement." III. "Just a Minute!" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (February 9): "Peaking with euphoria, facing three Arab leaders who did their utmost on Tuesday to please, Sharon leaned close to Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon's ear and whispered a critical question: 'How did Benlolo vote?' Daniel Benlolo (Likud) is a member of the Knesset Finance Committee. For days on end he deliberated which way to vote on the evacuation-compensation bill. Maimon didn't have an answer.... [Benlolo eventually] voted against. Five Likud representatives on the committee voted against, and only two voted in favor. That vote put the euphoria back in its proper proportion: the stronger Ariel Sharon becomes on the outside, the weaker he becomes at home. Every step toward the evacuation leaves in its wake scorched political earth.... Sharon has found a way to get along with Mubarak, Abdullah and Abbas for the time being. The question is how will he get along without Benlolo." IV. "Abbas's Absent Talk of Compromise" Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (February 9): "In the next few months, Sharon has committed to carrying out the most concrete down payment toward such a state that Israel has ever made, include signing and implementing Oslo itself. Disengagement is neither conditional nor an experiment. It is a concrete manifestation of Israel's deep and irreversible consensus, as Sharon said to the Palestinian people, that we have 'no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate'.... Israel has given up the dream of many of its citizens to permanently reclaim the Biblical heartland that it captured in 1967. At least as profoundly, the perception of a Palestinian state has flipped from being regarded as a mortal threat to being seen as a historic necessity. The Palestinians, by contrast, have not begun the parallel evolution that must take place for a two-state solution to have a chance. They have not begun to give up their claim to a Palestinian right to live on both sides of the Green Line. Abbas has not begun to speak, even in general, of the need for painful Palestinian concessions, let alone specifically of the need to give up, forever, the dream of 'return' to Haifa, Jaffa or Safed, where Abbas himself was born. On the contrary, on Tuesday he repeated the well-worn code words for such unacceptable demands.... Abbas, then, missed an opportunity to speak to Israelis as Sharon spoke to Palestinians. 'The time has come for the Palestinian people to achieve their independence and their freedom,' Abbas said. That goal is certainly within the Palestinians' grasp. Indeed, nothing is stopping the Palestinians from doing what they need to do to achieve it: abandon terror, democratize, and give up the dream of two states, both of them Palestinian." KURTZER