Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV786
2005-02-09 12:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
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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


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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 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.

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Mideast:
--------------

Summary:
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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