ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 000934

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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1. Lebanon Bombing


2. Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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All media reported that State Department Spokesman
Richard Boucher announced Tuesday, a day after the
assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri, that
the U.S. recalled its ambassador to Syria, Margaret
Scobey, for "urgent consultations." Leading media
quoted White House Secretary Scott McClellan as saying
Tuesday: "Yesterday's attack was a disturbing
development, and we have made it clear to Syria that we
expect Syria to act in accordance with the UN Security
Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of all
foreign troops and the disbanding of militias."
Ha'aretz reported that political sources in Jerusalem
expressed satisfaction Tuesday at the U.S. decision.
The sources were quoted as saying: "This step
underscores our argument that Syria's intentions for
peace must be treated with caution." Israel Radio
reported that its New York correspondent heard from
U.S. diplomats that this was only the beginning of U.S.
moves against Syria. Jerusalem Post web site reported
that Minister Mofaz told soldiers on Tuesday that the
bombing was launched by a pro-Syrian "terror
organization which from what we know is apparently
supported by the Syrians."

All media reported on PM Sharon's annual conference
with the Foreign Press Association Tuesday. Sharon
said that Israel is standing at the crossroads of peace
after last week's summit meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Sharon was also quoted as saying that despite Israeli
and American protests, Russia is going ahead with plans
to sell SA-18 antiaircraft missiles to Syria.

All media reported that the Knesset started debating
the evacuation-compensation bill Tuesday, and that it
will vote on it today. The media expect around 70
Knesset members to support it, and around 40 to vote
against it -- including 13 Likud lawmakers. Ha'aretz
says articles of the bill stipulate that compensation
to residents and businesses to be evacuated from the
Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank will cost 4.3
billion shekels (close to USD 1 billion),as opposed to
the government's original estimate of 3 billion
shekels.

Ha'aretz and Jerusalem Post quoted Chief of Staff
Ayalon as saying before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs
and Defense Committee Tuesday that the situation in the
PA is "fragile," and that Israel has made clear to
Abbas that it would not be satisfied with police
deployment and PA talks to persuade the heads of terror
groups, but that it expects Abbas to disarm Hamas and
Islamic Jihad. Israel Radio quoted a senior
Palestinian source as saying that Israel is delaying
the implementation of agreements and understandings
with the PA. Jerusalem Post reported that about 350
Palestinian gunmen will be incorporated into the PA
security forces soon as part of a deal reached between
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of all the
Palestinian factions. Jailed Tanzim leader Marwan
Barghouti was quoted as saying in an interview with
Maariv that the Intifada is not over, and that Israel
is ridiculing and weakening Abbas.

Leading media reported that IDF troops killed two armed
Tanzim militants near Nablus. Ha'aretz quoted
Palestinian sources as saying that settlers killed a 15-
year-old Palestinian who had stoned Israeli vehicles in
Bitunya near Ramallah. Israel Radio reported that this
morning, Palestinians fired five mortar shells at
Israeli targets in the Gaza Strip -- an IDF base and
two settlements. There were no casualties.

Ha'aretz reported that Construction and Housing
Minister Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) plans to expand the
East Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa, near
Bethlehem, eastward, to create continuity with Ma'aleh
Adumim.

All media highlighted the fact that Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz announced his decision Tuesday not to
extend the term of IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon for
a fourth year, as is customary. The move, which was
coordinated with PM Sharon, is seen as a sign of the
friction between Sharon and Ya'alon, particularly
regarding what Sharon perceived as independent
positions Ya'alon took on various issues during the
last three years. Numerous political and military
sources (according to Israel Radio, "almost across the
board") as well as many media, criticized the decision
as an "overthrow" and even a "scandal." Yediot sees
Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Dan Halutz as the
leading contender for Ya'alon's succession. The other
candidate for the post is former deputy Chief of Staff
Gaby Ashkenazi.

Yediot reported that on Tuesday, dozens of writers,
poets, and publishers from Israel and the Arab world
attended a meeting at the Sheikh Hussein Bridge along
the Israel-Jordan border. The newspaper underscored
the participation in the gathering of "national"
Lebanese poet Samir al-Youssef, who collaborated with
Israeli author Etgar Keret on "Gaza Blues," a
collection of short stories. In contrast, Jerusalem
Post reported that only Jewish and Arab Israeli writers
met at the border crossing.
As the 141-nation Kyoto Protocol is formally taking
effect today, Ha'aretz headlines: "Entire World to Call
Today to Save the World -- Except the U.S."

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1. Lebanon Bombing:
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Summary:
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Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The Washington
administration is preparing a sweet revenge: either
Syria will lose Lebanon, or Bashar will lose his
throne."

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"Lebanon represents another early test of President
George W. Bush's second term inaugural commitment to
stand with people who are struggling for their
freedom."

Former ambassador to the U.S. Prof. Itamar Rabinovich
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "The recall of the
U.S. Ambassador in Damascus for consultations in
Washington [is] ... the first expression of a change in
style at the State Department following the changeover
from Colin Powell to Condoleezza Rice."

Block Quotes:
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I. "A Warning to Assad"

Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (February 16):
"It isn't democracy that Bush is seeking in Damascus,
but war on the dictator who resides in the People's
Palace and begs Israel for peace each time the American
boot bears down on him. It turned out on Tuesday that
the late Hariri warned the Americans two weeks before
his elimination that 'it will be I, or Walid Jumblatt,'
pointing an [accusing] finger eastward toward Damascus.
Assad is very fortunate to have chosen such a dangerous
ally as Iran. He is lucky that the Americans are badly
entangled in Iraq. He won't be lucky if Syria's
fingerprints are found in Hariri's elimination. The
Washington administration is preparing a sweet revenge:
either Syria will lose Lebanon, or Bashar will lose his
throne."

II. "The Hariri Hit"
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(February 16): "Just when things appeared to be looking
up for the cause of democracy in this region, the 'old'
Middle East reared its violent head in Beirut and
assassinated Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon's former prime
minister of 14 years. He resigned recently to press
demands for the end of Syrian occupation of his
country, thereby also enabling it to make its peace
with Israel. Hariri was due to run on an anti-Syrian
platform in the upcoming election this spring. That
made him dangerous to Damascus. By openly disobeying
Lebanon's Syrian masters, Hariri took the gravest of
risks according to the notorious codes of the old
Middle East, where no dissent is brooked.... Lebanon
represents another early test of President George W.
Bush's second term inaugural commitment to stand with
people who are struggling for their freedom. The
Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty
Restoration Act of 2003 was laudable but has so far
accomplished little more than somewhat discomfiting
President Bashar Assad and eliciting from him feeble
gestures of goodwill in order to ease the pressure.
The law contains a menu of sanctions, some of which
have not been imposed. One wonders if Syria has really
gotten the message from this gentle U.S. approach, not
to mention Europe's kid gloves treatment..... [Hariri]
symbolized Lebanon's potential for future progress.
Perhaps it was that which the huge car bomb that
ravaged the Lebanese capital's seafront was designed to
destroy. It is fully within the power of the West,
with America in the lead, to make sure that this bleak
and vicious scheme backfires on those who have hatched
it."

III. "Condoleezza's Line"

Former ambassador to the U.S. Prof. Itamar Rabinovich
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (February 16): "The
recall of the U.S. Ambassador in Damascus for
consultations in Washington has a four-fold
significance: an immediate response to the murder of
Rafiq Hariri; venting off accumulated anger over Syrian
assistance to the Iraqi insurgents; a threat to further
diplomatic sanctions and possible punitive military
actions at a later stage; and the first expression of a
change in style at the State Department following the
changeover from Colin Powell to Condoleezza Rice.
During the eight years of president Clinton's term, the
United States' relations with Syria were shaped by an
attempt to reach a peace treaty between Israel and
Syria. The Clinton administration viewed such an
arrangement as the proper basis for the Israeli-Arab
peace process, as well as a way to push Iran from the
center of the Middle East to its sidelines. The Bush
administration has fundamentally reversed that
attitude. Its more limited interest in Israeli-Arab
relations has focused on the Israeli-Palestinian
crisis. It views Syria first and foremost as a terror-
sponsoring state allied with Iran, and a partner in the
'axis of evil.'"

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Prof. Uzi Arad, who was a senior strategic advisor to
former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Territorial
exchange is relatively simple, if only because it does
not require uprooting any population and moving it."

Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: "The
decision makers appear to be paying insufficient
attention to fears of a domestic war, whose outcome
cannot be foreseen."

Block Quotes:
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I. "The Demographic Key"

Prof. Uzi Arad, who was a senior strategic advisor to
former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (February 16): "The
issue [of territorial exchange] is not more complex
than the disengagement, for example. On the contrary,
compared to various moves that Israel has considered to
maintain the Jewish-democratic character of the state,
territorial exchange is relatively simple, if only
because it does not require uprooting any population
and moving it. Fulfillment of the populated
territorial exchange plan will allow Israel to hold
onto unpopulated areas in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan
Valley [the West Bank] as needed for its security as
well as areas populated by Jews, while preserving its
Jewish democratic character. Therefore, it would be
proper for Israel to put the territorial exchange plan
onto the agenda, now, as an inseparable part of the
future final agreement if it wants defensible borders
for a Jewish and democratic state."


II. "Unilateral Formula"

Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (February
16): "In no way will the process of evacuation [of
settlers] be easy. The idea of 'evacuation by hugging'
sounds like a winning slogan, but it isn't clear
whether the settlers will agree to be partners in the
Chief of Staff's unilateral formula. The decision
makers appear to be paying insufficient attention to
fears of a domestic war, whose outcome cannot be
foreseen. It should be remembered that peace is meant
to prevent bloodshed, and not to produce an new channel
for it."

KURTZER