ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 001059 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 -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. The Jericho Operation ¶2. Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Jericho Operation: *Israel Radio this morning quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying that the US has never been responsible for the Jericho prison security. She said that according to the agreement between the US, Britain, Israel and the Palestinians, the latter were the ones in charge. The American and British guards were only supervisors. *The media reported that in the coming days Attorney- General Menachem Mazuz will hold consultations to determine whether to try the six Palestinian men taken from Jericho in a civil trial or a military trial. *Leading media reported that Jordan's King Abdullah said, regarding the Jericho raid, that it is an "unfortunate escalation." On the other hand, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted as saying that one of the reasons that Britain decided to withdraw its monitors from the prison was Hamas's declaration that it intended to free Ze'evi's murderers. *PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called the raid an ugly crime. *Hatzofe reported that the Popular Front members that were captured in the Jericho operation tried to assassinate Ehud Olmert when he was the Jerusalem Mayor. Elections: *Maariv published Shimon Peres's vision on the Middle East. According to the paper, Peres has been working hard on his new initiative, an enormous economic- development zone that will spread out over hundreds of kilometers and will be a joint project between Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel. Recently, the White House told Peres, through the Israeli ambassador in Washington, that the United States intends to give official support to the ambitious plan, which is estimated to cost approximately USD 8 billion. *All media reported that elections in Israeli embassies have began on Wednesday. *Maariv reported that senior Kadima members are saying that a unity government with the Likud is still possible if Sylvan Shalom will head the party after the election, assuming that if the Likud crashes in the elections, Netanyahu will be dismissed. POLLS: -Channel 10-TV and Ha'aretz published the results of a survey conducted this week by Prof. Camil Fuchs of the Amanet Group's Dialogue Institute: "Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of poll conducted on March 9.) -Kadima 37 (37); Labor Party 20 (19); Likud 16 (17); Shas 10 (10); National Union-National Religious Party 8 (10); Yisrael Beiteinu 10 (8); Arab parties 8 (8); United Torah Judaism 6 (5); Meretz 5 (4) -The poll found that the ratio of undecided voters ("floating votes") corresponds to 28 (24) Knesset seats. - Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling Institute survey: -"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of last week's poll.) --Kadima 39 (38); Labor Party 20 (19); Likud 15 (17); Shas 9 (9); National Union-National Religious Party 9 (9); Yisrael Beiteinu 8 (9); United Torah Judaism 5 (5); Arab parties 9 (9); Meretz 5 (5). -"Did the IDF operation in Jericho affect the likelihood that you will vote for Kadima?" -The likelihood grew, 10 percent. -The likelihood dropped, 6 percent. -The likelihood did not change, 81 percent. -A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll held on Wednesday shows: -"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in brackets, results of last week's poll.) -Kadima 39 (37); Labor Party 19 (20); Likud 15 (14); Shas 11 (11); Yisrael Beiteinu 10 (10); Arab parties 8 (8); National Union-National Religious Party 8 (8); United Torah Judaism 6 (6); Meretz 4 (6). Security related issues: *Israel Radio reported that an IDF soldier was killed in an IDF activity in Jenin where troops surrounded a house in which Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Brigades gunmen were hiding. *Israel Radio also reported that this morning two Israeli security guards were wounded in a West Bank shooting attack. *The IDF have launched an air strike targeting access roads in the Gaza Strip after a barrage of Qassam rockets was launched towards the Western Negev. *Leading media reported that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has extended the complete closure on the territories due to high terror warnings of Palestinian retaliation for the IDF raid on the Jericho prison on Tuesday. Ha'aretz's front page report says that American doctors have joined those who criticize the medical care given to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by physicians at Hadassah University Hospital. The paper notes that the negative assessment has been published in an American official medical journal. Both the Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz reported that special Quartet envoy, James Wolfenzon and US Security Coordinator, General Keith Dayton, have warned Congress against tough legislation regarding the PA. According to the envoy, strict legislation could generate chaos and limit the role of the international community in dealing with moderate Palestinians. The Jerusalem Post reported that a US congressional committee approved a new bill intended to toughen the sanctions against Iran. Ha'aretz reported that the PA has begun paying overdue salaries to its workers. -------------- ¶1. The Jericho Operation: -------------- Summary: -------------- Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The key to the Palestinians' future is now in the hands of Hamas. Once the Hamas government in the making frames its policy, it will be possible to determine the direction in which the Palestinians are headed regarding its relations with Israel and other states." Senior columnist Yaron London wrote in mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "From the Palestinians' point of view, Ze'evi's assassins are heroes. The two contradictory narratives are one of the fundamental elements in the war in this land. We will continue to kill and to be killed until the two peoples realize the justice is not the sole possession of either one." Columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "The question is not whether the murderers needed to be captured, but whether we need to cast them in such disgrace." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "On the edge of chaos" Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (March 16): "The military operation in Jericho marks the beginning of a new era. The minimal cooperation among Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other states apparently will not continue along its current lines. New rules will be drawn up among these parties.... Abbas already had announced after the PA elections that he was unable to prevent the release of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine commander and the five other wanted Palestinians, and that if they were released, then it could be assumed that the Israel Defense Forces would capture or kill them. After his premature return from Europe, Abbas said that Israel had carried out an 'unforgivable crime' by capturing the prisoners, but it is doubtful that Israel had an alternative. The departure of the British and American monitors left only one option. During this interregnum in the PA, it is impossible to guess which of the agreements it signed will be honored and which will not.... The key to the Palestinians' future is now in the hands of Hamas. Once the Hamas government in the making frames its policy, it will be possible to determine the direction in which the Palestinians are headed regarding its relations with Israel and other states." II. "Jericho" Senior columnist Yaron London wrote in mass- circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (March 16): "A sovereign state cannot forsake the blood of one of its cabinet ministers. Olmert was not guided by electoral motives. Every Israeli leader would have acted the same, even knowing that the blow in Jericho was not going to change the way the Palestinians think and that they would take revenge on us for their humiliation. From the Palestinians' point of view, the Ze'evi assassination was no different at all from the acts that were committed by the Jews to break free of the yoke of British oppression.... From the Palestinians' point of view, Ze'evi's assassins are heroes. The two contradictory narratives are one of the fundamental elements in the war in this land. We will continue to kill and to be killed until the two peoples realize the justice is not the sole possession of either one." III. "The Euphoria of Force" Columnist Yael Paz-Melamed wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (March 16): "We haven't seen this kind of euphoria and consensus in Israel for many years now.... Not just elation, but mainly pride. Here, once again the IDF struck at our enemy swiftly and elegantly, humiliating them, making them appear ridiculous and pathetic.... And those words do not conceal any skepticism about the degree to which this operation was justified and crucial. No government could have permitted the assassins of an Israeli cabinet minister to walk about freely.... The problem is with that same Israeli spirit that rises only when force is used. We love seeing the Palestinians humiliated.... That was the real celebration for many of us, and we can only hope that the leaders of our country were not party to that enjoyment. Because, after all, there is a gross and gratuitous danger in humiliating the Palestinians.... There can be no doubt that this evil cycle has been reopened with redoubled force. A response to a response to a response. The question is not whether the murderers needed to be captured, but whether we need to cast them in such disgrace." -------------- ¶2. Mideast: -------------- Summary -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared his intention of eliminating all settlements beyond the separation fence in the West Bank within the next four years.... This is the time to tell the Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) settlers: You have failed." Block Quotes -------------- "Settlers, you have failed" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 16): "Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared his intention of eliminating all settlements beyond the separation fence in the West Bank within the next four years.... This is the first time that an incumbent prime minister is declaring his intention of dismantling dozens of settlements, and nothing is happening. No demonstrations and protests, no rebellion within the party, and no media uproar. Olmert's message sounds natural, understood, and not revolutionary. This is the time to tell the Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) settlers: You have failed. Your grandiose project, which is about to be dismantled, has registered a triple failure. The first failure was in achieving the ultimate goal.... The second failure was in the settlers' disengagement from the public.... The third failure was security related. The settlements did not bring quiet, and when the war broke out, they proved to be irrelevant.... Olmert's declarations herald the end of the dream of populating the hilly areas and the Jordan Valley with Jews. His test will be in his ability to implement." JONES