ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 001101

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. National Security Strategy of the United States


2. Mideast


3. Bird Flu

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Key stories in the media:
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All media (banners in Maariv and The Jerusalem Post)
reported that on Sunday, Palestinian PM-designate
Ismail Haniyeh presented the new Hamas cabinet, which
includes only the Hamas faction, to PA Chairman
[President] Mahmoud Abbas. Haniyeh confirmed that
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar would serve as foreign
minister, while Said Siam, a top leader of the Islamic
movement, would be in charge of the Interior Ministry.
On Sunday, Yediot reported that the US is pressuring
Abbas to delay the announcement about the new
Palestinian government until after the Israeli
elections.

Israel Radio quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as
saying that Abbas's moment of truth has arrived and
that the entire world is watching to see whether Abbas
will endorse the Hamas government and its guidelines --
the adherence to the right of resistance and the right
of return. Israel Radio quoted Saeb Erekat, who heads
the PLO's negotiating team with Hamas, as saying that
Abbas will give Hamas a chance and that he will not
object to it forming the government. However, the
radio quoted Erekat as saying that should a crisis
arise and international assistance to the PA be frozen,
Abbas would exercise his right to fire Haniyeh. The
station cited Erekat's belief that Abbas will convene
the parliament for a confidence motion in the
government before the Arab League Summit scheduled for
the end of this month. Ghazi Hamed, the editor of
Hamas's periodical in Rafah, was quoted as saying in an
interview with Israel Radio this morning that Fatah
members are trying to hamper the Abbas-Hamas
connection. Hamed was quoted as saying that Hamas is
not opposed to Abbas holding negotiations with Israel,
but that previous agreements with Israel are not
binding on Hamas because the PLO had signed them. On
Sunday, Hatzofe quoted anonymous Palestinian sources
close to Abbas's bureau as saying on Saturday Abbas has
promised to consider the proposal to resign his
position and announce the disbanding of the Palestinian
Authority and the handing over of responsibility for
the Palestinian territories to Israel. Hatzofe quoted
its sources as saying that A-Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a high-
level deputy of Abbas, raised the proposal last
Thursday in a meeting of Fatah's Central Committee.
Hatzofe cited Israel's concern that Arab leaders might
try, at the Arab League Summit, to erode the conditions
set by the international community regarding a Hamas
government.

All media continued to report extensively on the
repercussions of the discovery of avian flu in Israel.
Ha'aretz reported that the Agriculture Ministry
announced Sunday that the virus that hit Israel is of
the lethal H5N1 strain. The newspaper reported that
the authorities will cull one million birds.

The Jerusalem Post, Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported
that on Sunday afternoon, Israeli, PA, US, EU, and
Egyptian officials met at US Ambassador Richard Jones's
residence in Herzliya to look for a compromise over the
crucial issue of crossing points with the Gaza Strip.
The Jerusalem Post and Maariv reported that the PA
agreed to open the Kerem Shalom crossing -- but only to
goods coming from Egypt, not from Israel. The
Jerusalem Post quoted Western diplomatic officials as
saying that Israel's refusal to open up the Karni
crossing, and its insistence in opening up Kerem Shalom
instead, had less to do with security needs and more to
do with an interest in getting out of the customs
envelope agreement with the PA. Israel Radio reported
that at the meeting at Ambassador Jones's, Israel
agreed to transfer food to Gaza through Egypt today.
Other major media reported on the Herzliya meeting.

Israel Radio reported that today, the EU will sign an
agreement in Gaza to provide 64 million euros in aid to
the Palestinians -- half the aid approved last month.
On Sunday, Maariv reported that James Wolfensohn, the
Quartet's Mideast Envoy who is about to end his
service, cautioned in a strongly-worded letter that he
sent to the leaders of the Quartet about the state of
the PA, warning against a "humanitarian crisis" that he
envisions will include a lack of basic supplies within
two weeks." According to Maariv, Wolfensohn lays the
blame for the above on Israel and the United States.
The newspaper wrote that Wolfensohn's letter raises to
new heights the crisis in relations between Wolfensohn
and the US, which at this point is not interested in
extending the former's service, and has exacerbated the
chaos and uncertainty with regard to the PA's condition
and its chances of survival. Israel Radio reported on
two meetings that took place this morning on the matter
of the reopening of the Karni crossing -- the first one
between senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad and
with Palestinian representatives; the second one
between Acting PM Ehud Olmert and Shimon Peres, number
two in Kadima, allowing the crossing to open today for
several hours so that milk products and other goods can
be brought into the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, Maariv reported that dozens of American and
Canadian security personnel, including high-ranking
officials from the Department of Homeland Security and
officers of the police force, would be arriving in
Israel that day in order to participate in the first
counterterrorism training of its kind provided by
Israel.

Major media reported that border policemen accidentally
killed a 10-year-old Palestinian girl north of Jenin on
Friday.

Over the weekend, The Jerusalem Post and Yediot cited
newly published research by Professors Stephen Walt of
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and
John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago,
according to which pressure by Israel and AIPAC was the
critical element in the decision that led to the US war
against Iraq.

On Friday, the Arabic-language Assennara published the
text of an exclusive interview with former Syrian Vice
President Abdul Halim Khaddam, who was quoted as saying
that an opposition front would soon be set up in Syria,
and that Israeli Intelligence appointed Israeli Knesset
Member Azmi Bishara to mediate with Syria.

Leading media reported that a Palestinian man and his
Israeli wife have petitioned the High Court of Justice
to let them live together in Jerusalem or Ramallah.

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1. National Security Strategy of the United States:
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Summary:
--------------

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Is the new path of
the battered administration going to involve sailing
along on a cascade of words until its tenure ends, when
it no longer has the willpower to act with the
determination -- often rash, but at times necessary
nevertheless -- that characterized it until not long
ago?"

Block Quotes:
--------------

"Commander or Ally"

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 20):
"According to the new National Security Strategy (NSS)
document that was issued last week, President George
Bush is making an effort to be seen as a more
environmentally friendly ally. Both with respect to
the more distant, global environment and the immediate
environment -- the American public. Because strategy
and politics are always intertwined, particularly in
election years. And Bush now has to try to enhance his
image, if not by actions, then at least by words. The
NSS document is mandated by U.S. law, and should not be
taken lightly.... The document thus reveals that the
hardships that hinder the Bush administration have
nothing to do with any loss of a strategic compass. It
is a tactical and political difficulty. The question
is whether Bush will exploit the narrow opening he left
himself in the document: Will he be deterred from
intervening once more, even when he knows he might
again emerge bruised and battered? Is this document a
compilation of sophisticated phraseology that merely
conceals a big stick -- or is the new path of the
battered administration going to involve sailing along
on a cascade of words until its tenure ends, when it no
longer has the willpower to act with the determination
-- often rash, but at times necessary nevertheless --
that characterized it until not long ago?"

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2. Mideast:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "If there is something that really
frightens Israelis, it is the thought that the US will
stop supporting us."

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If Israel wants to
unilaterally disengage from territories in the West
Bank, it must take into account that this is liable to
cause disengagement from the international community,
as well."

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the editorial
of nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "The border of the
Gaza Strip ... has become a border of war in every
way.... This is what will happen in the center of the
country should Olmert's government carry out its
political plan."

Columnist Bradley Burston wrote in Ha'aretz: "Right
now, somewhere in the West Bank, there's an eight-year-
old whose life could be saved next week, if we've
managed to learn the lesson [of the death of American
peace activist Rachel Corrie three years ago] and are
resourceful enough to know how to apply it."

Prominent liberal author Amos Oz wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "We ought to
bear in mind that the Arab countries have urgent and
strong reasons to fear Hamas's rise to power, and to
seek -- along with us -- a path of peace that will push
the Hamas genie back into its bottle."

Block Quotes:
--------------


I. "Danger from the Direction of the United States"

Liberal columnist Dr. Gadi Taub wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (March 20): "If there is something
that really frightens Israelis, it is the thought that
the US will stop supporting us. Most of the time,
fortunately enough, we do not think that this could
really happen. But we should think again. A position
paper was recently published, written by John
Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen
Walt of Harvard University, about the pro-Israel lobby
in Washington.... According to the authors, the US has
been conducting its foreign policy in the Middle East
for many years on the basis of one solitary principle:
unreserved support for Israel.... Despite the slightly
hysterical tone of the document, and despite the fact
that it occasionally slips into images that are
reminiscent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (the
'stranglehold' of the lobby on US politics),it should
not be disregarded. Because one of its premises is
correct: there is no assured identity of interests
between the US and Israel.... The pro-Israel lobby is
not an eternal and all-encompassing Jewish power. It
belongs to a particular generation.... There is, then,
a dangerous combination here. On one hand, a
rethinking of the support for Israel; on the other
hand, a weakening of the pro-Israel forces in the US.
But these are not processes over which no one has
control, because it is not Israel that is standing in
the way of the United States in the Middle East, but
rather the occupation that is creating the conflict.
Ending the occupation is necessary in order to stop the
erosion of Jewish support for Israel, and it is also
necessary to keep Israel from being a constant obstacle
to the US foreign policy in the region. We have a
limited window of opportunity to leave the territories.
Not just because the occupation is corrupting us. But
because within a few years a new map of US interests in
the region will be drawn up, and we had better find
ourselves on the right side of this map."

II. "We Are Fed Up"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 20): "If
Israel wants to unilaterally disengage from territories
in the West Bank, it must take into account that this
is liable to cause disengagement from the international
community, as well. The day is not far off when the
world will tell us: If you want to turn the Gaza Strip
into a state of the Muslim Brotherhood -- have a nice
time. If you want to starve Palestinian children --
then you pay the price for the humanitarian disaster.
You've decided to disengage unilaterally from the West
Bank? Don't come to us when Al Qaida opens a branch in
Ramallah. To put it concisely: 'We are fed up with
you.'"

III. "The Results of Disengagement and the Knesset
Elections"

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in the editorial
of nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (March 19): "Starting
this coming week, the Palestinian Authority is now a
Hamas Authority by any reckoning. The solution of
Olmert and Kadima for the new situation is one of
withdrawal and flight, or 'convergence,' according to
the new term invented and laundered by the left wing.
We have all seen and endured for ourselves the results
of the previous withdrawal: it led to the Hamas
government's takeover of the Palestinian Authority.
The border of the Gaza Strip ... has become a border of
war in every way.... This is what will happen in the
center of the country should Olmert's government carry
out its political plan after the elections, God forbid.
This reality should be foremost in the awareness of
every Israeli voter, including those same members of
the religious Zionist camp who have expressed their
support for Kadima with no logical explanation for what
they are doing."

IV. "We Have with Whom to Talk"

Prominent liberal author Amos Oz wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (March 19): "We
would do well were we to remind ourselves today as well
that Hamas won the support of only 41 percent of the
Palestinians who actually turned out to vote. It was
only a distorted electoral system that gave Hamas a
majority of the seats in the Palestinian parliament.
Instead of humiliating Abu Mazen and the moderate
Palestinian camp repeatedly, Israel ought to announce
that it does not recognize the Hamas government, but
only the government of the Presidency (Abu Mazen was
elected to his post by an overwhelming majority of 62
percent). Negotiations with the Palestinian
Presidency, should they end with a draft agreement,
might produce a 'Hamas bypass route' and result in
victory for the moderate Palestinian camp. On this
issue, Meretz's position is the only alternative to the
'there's no one to talk to' point of view subscribed to
by Olmert and Netanyahu. Israel has one more way of
bypassing Hamas, and it is to engage in negotiations
with the Arab governments over a comprehensive solution
to each one of the fundamental components of the
conflict on the basis of the Arab League's proposal in
2003 (the Saudi proposal).... No one expects Israel to
sign on the whole offer.... [But] we ought to bear in
mind that the Arab countries have urgent and strong
reasons to fear Hamas's rise to power, and to seek --
along with us -- a path of peace that will push the
Hamas genie back into its bottle. If a reasonable
agreement is achieved between Israel and the Arab
countries, then it is most certain that most of the
Palestinians, with the encouragement and pressure of
the Arab countries, will ratify the agreement in a
referendum.... What about the Labor Party? There
indeed are moderate forces with open eyes in the Labor
Party who will adopt Meretz's position. However, as
usual, there are also others in the Labor Party whose
political positions and emotional predilection is more
akin to Olmert and Netanyahu's 'bunker.'"



V. "Who Remembers Rachel Corrie?"

Columnist Bradley Burston wrote in independent, left-
leaning Ha'aretz (March 20): "Who remembers the name
Rachel Corrie? In Israel, hardly anyone. But to many
a pro-Palestinian American or Briton -- and to many of
their pro-Israeli antagonists -- the mere mention of
the name is enough to make the blood boil. It was
three years ago this week that the 23-year-old native
of Olympia, Washington, who had come to the Gaza Strip
to protest against IDF demolitions of Palestinian
houses, was crushed to death as she tried to block the
path of a mammoth IDF armored bulldozer.... Incidental
death. It's what we've learned to live with, the price
of our security. We know we can't root it out
altogether. But we have to look at it differently,
honestly, in order to limit it as best we can.... Right
now, somewhere in the West Bank, there's an eight-year-
old whose life could be saved next week, if we've
managed to learn the lesson and are resourceful enough
to know how to apply it."

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3. Bird Flu:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "It would be comforting to know that
given this particular peril ... we could expect full,
unstinting and sincere cooperation between all
neighboring countries, as well as with the Palestinian
Authority."

Block Quotes:
--------------

"A Case of the Flu"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (March 19): "Flu viruses mutate easily
and frequently.... Extreme care, therefore, is
imperative to isolate the outbreak as much as possible,
given the fact that it's spread by undomesticated avian
flocks that know no boundaries.... It would be
comforting to know that given this particular peril --
one that doesn't differentiate between nationalities,
religions and races -- we could expect full, unstinting
and sincere cooperation between all neighboring
countries, as well as with the Palestinian
Authority.... Whatever erupts on one side of the divide
isn't likely to have spared poultry in the immediately
adjacent territory. International cooperation in such
instances should be regarded both a humanitarian and
health-preserving priority."

JONES