ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TEL AVIV 001160 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. Mideast ¶2. Iran: Nuclear Program -------------- Election polls: -------------- A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll held on Wednesday shows that the Labor Party and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu are getting stronger and that Kadima and the Likud are weakening: -"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 36 (39); Labor Party 21 (19); Likud 14 (15); Shas 11 (11); Yisrael Beiteinu 11 (10); National Union- National Religious Party 9 (8); Arab parties 8 (8); Meretz 6 (4); United Torah Judaism 5 (6). -Yediot's poll found that 57 percent of young Israelis eligible to take part in the elections for the first time will actually cast their votes. Yediot published those young Israelis' voting intentions, according to the poll (in percentage points): Kadima 26; National Union-National Religious Party 18.8; Shas 9; United Torah Judaism 9; Arab parties 8.3; Meretz 6.5; Labor Party 8.3; Likud 5.5; Green Leaf (a party advocating the decriminalization of soft drugs) 4; Avraham Poraz's Secular-Zionist Party 2.2.; and Yisrael Beiteinu 2.2. Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling Institute survey conducted on Wednesday, which also shows a decline in support for Kadima and the Likud: -"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 37 (39); Labor Party 21 (20); Likud 14 (15); National Union-National Religious Party 11 (8-9); Yisrael Beiteinu 10 (8); Shas 9 (9-10); Arab parties 7- 9 (9); United Torah Judaism 5 (5); Meretz 5 (6). -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All major media echoed remarks made last night by Acting PM Ehud Olmert in an interview with Channel 10- TV's Yaron London and Motti Kirschenbaum. Olmert told the station that any party that wants to join his coalition must agree to the "convergence plan," which several newspapers recalled he described in separate interviews with them two weeks ago. In particular, Olmert told Channel 10-TV that if Avigdor Lieberman, the chairman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party does not adopt his political plan, Yisrael Beiteinu cannot join the coalition. Olmert was quoted as making similar comments in an interview with Yediot, in which he reportedly declared: "There will be no more rebels. I won't allow rebels to hold the coalition to ransom." Israel Radio quoted Kadima sources as saying that Olmert's remarks on Channel 10-TV were mostly directed at Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, and the Likud. Yediot wrote that Olmert's coalition could include Kadima, the Labor Party, and Meretz. Israel Radio reported that Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and the Quartet's special envoy James Wolfensohn will visit the region next week, mainly for talks with senior PA officials regarding humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. Ha'aretz reported that US officials told security officials at the Israeli Defense Ministry that the Bush administration has decided to halt funding for an infrastructure development project in the PA, and that it will provide the Palestinians with humanitarian aid only. Ha'aretz wrote that the new policy was implemented to make sure U.S. foreign aid money does not reach a Hamas-led government, and to prevent administration officials from having to make contact with representatives of a terror organization. Ha'aretz quoted a GOI source in Jerusalem as saying that the US rejected Israeli requests that it continue funding a few projects in the territories, such as the new sewage system in Hebron, saying that all contact with the Hamas government was prohibited. Ha'aretz reported that the US would, however, continue funding a project to install new X-ray machines at checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. Ha'aretz reported that James Kunder, Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East at USAID, arrived in Israel on Wednesday to discuss the formation of the Hamas government. The newspaper reported that Kunder met with representatives of Palestinian organizations that receive US aid, and that he is set to meet Thursday with Israeli security officials and visit the Karni crossing near Gaza. Ha'aretz said that the US has been pressuring Israel over the last few days to reopen the crossing, despite warnings that Palestinians are planning to carry out a terror attack there. The newspaper reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones and the U.S. security coordinator, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton told Israeli officials that it's important to open the Karni crossing before the Hamas cabinet takes power. Ha'aretz quoted Jones and Dayton as saying that if the crossing remains closed, Israel will be held responsible for a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and that it was important to make sure the crossing was operating while there was still someone to talk to on the Palestinian side. Jones and Dayton were quoted as saying that the U.S. administration will cut off all contact with the Palestinian government after Hamas takes power. Major media reported that Wednesday in Ramallah, Israeli security forces arrested a Tanzim (Fatah) activist on his way to carrying out a bombing in Israel, together with two facilitators. In its lead story, Hatzofe cited the belief of Israeli security officials that Iran and Hizbullah were behind recently foiled terrorist attacks. This morning, Israel Radio reported that IDF troops fired at three Islamic Jihad militants near the Gaza Strip border fence in the Kissufim area. The three were in the process of trying to plant a 30-kg bomb beside the border fence. Two of the cell members were killed by the gunfire. The third escaped. Ha'aretz reported that at a multi-party debate on the issue of dividing Jerusalem, held Wednesday at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, former setter leader Otniel Schneller, who represented Kadima, revealed some details of the party's vision of a divided Jerusalem, saying a future Palestinian state would include the East Jerusalem neighborhood of A-Tur, but not the Old City. The Jerusalem Post reported that British sources told the newspaper Wednesday that Palestinian prisoners rioted some three weeks ago inside the Jericho prison that Israel raided last week, underscoring the insecurity of the unarmed US and British prison monitors there. Major media reported that Israel is helping the PA tackle bird flu, after initial tests conducted on dead chickens indicated that the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread to Gaza. Ha'aretz reported that the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court ruled out the route of the separation fence in the Sheikh Sa'ad neighborhood east of Jerusalem, following a petition filed by 700 of its residents that the barrier would cut them off from the village of Jebel Mukaber, which served as an artery between Sheikh Sa'ad and Jerusalem. Major media reported that the PLO's Executive Committee, which met Wednesday in Ramallah under PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas, is demanding that Hamas change the proposed platform for its government, and include recognition of the institutions of the Fatah-controlled PLO and recognition of Israel and agreements between Israel and the PA. Ha'aretz reported that Hamas and its prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniyeh, declared the PLO's Executive Committee demand to be non-binding, and announced their intention to present the new cabinet and its platform directly to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian parliament within several days. The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday, the organization Friends of Earth Middle East presented a group of Jordanians and Israelis with a map of a proposed trans-border ecological peace park along the Jordan River. The newspaper also quoted researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as saying that proper use of the Judean (southern West Bank) aquifer could provide more than enough drinking water for Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem, and Hebron. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday, Palestinians and extreme leftists asked Canadian authorities to arrest former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon upon his arrival in Canada later in the day, arguing that he was guilty of war crimes as head of the Israeli military during much of the Intifada. The Jerusalem Post reported that Ya'alon told the newspaper that Israel's Ambassador to Canada Allan Baker told him that did not have to worry about being arrested or barred from entering the country by Canadian authorities. Major media reported that last night, an IAF Cobra helicopter made an emergency landing in southern Israel. Israel Radio reported that the whole fleet of Cobra helicopters was grounded. The Jerusalem Post and Maariv reported that late Tuesday night, a Libyan official refused entry to Libya to the three Israeli participants in the Breaking the Ice mission of peace, saying that Libya does not allow "occupiers" to enter its territory. Globes reported that the American company VeriFone is conducting negotiations to purchase its Israeli rival Lipman for USD 800-900 million. The price reflects a premium of 20-30 percent over electronic payment technology company Lipman's current share price. VeriFone, which has a market cap of USD 2 billion, provides electronic credit card clearance services, a similar line of business to that of Lipman. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Friends of the IDF collected USD 12.5 million during two gala dinners in Miami and New York this week. Maariv featured the tribulations of dozens of Africans from various areas, including Darfur, who illegally made their way to Israel, where they are now incarcerated. Maariv reported that Um Muhammad, who served as a chef for the late Saudi King Fahd for 15 years, moved to Jerusalem's Shuafat neighborhood and is now working in a restaurant in Abu Gosh (inside Israel). Ha'aretz and other media cited the results of a poll conducted among Israeli Jews by the Geocartography Institute for the Center Against Racism, which found that 68 percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab. Yediot highlighted the finding of the survey that one-third of Israelis believe that Israeli Arabs should not be allowed to vote in Israeli elections. Maariv stressed the fact that 63 percent of the respondents said that Israeli Arabs constitute a security threat. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Olmert's gamble is not simple: Even if he manages to sell the evacuated settlements in exchange for political support from Washington, he could find out that the angry Palestinians have set out to foil his plans." Veteran journalist Yaron London wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "These elections are a referendum that will either approve or reject the Convergence Plan." Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz: "A de facto trusteeship will undoubtedly establish a new Palestinian Authority that is not based on the Oslo Accords, of which the only sections left are those that are comfortable for Israel... The opening of the Karni crossing due to American pressure should serve as an example of more daring steps." Yonatan Touval, a researcher at the Economic Cooperation Foundation, an NGO founded by the architects of the Oslo Agreement, whose objectives are to build, maintain and support Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab cooperation in the political, economic, and civil society spheres, wrote in Ha'aretz: " If the international community wants to map the road ahead constructively, it should start by turning the page on a plan the rumors of whose death were never premature and whose end had best be finally and officially declared." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Olmert's Gamble" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 23): "There's no doubt Israel deserves 'defensible borders.' But the word 'defense' has two meanings, military and legal, and the gap between the meanings represents Israel's political dilemma. Nowadays, tanks, fortifications and fighters are not enough to protect the border. A good defense attorney is also required.... Olmert wants to achieve both a military and legal defense, and believes he will be able to leverage in his favor the Hamas victory in the Palestinian election and the rest of the Bush administration's term in office.... Olmert's gamble is not simple: Even if he manages to sell the evacuated settlements in exchange for political support from Washington, he could find out that the angry Palestinians have set out to foil his plans." II. "The Vote as a Referendum" Veteran journalist Yaron London wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (March 23): "This time, this time of all times, participation in the electoral process is even more important than usual. These elections are a referendum that will either approve or reject the Convergence Plan, an ambitious project by means of which its architects presume to establish Israel's permanent borders. This plan is fiercely controversial and, if the government pursues it, we are sure to have stormy years ahead, outbreaks of violent rebellion, vehement Palestinian resistance and tremendous costs that probably will not leave anything for our own welfare. The plan's proponents believe that there is no avoiding this historical decision, difficult as it may be, and the opponents rejoin that it will end in catastrophe for us. That is a question that only brutes can say is of no interest to them. Let there be no doubt: Ehud Olmert means what he says.... In order to underscore his commitment, Olmert announced [last night] that no party that was opposed to the Convergence Plan would be party to his coalition government and, by so doing -- if a politician's vows are of any value -- demarcated its borders. Neither the Likud (if Netanyahu survives as the party leader) nor Yisrael Beiteinu will be part of that coalition, not to mention those parties even further to the Right. The assertion was clear and the decision ahead is sharp and painful. May none of us evade making it." III. "The Trusteeship Alternative" Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in Ha'aretz (March 23): "[Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokespeople confirmed that it's not the humanitarian crises itself that's bothering him, but the 'international reverberations' the closure [of the Gaza Strip] has caused. It has also become clear that the 'international reverberations' -- rather than general elections - are the sole factor liable to change Israel's policy, and an American edict undermines any 'sovereign and proud' Israeli position.... The status quo that Israel wants to perpetuate generates boredom and revulsion that push the international community away from intervention, but dismantling the PA would force a de facto trusteeship, if only to monitor the continued financial support of the Palestinian people.... A de facto trusteeship will undoubtedly establish a new Palestinian Authority that is not based on the Oslo Accords, of which the only sections left are those that are comfortable for Israel... The opening of the Karni crossing due to American pressure should serve as an example of more daring steps. Whoever does not want to speak with the Palestinian Authority or pay a billion dollars a year to rule over the occupied territories should not complain when faced with the alternative." IV. "Epitaph For a Roadmap" Yonatan Touval, a researcher at the Economic Cooperation Foundation, an NGO founded by the architects of the Oslo Agreement, whose objectives are to build, maintain and support Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab cooperation in the political, economic, and civil society spheres, wrote in Ha'aretz (March 23): "Tailor-made to bypass Yasser Arafat, satisfy Ariel Sharon, and (no less challenging) bridge the differences between the Quartet members themselves, the [Roadmap] plan was deeply flawed and probably destined to fail. Yet to insist that the newly-formed Palestinian government adopt the Roadmap is not only to raise a ghost, but to continue turning a blind eye to Israel's role in aborting this ill-conceived plan from the outset.... Anyone who believed that Israel's unilateral pullout would lead the parties back to the road map, however, could only be in for a disappointment. Although the disengagement plan was a resounding success for Sharon, the pullout, it turned out, had only further distanced Israel from the road map, since it placed Israel, as Sharon was soon to announce, in a' pre-road map stage.' The prospect of movement 'post' disengagement could only be, to put it mildly, preposterous. Now that Sharon is gone and Arafat is long dead, the road map remains a ghostly specter. But it need not haunt us still. If the international community wants to map the road ahead constructively, it should start by turning the page on a plan the rumors of whose death were never premature and whose end had best be finally and officially declared." -------------- ¶2. Iran: Nuclear Program: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "If there is no Western threat to bypass the UN, either through NATO or an ad hoc 'coalition of the willing,' Russia and China will have little incentive to go along." Block Quotes: -------------- "Bypass UN on Iran" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (March 23): "Sanctions remain a long-shot effort to change Iran's course.... What is clear is that lowest common denominator sanctions of the sort Russia and China might accept will be insufficient -- unless, perhaps, these countries face a choice of joining in an international effort or being bypassed entirely. The standard must be what the situation demands, not what Russia and China will agree to.... Russia and China ... have a lot to lose if the US and Europe make a habit of bypassing the UN Security Council. It is only in that body that they wield a veto that gives them power disproportionate to their economic and diplomatic weight in the world. But if there is no Western threat to bypass the UN, either through NATO or an ad hoc 'coalition of the willing,' Russia and China will have little incentive to go along." JONES