ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 001216

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. Aftermath of Israeli Elections


2. Mideast


3. Iraq


4. Europe: Anti-Americanism

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Key stories in the media:
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Ha'aretz reported that Assistant Secretary of State for
Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and Deputy US National
Security Advisor Elliott Abrams will arrive in the
region on Thursday for talks with Israel and the PA.
The newspaper wrote that they will hear from Olmert his
plans for the future of the West Bank. Ha'aretz quoted
Israeli sources as saying that the two will invite the
incoming prime minister to visit Washington once he has
completed forming his new government.

All media reported on the results of the Knesset
elections. Both Yediot and Maariv bannered" "The [Big]
Bang." Ha'aretz bannered: "Kadima Leads, Pensioners
Shock, Likud Crashes," Hatzofe: "Blow to the Right;
Achievement For Pensioners" and The Jerusalem Post:
"Exit Polls Show Olmert Can Form 'Pullout' Government."
The media speculated on whether parties such as Shas,
which says that it does not accept Kadima's
"consolidation" (or "convergence") plan, would be able
to join the coalition.

This morning, as the electronic media and leading news
web sites reported that 99.67 percent of the votes have
been counted, the following results were tallied (in
Knesset seats): Kadima: 28; Labor: 20; Shas: 13;
Yisrael Beiteinu: 12; Likud: 11; National Union-
National Religious Party 9: Pensioners' Party: 7;
United Torah Judaism: 6; Meretz: 4; Arab parties: 10
(Balad -- National Democratic Assembly: 3 ; Hadash: 3;
and United Arab List: 4). The turnout was an all-time
low for Knesset elections -- 63.2 percent.

Leading media reported that early this morning, Acting
PM Ehud Olmert appealed to PA Chairman [President]
Mahmoud Abbas to enter into negotiations over the
permanent borders of Israel, but added that Israel
would act alone if peace efforts remained stalled.
Olmert was quoted as saying: "We are ready to
compromise, to give up parts of the beloved Land of
Israel, and evacuate -- under great pain -- Jews living
there, in order to create the conditions that will
enable you to fulfill your dream and live alongside us.
If the Palestinians are wise enough to act, then in the
near future we will sit together at the negotiating
table to create a new reality. If they do not, Israel
will take its destiny in hand. The time has come to
act." Israel Radio quoted Abbas as saying that he is
prepared to enter negotiations with Israel under the
Roadmap. The radio quoted Palestinian PM-designate
Ismail Haniyeh as saying that he is not optimistic
given the results of the Israeli elections and Kadima's
declared policy. Israel Radio reported that reactions
from other Hamas leaders were stronger.

The media quoted Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu as
saying that he is not resigning the leadership of his
party. The media quoted Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman
Avigdor Lieberman as saying that Yisrael Beiteinu will
be the ruling party next time. Nahum Barnea of Yediot
noted that Pensioners' Party chairman Rafi Eitan, who
was involved in the Pollard affair, could become the
"first Israeli cabinet minister wanted by law
enforcement authorities in the US."

Leading media cited a confirmation by the IDF last
night that Palestinians (from Islamic Jihad) have for
the first time fired a Katyusha rocket -- a much longer-
range projectile than the Qassam -- from the Gaza Strip
into Israel. The media reported that four Bedouin
shepherds were killed in separate incidents on Tuesday
when Qassam rockets and munitions unexpectedly
detonated in southern Israel. Israel Radio reported
that three Qassam rockets landed in Israel this
morning.

All media reported that on Tuesday, the Palestinian
parliament endorsed the Hamas government, 71-36, with
two abstentions. On Tuesday, Dr. Nasser Eddin Sha'er,
who is slated to serve as deputy to Haniyeh, was quoted
as saying on Monday in an interview with Ha'aretz: "The
new [PA] government does not reject coordination to
resolve routine problems with anyone, including
Israel." Sha'er was also quoted as saying that Hamas
is not ready to concede to Israel.

Ha'aretz reported that the Foreign Ministry has
completed the drafting of a new bill on security-
related exports. The new legislation was drafted
following the US administration's demand that Israel
tighten its supervision over weapons sales. Ha'aretz
cited the Foreign Ministry's anger over a bill proposed
by the Defense Ministry that gives the Foreign Ministry
only a small part in the supervision process.

Hatzofe reported that the Jerusalem Committee of the
Zionist Council recommends that Jerusalem's Arab
neighborhoods administer themselves in the form of sub-
municipalities, as an interim solution ahead of a final-
status agreement for the city.

On Sunday, Ha'aretz wrote that three organizations --
the PA, the IDF, and Palestinian local councils -- are
busy renovating, upgrading, and improving roads in the
West Bank in response to the transportation problems
created by IDF barriers and the diversion of
Palestinian vehicles to secondary roads.

Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz reported that the Arab League,
which is convening in Khartoum, reiterated its support
of the 2002 Arab peace initiative. Leading media
reported that during an interview broadcast Tuesday on
PBS-TV, Syrian President Bashar Assad expressed doubts
about the Holocaust.

Leading media reported that President Bush has
appointed White House Budget Director Josh Bolten as
his new White House Chief of Staff, replacing Andy
Card. Maariv reported that Bolten calls himself a
"devoted Jew." Ha'aretz, Maariv, and Hatzofe reported
that former US Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger
passed away Tuesday at age 88.

Ha'aretz cited The New York Sun as saying Tuesday that
Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard University's Kennedy
School of Government, who recently co-wrote research
about the influence of the Jewish lobby in the US, will
retire from his administrative position at Harvard in
June, but continue to teach there.
The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a Gallup poll
conducted among Americans on February 6-9 and released
on Monday:
-"In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies
more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?"
Overall, sympathy with Israel was measured at 59
percent whereas support for the Palestinians was 15
percent. Only 8 percent of Americans surveyed had no
opinion, while 13 percent supported neither side, and 5
percent supported both sides equally.

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1. Aftermath of Israeli Elections:
--------------

Summary:
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Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The
fact that the voter, in his strange way, crushed the
right seems to be a message to the Acting Prime
Minister: 'Take hold of the torch and keep going.'"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The truly
momentous news item last night was neither Kadima nor
the Labor Party. It was the implosion of the Likud."

Ha'aretz editorialized: "Israel's new government must
announce its willingness to talk to any Palestinian
element that calls for an agreement based on a two-
state solution."

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one
of popular, pluralist Maariv: "The public has allocated
[Olmert] limited credit. The burden of proof is on
him."

Editor-in-Chief Gonen Ginat wrote in the editorial of
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "The results of the
Knesset elections as they appeared last night in the TV
exit poll are a very serious blow to the right wing."

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

I. "4.5 on the Richter Scale"
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March
29): "Instead of a right-wing government headed by
Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud rebels, who undermined
any attempt to move toward a peace agreement, Israel
will be getting a government that will have the means
to implement the plan devised by Ehud Olmert when he
becomes prime minister... Olmert's convergence plan
speaks of evacuating 60,000 settlers from the
'settlement blocs.' Such a move won't pass by without
violent opposition, and there is no chance that the
United States will foot the 150-billion shekel [around
USD 32-billion] bill. Even if Olmert manages to put
together a peace government, he is not Sharon. But the
fact that the voter, in his strange way, crushed the
right seems to be a message to the Acting Prime
Minister: 'Take hold of the torch and keep going.'"

II. "Sharon's Revenge"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (March 29):
"Every analysis of election results in Israel begins
with the majority bloc. On the assumption that the
exit polls last night resemble the final results, the
center-left bloc has at least 61 seats. The Right is
incapable of forming a government. Kadima will form the
next government, and Olmert will head it.
Nevertheless, there was something hollow to the
isolated whoops of joy that were aired last night at
Kadima and Labor Party headquarters. Kadima had
expected to get far more.... The Labor Party too had
expected to get more... But the truly momentous news
item last night was neither Kadima nor the Labor Party.
It was the implosion of the Likud. This was the
greatest revenge of the man 'from Hadassah Ein Kerem'
[Ariel Sharon, on his hospital bed]. He, who took the
Likud to 38 seats, brought it down to one-third of
that, threatened to banish his adversaries Uzi Landau
and Yisrael Katz from the Knesset, and dealt Netanyahu
a humiliation that no game of chess with his father
might ever heal. And he did all that with closed
eyes."

III. "Kadima with Labor"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one
of popular, pluralist Maariv (March 29): "The seats
that Olmert won on Tuesday have not turned him into a
determined national leader. The public has allocated
him limited credit. The burden of proof is on him....
It was Ariel Sharon's last revenge. It was the
vengeance of the tractor after its engine had fallen
silent. He is lying there between life and death, but
the Likud is in a similar situation. The same applies
to the settlements in Gush Katif. Now this is Olmert
time. It is his turn now. He won on Tuesday, and
together with the other winner, Amir Peretz, they are
the new leaders of Israel -- Kadima with Labor.
[Hebrew play on words also meaning 'Forward to Work']."

IV. "Initiatives For New Governments"

Ha'aretz editorialized (March 29): "Israel's new
government must announce its willingness to talk to any
Palestinian element that calls for an agreement based
on a two-state solution.... The parties that come out
on top in Israel's elections must make a serious effort
toward a comprehensive diplomatic move that will lead
to a peace agreement and the end of the conflict....
[The Israeli government's] unilateralism comes to spur
on diplomatic efforts, certainly not to make them
redundant from the outset. It is to be hoped that the
Palestinians will openly accept the agreed-upon rules
of the game. Abbas, in an interview in Ha'aretz last
Friday, expressed his desire to renew negotiations
without preconditions. If Hamas is willing to go the
same route, it must clear the fog away from its
positions and renounce the armed struggle."


V. "Facing a Difficult Period"

Editor-in-Chief Gonen Ginat wrote in the editorial of
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (March 29): "The results
of the Knesset elections as they appeared last night in
the TV exit poll are a very serious blow to the right
wing. The sane camp that warned against the crazy
policy stayed home. Apathy, despair, disappointment
with democracy, all led to the big mass of right wing
voters, Likud members, who stayed away from the polling
stations. The right wing, without its main backbone,
the Likud, is weaker -- much weaker. The battles that
it will face will be impossible. Because Olmert has
already promised additional withdrawals.... Let there
not be a shadow of a doubt: We are facing a difficult
period."

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

The Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The US is to be
commended for ... refusing to accept Hamas's bid for
talks with the Quartet before Hamas has accepted the
Quartet's conditions."

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

"Hamas's 'Moderation'"

The Jerusalem Post editorialized (March 29): "For all
Hamas's previous bravado about not caring about Western
financial assistance and its claims that the PA will do
without or find support elsewhere, Haniyeh would very
much like to avoid becoming an international pariah.
Haniyeh's slight rhetorical shift, then, can be seen as
an effort to induce someone -- Israel, the US, or the
EU -- to break Hamas's isolation and agree to talk.
The US is to be commended for seeing through this and
refusing to accept Hamas's bid for talks with the
Quartet before Hamas has accepted the Quartet's
conditions.... [Besides], convincing Palestinians to
abandon the dream of destroying Israel, either through
terrorism or by flooding Israel with 'refugees
exercising their right of return' ... may be daunting.
But with sufficient patience and determination it may
be accomplished."

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3. Iraq:
--------------

Summary:
--------------
Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In addition to
the risk posed to the US, and commitments to Europe and
Israel, Bush's commitment to the new Iraq provides him
with another excuse. If the Iranians fail to
comprehend that, they will repeat Saddam's mistake."

Block Quotes:
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"Of Iraq, Pokemon, and Israel"

Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 29): "The
new Iraqi military, which America is constructing, will
stand on its own feet in time, and will allow America
to gradually withdraw. With or without war in Iraq,
Iran's determination to achieve nuclear capability
leads to a US calamity. Saddam, had he not been
toppled, would have considered it an existential reason
to renew his efforts to arm Iraq with nuclear weapons.
Now, in addition to the risk posed to the US, and
commitments to Europe and Israel, Bush's commitment to
the new Iraq provides him with another excuse. If the
Iranians fail to comprehend that, they will repeat
Saddam's mistake."


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4. Europe: Anti-Americanism:
--------------

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

Eve Bonnivard, a French journalist, and Barbara
Lefebvre, a French history teacher, the authors of a
book denouncing anti-American excesses in French
textbooks, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"Current French education might produce an anti-
American generation apt to accept terrorism as one way
among others of expressing opposition to American
imperialism."

Block Quotes:
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"Anti-Americanism in French Textbooks"
Eve Bonnivard, a French journalist, and Barbara
Lefebvre, a French history teacher, the authors of a
book denouncing anti-American excesses in French
textbooks, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(March 29): "If there is one subject that should be
discussed because its treatment in French school
textbooks is faulty, it is that of contemporary
terrorism and the vision of American policy.... Current
French education might produce an anti-American
generation apt to accept terrorism as one way among
others of expressing opposition to American
imperialism.... Reflecting France, or rather its
elites, some of those textbooks describe the actual
world not as it exists but as they fantasize it: a
world in which the United States is a superpower and
imposes its point of view on everyone. A world where
France bravely stands up to 'Uncle Sam' as a 'Mother
Courage' speaking in the name of the silent majority.
A world where terrorism is not a killer of democracy,
but the proud reaction of 'humiliated' Muslims."

JONES