ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000305

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. Mideast


2. Lebanese-Syrian Track

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Key stories in the media:
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Today, all major media led with stories related to
Wednesday's scheduled elections for the Palestinian
Legislative Council. Ha'aretz quoted GOI sources in
Jerusalem as saying that the U.S. administration has
promised Israel that the U.S. will not recognize any
Palestinian government in which Hamas participates.
Yediot reported that members of the defense
establishment presented to Acting PM Ehud Olmert a
scenario toward the elections, according to which Fatah
would win and collaborate with Hamas. All media
reported that on Sunday, jailed Fatah leader Marwan
Barghouti called on Hamas and other Palestinian
factions to join a broad national coalition after the
elections. He said Fatah and Hamas "are heading toward
being partners in the field and in parliament." The
media noted that Barghouti spoke from prison in an
interview with Al Jazeera-TV and Al Arabiya-TV, which
Olmert authorized. Major media reported that Olmert
appointed a monitoring team that will present
recommendations to the government. Dov Weisglass will
head the team, which will be composed of IDF C-o-S Dan
Halutz, Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin, and Foreign
Ministry DG Ron Prosor. Maariv and Israel Radio
reported that Olmert also instructed National Security
Adviser Giora Eiland to present separate
recommendations pertaining to scenarios in the PA. On
Sunday, Yediot quoted high-ranking Israeli political
officials as saying that Israel will not resign itself
to a situation in which Hamas takes part in the
Palestinian government, unless Hamas is disarmed and
rescinds the organization's charter that calls for the
destruction of Israel. On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported
that senior IDF officers told the newspaper recently
that Hamas is expected to continue its pause in attacks
after the Palestinian elections. Maariv and Israel
Radio reported that the IDF will avoid acting in the
territories for three days leading up to and during the
elections (according to the radio, this excludes cases
of "ticking bombs"). Leading media quoted Halutz as
saying Sunday at the Herzliya Conference that there is
likely to be a violent clash between Fatah and Hamas,
should Hamas win the elections. Halutz was also quoted
as saying that Israel must prepare for the possibility
that the elections will result in new violence against
it.

On Sunday, Ha'aretz wrote that Olmert is expected to
reaffirm Israel's commitment to the Roadmap, but not to
call for a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank
during his speech at the Herzliya Conference on
Tuesday. On Sunday, Maariv quoted Mofaz as saying at
the conference Saturday that he would support
unilateral moves if there is no Palestinian partner.

Leading media quoted Likud Chairman MK Binyamin
Netanyahu as saying Sunday at the Herzliya Conference
that he is prepared to make territorial concessions as
part of an interim agreement and final-status agreement
with the Palestinians. Netanyahu called for fortifying
the security zones and completing construction of the
separation fence around the major settlement blocs.

Major media quoted Labor Party Chairman MK Amir Peretz
as saying Sunday at a party convention that he is
willing to withdraw from parts of the West Bank and
east Jerusalem. The media noted that Peretz moved back
from The Labor Party's dovish platform. Yediot quoted
him as saying that he will follow the courses of
Clinton and Blair." At the same time, media quoted
Peretz as saying that Israel would retain united
Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.

The Jerusalem Post's web site and Israel Radio quoted
former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who arrived in the
region to monitor the PA elections, as urging the
Palestinians at the Herzliya Conference this morning to
use every means possible, including "direct military
confrontation," against those in their community who
advocate violence and "despicable" suicide bombings.

Major media cited The Washington Post as saying Sunday
that the U.S. is helping Fatah through USAID-funded
projects in PA-controlled territories.

Ha'aretz and Maariv quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi as saying on Sunday that
Israel would be making a "fatal mistake" by initiating
military action against Iran. His comments came in
response to statements made by Israeli Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz at the Herzliya Conference on Saturday that
"Israel will not be willing to accept nuclear armament
in Iran" and must prepare to defend itself, "with
everything it entails." On Sunday, Yediot quoted a
senior Israeli defense source as saying that Syria is
turning into a vassal state of Iran, as Syrian
President Bashar Assad is entrusted with carrying out
terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, which would
be planned by Iranian intelligence. The newspaper
wrote that the source's remarks are based on classified
intelligence received over the weekend by Israeli
intelligence officials.

On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post quoted National Security
Council head Giora Eiland as saying at the Herzliya
Conference Saturday that Israel is more concerned about
Lebanon than Syria, and worried that Al Qaida will
exploit the weak government there for its benefit.

Maariv quoted Foreign Ministry DG Ron Prosor as saying
at the Herzliya Conference Sunday that Israel is
engaged in secret diplomatic contacts with a number of
Muslim countries, with a view of establishing official
ties in the future.

Over the weekend, the media reported that on Saturday,
a Virginia court sentenced former Pentagon analyst
Larry A. Franklin to 12 years and seven months in jail
for sharing classified information with AIPAC lobbyists
and Israeli diplomat Naor Gilon. He was also fined USD
10,000. On Sunday, Maariv reported that Israeli
officials refused to comment on the affair, and quoted
Israel's Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon as
saying that this was a "domestic matter." Today,
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that major
American Jewish leaders Abe Foxman and Malcolm Hoenlein
expressed their dismay at the sentence. On Sunday, The
Jerusalem Post printed a Jewish Telegraphic Agency
story that in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal,
Jewish groups in the U.S. are closely watching to
restrict lawmakers' lobbyist-sponsored travel, which
could have a devastating impact on Israel trips that
build support for Israel in Congress.
Leading media reported that the Jerusalem District
Court has ordered Hamas to pay 90 million shekels
(around USD 19.5 million) to two families from the West
Bank settlement of Elon More who lost four family
members in a terrorist attack in 2002.

Leading media cited a report published by State
Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on Sunday, according to
which the defense establishment has dragged its feet
unconscionably over protecting towns near the Gaza
border from rocket and mortar attacks in the post-
pullout era.

The Jerusalem Post quoted former Spanish FM Ana Palacio
as saying at the Herzliya Conference Sunday that in the
age of global terrorism, NATO should expand into the
Middle and Asia to include countries such as Japan,
Australia, and Israel.

On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the Dalai
Lama will visit Israel next month. The newspaper wrote
that his visit will focus on the spiritual, rather than
the political. The newspaper noted that his visits to
Israel are controversial because of Israel's close
relationship with the Chinese government.





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1. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[The U.S.
administration] applied to [Mahmoud Abbas] the rule
that any child knows from playing chess: once you make
your move, you cannot take it back."

Independent, left-left leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"Whether the new Palestinian leadership constitutes a
'partner' will depend first and foremost on its
willingness to talk with Israel.... But it will also
depend on Israel's leaders and the strategy they
adopt."

Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in
Ha'aretz: "The partnership with Hamas will make it
clear to Abu Mazen that he is authorized to conduct
negotiations with Israel, of course, but that neither
he nor Fatah has the exclusive right to define the
borders of Palestinian nation consensus."

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz:
"The platforms of the leading parties in both Israel
and the territories are badges of honor for Israeli and
Palestinian public opinion."

Anti-Zionist Baruch Kimmerling, a Professor of
Sociology at the Hebrew University, wrote in Ha'aretz:
"A unilateral and forced determination of borders, even
with the support of the United States, will lead to the
escalation and deepening of the conflict with the
Palestinians."

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


I. "Snake on Your Doorstep"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 23):
"Hamas's running in the elections is an Israeli
diplomatic failure. When Abu Mazen was in Washington
in September, he persuaded Bush and Rice that without
elections he cannot govern. First Hamas will run in
the elections, and then it will become a political
party and disarm, he said. Tzipi Livni traveled to
Washington and raised an outcry. It did not help: the
Americans were fixated on the conception of the
elections. Afterwards, when Abu Mazen was alarmed at
the rise in Hamas's strength and asked to postpone the
elections, the administration told him: it is too late.
It applied to him the rule that any child knows from
playing chess: once you make your move, you cannot take
it back. Most Israelis have despaired of the
Palestinian Authority. Their only interest at present
is in reducing terrorism. From the standpoint of
Kadima, the only party that is currently represented in
the government, there is another interest here, an
electoral interest: a wave of terror on the eve of the
elections could transfer votes to the right-wing
parties. The government, like all our governments,
seeks eternal calm, but it is particularly important
for it to maintain the calm until March 28. Reducing
the scope of terror, even a short-term reduction, is an
important goal. The question is what price Israel is
willing to pay for this in the long term. A poisonous
snake is building its nest on our doorstep. The fact
that it is sated at the moment does not mean that it
will be sated forever."

II. "A Test For Democracy"

Independent, left-left leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(January 23): "The Palestinian public in the
territories and East Jerusalem will decide in another
two days what the new Palestinian leadership will look
like.... It is possible to derive encouragement from
the fact that this time, Hamas and some of the radical
Palestinian organizations have agreed to operate within
the same political framework as the leadership of the
Palestinian Authority -- an institution established on
the basis of the Oslo Accords. This creates a chance
for implementing the principle that Mahmoud Abbas has
advocated, and that Israel supports: one government,
one law, one gun.... Israel can join several states in
both the Middle East and the rest of the world that are
fearful and suspicious of the possibility that the next
Palestinian Authority will include elements that are
defined as terrorist organizations and that do not
recognize Israel's right to exist. But it cannot
ignore the fact that any such new Palestinian
leadership would be the direct result of long years of
occupation, armed struggle and a freeze in the
diplomatic process.... Whether the new Palestinian
leadership constitutes a 'partner' will depend first
and foremost on its willingness to talk with Israel.
As for the substance and quality of this leadership,
this will depend to a great extent on the individuals
who head it. But it will also depend on Israel's
leaders and the strategy they adopt."

III. "Tzipi Livni's Complaint"

Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in
Ha'aretz (January 22): "Alas, 'the elections in the
Palestinian Authority were supposed to be part of the
democratic process, but they are not. There is no
democracy in the world that would allow a terrorist
organization to participate in elections,' cried the
new Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni. There is no basis,
of course, for this emotion. Even the United States
agreed to allow people suspected of terror activity to
participate in its two new 'democracies' -- Iraq and
Afghanistan -- if only in the hope that it might help
the governments in these states win some sort of
legitimacy.... Livni, therefore, can calm down and turn
her attention to several other non-democratic matters
that are happening in the PA areas -- the checkpoints,
the felling of trees, the theft of land. Hamas's
participation in the parliamentary elections is the
least of her worries. She will find alongside Hamas,
in the same parliament, representatives of other terror
organizations, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,
the Fatah Hawks, and perhaps even the Popular Front, as
well as independent activists, including some who have
led armed street gangs and some who have participated
in terror attacks. The participation of these people
is designed to build the legitimate political
infrastructure for Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen),and not
for Ehud Olmert.... This is the political product of
the Intifada: the partnership with Hamas will make it
clear to Abu Mazen that he is authorized to conduct
negotiations with Israel, of course, but that neither
he nor Fatah has the exclusive right to define the
borders of Palestinian nation consensus."

IV. "Public Opinion Is the Torch"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz
(January 23): "The sizable public of Kadima supporters
will thus have a unique opportunity to influence the
government in the coming years. A host of surveys show
that this public, which likes to call itself the
'center,' is actually located in the heart of the left:
a majority of Israelis support resuming negotiations
with the Palestinians on the basis of two states with
the border more or less along the Green Line, a
division of Jerusalem and a solution to the refugee
problem outside the framework of the 'right of return.'
They have cold-shouldered the Zionist leftist parties
and flocked to Kadima not because they have
reservations about a compromise along the lines of the
Clinton outline or the Geneva Initiative, but because
they lack faith in our Palestinian partner. A similar
phenomenon can be observed in our neighbors' public
opinion.... Even Hamas members, who considered signing
the Oslo Accord to be worse than eating pork, cannot
swim against this current, and they are fighting over
every seat in the parliament that was established by
dint of that accord. Hamas, like the Israeli right, is
relying on the other side to do its work and confirm
the claim that 'there is no partner.' The platforms of
the leading parties in both Israel and the territories
are badges of honor for Israeli and Palestinian public
opinion. This public opinion is the torch that
precedes the march, and ultimately, it will force the
politicians to make the right decisions."


V. "The Fence Will Never Be a Border"

Anti-Zionist Baruch Kimmerling, a Professor of
Sociology at the Hebrew University, wrote in Ha'aretz
(January 23): "There is no doubt that a unilateral and
forced determination of borders, even with the support
of the United States, will lead to the escalation and
deepening of the conflict with the Palestinians, will
increase their motivation to fight Israel and will not
contribute to its citizens' security.... [Likewise],
the route of the [separation] fence -- which runs
inside the West Bank, joins about 10 percent of its
territory to Israel, seriously interferes with lives of
nearly half a million Palestinians and cuts up the West
Bank into at least three enclaves -- will never be a
recognized border but will only exacerbate and prolong
the conflict between us and the Palestinians."

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2. Lebanese-Syrian Track:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "This ruthless organization [Hizbullah]
is not just Israel's problem, it symbolizes a status
Lebanon seeks to shed -- that of Syrian satrapy plagued
by marauding militias."
Block Quotes:
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"Disarm Hizbullah"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (January 22): "Hizbullah chief Sheikh
Hassan Nasrallah last Thursday attempted to wash his
hands of Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad, and
announced, while concocting a convoluted plot, that
Arad is dead and responsible for his own demise.
Nevertheless, Nasrallah continues to demand the release
of all Lebanese incarcerated in Israel, some with
heinous terrorist records.... The yarn spun by
Nasrallah a few days ago is a recycled version of one
already peddled 10 years back. It's as fantastic and
patently unbelievable as is much of what was hitherto
relayed to Israel.... Because Nasrallah now claims he
has no information to bargain with, we must be extra
vigilant to make sure he doesn't successfully resort to
more deadly extortion in the aid of the same agenda.
In addition, the international pressure on Lebanon to
disarm Hizbullah and deploy its own army on its
southern border, and on Syria to complete its
withdrawal from Lebanon, should be increased. This
ruthless organization is not just Israel's problem, it
symbolizes a status Lebanon seeks to shed -- that of
Syrian satrapy plagued by marauding militias."

JONES