ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000379

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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PA Elections: Hamas Victory

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Key stories in the media:
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All media bannered Hamas's overwhelming victory in the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections. Hamas
reaped 76 seats in the PLC, while Fatah gained only 43
seats in the legislature. Major media reported that
Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, is likely to
become the next Palestinian PM. The three major Hebrew
dailies led with Acting PM Ehud Olmert's comment
following a high-level security meeting he held on
Thursday afternoon: "A Hamas-led Palestinian Authority
is no partner." This morning, Israel Radio reported
that Israel has decided to transfer a monthly payment
of social dues to the PA. Ha'aretz reported earlier
that Olmert had decided he would delay the transfer of
the funds. Leading media reported that at the meeting,
cabinet members sharply criticized IDF Intelligence and
the Shin Bet for not having predicted the makeover.
All media reported that Hamas ruled out talks with
Israel and that Fatah declined Hamas's offer to
participate in a Hamas-led government.

Major media reported that during a news conference on
Thursday, President Bush praised the Palestinian
democratic process. The media further quoted him as
addressing Hamas: "But I will continue to remind people
... that if your platform is the destruction of Israel,
it means you're not a partner in peace. And we're
interested in peace." Leading media quoted Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice as saying Thursday via
videoconference to the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland: "We offer our congratulations to President
Abbas and the Palestinian people on an election process
that was peaceful and free of violence." The Secretary
was also quoted as saying that the U.S. has not changed
its position on Hamas. Israel Radio reported that
senior Quartet representatives -- UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, Secretary Rice, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov,
and EU policy chief Javier Solana -- held telephone
consultations on Thursday and that they are slated to
meet in London on Monday. The radio reported that FM
Tzipi Livni talked on the phone with foreign ministers,
including Secretary Rice. The Jerusalem Post reported
that on Thursday, Livni met with EU Mideast envoy Marc
Otte and that Olmert later met with Quartet
representative James Wolfensohn. The Jerusalem Post
reported that on Thursday, former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter, the head of the international monitoring team
of the PLC elections, urged the international community
to fund the new PA government even though it will be
led by an internationally declared terrorist
organization. The Jerusalem Post and other media cited
the EU as saying that Hamas must recognize Israel and
renounce violence if it wants to maintain relations
with Europe.

Ha'aretz quoted Hebron settlers as saying on Thursday
that the IDF plans to declare the Jewish section of
Hebron a closed military area this morning, in
preparation for the evacuation of nine Jewish families
from the city's wholesale market. The newspaper
reported that the settlers, who believe that the
evacuation is slated to take place next week, are
planning a major solidarity conference Tuesday against
the proposed move.

Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday, IDF soldiers shot
dead a nine-year-old Palestinian girl along Israel's
border with the Gaza Strip. This was the second time a
Palestinian child was killed this week.

The media reported that on Thursday, the Knesset's
House Committee formally approved the split in the
Shinui faction. Eleven of the faction's Knesset
members, headed by former party head Yosef (Tommy)
Lapid and his deputy, Avraham Poraz, will from now on
be know as the "Secular Faction." The name "Shinui"
will be kept by the three remaining MKs, Ehud Ratzabi,
Ilan Leibowitz, and Yigal Yasinov.

Expanding on its disclosure on Thursday, Yediot (Ronen
Bergman) wrote that Sudan was the country in which
Osama bin Laden was staying when the Mossad and a unit
of IDF Intelligence planned to assassinate him. The
newspaper said that Israeli intelligence had been
helping investigate an attempted assassination of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia and came
across a group of radicals based in Sudan and led by
bin Laden. The newspaper said that Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak threatened to take military measures
against Sudan when he got wind of who was behind the
assassination attempt, that Sudan subsequently gave in
to the Egyptian threats, and that Iranian intelligence
and bin Laden started relocating the terrorists from
Sudan.

Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday, Professor Klaus
Schwab, the chairman and executive director of the
Davos World Economic Forum, offered a sweeping apology
to all delegates for an article calling for the boycott
of Israel that appeared in Global Agenda, a
"prestigious magazine" issued by the forum. Ha'aretz
reported that some American Jewish leaders attending
the conference said they were not satisfied with the
apology.

Maariv quoted a former official in the Israeli defense
establishment as saying in a research paper written for
Tel Aviv University that 220 Israeli companies are
engaged in selling weapons and military equipment
around the world -- with support from the Defense
Ministry.

All media reported on International Holocaust Memorial
Day, which is commemorated today throughout the world
for the first time.

Ha'aretz quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin
Scalia as saying in a lecture at Tel Aviv University on
Thursday that judges are not experts on policy, and
that they should not make decisions on questions of
values and morality over which the public is divided.

A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll conducted
on Thursday:
-"How should Israel relate to the PA if Hamas controls
its government?" Speak with it: 48 percent; disconnect
from it: 43 percent.
-"How should Israel relate to the PA if Hamas takes
part in the government?" Speak with it: 67 percent;
disconnect from it: 28 percent.

Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling
Institute survey conducted on Thursday:
-"Following Hamas's victory in the elections, and
assuming that it will form the next Palestinian
government, how do you believe Israel should act?"
Announce that Israel is prepared to negotiate with
Hamas, but only after the latter announces that it is
canceling its desire to eliminate Israel: 40 percent;
totally disconnect with the PA, freeze diplomatic
negotiations, and resume assassinations of senior Hamas
members: 29 percent; continue to act as usual and work
to resume negotiations in accordance with the American
Roadmap: 27 percent.
-"Regardless of your personal view, do you believe that
a new disengagement in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West
Bank] -- including an evacuation of settlements -- will
be carried out? Yes: 66 percent; no: 25 percent.

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PA Elections: Hamas Victory:
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Summary:
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Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Israel does
not always have to be dragged after the whims of the
U.S. administration."

Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of
popular, pluralist Maariv: "We are faced with a
Palestinian leadership that, unlike Arafat and his
heirs, does not hide behind a mask."

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"The tendency in Washington is to do as they do in
Lebanon -- maintain contact with the government, but
not with ministers from Hizbullah. All this will
change if Hamas forms the next Palestinian government."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "We should hold the new Palestinian
government to the standard the old one should have been
held to: no fight against terrorism, no money."

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
Ha'aretz: "A clash [between President Bush and]
Congress over the issue [of Hamas] is a definite
possibility."
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "The about-
face we witnessed during the PA elections teaches us
that President Bush's Mideast Roadmap is no longer
relevant."

Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist
Caroline B. Glick wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "The
failure of Israel's leadership is one of the most
significant causes of Hamas's ascension to political
power."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Get Used To Them"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 27):
"The immediate requisite conclusion is disengagement.
The Israeli governments have maintained a love/hate
relationship with the senior members of Fatah. They
fought with them, scorned them, worked with them, made
deals, collected memories, and learned to laugh at the
same jokes. All this is over now. The relations
between Israel and Hamas are saturated with one
ingredient: blood.... One of the most painful
diplomatic errors of Sharon's government was its
conduct vis-a-vis the U.S. administration on the matter
of the [Palestinian] elections. Israel, says a senior
government source, could not oppose the demand of the
U.S. administration to enable the elections to be held.
That may be true. But Israel had to fight for its
demand to exact an entrance fee from Hamas. It did not
pay any price: not a commitment to refrain from terror;
not recognition of Israel nor consent to the road map;
it won the jackpot in the lottery without even buying a
ticket. Israel does not always have to be dragged
after the whims of the U.S. administration. At least
from the standpoint of exporting democracy, the Bush
administration, acts superficially and with poor
judgment. Obeying its dictates has a price.... It is
possible that the upheaval in Palestinian politics will
impact the mood of the Israeli voter. Netanyahu has a
certain opportunity here. But 2006 is not 1996: it is
difficult to envision Hamas dictating the outcome of
the elections here. There may be a certain consolation
in the midst of the harsh feelings. A four-month
election campaign has been forced upon the Israelis.
There is consolation in the fact that the most
important election event -- the most dramatic one -- is
already behind them."

II. "They've Removed the Masks"

Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of
popular, pluralist Maariv (January 27): "As always,
there are people with rose-tinted spectacles, who think
that Hamas will become so moderate that it will become
possible to do business with it. They fondly hope that
Hamas will suppress the prevailing anarchy among the
Palestinians, that Hamas will stop indulging in
terrorism, and that Israel will be willing to talk to
Hamas as a result of all this. This is so naive that
it is stupid. The only consolation that can be gained
from the change is that now there is no doubt about
whom we are dealing with. Now we are faced with a
Palestinian leadership that, unlike Arafat and his
heirs, does not hide behind a mask. It does not pretend
to be seeking law and order. It shows its true face,
warts and all. The government has no choice but to
declare that it cannot conduct any dialogue with a
Palestinian Authority led by Hamas. After this
declaration we can afford to take a deep breath and to
wait and see what happens. What will the Americans do
when Bush and Condi recover from their confusion and
disappointment, what will the Europeans mumble, and
what will emerge about the connection between Hamas and
Iran if the prediction that the Palestinian Authority
will sink into a long and bloody dark age of gang
warfare comes true? Perhaps the less extremist
elements in the Palestinian Authority are capable of
recognizing a near civil-war situation only when it
jumps at them from the ballot box."

III. "Terrorists En Route to Government"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(January 27): "It is not true that the U.S.
administration told Israel that Hamas participation in
a Palestinian government would lead to the cancellation
of the administration's cooperation with that
government. The tendency in Washington is to do as
they do in Lebanon -- maintain contact with the
government, but not with ministers from Hizbullah. All
this will change if Hamas forms the next Palestinian
government. Then the issue will be a matter of
principle, because a Hamas-led government automatically
cancels the road map plan and the Oslo accords --
unless the organization adopts Mahmoud Abbas' approach.
Without such a change, a Hamas government will not be
able to run the PA and maintain the welfare and well-
being of the Palestinian population."

IV. "A Terrorist Regime?"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (January 27): "We should recognize the
Palestinian people's democratic accomplishment, without
accepting their desperate choice of saviors. Indeed,
we should hold the new Palestinian government to the
standard the old one should have been held to: no fight
against terrorism, no money. Since a terrorist
organization -- the very group the PA was required to
disarm -- has become the new regime, this should mean
an immediate cutoff of all financial assistance to the
Palestinian Authority. The temptation will be to give
the new regime a trial period and only then to issue an
ultimatum. That would be a terrible mistake."


V. "A Hamas Headache For Bush"

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
Ha'aretz (January 27): "This is a midterm election year
in the United States, and the remote possibility that
either the Senate or the House will be captured by the
Democrats will play a role in every move that is taken
during the months ahead.... The Democrats will enjoy a
two-fold benefit, with the possibility of assailing
Bush from both the right and the left. From the right,
because he consented to the presence of Hamas in the
Palestinian government and failed in the efforts to
have the organization disarmed. And from the left ...
because his democratization project is creating more
problems than solutions.... A clash with Congress over
this issue is a definite possibility.... The trap of
micromanagement is one in which American policy falls
into time and again."

VI. "The Makeover in the Palestinian Authority"
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (January
27): "The makeover in the PA elections, with Hamas's
victory, has utterly changed Middle Eastern reality.
It suddenly canceled the plans being made in the White
House, on one hand, and in the government compound in
Jerusalem on the other, to advance the peace process
between Israel and the Palestinians.... The question is
whether Jerusalem will coordinate its policy with
Washington, or whether it will follow an independent
diplomatic line.... The about-face we witnessed during
the PA elections teaches us that President Bush's
Mideast Roadmap is no longer relevant. We have moved
away from peace. War clouds have fast come close to
the region."

VII. "The Anatomy of Hamas's Victory"

Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist
Caroline B. Glick wrote in The Jerusalem Post (January
27): "On Thursday we awoke to a new reality: Hamas is
the official leader of the Palestinians Authority and -
- thanks to the U.S. and Israeli governments -- the
official representative of Arab Jerusalemites.... The
failure of Israel's leadership is one of the most
significant causes of Hamas's ascension to political
power, just as the persistence of radical regimes in
Damascus is the result on the inability of the
international community to rise to the challenge they
manifest to international security, so too, the
empowerment of Hamas is the result of the adoption of a
strategy by Israel that is based on how we wish the
world to be rather than on the way the world actually
is. By the same token, Israel's ability to fashion
suitable responses to Hamas's electoral victory is
dependent on its citizens' willingness to choose
leaders capable of accepting the realities we face and
acting accordingly."

JONES