ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000486

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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Mideast

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Key stories in the media:
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Leading media cited an interview President Bush granted
Reuters aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville, in
which he vowed that the U.S. will rise to Israel's
defense if needed against Iran, and denounced Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "menacing talk"
against Israel. Bush was quoted as saying: "Israel is
a solid ally of the U.S.; we will rise to Israel's
defense if needed." Asked if he meant he meant the
U.S. would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush
said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel." Israel Radio and
Ha'aretz's web site reported that Israel's Ambassador
to the U.S., Danny Ayalon, praised Bush's statement,
saying that it "proves yet again that the U.S. is a
true friend and ally. We are proud and appreciate the
special relations between the two countries." The
media also quoted President Bush as saying: "In order
for the U.S. to support a Palestinian government run by
Hamas, Hamas must change its party platform and change
its way of thinking and get rid of this armed group, as
well as change its attitude toward Israel." All media
reported that Hamas dismissed the President's call.

Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that in the State of the
Union Address speech he delivered on Tuesday, President
Bush called for a reduction in the United States'
dependence on Middle Eastern oil, defended his
democratization policy in Iraq and the PA, and extended
his hand in peace to the Iranian people.

All media bannered Wednesday's clashes between police
and right-wing activists at the illegal settler outpost
of Amona. All nine houses, the destruction of which
was ordered by the High Court of Justice, were razed at
the end of the operation. More than 200 people were
injured on both sides. The media reported that a 15-
year-old boy is in serious condition. Ha'aretz quoted
Acting PM Ehud Olmert as saying Wednesday evening that
violent protesters in Amona crossed a line and that
"this cannot be accepted" and that the violent
confrontation was planned and organized by the Yesha
Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories in an
attempt to achieve political goals. Interviewed in
various media, leading right-wing politicians and
settlers said that Acting PM Ehud Olmert and his party
Kadima were "putting on a show" ahead of the March 28
elections. Israel Radio reported that senior Labor
Party MK Prof. Yuli Tami wants an investigation into
the Amona violence. Major media reported that right-
wing activists and journalists blasted the Yesha
Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories for
being too moderate. Ha'aretz quoted security sources
as saying Wednesday night that despite the day's
violence, one or two additional outposts are liable to
be evacuated before the elections. Ha'aretz wrote
that several farms in the Nablus area that are slated
for demolition are on the agenda.

Leading media quoted Egyptian FM Ahmed Ali Abu el-Gheit
as saying Wednesday after meeting with his Israeli
counterpart Tzipi Livni in Cairo that the Palestinians
must stop all violence as a precondition for renewing
peace talks with Israel. Ha'aretz noted that this is
the first time that Egypt has made such a demand.
Livni also met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Yediot noted that the Egyptian media lavished words of
praise on Livni -- the "iron and silk lady" according
to Egyptian weekly Al-Mussawar. Major media quoted
Egyptian intelligence chief and number two in the
Egyptian government, Omar Suleiman, as saying Wednesday
that Hamas, whom The Jerusalem Post wrote he
characterized as "very radical people," must promise to
end its violent tactics, recognize Israel, and honor
previous diplomatic agreements made by the Palestinian
Authority. Suleiman was quoted as saying that if Hamas
failed to do them, it will not be able to form the next
Palestinian government. Maariv observed that this was
the first time since the beginning of the Intifada that
Egypt has shown such an attitude toward Hamas.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday, former
PA security chief Muhammad Dahlan warned Hamas against
trying to take control of the PA security forces,
saying that the new cabinet would be subordinate to PA
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO.

Israel Radio reported that three Qassam rockets were
fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip last night and this
morning. The station reported that this morning at a
checkpoint, a female soldier arrested two Palestinian
youths carrying pipe bombs.

Israel Radio reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Richard Jones met with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor
Lieberman on Wednesday.

The Jerusalem Post reported on a petition filed in the
High Court of Justice by the head of the West Bank
council of Bil'in against the route of the separation
barrier, which claims that land was illegally taken
from the villagers. The newspaper also reported that
Tene, a settlement located some 3 km north of the Green
Line, north of Hebron, will be left on the Palestinian
side of the barrier after the High Court of Justice on
Wednesday rejected its petition to change the route to
include it on the "Israeli" side.

Maariv and Israel Radio reported that following talks
former PM Ehud Barak held Wednesday and today, he is
likely to remain in the Labor Party.

Yediot cited a report secretly put together by the
Israeli Institute for Economic and Social Research,
which will be presented to Olmert in order to guide the
next government. The report allegedly says that the
successive Israeli governments have invested USD 63
billion in the West Bank since 1967.

Channel 10-TV and Ha'aretz published the results of a
survey conducted Wednesday night by Prof. Camille Fuchs
of the Amanet Group's Dialogue Institute, which show
that "one month after PM Sharon departed the stage and
a week after Hamas's victory in the Palestinian
elections, Israelis have not changed their voting
intentions". (In brackets: figures from previous poll)
-Kadima would get 43 Knesset seats (44); Labor Party 21
(21); Likud 13 (14); Shas 9 (9); Arab parties 8 (10);
Meretz 4 (3); National Union 6 (5); United Torah
Judaism 6 (5); Yisrael Beiteinu 5 (6); National
Religious Party 3 (3).

A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll conducted
on Wednesday found that 57 percent of Israelis blame
the settlers for the violence at Amona; 16 percent
blame the IDF and police; 10 percent believe that both
sides are equally responsible; 17 percent are
undecided.
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Mideast:
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Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "A
look at the future shows the evacuation from Amona
arousing hope and even creating an obligation that
Israel will indeed continue the process of taking leave
of all of [the] territories."

Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The Israeli
public ... has already announced in the polls that for
its part, Israel can talk to Hamas. After the usual
delay, the politicians will also follow suit."

Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in Yediot
Aharonot's editorial: "As long as [Hamas's] charter
remains valid ... any financial aid to and
international recognition of this movement will result
in ... devastation."

Columnist Daniel Doron, Director of the Israel Center
for Social and Economic Progress, an independent pro-
market, public policy think tank, wrote in
conservative, independent The Jerusalem Post: "Only
Hamas's deadly determination to act on its convictions
may wake us up to reality, a little late, as usual. It
may be a reality drenched, unnecessarily, in lots of
blood."

Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one
of Yediot Aharonot: "The [Israeli] people are gradually
splitting into two: 'them' and 'us.'"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "This disengagement, of one people
into two tribes, is already here. It must be stopped
now."

The Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Amona supporters and
their leaders seem to have been engaged in a dangerous
form of brinkmanship."
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "A normal
public opinion will [not] tolerate abominable acts of
evil perpetrated against true pioneers."

Block Quotes:
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I. Order in the Wild West"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(February 2): "A look at the recent past shows that the
evacuation [of the illegal settler outpost of Amona on
Wednesday] permanently marks the importance of the
disengagement from the Gaza Strip as a historic event
that generates change, that began Israel's separation
from the occupied territories. A look at the future
shows the evacuation from Amona arousing hope and even
creating an obligation that Israel will indeed continue
the process of taking leave of all of these
territories. Regardless of the question of whether
there is or isn't, will be or won't be, a Palestinian
dialogue partner -- and regardless of the justified
yearning for peace in the Middle East, or at least for
a final-status agreement -- Israel must define its
borders for itself, crystallize its sovereignty and
strengthen its democracy. No future agreement with law-
breakers can be consistent with this trend."

II. "There Is Someone Not To Talk To"

Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (February 2):
"'We will not talk to Hamas,' was the united, wall-to-
wall reaction of the Israeli government and its
spokespersons after the Islamic movement won the
Palestinian parliamentary elections.... Which is fine,
until one small question arises: what exactly will we
refrain from talking to it about? And how exactly
will it look, this non-talk? According to the
Palestinian constitution, negotiations with Israel are
in the hands of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. True, a
government and parliament controlled by Hamas could
pose many difficulties, and perhaps even cause Abu
Mazen to throw up his hands in despair and resign. But
if we are already not talking about borders, the right
of return, Jerusalem and the other issues on the
agenda, we will not talk with Abu Mazen nor with Ismail
Haniyeh. On second thought, we have been not talking
to Abu Mazen for over a year, and we will continue not
talking to him at least until May or June, when a new
Israeli government is formed. But now we will have an
excuse: it is not the good Abbas with whom we are
refraining from talking, it is the bad [Hamas leader
Ismail] Haniyeh.... We will talk with Hamas, or with
the officials subject to it -- or else there will be a
disaster in the territories, under our responsibility.
And we will talk to the Palestinians if we want to and
they want to -- no matter what name they go by. The
Israeli public, which understands this despite the
smokescreen of cliches that the politicians hurl at it,
has already announced in the polls that for its part,
Israel can talk to Hamas. After the usual delay, the
politicians will also follow suit."

III. "Khomeini and Castro in the State of Hamas"

Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in Yediot
Aharonot's editorial (February 2): "Hamas's ideology is
well known to the Palestinian public. Hamas's Islamic
Charter was written by the movement's leadership in
August 1988, has been published countless times, and is
quoted frequently by the media and in Palestinian
discourse. It calls for the establishment of an
Islamic state like Khomeini's Iran.... As to foreign
investors, the religious zealotry (a la Ayatollah
Khomeini) and the reactionary socialism (a la Fidel
Castro) of Hamas will send them running from the
Palestinian Authority. And justly so; the economic
performances of the Islamic regimes (in Iran,
Afghanistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia) are negative and
destructive in every possible sense. On top of that is
the fear of renewed terrorism.... As long as that
charter remains valid and constitutes, in its current
form, Hamas's principal founding document, any
financial aid to and international recognition of this
movement will result in three-fold devastation: of the
Palestinian economy, of any chance for dialogue between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority and of the first
buds of liberal democracy in the Middle East."

IV. "Hamas and Economics"
Columnist Daniel Doron, Director of the Israel Center
for Social and Economic Progress, an independent pro-
market, public policy think tank, wrote in
conservative, independent The Jerusalem Post (February
2): "Now that we have helped cause a Hamas victory by
our failure to fight it effectively and by the stupid
hardships we imposed instead on the total population,
especially by increasing its economic misery, we can
only pray that past Oslo conceits that posited that a
terrorist organization would be willing to grant Israel
peace will not be reinvented. Chances are, however,
that they will. Our politicians will choose
procrastination and 'negotiations' rather than fight
Hamas effectively (namely in one fell swoop and not in
dribs and drabs) before it consolidates its power.
Only Hamas's deadly determination to act on its
convictions may wake us up to reality, a little late,
as usual. It may be a reality drenched, unnecessarily,
in lots of blood."


V. "Them and Us"

Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one
of Yediot Aharonot (February 2): "The [Israeli] people
are gradually splitting into two: 'them' and 'us.' The
cracks between the extremist streams among the settlers
and their supporters, and the large Jewish public
within the Green Line, have long since yawned. After
disengagement, the cracks became rifts, and swept more
moderate circles along with them. On Wednesday it was
already a giant gulf, one that it is doubtful whether
it can be bridged. This is a gulf that expresses a
lack of faith in the ability to continue to live
together, to build a common life together. Some of
these people there, beyond the wall, are no longer with
us. This state -- with its rules, its symbols and its
messengers -- is foreign to them. Mentally, they have
already founded the 'State of Judea' for themselves."

VI. "Two Tribes"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (February 2): "The 'golem' that rose
against its maker on Wednesday in Amona was born on the
ruins of Gush Katif. There were no winners or losers
on Wednesday.... The passions that burst out on
Wednesday on the rooftops were bottled up half a year
ago. On the face of it, everyone played the game well.
But this was a dangerous game.... When the dust from
the bulldozers settled, when the blood from the wounds
clotted, when the hose water dried up, we remained with
the fractures. On Wednesday in Amona, these fractures
were very far from one another. This disengagement, of
one people into two tribes, is already here. It must
be stopped now."

VII. "Descent Into Violence"

The Jerusalem Post editorialized (February 2): "Amona
supporters and their leaders seem to have been engaged
in a dangerous form of brinkmanship. Not content with
nonviolent protest, they attempted to calibrate the
level of violence.... Such a descent into violence
should be a source of shame and deep concern to us all.
The scenes of security forces charging the crowd on
horses and swinging batons are difficult to accept,
particularly in contrast with the seeming gentler
approach employed during the evacuation of Gush Katif.
But the use of force by Israeli citizens against
Israeli security personnel is unacceptable. In a
democracy, the government retains, and must always
retain, a monopoly on the use of force."





VIII. "The Settlers' Lives Aren't Worth Anything"

Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (February
2): "The lives of the settlers from Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza [i.e. the territories] were jeopardized.... The
police and their overseers would err if they thought
that a normal public opinion will tolerate abominable
acts of evil perpetrated against true pioneers....
[But] those who petition the High Court of Justice to
obtain relief of their concerns should not complain
when the court, which is well known for being the
leftists' foremost inspiration, doesn't rule according
to their wishes. Those who resort to the High Court of
Justice must obey its orders."

JONES