ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000558

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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. Iran: Nuclear Program


3. Israel-India Relations

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Key stories in the media:
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Citing recent comments by President Bush and Acting PM
Ehud Olmert, Ha'aretz wrote that it has been mutually
agreed that the U.S. will provide a defense umbrella to
shield Israel from any Iranian attack. The newspaper
noted that the President has raised the U.S. commitment
to Israel a notch closer to the defense level it
provides for NATO. Ha'aretz quoted Olmert as saying at
Sunday's cabinet meeting: "The American President's
statement held a very important development -- he said
the U.S. would stand by its ally, also militarily, if
need be, in view if the Iranian threat."

The Jerusalem Post reported that Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice phoned Acting PM Ehud Olmert to
reassure him that the U.S. would stand firm regarding
Hamas, a gesture that the newspaper says is seen as a
sign of political support for his decision to transfer
250 million shekels (around USD 53 million) to the PA.
The Jerusalem Post cited a statement issued by the
Prime Minister's Office, according to which Rice called
to "reiterate the U.S. position on Hamas." The
statement said she emphasized the U.S. was in close
contact with the international community to ensure
"there was no erosion in the international position in
Hamas."

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying in an
interview with Maariv that Israel will determine its
permanent borders within two years, and the Jordan
Valley and the settlement blocs would remain in
Israel's hands.

Israel Radio reported that during her visit to New
York, FM Tzipi Livni will discuss Iran's nuclear
program and developments in the PA with the
representatives to the UN from the five permanent UN
Security Council member countries. The station quoted
Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon as saying
that the Iranian issue is the gravest problem posed to
the free world since World War II.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Quartet envoy James
Wolfensohn is scheduled to go to the Persian Gulf later
this week to raise funds for the financially strapped
PA, amid some concerns in Western capitals that if the
money is not raised, Iran may step in and fund the PA
to get a strong foothold in the Gaza Strip.

Major media reported that two high-ranking Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades operatives were killed Monday night
after missiles fired from IAF fighter jets in Gaza City
struck their car. It was the third targeted killing in
Gaza in three days. The Brigades vowed to avenge its
activists' deaths. Israel Radio reported that the IAF
struck a bridge and access roads in the northern Gaza
Strip. This morning, Israel Radio reported that two
IDF soldiers were wounded in Nablus. The station
reported that Ahmed Radad, the commander of Islamic
Jihad in the city, was killed in the clash. The
Jerusalem Post reported that, assuming that violence
will prevail after the new Palestinian government is
formed, the Israeli defense establishment is examining
options for the day after. All media reported that
members of a Hebron Hamas cell responsible for the
murders of six Israelis in shooting attacks in 2005
were arrested last month by security forces.

All media echoed a revelation made public by Channel 10-
TV last night: the station played back remarks made by
Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin more than a month ago.
Diskin said: "The political echelon can do whatever it
wants, but from a security standpoint I am opposed to
transferring additional land to the Palestinians." His
comments sparked controversy. Diskin was also quoted
as saying that Jewish terrorists are a cancer in
Israel's body.

Ha'aretz, Maariv, and The Jerusalem Post reported that
in the report Peace Now made public on Monday -- a
summary of settlements and settler outposts for 2005 --
Peace Now announced on Monday that 12,000 people
(according to The Jerusalem Post's report, at least
7,000) joined the existing settlers during 2005, even
as 9,000 settlers were removed from the Gaza Strip and
the northern West Bank. The report says that permanent
construction is being carried out in 33 of the 103
outposts in the West Bank.

Col. (res.) Danny Tirza and Defense Ministry
spokeswoman Rachel Naidek Ashkenazi were quoted as
saying in interviews with The Jerusalem Post that by
the end of March, the security fence will represent a
"continuous obstacle" to terrorists as the segments
that roughly follow the Green Line will be nearly
finished, even as the total barrier remains about half
completed. Israel Radio quoted GOI sources in
Jerusalem as warning that the legal problems regarding
the completion of the fence in many spots, especially
surrounding Jerusalem, must be solved as soon as
possible. The sources were quoted as saying that in
some areas, notably in the southern West Bank
settlements of Tekoa and Nokdim, Jews object to the
construction of the fence, saying that they prefer to
wait until Israel's official borders are finalized.

Yediot reported that the Defense Ministry has granted
two Palestinians who were killed by members of the "New
Jewish Underground" the status of "victims of hostile
action." Their families will receive hundreds of
thousands of shekels in compensation.

The media (Hatzofe's banner) reported that on Monday,
Bentzi Lieberman, chair of the Yesha Council of Jewish
Settlements in the Territories, complained to Internal
Security Minister Gideon Ezra that policemen sexually
harassed female protesters during the evacuation of the
Amona outpost. The media reported on the ongoing
request by right-wing circles for an official
investigative commission into police behavior at Amona.

Maariv and Israel Radio reported that on Monday, Iran's
biggest newspaper, Hamshahri, announced a cartoon
contest on the Holocaust, apparently in retaliation to
the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoon
controversy. Major media reported that the interfaith
group Kedem condemned the Israeli media's reprinting of
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

Leading media reported that the Labor Party is now
focusing its election campaign on Olmert's alleged
corruption and that Kadima started a campaign against
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday. Maariv
quoted Meretz-Yahad party chairman Yossi Beilin as
saying that Meretz would join Kadima in a government
coalition even without the Labor Party. Israel Radio
quoted outgoing Shinui party leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid
as saying during a news conference this morning that he
would not run for a seat in the next Knesset and that
he would support Shinui's splinter party, MK Avraham
Poraz's new Secular Zionist Party. Yediot reported
that on Monday, former Israeli Consul-General in New
York Alon Pinkas joined former national security
advisor Uzi Dayan's party Tafnit. Pinkas had won a low
spot on the Labor Party's Knesset list.

Ha'aretz reported that on Monday, construction was
suspended on the Simon Wiesenthal Center-affiliated
Museum of Tolerance being built over a Muslim cemetery
in Jerusalem, while the authorities ascertain whether a
ruling Sunday by the court of Islamic law banning
construction near the graves is legally binding.

Ha'aretz published the results of Tel Aviv University's
Peace Index, conducted January 30-February 1.
-"Is Hamas's victory an existential threat for Israel?"
Among Jewish public - Yes: 55 percent; no: 38 percent;
7 percent were undecided.
-"Do you support the creation of a Palestinian state?"
Among Jewish public, after Hamas's election victory:
Support: 55 percent; object: 40 percent; 5 percent were
undecided. Among Jewish public, before Hamas's
election victory: Support: 67 percent; object: 27
percent; 6 percent were undecided.

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1. Mideast:
--------------

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

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Ever since Hamas
snatched away from him the title of champion of no
partners, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority has
turned into a distinguished citizen of Jerusalem."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "Declarations aside, Israel is acting as
if it wishes to save the PA from collapse even if Hamas
is the force behind it."

Senior columnist Dan Margalit addressed the
disengagement opponents in popular, pluralist Maariv:
"What is the difference between the Roadmap ... and
Netanyahu's 'iron wall'? The only difference is over
quantity.... Don't miss this opportunity."

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


I. "Presenting the New Darling -- Abu Mazen"

Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (February 7): "Ever
since Hamas snatched away from him the title of
champion of no partners, the Chairman of the
Palestinian Authority has turned into a distinguished
citizen of Jerusalem.... Up until a week ago, Israel
only had a stick for its neighbors. They, in turn,
hung a Hamas flag on it. Now, it suddenly turns that
Israel also knows how to hold out the carrot. If you
want Abu Mazen -- you'll eat. If you want Hamas -- you
won't eat. Democracy is one thing and cooperation is
something else.... 'Democracy on the defensive,' key
words in the joint Egyptian-Israeli policy, is very
familiar to America ever since September 2001. The
defensive posture will be maintained primarily by going
on the offensive.... Israel, in coordination with Egypt
and the United States, will assault Hamas with a slew
of conditions: recognition of the state of Israel's
right to exist, of UN Resolution 242, of the Oslo
Accords and of course, immediately dropping the armed
Intifada. If Hamas accepts even one of these
conditions, it will have to change its name to Salaam
Now. In the worst case scenario, the debate over these
conditions will increase the tension between the
extremist circles and the moderates even more and
perhaps even lead to a big bang: unification of the
Fatah hawks and Hamas doves."

II. "Hamas's Problem"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (February 7): "[Acting Prime Minister
Ehud] Olmert's declared policy of refusing to engage
with or support a PA dominated by an unreconstructed
Hamas, and urging the world to do the same, is exactly
correct. This policy does hold the hope of finally
ending international support for an international
regime that is deeply implicated in and responsible for
terrorism against Israel. It even holds the much
slimmer hope of forcing Hamas to renounce its own
ideology. But now Olmert is undermining his own
declared policy of isolation with his also declared
policy of preemptive engagement with and funding of the
coming Hamas-dominated regime. How can we expect the
international community not to fall for a PA with Abbas
kept on as a figurehead if Israel is already justifying
and exemplifying such a policy? Declarations aside,
Israel is acting as if it wishes to save the PA from
collapse even if Hamas is the force behind it. The
specter, if it is one, of the PA's collapse should be
Hamas's problem, not ours. It is Hamas, and not
Israel, that should have to grapple with the changes
necessary to avert such a crisis."


III. "Shalom, Orange Brothers"

Senior columnist Dan Margalit addressed the
disengagement opponents in popular, pluralist Maariv
(February 7): "You know that an overwhelming majority,
among yourselves as well, will vote for parties that
express some sort of willingness to withdraw in Judea
and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]. There is no
essential-qualitative difference in the plans spanning
from Binyamin Netanyahu to Dr. Yossi Beilin, and this
includes, from the Right and Left, Avigdor Lieberman,
Ehud Olmert, and Amir Peretz. Lieberman's land and
population swap can even be supported by the
signatories of the Geneva agreement. What is the
difference between the Roadmap, with its hint of
another unilateral withdrawal, as implied by Ehud
Olmert at the Herzliya Conference, and Netanyahu's
'iron wall'? The only difference is over quantity.
Over how much land and sand to concede.... What has
changed? Why will you be able to support what you
rejected until now? Because Hamas's rise to power
provides Israel with a chance of obtaining American and
European consent for Israel to determine a border line
on a route that expands the separation fence without
any foreseeable time limit.... What will you receive
in exchange? A great deal. The bulk of the nation
will be behind you; perhaps you will even have the left
wing's support; some expansion of the settlement blocs;
and yes, and this is the heart of the matter, the
debate on dividing Jerusalem will become redundant....
Put aside your anger. It is a bad adviser. This is
the propitious moment. It is liable to pass. Don't
miss this opportunity. Let us restore the glory of the
past. The parties from the Right and Left will
follow."

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2. Iran: Nuclear Program:
--------------

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

Avner Cohen, author of "Israel and the Bomb" and "The
Last Taboo," a senior researcher at the University of
Maryland, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"The need to deal with the Iranian nuclear capability
strengthens the notion that the time has come for the
state of Israel to find intelligent ways to clean up
its nuclear status."




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

"Time to Come Clean on the Bomb"

Avner Cohen, author of "Israel and the Bomb" and "The
Last Taboo," a senior researcher at the University of
Maryland, wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(February 7): "Every time the subject of the Iranian
nuclear issue comes up in international forums ...
there is someone who raises the issue of the
exceptional Israeli nuclear issue.... Even in the
United States there are those who argue that only if
Israel is brought into the Iranian equation in some way
is there a chance of preventing Iran from developing
nuclear weapons. And indeed, the U.S. has made
possible the introduction of a connection in this
spirit, though softer and diluted, into the IAEA
decision of this weekend, which also included a mention
of the commitment to establish a zone free of weapons
of mass destruction in the Middle East. The attempt to
put Israel and Iran on the same level, or even to
create a concrete political connection between them, is
ignorant, unfair and biased.... [In any case,] the need
to deal with the Iranian nuclear capability strengthens
the notion that the time has come for the state of
Israel to find intelligent ways to clean up its nuclear
status, at home and abroad.... Perhaps a fresh prime
minister, who is open to innovative thinking, will be
able to deal with the complex challenge of formulating
a more transparent and democratic Israeli nuclear
policy appropriate to the 21st century."

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3. Israel-India Relations:
--------------

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


P. R. Kumaraswamy, who teaches Israeli politics at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "For
political, economic and security reasons, India needs
to maintain close ties with Iran, as well as with
Israel and the U.S. While the latter two are
complementary, relations with Iran place India in a
fix."

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

"Squaring a Triangle?"


P. R. Kumaraswamy, who teaches Israeli politics at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (February 7):
"By voting with the majority at the IAEA and endorsing
the decision to refer the question of Iran's suspected
nuclear program to the UN Security Council, India has
opened a new chapter in its foreign policy....
[However,] for political, economic and religious as
well as energy considerations, political parties in
India have demanded and worked toward closer ties with
Teheran.... The potential of Iran emerging as the
principal source of India's energy demands and a long-
term supplier of gas added a true strategic
dimension.... Despite the vote, India is unlikely to
abandon Iran. It has strong interest in maintaining
and strengthening its ties with Teheran. Unlike China
and Russia, its leverage vis-a-vis Tehran is relatively
limited. For instance, there are indications that Iran
is demanding a higher price for an already concluded
gas deal. In short, for political, economic and
security reasons, India needs to maintain close ties
with Iran, as well as with Israel and the U.S. While
the latter two are complementary, relations with Iran
place India in a fix. That is why India's Iran policy
is one of the most serious challenges facing foreign
policy decision makers in New Delhi."

JONES