ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000903

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. US-Israel Relations

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Key stories in the media:
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The concept of a new disengagement from the West Bank
was headlined in the weekend's media. On Sunday,
Ha'aretz reported that Acting PM Ehud Olmert is
planning to enlist international support for a
unilateral Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West
Bank, if he wins the elections. The newspaper wrote
that Olmert believes that the first objective of the
next government will be to create a supportive
international environment for implementing Israel's
national goals: setting its borders and ensuring a
Jewish majority. Ha'aretz reported that Olmert will
try to persuade the US administration and the players
in the international community that unless Hamas alters
its positions, they must support a unilateral Israeli
move to determine its border in the West Bank.
Ha'aretz reported that Israel would begin to promote
the unilateral initiative only after the Israeli
elections. On Sunday, Yediot reported that former Shin
Bet head Avi Dichter, who may become defense minister
if Kadima wins the Knesset elections, detailed in a
public forum in Holon, near Tel Aviv, on Saturday which
settlements would be evacuated: Yitzhar, Tapuah, Eli,
Nokdim, and Tekoa. According to Dichter, Kiryat Arba
and Ofra would not be evacuated. Ha'aretz, Maariv, and
Israel Radio said that Shimon Peres, number two on
Kadima's Knesset list, criticized Olmert's reported
intentions, saying that Israel should not hasten to
proclaim a new withdrawal. The radio reported that
several Kadima members insist that Israel not abandon
the Roadmap.

The Jerusalem Post quoted the US Embassy Spokesman as
saying that the US position remains unchanged that "all
final-status issues should be agreed to between the
parties." However, The Jerusalem Post quoted American
officials as saying in private that the US would not
oppose Israeli decisions to cede territory that it no
longer felt was strategically necessary to control.
Today, Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli defense
establishment is proposing that Israel withdraw to new
defensive lines in the West Bank, which would include
the Jordan Valley and key points along the central
mountain ridge: Ariel, Ba'al Hatzor, Gush Etzion, and
Jerusalem. The proposed policy also calls for
international border points at the Erez and Karni
crossings. According to Maariv, the Israeli defense
establishment will recommend that the GOI cut off all
contacts with the PA, though Israel would continue to
provide the Palestinians with water and electricity,
but not with fuel. Maariv reported that the defense
establishment raised as an alternative the possibility
that Jordan would be involved in the West Bank -- an
option that had actually disappeared during the
previous decade.

In its lead story, Yediot reported on an almost
complete severance of relations between Jordan and
Israel, as Jordan insists that O/C Central Command Maj.
Gen. Yair Naveh be relieved of duty. Yediot quoted a
senior Jordanian official as saying that the anger in
Amman's royal palace is even greater than following the
1997 assassination attempt on Hamas leader Khaled
Mashal. Yediot reported that Jordan froze security
meetings with Israeli security officials and canceled
meetings with senior Israeli political officials.

Ha'aretz reported that the majority of Israel's defense
establishment officials are skeptical of the compromise
proposal that Russia has presented concerning Iran's
nuclear program. The newspaper reported that the
Chairman of Israel's National Security Council, Giora
Eiland, has recently changed his views on the subject
and now believes that while any Iranian maneuver should
be viewed with skepticism, that does not diminish the
value of the Russian proposal.

All media echoed revelations made by Channel 10-TV
regarding the extensive involvement of previous MK Omri
Sharon in political appointments during the premiership
of his father and Kadima founder, Ariel Sharon.

Leading media quoted Acting PM Ehud Olmert as saying
Sunday during a videoconference with the AIPAC
conference in Washington that Iran constitutes a
serious threat to the entire world and that Israel
cannot curb the Iranian nuclear threat on its own.
Israel Radio and other media quoted the US
Representative to the UN, Ambassador John Bolton, as
saying at the conference that Iran "must be made aware
that if it continues down the path of international
isolation, there will be tangible and painful
consequences." Ha'aretz reported that Bolton told the
AIPAC delegates that the US commitment to Israel was
unshakeable.

On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post cited an AP dispatch
quoting A/S David Welch as saying over the weekend that
Palestinian leaders have returned most of the money the
US donated directly to the PA government and that they
will return the rest when Hamas takes over the
government.

Ha'aretz reported that the central question under
debate among American decision makers regarding this
region is how one continues helping the Palestinian
population without helping the Hamas-controlled PA.
The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as
saying:" It is largely a technical matter, but it is
the main issue right now in talks with the Americans."

The Jerusalem Post reported that the PA Security forces
are investigating whether Iran, Hizbullah, or Al Qaida
are behind the Higher Shi'ite Council, a new Shi'ite
group that has been operating in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip over the past few days. Major media reported
that in a video broadcast Sunday on Al Jazeera-TV,
Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida's number two leader, express
support for Hamas and its refusal to recognize Israel.

Ha'aretz cited a World Bank report due to be published
today, according to which the Rafah crossing agreement,
which was supposed to facilitate the movement of goods
into and out of the Gaza Strip and thereby enable the
rehabilitation of Gaza's economy following the
disengagement, has still not been implemented. The
principal failure, the report reportedly says, is at
the Karni cargo terminal on the border between Israel
and Gaza, through which all of Gaza's imports and
exports must pass.

Leading media reported that Olmert called Russian
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and told him that
the visit of the Hamas delegation to Moscow was
harmful. The media continued to cite contradictory
statements by Hamas leaders. Israel Radio quoted Hamas
leader Khaled Mashal as saying that Hamas's military
branch, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, will continue its
armed struggle. This morning, Israel Radio reported
that the IDF responded with artillery fire to the
firing of Qassam rockets into the western Negev. On
Sunday, Hatzofe cited the Palestinian press agency
Dunia al-Watan as reporting that over the past several
months, Hamas has been working hard to establish the al-
Qassam Brigades as a regular army.

Leading media reported that during Sunday's cabinet
meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz quoted Jordanian
intelligence sources as saying that a suicide attack in
Jordan, planned by a group associated with Al-Qaida,
was recently foiled.

On Sunday, Maariv reported that for the first time, a
team of settlers from the Binyamin Regional Council in
the Samaria region (northern West Bank) is discussing
the possibility of disengaging from Israel after a
further Israeli withdrawal from the territories. Major
media reported that Ehud Olmert has reached an
understanding with the religious group within Kadima
and with Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, who had been a leading
figure in the settler movement.

During the weekend, all media prominently reported that
thousands of people marched through Nazareth on
Saturday afternoon to protest Friday night's incident
during which Haim Habibi, a Jewish man from Jerusalem,
detonated firecrackers in the Basilica of the
Annunciation in an act that his daughter said was
motivated by "economic distress." The media reported
that Israel apologized to the Vatican over the
incident. Leading media reported that on Sunday,
Olmert accused Israeli Muslim leaders of exploiting the
incident for political purposes. During the Intifada,
Habibi and his family sought refuge in Chairman
[President] Yasser Arafat's Muqata'a compound, saying
he was the only one who agreed to help them with their
financial problems.

Yediot reported that the UK has informed Israel that it
is close to finding a solution that will allow IDF
officers to visit Britain without fearing arrest over
war crimes.

Yediot reported that Martin Luther King, III, the son
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wants to visit Israel
to promote a dialogue between Jews and Palestinians.

Ha'aretz reported that officials from the Simon
Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, which is behind the
founding of the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, have
been studying a plan to relocate the Muslim graves that
were uncovered at the planned building site. Under the
plan, the museum would bear the costs of refurbishing
the run-down graveyard and moving the graves to a
nearby Muslim cemetery.

Yediot reported on a new dispute between Israel's
Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon and the Israeli
Foreign Ministry -- this time over a secretary.

Maariv reported that in recent days, a 50-year-old
Israeli was apprehended over suspicions of attempting
to break into the US Embassy Chancery in Tel Aviv and
the Ambassador's Residence in Herzliya.

Erratum: Actual election results in development towns,
as mentioned in the Maariv poll cited in Friday's Media
Reaction report, date from 2003, not from 1993.

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

Summary:
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Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot: "After Hamas's takeover of the Palestinian
government, there is no political point in further
withdrawals or disengagements.... Kadima is
increasingly being perceived as a party that has lost
its way, in a labyrinth of its own making."

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"[Ehud Olmert's] proposal to exchange the Roadmap for a
unilateral plan with international backing is
encouraging, and makes more sense than plans that
aspire to topple Hamas. But so far, the plan he has
proposed is insufficient."

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized: "The Russian invitation to Hamas and the
latter's intransigence underscore the emerging clash
between two distinctly contradictory approaches to the
current situation."

Contributor Michael Shafran wrote in conservative,
Russian-language Vesty: "If the 'Abu Mazen factor' is
neutralized, the Hamas leadership ... will be the only
official PA representatives, which would be extremely
undesirable for them at this juncture."

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


I. "The Kadima Government in a Self-Made Labyrinth"

Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot
Aharonot (March 6): After Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
lost consciousness, Kadima also lost its collective
consciousness as a political party.... In the months
that have elapsed since Sharon's illness it has made a
series of blunders, which have begun to take their
toll. The first blunder was the consent for Hamas to
participate in the elections, before the organization
canceled its anti-Semitic charter, which negates
Israel's existence. A party with a platform such as
Hamas's platform could not take part in an election
campaign in any European country, no matter how
democratic. The second blunder was the multiplicity of
reactions to the election results, with one off-the-
cuff statement following another, contradictory off-the-
cuff statement. The third blunder lay in the excessive
self-confidence. A week after the elections, the
Israeli government stated decisively that it had
succeeded in forming an international anti-Hamas
coalition and that the world, including the Arab world,
would boycott Hamas 'until it recognizes Israel.' All
this, however, did not happen. Within a short time,
Hamas succeeded in making a deep impression on Middle
Eastern diplomacy, and upgraded its status to that of a
respectable partner.... The fourth blunder was the lack
of initiative.... And the latest blunders are being
made now, under the verbal umbrella of new plans for
'unilateral disengagement' in parts of the West Bank.
These are meaningless plans: after Hamas's takeover of
the Palestinian government, there is no political point
in further withdrawals or disengagements, military or
civilian, and they do not serve Israel's interests.
Such disengagements will be interpreted -- and are
already being interpreted -- as a reward for Hamas....
The fog is thickening, and Kadima is increasingly being
perceived as a party that has lost its way, in a
labyrinth of its own making."

II. "Not Good Enough"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (March
6): "The unilateral approach is not unreasonable in the
absence of a Palestinian partner for an agreement, but
anyone who proposes withdrawing to defensible borders,
getting out of the Palestinians' lives, liberating them
from the regime of checkpoints and apartheid in the
territories, and returning most of the settlers to
Israel within its pre-1967 borders must propose a plan
that has geographic and demographic logic -- not a
temporary political compromise that leaves the problem
burning on a steady flame. If Israel believes that
what is best for it is to draw its own borders, with
the support of the international community, it must
aspire to viable ones.... The claim that Kadima has no
platform and no plan, and is no more than a random
collection of people seeking a safe Knesset seat, is
unfair. Ehud Olmert is apparently determined to carry
out another withdrawal. His proposal to exchange the
Roadmap for a unilateral plan with international
backing is encouraging, and makes more sense than plans
that aspire to topple Hamas. But so far, the plan he
has proposed is insufficient."

III. "Engagement Folly"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post
editorialized (March 5): "The Russian invitation to
Hamas and the latter's intransigence underscore the
emerging clash between two distinctly contradictory
approaches to the current situation. One approach --
advocated by the US and Israel and, at least formally
by the Quartet as a whole -- is isolation. Russia,
though a member of the Quartet, surprised the
international community by proposing the other:
engagement.... If the international community gives up
on its demands and accepts Hamas as it is, it will be
giving up on peace.... It is precisely those who
believe in the inherent moderation of the Palestinian
people who should most strongly back a policy of
isolating Hamas.... Even if Hamas had not risen to
power, the policy of refusing to hold Palestinians
accountable had gone bankrupt and had to be changed to
revive any hope for peace. In this context, the rise
of Hamas is actually an opportunity to correct past
mistakes. If the Palestinian people are indeed ready
to abandon terrorism and draw a peaceful border with
Israel -- as their previous choice of Mahmoud Abbas
could be seen to indicate -- forcing Hamas to accept
that policy is to take the Palestinian people's side.
Such an approach may not hold the promise of quick
results, but it is the only one with a chance of
working."

IV. "Hamas Is Standing on Its Own"

Contributor Michael Shafran wrote in conservative,
Russian-language Vesty (March 5): "The threat of PA
Chairman Abu Mazen's ... resignation is Hamas's main
problem. Abu Mazen's remaining in his position until
the new regime is at least partially legitimized ... is
extremely important for [Hamas] as an organization that
hasn't yet formed the cabinet. Should he resign ...
all the international relations of the Palestinians
would be endangered. Performing [international]
relations through the Muqata'a is very convenient. If
the 'Abu Mazen factor' is neutralized, the Hamas
leadership ... will be the only official PA
representatives, which would be extremely undesirable
for them at this juncture. Therefore, [Hamas] reviews
any mediation proposals, including the one made by the
Russian Mufti Council Chairman Ravil Gainutdin, with a
great interest."

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2. US-Israel Relations:
--------------

Summary:
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Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Once a year
[during the AIPAC convention], we can ... say 'thank
you' to the tens of thousands of Americans --
Americans! -- who devote their time and their money to
do what they believe is best. The best possible thing
for Israel."

Block Quotes:
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"Thanking Israel's Powerful Friend"

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 6): "How
fortunate Israel is, that this organization [AIPAC] is
on its side. In a city that understands mainly power,
one can be disgusted by it, be ashamed of it, make
derogatory noises occasionally -- but one cannot make
light of it. The activists of this organization, large
numbers of Jews who really want to be of use, deserve
recognition by Israel. It is true that not every gift
gives pleasure to its recipients -- and it is possible,
and even desirable, to debate AIPAC's goals, its
politics, its policy. One can hope that its leadership
will be replaced, that its direction will change, that
it will become more moderate. Of course, there are
also those who want a change in the opposite direction.
But once a year [during the AIPAC convention], we can
take a time out from all that. To say 'thank you' to
the tens of thousands of Americans -- Americans! -- who
devote their time and their money to do what they
believe is best. The best possible thing for Israel."

JONES