ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 003548 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 CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 JERUSALEM ALSO ICD LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL PARIS ALSO FOR POL ROME FOR MFO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. Paris Donor's Conference ¶2. Gaza -------------- Key Stories in the Media: -------------- All media reported that eleven Palestinians were killed since Monday night in four aerial strikes of IAF among them nine Islamic Jihad activists. One of the dead is a senior Islamic Jihad military commander. Islamic Jihad militants vowed revenge in Israel both by launching Qassam rockets towards Israel and by sending suicide bombers in country. All media reported that the Palestinians raised USD 7.4 billion at the Paris donor's conference on Monday. Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. former marine general James Jones arrived Monday night in Israel for his first visit to the region since Secretary Rice nominated him as her Special Envoy. All media reported that U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday that he supported Russian shipments of nuclear fuel to Iran for civilian power, saying they proved that Teheran has no need to enrich uranium The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is sending video tapes to senior US congressmen and Senators showing Egyptian policemen assisting Palestinian terrorist along the Egypt-Gaza border. The Jerusalem Post quoted government officials as saying that Israel does not have "smoking gun" intelligence that will cause the U.S. to reassess its NIE report regarding Iran. All media reported that the Knesset has approved a law allowing the police to establish a huge database or search engine based on citizens' phone numbers as well as other communication data. The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. has recently experimented an Israeli-made assault rifle ahead of a decision of whether to purchase the new weapon. Ha'aretz reported a that Yesh Din, a human rights organization has released information it got from the IDF indicating that since the second Intifadah broke in 2000, 1091 cases against IDF soldiers suspected of criminal activity against Palestinians and their property were initiated. Out of these cases only 118 indictments were submitted. -------------- ¶1. Paris Donor's Conference: -------------- Summary: -------------- Military correspondent Roni Shaked wrote in the mass circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Perhaps the money will satisfy the greed and corruption of the high-ranking officials, but it will not buy peace." The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "If Israel's security and a blooming Palestinian economy do not contradict each other, as Livni maintains, she must take immediate action to lift the roadblocks that infringe on the Palestinian economy." The Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The billions of dollars in aid pledged yesterday [to the Palestinians in the donor's conference] is supposed to demonstrate support for Palestinian leaders.... But if Europe continues to drag its feet in sharply curtailing its trade with Iran ... then no amount of aid will save the Arab-Israeli peace process from drowning in an increasingly radicalized region." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "The Money Will not Buy Peace" Military correspondent Roni Shaked wrote in the mass circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (12/18): "The billions of dollars [raised in the donors' conference in Paris] will be enough to pay the salaries of the inflated Palestinian bureaucracy, will allow the security organizations to buy new cars and camps and even finance several infrastructure-development projects. Perhaps the money will satisfy the greed and corruption of the high-ranking officials, but it will not buy peace. The billions will not be invested in rehabilitating refugee camps and education for co-existence and peace, nor will it contribute even a little toward the removal of one settlement or even one roadblock. While the money will serve Fatah, mainly its major operatives, it is very doubtful whether it can contribute to the revival of the movement, which needs leadership and a new spirit.... The donations may have temporary positive implications: the money is meant to strengthen Abu Mazen and his government, and it is likely that we will gain a certain period of relative calm. But once the Palestinians realize that money does not buy a state, this could lead to a new conflagration, a third Intifada with more destruction and ruin." II. "Roadblocks Counter Funding" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (12/18): "It is agreed by all that the Palestinian government cannot continue as the main provider for the Palestinian labor force. It requires an acceleration in the public and private sectors in order to lift this heavy burden off its shoulders. But it cannot act alone. The World Bank report released on the eve of the international donor conference in Paris states that even if the Palestinian Authority receives all the funds it aspires to, unless restrictions imposed by Israel are lifted, economic growth may be negative.... This is so because the road blocks, whose numbers only increase, and other trade restrictions imposed by Israel, do not allow the private sector to flourish and an atmosphere is created where foreign investment is discouraged. These are not false claims that Fayyad is trying to disseminate, but the words of the World Bank, which lays direct blame on Israel's policy. The Foreign Minister is not entitled to ignore the warning included in this report. Even more so after Israel promised, on a number of occasions, to lift a large number of the road blocks, and significantly ease Palestinian movement between parts of the West Bank. If Israel's security and a blooming Palestinian economy do not contradict each other, as Livni maintains, she must take immediate action to lift the roadblocks that infringe on the Palestinian economy." III. "Stop Trade with Iran" The Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (12/18): "The billions of dollars in aid pledged yesterday [to the Palestinians in the donor's conference] is supposed to demonstrate support for Palestinian leaders who have pledged to institute governmental reforms, fight terrorism and negotiate peace with Israel. But if Europe continues to drag its feet in sharply curtailing its trade with Iran -- which constitutes 40 percent of Iran's foreign business but only 1% of Europe's -- then no amount of aid will save the Arab-Israeli peace process from drowning in an increasingly radicalized region." -------------- ¶2. Gaza: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In any major operation, you know how you will enter, but not how or when you will leave, and how much blood will be shed. We already had one Vietnam, in the First Lebanon War. We do not need a second Vietnam in Gaza." Palestinian correspondent Amit Cohen wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "It would not be exaggerated to say that Harazin's counterparts in Hamas are sleeping soundly.... All Hamas' fatalities in recent months have been from the rank and file. The senior echelons -- military and political -- have not been touched. This fact is quite astonishing, because in the past year Hamas has uncovered its military arm almost entirely." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "A Vietnam Called Gaza" Senior columnist Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (12/18): "Even now, when public demand for sending the army into Gaza is growing, this option is not as simple as it seems. It is impossible to launch a war in a densely populated area, with narrow alleys housing thousands of women and children, without the support of international public opinion. And we cannot muster such support when we have suffered a single kidnapped soldier and 18 fatalities in six years. Yet the more time passes with thousands of people living unprotected and in constant fear in Sderot, the greater the demand becomes for a massive military incursion into Gaza.... For now, both Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi are putting their feet on the brakes of the 'the big invasion' option.... In any major operation, you know how you will enter, but not how or when you will leave, and how much blood will be shed. We already had one Vietnam, in the First Lebanon War. We do not need a second Vietnam in Gaza." II. "Hamas Activists are Sleeping Quietly" Palestinian correspondent Amit Cohen wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (12/18): "In recent months ... the impression has been conveyed that the war conducted against Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip has not been waged to the same extent against the Hamas leadership. It would not be exaggerated to say that Harazin's counterparts in Hamas are sleeping soundly.... All Hamas' fatalities in recent months have been from the rank and file. The senior echelons -- military and political -- have not been touched. This fact is quite astonishing, because in the past year Hamas has uncovered its military arm almost entirely.... No longer are we talking about five or six people on the wanted list, hiding among thousands of civilians. Instead it is a military organization, which ought to provide Israel with a wealth of targets to attack. Therefore the question that has to be asked is -- why is the IDF not dealing with this infrastructure." JONES