ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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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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Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Ehud Olmert
confirmed on Tuesday that he would meet with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on February 19.

Israel Radio quoted Olmert as saying on Tuesday that the Iranian
nuclear program can be countered through non-violent means.

Major media reported that on Tuesday Islamic leaders called for a
new wave of violence against Israel over an archeological excavation
at the Mugrabi Gate near the Temple Mount in the Old City of
Jerusalem. Ha'aretz and Hatzofe quoted Jordan's King Abdullah II as
saying on Tuesday that the excavations are a "blatant violation that
is not acceptable under any pretext." The King was quoted as saying
that the activity "will only create an atmosphere that will not at
all help in the success of efforts being undertaken to restore the
peace process."

The media reported that on Tuesday PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud
Abbas and Khaled Mashal, the head of Hamas's political bureau, met
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ahead of their formal meeting in Mecca
today. While The Jerusalem Post dubbed the parley "do or die" talks
on unity, Ha'aretz said that it was beginning "in earnest."

Yediot cited information that reached the GOI that Syria has
transferred state-of-the-art anti-tank rockets to Hizbullah.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Juan Guzman, the Chilean judge who
indicted former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, is in Israel this
week to study the feasibility of international legal action against
Israeli decision-makers responsible for the demolition of
Palestinian homes.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Tuesday, deflecting criticism
for Israel, sources in UNIFIL cast doubt on claims made by the IDF
that it has failed to properly perform its duties after five
explosive devices were planted along the Israeli-Lebanese border in
recent days by Hizbullah.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Bank of Israel Governor Stanley
Fischer is traveling to Germany and Japan this week to raise support
for Israel's bid to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development as a full member. Yediot reported that Israel is
working to have its status of association with the EU upgraded to
one similar to those of Switzerland and Norway.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Tuesday Israel's Chief Ashkenazi
Rabbi and other leading rabbis from around the world signed a
declaration with leading Hindu leaders in New Delhi that denounces
terrorism and violence.

Maariv reported that the Director-General of the Knesset, Avi
Balashnikov, decided to reinforce the Parliament's building with
concrete -- to protect it from Katyusha rocket strikes.

Yediot reported that Malaysia has invited Rami Mandel, the
Director-General of the Co-Op supermarket chain, to a trade
conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Yediot reported that Avishai Gottdiener, the PR and academic
counselor at Israeli Embassy in Beijing, as saying the Chinese
Communications University will sent all its Hebrew-language students
to Israel for a year of studies during the next academic year.

Leading media reported that Poland will invest USD 2 million in a
marketing campaign meant to change Poland's image among Israelis.

All media reported that on Tuesday the cabinet unanimously named Law
Prof. Daniel Friedman justice minister. The Knesset is expected to
approve the nomination today. The media noted that Friedman, an
Israel Prize recipient, is a fierce critic of the judicial system:
In an article in Yediot on Friday, Friedman wrote that Israel was en
route to becoming a police state.

Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday the Adelson family foundation
announced a USD 25-million donation to the "Taglit-birthright
israel" program, which funds free trips to Israel for young Jews
from around the world. The donation, which senior Jewish officials
in New York described as one of the largest given to a Jewish
education program, will finance trips for some 10,000 young adults.
Ha'aretz wrote that on Tuesday Las Vegas-based Sheldon Adelson, one
of the world's richest men, lavished praise on Taglit, saying it
helps preserve the Jewish community against assimilation. Adelson,
who until recently gave relatively little to Israel, has donated USD
54 million in Israel over the last three months, including USD 25
million to Yad Vashem.

All media reported on the death at 71 on Tuesday of conservative
journalist Uri Porat, originally a Yediot newsman, who was media
adviser to former PMs Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir and twice
Director-General of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.

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Mideast:
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Summary:
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The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"Palestinian leaders are merely exploiting the issue [of
construction next to the Temple Mount] for political purposes, in an
attempt to redirect hostility against Israel in the midst of a
bloody internal conflict."

Columnist and former Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Sarid wrote in the
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Were I to believe that this
lame government were capable of conspiring, I would say the Israeli
excavations show that Israel doesn't stand aloof when Palestinian
blood is spilled like water."

Palestinian affairs correspondent Danny Rubinstein wrote in
Ha'aretz: "The Palestinian Authority will have trouble functioning
even under a compromise agreement."

Columnist Hilary Leila Krieger wrote on page one of the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The overblown rhetoric on
the centrality of Palestine -- which has long had real consequences
for Israel and the United States -- is now becoming more than
verbiage for Arab states as well."

Block Quotes:
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I. "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/7):
"Palestinian leaders, whether from Fatah or Hamas, have been keen to
find an excuse to divert attention from their internal problems. So
it is not surprising that many have jumped on Israel's
reconstruction of an access bridge to Jerusalem's Temple Mount. It
was the perfect red-herring issue for Palestinian Authority Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who held a
much-touted 'national unity' summit in Mecca (sic) on Tuesday....
Palestinian leaders are plainly seeking to use this nonevent to
reignite memories of Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in
2000, which was used to catalyze the second Intifada. They
evidently also see a Palestinian interest in a rerun of the violent
clashes of 1996, after a second exit to the Western Wall tunnel was
opened. Palestinians falsely claim the entire project is a
clandestine Israeli plot to dig under and cause damage to the
Al-Aqsa Mosque. Actually, Palestinian leaders are merely exploiting
the issue for political purposes, in an attempt to redirect
hostility against Israel in the midst of a bloody internal conflict.
Such exploitation, so widely endorsed by the Palestinian
leadership, is dismaying, if sadly unsurprising. Cynical appeals
for a renewed Intifada and violent resistance discredit the
purported Palestinian moderates, who are standing
shoulder-to-shoulder with extremists' efforts to whip up hostility.
Such appeals can only cause more bloodshed and despair. Any real
concerns about the salvage and building work should, and patently
could, be handled appropriately and calmly, through open dialogue
and constructive debate."

II. "Sullying the Silence"

Columnist and former Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Sarid wrote in the
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/7): "The Temple Mount is
indeed in our hands, rough though they may be, but that doesn't mean
it's appropriate to act as though others have no stake in that
territory. Were I to believe that this lame government were capable
of conspiring, I would say the Israeli excavations show that Israel
doesn't stand aloof when Palestinian blood is spilled like water.
After all, the Palestinians will now put an end to their violent
internecine clashes and turn their anger -- and perhaps also their
arms -- toward Israel.... Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will show
Benjamin Netanyahu that the Likud leader is not the only one who can
rock the foundations of volatile coexistence... The Israel
Antiquities Authority comes up with many damaging and unnecessary
plans. When I was the minister responsible for deciding on such
plans, I opposed them, even though they all seemed reasonable at the
outset. If the works are not crucial or urgently needed to save
lives, then it's best to steer clear of the compound of
conflagration."

III. "No Democracy on the Horizon"

Palestinian affairs correspondent Danny Rubinstein wrote in Ha'aretz
(2/7): "Despite optimistic forecasts of Fatah and Hamas reaching a
compromise in Mecca, there is no doubt that the Palestinian national
movement is at one of its lowest points in history. This stems from
the fact that the Palestinians, who claim to be a coherent national
entity, are admitting they are incapable of managing their own
affairs, and are compelled to seek outside intervention.... But the
hardest problem of all, which will remain unsolved, is that the
Palestinian Authority will have trouble functioning even under a
compromise agreement. No agreement will bridge all of the
ideological gaps between the parties, and will only slightly assuage
the violent power struggles. In other words, even the best
Fatah-Hamas agreement will not turn Palestinian society into a
Western democracy overnight. A traditional social structure, clan
loyalties and political factionalism all create a need for an
authoritarian leader, like those of the Palestinian Authority's Arab
neighbors. Without a leader like Arafat, society collapses into the
rule of violent gangs."

IV. "US Convinced Shi'ite Threat Pushing Sunnis Toward West"

Columnist Hilary Leila Krieger wrote on page one of the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (2/7): "The argument that
the ascendancy of Shi'ite Iran and its Hizbullah and Hamas allies
has aroused sufficient fear in 'moderate' Sunni regimes to push them
toward America, Israel and a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict has gained considerable traction within the US
administration.... The overblown rhetoric on the centrality of
Palestine -- which has long had real consequences for Israel and the
United States -- is now becoming more than verbiage for Arab states
as well. They too, have to deal with their Frankenstein in the form
of pumped up Islamic extremism."

JONES