This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 001840 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
In Yediot's lead story, Shimon Shiffer cited 
"undiplomatic" remarks reportedly made by U.S. 
Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer several days ago at a closed 
meeting with Foreign Ministry cadets, that the Israeli 
government will not last beyond the disengagement move. 
(Israel Radio reported that the government would not 
comment on the story.)  Yediot also reported that 
Kurtzer said at the meeting that there is no 
understanding between Israel and the U.S. on the matter 
of Israel retaining settlement blocs.  The newspaper 
also reported that Kurtzer said that the U.S. will not 
wait indefinitely for an agreement between Europe and 
Iran regarding the latter's nuclear program, and that 
the U.S. can be expected to launch ballistic missiles 
in order to destroy Iran's nuclear sites.  Kurtzer 
reportedly addressed the issues of anti-Semitism in 
Egypt and Israel's arms sales to China.  Yediot cited 
Kurtzer's complaint that Israeli officials keep 
repeating the same mantras at each meeting with U.S. 
officials, including "Jerusalem, our eternal and 
indivisible capital."  Speaking on Israel Radio this 
morning, chief Likud "rebel" MK Uzi Landau, who said 
his group had always refuted the GOI's statements on 
settlement blocs, questioned the skills of top Sharon 
aide Dov Weisglass to conduct negotiations with the 
U.S. administration.  The station quoted National Union 
Knesset Member Arieh Eldad as saying that Kurtzer's 
comments reveal Sharon's "scam": Israel is not 
receiving anything in exchange for disengagement. 
 
At noon, Israel Radio broadcast a response by 
Ambassador Kurtzer that the Yediot story "has no 
basis."  Kurtzer reiterated President Bush's view that 
any final status must reflect realities on the ground, 
particularly major Israeli population centers, and the 
U.S. belief that the final borders will not coincide 
with the pre-1967 ones.  The Ambassador was quoted as 
saying that the U.S. expects the current Israeli 
government to function through the end of 2006 when the 
regular elections are scheduled to occur. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Washington sources as saying that 
President Bush, who does not want to cause difficulties 
for PM Sharon before the Knesset vote on the state 
budget, is minimizing his response to the GOI's 
reported plan to build 3,500 housing units in the "E-1 
corridor" near Ma'aleh Adumim.   The station quoted a 
State Department spokesman [J. Adam Ereli] as saying 
Thursday that Assistant Secretary David Welch and 
Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams raised 
the issue with Israeli officials during their visit and 
that they asked for additional information.  The radio 
reported that the Foreign Ministry has informed the 
U.S. administration that the GOI's decision is not 
final. 
Ha'aretz bannered Israel's delaying of the handover of 
security responsibility for Qalqilya.  The newspaper 
says that Israel accuses the PA of not upholding its 
commitments with regard to the towns for which it has 
already assumed responsibility -- Jericho and Tulkarm - 
- as the defense establishment's main gripe is that the 
PA has yet to take action against wanted individuals in 
these towns. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted senior Sharon aides as saying Thursday 
that they may fail to muster a majority for the budget, 
in which case the government will topple and elections 
will have to be held, unless Shinui changes its 
position.  Leading media reported that Shinui party 
chief and parliamentary opposition head Knesset Member 
Yosef (Tommy) Lapid is scheduled to meet with Sharon 
today. 
 
Maariv and other media cited the IDF's concern that Sa- 
Nur, one of four northern West Bank settlements slated 
for evacuation, could turn into a "modern Masada" -- 
the focus of opposition to disengagement. 
 
Maariv reported that PA Minister for Civilian Affairs 
and in charge of disengagement Muhammad Dahlan 
allegedly told U.S. envoys Welch and Abrams: "There is 
no coordination about the disengagement and there is 
nothing to talk about, if we don't succeed in bringing 
a truck full of tomatoes out of Gaza and if the 
Israelis continue to stop lifting restrictions and 
continue to make our lives difficult." 
 
Yediot reported that the Foreign Ministry has learned 
that Dahlan and PA Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat 
met recently with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop 
Scheffer and asked to have the PA be made part of 
NATO's Middle East framework. The meeting took place on 
the fringes of the Madrid conference on terror. 
 
Jerusalem Post noted that despite its generally 
critical tone about Israel, the report commissioned by 
John Dougard, the UN Special Rapporteur on the 
Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian 
Territories, which was presented in Geneva this week, 
praised Israel for its "brave move" in Gaza. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted sources close to the FBI investigation 
of suspicions that Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin 
transferred classified information about U.S. policy on 
Iran to members of the American Israeli Public Affairs 
Committee (AIPAC) as saying that the case could end in 
a plea bargain. 
 
Yediot reported that Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon is 
demanding an investigation into the circumstances in 
which his tenure was not extended.  The newspaper cited 
the contention of his associates that Ya'alon turned 
into an annoyance when he refused to approve the 
promotion of various "recommended officers." 
 
Maariv reported that for the first time, an Israeli 
Arab educator is a potential candidate for a seat on 
Israel's National Security Council. 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio reported that Chad is about to 
resume diplomatic ties with Israel after a 33-year 
hiatus.  Yediot quoted diplomatic sources as saying 
that the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian contacts 
made the warming of relations between the two countries 
possible. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Jewish Agency, which has 
long relied on the annual appeal of United Jewish 
Communities in the U.S., will strike out on its own in 
an independent campaign, due to a significant decrease 
in the willingness of American Jews to donate money to 
the United Jewish Appeal (UJA). 
 
In interviews with Yediot and Jerusalem Post, various 
Jewish Russian emigre "oligarchs" harshly attacked 
Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Leonid Nevzlin 
dubbed Putin a neo-Stalinist. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Sharon's line 
leaves about half the West Bank in Israel's hands. 
This is way below the expectations of the Palestinians, 
the international community and the Israeli left." 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"What do you make of a Palestinian leader [PA President 
Mahmoud Abbas] who absolutely rejects terror and lowers 
incitement in the official media to a minimum, but at 
the same time demonstrates determined stands on all of 
the substantive issues of the permanent-status 
agreement?" 
 
Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The Bush 
Administration, together with the Sharon-Peres 
government, is pushing the view that Sharon's 
withdrawal and expulsion plan ... is aligned with the 
Bush Doctrine [of democratization in the Middle 
East]....  Not only is there no connection between the 
two, but ... there is a glaring contradiction." 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Drawing the Line" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 25): "Sharon 
knows that the moment of truth for determining the 
borders is approaching, and he is trying to establish 
facts that will strengthen the Jewish settlement blocs 
in the West Bank and Jerusalem.  Israel is in a 
building frenzy in the area between the Green Line (pre- 
1967 border) and the route of the separation fence 
under the cover of America turning a blind eye.... How 
will the future borders look?  In a meeting he held 
this week with members of Congress from California, 
Sharon returned to his veteran plan for preserving 
Israeli 'security zones' in the Jordan Valley and 
western Samaria [the part of the northern West Bank 
adjoining the Green Line].... Sharon also acknowledges 
demographic considerations in determining the 
border.... The thought of concessions in the West Bank 
is difficult for Sharon, who from time to time asks his 
aides: 'Can you imagine that there won't be Jews living 
in ...?" (mentioning some West Bank settlement).  And 
the aides reply: 'Yes, we can imagine that.'  Sharon's 
line leaves about half the West Bank in Israel's hands. 
This is way below the expectations of the Palestinians, 
the international community and the Israeli left.... 
But even maintaining Sharon's 'security zones' will 
necessitate evacuation of the settlements from the 
mountain ridge, the pillar of the Israeli settlement 
project in the territories... Alongside this idea, the 
disengagement from Gaza will look like a leisurely 
stroll in the park." 
 
II.  "Analyzing Abu Mazen" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in Ha'aretz 
(March 25): "What do you make of a Palestinian leader 
[PA President Mahmoud Abbas] who absolutely rejects 
terror and lowers incitement in the official media to a 
minimum, but at the same time demonstrates determined 
stands on all of the substantive issues of the 
permanent-status agreement?  The intelligence 
community, and like them the Prime Minister and senior 
cabinet ministers, are having a hard time deciding.  On 
the face of it, the picture is a positive one: terror 
has declined to a minimum, even lower than what was 
achieved in the seven weeks of the cease-fire [in 
summer 2003].... There seems to be solid support in the 
Palestinian public for [Abbas's] agenda -- an end to 
the terror attacks, a return to the negotiating table. 
Conversely, what has the PA really done to counter the 
terror organizations?  To date, barely anything.... The 
most disturbing question has to do with the long term. 
Israel is insisting that there will be no advancing to 
the next stage of the road map if the Palestinians do 
not meet their obligations, including a genuine 
campaign to battle terror (which Israel interprets as 
disarming the terror groups).  In the meantime, this is 
also the official American position, but the longer the 
quiet is maintained, the more this position may be 
eroded.  Abu Mazen can claim that he is doing his part 
in preventing terror and that it is none of Israel's 
business if this is being achieved through peaceful 
means.  At that point, Israel would be subject to 
international pressure to continue making advances in 
the process, without its security demands being met." 
 
III.  "Sharon and the Bush Doctrine" 
 
Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (March 25): 
"The question of how Palestinian statehood fits into 
the Bush Doctrine of democratization has always been a 
nagging one.... Today the Bush Administration, together 
with the Sharon-Peres government, is pushing the view 
that Sharon's withdrawal and expulsion plan for Gaza 
and northern Samaria [the northern West Bank] is 
aligned with the Bush Doctrine.  Among the Palestinians 
and the Israelis, however, it is becoming increasingly 
clear with each passing day that not only is there no 
connection between the two, but that there is a glaring 
contradiction.... Hopefully, once the supporters of 
Israel ... come to accept the fact that Sharon's policy 
involves many risks but provides no opportunities, they 
will not hesitate to disavow it.  And again, hopefully, 
at that point they will demand that the U.S. policy 
toward the Palestinians be bought into line with the 
Bush Doctrine." 
 
KURTZER