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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 002376 
 
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 
 
 
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
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Bush-Sharon Meeting 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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In a banner headline and related article summing up the 
Crawford summit, Yediot cites Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon's associates as saying that the prime minister's 
declarations on continued construction in the Maale 
Adumim E1 area may attest to the way the prime minister 
views Israel's moves after the Gaza disengagement:  It 
is most probable that Sharon intends to initiate 
additional disengagement plans from the West Bank and 
evacuations of isolated settlements, they said. 
Sharon, who does not trust Abu-Mazen and the veteran 
Palestinian leaders, said political correspondent 
Shimon Shiffer, may seek to determine another national 
issue,  intending to demarcate the permanent borders of 
the State of Israel.  Kol Israel later quoted from a 
statement released by PM's bureau saying that the PM is 
not planning another unilateral move and that the 
reports to this effect are without any foundation. 
Yediot also reported that Sharon decided to upgrade 
Israel's activities in the matter of Jonathan Pollard, 
sending Ambassador Ayalon to visit him in his prison 
cell.  Shiffer cites "reliable sources" as saying that 
they would not be surprised if Bush should decide to 
pardon Pollard as a gesture toward the Israeli public 
and a signal that the US fully supports the Sharon-led 
historic move of disengagement. 
 
Israel Radio this morning reported that a Fatah 
militant who infiltrated into the Golan Heights from 
Syria was captured by IDF soldiers.  In his 
investigation the militant said he intended to kidnap 
an IDF soldier. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that at the end of the weekly 
discussion held at his office with top defense 
establishment officials regarding preparations for the 
disengagement, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz instructed 
IDF officers yesterday to work on reaching agreements 
with settler leaders on collecting all army-issue 
weapons from settlers in the Gaza Strip and the 
northern West Bank communities slated for evacuation, 
shortly before implementation of the disengagement plan 
begins in late July. 
 
Ha'aretz said a member of Fatah's military wing was 
killed yesterday in Nablus in an exchange of fire with 
a Border Police undercover unit. The Israel Defense 
Forces is preparing for a possible retaliatory strike 
from the organization. 
 
Maariv carries a story on the upcoming visit to Israel 
by Russian President Putin, who is expected to arrive 
on 27 April.  A political source involved in the 
"historic" visit says that although no one knows how 
the decision to visit Israel was made, possibly Putin 
is either trying to avoid criticism in Russia (related 
to former Russian mogul Khodorkovski's verdict), or 
trying to bolster Russia's international standing. 
 
Yediot Aharonot reported that upon Russia's request, 
former GSS officers are training Russian Education 
Ministry security services in school protection in an 
Israel-sponsored course. 
 
Citing US sources, Ha'aretz related that shareholders 
of heavy equipment maker Caterpillar this week rejected 
a proposal that called on the company to examine the 
sale of its bulldozers to Israel due to their use in 
the demolition of Palestinian homes.  This is the 
second attempt by U.S. groups to block machinery sales 
to Israel, the paper said. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported  that Attorney 
General Menachem Mazuz closed the Greek Island case 
against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his son Gilad. 
He instructed State Prosecutor Eran Shendar yesterday 
to remove bribery charges from David Appel's 
indictment.  The charges against Appel were related to 
the Greek Island case, in which Sharon, Industry and 
Trade Minister Ehud Olmert, and former Environment 
Ministry director general Nehama Ronen allegedly 
received bribes. With yesterday's decision, the Sharon 
bribary affair has come to an end. 
 
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Bush-Sharon Meeting: 
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                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Political columnist Caroline B. Glick writes in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post:  "Not only 
has US policy of safeguarding the PA while insisting on 
further Israeli land concessions to the PA made 
terrorism the choice of the Palestinian electorate, but 
Ariel Sharon's decision to go along with the US has 
made him chart a policy course that leads, as he stated 
so well a decade ago, to grave dangers to Israeli 
democracy." 
 
Senior diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote from 
Washington in mass-circulation, independent Yediot 
Aharonot:  "The Israeli-US relations are experiencing 
an unprecedented blooming.... But not everything is 
rosy.  Not everything is good.  A drama is brewing 
behind the scenes.  The defense establishments of both 
countries, so closely tied in cooperation, are being 
ripped apart by a serious and every worsening crisis: 
the Amos Yaron affair." 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶1.  "Bush vs. Democracy" 
 
Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (April 15): 
"As irony would have it, democracy is now the biggest 
threat facing the so-called peace process between the 
Palestinian Authority and Israel.... The thing is, both 
the US and Israel are largely responsible for the 
current political realities in the PA -- where not only 
are all major political parties also terrorist 
organizations, but the relative popularity of each 
party is directly proportional to the volume of terror 
attacks it has carried out.... The overwhelming 
majority of Palestinians believes that it was terrorism 
that forced Sharon to move to withdraw Israeli forces 
from Gaza and northern Samaria.... So there we have it: 
not only has US policy of safeguarding the PA while 
insisting on further Israeli land concessions to the PA 
made terrorism the choice of the Palestinian 
electorate, but Ariel Sharon's decision to go along 
with the US has made him chart a policy course that 
leads, as he stated so well a decade ago, to grave 
dangers to Israeli democracy.... Is the Middle East 
democratizing? Certainly not in our neck of the woods." 
 
¶2.  "When Ariel Met George" 
 
Senior diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote from 
Washington in mass-circulation, independent Yediot 
Aharonot (April 15): "The alliance between the two 
leaders [U.S. President Bush and Israeli PM Sharon] is 
what currently drives the Middle East.  The Americans 
placed their bets on Sharon.  He is the horse they are 
betting on and they will do everything they can to see 
him win.  In this respect, the Texas and Washington 
visits delivered the goods.  Bush's friendship, warmth, 
closeness, and 'how can I help you?' toward Sharon made 
the Israelis melt.... The Israeli-US relations are 
experiencing an unprecedented blooming.... But not 
everything is rosy.  Not everything is good.  A drama 
is brewing behind the scenes.  The defense 
establishments of both countries, so closely tied in 
cooperation, are being ripped apart by a serious and 
every worsening crisis: the Amos Yaron affair." 
CRETZ