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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001466 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iraq 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Last night, Channel 2-TV reported that PM Sharon is 
"enraged" with IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, whom 
he accuses of having caused "enormous" damage and of 
"blatantly intervening in political matters and trying 
to influence ministers."  Ha'aretz reported that 
Sharon's bureau later denied the report.  All media 
cited remarks Ya'alon allegedly made against a 
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip "under fire."  Yediot 
reported that the political Right sides with Ya'alon, 
while the Left claims that he should not discuss the 
disengagement plan. 
 
Maariv (Ben Caspit) reported that top Sharon aide Dov 
Weisglass will leave for Washington only if Sharon 
gives "satisfactory" answers about his disengagement 
plan to the U.S. team arriving on Thursday (Stephen 
Hadley and Elliott Abrams from the White House and 
William Burns from the State Department).  Maariv 
wrote: "Washington is demanding many goods of Sharon in 
exchange for very little."  Leading media reported that 
Shin Bet head Avi Dichter has arrived in Washington to 
meet with senior U.S. intelligence and National 
Security officials.  Yediot quoted him as saying that 
it is doubtful whether the disengagement plan will 
prevent Palestinian terrorism.  Israel Radio's 
Washington correspondent says that the U.S. decision- 
makers view Dichter as an authority on doings in the 
PA, who has no political slant and is not attempting to 
promote or thwart plans by Sharon.  Hatzofe quoted Vice 
PM Ehud Olmert as saying in Berlin Monday, following 
his meeting with German FM Joschka Fischer, that Israel 
is committed to the road map and that, should there be 
a need for them, Israel would take unilateral steps for 
that purpose. 
 
Jerusalem Post led with a statement issued by Hamas 
Monday that it would continue its attacks on Israel 
even after the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, 
in order to "liberate the rest of Palestine."  The 
movement also denied reports that it is planning to 
seize control of the Strip after Israel withdraws. 
Leading media cited Hamas's admission that it had 
carried out the bombing of the Mike's Place pub in Tel 
Aviv in April 2003.  Maariv reported that instructions 
for building Qassam rockets are posted on the Izzedine 
Al Qassam (Hamas military branch) web site. 
 
Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres was quoted as saying 
in various media interviews that Israel's mistake had 
been not to pull out from the Gaza Strip long ago. 
Hatzofe reported that uprooting the Gaza Strip 
settlements would cause economic harm to 30,000 
Palestinians. 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio quoted State Department 
Spokesman Richard Boucher as saying Monday: "We do 
recognize Israel's right to defend itself against 
terrorism -- terrorist attacks, and we always urge 
Israel to consider the consequences of any actions it 
might wish to take.  But we also urge the Israeli 
government to take all appropriate precautions to 
prevent death or injury of innocent civilians or damage 
to civil and humanitarian infrastructure.   At the same 
time, we believe the best way to move forward is for 
the Palestinian Authority to begin by making an effort 
against terror and violence, an effort that's far more 
serious than the one that they have made over the past 
few years." 
 
Ha'aretz reported on the growing discontent of Shinui 
ministers and Knesset members over the government's 
policy.  The latest reason for their disgruntlement is 
that they feel affected, as coalition members, by 
criticism of Sharon's handling of the Elchanan 
Tenenbaum affair. 
 
Maariv reported that Knesset security marked the hard 
hats of Israeli Arab construction workers at the 
Knesset's construction site with X signs.  The 
newspaper says that this is done so that that they can 
clearly be monitored and differentiated from foreign 
workers.  The newspaper cited strong protests by 
Israeli Arab Knesset members. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that highlighting his concern 
with the rise of anti-Semitism worldwide, Secretary of 
State Colin Powell told Jewish leaders from the World 
Jewish Congress (WJC) that he may attend a conference 
on the issue, hosted by the Organization for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) next month in Berlin. 
The newspaper also reported that Powell expressed 
interest in backing an Irish-sponsored resolution that 
unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism, which was 
withdrawn near the end of the UN's annual General 
Assembly session after several Arab and Muslim 
countries voiced their objections to its message. 
Jerusalem Post also reported that Powell told the WJC 
leaders that the U.S. opposes any Iraqi legislation 
excluding Jews or others from restoring their 
citizenship, and that no such discrimination was 
written into the new Iraqi constitution. 
 
Leading media reported that Gen. Tommy Franks, the 
retired head of CENTCOM, is visiting Israel.  Some 
media noted that he came to mark the beginning of the 
joint Israeli-Jordanian Bridging the Rift science 
project in the Arava.  Yediot quoted him at saying 
Monday at a meeting with the top brass of the IDF and 
the defense establishment: "I do not think Iraq will 
turn into a peaceful nation in my lifetime. "  The 
newspaper also quoted him as saying that if the U.S. 
knew the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, he would 
already have been dead.  Jerusalem Post quoted Franks 
as saying that he supports the disengagement plan. 
 
Ha'aretz cited Palestinian claims that Monday two 
Palestinians were killed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip 
and the West Bank.  Leading media reported that 
hundreds of Palestinian villagers, backed up by 
International Solidarity Mission volunteers from 
overseas, clashed with IDF forces protecting the 
bulldozers working on the route of the separation fence 
near Beit Lakiyeh and Beit Daky, not far from the 
settlement of Mevo Horon, northwest of Jerusalem.  Ten 
Palestinians were reportedly wounded and a soldier and 
two of the workers on the fence suffered light wounds. 
Leading media reported that drunken ultra-Orthodox Jews 
attacked Arab cab drivers and Israeli policemen in 
Jerusalem during the Purim holiday Monday. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that at his first meeting with 
Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) Monday, British PM 
Tony Blair urged him to meet with Sharon.  Ha'aretz 
also reported that despite the statements of senior EU 
and British officials, Hamas's political wing has not 
been added to the British and EU lists of proscribed 
international groups. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Monday the right-wing group The 
Temple Mount Faithful petitioned the High Court of 
Justice to order the Israel Antiquities Authority to 
supervise projects taking place on the Temple Mount. 
The supervisors say that the projects, carried out by 
the Waqf Muslim religious trust, are "the continuation 
of the mount's Islamization and the removal of all 
Jewish remnants from it, while destroying and robbing 
everything, in violation of the law, in an essentially 
Jewish place and a cultural cradle to the entire 
world." 
 
Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that next week four 
representatives of the Israeli conscientious objectors 
network will appear before the European Parliament in 
Strasbourg, where they will speak out against the "the 
GOI's double game, presenting itself as the only 
democracy in the Middle East, while "trampling on basic 
democratic values in the occupation, or throwing 
conscientious objectors into jail."  Ha'aretz notes 
that the trip is being sponsored by the United Left, a 
group of leftist parliamentarians from various European 
countries. 
All media reported on the signing of the interim Iraqi 
constitution Monday.  Israel Radio reported that the 
U.S. protested to Syria about the brief detention of an 
American diplomat who was monitoring a human rights 
demonstration on Monday. 
Ha'aretz reported that the Arab League plans to set up 
Pan-Arab institutions: a parliament, a security council 
and a tribunal. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the results of Tel Aviv University's 
Peace Index poll: 
-64 percent of Israeli Jews believe that Israel should 
not take into account the suffering caused to the 
Palestinians by the route of the fence; 17 percent of 
Israeli Arabs hold the same view. 
-70 percent of Israeli Jews support the continuation of 
the assassination policy as a necessary measure to 
reduce acts of terrorism; 4 percent of Israeli Arabs 
have the same view. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote on page one of independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had provided 
greater clarity about his disengagement plan in Gaza 
and Judea and Samaria [i.e. the territories], he might 
have avoided the many critical remarks he's hearing -- 
and not only from the army and the defense 
establishment." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: 
"When it comes to the influence of political 
calculations on foreign policy and especially the 
influence of the Jewish lobby on Middle East policy, 
American presidents in their second and last term are 
very different from what they were as brand new 
presidents." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "Israel's moral, security and 
political resilience is not measured by the balance of 
death and terror in Gaza and Jerusalem." 
 
Nationalist writer Hagai Segal commented in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "It's impossible to imprison 1.2 
million Arabs behind a fence without gates and to tell 
them to live in autarchy." 
 
Veteran journalist Evelyn Gordon wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Only if an individual 
wishes to affirm Israeli sovereignty does foreign 
policy suddenly become sacrosanct.  That, it seems, is 
State's idea of an 'even-handed' approach to the 
conflict." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Generals Prefer Coordination" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote on page one of independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (March 9): "If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had 
provided greater clarity about his disengagement plan 
in Gaza and Judea and Samaria [i.e. the territories], 
he might have avoided the many critical remarks he's 
hearing -- and not only from the army and the defense 
establishment.... The current dispute appears to stem 
from a belief among the general staff, including the 
Chief of Staff and key generals, that Israel should be 
striving for an agreement with the Palestinians 
requiring them to take responsibility in various areas, 
instead of undertaking a unilateral disengagement. 
They think a unilateral move practically guarantees the 
fighting will continue, and the Palestinians will 
regard a unilateral move as their victory, so they will 
go on wanting to fight.  Senior officers say that if 
the government wants the disengagement plan to work, 
there must be prior coordination with the Palestinians 
and others.  But Sharon doesn't want that.  Some are 
even prepared for 'soft' international involvement, 
which Sharon certainly cannot accept.... There is also 
criticism of the way Sharon's unilateral disengagement 
plan basically throws out much of what the army regards 
as the achievements of Operation Defensive Shield.  A 
disengagement without any agreement will turn into 
withdrawal under fire and certain continued conflict." 
 
II.  "Meanwhile, the Only Disengagement Is Bush From 
Sharon" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz 
(March 9): "[Seeing Bush] talking with Sharon about 
giving territory to the Arabs will not please the 
conservatives and evangelist contributors.  The White 
House has told the Prime Minister's Office that no Jew 
will be evacuated from Gaza before the presidential 
election.  That's all Bush needs -- American TV cameras 
showing his Middle East vision being trampled by Arabs 
charging into abandoned settlements, and how his road 
map disappeared behind the smoke of American flags 
going up in flames in what remains of Netzarim [in the 
Gaza Strip].  Apparently, the most convenient way out 
of the problem is to postpone the meeting with Sharon 
until after the elections.  If he wins.  Meanwhile, to 
save the honor of his vision and leave something of the 
road map, Bush has to constrain Sharon, meaning make 
sure the Prime Minister does not turn Gaza First into 
Gaza Last.  The campaign advisers are recommending he 
keep things vague.  After all, how many voters in 
Florida care that Palestinian Finance Minister Salam 
Fayyad left Washington last week with an American 
promise that the withdrawal will also include territory 
in the West Bank?  According to a classified report 
reaching Jerusalem, Fayyad got the promise straight 
from National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and 
Secretary of State Colin Powell.  He convinced them 
 
SIPDIS 
that an Israeli disengagement only from Gaza could 
perpetuate the occupation in the West Bank and 
eliminate any chances for a peace agreement.... When it 
comes to the influence of political calculations on 
foreign policy and especially the influence of the 
Jewish lobby on Middle East policy, American presidents 
in their second and last term are very different from 
what they were as brand new presidents." 
 
III.  "The Routine of Death" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (March 9): "Experience shows 
that operations in the heart of the densely populated 
areas of the Gaza Strip end routinely with the deaths 
of innocent civilians.  Often, the operations are 
indicative of faulty judgment, if not utter 
indifference, in the uppermost political and military 
echelons.  They don't take into account the long-term 
damage when a civilian population is terrorized for the 
sake of the temporary achievement of 'provoking armed 
men into exposing themselves'.... The argument that the 
Palestinians have no compunctions about using children 
as 'human shields' does not absolve the IDF of 
responsibility for their safety.  On the contrary.... 
The time has come for the makers of policy and those 
who implement it to drop the illusion of a military 
solution to the conflict; until a political solution is 
found, they should take care to make wise and 
controlled use of force.  Israel's moral, security and 
political resilience is not measured by the balance of 
death and terror in Gaza and Jerusalem.  The 
preparations for disengagement from parts of Gaza and 
the West Bank must be accompanied by an effort to calm 
the borders with our neighbors and break out of the 
cycle of violence.". 
 
IV.  "Better Stay in Gaza" 
 
Nationalist writer Hagai Segal commented in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (March 9): "Even if Israel evacuated 
[the settlements of] Gush Katif and Netzarim, it would 
have to continue operating [the Erez Crossing], because 
it's impossible to imprison 1.2 million Arabs behind a 
fence without gates and to tell them to live in 
autarchy.... Poverty would quickly develop to African 
proportions.  The entire world would scream ... and 
demand that Israel lift the siege.... Furthermore, 
transferring Gaza from Israeli to Egyptian rule would 
mean changing one occupation for another; even the Left 
would find it morally hard to explain such a move.... 
The Erez Crossing could turn into an escape route for 
refugees, but in an opposite direction [i.e. into 
Israel].  Wouldn't the current situation -- no matter 
how tough it is -- be better?" 
 
¶V.  "Stateless in Jerusalem" 
 
Veteran journalist Evelyn Gordon wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (March 9): "Congress enacted 
an explicit law in 2003 stating that if an American 
citizen is born in Jerusalem, 'the Secretary [of State] 
shall, upon the request of the citizen or the citizen's 
legal guardian, record the place of birth as Israel.' 
Nevertheless, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv refused to 
register [a] baby's birthplace as Israel.... The extent 
of the bias is even more astonishing, however, when one 
considers State's claim, expounded in its response to 
the lawsuit [filed by the baby's parents in an American 
court], that non-recognition of Israeli sovereignty 
over Jerusalem is so central to American policy that 
the 2003 law would constitute an unconstitutional 
infringement on the executive's right to set foreign 
policy unless the court reinterpreted the 'shall' in 
the law to mean 'may' -- thereby allowing State to 
continue refusing to register people born in Jerusalem 
as born in Israel.... Thus State is perfectly willing 
to subordinate American foreign policy to the 
individual's wishes if the goal is to deny Israeli 
sovereignty.  Only if an individual wishes to affirm 
Israeli sovereignty does foreign policy suddenly become 
sacrosanct.  That, it seems, is State's idea of an 
'even-handed' approach to the conflict." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iraq: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Monday, Iraqis showed that Arab democracy need not be 
a contradiction in terms.  The region's future depends 
on the success of Iraq's bold experiment." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Birth of Iraqi Democracy" 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(March 9): "Freedom and independence rarely come 
without a struggle, as Americans and Israelis know. 
The road ahead for Iraqi democracy is a long one and 
the outcome is not guaranteed.  Monday's signing [of 
the interim constitution], however, was undoubtedly an 
historic moment in the history of Iraq, the Middle 
East, and the world.... This is a proud moment for 
Iraqis and for the United States, which made it 
possible.   We should not lose sight of where it is 
taking place.... Bernard Lewis, the eminent scholar of 
the Islamic world, once noted the strange fact that the 
Europeans who oppose American pressure on Arabs to 
democratize are considered the 'friends' of the Arab 
world.  They are not.  They are friends of Arab 
despots, not the silenced millions they rule.  Monday, 
Iraqis showed that Arab democracy need not be a 
contradiction in terms.  The region's future depends on 
the success of Iraq's bold experiment." 
 
KURTZER