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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 002079 
 
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 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Both Ha'aretz (Hebrew Ed.) and Maariv led with, and all 
media reported on the "Shi'ite Intifada" (Ha'aretz) in 
Iraq.  All media also reported on the confrontation 
with U.S. troops in and around the Sunni city of 
Fallujah.  Like other media, Ha'aretz reported that 130 
Iraqi citizens and 20 coalition soldiers were killed 
over the past two days.  Israel Radio cited President 
Bush's optimism regarding the stabilization of the 
situation in Iraq. 
 
Gaza withdrawal plan: 
-Israel Radio cited reports from Washington that the 
U.S. and Israel have agreed in principle on the 
components of PM Sharon's disengagement plan: Bush 
would support the plan as an interim step until the 
implementation of the road map.  The radio quoted its 
sources in Washington as saying further that the 
agreement was reached last week at the talks between 
Sharon and the three U.S. envoys (Steve Hadley, Elliott 
Abrams and A/S William Burns), and that the points 
still in contention will be resolved before the Bush- 
Sharon meeting next Tuesday.  The station also reported 
that Sharon has started a round of talks with his 
cabinet ministers to discuss his plan before his 
upcoming trip to the U.S.  -- Monday at his farm, he 
met with Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.  Sharon 
will depart Israel next Monday. 
-Yediot reported that "Disengagement is good for 
Israel" will be the slogan leading Sharon's campaign to 
persuade the Likud registered members to support him 
and his plan.  The newspaper reported that his 
opponents in the Likud will launch a campaign that will 
hint that he initiated his plan because of the 
investigations he is going through. 
-Arafat was quoted as saying in an interview with 
Yediot's Ronnie Shaked that Sharon must coordinate the 
withdrawal from Gaza with the PA.  He was quoted as 
saying: "We have received promises from the Quartet and 
the Americans that the withdrawal will be part of the 
road map -- and I hope it indeed will be."  Arafat 
reiterated that he is not afraid of Sharon's threats. 
(Maariv cited the Arab League's call on Israel Tuesday 
not to hurt Arafat.)  Arafat condemned the killing of 
civilians.  The full interview will be printed on 
Friday.  Israel Radio quoted Palestinian FM Nabil 
Shaath as saying that the U.S. has promised economic 
assistance to the PA after Israel's pullout from Gaza. 
The radio quoted former Palestinian PM Abu Mazen as 
saying on Al Jazeera-TV that both Israel and the PA had 
failed him. 
Israel Radio quoted Deputy State Department Spokesman 
¶J. Adam Ereli as saying Tuesday: "Far from being 
welcomed into any partnership or cooperation, Hamas 
should be ostracized and disempowered as an 
organization."  According to the radio, Ereli was 
responding to an interview PA Chairman Yasser Arafat 
gave to the German weekly Focus, in which he hinted 
that he could include Hamas and all Palestinian 
factions in the PA.  Several leading media reported 
that Monday the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam noted 
Arafat's intention.  Jerusalem Post reported that a 
source in Sharon's bureau dismissed the move as a 
desperate bid by Arafat to stay in power. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that a source in Sharon's 
bureau dismissed as "nonsense" a statement made by 
incoming Spanish FM Miguel Moratinos in an interview 
published Tuesday in the British daily Financial Times: 
"Al Qaida will not be defeated until there is a 
peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict." 
 
Ha'aretz, Yediot and Jerusalem Post reported that 
Monday morning IDF troops killed three Palestinians 
near the central Gaza Strip.  The media reported that 
the IDF found and destroyed an eight-meter smuggling 
tunnel at Rafah.  This morning, Israel Radio reported 
that the IDF wounded two Palestinians in the Casbah of 
Nablus. 
 
Several media reported that over the past few days the 
Ayoun River stopped flowing into Israel, possibly under 
orders from Lebanon.  This morning, Israel Radio 
reported that the water was streaming again. 
 
Leading media reported that Iran has pledged to speed 
up cooperation with the IAEA and to stop enriching 
uranium. 
 
All media reported that a Montreal Jewish elementary 
school was firebombed Monday.  The police allegedly 
found anti-Semitic notes at the spot, denouncing recent 
Israeli attacks against Palestinians, including the 
killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.  Monday, Ha'aretz 
devoted its entire Passover supplement to the rise of 
anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli activity in the world. 
The magazine describes the struggle between pro-Israeli 
and pro-Palestinian militants on U.S. campuses. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the results of Tel Aviv University's 
Peace Index, conducted March 28-30: 
-72.5 percent of Israelis believe that Palestinian 
leaders at the level of leadership of organizations 
such as Hamas should be assassinated in the framework 
of the long-term war on terror, while only 21 percent 
believe that such assassinations should be avoided 
because they damage Israel's international image and 
hurt its economic and tourism interests; 6.5 percent 
are undecided 
--79 percent of Israelis says that they did not change 
their daily routine after Yassin's assassination; 20 
percent say they changed it; 1 percent say that they do 
not know. 
-68 percent of Israelis think that the 70 Palestinian 
public figures who called for avoiding revenge over 
Yassin's killing represent only a small, insignificant 
sector on the Palestinian side; a similar number assess 
that the Israelis who condemned the act in the press 
represent only a small, insignificant group; only 10 
percent believe the call by the Palestinian 
intellectuals would have a moderating influence on the 
Palestinian public in general; only 14 percent believe 
the call by the Israeli intellectuals would have a 
moderating influence on the Israeli public in general. 
Only 4 percent believe the call to avoid revenge would 
moderate the reaction of Hamas, and just 12 percent 
believe the condemnation by Israeli public figures and 
intellectuals would moderate the Israeli government's 
policy of targeted killings. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in an 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Those who know the Americans and are 
familiar with Israel's history with them, know that 
they will not agree with Sharon on less than a 
withdrawal to the 1967 borders, with slight revisions." 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"Most critics don't believe Israel has a right to self- 
defense.  Israel, therefore, should in most cases 
ignore the critics." 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "The Israeli boycott of Arafat and the PA has 
opened the door to cooperation between Hamas and the 
Authority.  The day when Hamas joins the PA, however, 
is still far off." 
 
Former editor-in-chief Moshe Ishon wrote in 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "The joint statement ... 
will only be a declarative one on the part of the 
United States.  On the other hand, Sharon will commit 
himself in a practical fashion to withdrawing from the 
Gaza Strip and some West Bank settlements within a 
year." 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Baghdad" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in an 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (April 7): "The situation [in Iraq] reminds 
the Israelis of the first euphoric days of Arik 
Sharon's Lebanon War in 1982, which ended in a whimper, 
after the thunder of exploding bombs.  Some people here 
also remember the descent of the architects of the 
Lebanon War here from the political stage (and Sharon's 
late return).  The chips that fly from the sawing of 
the Iraqi tree reach the Prime Minister's bureau in 
Jerusalem: the president of the U.S., on the eve of 
elections, needs a serious achievement.  In his eyes, 
in the view from the Oval Office, he must not upset the 
Islamic countries too much.  Therefore, there is a 
basis for the conjecture that there is no meaning or 
value to the leaks issuing from Jerusalem saying that 
Sharon's path, in his upcoming visit to the U.S., will 
be easy and comfortable.  According to the whispers 
from Jerusalem, the Americans 'will give everything.' 
The frequent trips of Bureau Chief Dov Weisglass to the 
U.S. do not attest to a broad understanding with 
Washington.  In order to agree, it is sufficient to 
meet once, but differences of opinion and disputes 
require many meetings.  Therefore, those who know the 
Americans and are familiar with Israel's history with 
them, know that they will not agree with Sharon on less 
than a withdrawal to the 1967 borders, with slight 
revisions; they will remain silent as to the 'right of 
return'; and they are expected to reject further 
requests by Sharon.  This is not the time in the eyes 
of Bush and his administration to exacerbate the 
quarrels with the Arab world.  In the parlance of 
sports commentators, 'any other result (for Sharon's 
visit) will come as a great surprise.'" 
 
II.  "Israel Is Not Allowed to Defend Itself" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(April 7): "'Pinpoint prevention' provoked a tsunami of 
complaints, as if this war wasn't a war in which one 
side, the Palestinian side, deliberately strikes at 
civilians -- on buses, in restaurants and malls -- 
filling the explosives belts with large amounts of 
nails to make sure as much damage as possible takes 
place.  That is targeted killing of Israelis.  But in 
the eyes of the critics, the pursuit of terrorists 
appeared to be a criminal act, not hostilities during 
warfare.... And there were complaints against the IDF's 
rules of engagement.  What army in the world has better 
rules of engagement?.... All [armies] could learn from 
the IDF about how to comply with the orders.... Lift 
the blockades and checkpoints, shouted the critics. 
True, the checkpoints harass the innocent, but the 
critics did not take into account that the breaches 
through which the murderers come must be blocked.... 
The criticism is also fed from inside Israel.... 
Presumably if we were to defend ourselves in this war 
of terror by throwing rocks, the world would still 
complain.  Most critics don't believe Israel has a 
right to self-defense.  Israel, therefore, should in 
most cases ignore the critics.  We should be the ones 
to criticize what is happening on our side and around 
us." 
 
III.  "Resistant Hamas Eyes Joint Leadership Role in 
Gaza" 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz (April 7): "Hamas never wanted to join the 
Palestinian Authority because it was set up on the 
basis of the Oslo Accords, which it and the other 
opposition fiercely opposed.... Now, Hamas leaders are 
saying they want to setup a joint national leadership 
body in Gaza after the withdrawal.  These declarations 
give the impression that Hamas is ready to recognize a 
joint leadership body that will constitute an 
alternative to the PA.... The key factor that explains 
the change in the Hamas position is the demise of the 
Oslo Accords.  Moreover, there are no contacts between 
the PA and the Israeli government, and an Israeli 
pullout from Gaza will be conducted unilaterally, 
without any coordination or consultation with the 
Authority.  In other words, the Israeli boycott of 
Arafat and the PA has opened the door to cooperation 
between Hamas and the Authority.  The day when Hamas 
joins the PA, however, is still far off.  In his 
interview with [the German weekly] Focus, Arafat 
praised the moderation, in his words, of Sheikh Ahmed 
Yassin, as opposed to Abdel Aziz Rantisi, his successor 
in Gaza.  Arafat's criticism of Rantisi will not help 
any partnership between them." 
 
IV.  "Washington Will Do What It Has Always Done" 
 
Former editor-in-chief Moshe Ishon wrote in 
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (April 7): "President 
Bush has rejected Sharon's requests regarding the 
indivisibility of Jerusalem; he has declined to publish 
a unequivocal announcement about the future of Jewish 
settlement in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]; he has 
also declined to rule unambiguously against the return 
of 1948 refugees.  The President has reiterated that 
those issues will finally be determined in a peace 
agreement between the sides.  Thus, the joint statement 
that will be issued at the conclusion of Mr. Sharon's 
visit to the U.S. will only be a declarative one on the 
part of the United States.  On the other hand, Sharon 
will commit himself in a practical fashion to 
withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and some West Bank 
settlements within a year, as part of this is 
implemented even before the U.S. elections.  This would 
most likely be the first phase of the evacuation of 
some West Bank settlements." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iraq: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Foreign News Editor Arik Bachar wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "The U.S. Administration has less 
than one year to complete its Iraqi project decisively. 
This requires a significant boosting of the number of 
troops sent to Iraq, but that is an incommensurably 
worthwhile investment." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Just because Iraq's nominal future leadership favors a 
course of moderation doesn't mean that's the course 
Iraq will take.  Moderation is a virtue, but its defect 
is its reluctance to confront extremism with anything 
but moderation.  In Iraq today, this will not do." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "The means 
Israel is using in the face of murderous Palestinian 
terrorism are much more moderate [than the ones 
employed by the Americans and the British in Iraq]." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "You Must Finish What You've Started" 
 
Foreign News Editor Arik Bachar wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (April 7): "Life on our planet is hard 
enough.  Should the Americans leave Iraq and leave it 
as booty for extremists like Sadr, life will become 
unbearable for everybody -- from the New York yuppie to 
the last of the Indonesian villagers.  Bush and his 
staff know this, but they might be ousted from the 
White House in half-a-year; a Democratic administration 
in the U.S. would find a way to leave Iraq as soon as 
possible.  U.S. failure in Iraq would constitute a war 
call for generations of Islamic fanatics, would torment 
the lives of all of us [on earth].  The U.S. 
Administration has less than one year to complete its 
Iraqi project decisively.  This requires a significant 
boosting of the number of troops sent to Iraq, but that 
is an incommensurably worthwhile investment.  For every 
American soldier who is now staying home, America will 
have to send five soldiers in the future to eradicate 
the bad news that might come from Iraq." 
 
II.  "Gloves Off in Iraq" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(April 7): "It is a testament to what the coalition has 
achieved that the principal Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, 
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has called on Sadr to 'stop 
resorting to violence' and to turn away from a "course 
that could destroy the nation.'  But just because 
Iraq's nominal future leadership favors a course of 
moderation doesn't mean that's the course Iraq will 
take.  Moderation is a virtue, but its defect is its 
reluctance to confront extremism with anything but 
moderation.  In Iraq today, this will not do.  It is 
not simply a matter of political or strategic 
necessity, but rather the moral obligation of the 
coalition, to ensure that the monopoly on the use of 
force rests firmly in the hands of legitimately 
constituted authority.  Whatever price ordinary Iraqis 
will pay in the coming weeks to ensure that outcome 
will surely be a small one next to what they'll have to 
face at the hands of an emboldened Sadr, an emboldened 
Iran, and an emboldened Fallujah street.  We trust 
Bremer and Co. know this, too." 
 
III.  "American-British Experience" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (April 7): 
"Let it be clear: the American-British struggle in Iraq 
is absolutely justified.  But the most justified move 
at this time would be to place a mirror in front of the 
American-British troops in Iraq.  The means Israel is 
using in the face of murderous Palestinian terrorism 
are much more moderate.  Only last week did the 
Americans and the British scatter a demonstration in 
Iraq by shooting live fire into the crowd.  For a 
moment we almost shouted: 'Mr. Blair, Mr. Bush, stop 
that cruelty!'" 
 
LEBARON