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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 002119 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media highlighted the situation in Iraq.  (Maariv's 
banner: "America in Trouble"; banners in Yediot and 
Hatzofe evoke the "Iraqi quagmire.")  At least 150 
Iraqis and 40 Americans were killed in Wednesday's 
fighting.  Jerusalem Post quoted leaders of Moqtada al- 
Sadr's Shi'ite militia in Baghdad as saying Wednesday 
that Palestinian fedayeen fighters have joined the 
ranks of the rebel Mahdi Army.  Ha'aretz and Jerusalem 
Post reported on anti-American demonstrations in the 
territories. 
 
Yediot and Globes led with what Israel could get in 
exchange from the U.S. for its disengagement plan: both 
newspapers reported that the U.S. Administration is 
considering granting Israel billions of USD to develop 
the Negev and to fight terrorism.  Yediot cited up-to- 
date GOI assessments that the disengagement plan could 
cost 4 to 5 billion shekels (around USD 900 million to 
1.1 billion).  Jerusalem Post and other media reported 
that Wednesday British PM Tony Blair became the first 
European leader to clearly back PM Sharon's 
disengagement plan.  Reporting that Blair called 
Sharon, Jerusalem Post wrote that a British diplomatic 
official confirmed that the conversation took place, 
but that he would not reveal any details. 
 
Ha'aretz reported (lead story in its English Ed.) that 
the Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad leaderships in Gaza 
have prepared a still non-binding draft "National Plan" 
that "emphasizes the right to use violence to oppose 
the occupation and the settlements, while avoiding 
turning civilians from either side into targets for 
attack." 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Wednesday the PA rejected 
a U.S. warning against integrating Hamas and Islamic 
Jihad into its political structure, saying that 
Washington has no right to interfere in its internal 
affairs.  Ha'aretz reported that militant Palestinian 
groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, 
will resume discussions on the Gaza Strip Saturday. 
The newspaper notes that interest in this meeting has 
been heightened by Hamas's agreement in principle to 
join the PLO and the PA. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that five terrorist attacks took 
place in the first quarter of 2004, in a descending 
curve since 40 attacks occurred in the first quarter of 
¶2002.  The newspaper says that Hamas is still looking 
for a flaw in the security system to perpetrate what it 
regards as a suitable act of retribution for the 
killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.  Jerusalem Post quoted 
Brig. Gen. (res.) Dani Arditi, Sharon's adviser on 
counterterrorism, as saying that Israelis are becoming 
too complacent about security and that they are 
ignoring warnings to steer clear of dangerous sites. 
Ha'aretz reported that Sunday a Palestinian youth from 
the Balata refugee camp on the West Bank died of wounds 
sustained during clashes with IDF troops the day 
earlier.  The newspaper also reported that Wednesday 
two Israeli and some 20 Palestinian demonstrators were 
moderately injured in clashes with IDF soldiers during 
protests against the construction of the separation 
fence at Biddu village, northwest of Jerusalem.  Israel 
Radio reported that the police have arrested 10 young 
members of an extremist branch of Bratzlav ultra- 
Orthodox for attacking and beating up Arabs in 
Jerusalem over the recent period. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the GOI has approved a new, 
tougher, directive for the monitoring of nuclear, 
biological and chemical materials, which follows 
guidelines used in Western countries. 
 
Yediot cited Thai government warnings of possible 
attacks of tourist sites by Muslim extremists.  The 
newspaper cited a GOI travel advisory for Thailand. 
Yediot and other media reported that last week an 
extremist Muslim group, the "European-Arab League," 
warned that organizations such as Hamas could attack 
the Jewish community of Antwerp, Belgium, if it does 
not denounce Israel's policy. 
 
Over the past few days, the media cited claims by Roman 
Catholic Church officials that Israel has delayed 
granting visas to dozens of Roman Catholic clergy. 
Leading media noted that Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah 
called it an issue of survival for the church in the 
Holy Land. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Defense Ministry is 
investigating a complaint that a company called Globus 
Aviation Ltd. was involved in a transaction in which 
surplus IDF helicopters ended up in Columbia, where 
they could have fallen into the hands of criminal 
elements. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Not since the 
Balfour Declaration has there been a document that has 
raised so many expectations as the one President George 
Bush is supposed to give Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon.... One should not take the Bush letter too 
seriously." 
 
Liberal columnist Yehuda Litani wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Both the 
Israeli establishment and the Palestinian establishment 
are adamantly opposed to the activity [of Palestinian 
moderates]." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The [Tunis] 
summit collapsed because the Arab world has changed in 
the past decade beyond recognition." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Balfour to Bush, Vietnam to Israel" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (April 8): "Not 
since the Balfour Declaration has there been a document 
that has raised so many expectations as the one 
President George Bush is supposed to give Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon, detailing American quid pro quos 
for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and four isolated 
settlements in the northern West Bank.... On his way to 
his meeting with Bush in Washington, Sharon ought to 
read 'The Palace File,' which documents how the U.S. 
abandoned its closest ally in Asia, South Vietnam, 
where so many tens of thousands of American servicemen 
died fighting for its independence.... There are many 
worlds of difference between South Vietnam and Israel. 
Israel has never asked America to fight for it and die 
for it.  But despite the differences in the 
circumstances, it is difficult to ignore the historical 
lesson: political promises are meant to solve urgent 
political problems and are always only good for the 
moment they are made.  Don't regard them as a 
'political insurance policy'.... So why entrap the 
Americans into articles of an agreement that will never 
be formed?  It is doubtful that a Democratic 
administration would honor the Bush letter.... For all 
those reasons, it is evident that one should not take 
the Bush letter too seriously.  Its importance will 
evaporate with the closing of the Likud referendum 
poll, when the disengagement plan is brought to the 
government for its approval." 
 
II.  "Moderates Crushed Between Hammer and Anvil" 
 
Liberal columnist Yehuda Litani wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 8): "If 
Prof. Sari Nusseibeh had a private army, the Al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigades would not dare threaten him.... Caught 
between a rock and a hard place, the Palestinians who 
support dialogue are not even capable of making a faint 
sound.  They still remember the lynching that was 
nearly staged against Palestinian activists who 
participated in the signing ceremony of the Geneva 
Accord, and narrowly escaped this fate upon returning 
to Gaza.  If some of their brothers view them as 
traitors, many Israelis believe that they are a 
'gimmick,' that there is no difference between them and 
the extremist Palestinians; their goal is the same, 
Israel's destruction, and only their tactics are 
different.  Both the Israeli establishment and the 
Palestinian establishment are adamantly opposed to 
their activity.  In our bloody ethnic conflict, as in 
other similar conflicts from India to Ireland, the only 
question is: Are you with us or against us?  White or 
black.  Shades of gray fade, dissipate and at times are 
even wiped out." 
 
III.  "A Different Middle East is Forming Before Our 
Very Eyes" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (April 8): "The 
[Tunis] summit collapsed because the Arab world has 
changed in the past decade beyond recognition.... A 
different Middle East is forming before our very eyes: 
countries and groups that once were dominant and 
deciding forces have become marginal, while the former 
members of the periphery have become the center.  These 
changes are of immense strategic importance.  Neither 
Egypt nor Syria lead the entire Arab world in their 
footsteps any longer, as we assumed to be the case just 
a decade or two ago.  Perhaps on the contrary.  Perhaps 
ties with the 'peripheral' states will ultimately 
prompt Syria or Egypt to truly reconcile themselves to 
reality.  Moreover, the Palestinians, Egypt and Syria 
have lost their veto power over Israel's ties in the 
region.  As a consequence, the price Israel will be 
forced to pay for ties with the Arabs has changed as 
well.... That does not mean that Israel needs to adopt 
a condescending and reckless Middle Eastern policy and 
to heedlessly exploit the Arab confusion.... The Arab 
dissolution should also spark sober Israeli thinking. 
Among themselves, they are incapable of reaching mutual 
trust; no Arab country has normal, intrigue-less 
relations with any other Arab country.  Is it even 
remotely likely that they will forge romantic peace 
relations based on reconciliation, recognition and 
coexistence with Israel, the ultimate enemy?  Thus, the 
collapse of the Arab summit is also a lesson for us not 
about what is to be desired in the Middle East, but 
about what exists and what is possible in the Middle 
East." 
--------- 
¶2.  Iraq: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Veteran op-ed writer Yaron London opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "The Americans will eventually leave Iraq, 
whether they win the battle or lose it, but we will 
continue to live in the same neighborhood as our 
victims.  The perpetual proximity compels us to adhere 
to different rules of behavior than those the American 
passers-by can allow themselves." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "That kind of 
reaction [by the Iraqi Governing Council] should make 
clear to the Americans just how powerful an Iraqi 
government they'll need to hand over responsibility to 
at the end of June." 
 
Hebrew University Professor of Political Science and 
former Foreign Ministry director-general Shlomo Avineri 
wrote in Yediot Aharonot: "Should three states arise 
[in Iraq] there could be a chance for stability of some 
kind." 
 
Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "Bush still has one last political trump card 
in his pocket -- that of a war president.  Continued 
deterioration of the situation in Iraq and the 
dispatching of additional troops overseas would cost 
Bush not only his last cards, but also his position." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Why Is It Permitted For the Americans?" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer Yaron London opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (April 8): "Malicious joy is not a laudable 
emotion, but it is easy to understand the anger over 
the fact that giants are judged by forgiving standards, 
while midgets are subject to stringent standards.  The 
American giant is not afraid to call the punitive 
operation in Fallujah by the name of 'revenge,' while 
we would never admit this motive, which originates in a 
boiling heart and paralyzed brain.  Indeed, they are 
permitted what we are barred from doing.   And what is 
the lesson?  We will ignore the moral issues and 
concentrate on the practical questions: the Americans 
will eventually leave Iraq, whether they win the battle 
or lose it, but we will continue to live in the same 
neighborhood as our victims.  The perpetual proximity 
compels us to adhere to different rules of behavior 
than those the American passers-by can allow 
themselves." 
 
II.  "A War Waged For Prestige in Iraq" 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (April 8): 
"[Fallujah]'s 300,000 residents have been under curfew 
for three days and under cover of that curfew American 
forces are going house to house to find the terrorists 
responsible for the lynching of four Americans and the 
mutilation of their bodies.  Finding those responsible 
has became a matter of prestige for the American armed 
forces, who could yet turn the campaign in Fallujah 
into one of those watershed moments that characterize 
many wars, when a city or site becomes a symbol.... 
Meanwhile, the impotence of the Iraqi Governing Council 
is patently evident.   It has been unable to calm the 
situation and a few council members are making do with 
calls for a probe of the activities of the American 
forces, and at least two council members have 
threatened to resign.  That kind of reaction should 
make clear to the Americans just how powerful an Iraqi 
government they'll need to hand over responsibility to 
at the end of June." 
 
III.  "Iraq: Mission Impossible" 
 
Hebrew University Professor of Political Science and 
former Foreign Ministry director-general Shlomo Avineri 
wrote in Yediot Aharonot (April 8): "The current 
increasing hardships endured by the Americans in Iraq 
are evidence of the hopelessness of the attempt to 
establish democracy in a society that utterly lacks the 
foundations needed for that purpose.... During the last 
decade the Kurds have enjoyed a de-facto autonomy 
sponsored by the U.S.  They have established a regime 
that performs in an impressive fashion.  It is doubtful 
whether they would agree to find themselves again under 
an Arab regime.... The current violence in Iraq is 
indeed directed at the Americans and their allies, but 
this is in fact a domestic civil war symbolizing the 
end of Sunni hegemony in Iraq.  In such a situation, 
something can be learned from the example of 
Yugoslavia.... It won't be easy to convince the 
international community -- the U.S. in a first stage -- 
that it will be very hard to reestablish a united Iraq, 
the original British dream of 'Mesopotamia.'  Should 
three states arise -- a Kurdish one in the north, an 
Arab-Sunni one in the center and an Arab-Shi'ite one in 
the south -- there could be a chance for stability of 
some kind.  If this doesn't happen, what would be 
awaiting Iraq would be what characterized Yugoslavia in 
the '90s.  That lesson had better be learned." 
 
IV.  "Cracks in Bush's Armor" 
 
Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist 
Maariv (April 8): "A quick glance at the years of 
George Bush's presidency over the largest superpower in 
the world doesn't reveal a success story.... The 
American nation was ready to fight Iraqi terrorism -- 
but only to a point.  This week's events, which revived 
memories from Vietnam that have for a long time 
reverberated under the surface anyway, were the last 
thing that the U.S. Administration needed seven months 
before the elections.... Despite his expected contest 
with John Kerry ... President Bush will be the man who 
will determine the results in November.  As of now, his 
situation is far from being assured.  But Bush still 
has one last political trump card in his pocket -- that 
of a war president.  Continued deterioration of the 
situation in Iraq and the dispatching of additional 
troops overseas would cost Bush not only his last 
cards, but also his position." 
 
LEBARON