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 002200 
 
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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Sharon Visit April 14 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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The joint White House press conference of President 
Bush and PM Sharon at the White House Wednesday, and 
the subsequent exchange of letters between them, 
dominate the media.  Bush endorsed Sharon's 
disengagement plan, calling it "brave and courageous." 
Yediot bannered a comment by Sharon: "This is a 
commitment, the likes of which we never received from 
America."  Israel Radio quoted Israel's Ambassador to 
the U.S. as saying that this is a tremendous diplomatic 
achievement that will bring hope to the peace process, 
and that it represents a hint that the PA should 
renounce support for terrorism.  The radio reported 
that Sharon's flight home was delayed by three hours 
following his demand to see the final version of Bush's 
letter, and that the State Department tried to tone 
down its contents until the last moment. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that Bush's letter 
states that Israel will not return to the 1949 
armistice lines and that Palestinian refugees will not 
return to Israel.  Some commentators wondered about the 
meaning of the term "rather than" in Bush's remark at 
the press conference, which called for "the 
establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling 
of Palestinian refugees there, rather than Israel." The 
media also reported that, in his letter, Bush said "new 
realities on the ground" -- meaning concentrations of 
Jewish settlers in the territories -- would have to be 
taken in consideration.  Israel Radio quoted a senior 
member of Sharon's delegation as saying that a document 
appended to Bush's letter says that details about the 
fence route around Ariel will be clarified.  Sharon's 
letter states: "According to this [the disengagement] 
plan, the State of Israel intends to relocate military 
installations and all Israeli villages and towns in the 
Gaza Strip, as well as other military installations and 
a small number of villages in Samaria [the northern 
West Bank].  In his letter, Sharon also pledges to 
limit the growth of settlements, remove unauthorized 
outposts and allow freedom of movement for 
"Palestinians not engaged in terrorism." 
 
Leading media reported that Sharon declined to meet 
with Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry. 
Israel Radio noted that Sharon gave a tight schedule as 
the reason for his refusal. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Sharon will convene his 
cabinet upon his return from Washington.  The media 
reported that mainstream Likud cabinet ministers such 
as Ehud Olmert and Tzippi Livni welcomed the U.S.- 
Israeli understandings.  Israel Radio noted that 
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu greeted the 
achievements reached at Wednesday's meeting, but has 
reservations about the U.S. position on the route of 
the fence.  The radio noted that FM Silvan Shalom has 
not expressed himself in the matter, and quoted 
Minister Uzi Landau as saying that he is calling on the 
Likud to thwart Sharon's plan, commitments by former 
U.S. presidents have not been kept.  Landau 
specifically mentioned Ronald Reagan's pledge that 
Saudi fighter planes would not be stationed near 
Israel's border.  Yediot quoted settler leader Shaul 
Goldstein as saying: "Bush's statements about beginning 
to evacuate settlements are very dangerous.  He didn't 
even mention keeping settlement blocs."  IDF Radio 
reported that former PM Ehud Barak has called on Sharon 
to finish building the separation fence quickly as part 
of an emergency program before the withdrawal from Gaza 
and the removal of settlements from the West Bank. 
Barak called upon the Labor Party to provide, under 
certain circumstances, a safety net to Sharon against 
right-wing opposition, but also criticized him for 
proposing the disengagement plan only now.  Yahad party 
leader and Geneva Accord co-initiator Yossi Beilin told 
Israel Radio that he fears that Sharon's plan could 
mark the end of Sharon's concessions. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) published a Letter to the Editor 
by Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer, who 
endorses "every evacuation of land in the occupied 
territories," along with the Geneva Accord. 
Oppenheimer writes that Peace Now is convinced that its 
position will not cause a conflict inside the peace 
camp. 
 
Leading media quoted PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, 
Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) and other 
Palestinian officials as saying that the understandings 
between the U.S. and Israel signify the end of the 
peace process.  Qurei said that Bush is the first U.S. 
president to recognize settlements.  The media quoted 
Geneva Accord co-initiator and former PA minister 
Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying that the road map has been 
replaced by Sharon's plan. 
 
This morning, Israel Radio reported that the Irish EU 
presidency responded to the Bush-Sharon meeting by 
saying that any plan to allow Israel to hold onto 
territory captured in 1967 must be with the consent of 
the Palestinians. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning Al Jazeera-TV 
and Al Arabiya-TV released an audiotape purportedly 
from Osama bin Laden, threatening to exact revenge on 
Israel for the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that two weeks ago the IDF arrested a 
16-year-old Palestinian who admitted to having been a 
"talent scout" for Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades would-be 
suicide bombers. 
Leading media reported that Wednesday twelve people 
were wounded in clashes between Border Police and 
protesters demonstrating against the fence at Biddu 
village, west of Jerusalem.  The media also reported 
that two youths were wounded in clashes between 
settlers and security forces at the site of the Hazon 
David outpost between Kiryat Arba and Hebron. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited a poll conducted among 
Palestinians by the Gaza-based General Institute for 
Information: 
-94.1 percent of Palestinians believe there is a state 
of lawlessness and chaos in PA-controlled territories. 
-Only 29.2 percent of the respondents blame the Israeli 
occupation for the failure of the PA to enforce law and 
order; 25 percent believe that the PA leadership is 
responsible for the anarchy because it has lost control 
over the situation; 19.1 percent blame the absence of a 
proper judicial system; 16 percent say that the problem 
is the existence of centers of power within the PA; 25 
percent say the PA security forces are responsible for 
the deterioration. 
 
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Sharon Visit April 14: 
---------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote from Washington on 
page one of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Wednesday, President Bush gave Sharon 
winning cards in his campaign for the registered Likud 
members, and what Bush did not give, the negative, if 
not hysterical, reaction in the Arab world and the 
Palestinian Authority will." 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"Israel would do well not to ignore Bush's words. The 
American leader again promised the Palestinians a 
viable state, and a state cannot be viable when it is 
made up of patches of territory." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv: "We must not miss the 
fact that Bush is embracing Sharon, adopting 
disengagement, going with it and describing it as a 
courageous and daring historical step." 
 
Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote on 
page one of Maariv: "Bush's declaration sounded so pro- 
Israel that no one in Ramallah or Gaza will dare to 
stand in the suicide bombers' way." 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Just because Bush and Sharon have written a new script 
for the Palestinians doesn't mean they will follow it." 
 
 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of Yediot Aharonot: 
"Bush justly referred to Sharon's decision to withdraw 
as a 'historic decision'; indeed it is historic, and a 
majority of the Israeli people supports it.  As to the 
national-diplomatic achievement of Sharon's visit to 
Bush, things are far more equivocal." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"It is a measure of how far Israel's diplomatic 
position has fallen that yesterday's exchange of 
letters between George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon should 
be considered a signal victory." 
 
Columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist, 
Orthodox Hatzofe: "For 36 years the United States has 
advocated an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and 
Gaza [the territories].  Contrary to Sharon's request, 
Bush made no real commitment Wednesday about the final 
status arrangement." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Bush Has Already Voted" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote from Washington on 
page one of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot 
(April 15): "Wednesday, President Bush gave Sharon 
winning cards in his campaign for the registered Likud 
members, and what Bush did not give, the negative, if 
not hysterical, reaction in the Arab world and the 
Palestinian Authority will.  Bush gave Sharon words, 
just words, but what words.  Sharon is right when he 
says that Israel has not received words like those 
since the establishment of the State of Israel -- and 
certainly not since 1967.... With all the festive talk 
about the road map and about its stated goal -- the 
establishment of a Palestinian state -- both the Bush 
administration and Sharon have moved further away from 
the vision of a Palestinian state.  Until now the 
Palestinians have had a government without a state. 
Now they are being offered a state without a 
government.  There probably isn't anything like that in 
the world.... Sharon has urged people [Israelis] not to 
rush out and dance in the streets.  The President's 
letter is no Balfour Declaration.  With that having 
been said, after his meeting with Bush, he acted like 
someone who has already won the campaign." 
II.  "Double-Edge Bush" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(April 15): "Whoever tries to present U.S. President 
George Bush's statements as the second Balfour 
Declaration in terms of their importance to Israel, is 
getting carried away.  The most significant achievement 
was the emphasis placed on the fact that a solution for 
the Palestinian refugees will be outside the borders of 
the Jewish state, as Israel has long demanded.  In 
other words, if the right of return' exists, it will be 
realized inside a future Palestinian state, and not 
inside Israel, which Bush again defined as a Jewish 
state.  On the territorial front, however, the 
achievement is only partial, and Israel would do well 
not to ignore Bush's words. The American leader again 
promised the Palestinians a viable state, and a state 
cannot be viable when it is made up of patches of 
territory." 
 
III.  "Presidential Embrace" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv (April 15): "Wednesday, 
Sharon got his hug, and his candy too.  It is 
reasonable to assume that he will rise in the polls 
that are really important, the [Likud] party members' 
polls.... What is great about Bush's statements 
Wednesday is that they can be interpreted in any 
direction.  Here, there and everywhere.  Nonetheless, 
we must not miss the fact that Bush is embracing 
Sharon, adopting disengagement, going with it and 
describing it as a courageous and daring historical 
step.  Bush is telling members of the Likud: 'You need 
to support Sharon on his own merits.  Who am I to 
defend him?  But do not forget: a "no" to Sharon is 
also a "no" to America.'  And America is not in a 
situation where it is willing to hear one more no. 
Certainly not from us." 
 
 
 
 
IV.  "He Got It" 
 
Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote on 
page one of Maariv (April 15): "As of last night, 
Sharon was the big winner.  If the Likud referendum 
were to be held today he would receive the full 
dividend.  But nothing is final yet.  Europe will rebel 
against America.  The Arab world will not acquiesce. 
The crescendo of Bush and Sharon is so deafeningly loud 
that Abu Ala will not be able to praise the unilateral 
withdrawal as he had planned.  If these developments 
lead to a resumption of Palestinian terror in full 
force -- because Bush's declaration sounded so pro- 
Israel that no one in Ramallah or Gaza will dare to 
stand in the suicide bombers' way -- the achievement 
could turn into a Pyrrhic victory.  Too much success at 
a heavy price necessarily carries the seeds of failure. 
But not last night.  As of now the celebrations are at 
their height.  A great achievement for Sharon, with 
question marks nearby." 
 
¶V.  "Rewriting the Script" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz 
(April 15): "Sharon exploited Bush's current political 
weakness, but paid back the president with public 
praise for his leadership in the war against terrorism 
and a refusal to meet with Bush's rival, Democratic 
front-runner John Kerry.  Bush paid Sharon back with an 
almost transparent call on Likud rank and file to vote 
in favor of the plan.  The Palestinians -- who weren't 
invited to the party -- will pay the price of the 
strengthened friendship between Bush and Sharon. 
Sharon heard the harsh reactions of the Palestinians as 
proof of Sharon's argument that the disengagement is a 
blow to the Palestinians and good for Israel.  But just 
because Bush and Sharon have written a new script for 
the Palestinians doesn't mean they will follow it." 
 
VI.  "Loves a Lot, Gives a Little" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of Yediot Aharonot 
(April 15): "Bush justly referred to Sharon's decision 
to withdraw as a 'historic decision'; indeed it is 
historic, and a majority of the Israeli people supports 
it.  As to the national-diplomatic achievement of 
Sharon's visit to Bush, things are far more equivocal. 
First of all, Bush of the spring of 2004 is not Bush of 
the spring of 2003... Bush's statements have a hollow 
ring to them.  To what extent did Bush accede to 
Sharon's requests?  Taking a superficial view, the 
Israeli prime minister received everything he wanted. 
A closer look finds that this 'everything' is merely a 
small addition to the traditional American 
positions.... Some people have compared Bush's 
statement to the Balfour Declaration.  That is a 
perverse comparison.  Israel today is not in the 
situation of the Zionist movement in 1917.  Eighty- 
seven years ago the Jewish people did not have a state; 
it lived in foreign countries and needed the graces of 
the great powers for everything it wanted, and 
particularly for the realization of its national 
aspirations.... And another difference: President Bush 
today does not have an imperial mandate over the Land 
of Israel and Palestine, and cannot divide its land. 
At the very most he can make his suggestions and hope 
that they are accepted.... [Nonetheless], Sharon 
sponsored a significant political initiative and reaped 
significant public relations fruits.  The Palestinians, 
as usual, did not have the sense to offer anything but 
more terror and, therefore, lost." 
 
VII.  "Forward to Square One" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(April 15): "It is a measure of how far Israel's 
diplomatic position has fallen that yesterday's 
exchange of letters between George W. Bush and Ariel 
Sharon should be considered a signal victory.... What 
Sharon and Bush have done is to return to pre-Camp 
David assumptions, thereby partly undoing the 
diplomatic damage wrought by the Barak-Clinton run at a 
final-status agreement and the terror offensive that 
followed.  The Bush statement that the U.S. 'expects' 
that Israel will retain 'already existing major Israeli 
population centers' in a final-status agreement is 
significant, but not as significant as it may seem. 
The other shoe has yet to fall on this issue, as 
nothing was said to rule out another invention of the 
Barak/Clinton era -- land swaps.... It is clear now 
that Israel must go through with Sharon's disengagement 
plan, as painful as it will be to implement. In a way, 
the plan is another terrible gamble, this time on the 
word of the United States that it will continue to 
condition Palestinian statehood on an end to terror and 
the establishment of a truly free and peaceful 
Palestinian society.... At yesterday's summit, 
President Bush once again came through for Israel at a 
crucial hour. What remains to be seen is whether his 
State Department will come through on the follow-up." 
 
VIII.  "The Voice Belongs to Bush, the Hands are that 
of the Geneva Agreement" 
 
Columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist, 
Orthodox Hatzofe (April 15): "Bush eventually did not 
say anything new and did not change anything in the 
traditional policy his country has maintained from 5727 
[i.e. 1967] up to this very day.  He only allowed 
commentators to pump their wares so as to facilitate 
the brainwashing of the registered Likud members prior 
to the referendum.  Every other analysis is correct to 
the very same degree.... One need not be overly 
impressed with Bush's statement that the disengagement 
plan is an historic and courageous action that might 
bring progress and end one of the longest conflicts in 
human history.  For 36 years the United States has 
advocated an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and 
Gaza [the territories].  Contrary to Sharon's request, 
Bush made no real commitment Wednesday about the final 
status arrangement." 
 
LEBARON