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 002227 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media, except Jerusalem Post, led with the 
consequences of PM Sharon's meeting with President Bush 
Wednesday.  Israel Radio reported that Sharon returned 
from Washington this morning (Israel Time).  Israel 
Radio quoted senior GOI sources as saying that Sharon 
could visit the U.S. again in a few weeks.  The station 
reported that the Israeli Embassy in Washington will 
invite Sen. John Kerry to Israel, following Sharon's 
inability to meet with him in the U.S. due to a tight 
schedule. 
 
Ha'aretz's and Jerusalem Post's Washington 
correspondents write that Thursday the U.S. 
Administration tried to soften the pro-Israeli tone of 
Bush's statement and dampen the impression that U.S. 
policy has tilted in favor of Israel.  Ha'aretz's 
Washington correspondent cited the belief of the Sharon 
and Bush teams that the shock waves which will convulse 
the PA leadership as a result of Bush's letter will 
foster a new leadership among Palestinians.  Israel 
Radio quoted Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying 
Thursday [in interviews with foreign news outlets] that 
the U.S. does not want to prejudice the outcome of 
final status negotiations, and that modifications to 
the 1949 armistice lines have to be mutually agreed 
upon by the two parties as part of the road map 
process.  The Secretary noted that Bush has recognized 
the reality of changes that have taken place in the 
West Bank.  The radio quoted State Department Spokesman 
Richard Boucher as saying: "There is no change in U.S. 
policy on settlements."  The radio and Yediot cited the 
New York Times and Washington Post's editorials tht 
expressed reservations about the switch in the U.S. 
stance.  Israel Radio noted that the major U.S. media 
are not buying U.S. "adjustments" to Bush's remarks or 
to his letter to Sharon. 
 
Yediot, Maariv and Ha'aretz published the full text of 
the "disengagement document" that will be presented to 
Likud members before the upcoming party referendum, 
slated for May 2.  Yediot also printed senior Sharon 
aide Dov Weisglass' letter to National Security Advisor 
Condoleezza Rice, which details Israel's position 
regarding Sharon's plan. 
 
Both Yediot and Maariv commissioned polls among Likud 
registered voters: 
-The Yediot poll, conducted by Mina Zemach's Dahaf 
Institute found that 54 percent of Likud voters will 
vote for Sharon's plan; 38 percent are opposed; 8 
percent are undecided.  (Another Mina Zemach poll found 
that 68 percent of the general public support the plan, 
while 26 percent are opposed to it.) 
- The Maariv/Teleseker poll found that 49.4 percent of 
Likud registered voters favor Sharon's plan; 38.4 
percent are opposed to it; 12.2 percent are undecided. 
Among those who declared they will definitely vote on 
May 2, 51.6 percent will support Sharon's plan; 40.3 
percent will vote against it; 8.1 percent are 
undecided. 
 
Yediot reported that Sharon promised in a closed 
meeting with senior members of the U.S. media that the 
disengagement from Gaza was only a first step and that 
settlements in the West Bank will also be dismantled. 
Israel Radio quoted a senior member in Sharon's 
entourage as saying that Israel is interested in 
transferring property it will abandon in the Gaza Strip 
to responsible PA elements, and that Israel will 
negotiate the issue with international bodies such as 
the World Bank and the countries contributing to the 
PA, but that Israel would pull down those buildings, 
should the consequences of the move be inconsistent 
with Israel's interests.  The radio quoted another 
member of Sharon's delegation as saying that after the 
withdrawal from Gaza is completed -- in late April 2005 
-- there will be no further withdrawal except from the 
"Philadelphi axis" along the northern part of the 
Israel/Egypt border (in the second phase of Israel's 
disengagement). 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Sharon's son, Knesset Member 
Omri Sharon, canvassed Likud members during his 
father's trip to the U.S., warning them that if the 
disengagement plan is not approved in the referendum, 
PM Sharon might resign and the Likud could lose its 
hefty share of its 40 Knesset seats in the next 
national elections.  Yediot quoted associates of 
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as saying that he 
is waiting for clarifications from Sharon, but that he 
is presently inclined to vote against the plan.  Yediot 
reported that former cabinet minister Benny Begin (the 
son of the late PM Menachem Begin) has broken a five- 
year-long political silence and that he is joining the 
fight against the withdrawal plan.  Maariv reported 
that Sharon associates and the Labor Party have agreed 
that should the right-wing parties leave the coalition, 
Labor would provide a "safety net" to the government. 
Maariv writes that Labor's joining the government would 
depend on whether Sharon is indicted on criminal 
charges for alleged corruption. 
 
Leading media reported that in response to the exchange 
of letters between Bush and Sharon, PA Chairman Yasser 
Arafat Thursday reiterated Palestinian commitment to 
the establishment of a state whose capital is 
Jerusalem, and to the right of return for refugees to 
their original places of residence.  Taisir Nasrallah, 
one the signatories of a statement issued Thursday by 
the Committee for the Defense of the Rights of 
Palestinian Refugees, an umbrella organization 
representing refugees from the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip, told Ha'aretz Thursday that Bush's decision 
constitutes another Nakba (catastrophe) for the 
Palestinians. The group's statement compares Bush's 
letter with the "unrealistic" attitude exhibited by the 
signers of the Geneva Accord, the Ami Ayalon-Sari 
Nusseibeh peace initiative and the polling institute 
headed by Khalil Shikaki, which a year ago released a 
poll saying a large percentage of refugees do not 
believe that they will ever return to Israeli 
territory. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Thursday at a press 
conference with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 
British PM Tony Blair stated that he attaches great 
importance to Sharon's disengagement plan, and that he 
calmed those who fear that it could damage the road 
map.   Ha'aretz quoted French President Jacques Chirac 
as saying that the plan is "dangerous" and that it 
constitutes a "dangerous precedent," as it results in a 
change in political borders, which the EU is opposed 
to. 
 
Maariv reported that in the next few weeks the security 
forces will dismantle 28 illegal settler outposts in 
the West Bank, which are inhabited by a total of 240 
families.  The media reported that two outposts were 
dismantled Thursday.  All media reported that Thursday 
A-G Menachem Mazuz ordered the Housing and Construction 
Ministry to freeze all allocations to local councils in 
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  The order came in 
response to the yet to be published State Comptroller's 
report which indicates that the ministry gave tens of 
millions of shekels (one shekel roughly equals USD 
0.22) to support illegal settlement activity.  All 
media reported that Meretz MK Haim Oron welcomed the 
ministry's decision, whereas right-wing politicians 
condemned it as a political decision. 
 
All media reported that Thursday, near Ariel in the 
West Bank, IDF troops arrested a Palestinian woman 
carrying a 25-kg explosive device.  The woman is a 
mother of six.  Jerusalem Post and other media reported 
that Thursday 35 Palestinians were wounded in clashes 
with security forces during protests against the 
construction of the separation fence at Biddu village, 
northwest of Jerusalem. 
 
Ha'aretz announced that David Landau has become its 
Editor-in-Chief.  Tami Litani has been named the 
newspaper's Deputy Editor, replacing Yoel Esteron. 
Taking over from Landau, South-African born Peter 
Hirschberg was appointed Editor of the newspaper's 
English Edition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Seizing the 
diplomatic initiative and shaking past positions were 
the key to achieving an understanding with Bush, and 
served Sharon better than his earlier insistence on 
maintaining the status quo until the Palestinians 
change and start fighting terrorism." 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "It was clear to the Palestinian leadership 
Thursday that Bush's support of Sharon's disengagement 
plan was the death knell for the road map." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in Ha'aretz: 
"The political, military, and economic aspects of the 
plan for the Gaza Strip and the enclave in the northern 
West Bank are amazingly similar to the homelands, one 
of the last inventions of the white minority in South 
Africa to perpetuate its rule over the black majority." 
 
Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote on 
page one of conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: 
"Bush's letter, and indeed, Sharon's, continue to force 
Israel into an untenable position of having to fight 
terrorism while promising victory to the terrorists in 
the form of a state." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "Apart 
from his 'warm remarks,' President Bush has not 
committed himself to anything concrete regarding 
Israel." 
 
Jerusalem Post editorialized: "When prominent or 
popular leaders of one nation call repeatedly and 
openly for the extinction of another nation, it's best 
to take them at their word." 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
¶I.  "And Now, the Real Test" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (April 16): "Sharon 
agreed to forgo low-value assets -- the settlements in 
the Gaza Strip and in northern Samaria [the Jenin area] 
-- in order to buy time and repulse pressures for a 
deeper withdrawal.  Seizing the diplomatic initiative 
and shaking past positions were the key to achieving an 
understanding with Bush, and served Sharon better than 
his earlier insistence on maintaining the status quo 
until the Palestinians change and start fighting 
terrorism.  He proves that he has the ability to lead 
the entire political system in his wake and to 
undermine the Palestinian contention that even if they 
behave well, Israel will never cede a millimeter. 
Sharon is trying to refute the allegation that his plan 
rewards terrorism and constitutes withdrawal under fire 
by asserting that the Palestinians have suffered a 
harsh blow to their dreams, citing the sharp reactions 
of the Palestinian Authority to the plan to prove his 
point.  He is also delivering numerous threats about 
tougher Israeli responses than in the past if the Gaza- 
based terrorism continues." 
 
II.  "A Palestinian Authority That May Be Passe" 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz (April 16): "The Palestinian Authority's 
official responses to the 'dangerous turn' in American 
policy -- calls for help from all elements involved in 
the conflict, first and foremost the UN, Russia, and 
the European countries, America's partners in the 
Quartet, as well as the Organization of the Islamic 
Conference and the Arab states -- reveal helplessness. 
PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's speech Thursday afternoon, 
in which he stated that the Palestinian people will 
never give up their national rights was also part of 
the response.... It was clear to the Palestinian 
leadership Thursday that Bush's support of Sharon's 
disengagement plan was the death knell for the road 
map." 
 
 
III.  "Creating a Bantustan in Gaza" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in Ha'aretz 
(April 16): "South Africa will be very interested in 
the Israeli disengagement plan published Thursday.  The 
political, military, and economic aspects of the plan 
for the Gaza Strip and the enclave in the northern West 
Bank are amazingly similar to the homelands, one of the 
last inventions of the white minority in South Africa 
to perpetuate its rule over the black majority.... Only 
Israel and Taiwan had diplomatic connections with the 
homelands.  Foment there deteriorated into a series of 
rebellions, and a decade ago the homelands became part 
of united South Africa, governed by a black majority." 
 
IV.  "So What Did We Get?" 
 
Extreme right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick wrote on 
page one of conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
(April 16): "Bush's letter, and indeed, Sharon's, 
continue to force Israel into an untenable position of 
having to fight terrorism while promising victory to 
the terrorists in the form of a state.... 
[Furthermore], Israel has exposed and the U.S. has 
reviewed mountains of evidence proving that [the PA] 
security services are terrorist cells and that the 
Palestinian Authority itself is a terrorist entity. 
Yet in spite of this, the U.S. continues to insist, and 
Israel continues to agree, that these security services 
should be reformed and strengthened and PA institutions 
supported and reinforced rather than destroyed and 
replaced.  Finally, as has been the case since the 
'land for peace' equation was coined, the demands on 
Israel from the exchange of letters are all concrete 
while the demands from the Palestinians are not.  They 
have to reform and fight terror but there is no 'or 
else.'  Nothing will happen to them if they don't.  And 
as for the reform of their political institutions, 
there is no blueprint for how they are supposed to go 
about it, especially in light of the fact that the Bush 
administration has ruled out the option of getting rid 
of Yasser Arafat." 
 
¶V.  "The White House Meetings: Lights and Shadows" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (April 16): 
"The friendly remarks [Bush] made during his 
conversation with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won't 
constitute a hindrance to him when he talks with Arab 
chiefs of state, given that in fact, apart from his 
'warm remarks,' President Bush has not committed 
himself to anything concrete regarding Israel.  On the 
contrary, Prime Minister Sharon, the man who pledged to 
implement the 'road map,' even without amendments, has 
agreed to leave the issue of Jerusalem open for a 
debate on the final status, and to be happy with a 
presidential statement about the return of refugees to 
a future Palestinian state, adding 'it seems clear.' 
Sharon pledged to 'limit the settlements'.... This is 
the achievement of the Prime Minister's visit to 
Washington." 
VI.  "Stage Six" 
Jerusalem Post editorialized (April 16): "According to 
people who study such things, there are eight stages of 
genocide: Classification, Symbolization, 
Dehumanization, Organization, Polarization, 
Preparation, Extermination and Denial.  After a decade 
of Arafatian rule, a critical mass of Palestinians 
hover somewhere between stages six and seven.  This 
development, obvious to most Israelis, is rarely 
noticed by outside observers.... Most students of 
genocide would agree that when prominent or popular 
leaders of one nation call repeatedly and openly for 
the extinction of another nation, it's best to take 
them at their word.... We make these observations just 
as President Bush, in his press conference with Ariel 
Sharon, has repeated his call for a new Palestinian 
regime, devoted not only to fighting terrorism but 
[also] to focusing its efforts on the socio-economic 
welfare of the Palestinian people.  When Bush first 
made this case, in June 2002, it was widely dismissed 
as unrealistic and probably counterproductive.  To our 
mind, it remains essential. No 'peace' is worth the 
paper it's written on if it collapses at the first hint 
of weakness." 
 
LEBARON