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 006163 
 
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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¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Syrian-Lebanese Track 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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Yediot quoted President Bush as saying Monday, at a 
meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, that "the 
United States and my government will be involved with 
Middle Eastern peace, and that I believe that two 
states living side-by-side in peace -- a Palestinian 
state and an Israeli state -- is necessary for there to 
be peace, and that we have a moment, a window of 
opportunity."  Jerusalem Post briefly cited the 
President's remarks.  Yediot also quoted senior U.S. 
Administration officials as saying in recent days that 
Israel must strengthen Abbas's status and position 
among Palestinians through a prisoner release and other 
steps such as the removal of roadblocks, and granting 
freedom of travel and work permits to the Palestinians. 
 
Ha'aretz (Aluf Benn) reported that there is a brewing 
dispute in Israel over British PM Tony Blair's proposal 
for an international conference on the Middle East in 
January or February after the Palestinian elections to 
grant the new PA leadership international legitimacy. 
The newspaper says that Sharon is opposed to the 
renewal of the diplomatic process until the 
Palestinians take action to fulfill the first stage of 
the road map, meaning putting an end to terrorism and 
implementing security reforms.  According to Ha'aretz, 
Sharon is prepared for the conference to take part 
without Israeli participation, and for it to be a one- 
day event for professionals that would deal with 
reforms in the PA.  The daily says that FM Silvan 
Shalom does not reject the idea of the conference and 
that he is ready to consider Israeli participation at 
the FM's level, but that he made clear to European 
counterparts that he is opposed to "skipping" directly 
to negotiations over the final-status agreement. 
Jerusalem Post reported that an unnamed "senior Israel 
official" made similar remarks.  Jerusalem Post cited 
London's Daily Telegraph as saying that President Bush 
is opposed to a conference like the one that followed 
the 1991 Gulf War. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning an IDF soldier 
was killed and four others were wounded at the Karni 
Crossing into the northern Gaza Strip.  Hamas claimed 
responsibility for the attack.  The radio and Ha'aretz 
web site reported that hours later (according to 
Ha'aretz web site) in the same area an IAF missile 
killed an Islamic Jihad activist.  Ha'aretz reported 
that a Palestinian working in Neve Dekalim, one of the 
Gush Katif (Gaza Strip) settlers, was lightly wounded 
Monday by a mortar shell launched from Khan Yunis. 
The newspaper also reported that a psychologist 
specializing in the trauma faced by Gush Katif (Gaza 
Strip) settlements who face both evacuation and almost 
daily mortar attacks has launched a Web site to provide 
area residents with information about dealing with 
pressure and crises. 
 
All media reported that the army is investigating the 
conditions surrounding an incident last Friday in which 
members of a unit of the prestigious Shayetet (naval 
commando) killed Mahmoud Kmel, a senior Islamic Jihad 
activist, who was apparently unarmed and did not 
represent a risk.  The Shayetet has been put on hold as 
far as operations in the West Bank are concerned.  The 
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem had requested the 
probe.  Leading media quoted the head of the IDF 
personnel branch, Maj. Gen. Elazar Stern as saying 
Monday that 20 percent of IDF soldiers come from a 
culture that does not view Arab lives as equal to those 
of Jews.  Stern said, "Every generation needs to see 
itself as if it had come out of Auschwitz" (a reference 
to the Passover Seder's commandment: "In every 
generation you must see yourself as being in Egypt"). 
Stern was speaking before the Knesset's Constitution, 
Law and Justice Committee, which convened to discuss 
the just use of force in the war on terror. 
 
Israel Radio reported that security forces have 
arrested a resident of Baqa el-Gharbiyeh, an Israeli- 
Arab town adjacent to the Green Line, whom Iran had 
allegedly recruited as a spy. 
 
Leading media reported that Monday in Damascus PLO 
Secretary-General Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian President 
 
SIPDIS 
Bashar Assad agreed on coordinating positions ahead of 
possible negotiations with Israel, and that the senior 
Palestinians who visited Syria (Abbas, Palestinian PM 
Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), and Acting PA Chairman Rawhi 
Fattouh) asked Assad to press Hamas and Islamic Jihad 
leaders in Damascus to cooperate with them.  The media 
reported that the Palestinian delegation met with local 
leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Ahmed Jibril's PFLP- 
GC. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as 
saying Monday before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and 
Defense Committee, that the boosting of ties between 
Israel and Egypt is a "strategic significant process" 
that is to include cooperation in fighting regional and 
global terror.  The media continued to report on the 
conditions of the imprisonment of Azzam Azzam, who was 
released from an Egyptian jail during the weekend.  PM 
Sharon visited Maghar, Azzam's village, on Monday.  The 
media argued over the fact that Channel 10-TV is paying 
Azzam some USD 40,000 for the exclusive rights of an 
interview with him. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Sharon associates as saying Monday that 
Sharon will settle accounts with any minister or 
Knesset member who fails to help persuade the Likud 
Central Committee to approve the Labor Party's entry 
into the government, while those who do help him will 
be rewarded.  Maariv reported that the Likud "rebels" 
are considering voting in the Knesset against Labor's 
entry into the government, if the Likud Central 
Committee approves the move.  Yediot reported that 
members of the Labor Party increasingly oppose Shimon 
Peres's desire to see Labor enter the government 
immediately.  Yediot quoted Peres as saying that 
primaries in the party would thwart the planned 
disengagement. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Israel, which has 
consistently tried to keep the EU out of the diplomatic 
process, is now pressing it to use its clout to get 
Arab countries to develop with Israel. Israel Radio 
reported that Israel-EU talks on the "European 
Neighborhood policy" have hit a snag regarding the EU's 
condition that countries participating in the program 
sign a WMD clause.  The agreement must be finalized by 
Thursday. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted President Moshe Katsav as saying 
Monday that if Assad is sincere about resuming peace 
negotiations, he should at least make some kind of 
goodwill gesture, such as returning the remains of Eli 
Cohen to Israel.  Cohen was convinced of spying and 
hanged in Damascus in 1965. 
 
All media reported that on Monday a Jerusalem 
Magistrate's Court sentenced Shahar Dvir-Zeliger, a 
member of the "new Jewish underground," to eight years 
in jail for membership in a terrorist organization 
aimed at carrying out terror attacks against Arab 
civilians, and for unlawful possession of weapons 
stolen from the IDF. 
 
Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz quoted Palestinian officials 
as saying in Ramallah Monday that the PA will ask donor 
countries at a meeting in Oslo for about USD 4 million 
to stave off an economic crisis. 
 
The media cited two Palestinian public opinion polls, 
which predict a close contest between Abbas and Marwan 
Barghouti in the PA elections. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Al Qaida has claimed 
responsibility for Monday's attack on the U.S. 
Consulate in Jeddah. 
Ha'aretz reported that Atty. Fred Fielding, a "highly 
respected Washington insider," will mediate between the 
U.S. Justice Department and lawyers who filed class 
action lawsuits on the issue of the "gold train," the 
trainload of looted gold and art stolen from Jews by 
the Nazis that was subsequently confiscated by U.S. 
troops, but that was never returned to the property's 
lawful owners. 
 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The 
window of opportunity for achieving a cease-fire with 
the Palestinians is wider than ever.  Israel's 
government must not miss this chance for a cease-fire 
and a renewal of the peace process." 
 
Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote in 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "[The Labor Party's entry 
into the government] constitutes real progress, which 
could suddenly be dampened in a cynical maneuver to 
move up the Knesset elections before [the] Gush Katif 
[settlement bloc] is evacuated." 
 
Oslo Agreement skeptic and Hebrew University Professor 
Yehoshua Porat wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot: "Why is Egypt investing a fortune in 
the purchase of sophisticated weapons which are 
patently intended for a rapid crossing of the Sinai 
peninsula, in order to attack its northeastern 
neighbor?" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"If the UN wants to convincingly demonstrate a 
genuinely new beginning, the GA should elect Israel to 
a two-year Security Council seat." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Supportive Steps Needed" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(December 7): "The weakness of Hamas's leadership in 
the territories has increased the importance of the 
Palestinian opposition's 'external leadership,' most of 
which lives in Damascus.  It is these men with whom Abu 
Mazen is trying to reach an understanding on the 
conditions for a cease-fire.  Abu Mazen is also taking 
advantage of the upcoming elections for the PA 
chairmanship to convince Hamas to stop the attacks, if 
only for a limited period, not only inside Israel, but 
also in the West Bank and Gaza.  Such an understanding 
is possible in part because of the heavy pressure that 
the Syrian regime is exerting on the Palestinian 
opposition leaders in Damascus.  These leaders 
understand quite well that at a time when President 
Assad is calling for a renewal of peace talks with 
Israel, he is not going to allow the Palestinian 
organizations under his aegis to launch terror attacks 
against Israel.  The window of opportunity for 
achieving a cease-fire with the Palestinians is wider 
than ever.  Israel's government must not miss this 
chance for a cease-fire and a renewal of the peace 
process." 
 
II.  "In the Right Direction" 
 
Veteran print and TV journalist Dan Margalit wrote in 
popular, pluralist Maariv (December 7): "It is wrong 
[for the Labor Party] to condition its entry into the 
government upon a commitment to moving up the Knesset 
elections -- especially as [former prime minister Ehud] 
Barak supports the dismantling of [the] Gush Katif 
settlement bloc.... The right formula for Labor's 
joining the government is the following one: the 
necessary condition is the continuation of the 
implementation of the disengagement plan, to which 
Sharon claims to be wholly committed -- in defiance of 
the Likud refuseniks.  This constitutes real progress, 
which could suddenly be dampened in a cynical maneuver 
to move up the Knesset elections before Gush Katif is 
evacuated.... Since the process of joining the 
government is not an ephemeral move, Labor must bring 
its best representatives into the government -- all the 
more so when this government will be marked by many 
upheavals, landmines, and political ambushes.  Barak is 
one of those people." 
 
III.  "Illusions in a New Edition" 
 
Oslo Agreement skeptic and Hebrew University Professor 
Yehoshua Porat wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist 
Yediot Aharonot (December 7): "On Sunday, the [Israeli] 
media kept filing happy reports from Egypt.... What was 
less manifest was the fact that Azzam Azzam spent eight 
years in an Egyptian jail for trying to do business in 
Egypt, according to what the peace treaty allowed and 
established.... According to the peace treaty, an 
Egyptian ambassador should be present in Israel.  For 
years, Israel held back regarding this flagrant 
violation of the treaty.  Israel taught the entire Arab 
world that it was possible to turn a blind eye to 
contractual commitments to Israel.... Talking about 
peace, does any of Israel decision-makers understand 
why Egypt needs armored forces to prevent arms 
smuggling into the Gaza Strip?.... More importantly: 
why is Egypt investing a fortune in the purchase of 
sophisticated weapons which are patently intended for a 
rapid crossing of the Sinai peninsula, in order to 
attack its northeastern neighbor?.... This is without 
mentioning the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, almost Nazi 
incitement in Egypt's official media." 
 
IV.  "UN Self-Interest" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(December 7): "The UN, on the brink of irrelevancy, is 
struggling to save itself. Given its antipathy toward 
the Zionist enterprise, should we help it succeed or 
hope that it heads over the edge?  The answer should 
depend on whether plans announced Thursday at UN 
headquarters to radically transform the world body have 
the potential of offering Israel a 'new deal'.... If 
the UN wants to convincingly demonstrate a genuinely 
new beginning, the GA should elect Israel to a two-year 
Security Council seat.  No nation has been so mean- 
spiritedly singled out, so consistently and for so 
long, as Israel.  No nation has suffered more from the 
tyranny of the UN majority, targeted through countless 
denunciatory, one-sided resolutions.  Entire UN-related 
international bodies have been permanently hijacked for 
Israel-bashing.  Electing Israel to the Security 
Council would signal that the community of nations 
rejects, de jure and forever, threats to wipe Israel 
off the map.  At the same time, such a declarative vote 
would reassure Israel that its painful concessions (in 
Gaza, for instance) are valued by the world community. 
If Palestine is to be the 22nd Arab member in a UN 
where 58 countries are already aligned with the Islamic 
bloc, Israel deserves preference on the rotation of 
countries that hold temporary Security Council 
seats.... Reforming the UN will be no easy task; we 
will know it is on the right track when it begins to 
apply the charter's universal values to Israel." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Syrian-Lebanese Track: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
 
Contributor Ran Baratz wrote in popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "The bad thing [about reaching an agreement 
with Syria] would be that Syrian-UN-European 
cooperation against the U.S. would harm Israel." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Assad's Trap" 
 
Contributor Ran Baratz wrote in popular, pluralist 
Maariv (December 7): "A seasonal excitement, due to 
Assad Jr.'s peace calls 'without preconditions', has 
recently seized some [Israeli] commentators... An 
important development, which occurred a little over one 
year ago, was the U.S. decision to isolate Syria and to 
weaken it significantly.  That decision, which was 
backed by the U.S. Congress, is starting to bear fruit 
-- as evidenced by the weakness of Assad, whom nobody 
views as an angel.... The bad thing [about reaching an 
agreement with Syria] would be that Syrian-UN-European 
cooperation against the U.S. would harm Israel.  Warm 
relations with the U.S. are preferable to peace with 
Syria, whose chances of coming about are small at best. 
The Americans' interest in pressuring Syria is big. 
Firstly, they want to hinder the possibility that Iran, 
Syria's close friend, create ... additional fronts in 
the region.... Secondly, they remember Assad's help to 
Saddam and the Iraqi opposition forces.... Thirdly, 
Syria ... has become a highly significant factor in 
Palestinian terrorism, creating an extra obstacle to 
American policy." 
 
KURTZER