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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 000119 
 
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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Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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The three major newspapers lead with Defense Minister 
Shaul Mofaz and IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon's 
threats against the 34 reserve officers who signed a 
petition against the evacuation of settlements.  Israel 
Radio reported that Ya'alon demanded that the officers 
rescind their stand this morning, or else they would be 
ousted from the army.  The station reported that, in 
consultation with their commander, they have drafted a 
new letter condemning the refusal to serve.  The 
station cited a call by the Committee of Rabbis in 
Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip for further soldiers 
and officers to refuse to serve.  The radio reported 
that two West Bank settlers -- one from Yitzhar, the 
other one from Kfar Tapuah -- who bullied Rabbi Yehuda 
Wiesner, the IDF Central Command's Chaplain, 
threatening to kill him, have been arrested.  Yediot 
(Shimon Shiffer) quoted PM Sharon as saying that the 
settler leaders are threatening the existence of the 
state, but that they will not win.  Leading media 
quoted Justice Minister Tzipi Livni as saying Thursday, 
in a direct attack against extremists on the right, 
that legal authorities will take a forceful stance 
against those who challenge the sovereignty of the 
state and its legitimate organs.  Maariv notes that 
hundreds of secular soldiers have signed the refusal 
petition, and that conversely, dozens of reservist 
officers residing in kibbutzim set up an emergency HQ 
on Thursday, in coordination with the Prime Minister's 
Office, that will enlist thousands of soldiers and 
officers who would agree to join missions of settlement 
evacuations, should the right-wing refusenik phenomenon 
reach proportions threatening to disrupt the 
evacuation. 
 
Israel Radio quoted Mofaz as saying that Israel would 
agree to pull out from areas in the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip even before the disengagement, should the 
Palestinians make thorough efforts to break the cycle 
of terror and disarm the terrorist organizations. 
 
Regarding Sharon's promises to the USG on the cessation 
of building in the settlements and the evacuation of 
the unauthorized settler outposts, Ha'aretz (Aluf Benn) 
reported that National Security Advisor Condoleezza 
Rice recently told an "Israeli personage": "We know 
that things are under control." 
 
Leading media reported that Thursday the Likud, the 
Labor Party, and United Torah Judaism signed a 
coalition agreement, which will be presented to the 
Knesset on Sunday.  Jerusalem Post reported that a 
first dispute immediately loomed between Likud and 
Labor over how many ministers and deputy ministers the 
Likud will have. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that former U.S. 
president Jimmy Carter arrived in the country last 
night as the head of the international team monitoring 
the PA election.  The radio stated Carter's hope at the 
conclusion of a meeting with FM Silvan Shalom that this 
will be an "honest and fair, open, transparent election 
process."  Carter added: "I hope ... that [the] 
demonstration of an ability to carry out their [the 
Palestinians'] civil responsibilities during this 
election will be a demonstration also that there can be 
trust for negotiations in the future between Israel and 
the Palestinians."  Shalom reassured Carter about the 
conditions of the election.  Michel Rocard, head of the 
EU's election monitoring team, was quoted as saying in 
an interview with Maariv that the success of the 
elections is an Israeli interest, and that his team is 
satisfied about Israel's cooperation.  Jerusalem Post 
stresses the Israel-PA collaboration in facilitating 
the election process.  Leading media reported that 
Thursday the High Court of Justice ruled that some 
8,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will 
not be allowed to vote.  Jerusalem Post reported that 
fearing a low turnout of Arab Jerusalemites in Sunday's 
election for PA chairman, PA and Fatah officials on 
Thursday stepped up their efforts to persuade residents 
to vote.  Israel Radio reported that right-wing 
activists, including a National Religious Party member 
of the Jerusalem City Council, intend to disrupt the 
vote of East Jerusalem Arabs in the election.  They 
cite a threat to the unity of Jerusalem.  Ha'aretz 
(English Ed.) reported that hundreds of OneVoice 
Palestine volunteers, together with New York Jewish 
businessman Daniel Lubetsky, canvassed towns and 
refugee camps across the West Bank this week as part of 
a nonpartisan campaign meant to encourage high voter 
turnout ahead of the election. 
 
Fayssal Hourani, a Palestinian author and peace 
activist, was quoted as saying Thursday in an interview 
with Ha'aretz that whoever is elected to head the PA on 
Sunday will bear heavy responsibilities but will have 
no real power to carry them out.  Hourani believes that 
supporters of the frontrunner Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) 
have very limited expectations of him. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Defense Ministry will soon 
appoint a civilian overseer for the evacuation of 
illegal settler outposts in the West Bank, in 
preparation for dismantling approximately 20 such 
outposts. 
Jerusalem Post reported that unauthorized Egyptian 
passenger aircraft have been increasingly violating 
Israel's airspace near Eilat, prompting the IAF to 
station Hawk anti-aircraft missile batteries and 
fighter planes close by, ready to shoot down the 
Egyptian planes if they take a hostile turn.  In 
several cases, fighter jets have actually been 
scrambled, then returned quietly to their base. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that changes in the route of the West 
Bank security fence dictated by the High Court of 
Justice's ruling will cost 80-100 million shekels 
(about USD 18-23 million). 
 
Last night, Channel 2-TV reported that former Israel 
Air Force commander Herzl Bodinger is mediating in the 
ongoing dispute between the U.S. Defense Department and 
the Israeli Defense Ministry. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that several residents of the Gaza 
Strip settlement of Nissanit have decided to leave 
their home immediately, without waiting for an advance 
on their compensation, due to the recent upsurge in 
mortar shell and Qassam rocket attacks.  Israel Radio 
reported on a spate of mortar shell attacks on Israeli 
targets this morning. 
 
Jerusalem Post notes that the State Department's first 
annual Report on Global Anti-Semitism largely skips the 
Middle East and North America. 
 
Jerusalem Post notes that after years of automatically 
censuring Israel, Canada may be shifting toward a more 
balanced stance. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited the Egyptian weekly Al-Osboa as 
saying that the December 26 earthquake that shook the 
Indian Ocean "was possibly" caused by an Indian nuclear 
experiment in which "Israeli and American experts 
participated." 
 
Maariv quoted Yishai Maimon, the Mayor of the Galilee 
city of Safed, Abbas's birthplace, as saying that he 
will not allow him to visit the city.  Maimon recalled 
Abbas's role in the 1974 massacre of Maalot. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited an announcement by Tel Aviv 
University Thursday that Zvi Stauber, the former 
ambassador to London and retired general, has been 
named the next head of the Jaffee Center of Strategic 
Studies (JCSS). 
 
Yediot reported that Technion scientists have developed 
a pen-like device that can identify makeshift 
explosives used by terrorist groups. 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that North American 
Jewish organizations have launched a new campaign aimed 
at convincing universities in the U.S. to change their 
policy on study in Israel.  Those organizations claim 
that schools have been imposing unjust limitations on 
students who express an interest because of exaggerated 
fears for the students' personal safety. 
 
A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll conducted 
among Israeli Jews: 
-"Do you believe the evacuation of settlements will 
lead to exchanges of fire between settlers and 
soldiers?"  75 percent: yes; 23 percent: no. 
-"Will the settlers' protest influence the 
disengagement?"  No: 45 percent; it will delay the 
disengagement: 42 percent; it will cancel the 
disengagement: 6 percent; it will accelerate the 
disengagement: 4 percent. 
-"What is your most important thought regarding 
settlers actively opposing the evacuation of 
settlements?" They are dangerous people: 49 percent; 
they have good intentions, but have gone astray: 23 
percent; they are idealists: 21 percent; they are a 
minority among settlers: 7 percent. 
-"What is your principal feeling vis-a-vis the 
settlers, as you watch their clashes with IDF 
soldiers?"  They harm democracy: 28 percent; their 
behavior is repulsive: 19 percent; I am concerned they 
will lead to a civil war: 18 percent; I identify with 
their struggle: 16 percent; I understand their 
situation: 9 percent; I want to join their ranks: 6 
percent. 
 
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Mideast: 
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                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Only in banana 
republics can soldiers threaten an elected government." 
 
Deputy Editor-In Chief Avi Bettelheim wrote in an 
editorial of popular, pluralist Maariv: "The time has 
come to clearly state the truth: this no longer is an 
ideological struggle -- this is a crude violation of 
the law, violent wrongdoing.... The settlers must ... 
reconsider." 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "These are fateful 
times in which we cannot allow rebel forces to clash 
with or claim victory over a lawful, elected 
government.  Sharon was right to hit the ceiling this 
week.  Now is the time for him to take off his gloves." 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"It is the job of the international monitoring team to 
ensure that Sunday's election is conducted in a fair, 
free and honest manner.  After that, it is the job of 
the Palestinian people -- and their newly elected 
leader -- to build a society that will be equally so." 
 
Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in Jerusalem 
Post: "Ariel Sharon needs the world's help; Abu Mazen 
needs its discipline." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Yes, Throw Them Out" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 7): 
"Thirty four settlers, all officers and NCOs in the 
reserves, signed the disobedience letter whose contents 
were published Thursday in Yediot Aharonot.... As 
civilians, they have the right, even the duty, to make 
their cry heard.  As for their status as soldiers, 
there is no choice but to state that the Chief of Staff 
is right: those who do not retract their signature on 
the letter as of this morning, all have the same 
punishment -- being kicked out of the army.  With all 
due respect to the dissenters' various arguments, right 
wing and left wing, at stake here is something a lot 
weightier than any political argument.  There is no 
such thing as an army by request.  In Sweden perhaps, 
if you push it, but not in the cruel surroundings in 
which Israel is located.  Either you accept the 
national authority, or we close up shop.... Only in 
banana republics can soldiers threaten an elected 
government.  You can support disengagement or oppose 
it, but there is no way to define it semantically as a 
patently illegal order. Those who decide that a soldier 
cannot carry out such an order are dissenters, even if 
they wear a yarmulke and are good little boys." 
 
 
 
 
II.  "We're Fed Up With You" 
 
Deputy Editor-In Chief Avi Bettelheim wrote in an 
editorial of popular, pluralist Maariv (January 7): 
"Given the frightening rapid increase in verbal and 
physical violence by settlers opposing the 
disengagement, the time has come to clearly state the 
truth: this no longer is an ideological struggle -- 
this is a crude violation of the law, violent 
wrongdoing.  This is it; enough; we're fed up with 
it.... No matter which cause it serves, fanaticism only 
causes destruction.... It is unconceivable that 
fanaticism for an idea has so blinded the core -- and 
perhaps not just the core -- of the settlers, that they 
are convinced it is permitted and good to pay any 
price, even a civil war, to thwart the disengagement 
decision.... The settlers must pause, and -- in the 
name of the God they are so determined to annex to 
themselves -- seize control of themselves, and 
reconsider." 
 
III.  "Time to Take Off His Gloves" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 7): 
"Worried messages used to arrive from Washington that 
Sharon didn't sound serious enough about implementing 
the disengagement plan.  No matter how many times 
President Bush nagged him to dismantle illegal 
outposts, nothing happened.  The more he went on 
promising and doing nothing, the more doubtful the 
Americans were that he could evacuate the settlements 
of Gaza in one fell swoop.  The official explanation 
from Jerusalem cited tactical considerations: why waste 
energy clashing with settlers who are illegal and whose 
fate is sealed in any case?  Better to save our 
strength for the big battle.  This argument was 
interpreted by the settlers as a sign of political 
weakness.... The hesitant approach of the government, 
along with the voices of opposition in the Likud and 
the arrogance of the rebels, enabled the settlers to 
portray the disengagement initiative as illegitimate. 
Nothing could be further from the truth.... The 
establishment of a new [government] coalition doesn't 
mean the danger is over.  Inciting soldiers to disobey 
on the grounds that the evacuation order is illegal is 
nothing short of a call to rebellion.  Never since the 
period leading up to the 1967 war has the country been 
in such a state of emergency.... These are fateful 
times in which we cannot allow rebel forces to clash 
with or claim victory over a lawful, elected 
government.  Sharon was right to hit the ceiling this 
week.  Now is the time for him to take off his gloves." 
 
IV.  "A Vote For the Future" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(January 7): "While campaigning during the past two 
weeks, Abbas made several comments that have raised 
concerns in Israeli quarters.  Some of his rhetoric was 
inflammatory -- such as calling Israel the 'Zionist 
enemy' -- and he staked out positions on such issues as 
the status of Jerusalem and the refugee 'right of 
return' that sounded no more moderate than those of his 
predecessor.  It's unfortunate that Abbas chose the low 
road on the campaign trail, and so far has not prepared 
his people for the painful compromises that they, too, 
will have to make on the road to a peaceful resolution 
of the conflict.  The international hope, clearly, is 
that Abbas will, like other democratic leaders we know, 
run on one platform and govern from another.  It is the 
job of the international monitoring team to ensure that 
Sunday's election is conducted in a fair, free and 
honest manner.  After that, it is the job of the 
Palestinian people -- and their newly elected leader -- 
to build a society that will be equally so." 
 
¶V.  "Risking Peace" 
 
Editorial Page Editor Saul Singer wrote in Jerusalem 
Post (January 7): "Everyone knows that to promote Arab- 
Israeli peace in our new post-Arafat era, the world 
must help one embattled leader.  Problem is, they've 
got the wrong one.  Ariel Sharon needs the world's 
help; Abu Mazen needs its discipline.... The U.S. and 
Europe support disengagement.... [But] saying nice 
things about Sharon is not enough.  Israelis should be 
shown that disengagement will shift the diplomatic 
landscape fundamentally in their favor.  The 
international community can do this simply.  First, it 
could state that the Palestinian claim of a 'right of 
return' to Israel conflicts with Israel's right to 
exist, with the road map, and with the two-state 
solution, and is therefore unacceptable.  Second, it 
could withhold funding from the Palestinian Authority, 
on which it is wholly dependent, until it has ended all 
violence against Israel. As a bonus, the U.S. could 
demand that Egypt shut down Palestinian smuggling 
operations from its territory, or risk harming its 
relations with the U.S.  These are basic steps that 
should have been taken four years ago, and would have 
saved countless Israeli and Palestinian lives by ending 
the current terror war before it started.  They are 
still the key to the beginnings of peace.  Now that we 
are in window-of-opportunity mode, these steps have 
become imperative.  Otherwise, disengagement will fall 
apart, as will the dream of Palestinian reform." 
 
OLSEN