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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TEL AVIV 000452 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that Israel is resuming its 
diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians, as Sharon 
aide Dov Weisglass will soon meet with a Palestinian 
team headed by Saeb Erekat.  The station quoted Defense 
Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying in Paris Tuesday that PM 
Sharon will soon meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas 
(Abu Mazen).  Speaking on Israel Radio this morning, 
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said the disengagement plan 
is becoming a bilateral one, and that Israel would 
eventually have to pull out from the "Philadelphi 
route." 
 
The media reported that the quiet is continuing in the 
Gaza Strip.  Israel Radio reported that PA forces 
thwarted the launching of a rocket in the northern Gaza 
Strip.  However, a Qassam rocket was fired at the 
western Negev, causing no casualties.  Leading media 
reported that last night the IDF's Gaza division 
commander, Brig. Gen. Aviv Cochavi, met with Gaza 
security chief Musa Arafat.  Israel Radio says that the 
army has authorized in principle the deployment of PA 
forces in the southern Gaza Strip, pending governmental 
approval.  Leading media (banner in Maariv) reported 
that Israel has frozen its assassination policy, except 
in the case of "ticking bombs." 
 
Ha'aretz (banner) quoted sources involved in talks 
Abbas held with Hamas as saying that Abbas has reached 
an agreement in principle with Hamas leaders in Gaza on 
the organization's participation in PA diplomatic 
decision making and in a future Palestinian government. 
The newspaper quoted the sources as saying that the 
main focus of the talks is to establish a "supreme 
diplomatic authority" to replace the PLO as the body 
responsible for approving any diplomatic agreement with 
Israel.  This authority would include all Palestinian 
organizations, both in the territories and abroad. 
Groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not part of 
the PLO. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the IDF plans to build an 
electronic fence along the Israeli-Egyptian border, 
from Eilat all the way to Kerem Shalom, on the southern 
tip of the Gaza Strip.  The newspaper also reported 
that the IDF has asked A-G Menachem Mazuz for 
permission to clear completely a 300-meter-wide strip 
along the Gazan-Egyptian border (the "Philadelphi 
route").  This would require the demolition of hundreds 
of Palestinian houses in Rafah. 
Retired judge Uri Struzman, who serves as chairman of 
the world Likud's elections committee, said on right- 
wing radio Arutz Sheva (Arutz 7) Tuesday that from a 
legal point of view, Sharon has breached a contract 
with his voters by initiating the disengagement plan. 
(Lead story in Hatzofe.) 
 
The media extensively reported and commented on the 
60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death 
camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted State Department Spokesman 
Richard Boucher as saying Tuesday that the trip of A/S 
William Burns to the region was triggered by the recent 
Palestinian election: "It's a good moment to be there, 
and Burns is certainly one of our people who can work 
with both of the parties in a lot of detail to try to 
achieve progress." 
 
Yediot reported that the U.S. has prepared a list of 
demands it will present the PA in the next few weeks, a 
first draft of which it has asked Israel to review. 
Those demands reportedly include: steps to be taken by 
the PA to enforce order in the Gaza Strip and some West 
Bank cities; the deployment of forces at the Gaza-Egypt 
border to prevent arms smuggling; and barring the 
bearing of arms by Palestinians, except members of the 
security forces.  Yediot says that the U.S. is also 
considering demanding of Abbas that he arrest people 
illegally bearing arms, deploying forces in areas from 
which rockets are launched and naming a "strong" 
minister who will reduce the number of Palestinian 
security branches from twelve to three or four 
efficient security divisions.  The newspaper also 
reported that the U.S. will ask the Palestinians to act 
against the Qassam rocket factories, and that Abbas 
will be required to publish a condemnation of 
incitement. 
 
The media reported that addressing the Knesset Tuesday, 
Sharon called on the nation to respect the democratic 
decision of the majority of the Knesset on the 
disengagement plan, adding that if the plan were 
transferred to a public referendum, Knesset members 
would be "betraying their public duty."  Sharon also 
expressed concern over the recent rise in "threats 
against democracy" by the minority that is refusing to 
accept the Knesset's decision.  Leading media reported 
that the date set for the beginning of the 
implementation of the disengagement plan has been 
postponed to July 10.  The media reported on 
exceptional preparations by the police in advance of 
the anticipated opposition by right-wing militants. 
Yediot led with the high price tag of Sharon's 
protection, as every event he attends in the country 
costs at least 100,000 shekels (about USD 22,700) -- in 
some cases, as much as 1 million shekels.  The 
newspaper cited Sharon's bureau as saying that the Shin 
Bet determines the level of Sharon's security and that 
the present situation dictates this. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday in Moscow, 
Syrian President Bashar Assad defended his country's 
right to acquire surface-to-air missiles from Russia, 
saying: "These are weapons for air defense, meant to 
prevent aircraft from intruding in our airspace." 
Yediot reported that Assad told President Vladimir 
Putin that all that Syria is asking is that Israel 
respect the commitments made by the late PM Yitzhak 
Rabin.  The media reported that Russia has erased USD 
9.8 billion from the USD 13.4-billion debt Syria owed 
it. 
 
Hatzofe reported that on Tuesday Finance Minister 
Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Bush's younger 
brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and that the two 
men discussed bilateral economic cooperation. 
 
Channel 2-TV last night broadcasted excerpts from a 
drama series screened on Iran's Sahar-TV showing how 
Israeli doctors supposedly remove the eyes of healthy 
Palestinian children, under orders from the Israeli 
government, so that blind Israeli children can regain 
their sight. 
 
Leading media reported that all 19 Russian parliament 
members who asked the General Prosecutor of the Russian 
Federation to investigate Jewish organizations withdrew 
the support for the letter on Tuesday.  Some 450 
Russian academics and public figures also signed the 
letter. Ha'aretz cited the Israeli Embassy in Moscow as 
saying that the letter is a "classic example of anti- 
Semitism," and quoted a senior Foreign Ministry 
official as saying that Israel expects an unambiguous 
official condemnation of the letter by Putin. 
 
Yediot reported that Belgian FM Karel De Gucht 
apologized to FM Silvan Shalom Tuesday over the meeting 
of the Belgian Ambassador in Lebanon with Hizbullah 
chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The cease-fire 
hangs by a thread.... Israel will make a mistake if it 
makes do with the minimum.  It must seek a permanent 
solution." 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Abu Mazen acted without waiting for Israel to respond 
to a list of Palestinian complaints.... That won him a 
hefty credit line in the international arena." 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist, 
Orthodox Hatzofe: "Abu Mazen's strategic goals are no 
different from those of Arafat." 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: "How useful 
are all the slogans coming out of the Israeli Left 
about the importance of the diplomatic track, while the 
Palestinians have picked the anti-Semitic track?" 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Not the Time For Chest Beating" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 26): "The 
cease-fire hangs by a thread.... Israel will make a 
mistake if it makes do with the minimum.  It must seek 
a permanent solution and not take comfort in a period 
of calm for a few months or, at most, an interim 
agreement for a few years.  Arafat's departure, the 
disengagement initiative, the deeper involvement of the 
Americans in the region (in Iraq, Iran and Syria), and 
the intensified awareness of the international 
community of the Palestinian demand for independence 
all reflect the opportunities and constraints now 
facing Israel.  Now is the time to break free of the 
delusions about the Greater Land of Israel and to 
accept the fulfillment of the Zionist vision inside the 
borders delineated by the Green Line.  It would be 
terrible if Israeli society only reaches this sober 
conclusion after another round of bloodshed." 
 
II.  "Giving Abbas Some Space" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz 
(January 26): "The events of the last week raise 
serious questions about the Israeli leadership.  It's 
not difficult to guess what would have happened if it 
had behaved with routine reflexes and sent the army 
into Gaza for another punitive raid after the attack at 
Karni and the Qassam barrage at Sderot.  The 
Palestinians would have counted their dead, and the 
government would have explained there was simply no 
alternative.... Abu Mazen acted without waiting for 
Israel to respond to a list of Palestinian complaints, 
like freezing the fence, freeing prisoners and lifting 
checkpoints.  That won him a hefty credit line in the 
international arena.  Sharon understood that there's no 
point now in demanding an absolute elimination of 
terror before any progress and that it would be best to 
let Abbas do what he can.  Those are good signs ahead 
of the renewal of the negotiations between the two 
leaders." 
III.  "A Look at Abu Mazen's Strategy" 
 
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote in nationalist, 
Orthodox Hatzofe (January 26): "According to Israeli 
defense sources, the [current] cease-fire blends in 
with Abu Mazen's readiness to cooperate with Israel 
during the disengagement [process], and to turn it from 
a unilateral one to a coordinated one.  Abu Mazen views 
the disengagement expected for the summer of 2005 as a 
further stage in the road map.  He will try to bring 
about toward the end of the year ... an international 
conference with the Quartet ... and particularly with 
the U.S., which will lead him to a permanent-status 
agreement.  As a reminder, there is such a clause in 
the road map.  Speaking of a permanent-status 
agreement, Abu Mazen's strategic goals are no different 
from those of Arafat in their four components: 
Palestinian statehood; Jerusalem as the capital of the 
Palestinian state; full withdrawal to the 1967 or land 
swap in a 1:1 ratio that will amount to a 100-percent 
withdrawal; and the attainment of the right of return." 
 
IV.  "Diplomatic Track vs. Anti-Semitic Track" 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (January 
26): "A special report released on Tuesday by ... 
Palestinian Media Watch brings particularly worrying 
data about the increase in anti-Semitic incitement in 
the Palestinian Authority.... The report's compilers 
say that all stories and broadcasts in the Palestinian 
media are fraught with portrayals of the Jew as 
essentially inferior and as an existential threat to 
Muslims and the rest of the world.  The proposed 
solution to the problem is the annihilation of the Jews 
-- as simple as that.... The proponents of 
disengagement point at efforts being made by the 
Palestinian leaders, headed by Abu Mazen, to prevent 
dozens or hundreds of Palestinians from carrying out 
terrorist attacks and launching rockets and missiles at 
Israel.  But what value do these efforts, which are 
positive per se, have as at the same time the 
Palestinian media directs the increase in anti-Semitic 
incitement among the next generation?  How useful are 
all the slogans coming out of the Israeli Left about 
the importance of the diplomatic track, while the 
Palestinians have picked the anti-Semitic track?" 
 
KURTZER