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 001171 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Democratic Reform in Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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During the weekend, Friday night's suicide bombing 
outside a Tel Aviv nightclub dominated the news 
reports.  Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the 
attack, in which five Israelis were killed and close to 
50 others were wounded.  The media quoted PM Sharon and 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying at Sunday's 
cabinet meeting that Israel will use intelligence 
information to prove that Syria was behind the bombing. 
Sharon also said that this is "not enough to absolve 
the PA of its responsibility for the departure of the 
terrorist and of its obligation to act against hid 
partners in the crime."  Leading media reported that 
the cabinet launched a major diplomatic offensive 
against both Syria and the PA.  Maariv cited claims by 
Israeli security sources that it was Iran that pushed 
Islamic Jihad into carrying out the attack.  The media 
reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
demanded that Palestinian leaders find those 
responsible and send a clear message that terror will 
not be tolerated, and that Sharon told her that talks 
on the road map could not begin unless there were 
"active steps against terrorism."  The media also 
reported that the White House has expressed a message 
similar to Secretary Rice's. 
 
Yediot reported that a plan presented at the Prime 
Minister's Office on Sunday is sending a "clear 
message" to hundreds of settler families who refuse to 
be evacuated under the disengagement plan: those who 
wait until the last moment will lose part of the 
benefits they are being offered -- new accommodation in 
southern Israel. 
 
Yediot and Jerusalem Post highlighted Shin Bet head Avi 
Dichter's warning at Sunday's cabinet meeting that 
dozens of hard-core right-wing extremists "have the 
potential to commit an act of terror" against Sharon or 
the Temple Mount in an attempt to stop the 
disengagement plan. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that an official Jordanian 
source told the newspaper on Sunday that Syrian, 
Jordanian and Israeli Foreign Ministry officials held 
secret peace talks in Jordan last week. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Ha'aretz reported that PDAS David Satterfield will meet 
this morning with Lebanese FM Mahmoud Hamoud after 
having met with the leaders of the Lebanese opposition. 
 
Leading media reported that police are investigating 
suspicions that Haim Cohen, the former CEO of Himnuta, 
a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), 
purchased stolen Palestinian lands in exchange for 
bribes.   Lt. Col. Yair Blumenthal, head of the 
infrastructure department of the GOI's Civil 
Administration in the West Bank, is among those who 
have been arrested in connection with the affair. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the IDF recently began to 
distribute "resident" stickers to West Bank settlers to 
be affixed to their cars' windshields.  The stickers 
are intended to allow settlers to drive quickly through 
army checkpoints along the Green Line.  Based on the 
Shin Bet, the newspaper mentions that since the 
beginning of the Intifada, terror organizations had 
increasingly taken advantage of Israeli Arabs, with or 
without their knowledge. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted officials in Defense Minister Shaul 
Mofaz's office as saying that a new road to Tel Romeida 
-- the six-family Jewish settlement neighborhood in 
Hebron -- is an IDF road that does not require the 
approval of the defense minister.  The road is being 
paved through Palestinian-owned property in the city 
and expropriation of land.  The newspaper says that 
U.S. officials have asked for clarifications concerning 
the road, which is slated to pass through area H2 -- 
Palestinian-held territory. 
 
Leading media reported that Jordan's King Abdullah 
plans to visit the PA and Israel. 
 
On Sunday, Yediot cited the Italian daily Corriere 
Della Sera, which quoted economic sources in Lugano, 
Switzerland, as saying that "someone in the Deutsche 
Bank branch in Switzerland" is transferring part of 
Yasser Arafat's money to Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei and 
to Farouk Kaddoumi, the Damascus-based hard-line PLO 
"foreign minister."  The Italian newspaper says that 
the transfers are meant to strengthen the Palestinian 
politicians' positions, unbeknown to Abbas. 
 
Leading media reported that Iran and Russia signed an 
agreement on Sunday to supply uranium for the Bushehr 
nuclear reactor. 
 
Yediot and Maariv reported that the GOI's anti-terror 
HQ has rescinded its travel warning for Istanbul. 
 
Maariv reported on a current special cooperation 
project between the U.S. and Israeli defense 
establishments: the Defense Ministry's handicapped 
rehabilitation branch is helping U.S. rehabilitation 
branches treat U.S. soldiers who suffer from combat 
shock following their service in Iraq. 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Not only Israelis are being 
targeted, but the Palestinian Authority leadership as 
well.... Abu Mazen, therefore, must defeat the first 
budding of this new Intifada at its inception." 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "The only encouraging sign over the 
weekend is that Abu Mazen is really and truly angry. 
He is not Arafat, and his condemnations are not mere 
lip service.  But now he must also take action." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"More will die so long as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas 
continues to avoid the actions he must take." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "In 
London, Abbas can be expected to bask in the praise of 
those who are eager to help him overcome the obstacles 
on the way to consolidating his rule -- but only on 
condition that he exploit this opportunity for genuine 
progress toward peace with Israel." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "Even 
before Syria, Abu Mazen should be held accountable." 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in Yediot 
Aharonot: "The words 'territorial contiguity' that were 
uttered by Bush last week are code words for a 
Palestinian state that extends to the 1967 lines, with 
the possible exception of the 'settlement blocs' that 
[top Sharon aide Dov] Weisglass and Condoleezza Rice 
supposedly agreed on." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "No Return to Terror" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (February 27): "The terror 
attack on Friday night bore clear signs of belonging to 
a new era in the terrorist war.  Its targets have 
shifted: not only Israelis are being targeted, but the 
Palestinian Authority leadership as well.... 
Condemnations [by Abbas and the PA leadership], with 
all due respect to the important role they play in 
promoting the reconciliation process between the two 
nations, are not enough.... The challenge voiced by the 
suicide bomber and his dispatchers to Abu Mazen obliges 
the latter and his government to respond decisively. 
Without such a response ... the situation in the 
territories is liable to deteriorate into an Iraq-like 
situation, into daily terror attacks that are aimed 
equally against the foreign occupier and the elected 
local government.  Abu Mazen, therefore, must defeat 
the first budding of this new Intifada at its 
inception. He cannot afford to play patriotic games, 
and no one needs them....  It is against [the winds of 
freedom], as it is against Israel and the PA, that the 
'evil trio' is pitted: the extremists and zealots in 
Syria, Iran and Hizbullah.  They are united in their 
hatred of Israel, hatred of America and hatred of 
democracy.  They are frightened, and rightly so.... 
From Israel's perspective, there will be no return to 
an Intifada of terrorism.  Israel will not hesitate to 
use military force and to take out one-by-one all the 
people heading the terrorism against it, even if they 
are based in Syria, Lebanon and Iran.  Their days are 
already numbered." 
 
II.  "Bleeding for Abu Mazen" 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (February 27): "Abu Mazen, as [Shin 
Bet head Avi] counting on Israel' willingness to absorb 
a terror attack.  As of Saturday, he was right.  The 
terror attack did not even bring about the cancellation 
of today's meeting between Shimon Peres and Mohammed 
Dahlan.  Just as in the days of 'We will continue with 
the peace process as though there were no terrorism.' 
But will Israel restrain itself after the next terror 
attack as well?  As unpleasant as this is to say, it 
looks like this depends on the number of casualties. 
The only encouraging sign over the weekend is that Abu 
Mazen is really and truly angry.  He is not Arafat, and 
his condemnations are not mere lip service.  But now he 
must also take action.  We have had enough of talk, and 
it is not certain that Israel will be able to continue 
to bleed for Abu Mazen's sake in the future as well." 
 
III.  "Actions, Not Words" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(February 27): "Spare us the condemnations, at least 
that.  For the Palestinian Authority to condemn what it 
has not lifted a finger to prevent is almost a waste of 
breath.... More will die so long as PA Chairman Mahmoud 
Abbas continues to avoid the actions he must take. 
Enumerating those actions has also begun to feel like a 
waste of breath: collecting weapons, arresting 
terrorists, and ending incitement. Abbas is acting as 
if he has a polite disagreement with the terrorists, 
one that can be resolved by the usual political horse- 
trading.  Indeed, there is little evidence that Abbas 
and the terrorists have more than tactical differences. 
The simplest measure of this is the matter of 
incitement.... So long as the PA continues to pump 
Palestinian minds full of promises of 'return' to 
Israel itself, the unavoidable conclusion is that the 
only difference between Abbas and the terrorists is 
tactical: one is willing to use diplomacy for a while, 
the other unwilling to use it at all.  The only way out 
of this is for the international community, including 
Israel, to condition its support on the PA upholding 
its most basic commitments." 
 
IV.  "Checks For Changes" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(February 28): "British Prime Minister Tony Blair will 
open an international conference in London tomorrow 
whose goal is to help the Palestinians help 
themselves.... Abbas is coming to London to sign 
receipts for the generous financial aid that he will be 
offered: hundreds of millions of dollars.... Above all, 
this is a deal of checks in exchange for changes.  The 
government headed by Abbas is being asked to undertake 
far-reaching changes as a condition for receiving the 
world's support.  The most important change is supposed 
to be a more energetic war on terror.  [Secretary] 
Rice, in a forceful statement published after this 
weekend's bombing in Tel Aviv, stressed that the 
condemnations uttered by Abbas are not enough: the U.S. 
expects him to act.... In London, Abbas can be expected 
to bask in the praise of those who are eager to help 
him overcome the obstacles on the way to consolidating 
his rule -- but only on condition that he exploit this 
opportunity for genuine progress toward peace with 
Israel.  Only if he is wise enough to do so, by foiling 
future terror attacks, will the process that he and 
Sharon are now conducting under an international 
umbrella have any chance of success." 
 
¶V.  "Those Who Are Responsible Even Before Syria" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (February 
28): "Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, and Prime Minister 
Ariel Sharon too, are pointing an accusing finger at 
Syria, which they blame for Tel Aviv's suicide bombing. 
Syria indeed hosts the worst Palestinian organizations, 
but, even before Syria, Abu Mazen should be held 
accountable.  For the time being, Abu Mazen is acting 
according to the method of this predecessor, the rogue 
Yasser Arafat -- the name of the wicked shall rot!  He 
arrests two people, allegedly sends two investigators 
to find those responsible for the bombing, but doesn't 
start any serious work against the terrorists.... Abu 
Mazen is asking himself, and justly so: if Israel is 
about to abandon the Gaza Strip, why are street battles 
with terror organizations needed there?.... The moment 
Hizbullah carries out several attacks -- God forbid -- 
the other groups will follow suit.  Meanwhile it's 
relatively calm, as the purpose is to gain [the release 
of] some more prisoners as part of Israel's gestures." 
 
VI.  "Waking Up to the Day After" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in Yediot 
Aharonot (February 27): "Had the Israeli cabinet 
ministers some animal sense, their ears would have 
perked up as early as last week.  President Bush, the 
one who has been the best friend Israel has ever had in 
the White House, spoke last week in Europe briefly in 
support of 'territorial contiguity' for the Palestinian 
state.... The words 'territorial contiguity' that were 
uttered by Bush last week are code words for a 
Palestinian state that extends to the 1967 lines, with 
the possible exception of the 'settlement blocs' that 
[top Sharon aide Dov] Weisglass and Condoleezza Rice 
supposedly agreed on.  What that means is that the 
Americans and the world expect chapter two to involve 
an Israeli dismantling of at least 100 Israeli 
settlements, including some of the oldest in Judea and 
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank].  The Americans will say 
that they warned us after the Six-Day War not to annex 
the territories and not to build settlements, but we 
defied them.  Everyone is writing and talking about 
disengagement, the evacuees who are deserving of our 
sympathy, and civil war.  All that is important, but it 
is more important to know what will happen on the day 
after." 
 
 
--------------------------------- 
¶2.  Democratic Reform in Mideast: 
--------------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"If Mubarak were sincere he would grant would-be 
candidates like [head of Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party 
Ayman] Nour access to state-run newspapers and 
television.   Naturally, it would help if he first 
released him from prison." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
"Cairo Spring" 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(February 28): "On the theory that democracies do not 
go to war with other democracies, Israel has a profound 
interest in seeing Cairo's regime become more 
representative.  Secretary Rice has been calling on the 
world to 'apply what Natan Sharansky calls the "town 
square test'" -- if a person cannot walk into the 
middle of the town square and express his or her views 
without fear of arrest, imprisonment or physical harm, 
then that person is living in a fear society, not a 
free society.'  By that criterion, Egypt remains 
unfree.  If Mubarak were sincere he would grant would- 
be candidates like [head of Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party 
Ayman] Nour access to state-run newspapers and 
television.   Naturally, it would help if he first 
released him from prison." 
 
KURTZER