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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000752 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with reports that PM Sharon and PA 
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) are expected to 
issue separate statements at today's Sharm el-Sheikh 
summit to put an end to over four years of violence. 
The major newspapers' front pages are adorned in the 
style befitting festive occasions.  Banners in Yediot: 
"New Hope," Maariv: "Summit of Hope," and Hatzofe: 
"Summit of Declarations."  Maariv highlighted Israel's 
hope that the peace declarations would lead to actions. 
 
All media quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as 
saying at the close of her visit in the region that Lt. 
Gen. William E. (Kip) Ward (whom a Maariv headline dubs 
a "champion in the struggle against terror, and a 
rookie in the Middle East") has been appointed the 
United States' security coordinator, but not political 
arbitrator, in the region, in which capacity he will 
assist the rehabilitation of the Palestinian security 
services, encourage greater Israeli-Palestinian 
security coordination, and, if necessary, head 
trilateral security coordination.  Ward will also 
remain in contact with Egypt and Jordan, both of which 
will be involved in Israeli-Palestinian security 
arrangements.  Rice said that Ward's mandate was 
security-related because progress on security is a 
precondition for progress in other areas.  Ha'aretz 
notes that Israeli officials were pleased both by the 
choice of Ward and by his limited mandate -- focused on 
security only, and with emphasis on the Palestinian 
side. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Secretary Rice delivered 
invitations to both Sharon and Abbas during her visit 
in the region, and on Monday expressed confidence that 
the Sharm el-Sheikh summit would succeed.  Ha'aretz 
quoted President Bush as saying Monday that he hopes to 
meet with the new Palestinian leadership in the White 
House this spring to discuss ways of furthering Israeli- 
Palestinian negotiations.  Bush praised Abbas, who he 
said received an electoral mandate from many 
Palestinians and enjoyed his public's confidence. 
 
Leading media (principally Ha'aretz) reported that on 
Monday, the U.S. administration released details of the 
increased aid that President Bush promised the PA last 
week.  The White House has asked Congress to release 
USD 40 million immediately.  Of this, USD 8 million 
will be earmarked for assistance to the private sector, 
USD 3 million for health care, and USD 13 million for 
improving the PA's water infrastructure; the remainder 
will be devoted to higher education, community services 
and job creation.  The White House is also requesting 
USD 200 million for renovating houses in Gaza, 
rehabilitating the Palestinian economy, facilitating 
cargo transfers between Israel and the PA and improving 
healthcare and welfare.  The newspaper says that Bush 
also plans to ask Congress for USD 150 million for the 
PA in 2006. 
 
Hatzofe reported that at the security talks with the 
Palestinians, Israel rejected a Palestinian request to 
resume the "safe passage" procedure between the Gaza 
Strip and the West Bank.  The newspaper reported that 
the GOI is inclined to return VIP passes to senior 
Palestinians, which Israel confiscated around four 
years ago. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Egypt is offering to position 
3,000-3,500 additional policemen at its border with the 
Gaza Strip in order to prevent arms smuggling.  The 
newspaper cited Israel's suspicious attitude regarding 
the proposal.  Hatzofe reported that on Wednesday, the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will 
discuss anti-Semitic incitement in Egypt. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the government plans to employ a 
parliamentary maneuver to get the disengagement bill 
through the Knesset Finance Committee this week.  All 
media reported that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, 
spiritual leader of the Lithuanian stream of ultra- 
Orthodox Judaism, on Monday instructed Degel Hatorah 
Knesset members within the United Torah Judaism party 
to vote in favor of holding a referendum on the 
disengagement plan.  Maariv reported that an associate 
of Rabbi Elyashiv hinted that he only wanted to avoid a 
situation in which a UTJ representative would determine 
the vote at the Finance Committee.  However, Ha'aretz 
noted that there is still no Knesset majority for 
passing the necessary legislation. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior Israeli security official as 
saying Monday that Israel will evacuate settlement 
outposts in the West Bank only after implementation of 
the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the northern 
West Bank. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, 
following a meeting with Secretary Rice on Monday, as 
saying that a military strike against nuclear targets 
was not on the agenda.  Mofaz said: "I think we see eye- 
to-eye [with the U.S.] that the diplomatic path is the 
correct one at this time.  We did not speak of other 
options." 
 
Leading media reported that far-right militants failed 
to get elected at Monday's elections for the Likud 
secretariat, which is considered the party's most 
 
SIPDIS 
influential body. 
 
A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll: 
-"What is your position on the disengagement plan?" 
Fairly positive: 21 percent; absolutely positive: 48 
percent; absolutely opposed: 18 percent; somewhat 
opposed: 9 percent. 
-"Do you think Palestinian prisoners, including those 
who murdered Israelis (those with 'blood on their 
hands'), should be released?"  Those 'with blood on 
their hands' may be released, but only if they are old 
or sick: 21 percent; prisoners yes, but not those 'with 
blood on their hands': 46 percent; they should not be 
released at all: 31 percent. 
-"Is Israel headed for a period of security calm?  Are 
you optimistic?"  Rather optimistic: 48 percent; very 
optimistic 13 percent; very pessimistic: 27 percent; 
rather pessimistic: 23 percent. 
-"Abu Mazen proclaims that he intends to bring about a 
halt to the terrorist attacks.  Do you believe him?" 
Tend to believe him 36 percent; believe him 24 percent; 
don't believe him 27 percent; tend not to believe him 
10 percent. 
-"Should a referendum be held on the withdrawal from 
the Gaza Strip and northernmost part of the West Bank?" 
Think there is a need: 20 percent; certain there is a 
need: 35 percent; certain there is no need: 27 percent; 
think there is no need: 16 percent. 
 
Erratum: In the Feb. 7 Media Reaction report, the 
findings of the Tel Aviv University's Peace Index poll 
conducted among Israeli Jews on January 31-February 1 
should have read: 
-77 percent support negotiations with the Palestinians; 
51 percent (not 31 percent) believe they will lead to 
peace in the next few years. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "U.S. 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel 
 
SIPDIS 
and the Palestinian Authority brought with it a renewal 
of U.S. involvement in the effort to solve the 
conflict, after a long period in which it was absent 
from the region." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Are the two peoples, intertwined in a bloody 
100-year conflict, capable of starting a process toward 
an agreement without ... a 'leap of faith'?" 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of 
Yediot Aharonot: "Everything that is happening and will 
happen in the months ahead between Israel and the 
Palestinians, between Israel and the Americans, between 
Israel and the world, is dependent on Ariel Sharon." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv: "This [summit] will be a 
light, distilled sample of peace.  One moment of 
sanity.  A small promo of normality." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Showering Abbas with 'help' will have the opposite of 
the intended effect if such help is not made 
conditional on concrete results." 
 
Security and intelligence affairs commentator Amit 
Cohen wrote in Maariv: "The question is whether the 
Israelis and the Palestinians are going to Sharm el- 
Sheikh to bury their differences or only to build up 
their strength for the next round of violence." 
 
Nationalist columnist Emuna Elon wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "The only problem is that Palestinian logic 
remains different from ours, and so on and so forth 
until we wise up." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Rice Adopts the Disengagement" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(February 8): "U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza 
Rice's visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority 
brought with it a renewal of U.S. involvement in the 
effort to solve the conflict, after a long period in 
which it was absent from the region.... The U.S. will 
avoid mediation at this point, but will help find 
solutions for problems that arise.  Rice also made 
clear the determined support of the U.S. for the 
disengagement plan.... In her talks with the political 
echelon in Jerusalem, Rice emphasized the importance of 
sticking to the timetable set for the disengagement and 
called for it not to be delayed.... Rice's statements 
are an important message to the Israeli public and 
political arena.  In U.S. eyes, the disengagement plan 
is not an internal Israeli affair but a far-reaching 
international commitment by the government that bears 
within it a chance for a historic change in the history 
of the region, and for relations between Israel and the 
Arabs.  This opportunity must not be missed.... Sending 
Lt. Gen. William Ward to the region as a security 
coordinator to accompany the Palestinian security 
reforms and monitor the activities of both sides is 
proper and appropriate.  One of the lessons of the Oslo 
process and the Intifada was the need for a critical 
eye, which could demand of the Israelis and 
Palestinians that they keep their promises.  At 
Israel's request, the envoy's mandate will focus on 
security arrangements in this current prologue period 
before the start of the road map.  One can expect that 
the monitoring mechanisms will expand in the future, 
but for now the Americans preferred to accede to the 
Israeli request to help Sharon successfully accomplish 
the disengagement." 
 
II.  "A Leap of Faith" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (February 8): "Ever since the Sharm el-Sheikh 
summit was declared, the leaderships in Jerusalem and 
in Ramallah have been careful to paint it in shades of 
gray.  Israel depicts it as a ceremony that it has 
practically been forced into, without the American 
boss.... Israelis and Palestinians have remained, even 
in the days filled with the greatest hope, suspicious 
of each other.... But at this time, as the leaders 
meet, the question if there is any other way still 
hovers in the air.  Are the two peoples, intertwined in 
a bloody 100-year conflict, capable of starting a 
process toward an agreement without such a 'leap of 
faith'?.... Sharon will not give a moving speech today, 
like those that Yitzhak Rabin would make.  The 
Palestinian leader will not talk about a 'peace of the 
brave.'  Sharon and Abu Mazen are not great orators, 
who can move people with their vision.  Their peoples, 
whose wounds are still bleeding, do not want to hear 
about a tomorrow in which the army removes its uniform 
and our hearts stand at attention [words from a Hebrew 
song].  But even so, it is still not just another day. 
And despite this unwillingness, it is very unlikely if 
it will ever be possible to bridge the abyss in one 
leap, high above the lack of trust." 
 
III.  "Good-Bye Intifada, Good Morning Conflict" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of 
Yediot Aharonot (February 8): "The four leaders who 
will pose for a joint picture in Sharm el-Sheikh today 
will convey, by the fact of their presence there, the 
following message: the old Intifada, the Intifada of 
terror, is over.  The new era will be a lot more 
complex. It will include unilateral steps along with 
the signs of negotiations and along with outbursts of 
violence and terror.... Sharon does not intend to bring 
gifts to Sharm el-Sheikh.  He will bring the news of 
the release of 900 prisoners that was approved by the 
security cabinet, and will suffice with that.  From the 
Palestinians' perspective, this is a disappointment. 
The gap between Sharon and Abu Mazen is not just over 
the size of the gestures.  It applies to almost every 
issue on the agenda.  The battlefield is the U.S. 
administration, international public opinion and public 
opinion in Israel.  The big question is whether it will 
be possible to wage this battle over time without 
falling into the trap of violence.  There are a number 
of positive signs on the ground.  First, the drastic 
drop in terror.  Even if this is temporary, it allows 
both sides to gather strength.... The absence of 
[Israeli] ministers at Sharm el-Sheikh highlights just 
how much disengagement, and everything that is 
happening and will happen in the months ahead between 
Israel and the Palestinians, between Israel and the 
Americans, between Israel and the world, is dependent 
on Ariel Sharon.  This is an enormous burden.  He 
prefers to bear it alone." 
 
IV.  "In Front of Everyone" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv (February 8): "This 
[summit] will be a light, distilled sample of peace. 
One moment of sanity.  A small promo of normality.  It 
is not yet clear whether Abu Mazen is capable of doing 
something real against Hamas.... It is not clear 
whether Abu Mazen has a chance, but what is clear that 
positive energy is building up from people in all 
quarters who want a little peace and quiet.  Today 
Sharon will try to give it a chance, even though he is 
skeptical, apprehensive, suspicious and quick-tempered. 
A huge wave of expectations is rising up in front of 
him.  Sharon will be happy to splash about in it, to 
quench his thirst.  The real test will begin on the 
morning after, when he will have to match reality [with 
the expectations], to coordinate the intentions, to 
overcome the obstacles and cross the canals.   All that 
still lies ahead of us.... The road will still be hard. 
But it too has to begin with one small step." 
 
¶V.  "How This Summit Could Be Different" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(February 8): "Why are we asked to believe this time 
will be different?  Two reasons, presumably: the death 
of Yasser Arafat and general Palestinian exhaustion. 
These fundamental factors should indeed provide some 
basis to build something new.  Yet there are some 
lessons from past hopeful moments that should be 
learned to help ensure that this one is not 
squandered.... It is not enough to let the terrorists 
take a break, while leaving intact the moral and 
physical infrastructure that supports them.... 
Terrorists will not be stopped by throwing money at the 
Palestinian Authority, or by 'helping Abu Mazen' by 
releasing prisoners.... This time, as in the past, 
Israel will doubtless release prisoners, pull back its 
forces, stop running after wanted terrorists, release 
funds, remove checkpoints and welcome more Palestinian 
workers.  But if this time is to be different, the 
Palestinian claim that Israel has not done enough of 
all these things should not be accepted as an excuse 
for the PA not doing what it can and must do. 
Showering Abbas with 'help' will have the opposite of 
the intended effect if such help is not made 
conditional on concrete results." 
 
VI.  "Enough Blood Has Been Shed" 
 
Security and intelligence affairs commentator Amit 
Cohen wrote in Maariv (February 8): "If all the hopes 
of the past few days are realized in full, and if there 
is no last-minute hitch, it will happen today: the two 
sides will announce a ceasefire.  This time, it is to 
be hoped, it will be genuine and durable....  But after 
such a long conflict, the mutual distrust between the 
two sides still poses a serious problem.  This will not 
be solved at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit by a mere 
declaration that the violence is over.  In return for 
the things which Israel is demanding, the Palestinians 
are demanding the ultimate gesture -- release of 
murderers.  Every time the issue is raised, the 
Palestinians cite what happened in Northern Ireland and 
South Africa, to show that the policy contributes to 
genuine reconciliation.  But the question is whether 
the Israelis and the Palestinians are going to Sharm el- 
Sheikh to bury their differences or only to build up 
their strength for the next round of violence." 
 
VII.  "And So On and So Forth Until We Wise Up" 
 
Nationalist columnist Emuna Elon wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (February 8): "To evaluate whether something 
good is indeed about to happen this time, we must 
examine why nothing good came out of the previous 'new 
eras,' and the answer, 'Yasser Arafat,' is not enough. 
Arafat did not destroy the Israeli dreams of peace on 
his own, and his death did not disarm the battalions of 
terror who control Judea, Samaria and Gaza [i.e. the 
territories].  Sharon's withdrawal from Gush Katif and 
from northern Samaria [i.e. the northernmost part of 
the West Bank] is also not enough: the present Intifada 
in fact broke out, let us not forget, when Ehud Barak 
was about to withdraw from much more territory.... 
Western logic led to the conception of 'land for peace' 
and to the vision of a Palestinian state on both sides 
of Israel (in Judea and Samaria and in Gaza).  Today 
Israeli logic contends that terror will stop if we only 
stop annoying the Palestinians and getting them to hit 
back at us, if we only release more murderers, if we 
just stop 'occupying' our land.  The only problem is 
that Palestinian logic remains different from ours, and 
so on and so forth until we wise up." 
 
KURTZER