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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 000786 
 
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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All media bannered public pledges by PM Sharon and PA 
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) at the summit 
meeting held in Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday to put an end 
to four years of violence.  Jerusalem Post noted that, 
in a private meeting, they expressed their 
determination to make these declarations stick this 
time.  Leading media reported that, in their session 
together, Sharon and Abbas agreed to coordinate efforts 
on the disengagement, and to step up security 
coordination efforts that have already begun in the few 
weeks since Abbas assumed office.  Yediot reported that 
next week Israel would hand over the security control 
of Jericho to the PA.  The media reported that Egypt 
and Jordan will soon return their ambassadors to 
Israel.  Banners in Yediot: "The Intifada Is Over," and 
Maariv: "Maybe This Time."  Above the recurrent photo 
of a Sharon-Abbas handshake, skeptical Hatzofe 
bannered: "Release of the Murderers."  Leading media 
quoted Sharon as saying that he will come to Ramallah, 
and reported that he has invited Abbas to visit his 
Sycamore Ranch.  Ha'aretz reported that Sharon's 
announcement at the summit that Israel would halt 
offensive military operations in the territories has 
not yet been implemented on the ground.  The newspaper 
quoted Hamas and Islamic Jihad representative as saying 
that their groups are not bound by the cease-fire. 
 
Yediot quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying Tuesday that 
the U.S. is about to dispatch another envoy to the 
region, in addition to Lt. Gen. William E. (Kip) Ward. 
Yediot reported that Tuesday, at her foreign policy 
speech at Paris's Institute of Political Studies 
(Institut d'Etudes Politiques), Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice praised Sharon and Abbas as both of 
them said that this is a time of opportunity which must 
not be lost.   The newspaper quoted Secretary Rice as 
saying that the U.S., Europe, and the Middle Eastern 
nations must "make clear to Iran and Syria that they 
must stop supporting the terrorists who would seek to 
destroy the peace that we seek."  Jerusalem Post quoted 
Rice as saying Tuesday that she believes the cease-fire 
will hold since there was now "a new Palestinian 
leadership that is devoted to a peaceful resolution of 
the conflict," and that it has been "categorical in 
rejecting violence as a way toward achieving peace." 
 
Israel Radio quoted Syrian Ambassador to Washington 
Imad Mustafa as saying in Houston that Damascus 
supports Abbas's efforts to reach an agreement with 
Israel, and that it hopes that the process will lead to 
just, comprehensive peace in the Middle East.  The 
radio reported that Mustafa criticized the United 
States' attitude vis-a-vis his country, quoting him as 
saying that he was astounded to hear President Bush's 
remarks that Syria is an obstacle to peace. 
Israel Radio quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as 
saying that 1,000 Palestinian workers would be allowed 
into Israel, and that the Erez Crossing would be 
reopened. 
 
All media reported that after over a week of delays due 
to the government not having a majority, the evacuation- 
compensation bill passed the Knesset Finance Committee 
Tuesday in a 10-9 vote.  The media cited an uproar 
among the Right that the vote of Israeli-Arab Hadash- 
Arab Movement For Renewal (Ta'al) Knesset Member 
Mohammed Barakeh allowed the passing of the bill, which 
will only reach the plenum next Wednesday, because the 
Knesset's Constitution, Justice and Law Committee must 
review the various elements in the bill referring to 
criminal activity in the context of refusal to 
evacuate.  The bill is expected to pass in the plenum. 
 
On a popular talk show on Channel 2-TV last night, FM 
Shalom said he intends to lead a public campaign for a 
national referendum on the disengagement plan, because 
he is concerned about a "rift in the people."  Shalom 
acknowledged that there could be no referendum without 
Sharon's assent.  Yediot cited a response by Sharon 
associates that the supporters of a referendum are 
opposed to disengagement.  Israel Radio reported that 
Minister-without-Portfolio Tzachi Hanegbi is trying to 
get the support of the Likud Central Committee for a 
referendum. 
 
Yediot reported that 10,000 IDF soldiers in regular and 
reserve service have signed a petition initiated by the 
right-wing organization Defensive Shield, in which they 
pledged not to take part in an evacuation of 
settlements. 
 
Citing AP, Jerusalem Post reported that the Jordan- 
based Arab Bank will gradually close its branch in New 
York, where it faces lawsuits on the grounds that it 
allegedly supported terrorism by funneling donations to 
Palestinian suicide bombers and their families. 
 
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Mideast: 
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                       Summary: 
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Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In one 
way, the Sharm summit may have already served [Sharon]: 
it produced the death certificate for the referendum 
plot." 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "So many wise people ... 
warn against sinking into euphoria and express great 
skepticism and fear that everything will immediately 
crumble, until a desire arises to be optimistic despite 
everything." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The stronger 
Ariel Sharon becomes on the outside, the weaker he 
becomes at home.  Every step toward the evacuation 
leaves in its wake scorched political earth." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"[The Israelis'] perception of a Palestinian state has 
flipped from being regarded as a mortal threat to being 
seen as a historic necessity.   The Palestinians, by 
contrast, have not begun the parallel evolution that 
must take place for a two-state solution to have a 
chance." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Requiem For a Referendum" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(February 9): "Yasser Arafat died on November 11, but 
he was finally buried Tuesday at the Sharm summit.  At 
an elegant, focused and businesslike ceremony, the 
bloody Al-Aqsa Intifada, which he sparked, was also 
interred.... More than anything else,  [Sharon] has 
been transformed in the eyes of the Arabs into the only 
Israeli leader who can lead to a permanent 
agreement.... As Sharon was delivering his speech at 
Sharm, the slogans were going up on walls in Jerusalem 
and Tel Aviv: 'We killed Rabin, we'll kill you too,' 
and 'Death to traitors.'  But just as in 1948, when Ben- 
Gurion determined the date for the establishment of the 
state in opposition to his fellow leaders, so Sharon is 
going against his own camp, but with the majority of 
the people behind him.... Sharon intends to advance the 
titanic enterprise that he began in the face of 
opposition from all those striving to bring him down. 
It will pass in the cabinet and in the Knesset, and by 
the end of the year not one Jew will be left in Gaza. 
In one way, the Sharm summit may have already served 
him: it produced the death certificate for the 
referendum plot." 
II.  "It's All Right to Believe" 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv (February 9): "So many wise 
people write and speak cautiously, warn against sinking 
into euphoria and express great skepticism and fear 
that everything will immediately crumble, until a 
desire arises to be optimistic despite everything. 
Because most of these wise people have been wrong and 
misled us so many times -- admittedly, usually in the 
other direction -- so why not this time too.... The 
greatest contribution of this change in Ariel Sharon's 
approach, aside from the concrete issues, lies in 
enabling us to understand that if this steadfast rock, 
this advocate of adhering to every inch of land, can 
behave so differently now, it is a sign that a lot of 
other things in the region can change.  If things have 
really changed, if the two peoples really calm down 
somewhat in a period of relative quiet and prosperity, 
it will be possible to slowly and cautiously advance to 
the next stage.   It is advisable to be balanced and 
not hope for great things, since those who read the 
road map realistically see it ending not in a full 
peace and final status arrangement, but rather in a 
long-term interim agreement that includes a Palestinian 
state with non-final borders, which will leave much 
work for the coming generations of state leaders and 
military commanders.  Much will depend, of course, on 
the degree of quiet that exists here, meaning the level 
of terror, which will not disappear completely, 
regrettably enough.  In fact, this leads us back to 
square one of the Oslo accords, in other words, the 
idea that quiet and a scarcity of violence will build 
mutual trust, which will smooth the way to the final 
status arrangement." 
 
III.  "Just a Minute!" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (February 9): 
"Peaking with euphoria, facing three Arab leaders who 
did their utmost on Tuesday to please, Sharon leaned 
close to Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon's ear and 
whispered a critical question: 'How did Benlolo vote?' 
Daniel Benlolo (Likud) is a member of the Knesset 
Finance Committee.  For days on end he deliberated 
which way to vote on the evacuation-compensation bill. 
Maimon didn't have an answer....   [Benlolo eventually] 
voted against.  Five Likud representatives on the 
committee voted against, and only two voted in favor. 
That vote put the euphoria back in its proper 
proportion: the stronger Ariel Sharon becomes on the 
outside, the weaker he becomes at home.  Every step 
toward the evacuation leaves in its wake scorched 
political earth.... Sharon has found a way to get along 
with Mubarak, Abdullah and Abbas for the time being. 
The question is how will he get along without Benlolo." 
IV.  "Abbas's Absent Talk of Compromise" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(February 9): "In the next few months, Sharon has 
committed to carrying out the most concrete down 
payment toward such a state that Israel has ever made, 
include signing and implementing Oslo itself. 
Disengagement is neither conditional nor an experiment. 
It is a concrete manifestation of Israel's deep and 
irreversible consensus, as Sharon said to the 
Palestinian people, that we have 'no desire to continue 
to govern over you and control your fate'.... Israel 
has given up the dream of many of its citizens to 
permanently reclaim the Biblical heartland that it 
captured in 1967.  At least as profoundly, the 
perception of a Palestinian state has flipped from 
being regarded as a mortal threat to being seen as a 
historic necessity.   The Palestinians, by contrast, 
have not begun the parallel evolution that must take 
place for a two-state solution to have a chance.  They 
have not begun to give up their claim to a Palestinian 
right to live on both sides of the Green Line.  Abbas 
has not begun to speak, even in general, of the need 
for painful Palestinian concessions, let alone 
specifically of the need to give up, forever, the dream 
of 'return' to Haifa, Jaffa or Safed, where Abbas 
himself was born.  On the contrary, on Tuesday he 
repeated the well-worn code words for such unacceptable 
demands.... Abbas, then, missed an opportunity to speak 
to Israelis as Sharon spoke to Palestinians.  'The time 
has come for the Palestinian people to achieve their 
independence and their freedom,' Abbas said.  That goal 
is certainly within the Palestinians' grasp.  Indeed, 
nothing is stopping the Palestinians from doing what 
they need to do to achieve it: abandon terror, 
democratize, and give up the dream of two states, both 
of them Palestinian." 
 
KURTZER