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 001192 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media reported on, and the major newspapers 
bannered, Monday's demonstration in Beirut and the 
resignation of Omar Karameh's pro-Syrian government. 
Israel Radio cited the USG's overt satisfaction over 
the development. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice, traveling to the London Meeting on 
Supporting the Palestinian Authority, warned 
Palestinian leaders on Monday that they are required to 
deal with terrorism.  Ha'aretz reported on, and its 
English Ed. bannered, a document it obtained -- the 
final statement to be issued at today's London 
conference, which will reportedly not mention terrorism 
and refers only in vague terms to Palestinian security 
commitments, as the Palestinians persuaded the British 
hosts to leave out any mention of a Palestinian 
commitment to act against the launching of Qassam 
rockets or armed attacks on Israelis from the 
territories.  According to Ha'aretz, the PA does 
promise "to restore and revive the lines of 
communication with the Israeli security establishment 
on security issues and will seek to strengthen them in 
the process.  Jerusalem Post quoted a senior PA 
official in Ramallah as saying that the PA is planning 
to ask for USD 500 million in financial aid at the 
conference, and that the money is needed to rebuild 
infrastructure and boost the economy to strengthen PA 
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's administration.  Israel Radio 
quoted Abbas as saying, before the conference, that the 
London conference is the prelude to an international 
peace conference that will take place soon.  The 
station quoted Abbas at saying in his opening speech at 
the conference that the Palestinians have proven that 
they are entitled to a state.  Israel Radio quoted 
Israeli defense sources as saying that security 
cooperation with the Palestinians will resume next 
week, when Abbas returns from London. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted an Israeli source as saying that the 
U.S., which was "burned" when it sent funds to the 
Palestinians under Arafat's regime, is now particularly 
careful.  The same article mentions the importance of 
U.S. Jewry in the restoration of the U.S. Congress's 
transfer of foreign assistance to the Palestinians, as 
promised by President Bush. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that the State 
Department's 2005 Human Rights Report voices criticism 
of human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and 
Israel.  Ha'aretz says that Israel is charged with 
holding thousands of Palestinian prisoners without 
trial, and with failing to act properly regarding the 
improvement of discrimination against Israeli Arabs and 
the abuse of foreign workers. 
Hatzofe quoted a senior IAF officer as saying Monday 
that the Iranian threat is high on the IAF's list of 
priorities.  Jerusalem Post printed a similar story. 
 
All media reported that security forces discovered and 
destroyed a booby-trapped car in the Jenin area on 
Monday.  It is believed to have been assembled by the 
Islamic Jihad cell behind Friday's suicide bombing in 
Tel Aviv.  Depending on reports, the bomb weighed 200 
to 500 kg.  Leading media reported that two civilian 
security guards were wounded last night next to the 
construction site of the separation fence in the 
Modi'in area. 
 
Leading media reported that the Foreign Ministry went 
on the diplomatic offensive against Syria Monday by 
presenting evidence linking it to Friday's terror 
attack in Tel Aviv to ambassadors and officials from UN 
Security Council member countries.  The ministry is 
also sending defense officials to London, Paris, and 
Washington to make Israel's case against Syria. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the IDF plans to accelerate 
the disengagement move, completing it by September 1. 
The radio reported that the operation's codename was 
changed from "Shevet Ahim" ("Brothers Sit Together"), 
which was contested by the Right, to "Disengagement 
Plan."  Yediot reported that cadet soldiers from elite 
units will take part in the evacuation.  Leading media 
reported that the chairman of the Likud Central 
Committee, Minister-Without-Portfolio Tzachi Hanegbi, 
reached a compromise with the Likud "rebels" on a pro- 
referendum proposal that would not embarrass PM Sharon 
for Thursday's committee meeting. 
 
Leading media reported that at a Likud Knesset faction 
meeting on Monday, Sharon lashed out against the 
persistent intervention of High Court Justices in the 
determination of the route of the West Bank separation 
fence.  Leading media reported that on Monday, former 
deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. (Res.) Uzi Dayan, who 
currently heads the Public Council for a Security 
Fence, placed indirect responsibility for Friday's 
suicide bombing in PM Sharon.  Speaking at the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Dayan 
said that if construction of the fence had been 
completed, the terrorist might not have managed to 
reach Tel Aviv to carry out the attack.  Jerusalem Post 
quoted Chief-of-Staff-designate Dan Halutz as saying 
before the committee that the IDF will stay positioned 
in the territory beyond the security fence, and that it 
is putting a priority on completing the barrier in the 
Jerusalem area by the end of July.  Jerusalem Post 
reported that British Ambassador to Israel Simon 
McDonald told the newspaper Monday that Britain 
protested to Israel last week over the decision to draw 
Ma'aleh Adumim and its satellite settlements inside the 
rerouted fence. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Jordanian FM Hani Fawzi al- 
Mulki is slated to arrive in Israel for a visit 
Saturday evening, the first visit by a Jordanian FM 
since 2001. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that the PA's Ministry of 
Planning hopes to transform the Ganim and Cadim 
settlements into a campus for a technical college after 
Israel pulls out of the northern West Bank later this 
year. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the defense establishment 
commission examining the military censor's powers plans 
to recommend expanding the powers of the censor, 
according to a document from the commission that was 
sent to the Press Council's presidium on Monday. 
 
Yediot and Maariv reported that Halutz has named Maj. 
Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky as his deputy. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the High Court of Justice ruled 
Monday that the military investigation into the 
shooting of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) 
activist Brian Avery, and American citizen, who was 
wounded in the face by gunfire in Jenin in April 2003, 
will be reopened.  Jerusalem Post reported that the 
state "reluctantly" accepted a suggestion by the court 
to hear testimony about the incident. 
 
Ha'aretz reported on a business administration program 
at Haifa University, which is attended by Israeli and 
Palestinian students, and encourages economic 
cooperation between Israel and the PA. 
 
All media reported on Monday's suicide bombing in the 
Iraqi town of Hillah. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Intelligence affairs writer Gad Shimron opined on page 
one of popular, pluralist Maariv: "A large poster of 
U.S. President George Bush was conspicuously absent in 
the sea of thousands of Lebanese flags that were raised 
in the central Beirut square." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "These are the 
twilight days of the Syrian political control over 
Lebanon.  The next question will be whether the Syrian 
establishment will seek to punish the young president 
for losing Lebanon." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Who would have believed that the road to the 
liberation of Lebanon would not be paved by 
international diplomacy but by masses of people who 
simply are fed up?" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "There can be no doubt that the events 
currently under way in Lebanon are an earthquake in the 
Arab world.... [Still,] the pressure on Syria and Iran 
needs to be maintained at full force." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Palestinians and Lebanese, like Iraqis and Afghans, 
are not exempt from the human desire for freedom." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"The same Sharon who wanted to smash Oslo is now 
imprisoned by its ropes and praying it won't come to an 
end." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Bush's Victory" 
 
Intelligence affairs writer Gad Shimron opined on page 
one of popular, pluralist Maariv (March 1): "A large 
poster of U.S. President George Bush was conspicuously 
absent in the sea of thousands of Lebanese flags that 
were raised in the central Beirut square.  There is a 
clear and direct line that links between the 
resignation of Omar Karameh's pro-Syrian government and 
Bush's aggressive policy, which has set the 
establishment of democracy in the Middle East as one of 
its declared objectives.... In Beirut, on Monday, for 
the first time in the history of the Arab nation, a 
government resigned because of a mass demonstration. 
So anyone who wants to can keep right on mocking Bush 
and his abilities to lead the free world.  But the wave 
that was created in April 2003 with the crash of the 
statue of Saddam Hussein in one of Baghdad's central 
squares is now arriving, with tsunami force.  Ask Omar 
Karameh, Bashar Assad, Hosni Mubarak and others." 
 
II.  "Syria Is Losing Control" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 1): "It 
turned out Monday that Syria can no longer avert the 
political collapse in Lebanon, and that there was no 
other choice but to make sacrifices.  It is possible 
that the Karameh resignation last night is only the 
first in a series of steps Syria will take to satisfy 
tumultuous Lebanese public opinion -- and to preserve 
what remains of its stature in Lebanon.... Assad is now 
in a new and dangerous situation, as far as Syria is 
concerned.  He's been stripped of his exclusive control 
over Lebanese politics, and the government whose prime 
minister he appointed has resigned, leaving him with 
the somewhat nonsensical statement, 'the resignation of 
the Lebanese government is a domestic Lebanese 
issue'.... These are the twilight days of the Syrian 
political control over Lebanon.  The next question will 
be whether the Syrian establishment will seek to punish 
the young president for losing Lebanon." 
 
III.  "The Tidings from Beirut" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (March 1): "[Current events in Lebanon are] 
the product of the 'zeitgeist': Al-Jazeera, for 
example, is thought of by the West as an Arab 
propaganda agent of sorts; but it brings into the 
Arabs' homes images that raise spirits in a way that 
dictatorial regimes are hard put to cope with.  It is 
not clear yet how the crisis in Lebanon will be 
resolved.  Whoever dares venture a prediction as to 
what will happen to the Syrians, Hizbullah and the 
Israeli interests does so at his own risk, and most of 
the people prophesizing have met in the past with 
stinging failure in their previous forecasts of these 
very same things.  For the time being, we can only gaze 
on in marvel, perhaps even impressed, at a public that 
is prepared to act -- even at the price of facing a 
risk to life.  Who would have believed that the road to 
the liberation of Lebanon would not be paved by 
international diplomacy but by masses of people who 
simply are fed up?" 
 
 
IV.  "Earthquake" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (March 1): "At first glance, this seems to be 
a 'velvet revolution,' similar to the earthquake that 
shook eastern Europe in 1989, with the people bringing 
down a tyrannical government.  Indeed, there can be no 
doubt that the events currently under way in Lebanon 
are an earthquake in the Arab world.  Mass 
demonstrations of this sort might yet topple the 
totalitarian regimes in other Arab countries -- and 
that has elicited almost panicked reactions from 
Mubarak, Assad and their ilk.... But one needs to bear 
in mind that the pro-Syrian regime in Lebanon is still 
intact, and another pro-Syrian government is likely to 
be formed to replace the one that fell.  As such, the 
turn of events is strongly redolent of a Syrian ploy, 
yet another Syrian ploy, in hope that the fall of the 
government in Beirut will appease the masses in the 
streets and quell the 'independence Intifada' that they 
declared.... Now that events are in full play and 
dictators are being hunted, one must not succumb to the 
temptation to believe in Middle Eastern style ploys of 
deception.  The pressure on Syria and Iran needs to be 
maintained at full force.  In what is an interesting 
and historic set of circumstances, for the first time 
since the establishment of the State of Israel, both 
Israel and the Lebanese street, which longs for a 
change, are party in a genuine but undeclared 
partnership.  Time will tell whether this partnership 
will evolve in the future into an openly declared 
partnership." 
 
¶V.  "Democracy Week" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(March 1): "It is only Tuesday, but it is already a 
fabulous week for democracy.  Yesterday, people power 
ousted the pro-Syrian puppet government in Beirut. 
Today, world leaders gather in London to discuss an 
agenda for Palestinian democratic reforms.... When 
Yasser Arafat was alive, all we heard was that the 
alternative to him was Hamas.  Now it turns out that 
the alternative is Abbas, who was elected on an anti- 
terror platform.  It was also not long ago that anyone 
predicting that the Lebanese people would oust their 
Syrian oppressors was a hopeless dreamer.  The lesson 
here is that Palestinians and Lebanese, like Iraqis and 
Afghans, are not exempt from the human desire for 
freedom.  It means that it is right to press Abbas to 
bring freedom of the press, assembly, and rule of law 
to his people, and that these rights will be the 
ultimate guarantor of any future peace with Israel." 
 
VI.  "Back to Oslo" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz 
(March 1): "The attack near the Tel Aviv promenade on 
Friday night only made tangible the return of the 
'spirit of Oslo.'  The government refrained from a 
military reaction and chose to apply 'diplomatic 
pressure' on Abbas and to suspend a few channels of 
dialogue with him while distancing the blame to Syria. 
It was just like Peres' sorry attempt to blame Iran for 
the wave of bombings in 1996 that brought him down.... 
Oslo was not the 'peace of the brave' but an agreement 
by cowards who took into consideration the domestic 
limits on each of the sides, preferring small, measured 
steps over 'painful concessions'.... The same Sharon 
who wanted to smash Oslo is now imprisoned by its ropes 
and praying it won't come to an end.  Like Rabin, 
Sharon is afraid of steps that move too quickly and is 
not anticipating any 'end to the conflict.'  He 
continues now from the place where the process stopped 
before the Intifada, and is hoping to withstand the 
mounting international pressure to end the conflict, 
once and for all." 
 
KURTZER