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 001759 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Gaza and West Bank Disengagement Plan 
 
¶2.  Global War On Terrorism 
 
¶3.  Israel-China Arms Deals 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media reported that last night the state budget 
bill passed the hurdle of the Knesset's Finance 
Committee, with 10 members in favor and 9 against. 
(Jerusalem Post reported that in a surprise move 
Tuesday, the Finance Ministry included 2.2 billion 
shekels  -- around USD 510 million -- for disengagement 
in the 2005 budget discussed by the committee.) 
 
This morning, Israel Radio and other media reported 
that the Knesset's Constitution, Justice and Law 
Committee approved, 9-8, a bill that would allow a 
national referendum on the disengagement plan.  The 
bill will now be presented to the Knesset plenum for 
voting, although it seems unlikely that it will muster 
majority support.  Jerusalem Post reported on a deal 
the 13 Likud "rebels" will offer PM Sharon today, 
according to which they will vote in favor of the 
budget in return for all Likud Knesset members voting 
for the referendum.  Jerusalem Post expects Sharon to 
reject the deal. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a State Department spokesman as saying 
Tuesday that during their visit to the region this 
week, Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Elliott 
Abrams and A/S David Welch are expected to ask the GOI 
about its plans to add some 3,500 housing units to 
Ma'aleh Adumim. The newspaper quoted the spokesman as 
saying regarding the construction plans: "U.S. policy 
is clear -- settlement construction must cease." 
 
All media reported (lead stories in Yediot and Maariv) 
that last night far-right protesters blocked the Tel 
Aviv-Haifa highway near Netanya, blocking the traffic 
for 20 minutes.  The police arrested 33 demonstrators 
at the site and another 66 at the Glilot junction north 
of Tel Aviv.  (Numbers vary according to the media.) 
Several other demonstrations in different locations 
were also reported. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Anna Kajumolo Tibaijuka, 
the visiting head of the UN agency charged with 
promoting sustainable urban planning, was noncommittal 
on whether she thinks the PA should use settlements 
evacuated by Israel to permanently house Palestinian 
refugees. 
All media quoted remarks made by participants in the 
Arab League Summit in Algiers on Tuesday that Israel 
cannot expect peace and normalized ties with the Arab 
world if it does not make concessions and give up 
occupied land.  Maariv's headline reads: "Conditional 
Normalization."  The media noted that only 13 heads of 
state from the league's 22 members attended the summit. 
Gideon Kutz, Channel 2-TV's Paris correspondent, 
reported on the summit from Algiers.  Maariv reported 
that in a speech he gave at a university in Qatar, MK 
Ahmed Tibi (Hadash-Ta'al) called on the Arab states not 
to hurry to improve relations with Israel. 
 
All media (banner in Ha'aretz) quoted King Abdullah II 
of Jordan as saying in a meeting with Jewish American 
leaders in Washington Tuesday that Syria and Hizbullah 
are encouraging Palestinian activists to carry out 
terror attacks against Israel, trying to divert 
attention from the situation in Lebanon and Syria.  The 
King also said that Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are the 
greatest threats to stability in the Middle East. 
Ha'aretz quoted him as saying that he recently told 
Sharon that in case of a terrorist attack, Sharon 
should check carefully who is behind it to avoid 
Israeli retaliation against the wrong target. 
According to the newspaper, Abdullah was implying that, 
should a terrorist attack occur, Sharon would find that 
Hizbullah is responsible. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted IDF Intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Yossi 
Kuperwasser as saying Tuesday before the Knesset's 
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that PA forces 
are foiling as many terror incidents as Israeli forces. 
However, Ha'aretz remarked that Kuperwasser, like 
Ya'alon who spoke after him, noted that the PA is not 
yet taking proactive steps to collect arms from the 
gunmen of the armed organizations.  Leading media 
reported that Mofaz has ordered a closure on the 
territories during the Purim holiday, which will be 
celebrated this weekend. 
 
Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz reported that the Jerusalem 
Magistrate's Court handed down a guilty verdict Tuesday 
in the case of American-born Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who 
tried to prevent Israeli bulldozers from demolishing 
illegally built Palestinian homes. 
 
British Ambassador to Israel Simon McDonald was quoted 
as saying in an interview held with Jerusalem Post 
Tuesday that Britain is actively trying to persuade EU 
member states to freeze all of Hizbullah's assets, 
following a change in government policy. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that this week a 
delegation from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 
group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to 
contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons 
through the implementation of guidelines for nuclear 
exports and nuclear-related exports, visited Israel for 
the first time and discussed with officials from the 
Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) and the Foreign 
Ministry ways to further cooperation in containing the 
dissemination of nuclear equipment and materials to 
"problematic" countries. 
 
All media reported that on Tuesday, before the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Chief 
of Staff Moshe Ya'alon harshly censured Sharon and 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz over the conditions of his 
apparent dismissal.  Ya'alon said that the decision was 
"unjustified."  The media noted that politicians across 
the board demonstrated sympathy for Ya'alon's comments, 
and that the committee has requested clarifications 
from Mofaz on the matter. 
 
All media quoted Israeli officials as saying Tuesday 
that Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to 
arrive in Israel on April 27 for a two-day historic 
visit as a guest of President Moshe Katsav. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that as of Tuesday a press club 
for Israeli and Palestinian journalists, the Mideast 
Press Club, will operate at Jerusalem's American Colony 
Hotel.  The club was founded by Felice Friedson, CEO of 
The Media Line Ltd., an American nonprofit multimedia 
news agency that covers the Middle East. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
¶1.  Gaza and West Bank Disengagement Plan: 
------------------------------------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Yahad party leader and Geneva Accord co-initiator Yossi 
Beilin wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "A joint 
abstention [in the Knesset's vote on the 2005 budget], 
of both Shinui and Yahad, will ensure the 
implementation of the withdrawal from Gaza without the 
two parties having to support the budget." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Shinui, Let's Vote Together" 
 
Yahad party leader and Geneva Accord co-initiator Yossi 
Beilin wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (March 23): 
"Yahad's enthusiasm concerning the withdrawal from Gaza 
is far less than that of Shinui.  According to the 
testimony of Sharon himself (New York Times, April 16, 
2004), his decision to leave Gaza was made in light of 
the Geneva initiative and his fear that this initiative 
-- which he deems dangerous -- will be imposed on the 
parties.  Therefore, we should have been the first to 
oppose his unilateral plan.... A joint abstention [in 
the Knesset's vote on the 2005 budget], of both Shinui 
and Yahad, will ensure the implementation of the 
withdrawal from Gaza without the two parties having to 
support the budget.  This is a proposal I raised a few 
weeks ago, and it still stands.  This will be the most 
responsible and wise path for the two opposition 
parties, who wish to make the withdrawal possible -- 
not to obstruct it by toppling the budget, but also not 
to lend a hand to this bad budget.  I propose to make 
this joint decision immediately, put an end to the 
turmoil in the system, prevent problematic payments 
from being made to various random supporters, and put 
behind us the affair of hunting for supporters for the 
budget, and look forward to the difficult challenges 
that await us.  But I have some difficulty 
understanding the logic that guides the present 
government." 
 
---------------------------- 
¶2.  Global War On Terrorism: 
---------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "A review of the lessons produced by [the late 
American statesman George] Kennan teaches that today, 
his legacy is as important as ever.  In the same way it 
helped win the Cold War, it can now help win the war on 
terror." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Cold War, Then and Now" 
 
Yoav Frummer wrote from New York in popular, pluralist 
Maariv (March 23): "[The late U.S. statesman George] 
Kennan will be forever remembered as the man who laid 
the foundations of the U.S. foreign policy that won the 
Cold War.... A review of the lessons produced by Kennan 
teaches that today, his legacy is as important as ever. 
In the same way it helped win the Cold War, it can now 
help win the war on terror.... Kennan foresaw the 
current challenge in Iraq: it is not enough to build 
democratic institutions.  It is more important to 
instruct [local people] to make a correct use of those 
institutions and to teach them to overcome 
obstacles.... Kennan's most important prediction may 
have been his recognition of the factor that eventually 
brought down the Soviet Union: 'Communism is akin to a 
cancerous leech that only feeds on sick tissues,' said 
Kennan, 'thus bearing the factor that will cause its 
collapse.'  In accordance to that view, it would be 
difficult to ignore the destructive character of 
Islamic extremism, which equally holds the key of its 
fall -- its utter reliance on distress, envy, 
oppression, and frustration in the Arab world.  The 
moment it will be prevented from harboring those 
feelings, the extremist legitimacy goading terror will 
cease." 
 
---------------------------- 
¶3.  Israel-China Arms Deals: 
---------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "A 
high-ranking Pentagon official has declared that Israel 
has to choose between the U.S. and China, an outlandish 
comment that deserves no response." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Americans Are Going Too Far" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(March 23): "[European newspapers] doggedly insist that 
Israel is the second-biggest seller of arms to China, 
after Russia, and that the Israeli arms sales total USD 
1.25 billion a year.  It sounds like an impressive 
accomplishment for the state, but a through examination 
in Israel reveals different numbers.  Since 2000, 
Israel has sold to China, through 164 Israeli 
companies, defense equipment at an approximate value of 
only USD 35 million.  Since 2003, when the U.S.-Israel 
mechanism for disclosure of weapons sales to China was 
set up, total sales from Israel to China have amounted 
to some USD 20 million.  The lesson is that one should 
take reports of the 'professional' press with a grain 
of salt.... The transaction that is now the bone of 
contention between Israel and the U.S. is the sale of 
about 100 Harpy combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) 
in 1999, for about USD 70 million.  The Americans 
allege that Israel is also engaged in upgrading these 
UAVs, and that it concealed facts about the transaction 
from the U.S.  This is not the first time Israel has 
found itself in a crisis related to arms sales to 
China.... One of the crises, which involved the 
ostensible sale to China by Israel of Patriot missile 
secrets, was occasioned by a hysterical American 
 
SIPDIS 
attitude.  High-ranking Israel Air Force officers now 
say they are coming up against furious allegations by 
the Americans, who contend that Israel is ostensibly 
training Chinese combat pilots.  A high-ranking 
Pentagon official has declared that Israel has to 
choose between the U.S. and China, an outlandish 
comment that deserves no response." 
 
KURTZER