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

020941Z May 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 002719 
 
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.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Syrian-Lebanese Track 
 
¶3.  Visit of Turkish PM Erdogan to Israel, May 1-2 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that an IDF soldier was killed 
and another was wounded in an operation near Tulkarm, 
in which a senior Islamic Jihad activist was also 
killed.  Israel Radio reported that a mortar shell was 
launched at a northern Gaza Strip settlement last 
night.  Leading media reported that on Sunday, the IDF 
raided a house in Tulkarm and arrested Mohammed 
Shalhoub, a suspected suicide bomber -- the first such 
arrest since Israel transferred the city's security to 
the PA five weeks ago.  Israel Radio reported that the 
police have arrested Shireen Tarazi, a 19-year-old 
female student from East Jerusalem, on suspicion of 
planning a terrorist attack.  Maariv reported that at 
least 600 Kalashnikov rifles have been smuggled from 
Egypt into the West Bank during the past two weeks. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the GOI is likely to abandon the 
plan to relocate settler evacuees to the Nitzanim dunes 
near Ashdod and areas around Ashkelon.  Maariv reported 
that the IDF has suggested that settlements to be 
evacuated in the northern West Bank be turned into 
camps for the Palestinian police. 
 
During the weekend, the media highlighted the visit of 
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Israel.  Erdogan, 
who expressed his desire to play a role in the peace 
process and proposed setting up a Turkish-Palestinian 
working team to examine "how to combat terrorism, 
preserve the calm, and make peace," asked that Israel 
be patient and give PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud 
Abbas time to fulfill his security commitments.  The 
media quoted PM Sharon as saying that Israel was 
interested in Turkish assistance in the economic 
development of the Gaza Strip after disengagement. 
Leading media reported that the two countries will set 
up a hotline in order to fight terrorism.  On Sunday, 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel and Turkey would sign a 
new deal to upgrade about 30 F-4 Phantoms belonging to 
the Turkish air force, at a cost of USD 400-500 
million. 
 
On Sunday, all media reported that an Israeli couple 
was among nine people wounded in terrorist attacks in 
Cairo on Saturday. 
 
Leading media reported that on Friday, UN Secretary- 
General Kofi Annan called for the disarming of 
Hizbullah. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Diaspora and Jerusalem 
Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky tendered his 
resignation to PM Sharon this morning.  In his 
resignation letter, Sharansky wrote: "We are drawing 
close to a terrible rift in the nation, and to my 
sorrow I see no effort on the government's part to 
prevent it."  Sharansky says that Israel refuses to 
understand that the key to creating peace in the Middle 
East is by encouraging democracy in the region. 
 
Leading media reported that settlers were arrested on 
Friday following the wounding of a senior IDF officer 
in the West Bank. 
 
Yediot reported that several weeks ago, the FBI 
questioned former senior Mossad official Uzi Arad in 
the U.S. about his ties with alleged "Pentagon mole" 
Larry Franklin, who has been suspected of passing 
information to Israel.  The newspaper quoted Arad as 
saying he had been happy to assist the interrogators, 
but that he is not suspected in any wrongdoing. 
 
All media (banner in Maariv) reported that on Sunday, 
outgoing IDF C-o-S Moshe Ya'alon again voiced veiled 
grievances against Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul 
Mofaz. 
 
In economic news, Yediot reported on Sunday that Israel 
is included on the USTR blacklist of the fourteen 
leading countries in the area of IPR violations. 
Israel was absent from this list in the past two years 
because of its promises to pass appropriate laws to 
protect copyrights.  In an unrelated development, 
Israel Radio reported that two Israelis are suspected 
of defrauding the American pharmaceutical company 
Pfizer of USD 2 million. 
 
All media reported that Stanley Fischer was sworn in on 
Sunday as Governor of the Bank of Israel by President 
Moshe Katsav. 
 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that Senate Majority 
leader Bill Frist arrived in Israel Sunday as part of a 
fact-finding tour of the Middle East.  He will meet 
with Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Sharon, and Abbas. 
 
Leading media reported that FM Silvan Shalom leaves 
today for his first visit to Mauritania, the only 
member of the Arab League in North Africa that has 
maintained diplomatic relations with Israel throughout 
the Intifada.  Discussions will cover developing 
bilateral relations, promoting diplomatic relations 
between Israel and Arab countries, and the threat of 
Islamic fundamentalism. 
Leading media reported that the government will today 
discuss upgrading the status of the Judea and Samaria 
College in Ariel (West Bank) and combining northern 
colleges into a Galilee university.  Leading media 
quoted Education Minister Limor Livnat as saying: 
"Upgrading the colleges into universities is designed 
to support the settlement vision, out of the national 
interest of the State of Israel."  Several media say 
that this was a reference to Britain's Association of 
University Teachers (AUT) boycott of two Israeli 
universities.  The media quoted Construction and 
Housing Minister Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) as saying that 
establishing a university in a "problematic" area would 
"take away precious resources that do not meet Israel's 
priorities, first and foremost the development on the 
Negev and Galilee. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Sheikh Mouaffac Tarif, the leader of 
the Druze community in Israel, as saying that Peres and 
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt have recently met 
in Paris.   Ha'aretz quoted Likud MK Ayoub Kara as 
saying that Israel is active in Lebanon in efforts to 
allow the return of former South Lebanon Army fighters 
to their country, as part of the general conciliation 
moves in Lebanon.  The newspaper reported that Kara is 
due to meet with U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer to 
advance the matter. 
 
The media highlighted First Lady Laura Bush's humorous 
remarks at the annual White House Correspondents' 
Association dinner on Saturday. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz: "All [members of the Clinton 
peace team] agreed that if Bush prefers to concentrate 
on the democratization of the Middle East instead of 
restarting the peace process and helping Abu Mazen make 
real headway in the upcoming Palestinian elections, the 
President will end up with no peace and no democracy. 
And what about us?" 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "[As far as the Palestinians are concerned], 
without Jerusalem there is no Palestinian state and no 
solution." 
 
Dr. Yoram Meital, Chair of Ben Gurion University's 
Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy, 
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "The relentless 
struggle against [Egypt's] extremist Islamic factions 
will continue to dominate the regime's agenda under the 
elected president." 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Learning From Past Mistakes" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar opined in left-leaning, 
independent Ha'aretz (May 2): "The self-criticism 
voiced by the four members of President Bill Clinton's 
peace talks team at last week's seminar organized by 
the Middle East Institute in Washington competed with 
their criticism of President George W. Bush's peace 
policy.  Dennis Ross, Martin Indyk, Aaron Miller and 
Rob Malley took a large chunk of the responsibility for 
the collapse of the peace process on themselves.  The 
majority of the mistakes and flaws that they pointed 
out are also true of the Bush administration today. 
Learning the lessons of the failure that ended in the 
outbreak of the second Intifada could perhaps, even 
now, prevent the third Intifada.... Miller reminded 
Bush of three Americans -- Henry Kissinger, Jimmy 
Carter and James Baker -- who exhibited resoluteness 
toward Israel, but also secured its trust and actually 
produced agreements.  All agreed that if Bush prefers 
to concentrate on the democratization of the Middle 
East instead of restarting the peace process and 
helping Abu Mazen make real headway in the upcoming 
Palestinian elections, the President will end up with 
no peace and no democracy.  And what about us?" 
 
II.  "Eliminating Any Chance of a State" 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz (May 2): "From the Palestinians' point of 
view, expanding the Jewish hold on the eastern part of 
the city [of Jerusalem] and completing the separation 
wall means the perpetuation of the violent conflict. 
If the Israeli public agrees that recognizing the right 
of return means liquidating the Jewish state -- so it 
is universally acknowledged among the Palestinians that 
the 'Judaization of Jerusalem,' as they call it, means 
eliminating the possibility of establishing a 
Palestinian state.  In other words, without Jerusalem 
there is no Palestinian state and no solution.... It 
could ... be said with a large degree of certainty that 
Mahmoud Abbas' leadership would be capable of coping 
with internal and external difficulties in the near 
future.  However, it does not have much chance of 
surviving if Israel continues to establish 'facts on 
the ground' in East Jerusalem, which will leave no room 
for negotiations over the city's future." 
 
III.  "Egypt's Soft Belly" 
 
Dr. Yoram Meital, Chair of Ben Gurion University's 
Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy, 
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (May 2): "The 
extremists do not enjoy wide support among the Egyptian 
public.  The terrorist attacks are severely condemned 
and criticized.  However, neither does the regime enjoy 
much sympathy.... The relentless struggle against the 
extremist Islamic factions will continue to dominate 
the regime's agenda under the elected president." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Syrian-Lebanese Track: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "It 
would be ridiculous to claim that Syrian intelligence 
has gone with the military units." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Syria's Still There" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (May 
1): "The withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon is 
seen by Israel as a first and important step, but 
behind the scenes Damascus will continue to control 
intelligence, including within the Lebanese army.... 
Israel does not believe that with the withdrawal of its 
troops from Lebanon, Syria has withdrawn entirely from 
a country it controlled in almost every vital sphere. 
It would be ridiculous to claim that Syrian 
intelligence has gone with the military units.  Israel 
is convinced that Syrian intelligence will continue to 
exert control in Lebanon's pro-Syrian government.  The 
Lebanese army is thoroughly infiltrated with Syrian 
intelligence, which gives financial aid to many 
Lebanese officers.  And Syrian intelligence penetration 
of Hezbollah runs deep.  Some of Hezbollah's rocket 
array is manufactured in Syria and came its way after 
the Syrian general staff decided to view Hezbollah as 
an organic part of its deployment of forces.  Only 
truly free elections can bring about internal change, 
and for that Lebanon needs international observers. 
Only a free government could send the Lebanese army to 
take responsibility for security in the south of the 
country.... Israel's main concern is how to treat 
Hizbullah if it remains an armed militia that does not 
take orders from the Lebanese government.  From 
Israel's point of view, there has been no real change 
in the array of enemy forces." 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶3.  Visit of Turkish PM Erdogan to Israel, May 1-2: 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"The fact that Erdogan decided to embark on a high- 
profile state-visit despite last year's bitterness is a 
testament to his desire not to yield to Arab pressure 
and not to make vehement anti-Israeli rhetoric his 
administration's calling card.  This can only be 
regarded as a hopeful development." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Erdogan's Well-Timed Visit" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(May 2): "Israeli-Turkish relations rest on a bedrock 
of solid mutual interests, which perhaps augurs well 
for future cooperation.... Israel offers a 
sophisticated research-industrial infrastructure in 
spheres ranging from the vanguard of hi-tech to 
agriculture, while Turkey -- the sole Muslim NATO 
member -- offers Israel its only strategic regional 
ally.  Both already boast considerable cultural, 
academic and commercial connections.  Both are also 
threatened by extremists.  If there can be 
understanding, indeed symbiosis between two states, 
it's between Israel and Turkey.   Turkey can become a 
beacon of progress, tolerance and enlightenment in a 
region that cries out for reform.  It's a historic 
opportunity that mustn't be missed.  The fact that 
Erdogan decided to embark on a high-profile state-visit 
despite last year's bitterness is a testament to his 
desire not to yield to Arab pressure and not to make 
vehement anti-Israeli rhetoric his administration's 
calling card.  This can only be regarded as a hopeful 
development." 
 
KURTZER