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 002809 
 
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.  NPT Review Conference May 2-27 New York 
 
¶3.  May 5 UK Elections 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that the PA has informed the 
Israeli defense establishment that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas has instructed his forces to 
collect weapons held by militants in Tulkarm and 
Jericho.  The station cited the defense establishment's 
uncertainty about whether this is actually being done, 
but that it is a positive step.  Speaking on Israel 
Radio this morning, IDF Intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi- 
Farkash was quoted as saying that weapons had been 
gathered in Jericho, and that the process was going on 
in Tulkarm.  The media had quoted Defense Minister 
Shaul Mofaz as saying Wednesday that he is freezing the 
handover of West Bank towns to Palestinian security 
control because the Palestinians have failed to honor 
their promise to disarm militants.  Yediot led with the 
assessment of the defense establishment that despite 
prospects of calm after the disengagement, Qassam 
rockets will continue to be launched, threatening 44 
additional Negev communities.  Yediot cited the IDF's 
belief that Hamas will win in the July parliamentary 
elections in the PA.  Zeevi-Farkash told Israel Radio 
this morning that Abbas will not directly clash with 
Hamas at this time.  Maariv reported that the Tanzim 
leader in Jenin, Zacharia Zubeidi, is now a member of 
the Palestinian security organizations, and is 
responsible for preventing terror attacks. 
 
All media (banner in Jerusalem Post) reported that the 
Israel Police has mapped out all the homes in 
settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank 
slated for evacuation under the disengagement plan, 
collecting intelligence on the settlers and the various 
levels of threats they pose to evacuating forces. 
Hatzofe quoted a GOI official as saying that the 
Disengagement Administration has in effect been 
"neutralized" and that Ilan Cohen, the D-G of the Prime 
Minister's Office, is now in charge of the 
implementation of disengagement.  Ha'aretz quoted chief 
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying that the 
PA's official position is that Israel demolish 
settlement housing in Gaza and clear away the debris. 
 
All media reported that in an 8-2 vote, the Knesset's 
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee demanded on 
Wednesday that the GOI not sign any agreement with 
Egypt on the deployment of Egyptian forces in the 
eastern part of the Sinai peninsula until the matter is 
brought to the Knesset for approval. 
 
All media (lead story in Ha'aretz) reported that 
Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin was formally charged 
Wednesday with passing classified information about 
Iraq to two individuals believed to be Steven Rosen and 
Keith Weissman, former officials of the pro-Israel 
lobby AIPAC.  Yediot quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying: 
"Israel has strategic, intimate relations with the 
U.S., which include exchanges of classified 
information.  Israel will not do anything that would 
harm those relations.  Those who raise the possibility 
of our intervention in this affair are wrong."  Yediot 
also cited an unofficial response from AIPAC denying 
any connection to the affair. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited a Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) 
report as saying that Israel received much higher marks 
in the 2004 State Department's human rights country 
report, published in February, than it did in 2003 -- 
not because of any significant changes in the ground 
but apparently a shift in how the Bush administration 
views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  JTA says that 
the U.S. appears more willing to accept long-standing 
Israeli claims that the blurred distinction between 
Palestinian combatants and civilians often makes it 
hard to assign blame in incidents that end with 
Palestinian deaths.  JTA notes that the State 
Department replaced the traditional "holding sentence" 
-- the department's term for the sentence that reflects 
its overall assessment of a country's human rights 
record -- with a milder one. 
 
Yediot reported that the Shin Bet has recently been 
successful in uncovering subversive efforts by right- 
wing Israelis. 
 
All media reported that two 15-year-old Palestinian 
boys who demonstrated against the construction of the 
security fence near Beit Liqya in the West Bank were 
killed by IDF fire Wednesday.  IDF Radio reported that 
the commander of the unit involved has been suspended 
from operational duties 
 
Leading media reported that "amid fears of a Hamas 
landslide victory" (according to Jerusalem Post), the 
Palestinians will vote today in the second phase of the 
municipal elections. 
 
Leading media reported that outgoing Shin Bet chief Avi 
Dichter told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense 
Committee Wednesday that had the security fence been 
built earlier, the number of terror victims would have 
been smaller. 
Yediot reported that Israel has demanded that Japan 
lift the embargo that it has imposed on the Center for 
Nuclear Research in Nahal Sorek. 
All media continued to highlight events related to 
Holocaust Memorial Day.  Maariv banners: "60 Years of 
Memory."  The media quoted PM Sharon as saying 
Wednesday: "We have learned the lessons of the 
Holocaust.  We will never, never again be caught 
unprepared." 
 
Maariv published the results of the first in a series 
of bi-weekly polls conducted in conjunction with Tzav 
Piyus, an organization advocating domestic peace 
between secular and religious Israelis: 
-The poll found that the level of tolerance between the 
various political sides is fairly low (6.4 on a scale 
of 0-10, where 0 is completely tolerant). 
-"To which extent can you understand the position of 
the supporters/opponents of the disengagement plan?" 
74 percent of disengagement supporters responded that 
they can understand the opponents; 47 percent of 
disengagement opponents responded that they can 
understand the supporters. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The Palestinians 
will never agree to the humiliating Israeli 
interpretations of their aspirations for national 
independence, and all the plans laden with goodwill and 
positive attitudes turn into bittersweet legends that 
come down to wondering what might have been, if only." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"A Fable For Adults" 
 
Liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (May 5): "To our 
surprise, the [Rand Corporation] has delivered a fable 
for adults.... The very assumption that the immediate 
establishment of the Palestinian state is a realistic 
assumption because President Bush and the road map call 
for it -- 'and a critical mass of Israelis and 
Palestinians support it, according to the polls' -- 
requires an exacting examination.  Most Palestinians 
indeed do support the establishment of a state, as long 
as it enjoys all the trappings of sovereignty and is 
free of settlers.  But the majority of Israelis who 
ostensibly support a Palestinian state are vehemently 
opposed to the assumptions at the heart of the Rand 
vision, and support an entity that will have partial 
control over about half the West Bank, with no control 
over the border crossings, immigration policies, water 
resources, coastal waters, and airspace.  Considering 
the gap in power between Israelis and Palestinians -- 
and in the absence of any foreign pressure -- it is 
clear that the Israeli version will be the determining 
one, and with it the [corporation's] vision of the Arc 
fades into the distant horizon.  The Palestinians will 
never agree to the humiliating Israeli interpretations 
of their aspirations for national independence, and all 
the plans laden with goodwill and positive attitudes 
turn into bittersweet legends that come down to 
wondering what might have been, if only." 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶2.  NPT Review Conference May 2-27 New York: 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Defense commentator Reuven Pedhazur opined in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "In light of 
[defiant] steps by the United States, it is clear that 
the chances of success for the month-long conference 
are not great.... However, the aggressive attitude of 
the U.S. administration ... is actually very convenient 
for Israel." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"A Treaty That Has Outlived Its Usefulness" 
 
Defense commentator Reuven Pedhazur opined in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (May 5): "The 
nuclear policy of the Bush administration actually 
reduces the possibility of promoting the attempt to 
achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.  The U.S. 
President refused to join the treaty to ban nuclear 
tests, abandoned the treaty for preventing the 
development of anti-missile defense systems, and called 
for the development of new and advanced types of 
nuclear weapons once again.  In light of these steps by 
the United States, it is clear that the chances of 
success for the month-long conference are not great.... 
However, the aggressive attitude of the U.S. 
administration, which while placing an emphasis on its 
own nuclear weapons, is simultaneously trying to put a 
stop to the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, 
is actually very convenient for Israel.... Next month, 
the fate of the NPT will be decided.  Quite a number of 
those participating in the conference are convinced 
that the treaty in its present form has outlived its 
usefulness and that the time has come to formulate new 
rules, which will enable the international community to 
carry out proper supervision, to impose punishments and 
even to prevent additional countries from arming 
themselves with nuclear weapons.  Israel hopes these 
rules will be accepted before Iran crosses the nuclear 
threshold.  [Israel] is not relying on the fact that it 
will be the NPT that prevents Iran from completing the 
development of its nuclear weapons." 
 
----------------------- 
¶3.  May 5 UK Elections: 
----------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Tony Blair, in supporting Washington on the invasion 
of Iraq, did prove that he has ... courage and 
foresight....  In the coming years, too, Britain's 
prime minister will certainly need to display the same 
qualities in dealing with the threat of a potentially 
nuclear Iran." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"As Britain Votes" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(May 5): "Despite the dents in Blair's standing, he is 
still expected to triumph over Conservative candidate 
Michael Howard.... From the Israeli perspective, no 
crucial differences emerged during the campaign between 
the Middle East policy perspectives of the Labor and 
Tory leaders.... At any rate, perhaps more crucial 
right now from Jerusalem's perspective is not 10 
Downing Street's view of the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict, but its position regarding Iran.  Europe has 
a crucial role in preventing Teheran from developing a 
nuclear arsenal, and the voice of the British prime 
minister will be key in balancing other national 
viewpoints on the continent less willing to join the 
U.S. in taking a firm stance against Iran.  Tony Blair, 
in supporting Washington on the invasion of Iraq, did 
prove that he has the courage and foresight to break 
with other European leaders in recognizing the real 
dangers in this region.  In the coming years, too, 
Britain's prime minister will certainly need to display 
the same qualities in dealing with the threat of a 
potentially nuclear Iran." 
 
OLSEN