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 003304 
 
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.  Lebanon 
 
¶3.  European Union 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on today's transition from Moshe 
Ya'alon to Dan Halutz in the position of IDF chief of 
staff.  The media cited anger among right-wing 
politicians over Ya'alon's comment to Asharq Al-Awsat 
that Israel will be able to defend himself even if it 
leaves the Golan.  Ya'alon was quoted as saying in an 
interview with Ha'aretz that unless Israel commits to 
further withdrawals after this summer's disengagement 
from Gaza, the pullout will be followed by an outbreak 
of renewed violence. Ya'alon also told Ha'aretz that 
any future Palestinian state would endanger the 
existence of Israel. 
 
Yediot writes that the significance of the test of 
Iran's solid fuel missile Shihab-3 is that Israel will 
find it difficult to get warnings of launchings.  The 
newspaper cites assessments in Israel that barring 
further developments, Iran will become a nuclear power 
in 2006. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted sources in Jerusalem as saying Tuesday 
that the meeting between PM Sharon and PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas will not take place next week 
as planned.  Abbas reportedly wished to meet Sharon in 
Cairo next Tuesday, and coordinated it with Egypt. 
Israel objected, insisting the two meet in Jerusalem. 
Israel also put off a meeting scheduled for today with 
PA officials, who were supposed to receive the list of 
properties Israel leaves in Gaza after the evacuation. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday, Attorney 
General Menachem Mazuz blasted the leaders of the 
opposition to the disengagement, accusing them of 
crossing red lines in their struggle to foil the Gaza 
pullout.  The media quoted Mazuz as saying that 12th- 
grade students who blocked roads will not be allowed to 
take their matriculation tests. 
 
Leading media reported that on Tuesday, PM Sharon's 
son, Likud MK Omri Sharon, who is the head of the 
parliamentary pro-environment lobby, proclaimed his 
opposition to the relocation of the Katif Bloc settlers 
in the dunes of Nitzanim -- a plan led by his father. 
 
Maariv reported that senior Defense Ministry officials 
will soon sign a document of understanding with the 
U.S., according to which Israel will be able to export 
defense items to some countries only after it receives 
an authorization from the U.S. Defense Department.  The 
newspaper quoted Israeli defense sources as saying that 
this is a real surrender and a renouncement of Israel's 
independence. 
 
Ha'aretz and Hatzofe reported that the Yesha Council of 
Jewish Settlements in the Territories demanded Tuesday 
that veteran Israel TV anchorman Haim Yavin be fired 
over a documentary currently broadcast on Channel 2-TV, 
which slams Israel's policy in the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip. 
 
Leading media quoted Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel 
Hollander as saying Tuesday that people opposed to the 
investigation of Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon 
are trying to intimidate him and his office. 
 
Maariv and Jerusalem Post reported that the Foreign 
Ministry decided Tuesday to delay the return of 
Israel's ambassador to El Salvador as a protest against 
the inauguration of Yasser Arafat Plaza in San 
Salvador.  However, Jerusalem Post quoted ministry 
sources as characterizing the overall relations between 
Israel and El Salvador as "very good." 
 
A Yated Ne'eman headline reads: "Chirac Names Anti- 
American De Villepin Prime Minister." 
 
Jerusalem Post bannered the 9-year jail sentence 
imposed Tuesday by a Moscow court on Jewish oil tycoon 
Michael Khodorkovsky.  The newspaper quoted former 
cabinet minister Natan Sharansky as saying: "No doubt 
this sentence is selective punishment for political 
reasons."  Sharansky indicated that anti-Semitism was 
also a factor in the affair. 
 
Yediot reported that Col. Miri Regev will enter her 
post as IDF Spokeswoman today. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "It is easy for 
Bush to mortgage the American position on the permanent 
borders, wrapping it in different packaging for 
Israelis and for Palestinians." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Three Permanent Agreements" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (June 1): "It is 
easy for Bush to mortgage the American position on the 
permanent borders, wrapping it in different packaging 
for Israelis and for Palestinians.  In so doing, he 
demonstrates involvement and accomplishment, fending 
off charges that he has washed his hands of the 
conflict.  But the permanent-agreement talks are still 
far off, and it is doubtful they will come to fruition 
while he is still in office.  In the meantime, the 
president makes do with Sharon's disengagement and 
Abbas's partial democratization, and soft pedals on the 
evacuation of settlement outposts and dismantling of 
the terror groups.  These will wait for 'the day after' 
-- after the disengagement, and after both sides' 
elections." 
 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Lebanon: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Trying to please everyone will only render [Saad] 
Hariri powerless and land him in trouble.  He will 
never free himself or his country from Syrian hegemony 
if he turns a blind eye to Lebanon's south." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Lebanon's Sovereignty" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(June 1): "The world this week cheered the successful 
completion of the first phase of Lebanon's modular 
parliamentary elections.... The triumph of the son of a 
slain leader -- anathema to Damascus --- seems to 
denote a further break from Syria and a reaffirmation 
of Lebanese sovereignty.... [After Israel withdrew from 
southern Lebanon five years ago,] Lebanon gave 
Hizbullah free reign and allowed it to amass even more 
lethal power, to the point that it now constitutes a 
strategic menace to Israel.  Hariri's Jr.'s 
pronouncements on the issue a few days ago leave little 
room for optimism.  Amazingly he told Newsweek that he 
could not disarm Hizbullah because 'part of Lebanon is 
still occupied' (the Sheba Farms).  This flies directly 
in the face of the UN's determination of Israel's 
current border with Lebanon.  Were Hizbullah to be 
disarmed, he postulated, the Lebanese army would have 
to replace it 'in resisting Israeli occupation,' 
thereby escalating the danger of an Israeli-Lebanese 
war.  Nevertheless, Hariri promised to parley with 
Hizbullah in an attempt to reach accord.  Trying to 
please everyone will only render Hariri powerless and 
land him in trouble.  He will never free himself or his 
country from Syrian hegemony if he turns a blind eye to 
Lebanon's south.  If he chooses to hope for the best 
and avoid confrontation, his electoral success will 
prove to be yet another Levantine sham, a facade of 
progress concealing the same old quagmire." 
 
------------------- 
¶3.  European Union: 
------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"Sunday's vote in France constitutes fresh, additional 
proof of why Israel must not adopt this system." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one 
of conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "An EU 
united by a constitution would -- at least politically 
-- mean ... a major force on the world scene that 
would, in a matter of time, see itself as America's 
equal on the international stage." 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The results of the French 
referendum exposed in its frightening hideousness the 
gloomy wave of social nationalism that is submerging 
the European countries." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Lessons of the Referendum" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (June 
1): "Whatever the reasons [of the French rejection of 
the European Union's constitutional treaty], the 
outcome was rejection of the goal of a 'United States 
of Europe,' and sanctification of the traditional value 
of the nation-state.... Additionally, France's 
pretensions to lead Europe, partly as a counterweight 
to Germany and partly alongside Germany as a 
counterweight to the Anglo-Saxon axis of Britain and 
the United States, have been badly damaged.... 
[Furthermore,] a 'no' vote can express anger at those 
in power and seizure of an opportunity to harass them, 
more than genuine opposition to the issue at hand.... 
As the evacuation [of settlements] draws nearer and the 
opposition to it increases, senior Likud officials are 
liable to revive the seemingly dead idea [of a 
referendum].  Sunday's vote in France constitutes 
fresh, additional proof of why Israel must not adopt 
this system." 
 
II.  "Weakened EU Is Nothing to Cry About in Jerusalem" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote on page one 
of conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (June 1): 
"Last July, soon after the European Union angered 
Jerusalem by voting en masse against Israel at the UN 
on the security fence, EU foreign policy chief Javier 
Solana visited Israel and said the EU cannot be 
ignored.... Solana's message to [Sharon] last year was 
'too bad, we are here whether you like it or not.'  It 
is likely, therefore, that the stinging rejection of 
the EU constitution in France on Sunday, and the 
likelihood that the Dutch will follow suit and vote no 
to the constitution in their referendum Wednesday, is 
not being lamented this week in the Prime Minister's 
Office....  A weaker EU is perceived in the current 
corridors of power to be in Israel's short-term 
interest -- although no one, for obvious reasons, will 
go on record saying this.  Israel likes the current uni- 
polar world, where the U.S., led by a very friendly 
president and administration, calls the international 
shots.... An EU united by a constitution would -- at 
least politically -- mean a strengthened EU, a major 
force on the world scene that would, in a matter of 
time, see itself as America's equal on the 
international stage.  A much-strengthened EU would 
indeed be able to demand a seat on near-equal footing 
with the U.S. around the Middle East negotiating table. 
Sharon doesn't want this to happen, but rather prefers 
the EU's 'junior partner' status.  Sunday's French 
vote, moreover, put to rest any notion of the EU as a 
cohesive unit able to act by consensus.  In various 
international forums, the EU's 'rule by consensus' 
redounds unfavorably for Israel." 
 
III.  "The Alliance Between Nationalism and 'Leftism'" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (May 31): "The proposed 
European constitution that was rejected Sunday by a 
sweeping majority of French citizens doesn't arouse 
passions.... However, it is a revolutionary 
constitution in the full sense of the word.  It 
incorporates the first attempt in human history to 
design a common supra-national framework for millions 
of people -- members of various faiths, cultures and 
living standards.  The Charter of Fundamental Rights 
included in Europe's Constitution is intended to grant 
all its residents joint constitutional and normative 
compasses and to allow them to live together in 
prosperity and mutual respect.... The results of the 
French referendum exposed in its frightening 
hideousness the gloomy wave of social nationalism that 
is submerging the European countries.  It is not only 
the French president who has lost in the referendum 
over the European Constitution.  It is not only the 
Euro that has been weakened.  The vision of a 
borderless, hate-free, solidary, and united Europe that 
can say 'nevermore' has also receded by many years. 
The European retreat also concerns Israel.  Not only is 
Israel close to Europe geographically.  It also is the 
homeland of a people who has suffered more than any 
other people from European hatreds throughout 
generations." 
 
KURTZER