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

131130Z Jul 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 004329 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media led with a suicide bombing carried out in 
front of a Netanya shopping mall on Tuesday afternoon 
by an Islamic Jihad member from the village of Atil, 
near Tulkarm.  Four women were killed and 90 other 
people were wounded, six of whom moderately to 
seriously.  An hour earlier, another Palestinian drove 
a pickup loaded with cooking gas canisters into the 
West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron.  The charge 
detonated and he sustained serious burns.  The media 
say that he was apparently abducted by Islamic Jihad, 
which suspected him of collaboration with Israel and 
chained him to the car.  Ha'aretz reported that State 
Department Spokesman Tom Casey and White House Press 
Secretary Scott McClellan condemned the Netanya 
 
SIPDIS 
bombing.  Quartet representative James Wolfensohn was 
quoted as saying in an interview with Israel Radio that 
it would be sad if the disengagement did not proceed. 
Israel Radio quoted Secretary of Defense Donald 
Rumsfeld as saying that he does not rule out the 
possibility that Iran was behind the Netanya attack. 
 
The media reported that the Prime Minister's Office 
vowed a "heavy-handed response" to the two terrorist 
attacks, but that it would not specify when that 
response would occur, or what form it would take.  This 
morning, Israel Radio reported that Defense Minister 
Shaul Mofaz warned Islamic Jihad that, as far as Israel 
is concerned, disengagement is a historic move, and 
that Israel will not allow Islamic Jihad to cause it to 
fail.  The media reported that the PA condemned the 
attack.  Israel Radio quoted senior GOI sources as 
saying that the PA has not done anything against 
terrorist elements. This morning, the radio quoted a 
spokesman for the PA's Interior Ministry as saying that 
the terrorist did not act in agreement with his group's 
leadership.  Israel Radio reported that IDF forces 
entered Tulkarm last night for an unlimited period of 
time and arrested 15 Islamic Jihad militants, and that 
a closure was imposed on the territories.  The radio 
said that an armed Palestinian was killed and another 
was wounded in clashes in Tulkarm last night.  Two IDF 
soldiers were lightly wounded.  Leading commentators, 
such as Zeev Schiff of Ha'aretz, do not rule out the 
resumption of targeted assassinations. 
 
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was 
quoted as saying on Tuesday, in an interview with 
Jerusalem Post, that the EU is willing to serve as a 
third-party presence after Israel leaves the Gaza 
Strip.  Solana said that in such a capacity, the EU 
would be responsible for customs control.  The 
newspaper reported that, according to a source familiar 
with the security cabinet meeting held Wednesday night, 
Mofaz stated his opposition to the idea, saying that 
without a peace agreement, he did not want any third 
parties in Gaza.  However, Jerusalem Post quoted Prime 
Minister's Office spokesman Raanan Gissin as saying 
that the government would need to discuss the matter. 
 
All media reported that cabinet secretary Israel Maimon 
told Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday that the 
final agreement between Egypt and Israel on the 
deployment of 750 Egyptian troops along the Philadelphi 
route will be presented to the Knesset after the 
cabinet has voted on it.  The media cited Sharon's 
confidence that the Knesset would pass such a bill. 
 
This morning, Israel Radio reported that Sharon closed 
off the Gaza Strip to Israelis who do not officially 
reside in Gush Katif through the conclusion of the 
disengagement move.  The media had assumed that such a 
step would be taken to block next week's massive three- 
day anti-disengagement march.  Israel Radio and other 
media reported that the Council of Jewish settlements 
in the Territories issued a statement saying: "This is 
the first time that a Jewish prime minister declares a 
siege on Jewish communities."   The media reported that 
the right-wing group Habayit Haleumi (National Home), 
vowed to block roads countrywide every Monday and 
Wednesday until Sharon rescinds his order. 
 
The major Hebrew-language dailies reported that Shin 
Bet representatives told the Knesset's Constitution, 
Law, and Justice Committee on Tuesday that it has 
arrested 30 right-wing activists over the past few 
weeks on suspicion of conspiracy to commit crimes and 
endangering human life.  The media reported that Noam 
Livnat, brother of Education Minister Limor Livnat and 
an anti-disengagement leader, was arrested on Tuesday 
in the Gaza settlement of Shirat Hayam, following a 
violent confrontation between supporters and police. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that IDF Chief of 
Staff Dan Halutz and another senior officer denied 
Tuesday that there is any link between the July 7 
bombings in London and the April 2003 bombing of the 
Mike's Place pub in Tel Aviv. 
 
Maariv reported that, contrary to claims by Gush Katif 
farmers that the Evacuation-Disengagement Law will 
discriminate against them, the government has reached 
an agreement with the state, in which each of them will 
receive 67 dunams (around 15 acres) of land near 
Hatzerim in the Negev, as well as land that Kibbutz 
Zikim, near Ashkelon, sold to the state for Gush Katif 
evacuees. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli military sources as 
saying that a Hizbullah gunman opened fire at an IDF 
outpost in the area of Rosh Hanikra, near the 
Mediterranean Sea, on Tuesday evening, without causing 
any casualties or damage. 
 
Israel Radio reported that a delegation of Shas and 
"rebel" Likud Knesset members who were holding talks in 
London with senior Palestinians, including chief PA 
negotiator Saeb Erekat, interrupted those contacts 
following the Netanya bombing. 
 
The media reported on Tuesday's assassination attempt 
against Lebanon's pro-Syrian outgoing Deputy PM Elias 
Murr. 
 
Ha'aretz and Jerusalem Post published some results from 
a survey of American attitudes toward Israel and the 
Middle East, conducted [on June 19-23] by the Marttila 
Communications Group, which the Anti-Defamation League 
(ADL) released on Tuesday: 
-71 percent of Americans polled expressed support for 
the disengagement plan. 
-52 percent believed Israel was working harder for 
peace than the Palestinians. 
-43 percent said they sympathized with Israel. 
-68 percent said they thought Palestinians were serious 
about peace negotiations, up from 62 percent in the 
previous survey [conducted in March]. 
The newspapers write that a parallel survey of European 
attitudes by the ADL produced different results, with 
Israel and Sharon receiving low rates of support. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Israel says Abbas 
has already stopped saying he wants to confront 
terrorism but cannot to do so, and suffices with 
displaying his impotence." 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one 
of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: 
"[Islamic Jihad] made a strategic decision to undermine 
the disengagement process and try to drag Hamas back 
into the armed confrontation with Israel." 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of 
Ha'aretz: "The value of the pledges given in Cairo and 
Damascus was made clear Tuesday in Netanya: Islamic 
Jihad ... went back to perpetrating suicide bombings in 
Israel." 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "Tuesday's terror attacks 
should remind us all that in a moment we were liable to 
forget all this, to forget the fact that the real, dark 
and murderous threat lurks around us and not within 
us." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"The lack of ... inter-Palestinian physical conflict 
can only suggest a high degree of ideological 
agreement." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "The government's decision 
Sunday to speed up preparations for completing the 
'Jerusalem envelope"' project exposes anew the attempt 
to use the security fence for issues that have no 
connection to the security of the citizens of Israel." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Abbas's Final Test" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (July 13): "The 
suicide bombing Tuesday in Netanya may be Palestinian 
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's final test, a senior 
Israeli official said Tuesday night.... The terrorist 
attack further erodes Abbas's standing among the 
Palestinians, and Israeli officials are asking whether 
the Palestinians have reached the stage of ignoring his 
leadership, [the official] said.... Israel says Abbas 
has already stopped saying he wants to confront 
terrorism but cannot to do so, and suffices with 
displaying his impotence.  His calls for Israeli aid 
are increasingly dwindling away, as is international 
pressure on Israel that could strengthen him.  Israel 
interprets this as increased American recognition that 
there is no medicine that would save Abbas' weak 
regime.... Israeli officials say that perhaps the 
bombing will shake Abbas up and that maybe this time he 
will regain his composure and try to bring the 
situation under control but it would be tough to say 
they genuinely expect this to happen.... The security 
reforms Abbas has promised have yet to take effect. 
American security coordinator Lieutenant General 
William E. Ward is trying to strengthen PA Interior 
Minister Nasser Yousef's position, and is pressuring 
Israel to treat him with respect and meet with him. 
Ward insists on operating within the Palestinian chain 
of command.  People familiar with how Ward works say he 
has difficulty accepting the lack of hierarchy in the 
PA." 
 
II.  "Islamic Jihad Is New Hamas" 
 
Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote on page one 
of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (July 
13): "As a rule, we are living in a very shaky model of 
calm.  On the Palestinian side, it is a model filled 
with internal contradictions.  There is a public 
commitment there to restrain terror, but complete 
impotence in the war against the recalcitrant 
organizations.  Four days ago, the Palestinian 
President went to Canossa.  He invited himself to 
Damascus to meet with the leaders of the rejectionist 
organizations, headed by Islamic Jihad.  The Syrians 
held a lunch in his honor, and to mock him invited Abu 
Musa -- the leader of the Fatah rebels organization -- 
to the meal.  Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] requested of 
the leaders of the organizations and from the Syrians 
to halt the military activity and help him with the 
calm.  Tuesday's terror attacks are the response: they 
simply spat in his face.  Indeed, most of the terror 
attacks that are currently being carried out -- in the 
West Bank or in Gaza -- are staged by Islamic Jihad. 
This organization made a strategic decision to 
undermine the disengagement process and try to drag 
Hamas back into the armed confrontation with Israel.... 
On the Israeli side, the meaning of the shaky model of 
calm is taking chances in order to enable a process at 
the conclusion of which disengagement will not be 
carried out under fire." 
 
III.  "The Value of an Islamic Jihad Pledge" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of 
Ha'aretz (July 13): "At the beginning of the month, a 
senior Damascus-based Islamic Jihad figure was summoned 
to Cairo.... Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar 
Suleiman, who met the man from Damascus, expressed 
concern over the organization's wild behavior of the 
past few weeks.... The Egyptians left the meeting 
encouraged: while the Islamic Jihad leader did not 
actually pledge to stop the attacks [against Israel], 
he hinted that his organization would try to make do 
with actions in the territories.  But the Egyptians are 
not the only country mixing in Palestinian Authority 
affairs.  Last Friday, Syrian President Bashar Assad 
hosted PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas and the 
heads of a number of Palestinian terror organizations 
at his palace in Damascus.  The latter made do with a 
general promise to reign in their activities, if Israel 
would avoid military actions.  Abbas, Israeli 
intelligence sources say, put no real pressure on the 
organizations to back up their words.  The value of the 
pledges given in Cairo and Damascus was made clear 
Tuesday in Netanya: Islamic Jihad, whose leader Dr. 
Ramadan Shalah took part in the Damascus meeting, went 
back to perpetrating suicide bombings in Israel." 
IV.  "The Real Enemy" 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv (July 13): "Tuesday's terror 
attacks should remind us, after a period of calm, that 
we have not yet reached a situation where we have no 
enemies and it is so calm around us that we should 
cultivate and sanctify internal conflicts, quarrels and 
rifts within the people.... Who knows how many more 
victims will yet pay with their lives and the wholeness 
of their bodies until the end of the disengagement 
process, and who knows how many the cruel and 
reprehensible Palestinian terror will yet take from us? 
There is no justification in the world for us to add 
bereavement, injury, tears, and hurt with our own hands 
and among ourselves.  We are a nation that has known 
how to stand united against outside threats, even 
during fierce internal debate.  We have always known 
how to fight the enemy and defend ourselves against it 
in a united fashion even when there were different 
approaches and ideological clashes among us.  Tuesday's 
terror attacks should remind us all that in a moment we 
were liable to forget all this, to forget the fact that 
the real, dark and murderous threat lurks around us and 
not within us." 
 
 
¶V.  "Palestinian Responsibility" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(July 13): "Even if Mahmoud Abbas's effort to sweet 
talk the terrorists into ending their attacks were 
considered a legitimate attempt, it must be deemed to 
have failed.... The Palestinian leadership would have 
the world believe that it, too, has embarked on a 
creative enterprise, in contrast to Hamas and Islamic 
Jihad, who seek to destroy Israel through terrorism. 
But Abbas's refusal to touch, let alone dismantle, the 
infrastructure of terrorism that he has committed to 
eliminating destroys that contention.  His refusal to 
act led directly to yesterday's terror attacks and 
places full responsibility for them on his doorstep. 
This refusal also renders irrelevant any purported 
difference between him and the 'rejectionist' 
groups.... The lack of ... inter-Palestinian physical 
conflict can only suggest a high degree of ideological 
agreement.... The international community must help 
Israel make the Palestinians understand that terrorism 
will neither build them a state nor destroy ours. 
There is no excuse for continuing to 'help Abu Mazen' 
when such 'help' only encourages him to stay on the 
unacceptable course he is on. The refusal to recognize 
this will only cost more Israeli and Palestinian 
lives." 
 
VI.  "Sharon Is Dividing Jerusalem" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (July 13): "The government's 
decision Sunday to speed up preparations for completing 
the 'Jerusalem envelope' project exposes anew the 
attempt to use the security fence for issues that have 
no connection to the security of the citizens of 
Israel.  In a statement to the High Court of Justice, 
the state prosecution did not hide that the government 
is taking political, and not just security, 
considerations into account.... The concrete walls, 
which will further disrupt the close connection with 
East Jerusalem residents on the social, political and 
economic front, are likely to increase their hostility 
toward the State of Israel and their motivation to harm 
its citizens.... Ehud Barak was the first Israeli 
leader who put the borders of Jerusalem on the 
political agenda.  [Actually,] Ariel Sharon is the 
first Israeli leader who has proven, in an official 
government decision, that the borders established 
hastily and arbitrarily in 1967 are not sacred." 
 
KURTZER