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 004838 
 
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 
 
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
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Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media led with reports that Eden Natan-Zada (also 
known as Tzuberi), 19, a newly religious Jewish soldier 
who went AWOL several weeks ago in protest over the 
disengagement plan, opened fire Thursday evening in a 
bus in the Arab town of Shfaram, killing four people 
and wounding 12 others.  Natan-Zada was originally from 
Rishon Letzion, but apparently recently moved to the 
West Bank settlement of Tapuah, home to many 
sympathizers of the outlawed far-right movement Kach. 
The gunman was beaten to death by an angry mob that 
stormed the bus.  Both Yediot and Maariv bannered: "A 
Jewish Terrorist."  The media cited a statement by PM 
Sharon, which called the attack "a sinful act by a 
bloodthirsty terrorist."  Leading media reported that 
the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee has proclaimed a 
general strike in the Arab sector. 
 
All media reported that the demonstrations of the Yesha 
Council of Jewish Settlements in the Territories 
crumbled Thursday as most of the protesters went home, 
leaving only small clusters of activists.  Protests are 
to resume on Sunday.  Ha'aretz notes that the Yesha 
Council promised that it still has a "doomsday weapon." 
 
Yated Ne'eman and other media quoted Palestinian 
sources as saying that Israel and the PA have agreed 
that the evacuation of northern West Bank settlements 
planned under the disengagement plan will be completed 
by mid-September.  Leading media quoted Palestinian PM 
Ahmed Qurei as saying Thursday that the Israeli 
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the northern West 
Bank is a step toward liberating Jerusalem. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Defense Minister Shaul 
Mofaz told reporters in Aqaba that Israel would allow 
Jordan to send officers to train Palestinian security 
forces in Samaria (the northern West Bank), but that he 
said the issue was not discussed with King Abdullah 
during their meeting on Thursday.  The newspaper quoted 
security officials as saying that Israeli and Jordanian 
officials are expected to hold bilateral talks on a 
number of strategic issues in the coming weeks. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that the state on Thursday 
promised the High Court of Justice it would implement 
demolition orders after disengagement against nine 
permanent dwellings built illegally in the Samaria 
outpost of Arnona. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited the Shin Bet as saying Thursday 
that an Israeli Bedouin allegedly involved in smuggling 
weapons from Sinai via the Negev top weapons dealers in 
the West Bank was arrested by Israeli security forces 
on July 14. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that on Thursday, a 
federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., indicted former 
AIPAC officials Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman on 
charges they received classified national defense 
information from Pentagon analyst Lawrence (Larry) 
Franklin.  Ha'aretz reported that the U.S. authorities 
are interested in questioning additional Israeli 
Embassy employees, including the Ambassador. 
 
Yediot reported that the Spanish government intends to 
convene all Middle East leaders, including Sharon and 
Syrian President Bashar Assad, to a summit conference 
in Madrid in November.  The newspaper cited the Spanish 
government's hope that, should the Israeli withdrawal 
from the Gaza Strip be successful, the conference would 
serve the leaders as a jumping point for the resumption 
of the peace process. 
 
Yediot reported that PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud 
Abbas has invited the Arab leaders to a summit 
conference in Gaza after the disengagement. 
 
Yediot reported that Israel's Ambassador to Mauritania 
Boaz Bismuth met Thursday with that country's new 
president, Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who promised 
that relations with Israel would continue as usual. 
 
Jeremy Issacharoff, incoming No. 2 at Israel's Embassy 
in Washington, was quoted as saying in an interview 
with Ha'aretz (English Ed.): "The relationship [between 
Israel and the U.S.] is strong and vibrant, and we have 
a tremendous amount of common strategic interests.  We 
will deal with difficult issues as they arise and hope 
to be able to put them behind us as quickly as 
possible." 
 
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Mideast: 
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                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "'A filthy 
criminal,' Zvi Hendel, one of the leaders of the 
movement against the disengagement, called the murderer 
from Shfaram.... But those who ride a tiger have to 
remember that the tiger has teeth." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv: "[The Shfaram murderer] 
is not alone.  There are hundreds like him, perhaps 
thousands.... In order to win ... we have to take off 
the gloves and wipe out the pestilence." 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon, who's fully committed to 
disengagement, must remove his gloves and clarify to 
his erstwhile friends that the die is cast, and that he 
won't let madness prevail." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "[Israel and Jordan] share a 
common regional outlook that is based on a central role 
for the United States and on an uncompromising battle 
against terrorism. It is this model on which Israel 
should base its relations with Egypt." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: 
"Abu Mazen needs the importation of American pressure 
on Sharon, so that the latter will promise a close 
connection between the Gaza Strip and the outside world 
and an open passage to the West Bank.  This mission has 
been delegated to special envoy James Wolfensohn." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Not Insane" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (August 8): "Let 
us not dwell in illusions: [Shfaram] suicide bomber 
Natan-Zada was not insane.  His plot was simple, 
logical, almost called for.  He believed that by 
committing a terror attack on citizens in the Arab 
sector he could ignite a blaze that would prevent the 
implementation of the disengagement plan.  Either the 
acts of revenge that the Arabs would do to Jews would 
create an atmosphere that would stop the evacuation, or 
these acts would preoccupy so many army and police 
forces that carrying out evacuation would become 
impossible.  And perhaps both.... 'A filthy criminal,' 
Zvi Hendel, one of the leaders of the movement against 
the disengagement, called the murderer from Shfaram. 
There is no doubt that this is how all his friends 
feel.  But those who ride a tiger have to remember that 
the tiger has teeth.  The speeches made this week from 
the stages in Sderot and Ofakim were riddled with 
incitement, with inflammatory rhetoric, with deep scorn 
for the state and for its laws.  The rabbis and the 
politicians of the Right have to take into account that 
among their listeners there could be a Zada, a [Yigal] 
Amir, a [Baruch] Goldstein." 
 
II.  "The Murderer Is Not Alone" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one 
of popular, pluralist Maariv (August 8): "[The Shfaram 
murderer] is not alone.  There are hundreds like him, 
perhaps thousands.  Secret polls conducted recently for 
state institutions show a dramatic increase in the 
number of Israelis who are willing to take violent 
action by themselves, in order to halt the 
disengagement.  The numbers are terrifying, mainly 
among the national religious public (although it must 
be stressed that most of that sector of society is 
peace-loving and law-abiding).... If the prophecies of 
doom come true, the massacre in Shfaram could be a pale 
harbinger of what is still to come.... The irrational 
of all religious denominations are gathering, plotting 
to blow up everything over our heads.  All that is 
lacking is a tiny spark ... and a catastrophic chain 
reaction will be set off.... Everything is permissible, 
for this situation is called a war.  In order to win it 
we have to take off the gloves and wipe out the 
pestilence." 
 
III.  "Madness Will Not Prevail" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (August 
8): "The abominable murder in Shfaram, which cost the 
lives of four passengers on a bus in the sector that is 
the most loyal to Israel is the direct result of the 
swirl of hatred that the Yesha Council of Jewish 
Settlements in the Territories has introduced into 
Israel.... One must hope that the government and the 
Israeli Arab leaders will join forces to prevent the 
expansion of the cycle of hatred and revenge.  If this 
fire isn't put out at once, the fanatics of the Land of 
Israel [Israel, including the territories] and its 
insane leaders will be the big winners.  Instead of 
making a step toward peace with the Palestinians, we 
would return to the days of rioting and to lethal civil 
war.... Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who's fully 
committed to disengagement, must remove his gloves and 
clarify to his erstwhile friends that the die is cast, 
and that he won't let madness prevail." 
 
IV.  "The Philadelphi-Jerusalem-Cairo Route" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (August 8): "On Thursday, 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz visited Jordan as the 
guest of King Abdullah II.  This is routine, and yet it 
reflects the stability of Israel's relations with the 
Hashemite kingdom. Israel and Jordan are security 
partners.  They share a common regional outlook that is 
based on a central role for the United States and on an 
uncompromising battle against terrorism. It is this 
model on which Israel should base its relations with 
Egypt, the only Arab nation that preceded Jordan in 
making peace.  The security agreement Israel and Egypt 
are now striving to achieve is intended to allay the 
fears about what could happen along the line that 
divides Rafah, the Philadelphi route, which is also the 
Palestinian Authority's border with Egypt.  As the 
evacuation of Israeli bases, forces and settlers 
approaches, the need for close security cooperation 
with Egypt grows stronger.  Egypt has agreed to ensure 
that the long Philadelphi route does not serve as a 
wide gateway for smuggling weapons that could be used 
against Israel.... But this does not mean that we need 
no longer keep a close watch on what happens on, above 
and underneath the route.... Those who fear that the 
Egyptian forces' deployment along the border will make 
terrorist activity easier, should remember Egypt's 
important role in bringing about the calm that is 
making the withdrawal possible, and its own war against 
terror.  This is a welcome cooperation.  It establishes 
the expanding regional peace camp that includes not 
only Egypt, Israel and Jordan, but also states like 
Tunis, Qatar and Morocco.  The Philadelphi route could 
be an important axis in strengthening this camp." 
 
¶V.  "Abu Mazen's Surprise" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz 
(August 8): "Quiet depends on a victory by the 
pragmatic Palestinian camp over the Muslim fanatics. 
This will not happen if Hamas, which has already 
claimed for itself the credit for pushing Israel out of 
Gaza, also pushes out the PA.  Abu Mazen's last visit 
to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convinced him that at 
best, Sharon doesn't care whether Hamas gains control 
of the Gaza Strip.  However, Sharon does care that Bush 
be satisfied, and Bush cares that The New York Times 
won't report on his friend Ariel's contribution to the 
victory by Hamas, an organization that appears on the 
American terror list.  In Washington, too, they have 
begun to cast doubt on Sharon's readiness to help Abu 
Mazen in a fight against the common foe.  However, Abu 
Mazen has repeatedly stated that he will not hesitate 
to use force against any element that tries to sabotage 
the disengagement plan, that is to say --- the American 
interest.  Yet in order to prevail over Hamas, it is 
not enough that the Americans force Sharon to let 
several truckloads of ammunition and the Bader Force 
unit of the Jordanian Army into the Gaza Strip.  Before 
he makes use of these, if at all, against 'the 
brothers' who uprooted the Israelis from Palestinian 
territory, the PA must harvest the fruits of the 
disengagement.  The fruits are orderly governance, 
effective services and above all -- employment.  Even 
in this case Abu Mazen needs the importation of 
American pressure on Sharon, so that the latter will 
promise a close connection between the Gaza Strip and 
the outside world and an open passage to the West Bank. 
This mission has been delegated to special envoy James 
Wolfensohn." 
 
KURTZER