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

171142Z Aug 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 005091 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Gaza and Northern West Bank Disengagement 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media, including the electronic ones, which 
broadcast at unusual hours, reported that the forced 
eviction of the Gaza settlers has begun.  Early this 
afternoon, Jerusalem Post's web site reported that ten 
settlements are being evacuated, with a focus on Morag 
and Neve Dekalim.  Security forces poured into Neve 
Dekalim on Tuesday, convincing several dozen families 
to leave.  On Tuesday and today, there were several 
violent incidents in clashes between security forces, 
and settlers and their supporters.  Speaking soon after 
an incident in which a female soldier who entered Morag 
was stabbed and lightly wounded, PM Sharon beseeched 
settlers during a joint press conference with President 
Moshe Katsav not to attack soldiers and police removing 
them from their homes, declaring that opponents of the 
disengagement plan should "not hurt them, rather hurt 
me." 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted a "White House spokeswoman" in 
Crawford, Tex. as saying that President Bush "supports 
Prime Minister Sharon in this bold initiative and 
believes this will strengthen Israel."  The newspaper 
reported that Sharon received messages of praise from 
British PM Tony Blair and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip 
Erdogan, while Malaysia described the withdrawal as a 
"first small step." 
 
Ha'aretz reported that U.S. security coordinator Lt. 
Gen. William Ward met on Tuesday at the Gaza Strip's 
Karni Crossing with the heads of the PA security forces 
deployed near settlements.  Ha'aretz reported that PA 
Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Husa told the 
newspaper that at the meeting, Ward looked at "the 
deployment of the forces and their capabilities, down 
to the smallest details," and their readiness.  The 
newspaper quoted Abu Husa and other Palestinian 
security figures as saying Tuesday that the Palestinian 
police have deployed most of their forces in the 
central and southern Gaza Strip where most of the 
disengagement process is underway.  Ha'aretz notes that 
the Palestinians also have 400 security men stationed 
in the northern Strip.  Leading media reported that the 
PA and Hamas are preparing for a struggle for control 
over the Gush Katif area.  Yediot reported that A/S 
David Welch "secretly" visited Gaza, where he told the 
heads of the PA security forces that they must 
cooperate with Israel during the disengagement move. 
Yediot also quoted a senior State Department official 
as conveying a similar idea Tuesday in Washington: 
"Welch's message is very important: the Palestinians 
must cooperate with the Israeli security branches in 
order for the disengagement to be implemented without 
hitches or violence." 
 
PA Civilian Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan was quoted 
as saying in an interview with Maariv that he perceives 
optimism among the Palestinian population.  He 
dismissed the settlers' pain, praised Sharon's courage, 
and asked Israelis to free themselves of their 
"occupation mentality." 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, Egyptian President 
Hosni Mubarak told a visiting delegation from the Labor 
Party, including former PM Ehud Barak, and Knesset 
Members Danny Yatom and Colette Avital, that he hoped 
the pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank 
would end peacefully, adding that disengagement would 
favorably affect not only relations between Israel and 
the Palestinians, but also Israel's relations with the 
international community.  The newspaper quoted Mubarak 
as saying at the meeting that Egypt will do all it can 
to prevent arms smuggling along the Philadelphi route, 
but that the closure could not be "hermetic."  Mubarak 
was quoted as saying in an interview with Yediot that 
he understands the difficulty inherent in leaving one's 
home.  Israel Radio quoted Jordan's King Abdullah II as 
saying in Moscow that Israel is acting in earnest. 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz quoted the King as saying on 
Tuesday, before he left for Russia, that he opposes 
settling more Palestinian refugees in his country amid 
Arab fears that Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip 
may not extend to the West Bank. 
 
Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe quoted IDF Intelligence 
chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash as saying Tuesday 
before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense 
Committee that the Palestinians might resume terror 
activities in the spring of 2006 if they do not see a 
diplomatic horizon and if Israel insists on the 
dismantling of the terror infrastructure.  Jerusalem 
Post reported that Abu Abeer, a spokesman for the 
Popular Resistance Committees  (PRC) told the newspaper 
at a PRC meeting in Gaza City that the PRC will not 
continue attacks after the withdrawal.  The PRC, an 
alliance of various armed militias, were responsible 
for attacks on Sderot and on soldiers and settlers in 
the Gaza Strip. 
 
All major media reported that on Tuesday, U.S. Defense 
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Defense Minister Shaul 
 
SIPDIS 
Mofaz signed a joint statement that says: "The 
strategic alliance between the United States and Israel 
reflects common understandings of the global security 
environment.  In this cooperative relationship, the 
United States and Israel share information and consult 
on possible threats to U.S. and Israeli defense 
interests.  The U.S. Department of Defense and the 
Israeli Ministry of Defense have signed an 
understanding that is designed to remedy problems of 
the past that seriously affected the technology 
security relationship between their defense 
establishments and begins to restore confidence in the 
technology security area.  In the coming months, 
additional steps will be taken to restore confidence 
fully."  The joint statement adds that the "signing of 
this understanding underscores the commitment of the 
U.S. and Israel to work together to address global 
security challenges. Cooperation between the U.S. and 
Israel is important to the security of the Middle East 
and we expect that cooperation to continue."  Israel 
Radio notes that the understanding does not grant a 
right of veto to the U.S., which will however be 
informed about Israel's arms deals.  The station says 
that the full document is confidential and that its 
details will not be released to the media.  Ha'aretz 
reported that the U.S. will continue to blacklist 
Defense Ministry D-G Amos Yaron. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that France has threatened to 
halt financial and humanitarian aid to the PA unless a 
French journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza City 
earlier this week is freed unharmed. 
 
Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, 
Hizbullah hailed Israel's evacuation of settlements as 
another victory for armed resistance. 
 
Yediot and Jerusalem Post reported that the court 
hearings in the matter of Pentagon "mole" Larry 
Franklin and former AIPAC staff members Steve Rosen and 
Keith Weissman began on Tuesday in Alexandria, Va. 
Jerusalem Post reported that Rosen and Weissman pleaded 
not guilty to charges of unlawfully receiving 
classified defense information. 
 
Ha'aretz and Jerusalem Post printed an AP story, 
according to which nearly 125 Israeli and Arab former 
Seeds of Peace campers, now in their twenties, have 
gathered in Otisfield, Maine, for the first reunion in 
the camp's 13-year history. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Gaza and Northern West Bank Disengagement: 
------------------------------------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in the 
lead editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "We should wholeheartedly wish [the evacuated 
settlers] success in their new lives, under the shadow 
and management of Israeli governments that don't behave 
stupidly." 
 
Deputy Editor-in-Chief Avi Bettelheim wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "The settlers deserve warm gratitude 
... from all Israeli citizens.... But it is now over -- 
although this came very, very late." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"After two days of excessive consideration, in which 
degraded police officers were conducting negotiations 
over leaving the area in exchange for momentary quiet, 
the time has come for a reversal.  All future 
expressions of weakness will cause the entire operation 
to fail." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz: 
"Violent eccentrics crop up on the margins of every 
society, and if many from the mainstream of the settler 
public join forces with them, Israel will find itself 
in a heap of trouble." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"Though our enemies are rejoicing at the suffering of 
the settlers, they will rejoice even more if we decide 
to tear ourselves apart." 
 
European Union Representative in Israel Ramiro Cibrian- 
Uzal wrote in Maariv: "While the disengagement's 
security aspects are still highly important, Mr. James 
Wolfensohn is leading the civilian and economic front 
in the name of the Quartet and with the European 
Union's full support." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "H-Hour With a Torn Heart" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in the 
lead editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (August 17): "Encouraged by [successive] 
Israeli governments, devout and enthusiastic people 
came to a barren region; for a generation, they built 
houses, planted trees, created a blooming garden with 
their sweat -- and blood.  They were always told that 
they were the 'salt of the earth'; they are now being 
humiliated like the lowliest members of society, and 
are required to smile in front of the cameras.  As far 
as they are concerned, today will be a fateful day.  In 
army lingo, this is the 'H-Hour' of evacuation.  We 
should wholeheartedly wish them success in their new 
lives, under the shadow and management of Israeli 
governments that don't behave stupidly." 
 
 
II.  "A Time For Sobering Up" 
 
Deputy Editor-in-Chief Avi Bettelheim wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (August 17): "Gush Katif was born in 
sin.... [But] the settlers deserve warm gratitude ... 
from all Israeli citizens.  They were there, endangered 
their lives, but weren't despondent.  They endured 
thousands of mortar shells that landed next to them or 
on their ground, and didn't flee.  They lost relatives, 
friends, and neighbors, but they didn't lose their 
mental strength.... But it is now over -- although this 
came very, very late." 
 
III.  "And Now, Determination" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(August 17): "It is not reasonable to arrive at August 
17 while most of the resident population of Gush Katif 
is still sitting at home.  It is not reasonable to 
complain to the Disengagement Administration for not 
proposing solutions to the residents, when most Gush 
Katif residents avoided all contact with the 
administration for months.... When people say the 
settlers, up to the last minute, have not internalized 
the evacuation, what they are essentially saying is 
that they have done well at internalizing the fact that 
all their desires are usually fulfilled, and rightly 
believed that this time too they would have the upper 
hand.  They do not hang their hopes on the heavens, but 
on the weakness of the government in contrast to their 
own determination.  After two days of excessive 
consideration, in which degraded police officers were 
conducting negotiations over leaving the area in 
exchange for momentary quiet, the time has come for a 
reversal.  All future expressions of weakness will 
cause the entire operation to fail." 
 
IV.  "It Doesn't Stop at Orange" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Uzi Benziman commented in Ha'aretz 
(August 17): "Today the extent of the violent 
opposition to the implementation of the disengagement 
plan will become clear: are we talking about a minority 
of youngsters, or a sizable ideological camp motivated 
by the power of fanatic religious faith?  If the first 
option proves correct, it will be possible to heave a 
sigh of relief, despite the flammable potential it, 
too, contains: violent eccentrics crop up on the 
margins of every society, and if many from the 
mainstream of the settler public join forces with them, 
Israel will find itself in a heap of trouble.  In any 
event, the entire Israeli society will have to give 
some thought to the day after: how will those who 
believe with every fiber of their being that withdrawal 
from the territories is tantamount to pulverizing the 
Zionist foundation on which the state lives go on 
living together with those who are convinced that 
continued occupation destroys the Zionist vision?" 
¶V.  "A Test of Our Society" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(August 17): "Today will be a painful day, no matter 
how it and the next few days turn out.  Today the 
police and soldiers will knock on the doors of the 
residents of Gush Katif, citizens who have withstood 
almost five years of terrorism only to be evicted by 
their own government. As each settlement is emptied of 
its inhabitants, we should have no sense of victory.... 
We assume that the vast majority of the residents of 
Gush Katif who remain would not think of physically 
harming a soldier or policeman.... It would be better 
if they did not take out their anger on the security 
forces.... As difficult as it is to put the genie back 
in the bottle once entire communities have rejected the 
legitimacy of government decisions and even equated the 
government with the worst enemies of the Jewish people, 
we nevertheless hope that the line against violence 
will be sharply drawn.  It is not too late for every 
rabbi, community leader and family to appeal to those 
apocalyptically inclined, like the Jewish IDF deserter 
who murdered four people in Shfaram, to reject 
violence.... Indeed, though our enemies are rejoicing 
at the suffering of the settlers, they will rejoice 
even more if we decide to tear ourselves apart." 
 
VI.  "Europe Believes in Prosperity" 
 
European Union Representative in Israel Ramiro Cibrian- 
Uzal wrote in Maariv (August 17): "As an observer of 
the events that have occurred in recent weeks, I 
believe that the State of Israel is undergoing one of 
the hardest and most challenging periods in its 
history.... The international Quartet, in which the 
European Union plays a key role, is acting 
energetically to ensure that the 'day after' 
[disengagement] won't be a day of chaos and anxiety, 
but one that contains a promise for both Israelis and 
Palestinians.... While the disengagement's security 
aspects are still highly important, Mr. James 
Wolfensohn is leading the civilian and economic front 
in the name of the Quartet and with the European 
Union's full support.... Confidence-building measures 
will help both sides regain the trust needed in order 
to return to the full implementation of commitments 
they undertook at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, and meet 
their obligations under the 'road map' -- with all the 
difficulties this entails." 
KURTZER