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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 005350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA 
HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA 
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR 
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
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.  Israeli Politics 
 
¶3.  Syrian-Lebanese Track 
 
¶4.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
At noon today, Israel Radio reported that at least 640 
people who participated in a mourning procession in 
Baghdad were killed in a stampede that followed a false 
alert about a suicide bomber. 
 
All media highlighted the press conference (some 
journalists dubbed it an early election rally) convened 
by Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday afternoon.  Netanyahu 
formally joined the Likud's leadership race, and 
accused PM Sharon of "betraying Likud ideology" and of 
defecting to the Left.  He appealed to the Likud's 
150,000 members to restore the party to power after 
four years of Sharon's rule.  All media reported that 
former PM Ehud Barak surprised his Labor Party rivals 
Tuesday when he proposed that all party leadership 
contenders rally around chairman Shimon Peres.  The 
media say that Barak wants to thwart the aspirations of 
Histadrut labor federation Secretary-General, Knesset 
Member Amir Peretz. 
 
Ha'aretz says that a majority vote is expected in the 
Knesset today on the Philadelphi agreement, which calls 
for 750 Egyptian police officers to be deployed along 
the Egyptian side of the Gaza Strip border. 
 
Yediot reported that, according to Washington sources 
close to the investigation of the assassination of 
former Lebanese PM Rafic Hariri, unequivocal findings 
will make the U.S. and France impose sanctions on Syria 
in the next few days.  Yediot, Ha'aretz, and Jerusalem 
Post reported that several pro-Syrian senior security 
and intelligence officials were arrested in Beirut 
Tuesday in connection with the assassination.  Yediot 
cited the belief of GOI sources in Jerusalem that the 
findings would turn President Bashar Assad into the 
"leper of the region and bring about his total 
isolation in the international community." 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted Egyptian intelligence chief Omar 
Suleiman as saying in Gaza City Tuesday that Egypt will 
continue to support the Palestinians until they 
establish their state in all territories occupied by 
Israel in 1967. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that when the separation fence is 
completed, thousands of East Jerusalem children will 
have to cross checkpoints to attend school. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the PA's concern over the purchase by 
wealthy foreign Jews of hothouses belonging to Gush 
Katif settlers for the PA.  The newspaper quoted a 
Palestinian source as saying: "We received a gift and 
we cannot refuse it."  The source summed up the 
position of PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas. 
Ha'aretz writes that Abbas had agreed to the deal 
following pressure from Vice Premier Shimon Peres, the 
Economic Cooperation Foundation, senior State 
Department officials, and others.  The newspaper says 
that the Palestinian reservations came for political, 
economic, and social reasons.  Maariv reported that the 
IDF intends to hand over the Gaza Strip's Netzarim area 
to the Palestinians as early as next week. 
 
All media reported that Defense Ministry D-G Amos Yaron 
is stepping down from his position.  Yediot says that 
he informed Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday 
that he will leave his position in mid-September. 
Yediot quoted Yaron as saying Tuesday that the 
continued sale of weapons technology to China had not 
been an attempt to deceive the U.S.  Israel Radio 
quoted Israeli sources in Washington as saying that his 
departure will pave the way to the resumption of trust 
between the Israeli defense establishment and the U.S. 
administration. 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark 
Regev as saying Tuesday, following reports that 
Pakistan may send a high-level delegation to Gaza and 
Jerusalem, that Israel would welcome such a group. 
Regev's comments were in response to an article in the 
Pakistani daily Dawn, which appeared on its web site on 
Tuesday.  However, the Pakistani newspaper had also 
reported that the move was not a step toward 
Islamabad's recognition of Israel. 
Jerusalem Post reported that leaders of the Iraqi 
Jewish community from around the world will soon meet 
in London to plan a strategy to demand compensation for 
lost assets, potentially in billions of dollars, from 
the Iraqi government. 
 
Yediot reported that Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz 
instructed Mofaz on Tuesday to immediately stop the 
employment of Ron Schechner, Mofaz's special assistant 
in charge of settlements, following the findings of the 
Sasson report on unauthorized settler outposts. 
 
Leading media cited an announcement released by the 
Justice Ministry Tuesday, according to which Mazuz has 
decided not to press charges against a group of Jewish 
extremists who carried out an ancient curse ceremony 
("pulsa denura") meant to place a death wish on Sharon, 
since the appeal was to God and not to mankind. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the IDF has appealed the eight- 
year prison term given to Sgt. Taysir Harb, who was 
convicted by a military court of killing British pro- 
Palestinian activist Tom Hurndall, saying in a 
statement Tuesday that it seeks a harsher sentence. 
 
Maariv reported that positive Israeli characters -- 
peace activists -- appear in the Egyptian TV film 
"Agent 1001" that will air during the upcoming month of 
Ramadan.  The Lebanese star Nur plays the part of a 
left-wing Israeli woman who criticizes Zionism and 
helps Palestinians. 
 
Yediot front-paged a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll 
conducted Tuesday night: 
-54 percent of Israelis (51 percent of registered Likud 
voters) favor Sharon as the next PM; 21 percent prefer 
Netanyahu (26 percent of registered Likud voters). 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"Perhaps for the first time in the history of the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is agreement among 
the Americans, Europeans and Israelis over the way 
forward in ending the conflict in this generation and 
not in some faraway future." 
 
Former U.S. mediator Dennis Ross wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "Gaza disengagement creates 
an opening, and it will close for Sharon and Abbas 
unless the [U.S.] administration recognizes where we 
are, and what is now necessary." 
 
Michael Freund, who was a senior aide to former prime 
minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in Jerusalem Post: 
"It is not enough merely to bring down the government. 
Rather, Sharon must be seen to suffer a stinging 
political rebuke, such that it will be obvious to all 
that the withdrawal led directly to his downfall." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Only Plan" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(August 31): "Things have never been as clear and as 
focused as they are today. Perhaps for the first time 
in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 
there is agreement among the Americans, Europeans and 
Israelis over the way forward in ending the conflict in 
this generation and not in some faraway future.... The 
incumbent prime minister has a few months left to make 
progress in the diplomatic arena.  He currently enjoys 
unprecedented Israeli and international support for his 
actions.  Sharon did not lose his Knesset majority, but 
he lost his support from his party long ago.  As long 
as a sitting prime minister has a parliamentary 
majority, he can continue to advance the road map.  If 
he does nothing, he will become superfluous.  If Sharon 
can take advantage of his upcoming trip to the United 
States to shape additional understandings with regard 
to settlement blocs on the West Bank; if he accepts 
Environment Minister Shalom Simhon's offer to give 
settlers in isolated West Bank settlements -- who want 
to be evacuated as a community -- a compensation 
package that would make it unnecessary to evacuate them 
in the future, he can prove that he still has something 
to offer and that Israel under his leadership continues 
to accept responsibility for determining its future and 
its borders." 
 
II.  "Rev Up the Road Map" 
 
Former U.S. mediator Dennis Ross wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (August 31): "The [U.S.] 
administration must build a bridge to the future.  The 
two sides have very different expectations of what will 
happen after disengagement: Sharon wants a pause to 
absorb the emotional trauma, and Abbas wants next 
steps.  Each needs an explanation of what is next.  The 
administration should declare that it will take the 
moribund road map and negotiate a common understanding 
on every Israeli and Palestinian obligation.   It won't 
be easy and it will take time.  It will take the kind 
of mediation the administration has avoided until now. 
But Gaza disengagement creates an opening, and it will 
close for Sharon and Abbas unless the administration 
recognizes where we are, and what is now necessary." 
 
III.  "A Road Map For the Right" 
 
Michael Freund, who was a senior aide to former prime 
minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in Jerusalem Post 
(August 31): "To be sure, the retreat from Gaza and 
northern Samaria was a terrible blow, but the perils 
that lie ahead may prove even more ominous.  Israel is 
essentially slouching its way back to the pre-1967 
Armistice Lines, which would endanger the state and its 
interests.  In order to prevent this, the Right must 
lick its wounds from the Gaza debacle and formulate a 
strategy aimed at forestalling any future retreats. 
The time to do so is now because, with a little 
foresight, we can and will prevent more Jews from 
losing their homes.  Such a strategy should encompass a 
number of key spheres: political, practical and 
ideological, and it should not be left in the hands of 
any one organization to implement.  Rather, the various 
forces must combine their efforts and work in tandem to 
bring it about.  In the political realm, the number-one 
priority at this stage should be to remove Sharon from 
power.... It is not enough merely to bring down the 
government.  Rather, Sharon must be seen to suffer a 
stinging political rebuke, such that it will be obvious 
to all that the withdrawal led directly to his 
downfall." 
--------------------- 
¶2.  Israeli Politics: 
--------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Political parties correspondent Sima Kadmon wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Netanyahu 
may have made a small step Tuesday in his bid to head 
the Likud.   But he is still very far removed from the 
premiership." 
 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in Ha'aretz: "If 
[Sharon] wins the Likud contest, he will kill the peace 
process.... That is why it would be best if Netanyahu 
beats Sharon within the lunatic Likud and leads to 
nowhere a party that has lost its direction." 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Netanyahu's Circus" 
 
Political parties correspondent Sima Kadmon wrote in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (August 
31): "Netanyahu, who on Tuesday spoke about the corrupt 
Sharon -- who abandoned the Likud's principles, is 
threatening to destroy the house, encourages terror, 
sows illusions, and does not respect democracy -- 
forgot a small fact: until two weeks ago, during almost 
five years, he was a senior minister in his cabinet. 
So, Netanyahu may have made a small step Tuesday in his 
bid to head the Likud.   But he is still very far 
removed from the premiership." 
 
II.  "Sharon's Loss Would Be Israel's Gain" 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in Ha'aretz 
(August 31): "Even if Sharon manages to do what appears 
at the moment like pure fantasy and wins the primaries, 
he is as good as dead within the Likud.  Ahead of the 
contest, he started to intimate that the disengagement 
would be the last in his career, and started making 
ingenuous noises of affection toward the road map that 
he actually detests.  If he wins the Likud contest, he 
will kill the peace process; if he loses, he will 
likely take the only path that allows any political 
movement: quitting, forming a right-and-center party, 
and forging an alliance with Labor and Shinui, backed 
by Yahad-Meretz, United Torah Judaism and the Arab 
parties.  This is the move that would best serve the 
national interest.  That is why it would be best if 
Netanyahu beats Sharon within the lunatic Likud and 
leads to nowhere a party that has lost its direction." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  Syrian-Lebanese Track: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "It is hard to 
believe that there will be a huge outcry in Syria or 
among its neighbors when Assad is made to pay the 
bill." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Lion From Damascus Is Coming Across As a Cat" 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (August 31): 
"[President Bashar] Assad made Syria lose its special 
status in the region.... Assad has lost on all 
international fronts: President Bush is threatening to 
place Syria on the economic-diplomatic 'axis of evil' 
and to topple Assad.  The UN is about to blame him for 
the assassination of former Lebanese prime Minister 
Rafic Hariri.  A propos Hariri -- his brutal 
elimination killed an investment plan for economic 
projects in Syria that was funded from the Hariri 
family's private capital.... Was Assad a partner in the 
secret plan to eliminate Hariri?  Who prepared the list 
 
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of hits?  It is hard to believe that there will be a 
huge outcry in Syria or among its neighbors when Assad 
is made to pay the bill." 
-------------------------- 
¶4.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "What is scary ... is that the 
Americans, when they so wish, can pronounce that black 
is white ... and the entire [Israeli defense] 
establishment backs down from them in a panic." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Victim of American Tyranny" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (August 31): "Contrary to what might 
appear from the media reports, [Amos] Yaron is leaving 
the Defense Ministry with his head held high.  What is 
slinking submissively, with its tail between its legs, 
is the State of Israel's sovereignty.  One of the best 
directors general the Defense Ministry has seen, a man 
responsible for countless projects and huge security 
deals, is going home as part of a roundabout deal that 
is intended to put a stop to the Israeli humiliation 
campaign in Washington and the national Israeli 
groveling at the Pentagon.... A thorough and 
comprehensive investigation of all the details related 
to the crisis with the Americans, a detailed chronology 
of the crisis from day one, can only lead to one 
conclusion: Yaron is clean-handed, as is [the Defense 
Ministry's director of security] Yehiel Horev.  A chain 
of misunderstandings, which fell on ready ears and a 
basic distrust, became a many-headed monster 
threatening the strategic relations with the United 
States.  What is scary about the whole story is that 
the Americans, when they so wish, can pronounce that 
black is white ... and the entire [Israeli defense] 
establishment backs down from them in a panic.  The 
American tyranny, which is also expressed in the insane 
cruelty with which they have been taking revenge on 
Jonathan Pollard for over two decades, knows how to be 
crueler than all the dictatorships that we know.  That 
is how it is when they give USD 3 billion a year, and 
we receive it." 
 
KURTZER