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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 005706 
 
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.  UN Reform 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with the speech PM Sharon delivered in 
Hebrew to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.  The 
major media focused on Sharon's conciliatory words, as 
he reached out to the Palestinians and said that Israel 
is willing to make painful concessions.  Sharon said 
that Israel respects the Palestinians and has no 
aspirations to rule over them.  He added: "They are 
also entitled to freedom and a national, sovereign 
existence in a state of their own."  Sharon also spoke 
of the deep connection of the Jewish people to the land 
of Israel since Biblical times, and about the unbroken 
continuity of Jewish settlement.  Sharon presented his 
red lines, which pertain to Israel's independence and 
sovereignty, and its right to live "in full security 
and without threats and terror."  Sharon talked about 
the importance of the separation fence in saving lives. 
Sharon also expressed condolences to the people of the 
U.S. following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and 
addressed the U.S. President as "my friend, President 
George Bush." 
 
Israel Radio quoted PA Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh as 
saying that Sharon was trying to make the road map 
fail, and to prevent the peace process from moving 
forward.  The radio quoted Jibril Rajoub, the PA's 
National Security Advisor, as saying that Sharon's 
address was a collection of lies and that his words 
were full of venom.  The station says that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian PM Ahmed 
Qurei have not yet responded to the speech. 
 
All media quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying 
on Thursday that in light of the smuggling from Sinai 
to the Gaza Strip, Israel will reject the PA's request 
to permit its security forces to increase its own 
supplies of weapons and ammunition.  Mofaz also ordered 
heightened security checks at crossing with the Gaza 
Strip.  The media also quoted Mofaz as saying he will 
tell Egypt that the chaos at the border cannot go on. 
Leading media reported that the security establishment 
is considering bolstering the 230-km-long border with 
Egypt. 
 
The media reported that on Thursday, Sharon discussed 
with British PM Tony Blair the threat posed by Iran's 
nuclear program.  In his speech, Sharon said: "Even 
today, there are those who sit here as representatives 
of a country whose leadership calls to wipe Israel off 
the face of the earth, and no one speaks out."  The 
media reported on a meeting between Iran's President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the FMs of Britain, Germany, 
and France, which focused on the matter.  Leading media 
reported that, referring to the possible investigations 
of Israeli officers in the UK, Sharon told Blair that 
he hoped that he, a former general, would not be 
arrested when visiting the UK. 
 
Major media quoted MK Binyamin Netanyahu as saying that 
Sharon's speech represented additional evidence that he 
is veering to the Left.  Maariv reported that Netanyahu 
associates are envisaging for the first time the 
possibility of Netanyahu's defeat in the race for Likud 
leadership. 
 
Leading media reported that President Bush spoke 
Wednesday at a national dinner in Washington that was 
the culminating event of the celebration of 350 years 
of Jewish life in America.  Ha'aretz reported that the 
President bestowed the Medal of Honor upon Nazi 
concentration camp survivor and Korean War POW Tibor 
Rubin, but that he did not mention the "long years when 
recognition of the Jew's bravery had been denied." 
 
Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post, and Israel Radio quoted 
Qatari FM Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir Al Thani as saying 
that his country is considering establishing diplomatic 
relations with Israel even before the foundation of a 
Palestinian state.  The Qatari FM told reporters that 
he wished for a nuclear-free Middle East.  The radio 
said that, contrary to expectations, no meeting took 
place between Sharon and the Emir of Qatar. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that five Jewish families have 
recently moved to a building in the Tel Rumeida quarter 
of Hebron, which was purchased by residents of the 
Jewish settlement in Hebron. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Gerhard Jarosch, the 
senior Austrian judicial investigator investigating the 
flow of funds in the Cyril Kern affair, told the 
newspaper that he strongly suspects that Sharon was 
given a bribe in 2002. 
 
Ha'aretz cited a Water Commission report as saying that 
if the Palestinians go ahead with building a sewage 
pipe from the Gaza Strip to the Mediterranean Sea, this 
could cripple the desalination plant near Ashkelon, 
which is due to be inaugurated at the end of the month. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that U.S. Democratic Party Chair 
Howard Dean will come to Israel this weekend for a 
weeklong visit initiated by the National Jewish 
Democratic Council.  Dean's entourage will include 
Democratic leaders from Florida, Arizona, and Ohio. 
 
Yated Ne'eman printed a story by the Israeli press 
agency Itim, according to which outgoing U.S. 
Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer told an assembly of 
the Israel Export Institute on Thursday that he is 
leaving Israel more optimistic than when he had 
arrived.  The Ambassador reportedly praised the 
behavior of the IDF and settlers during the 
disengagement move. 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "The Prime Minister chose the least expected 
place, the UN General Assembly, to give the Likud a 
writ of divorce." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea and diplomatic 
correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote from New York in 
Yediot Aharonot (September 16): "Sharon wished to sound 
pragmatic, open to compromise and to agreements.  That 
is also how he sounded.  But he included several 
statements in his address that his listeners ... found 
difficult to swallow." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote from New York 
on page one of popular, pluralist Maariv: "It was 
[Sharon] who had spun the dream and it was also he who 
conceded that the dream had been shattered." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "When the 
Prime Minister said he was a proud Jew, it looked as if 
he was hesitant about how far to go." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Let 
us hope that the Palestinians will listen to the 
message they received this important week from 
President Bush." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"The Americans now have an interest in praising and 
supporting Sharon.... But even he knows, of course, 
that this is a time-out." 
 
Legal commentator Zeev Segal wrote in Ha'aretz: "The 
High Court relies on international law (in particular, 
the Hague amendments) to justify the authority to build 
the fence." 
 
Legal correspondent Dan Izenberg wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "What is new in Thursday's 
decision is that the High Court made clear that the 
government was not violating international law by 
building a fence inside the West Bank to protect 
Israeli settlers.... On the other hand, the court will 
make sure that the fence protects the settlers rather 
than the settlements." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Writ of Divorce to the Likud" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (September 16): "The Prime Minister chose the 
least expected place, the UN General Assembly, to give 
the Likud a writ of divorce.  The level-headed, moving 
and excellent speech that Sharon gave in Hebrew was 
aimed completely at the ears of the Center-Left voters. 
It did not include a single paragraph of flattery to 
his traditional constituency: the Likud Central 
Committee members and registered party members. 
Sharon's speech, which was laden with statements about 
continuing to make painful concessions to the 
Palestinians and about their national rights, serves as 
conclusive testimony to his move away from the 
ideological core of the Likud, his great shift to the 
Left and an end to his leadership of the hawkish right 
wing camp in Israel....  [The commentators] received a 
typical Shimon Peres-style speech: eloquent, well built 
and dovish -- a speech with meager diplomatic rewards: 
a few pats on the back from Bush, a few empty 
statements from Putin and a rather insulting statement 
by the president of Pakistan." 
 
II.  "Sharon: Palestinians Have Right to State of Their 
Own" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea and diplomatic 
correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote from New York in 
Yediot Aharonot (September 16): "Sharon wished to sound 
pragmatic, open to compromise and to agreements.  That 
is also how he sounded.  But he included several 
statements in his address that his listeners, in all 
the UN official languages, found difficult to swallow. 
One statement touched upon the UN itself.... Sharon 
also denounced the UN for the fact that 'no one opens 
their mouth' when Iran, a member of the organization, 
calls for the destruction of Israel.  In his speech, 
Iran, and only it, was the enemy.  He warned of its 
attempts to arm with nuclear weapons.  Other difficult 
statements touched upon the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.... He mentioned the integrity of Jerusalem 
three times, but did not ignore the Palestinians' 
rights: 'The Palestinians also have a right to freedom 
and to a sovereign national existence in their own 
state.'  Sharon appends conditions to this right.  Now, 
when Israel has left Gaza, a trial period has begun for 
the Palestinians, during which they must 'put an end to 
terror and its infrastructure, terminate the anarchy of 
the gangs and stop the incitement.'" 
 
III.  "In Hebrew, Before the Entire World" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote from New York 
on page one of popular, pluralist Maariv (September 
16): "It was undoubtedly the speech of [Sharon's] 
life.... He maneuvered between ... two poles: on the 
one hand Jerusalem must be united for all eternity and 
the separation fence will be built as fast as possible, 
but on the other hand there is a need for compromise, 
for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and 
extension of a hand in peace -- sincerely....   The 
target audience of Sharon's speech was the entire 
world, the center of the political map and also the 
Likud Central Committee.  It was he who had spun the 
dream and it was also he who conceded that the dream 
had been shattered.... Sharon's speech did not reveal 
anything that we did not know.  Nevertheless, in that 
speech there was something vibrant, something touching, 
which we had never heard from him before, perhaps 
because this time, for a change, we believed him." 
 
IV.  "They Say That Sharon Sometimes Believes to 
Himself" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (September 
16): "Our corrupt prime minister ascended the UN stage 
on Thursday and delivered an election speech.  It was 
pretty shallow.  Worse, his speech didn't convince any 
of his opponents.... The frowns in Sharon's face 
exposed his cynicism and what was obvious: that man 
doesn't believe in any word he ever uttered.  When the 
Prime Minister said he was a proud Jew, it looked as if 
he was hesitant about how far to go.  Then, he 
continued by saying that the Land of Israel is our open 
Bible -- no less.  As if we had forgotten that only 
yesterday did we send an army to deport people from 
their homes in the same Biblical land." 
 
¶V.  "Land For Carpets" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(September 16): "Knesset Member Binyamin Netanyahu, who 
appointed himself (belatedly) as the leader of the 
disengagement critics, came up with a childish slogan 
for the displays of international support [for Israel] 
-- 'carpets for land.'  The former prime minister and 
foreign minister surely knows that the carpets of the 
White House, Kremlin and UN lead to realizing Israel's 
most vital strategic interests.... Israel has won the 
world's sympathy because it has given up lands it was 
holding.... Let us hope that the Palestinians will 
listen to the message they received this important week 
from President Bush, as he stood beside the Israeli 
prime minister in New York.  He said Americans would 
very much like to say 'Gaza first,' but the situation 
on the ground will be the barometer of progress.  It is 
possible to quibble over the definition of 'order,' but 
there are three aspects that are not in dispute -- 
security, quiet and governance, he said." 
 
VI.  "Just Don't Interfere" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz 
(September 16): "[Sharon] asked Bush for political 
quiet, so that he can beat his political rivals at 
home.  Just don't interfere.  According to the Israeli 
version, Bush agreed.... The Americans now have an 
interest in praising and supporting Sharon, so that he 
remains in power. The scenes of anarchy in Gaza, and 
the violation of the border on the Philadelphi route, 
reinforce the Prime Minister's claim that the burden of 
proof now lies with the Palestinians.  But even he 
knows, of course, that this is a time-out, and not a 
situation that will become permanent.... [Sharon's 
warnings about the Palestinian legislative elections 
will create] the next crisis in relations with the PA, 
which will cause a major headache for the Americans, 
who are anxious to promote democracy in the Middle 
East." 
 
VII.  "Justices Remain True to the Original 
International Law" 
 
Legal commentator Zeev Segal wrote in Ha'aretz 
(September 16): "The verdict [of Israel's] High Court 
[regarding the security fence] could be seen as an 
answer to the different position taken by the 
International Court of Justice in The Hague in July 
¶2004.  The ICJ issued its legal opinion shortly after 
the High Court's first principle ruling on the fence, 
and did not refer to it.  The High Court of Justice 
criticizes the ICJ's opinion, which it claims is based 
on partial factual infrastructure, and mainly for 
ignoring the terror issue and Israel's security needs. 
This approach to the ICJ's legal opinion does not mean 
that the High Court totally ignores international law 
norms, which it usually does recognize.  The High Court 
relies on international law (in particular, the Hague 
amendments) to justify the authority to build the 
fence." 
 
VIII.  "ACRI Won Battle, Lost War" 
 
Legal correspondent Dan Izenberg wrote in conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (September 16): "The 
Association for Civil Rights in Israel [ACRI] won the 
battle but lost the war in the case of [Palestinian 
petitioner] Zaharan Mara'be versus the State of Israel 
regarding the separation fence built two years ago 
around the Alfei Menashe enclave.... But in the broader 
sense, it lost the battle to persuade the High Court of 
Justice to accept the advisory opinion of the 
International Court of Justice, which declared on July 
9, 2004 that the separation fence was illegal and 
should be torn down because most of it was built inside 
the West Bank.... What is new in Thursday's decision is 
that the High Court made clear that the government was 
not violating international law by building a fence 
inside the West Bank to protect Israeli settlers.... On 
the other hand, the court will make sure that the fence 
protects the settlers rather than the settlements, and 
that the government will not be careless -- as it was 
in the case of Alfei Menashe -- about how much 
Palestinian land it includes in the blocs." 
 
-------------- 
¶2.  UN Reform: 
-------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"A United Nations that cannot even rationally define 
the universal problem of terrorism, or exclude Libya 
and Cuba from sitting in judgment of human rights, is a 
fatally flawed UN." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Unsalvageable?" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(September 16): "A United Nations that cannot even 
rationally define the universal problem of terrorism, 
or exclude Libya and Cuba from sitting in judgment of 
human rights, is a fatally flawed UN.  Judging from the 
dynamics that surrounded [the] drafting of the outcome 
document, the UN remains largely at the mercy of 
nations for whom aggression is a relative term and a 
legitimate diplomatic tool, one that in fact they will 
gladly continue deploying at the UN itself, as they 
have in the past.  It would actually be 
counterproductive to push for a more effective UN, so 
long as it remains, on fundamental matters of peace and 
security, pointed in the wrong direction." 
 
KURTZER