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

210821Z Sep 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 005742 
 
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.  North Korea's Announced Renouncement of Nuclear 
Weapons 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media (lead stories in Maariv and Yediot) 
reported on political developments around PM Sharon six 
days ahead of the Likud Central Committee meeting, as 
his associates have initiated contacts to establish a 
new party.  Maariv reported on a rift among Sharon 
associates.  According to the newspaper, Sharon is 
considering declaring today, in a general, non-binding 
statement, that he will remain in the Likud.  Yediot 
reported that Sharon and his associates are courting 
public figures such as Vice PM and Finance Minister 
Ehud Olmert, former IDF O/C Southern Command Doron 
Almog, former justice minister Dan Meridor, and former 
Shin Bet head Avi Dichter, in order to form an 
alternative list for the Knesset. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Israeli defense officials as saying 
Monday that Egypt and the PA have sealed the Gaza-Egypt 
border.  The newspaper reported that the officials gave 
most of the credit for this to PA forces, noting that 
Egypt has apparently still not finished deploying its 
forces.  Yediot cited Israel's anger over the PA's 
intention to open the Rafah terminal to the passage of 
people next week. 
 
Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner 
portrayed incoming U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard H. 
(Dick) Jones.  Rosner says that senior Israeli 
officials who are visiting Washington during the 
current period will soon know Jones, whom they 
characterize as a no-nonsense person.  Rosner writes 
that Jones fits into the pattern of senior State 
Department officials who are "polite professionals, but 
have no special feelings toward Israel, including 
negative ones." 
 
The media highlighted North Korea's pledge to end its 
nuclear weapons programs.  Jerusalem Post quoted 
President Bush as saying that this was a positive step, 
but that he expressed some skepticism about whether 
Pyongyang would live up to its promises.  Israel Radio 
quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying that a 
new demand by North Korea that the U.S. provide it with 
two nuclear reactors goes beyond Monday's agreement. 
Ha'aretz cited Israel's hope that North Korea's 
announcement will increase the pressure applied on Iran 
at the International Atomic Energy Agency that is 
convening in Vienna. 
 
Israel Radio quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying that 
Iran might only be six months away from having nuclear 
weapons.  Leading media reported that Shalom held 
"positive" (Jerusalem Post) meetings with the foreign 
ministers of Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey in New York. 
Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio quoted Shalom's 
spokesman, Ilan Ostfeld, as saying, "The Tunisian 
minister said Tunisia is a moderate country, but it 
will never be first or last to have contact with 
Israel."  Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio also reported 
that Turkish FM Abdullah Gul asked Israel to refrain 
from blaming PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas and 
stopping the peace process if any Palestinians 
perpetrate a terror attack.  Yediot reported that 
Shalom will deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly 
today. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that former U.S. president Bill 
Clinton has announced in New York, at his international 
economic conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, 
that he is seriously examining setting up a new USD 300 
million fund to ensure investments in Gaza and 
neighboring areas.  Leading media reported that on 
Monday, the EU announced details of new aid for the 
Palestinians, raising the 2005 total to USD 342.8 
million on Monday.  Jerusalem Post recapped that if 
assistance from the 25 EU governments is added, 
Europe's total annual aid to the Palestinians amounts 
to some USD 612.15 million. Yediot reported that, 
stunning the [building] Contractors Union, Defense 
Minister Shaul Mofaz announced on Monday that the 
employment of Palestinian laborers in Israel will be 
terminated in the middle of 2008. 
 
Last night, Channel 10-TV revealed that Sharon attended 
a dinner in New York on Sunday night, at which more 
than USD 150,000 was raised for campaign expenses in 
the Likud primaries.  The report raises suspicion of an 
alleged violation of the Parties Law.  Jerusalem Post 
reported that sources close to Sharon vehemently denied 
the report. 
 
Ha'aretz (banner of English Ed.) cited a document 
unveiled by Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority 
Rights in Israel, according to which the Justice 
Ministry's Police Investigations Department allowed 
four of the people killed during the Arab riots of 
October 2000 to be buried without an autopsy, even 
though autopsies could have helped determine which 
policemen fired the fatal bullets.  On the other hand, 
Ha'aretz quoted retired Haifa District Court judge 
Shalom Brenner as saying that the Israeli Arab 
leadership (the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee) did 
not cooperate with the preliminary investigative 
committee he had headed in 2000.  Maariv reported that 
the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee will hold a 
protest rally opposite the Prime Minister's Office on 
Monday. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Monday, the Knesset's Finance 
Committee approved an increase of 1.5 billion shekels 
(approximately USD 330 million) in the payouts to 
settlers under the disengagement plan, bringing that 
budget to 3.5 billion shekels (approximately USD 770 
million). 
 
Jerusalem Post cited the Manufacturers Association of 
Israel as saying Monday that business figures from 
Israel and the PA will meet Wednesday in Istanbul to 
discuss a Turkish initiative to establish an 
international company to manage the Erez industrial 
park, just outside the Gaza Strip.  Leading media 
reported that National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin 
Ben-Eliezer met Monday with PA and Jordanian 
counterparts at the regional energy conference held in 
Tel Aviv.  Jerusalem Post reported that Ben-Eliezer and 
PA Energy Minister Azzam Shawwa agreed that Israel 
would provide the Gaza Strip with 20 million cubic 
meters of water, and that they discussed further 
cooperation in energy matters.  Jerusalem Post cited 
Ben-Eliezer's ministry as saying that the contacts 
would continue today. 
 
Maariv reported that Bank of Israel Governor Stanley 
Fischer and Finance Ministry Director General Yossi 
Bachar will lobby the International Monetary Fund 
during its annual convention in New York during the 
weekend to have Israel join the "group of 31 
industrialized countries."  The newspaper writes that 
American sources have repeatedly promised that Israel 
would join the group when additional countries do so, 
but that it is still not certain when this will happen. 
Leading media reported on, and Globes bannered, 
Citigroup Inc.'s withdrawal of its recommendations on 
Israel's stocks, and the subsequent falling of Israel's 
benchmark index (the Tel Aviv-25 Index). 
 
Maariv reported that Israel will donate USD 50,000 to 
four famine-stricken African countries -- Burkina Faso, 
Mauritania, Mali, and Niger.  The newspaper writes that 
it appears that the low sum is "more destined to 
improve Israel's image in the world than to Niger's 
hungry children." 
 
Georgian FM Salome Zourabichvili was quoted as saying 
in an interview with Ha'aretz that Russia will again 
become an empire. 
 
Israel's main radio stations and leading news web sites 
reported that Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died in 
Vienna this morning at 96. 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "A serious public 
discourse is already required about whether the two- 
state solution has evaporated with the disengagement's 
implementation." 
 
Uzi Arad, who was a senior advisor to former prime 
minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The declaration [Sharon] 
made from the stage of the UN hints to future 
additional concessions.... Is this where Sharon is 
heading?" 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The New Partition Plan" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (September 20): 
"Sharon ... is placing the U.S. administration in a 
dilemma between its two main principles: advancing Arab 
democracy in general, and Palestinian democracy in 
particular, versus the relentless war on terror and its 
organizations.... But the significance of his threats 
transcends the clumsy attempt to dictate the 
Palestinians' list of candidates and election 
platforms.  It pertains to the root of the Palestinian 
entity's existence, and undermines the link between its 
two parts in Gaza and the West Bank....  Clearly Sharon 
is using the separation of Gaza from the West Bank as a 
bargaining chip in his relations with Abbas, like a big 
stick perpetuating Israeli supremacy even after the 
disengagement.  It is clear that he is washing his 
hands of the forgotten clause in the Oslo Accords, that 
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are 'one territorial 
unit.'  However, his consistent policy raises suspicion 
that there is more at play here than bullying tactics 
toward the PA.  It is clear that someone is laying the 
ground for a new order to replace the accepted idea of 
establishing one state divided into two parts.... The 
more Sharon establishes the difference in the status of 
the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and as long as the PA has 
difficulty imposing its authority, the more these ideas 
will garner support in Israel.  A serious public 
discourse is already required about whether the two- 
state solution has evaporated with the disengagement's 
implementation." 
 
II.  "Erosion, Conciliation, and Appeasement" 
 
Uzi Arad, who was a senior advisor to former prime 
minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote in mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (September 20): "Sharon 
announced at the United Nations that Israel is 
committed to the road map, with an incomprehensible 
patent omission: why didn't he demand that the Quartet 
respect its commitment to the road map, particularly 
regarding its first, immediate stage -- the dismantling 
of the terror organizations?  This is no trivial 
matter: only recently have people like Blair, Rice and 
Wolfensohn called to shrink the stages of the road map 
and pass over some of its components that touched upon 
substantial Israeli interests.... What [Sharon] said 
and what he surprisingly refrained from saying doesn't 
only constitute a conciliatory gesture.  The 
declaration he made from the stage of the UN hints to 
future additional concessions.... Is this where Sharon 
is heading?" 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶2.  North Korea's Announced Renouncement of Nuclear 
Weapons: 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "It is not 
clear how many of the achievements can be credited to 
the 'Bush doctrine'.... The only two arenas in which 
the Bush doctrine has been put to a test -- Iran and 
Iraq -- cannot yet be declared successes for the U.S." 
 
Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote 
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Unlike North 
Korea, Iran wants nuclear capabilities in order to 
build military power and deterrence.... Iran is not 
North Korea and will not succumb to pressure." 
 
Military correspondent Arieh O'Sullivan wrote on page 
one of Jerusalem Post: "Without moves to halt this 
proliferation of missile technology, it is too early to 
tell if this agreement is profitable for Israel." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "A Good Week For U.S. Diplomacy" 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (September 
20): "Much of the credit for the North Korean deal must 
go to China, but the Bush administration can mark the 
end of a successful diplomatic week.  Good news came 
from all over the globe.... It is not clear how many of 
the achievements can be credited to the 'Bush doctrine' 
in foreign policy, focusing on preemptive activity 
against states that support terrorism or develop 
weapons of mass destruction.... The only two arenas in 
which the Bush doctrine has been put to a test -- Iran 
and Iraq -- cannot yet be declared successes for the 
U.S.... How will these diplomatic successes affect the 
U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict?.... The level of American intervention in the 
conflict has never been affected by the North Korean 
nuclear program, the internal situation in Afghanistan, 
or even by Iran's nuclear ambitions.  So the only 
conclusion for Israel is that nothing will change, 
except for maybe an upward swing in the 
administration's collective mood." 
 
II.  "Iran Won't Cave In" 
 
Intelligence affairs correspondent Yossi Melman wrote 
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (September 20): 
"If North Korea keeps its commitments, as drafted in 
the declaration of intentions in the six-nation talks 
in Beijing, it will have achieved its goals.... The 
agreement is a great accomplishment, especially for 
China's diplomatic patience.  But the agreement is also 
an achievement for the U.S., which conditioned all 
diplomatic recognition and economic aid on North Korea 
abandoning its nuclear program.  Unlike North Korea, 
Iran wants nuclear capabilities in order to build 
military power and deterrence.... Iran is not North 
Korea and will not succumb to pressure.  The 
international atmosphere could have an indirect effect 
on Israel's policy of strategic nuclear ambiguity.  It 
weakens Israel's position vis-a-vis its own nuclear 
program, although there is no international pressure at 
present and none is seen on the horizon.  Israel can 
therefore stick to its ambiguity policy as long as it 
has the support of the U.S. and the EU." 
 
III.  "What About North Korea's Missile Sales?" 
 
Military correspondent Arieh O'Sullivan wrote on page 
one of Jerusalem Post (September 20): "The impact of 
North Korea's decision to give up its quest for nuclear 
weapons, while positive for world peace, would have 
been greater if it also included a vow to halt missile 
technology proliferation.  Israel is not being 
threatened either directly or indirectly by North 
Korea's nuclear program. But it certainly is on the 
targeted end of its ambitious ballistic missile program 
that has provided Arab states and Iran with know-how 
that has allowed them to amass an arsenal of Scud and 
Shihab rockets capable of hitting Tel Aviv.... Without 
moves to halt this proliferation of missile technology, 
it is too early to tell if this agreement is profitable 
for Israel." 
 
JONES